[10/22/13] Oldring drives in McInnis in eighth, Athletics stay alive

BY JOHN JOHNSON / Grand National Tribune

PHILADELPHIA (Wednesday, Oct. 22, 1913) — Stuffy McInnis drove in three runs with three hits and a sacrifice fly, then scored the go-ahead run on a Rube Oldring sac fly in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday as the Philadelphia Athletics forced a seventh and deciding game in the 1913 World Series with an 8-7 win over the Chicago Cubs at Shibe Park.

Eddie Collins roped four hits, scored twice and drove in a run, and Wally Schang posted three hits of his own as the Athletics chased Hippo Vaughn with 15 hits by the end of the seventh inning. Philadelphia outhit Chicago 16-13.

Heinie Zimmerman scored twice and drove in two runs for the Cubs, who also got three runs batted in off the bat of Frank Schulte. Vaughn went 2 for 3 before being lifted and ultimately avoided being tagged with a decision.

Philadelphia scored once in each offensive inning except for a scoreless fourth inning and a two-run sixth. The Cubs put up two in the first, retook the lead with three in the fifth and added one in the sixth. Each team scored once in the seventh to level the score again and the Athletics cracked the egg on an unearned run in the eighth.

Chicago stranded the tying run at third base and the go-ahead run at first after a two-out walk to Vic Saier and a single from pinch hitter Roger Bresnahan. Johnny Evers took strike three to ensure that baseball would be played on Thursday.

Eddie Plank got the win in relief, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk with 2 strikeouts in 2 innings but casting doubt on who would start in the season finale. Byron Houck had started and lasted 5 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and 6 runs before Boardwalk Brown bridged the gap.

Vaughn lasted 6 2/3 innings, giving up 6 earned runs and 7 total with 3 walks. Zip Zabel retired the only man he faced and Lefty Leifield pitched the eighth, taking the loss despite the only run coming after an error. Leifield allowed a hit.

Game seven is set for 2 o’clock Thursday afternoon on the same grounds. Bert Humphries is slated to pitch for Chicago.

[10/20/13] Bender handcuffs Cubs, Athletics stay alive with 7-3 win

BY JOHN JOHNSON / Grand National Tribune

CHICAGO (Monday, Oct. 20, 1913) — Three of the first four batters of the game came around to score Monday and the Philadelphia Athletics never squandered that lead, topping the Chicago Cubs 7-3 at Comiskey Park to cut the Cubs’ lead to 3-2 in the best-of-7 World Series.

Eddie Collins finished with three hits and five of his teammates finished with two apiece as Philadelphia followed up the three-run first inning with single tallies in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Stuffy McInnis scored three times and Rube Oldring drove in two runs.

Mike Mitchell led the Cubs with three hits, including a double, and a run scored. Jimmy Archer added two hits and a run batted in. Five other Cubs got one hit each, but the team was outhit 14-10.

Charles Bender took the win after a 10-hit complete game, allowing 3 runs and 3 walks while striking out 3. Larry Cheney suffered the loss, giving up 6 runs on 11 hits in 6 innings. Zip Zabel pitched the seventh and Lefty Leifield worked the last two innings.

Collins led off the game with a triple and scored on Jack Barry’s groundout. Frank Baker drew a walk and McInnis singled; both men stole bases and advanced another 90 feet on a wild pitch, and an Oldring single knocked in McInnis to make it 3-0.

Chicago got two of its three runs in the second inning when singles by Vic Saier and Archer bookended a Bridwell triple. The other run for the hosts, albeit the hosts in their crosstown rivals’ home, came in the form of back-to-back doubles by Mitchell and Heinie Zimmerman in the sixth inning.

Philadelphia had already scored twice at that point, though, and would add on in the seventh.

The Athletics’ first insurance run came in the fifth when Strunk tripled to the wall in center and scored on a ground ball to third. The second run came about after Bender singled, Collins bunted him into position and Monte Pfeffer grounded him in after a wild pitch. The final run was the end product of a McInnis walk and two singles.

Philadelphia may have lost its shortstop to a leg injury in the third inning as Barry crumpled after turning the pivot on a double play. He was listed as day-to-day after the game.

The Philadelphia win forces the series to return to the Keystone State, where the Athletics will have home-field advantage for both of the remaining two games but must win them both to claim the world title. Philadelphia’s Byron Houck will start game six at 2 o’clock local time on Wednesday, going against Chicago’s Hippo Vaughn.

[10/19/13] Three-headed monster puts Cubs on precipice of title

BY JOHN JOHNSON / Grand National Tribune

CHICAGO (Sunday, Oct. 19, 1913) — Frank Schulte posted three singles, Tommy Leach drove in 3 runs with a single and a double, and Vic Saier scored twice on two hits Sunday as the Chicago Cubs moved within a game of the World Series crown with a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Athletics at Comiskey Park.

Al Bridwell and Jimmy Archer each had singles for the Cubs, who did all of their scoring and got eight of their nine hits between the third and fifth innings. Both men scored and Bridwell also drove in a run.

Half of Philadelphia’s offense came through Eddie Collins, who was 5 for 5 with 2 doubles, 2 runs batted in and a run scored. Stuffy McInnis singled twice and drove in a run, but the other seven Athletic hitters combined for two singles and a double.

Each pitcher went the distance, with Chicago’s Bert Humphries taking the win after 4 runs on 10 hits with 6 strikeouts. Eddie Plank suffered the loss with 5 runs on 9 hits to go with 4 strikeouts; he was lifted for a pinch-hitter when his spot came up as the tying run with one out in the ninth inning.

Philadelphia got first crack as the visiting team and wasted little time making the Cubs pay, starting the game with a pair of base hits and a double steal. With two men in scoring position, McInnis singled to the left side to plate one run and Amos Strunk drove in another with a ground ball.

The Cubs got one run back in the third inning on Archer’s single and Leach’s double, then flipped the lead with three scores in the fourth. Saier and Schulte each singled to leave runners on the corners for Bridwell to tie the score with a double. After a walk to Archer loaded the bases, Leach’s single put the hosts up 4-2.

A Saier triple and a Schulte single tacked on the insurance run in the fifth inning with what would be Chicago’s last two hits of the game.

Philadelphia got one run back in the seventh when Wally Schang led off with a double and Collins singled him home. In the ninth, Jimmy Walsh singled and took second on a wild pitch; Collins’ double made it 5-4 and put the tying run on second with one out, but a fly ball to shallow right ended the chance for a tie game.

The Cubs will go for the jugular and a five-game series win tomorrow at 2 o’clock local time, 3 o’clock on the east coast, sending Larry Cheney to the mound against Charles Bender.

[10/18/13] Chicago takes pitchers’ duel 3-2 for 2-1 series lead

BY JOHN JOHNSON / Grand National Tribune

CHICAGO (Saturday, Oct. 18, 1913) — Byron Houck twirled a complete-game 2-hitter and still found himself on the losing end of a 3-2 decision Saturday in Game 3 of the World Series as the Chicago Cubs topped the Philadelphia Athletics at Comiskey Park.

Hippo Vaughn got the win for Chicago, allowing 2 runs and striking out 8 with a 10-hit performance on the mound. Al Bridwell and Mike Mitchell recorded the Cubs’ hits as they went up two games to one in the best-of-7 series.

Every Athletic batter had at least one hit, except for catcher Wally Schang. Jack Barry singled twice and Frank Baker had three singles. Stuffy McInnis’ double was the only extra-base hit for either side.

Philadelphia laced five hits in the first three innings but stranded four of them and had the fifth erased on a double play. The Cubs got their first run in the fourth inning when Tommy Leach worked a leadoff walk and moved to third on Mitchell’s single. Heinie Zimmerman uncorked a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0.

Philadelphia got that run back in the sixth on hits by Barry and Baker leading into a McInnis sacrifice fly. A strikeout and a flyout ended that inning with the score 1-1.

Four of Houck’s 9 walks did him in in the seventh as Frank Schulte and Johnny Evers worked free passed with one out. Al Bridwell singled up the middle to load the bases before an Archer sac fly untied things. Two more walks, to Vaughn and Leach, drove in the insurance run.

The Athletics would leave the tying run on second in each of their remaining innings. They plated a run on a Collins single and a McInnis double in the eighth, but there were already two outs and a strikeout ended that threat. In the ninth, Rube Oldring singled and Jimmy Walsh walked before three straight outs.

The series continues tomorrow at 2 o’clock central time. In a rematch of game one, Philadelphia’s Eddie Plank takes the mound against Chicago’s Bert Humphries.

[10/16/13] Cubs go yard to knot Fall Classic at one game all

BY JOHN JOHNSON / Grand National Tribune

PHILADELPHIA (Thursday, Oct. 16, 1913) — The Chicago Cubs took the lead with a home run, gave up the lead, then got it back with two more homers today in a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics in Game 2 of the 1913 World Series at Shibe Park.

Tommy Leach did the long, slow jog twice and Vic Saier followed him around the bases in between. Leach scored a game-high 3 runs and drove in 2 while Saier batted in 3. Each man had 3 hits and Heinie Zimmerman had 2.

Larry Cheney pitched his way to victory with a 5-hit complete game, allowing 4 walks and 2 runs while striking out 2.

Stuffy McInnis drove in one Philadelphia run and scored the other as the only Athletic player with multiple hits. Eddie Collins, Rube Oldring and Wally Schang had one hut apiece.

Charles Bender threw the first 8 2/3 innings for the Athletics, allowing 6 runs on 13 hits and 2 walks. Herb Pennock got the final out.

The Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the sixth on Leach’s 364-foot shot to left-center, then gave it up to a Frank Baker walk and McInnis’ triple in the bottom of the same inning. Amos Strunk smacked a sacrifice fly to make it 2-1 after six complete innings.

That lead lasted exactly one batter into the seventh as Saier parked a 435-foot drive beyond the center-field wall to make it 2-2. He added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to score the go-ahead run and Johnny Evers drove in Zimmerman to ratchet the lead up to 4-2.

Leach led off the ninth with another blast to left-center before Mike Mitchell, Zimmerman and Saier all singled to plate the final run.

Philadelphia mustered two hits in its final three innings.

The series now shifts to Chicago, where the Cubs are renting Comiskey Park from the White Sox in anticipation of the crowds. That city’s lack of a blue law sets the series up to play on three straight days, Saturday through Monday, at two o’clock local time (three o’clock on the east coast). Unless one team sweeps all three games in Chicago, the series will return to Philadelphia next Wednesday for game six.

[10/15/13] Seventh-inning rally sparks Athletic win in Series opener

BY JOHN JOHNSON / Grand National Tribune

PHILADELPHIA (Wednesday, Oct. 15, 1913) — The Philadelphia Athletics scored five unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings, then stranded the bases full of Chicago Cubs in the eighth inning of a 7-5 World Series win here today at Shibe Park.

Eddie Collins and Frank Baker had three hits apiece for the Athletics, while Amos Strunk recorded two hits and wielded the big stick with a three-run go-ahead double in the seventh. Collins and Baker each scored twice as well.

Eddie Plank went the distance on the bump, allowing 13 hits and 5 runs while striking out a pair of Cubs.

Chicago took an early 5-0 lead behind four hits in each of the third and fourth innings. Frank Schulte, Johnny Evers and Al Bridwell all had two hits. Heinie Zimmerman drove in two runs and Jimmy Archer scored twice.

The Cubs sent Bert Humphries to the mound for 6 2/3 innings, allowing 6 earned runs and 11 hits against 4 strikeouts. Zip Zabel finished the seventh and Lefty Leifield threw the eighth.

Although Philadelphia recorded the game’s first three hits, the Cubs made the first dent on the scoreboard in the third. Archer singled and Tommy Leach walked, pushing his predecessor into scoring position for a Mike Mitchell double. Zimmerman singled a batter later to clear the bases and make it 3-0.

Schulte and Evers started the fourth inning with singles before a pair of force plays drove in the lead runner. Humphries added a single to leave runners on the corners before Leach’s hit through the right side pushed the lead to 5-0.

Baker scored an unearned run in the fourth inning, reaching on a dropped fly and scoring on Strunk’s sacrifice fly.

Philadelphia started scoring in earnest in the sixth, sparked by three straight singles from the top of its order. Baker’s hit scored Collins and Rube Oldring knocked in Jack Barry, but the Athletics left the tying runs on in a 5-3 hole.

That hole would be erased in the seventh. After the inning started with a fly ball, Plank and Collins singled to bring the go-ahead run to the plate. Pinch-hitter Eddie Murphy couldn’t come through, but Baker singled to knock in the first run and Stuffy McInnis loaded the bases with a walk.

That set up Strunk for his three-run double, and the rest, as they say, is history.

The Cubs loaded the bases on three singles in their half of the eighth, but held the go-ahead run at third and saw the inning end with a strikeout and a force play.

Game two in the best-of-7 series is set for Thursday afternoon at two o’clock on the same field. Chicago will send Larry Cheney to the mound to even the series against Charles Bender.

[10/11/13] Cubs jump on Mathewson in first take National League pennant

BY JOHN JOHNSON / Grand National Tribune

NEW YORK (Saturday, Oct. 11, 1913) — Frank Schulte’s first-inning home run gave the Chicago Cubs a four-run lead before the New York Giants got a chance to bat today as the Cubs eliminated the Giants from the National League playoffs with a 7-3 win at Brush Stadium.

Vic Saier tripled twice and added a solo shot in the ninth inning, scoring three times and driving in three runs in a 4 for 5 performance. Schulte homered in the first inning and singled in the fifth to finish with 2 hits, 2 runs scored and 2 runs batted in.

All told, the Cubs got six multi-hit performances while Bert Humphries gave up 3 runs with a strikeout in 9 innings.

The Giants finished with 14 hits to Chicago’s 15, getting 3 apiece from Art Fletcher, Elmer Murray and Heinie Groh. All fourteen Giant hits were singles. Fred Merkle scored twice and Groh drove in a pair of runs.

Christy Mathewson allowed 14 hits and 6 runs, 5 earned, in 8 innings of pitching duty. He struck out 5 and walked one before Hooks Wiltse pitched the ninth.

The Cubs put a 4-spot on the scoreboard in the first inning, with Saier’s triple plating Elmer Mitchell and Heinie Zimmerman before Saier lofted a 388-foot shot to right field.

Saier’s one-out triple sparked a two-run inning in the top of the sixth; he scored when Schulte shot a single through the right side. Al Bridwell added the remaining run with a single up the middle.

New York left 5 men on base after as many hits through the first three innings, eventually getting 2 runs across the plate in the sixth on four straight singles before Groh was cut down at third to end the inning.

Merkle added the third run in the eighth inning, reaching on a force play before taking third on a Murray single and scoring on a hit form Groh. The Giants added two hits in the ninth put could not bring the tying run to the plate.

The Cubs will travel to Philadelphia for the World Series opener on Wednesday at 2 o’clock east coast time, but will return to Comiskey Park for games three through five beginning on Saturday.