STUFFY McINNIS

THE LAST ONE FOR 86 YEARS
The Sox start big in the Cleveland showdown

August 19, 1918 ...  When Sam Jones shutout the Indians 6 to 0 today, holding his former teammates to just two hits, the offered further proof that he has every qualification for membership in the quality pitcher classification. Sam was at his best and Cleveland could not touch him. The Sox are now four games in front and feel rather confident about winning the championship. Jones was a bit wild, walking five and finding it extremely difficult to get anywhere with Doc Johnston who walked three times, but only one Indian runner made it as far as second base.

The Indians used three pitchers with spitballer Stan Coveleskie working the first five innings and getting a severe beating in the third. Dave Shean, Stuffy McInnis, Amos Strunk, and Everett Scott hit the ball very hard and Harry Hooper had a big afternoon in right field, gathering eight fly balls in the sun.

Ruth was passed twice with men on, but in the seventh slammed a double to right, and in the eighth, he delivered his longest smash with the ball almost making it to the right-field wall, but coming up just enough short so Joe Wood could camp under it.

In the following inning, the Babe made one of the most spectacular plays of the game off Wood, who crashed the first ball pitched that went sailing a mile a minute just inside the left-field foul line. Over from left-center game Babe, running as fast as he could. He stuck out his glove hand and speared the ball just before he ran into the wall.

With one out in the third, Harry Hooper walked and went to third when Shean knocked a single by Joe Evans. Strunk lined one which nearly knocked over Turner and Hooper scored Shean, taking third. Stuffy McInnis again proved that he can knock strategy flat. Coveleskie deliberately passed Ruth to get to McInnis, who cracked a single to center, scoring Shean and Strunk, and putting Babe on third base. The Babe scored on Everett Scott's groundout.

Ruth's double, Stuffy's sacrifice, and singles by Scott and Sam Agnew provided two more runs in the seventh. The Sox have now won 10 out of 19 games from Cleveland.