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WALLY PIPP |
THE LAST ONE FOR 86 YEARS
Carl Mays loses the pitcher's duel in NY
June 26, 1918 ...
Babe Ruth saved the Red Sox from a whitewash this afternoon at the Polo Grounds. As it was, they were beaten 3 to 1, with the pitching of Slim Love being an enigma to the Red Sox. For eight innings the Sox only got two hits.
When the Sox went to bat for the last time in the ninth inning, Ruth was up. After letting a couple of wide ones pass, he landed on one and banged it toward his favorite spot in the right-field stands. It looked like a sure home run, but lost headway just as it reached the grandstand wall, and struck 6
inches below the top of the rail. The ball bounded away, and Ruth got two bases on the clout. It was the first time that Ruth failed to hit for a home run in a game at the Polo Grounds this season. Stuffy McInnis was equal to the occasion and hammered a single to right, on which Ruth came home. Heinie Wagner hit the
ball on a line to Del Pratt, who made a good catch and shot the ball Wally Pipp in time to double, Stuffy McInnis off first. George Whiteman ended the game with a fly ball to Armando Marsans in center field.
So far as Carl's Mays is concerned, no fault could be found with his pitching. After a slight flurry in the second and third innings, he was steady as a clock. Mays was well supported by the Sox in the field, with Fred Thomas making a fine stop Roger Peckinpaugh's smash
grounder in the eighth inning. Thomas' hand was injured on the play, and he retired in favor of Heinie Wagner.
Not only did Love pitch unhittable ball, but he practically won his own game with his bat. He hit a double, bringing in two runs, in the second inning. Wally Pipp opened that inning with a single and Ping Bodie sacrificed him to second base. Marsans singled
and Pipp tried to score, but was caught between third and home in a rundown. Marsans reached third base during the play and walked home when Love doubled to left allowing both Marsans and Hannah scored to make the game 2 to 0.
Frank Baker's single, Carl Mays' wide throw, in an attempt to catch Baker napping, and Wally Pipp's single, gave the Yankees their final run in the third inning.
When Slim Love drove in two runs in the second inning, he stopped Carl Mays' runless streak at 35 consecutive scoreless innings. |
