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JOE WOOD &
JEFF TESREAU |
FENWAY'S FIRST TEAM
1912
WORLD SERIES, GAME #7
The Red Sox have a fight as
the Giants tie the Series
October 15, 1912
...
The
New York Giants following an aggressive game plan at the beginning and
when the first inning was over, they had the Red Sox on the defensive.
Joe Wood was buffaloed and dazed by all the base hits and found himself on
the losing end of an 11-4 score.
Jeff
Tesreau, who had lost to the Sox twice vs Joe Wood seemed like a sure
thing for the hometown boys to bring the championship home before sundown.
Until now all the games were very close and interesting with conservative
play. John McGraw decided to take chances in this one with Joe Wood
in the box. Orders were given to jump on the first pitch and take chances
on the bases.
Right
from the start the Red Sox made mistakes. Heinie Wagner fumbled the
very first ball hit to him by Josh Devore, which the Boston captain tried
to field with a bare hand. Larry Doyle followed with a single right
through the box by Wood. Then the Giants picked up on a preliminary swing
in Joe Wood’s delivery and used the knowledge to pull of a double steal.
In the hole, Wood tried to blow the ball by all subsequent batters and it
didn’t work this time. Fred Snodgrass drove a ball to right field that got
by Harry Hooper who dove trying to make a shoestring catch. Red Murray
laid down a bunt and Merkle doubled beyond the reach of Duffy Lewis. Six
hits were notched in the first inning and that was more than some teams
collected off Joe Wood for the entire season.
Six
large runs up gave Tesreau the encouragement to pull himself out of
several tough situations. Twelve Red Sox found themselves anchored on base
when innings had ended. The Red Sox had men on base in every inning and
were often in a position where a timely hit could have got them back in
the ball game. But, be it luck or Tesreau, the Red Sox found
themselves falling back in the hole they had created with no ladder.
Charley Hall replaced Wood for the last eight innings and the Giants owned
him. Jeff Tesreau was wild, but without a commanding lead, McGraw
would not have permitted him any rope. He walked five men, made two
wild pitches and hit one batter. It was the poorest pitched game
from a pure baseball standpoint. The Giants have now won two games at
Fenway Park and have looked better here than at home. In the last
two games they have taken chances on the bases. The Red Sox must now
buckle it up and show the same class they had the whole season. |
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