 |
|
EARL TORGESON |
BOSTON BRAVES
...
SPAHN & SAIN and PRAY FOR RAIN ...
Earl Torgeson
strokes the game winner for the Tribe
August 5, 1948 ... The
Cincinnati Reds found themselves in a dilemma during the
eighth-inning as relief pitcher Ken Burkhart didn't know how to pitch
to Earl Torgeson. He asked his teammates and after a conference on
the mound, he delivered a fat fastball that Torgy drilled into
left-center for a triple, scoring Tommy Holmes and Alvin Dark for a 6
to 4 victory at Braves field. The hit ended the Braves four-game
losing streak and along with the relief pitching of Bobby Hogue, who blanked the
Reds over the final three innings, on one infield hit, the Braves enjoy a 4 1/2
lead atop the National League.
The Braves out slugged Cincinnati 10 to 4, but they left 10 runners on base.
For a change, the Braves took a 2 to 0 lead in the early stages of the game. In
the third inning Tommy Holmes' single, Dark's double and a single from Clint
Conaster, gave them the lead. But that was cut in half with one swing off the
bat of Danny Litwhiler, who poked his 12th homer over the left-field fence in
the fourth inning.
The Reds moved ahead in the sixth inning, scoring three runs on a double by
Frank Baumholtz, a walk and a triple from Johnny Wyrostek. It was tied up by the
Braves in the same inning on a pass to Conaster with one out. He took third on
Mike McCormick's single and scored when Phil Masi flied out. Singles by Bobby
Sturgeon and pinch-hitter Frank McCormick tied up the game at 4 to 4.
Burkhart had come into relief Ken Peterson in the seventh and retired the
first two Braves in the eighth with ease, when suddenly the Tribe hit him with a
one-two punch. Duplicating what they did in the fourth, Holmes again singled and
Dark doubled. Burkhart, instead of walking Torgeson intentionally with first
base open, was told by manager Johnny Neun to pitch to him. Torgy didn't
hesitate and stroked a streaming liner into left-center that won the game.
The win gave the Braves a five and five record on the current homestand. The
four straight losses, equaled the Braves record for the season. The Braves slump
since the All-Star game hasn't been very costly. They have split even in 20
games and yet haven't lost much ground in the standings. |
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg)
.jpg)