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“DIARY OF A WINNER”
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FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM June 6, 1912 ... Tiger’s pitcher George Mullin was hit continuously today, with the Red Sox getting one or more safeties in every inning up to the eighth and winning 5-2. It wasn’t easy and the Sox had to scrap every inch of the way. Baseball luck had a good deal to do with their victory. The Red Sox jumped out to a lead and had to fight for every inch because Buck O’Brien was unsteady and fell behind many many hitters. It was the outfield who saved him. At least six runs were averted because of remarkable catches by Tris Speaker and Harry Hooper. The Boston outfield accepted no fewer than 11 chances with Speaker making seven catches and covering an immense amount of territory. In the third with two on, Speaker nailed a low line drive off the bat of Ty Cobb and turned it into a double play. With two men on in the next inning and two outs, Hooper made a remarkable running catch close to line off Oscar Stanage. With one out in the fifth inning, Cobb hit the ball hard and it looked like a home run, but Hooper, playing deep, went with the ball and made another outstanding catch against the fence. The Red Sox were continually getting out of small holes, while the Tigers were fighting like mad to get a winning break and by getting to O'Brien. However Buck went through the game in determined fashion although in trouble most of the time, having poor control of his fastball and staying high in the strike zone. Bill Carrigan caught a great game and got into clean hits. Not a Tiger took a chance and stealing second. The fielding on both sides was generally brilliant. Hooper, Speaker, Duffy Lewis, Larry Gardner and Bill Carrigan each had a pair of hits, and O’Brien knocked out a triple. Hooper opened the game with a scratch single. After Steve Yerkes drew a pass, Speaker singled to fill the bases and then Lewis drove in two runs with another hit. Gardner hit one to Harry Moran who forced Lewis at second, but on the play Speaker scored, putting the Red Sox out in front with an early 3 to 0 lead. In the third inning Stanage and Mullin both walked and Donie Bush attempted to sacrifice them along, but beat out the hit, filling the bases. Davy Jones then lifted a ball out to Lewis in left and Stanage scored on the sacrifice fly, making it 3 to 1. The Red Sox got that run back in the fourth. With one out, Carrigan singled, O'Brien reached on Jim Delehanty's error and Hooper singled in Carrigan. The threat ended when Yerkes hit one to Baldy Louden who touched third and shot the ball across to first base for a doubleplay. In the Tigers half of the fourth inning, O'Brien got in trouble by walking Delehanty and not being able to find the plate on four straight pitches. Louden singled, and then Hooper made a sensational catch of Stanage's fly ball near the foul line to save it. Then in the fifth, with one out, Donie Bush bunted for a base hit and Cobb drove onto the right-field fence that Hooper made a jumping catch of, to save O'Brien again. In the sixth inning Sam Crawford hit one to the centerfield fence that went for three bases. George Moriarty hit a long fly ball to Speaker, who held Crawford at third with a great throw to the plate, but then Louden hit a grounder down to Heinie Wagner who fumbled the ball, allowing Crawford to score. That made it 4 to 2 in favor of the Sox. The Red Sox got that run back the next inning. With two down Speaker singled and scored on a double by Lewis. In the eighth-inning O'Brien got out of another jam. Cobb hit a ground ball down to Wagner made a perfect throw to Bradley at first, but he dropped the ball. Crawford singled, moving Cobb to second, but O'Brien's quick throw to Wagner caught Ty off the bag. Moriarty struck out to end another threat. In the ninth-inning Mullin singled only to see Bush send the third fly ball of the inning to Speaker in center to end the game. Ty Cobb has become more of an idol to the fans in Detroit that he ever was. They cheer him all throughout the game especially when he walks to the plate. He hit two fearful smashes in the game, but lost out on both by the great fielding of Speaker and Hooper. |
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