THE 1914 "MIRACLE" BRAVES
A great Braves' comeback given right back

May 11, 1914 ... The final installation of gloom, that has enveloped the Braves since this disastrous series started, was momentarily brightened in the sixth inning today. Butch Schmidt smashed one of Art Fromme's pitches for a home run, driving in two astonished and delighted teammates across the plate ahead of him. Not only did his homer revive the hopes of his team, but it tied the score and aroused visions of a Boston victory.

The prospects were short-lived however, for the Giants came back in their half of the inning, and scored four more runs to make up for the ones the Braves took from them. They then raced to the conclusion with eight total runs, two more than they needed to beat the Braves. Although manager Stallings' tribe struggled desperately and coaxed across two more runs before it ended, they could not overcome the Giants lead.

The pitching of Hub Perdue was welcome to the Giant hitters, who slammed the ball all over the ballpark. George Burns' double and Art Fletcher's single gave them one in the first inning. Larry Doyle's pass followed by Fred Merkle's homer into the left-field seats gave them three more in the third. Singles by Merkle, Fred Snodgrass, Milt Stock, Chief Meyers, Fromme and Fletcher yielded the four runs in the sixth inning. At that point Stallings reached the conclusion that Perdue had had enough. He put Bill James on the slab for the last two innings and he held the Giants to trips back to their bench.

The tying of the score in the sixth inning was a notable performance. Joe Connolly slammed a vicious liner to right field to start it off. Evers worked Fromme to get a base on balls. Jim Murray cracked one out to right and Connolly galloped home with the first run. Enter Mister Schmidt, a large quiet man, who bats from the left side of the plate. He hit several balls with forceful intensity that went foul. Finally he sailed one, with every ounce of the strength, and it shot on a low line between center and right. Bob Bescher and Snodgrass tried to cut it off, but it's bounced away from them all the way to the gate, and underneath it.

Evers and Murray pranced home in advance of Schmidt, and although Charlie Deal ended the inning with an out at first, the Braves celebrated on the bench. This gave way to despair tho, as the Giants made six singles in a row to steal their lead back. Stallings tried desperately to regain the advantage. He put in every pinch-hitter he had on the team, but all to no avail.

Connolly's double and Tommy Griffith's single yielded one more run in the seventh. Schmidt's single, Fromme's wild throw and Otto Hess' base hit in the eighth-inning, brought in another. But the Braves fell short and were on the losing end of an 8 to 6 score.

But not for some sensational fielding, the loss would have been more prolific. Connolly made a great left-handed catch on Doyle's apparent home run in the first inning. He made a long run towards center and then doubled Fletcher off first, breaking up a promising rally.