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JOE CONNOLLY |
THE 1914 "MIRACLE" BRAVES
Bill James & Joe Connolly lead the Braves
in beating the first place Pirates
May 18, 1914 ... The Braves trotted their way home in a splendid victory over the fast falling Pittsburgh Pirates today, by a score of 4 to 1. The way the Braves went into their practice
work showed that they were in no way discouraged over the series loss in Cincinnati, and they were peppering the ball right from the start.
The Pirates seem to be demoralized, and the Braves were not slow in seeing this. And toward the finish of today's game, when a few blows were needed to settle the issue, they delivered in great fashion. Bill James was on the mound and did well on his part. Whenever the Pirates got going and
landed a man on base, he tightened up and shut off every prospect of the rally.
When Pittsburgh scored first in the seventh inning, James never wavered and kept on putting the ball over the plate, realizing that he had eight men behind him. In this inning Max Carey bunted down the first base line and beat Butch Schmidt's toss to James, who was covering first base. Mike
Mowery then got things going for the Pirates by doubling to center field and scored Carey, giving the Pirates a 1 to 0 lead.
The run looked good to Pittsburgh, as starter Babe Adams was pitching his usual clever game. However James thought he would get things going himself in the eighth, when he beat out a little bunt roller, and then went to second on Johnny Evers base hit. Rabbit Maranville hit a ground ball
that advanced both runners, but he was out at first. Joe Connolly came to the plate and scored both his teammates on a timely single to right, giving Boston a 2 to 1 lead.
After Adams was taken out for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the eighth, George McQuillan came in to pitch the ninth. Schmidt singled and McQuillan walked Jack Martin. Gowdy sacrificed both men up a base and then Honus Wagner fumbled Larry Gilbert's ground ball to short, that sent Schmidt
home. James followed and sent a long sacrifice fly that scored Martin from third, making it 4 to 1.
In the two games against the Braves this year, the Pirates have scored only two runs. The team is slipping fast as they have not won a game in nine days. |
