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CLINT CONASTER |
BOSTON BRAVES
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SPAHN & SAIN and PRAY FOR RAIN ...
Clint
Conaster's HR wins
a must game for the Braves
August 22, 1948 ... The
Brooklyn Dodgers stole eight bases, five in one inning, but the
Braves won the game. They boosted their National League lead to two
full games over both the Dodgers and the Cardinals, who lost the
Pittsburgh. Bill Voiselle was the victim of the first seven thefts,
due to his own lackadaisical pitching and catcher Bill Salkeld's poor throwing.
Over the six innings he worked, Voiselle only allowed four hits, and if not for
the crazy baserunning, may have staggered through the rest of the game. But the
Dodgers got one run in the second when Pee Wee Reese led off with a single to
left. Voiselle tried to hold him on, but threw the ball into the dirt and Reese
moved on the second. Then Voiselle tried to pick Reese off second and his throw
rolled into centerfield, allowing Pee Wee to go to third. He scored on a single
by Gil Hodges and the Dodgers were up 1 to 0.
The Braves went ahead 2 to 1 in the fourth. Earl Torgeson walked and scored
on Bob Elliott's triple. Jeff Heath then beat out a grounder to Jackie Robinson,
but nobody was covering first, so Elliott scored.
With one out in the fifth inning, Marv Rackley started the Dodgers into a
stretch that ended with five stolen bases. He singled and stole second. Robinson
brought him home with a single to left and then Gene Hermanski singled to right
with Jackie scooting over to third. Hermanski then stole second and Reese was
given an intentional walk to load the bases. It was at this point that Robinson
broke for the plate. Voiselle fired the ball high to Salkeld, but the catcher
shoved his right foot across the plate as Robinsons sliding right foot was
coming across. Umpire Jocko Conlon ruled Jackie safe, and while Salkeld took
exception, Hermanski and Reese also stole second and third. It was Robinsons
fourth steal of home this year.
A home run by Clint Conaster, with one on in the eighth inning, gave the
Tribe a 4 to 3 lead. Jeff Heath got his third hit of the day in the eighth
inning. He lined one back to the pitcher to get on base. Then with two out and
the count three and one, Conaster smashed his home run to put the Braves out in
front for good. It looked for a moment as though Duke Snider had caught the
ball, as he leaped tie against the wall, but it fell among the spectators just
out of his grasp. Then Warren Spahn came in and got the save.
Spahn's pitching performance, coming after winning his game yesterday, was
equally as good today. Pete Reiser had singled off Red Barrett with two out in
the eighth and stole second when Southworth called in Spahn to take over. Bruce
Edwards smashed a line drive to center, but Tommy Holmes caught up with it and
took it over his shoulder running away. In the ninth-inning Spahn got two
strikeouts, one on Robinson and the other on Snider to win the game.
Bob Elliott will have x-rays taken tomorrow, as a ball hit him right on his
elbow during a relay throw after he hit his triple. |
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