![](sox-05-15-12.jpg) |
JOE WOOD |
FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM
Joe Wood
out pitches Pelty as the Sox
make in four straight with a ninth inning walk-off
May 15, 1912
...
The Red Sox made it four straight from the St. Louis Browns by winning
today 2 to 1 at Fenway Park. It was a game of light hitting as Joe Wood
and Barney Pelty were at their best. The finish to the game was as
impressive as any seen at the new ballpark.
The teams played neck and neck for eight innings, with one run scored for
each team. Then in the ninth-inning, the Speed Boys went after the one run
necessary to win the game and they succeeded. Duffy Lewis and Larry Gardner had
gone out on long fly balls to the outfield, when Hugh Bradley came up and banged
the ball up against the left-field wall. It looked for a few seconds like he
might clear the fence again, but it hit high on the wall for a double. Finally
Heinie Wagner smashed the ball over the head of the left fielder, against the
incline, and Bradley came across with the walkoff winning run. It was a great
finish to a closely contested game, which was won at the very end to the delight
of the crowd.
The Red Sox scored one run in the first inning on Harry Hooper's base hit,
his stolen base and Tris Speaker's double. The Browns scored their run in the
sixth on a single by Ed Hallinan, a pass, and then Jimmy Austin's base hit to
tie up the game at 1 to 1, where it stayed until the bottom of the ninth-inning.
Wood pitched a masterly game and also turned in a fine performance fielding
his position, making five putouts and five assists. The only error of the game
was made by Wood himself, and it was wholly excusable. He muffed a throw from
Wagner in the sixth, that if he caught, would've meant a shutout. With a man on
first, Jim Stephens hit a fast grounder to Hugh Bradley at first, who threw it
over to Wagner at second for the force out and Wagner threw it back to Wood, who
was covering first base in trying to make the double-play. But Joe muffed the
ball and the runner at second later scored on a base hit.
Wood was always on the mark, passing only one man, while Pelty allowed four
men a free pass to first. The Browns put up a great game in the field and made
no errors and fought to the last ditch, while the Red Sox played confident of
the final result behind the pitching of their ace. |