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JIM RUSSELL TAGGED OUT AT HOME |
BOSTON BRAVES
...
SPAHN & SAIN and
PRAY FOR RAIN ...
The Braves get caught
sleeping in Philly
April 20, 1948
... The Boston Braves dropped a 3 to 1
decision to the Philadelphia Phillies in the local National League
inaugural, and a couple of Cincinnati Reds castoffs named Eddie
Miller and Bert Hass provided the winning punch. In addition to this,
Dutch Leonard who couldn't find a home in the American League last
season, held the Braves to six singles and should have scored a
shutout. Johnny Sain, ace right-hander of the Braves, was the
victim of the wallop furnished by the Phillies for the first time this season,
by the Haas-Miller combination. Haas scored the first and third Philadelphia
runs, as he knocked out four consecutive singles. Miller's bat furnished the
winning run that was a line drive homer off the railing of the upper stands.
A promising first inning was destroyed as Bob Elliott failed to run to first
on a dropped third strike. Eddie Stanky launched his Boston career with a base
hit. It was on a pop fly that Harry Walker allowed to fall safely in short
center field, setting up the only Braves score. A single to right by Jim Russell
put Stanky on third. Earl Torgeson then lofted a high foul ball near the fence
in short left field and Haas raced back and made a nice catch. But then Stanky
failed to spring home and Haas fired the ball blindly and it went into the
Boston dugout, allowing Stanky to score and Russell to get the third. Bob
Elliott came up next and fanned on a great knuckleball, that was so baffling
that it escaped catcher Andy Seminick and rolled halfway to the stands. Russell
broke for home and was erased on a perfect throw by Seminick to Leonard at the
plate. But instead of running the first base, Elliott stayed at home trying to
direct Russell on his slide. The Phillies weren't exactly wide-awake either, as
they were strolling off the field without tagging Elliott, or throwing to first
for the put out. But some alert member on the Phillies bench finally got
Leonard's attention and he fired the ball over to Haas, who raced over to the
first-base bag and had plenty of time to tag it and double up Elliott.
After that inning, Leonard in the Phillies got energized and breezed through
the rest of the game, never in danger of being scored upon a second time. |
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