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THE SUMMER OF .406 AND "THE STREAK" ... April 16, 1941 ... The Red Sox settled down to business on the second day of the season by winning an extra inning marathon, 8 to 7, in 12 innings. Once again it was Cramer who was the thorn in the side of his old team. He apparently had the hero's role also knocked when he unloaded a bases-loaded triple into the right-center field alley in the eighth-inning, lifting his team from a 4 to 3 deficit into a 6 to 4 lead, wrecking Charlie Wagner's bid to go the full distance. Walker was pitching against Walt Masterson for Washington and each walked seven men in their nearly equal terms of work. Masterson allowed the first Red Sox score on Cronin's home run in the second inning. The Nationals tied it up in the third on a pair of walks and a single by Buddy Lewis. Lewis then pumped a home run into the bullpen to give his team a brief 2 to 1 lead in the top of the fifth inning. In the same inning, Cronin came up with his first defense of gem, when he relayed a throw from Fox to nail Travis trying to score from first base on Buddy Myers' double. In the home half of the fifth inning, after two men were out, a Jimmie Foxx single, Cronin's double and a single by Bobby Doerr but the Sox ahead. They made it 4 to 2 in the sixth on a scratch hit by Pytlak, Wagner's sacrifice and the first of three base hits by Pete Fox. Washington got one back in the seventh on a base hit and a triple by Travis into the right-field corner. It looked like the Nationals would be a winner when the eighth-inning was finished, because Jim Tabor allowed Rex Ferrell to reach first on an infield hit, with a low throw to first. Cronin contributed his second game saving fielding gem when he took Ben Chapman's roller behind Tabor at third and threw him out while holding the runner. The Nationals made it 7 to 4, when they added a run off Tex Hughson in the top of the ninth on a single to center that Dom bobbled and another single by Rick Ferrell. So the Sox were trailing in the ninth-inning for the second straight day. Alex Carrasquel was doing the pitching for Washington and apparently successful. However he became too cagey over his prosperity and walked Joe Cronin, whose previous contributions to the Sox cause during the game had included his second home run in his many days, a double, a single, and a couple of game saving plays in the field. Following the apparently innocent walk to Cronin, Bobby Doerr and Jim Tabor successfully deposited pitches into the left-field net to tie up the game. Cecil Travis came up with a fine stop at shortstop to throw out pinch-hitter Sammy Hale for the third out after Frankie Pytlak had made his way over to third-base on a walk, and steal and a wild throw by the catcher, Al Evans. Three innings later, Pete Fox proved to be the hero in the climactic 12th inning ending. Dom DiMaggio started it off by getting hit with a pitch ball to start the inning. Then Lou Finney laid down a perfect bunt down the third-base line, that moved Dom over to second base. He came across the plate gleefully a few seconds later when Fox rifled a vicious single over the head of Travis when after one effort to pick up the ball, Doc Cramer realized that the game was lost. |
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