BOSTON BRAVES ...
SPAHN & SAIN and PRAY FOR RAIN ...
 WORLD SERIES, GAME #2
Bob Lemon sinks the Braves batters

October 7, 1948 ... The Indians squared up the series at Braves Field with a 4 to 1 victory before 39,633 disappointed spectators. It was the first Braves World Series loss in their history. They won yesterday and took four straight in the 1914 World Series against Philadelphia. But today they were throttled by Bob Lemon, who prevented the Braves from taking the second game of the series.

The Indians found Warren Spahn to be a pushover. He pitched three scoreless innings and then started slipping in the fourth, fading out of the picture by the fifth inning. Lou Boudreau was a one-man show. He scored the first Cleveland run and knocked in the game clincher. He picked off Earl Torgeson at second on the same type of play which almost got Phil Masi yesterday. That happened in the first inning when the Braves scored their only run, and breaking up what could of been a super rally.

Spahn pitched a perfect opening inning, taking only nine pitches to dispose of the first three hitters. In the bottom half, the Braves were the first to crack open the game when Al Dark came up and slapped a roller at Joe Gordon. Gordon fumbled it for an instant, but it was enough for the speedy Dark to beat his throw. The Braves took advantage and didn't hesitate to cash in. Earl Torgeson took a called strike and then lined a single to right, allowing Dark to get over to third. That seemed to shake up Lemon, who fired two balls to Bob Elliott. On the next pitch Bob slashed it vigorously over Boudreau's head for a clean single and Dark walked home with the first run of the game.

Up came Marv Rickert and Boudreau flashed the pickoff sign. The play that didn't work the day before, worked to perfection. Lemon bent way over, faking that he couldn't get the signal for the next pitch. During the deliberation, Boudreau crept up behind Torgy at second. Lemon wheeled around and fired the ball and Torgeson was a dead duck. He didn't even have a chance to slide back to the bag. Lemon then struck out Rickert and the Indians were out of trouble.

The Indians put a couple of runners on base in the second inning, but Spahn clung to his lead going into the third inning. Boudreau was the leadoff hitter for the Indians in the fourth. He looked at a ball and Spahn decided to throw him a change up on the next pitch. Boudreau pushed it into right field for a double and that brought up Gordon. He atoned for his miscue and pulled a single into left field. Boudreau was off with the crack of the bat and didn't stop as he turned third. There wasn't even a chance to nail him and Gordon took off for second, as Torgeson cut off the ball and the game was tied. Working carefully, Spahn eliminated Ken Keltner on a foul pop up, but Larry Doby, who had doubled off Spahn in the second inning, came through again as Spahn got himself in a three and one hole. On the next pitch Doby sent a line drive into right field that scored Gordon and put the Indians ahead. Spahn got out of trouble getting Eddie Robinson to fly out and Lemon to hit a soft hopper back to him.

The Indians provided their pitcher with a little extra space on which to work in the next inning when Dale Mitchell opened with a single to left. Allie Clark sacrificed him over to second and that brought up Boudreau. Spahn got in the hole, three and one, and then Lou drove the next serve back through the box into centerfield, scoring Mitchell with the third Cleveland run.

At this point Red Barrett came in to pitch and got out of the inning without any further trouble. He held the Indians scoreless over the next two innings, although a couple of errors in the seventh inning, put him in a messy situation that he was fortunate to get out of. Nelson Potter finished it up for the Braves and gave up an unearned run in the ninth on a fumble by Dark, two ground outs and a single by Bob Kennedy.

The Braves put the pressure on Lemon in the second inning, the fourth and the sixth inning, but he took care of the Boston Tribe in the clutch, baffling them with a sinker ball that was very effective.

A single by Bill Salkeld and a pass to Eddie Stanky, put the Braves in a scoring position during the second inning, but both Spahn and Holmes beat the ball into the ground for easy putouts. In the fourth, trailing 2 to 1, the Braves got a jump on the situation when Lemon walked Salkeld. Mike McCormick then bounced a high pitch through the hole into left field for a base hit. Stanky sacrificed them along and Spahn had the chance to get himself back into the game. But he slapped a roller straight back at Lemon, who faked Salkeld back to third and threw out his mound opponent. Now Holmes was up again and he had Lemon down three balls and one strike. Lemon throw him a sinker that Tommy was only to pop up into short left field and another situation was solved for the Indians. Another scoring chance was passed up in the sixth inning. With one out, Salkeld walked and Mike McCormick blooped a single to center. Lemon throw another sinker that Stanky could only beat into the ground down to Boudreau, who started an inning ending double play. The fans were still into the game in the Braves eighth. Still down only a run, Torgy started it off with a base hit. But then Elliott rolled into a doubleplay that wrecked the Braves chances once more.

The Braves committed three errors in the game and allowed the Indians to run them out of the park. They permitted a cheap fly ball to fall in for a hit and run and looked like a jittery sandlot baseball team rather than a club fighting for the world title.