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THE BABE RUNS WILD ... May 3, 1919 ... Babe Ruth pitched his first game of the season for the Red Sox, and Yankees who had won the first two games of the series, were beaten 3 to 2 before nearly 16,000 fans. The big crowd was glad to see the Babe back on the mound and he gave them something to cheer about the first time he came to bat, by walloping a double past third baseman Frank Baker and sending in a run. A few minutes later he would cross the plate himself. Pitcher Bob Shawkey would not give him a chance to hit again in the eighth-inning when, with a runner on third, he elected to intentionally pass him. Ruth was not exactly at his best on the mound, but he was good enough to get out of a bad hole in the ninth-inning. The Yankees had the tying and winning runs on base, with nobody out. He had a great defense behind him, and a baserunner was thrown out at the plate, that saved him. Another time his defense saved him, was in the third inning when Stuffy McInnis threw Sammy Vick out at the plate and smothered what looked like a dangerous rally by New York. He held the hard-hitting Yankees to seven hits, no two of which came in the same inning, except in the third. On offense, the Red Sox worked the sacrifice game cleverly and effectively, as a record of six sacrifice hits and a sacrifice fly shows. Shawkey, who was on the mound for the Yankees, pitched a good game, allowing only six hits, and one of those would not have been a base hit except that the batted ball hit the baserunner. The Babe's double was the most damaging hit scored against him and is really what beat him. The Yankees started in the first inning, when Roger Peckinpaugh drew a base on balls and went to second on Wally Pipp's ground ball out. He scored the first Yankee run on Bakers single to center. The Red Sox took the lead in the fourth inning when Amos Strunk was passed. He scored on Ruth's double, which shot between Baker and the third-base bag like a shot of lightning. McInnis moved Ruth over to third with a sacrifice and Ossie Vitt brought him home with a fly ball to centerfield. The Red Sox made it 3 to 1 in the eighth-inning. Jack Barry lined one to left and it was dropped by Duffy Lewis after a long run, going for a double. Strunk sacrificed them over to third and Shawkey decided to walk the Babe. It backfired because McInnis singled to center to score Barry. This lead of two runs was threatened by the Yankees in the ninth. Lewis worked Ruth for a pass and Ping Bodie singled to right, moving Duffy over to third. Chick Fewster came in to run for Bodie and Muddy Ruel singled to center, scoring Lewis. Shawkey sacrificed the tying run to third and the winning run to second, but Vick hit one down to Everett Scott and Fewster was cut down at the plate. In an attempt to get the winning run to second, Vick attempted to steal, but was thrown out on a nice play by catcher Wally Schang to end the game. The most spectacular fielding play of the day was turned in by Peckinpaugh, who speared a liner from Scott as it was passing to his left. He jumped at the ball and got it in his glove, juggled it and finally held it. The weather was almost perfect and the attendance was large, the play was fast, and result of the game was quite satisfactory. It came close to being a perfect day. |
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