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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM April 16, 1912 ... After knocking starter Harry Krause out of the box in the first inning, and pounding Dave Danforth afterward, the Red Sox gave the Athletics their first defeat of the season today by a 9 to 2 score. Joe Wood, who pitched for the Sox, was knocked around hard and often, but he kept his hits well scattered and helped himself by striking out 11 batters and making two fine catches. Fine fielding by Larry Gardner changed the complexion of the game. The first great play, was a great catch off Danny Murphy in the very first inning. With one man out, one run in and two on base, Murphy swung at a fastball and rapped it on a line just over Gardner's head. Up went his glove like a flash and the ball was caught getting Frank Baker doubled off the bag. Had it got away, chances are that Wood would have been relieved in the very first inning. Starting in the second inning, Wood settled down and the champions found it hard to get any hits off him at all, when they needed one. With the score 7 to 1 against them, Philly began taking desperate chances in trying to score. Two out of three times they were caught. One time was on a pretty throw by Harry Hooper in the fourth, catching Stuffy McInnis who tried to run from first the third, on Jack Barry's hit to right. The first inning was the most productive one for the Red Sox. Harry Hooper started out with a single and stole second on catcher Jack Lapp. Steve Yerkes flied out to Rube Oldring and Tris Speaker waited for a base on balls. Stahl also flew out to Oldring, but then Larry Gardner rifled one to right to score Hooper. Duffy Lewis knocked one the left field that Baker could not handle, and that brought Speaker home. Heinie Wagner made the big noise when he lifted a long, long drive way out to the scoreboard in right that scored Larry Gardner and Duffy Lewis, giving the Red Sox a quick 4 to 0 lead. Philly got one back in their half of the first, and the Red Sox added three more in the second. Dave Danforth the been brought into the game to pitch for Philadelphia and Joe Wood greeted him with a Texas leaguer into right field. Hooper advanced him with a single to center, but Wood was thrown out at the plate, when Yerkes hit one down to Baker at third. Speaker came up next and then waited and drew a base on balls. Jake Stahl came up and drove one into left that scored Hooper. Gardner next drove one out to deep center which sent Yerkes and Speaker all the way around. On the play Stahl was held at second. Duffy Lewis followed and drove the ball back to pitcher Danforth. It landed short on a piece of dry ground and bounded up caroming off Umpire O'Loughlin's back. Eddie Collins, the secondbaseman, was so surprised that he couldn't field the ball and Stahl raced home with the seventh run. The Athletics made a great start in the second when McInnis drove one into right. Then Gardner made another sensational stop, catching Jack Barry's line drive and nailing McInnis off first. Philadelphia's last run came in the fourth inning. Baker paved the way with a double to right and after Murphy had flown out, McInnis pushed one by Wagner that scored Baker. Barry came up and lined a grounder into right field, that Hooper grabbed and threw out McInnis at third-base. That made the score 7 to 2 in favor of the Red Sox. Red Sox ran their total to nine by grabbing a couple in the fifth inning after two were out. Nunamaker doubled to left and was brought home by Wood, who knocked out his second double of the game. After Hooper drew a pass, Yerkes connected with a hit that scored Wood, making it 9 to 2. The Athletics could not straighten out any of Joe Wood's curves with any effect, although they grabbed two hits off him in the fifth and sixth innings, Wood tightened up and struck out batters when he needed to. Danforth also did some good pitching in the last four innings for Philly. Among the oddities of the game was the fact that Stahl only had two putouts at first. |
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