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NELSON POTTER |
BOSTON BRAVES
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SPAHN & SAIN and PRAY FOR RAIN ...
The Giants take advantage of the Braves
August 9, 1948
... No
game scheduled
August 10, 1948 ... Nelson
Potter might have considered himself lucky by getting picked up to
pitch for the Braves, but he would've never believed that bad luck
would haunt him, like it did against the Giants at Braves Field. The
Braves right-hander had a three run lead in the third inning, as his
teammates were hitting the pitching from the Giants all over the
park. But they were also leaving men on base and were demonstrating
some poor skills in the field. Al Dark, who had four hits for the
night and seven in his last eight times, started the third inning with a line
drive single to left off Sheldon Jones, the starting pitcher for the Giants.
Earl Torgeson and Bob Elliott duplicated that to load the bases with solid line
drives, that were hit so hard that the Braves runners could not advance. Jeff
Heath finally singled home both Dark and Torgy, with the throw from Willard
Marshall in right field, hopping over catcher Walker Cooper's head. Another
single by Mike McCormick scored Elliott and that was the night for Jones.
Potter coasted along beautifully from then on until the seventh inning. He
had fanned eight of the Giants and walked to the mound to start the inning that
should've ended with only two runs at best, scored off him, but he saw the
Giants go-ahead 4 to 3. Johnny Mize laid a bunt down the third-base line and
beat it out. Then Willard Marshall did the same thing and Bob Elliott couldn't
get the ball out of his glove. Walker Cooper next slammed the ball past Elliott
for a double that scored Mize, with Marshall stopping at third. Both runners
held when Bobby Thomson rolled another grounder down to Elliott. Lonnie Frey
topped a bounder down to Torgeson, who had no play at the plate on Marshall and
was forced to take the out at first. Johnny McCarthy came up to pinch-hit for
the pitcher and hit a fly ball out to Tommy Holmes in right, but Holmes
misjudged it and the ball fell safely just inside the line, allowing Cooper to
score the third run. Potter, upset by the pay, became unraveled and made wild
pitches to Bill Rigney and to Monte Kennedy, that allow the fourth go-ahead run
to score.
Sid Gordon and Johnny Mize singled to open the eighth and another mental
error stung the Braves. Marshall hit a ground ball to Connie Ryan, and instead
of faking Gordon back to third and throwing out Marshall, Ryan held the ball on
Gordon too long and Marshall was safe on first to load the bases. Walker Cooper
next topped a ball that struck him for an automatic out, but Bill Salkeld, not
knowing what had happened, picked up the ball and ran down Gordon. The play was
ruled dead and Gordon was back on third safely. Then Thomson lined a single to
left that scored two more Giants runs.
Now down 6 to 3, the Braves climbed all over Clint Hartung in the eighth, but
fell a run short of tying the game. With one out, Holmes doubled to center and
scored on Dark's single, moving to second on the throw. Torgy walloped a double
down the right-field line, but Elliott and Heath made outs to end the threat. |
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