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WARREN SPAHN
& VERN BICKFORD |
BOSTON BRAVES
...
SPAHN & SAIN and PRAY FOR RAIN ...
Vern Bickford pitches a good one in Brooklyn
October 1, 1948 ... The
Braves beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 3 to 1 at Ebbets Field, as Vern
Bickford pitched the Braves to a seven hit victory and gave them a 14
to 9 edge over Brooklyn in their season series.
Marv Rickert arrived just in time for the game to take the place of Jeff
Heath. He had only one chance in the field which was a routine fly ball and
failed to hit the ball out of the infield. He knocked in one run however, as
Ralph Branca hit him with a pitch to force in Alvin Dark with the Braves second
run of the game.
It was an unusual ballgame as that in only one of the first eight innings,
did the Braves get a single runner on base. But they did win the game in the
fourth inning. Tommy Holmes, Dark and Earl Torgeson all singled. Bob Elliott
then walked to bring in one run and Rickert brought in the other one. Then with
the bases loaded and nobody out, Branca retired the side.
Relief pitcher Hank Behrman relieved Branca in the eighth and gave up a run
in the ninth on a walk to Elliott, a ground ball out to advance him, and Clint
Conaster's single to left.
Bickford shutout the Dodgers for eight innings, giving up a walk and a single
in the first, and singles to Gil Hodges and Branca in the second. Then he
retired 13 men in a row before Gene Hermanski opened up the seventh with a
double to right. He struck out Campanella but filled the bases, with one down,
on successive walks to Pete Reiser and George Shuba. Vern went to three and two
on pinch-hitter Bruce Edwards before he grounded out into a doubleplay. Bickford
went into the ninth with a four hit shutout, but lost it when Duke Snyder
doubled and scored on Hermanski's single. Campanella singled after that, but
Bickford retired the next three men for his 11th victory of the year. |
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