Giants vs Reds
September 9
Reds 5, Giants 4
By all accounts, 39 year old Ryan Rush (19-9, 3.30). The career 350 game winner is finding that his high-80s fastball is becoming increasingly straighter and easier to hit. On the year, he has just 16 strikeouts in 270 innings this year. Yet, due to the great defense behind him - possibly the best infield of all time - and a sinker that continues to get batters to beat the ball into the ground if not make them miss entirely, Rush has still been somewhat effective.
It's ironic, then, that he'd be let down by his defense, and doubly ironic that the game-loser would come on a strikeout. Fighting with Reds 2nd starter Roman Loomis (21-4, 2.17) to a 4-4 tie in the 8th with runners on first and third. On a 3-2 count, the Reds tried the hit and run with backup C John Lamar (hitting an un-backup-catchery .343/3/30) to keep slow-footed 1B Bob Leonhart (.329, 4, 80) out of the double play. It didn't work... in the sense that it worked perfectly. Lamar swung and missed on a wicked sinker, C John Sundberg had trouble digging the ball out of the dirt, and the rushed throw to second ended up skipping into center field. This miscue scored RF Brad Box (.316, 19, 105) with the winning run.
Box was 3-4 in the game with 3 runs and 3 RBIs, including a first-inning homerun off of Rush.
Other Key Games
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Yankees 3, Browns 2
WP: Carl Parham (9-14) LP: Woody Harlow (6-17)
HR: Eric Luther (NYY) 7, Carter Keeton (NYY) 15
Indians 4, Athletics 3
WP: Alan Ford (2-2) LP: Al Monteith (19-9)
HR: Mario Vasquez (CLE) 1, Cal Clark (CLE) 4
White Sox 7, Senators 3
WP: Ted Carson (7-5) LP: Elliott Hadlock (3-4)
HR: Bob Wardlow (WAS) 12
Other Notes
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Brooklyn Dodgers CF David Macy (.321, 0, 43) suffered a career-ending skull fracture on the 8th after being hit by a pitch delivered by Cincinnati Reds starter Lyndon Key. Macy hit 3rd in the lineup for the up and coming Dodgers.
Code:
American League Standings
Team W L PCT GB
Chicago White Sox 86 52 0.623 -
New York Yankees 83 53 0.61 2
Philadelphia Athletics 75 60 0.556 9.5
Boston Red Sox 68 69 0.496 17.5
Detroit Tigers 66 72 0.478 20
Washington Senators 63 73 0.463 22
Cleveland Indians 55 83 0.399 31
St. Louis Browns 52 86 0.377 34
National League Standings
Team W L PCT GB
New York Giants 92 45 0.672 -
Cincinnati Reds 91 47 0.659 1.5
Philadelphia Phillies 77 59 0.566 14.5
Brooklyn Dodgers 61 75 0.449 30.5
St Louis Cardinals 61 76 0.445 31
Chicago Cubs 61 77 0.442 31.5
Pittsburgh Pirates 59 78 0.431 33
Boston Braves 46 91 0.336 46