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EDDIE STANKY |
BOSTON BRAVES
...
SPAHN & SAIN and PRAY FOR RAIN ...
Eddie Stanky
leads the Tribe
to a come-from-behind win
September 19, 1948 ... The
Braves did it the hard way by winning a baseball game without Johnny
Sain nor Warren Spahn pitching. However it took the combined efforts
of Red Barrett and Clyde Shoun to pin down the Cincinnati Reds at the
Wigwam and give the Tribe a six-game advantage over the second-place
Dodgers and Cardinals. The Braves came from behind to pin a 4 to 2
defeat on the Reds, in a game that saw Eddie Stanky come off the bench to deliver a base hit
that helped tied the score in the seventh inning. In doing so the Braves won
their sixth straight game and twelfth in their last thirteen outings.
Barrett, making his first start in a week, pitched a good game by granting
six hits in seven innings, before going out for a pinch-hitter, and walked only
one man. Shoun faced only two batters in two innings and got the win. It was his
fifth of the year without a defeat and his fifth in a row over the Reds over the
last two years. Ken Raffensberger pitched a good game for Cincinnati up until
the time he was removed for the veteran right-hander, Harry Gumbert.
The Reds jumped into the lead against Barrett in the fourth inning when they
scored two runs. Bob Elliott broke through on Raffensberger in the sixth inning,
when he hit his 21st home run of the year over the left-field fence, cutting the
Cincinnati lead to one run. They tied up the score in the seventh after two were
out. Raffensberger passed Sibbi Sisti on five pitches and manager Billy
Southworth called on Stanky to pinch-hit. It was his first game since July 8th.
Stanky watched two inside pitches and then sent a ground ball through third
and short to send Sisti the second base. Tommy Holmes next stroked a left-field
single through the hole at short to score Sibbi, who just beat the throw home to
tie the score.
In the eighth-inning they finally got to the tiring Reds pitcher. Mike
McCormick started with a single to left and Elliott sacrificed him along. Frank
McCormick hit a grounder that bounced off Grady Hatton's chest into foul
territory near the third-base for a base hit, as Mike moved over to third. After
an unsuccessful suicide squeeze attempt, Clint Conaster flied out to Johnny
Wyrostek in center to score Mike with what proved to be the winning run. Earl
Torgeson, running for Frank, scored the Braves fourth run, when Phil Masi
doubled to left. An infield hit by Sisti kept the rally alive, but Virgil
Stallcup made a nice catch of a line drive to prevent any further scoring.
Red Barrett passed Wyrostek in the fourth inning for his first base on balls
granted in his last 36 2/3 innings pitched. Stanky gave full credit to the
troupe of youngsters, known as the "Stanky All-Stars" who came to the park every
day to help him get in shape by pitching and catching flyballs. |
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