Week 20 (08/25/1930 - 08/31/1930)

Monday, August 25, 1930

There are a couple of light days coming up due to travel. It will take a couple of days to sort it out, but the Midwest teams in both leagues will be facing each other, while the eastern teams in both leagues will do likewise.

St. Louis (AL) 3 Detroit (H) 2

Detroit Hurler Tommy Bridges (0-1) made his first ML start today. He gave up a run in the first and in the second, but settled down after that, not allowing another run until the top of the seventh. Unfortunately for Bridges, Dick Coffman (10-16) kept the Tigers off the scoreboard until the seventh and the Browns won in a close one.

Philadelphia (AL) (H) 3 Washington 0

After a single game in Washington yesterday the two teams took a train to Philadelphia for games today and tomorrow. Lefty Grove (27-2) held the Nationals to three hits and center fielder Bing Miller drove in two runs with a double and a homerun to give Grove the run support he needed. Miller has 94 RBI's on the season, and he and Mickey Cochrane (99) are going to be joining the 100 RBI club shortly.

  

Tuesday, August 26, 1930

Washington 6 Philadelphia (AL) (H) 0

Bump Hadley (14-6) limited the A's to two hits and went all the way to give the Nationals one win in the three-game series. A late two-run double by Joe Cronin drove in two runs and gave Hadley a little cushion.

Chicago (NL) (H) 6 Pittsburgh 5 (10)

Lloyd Waner started off the game with a single that skipped past center fielder Hack Wilson, allowing Waner to circle the bases. The Cubs answered with three in the first and two in the third, but the Pirates slowly but surely worked their way back into, the game eventually going into extra innings. With two outs in the bottom of the tenth newly acquired George Kelly became an instant fan favorite with a game-winning homerun.

St. Louis (NL) 9 Cincinnati (H) 7

George Watkins homered twice (#25, #26) to lead the Cardinals to an early 6-0 lead, and Bill Hallahan appeared to be on the way to an easy win. Hallahan's old bugaboo is walks, and he gave up four of them in the seventh and the Reds scored five times to take a 7-6 lead. The Cardinals responded with a Jim Bottomley homerun and some poor Reds defense to claim the come-from-behind victory.

Wednesday, August 27, 1930

Jesse Petty

Note: The Cubs announced they had acquired Jesse Petty. Petty has last pitched for Pittsburgh on 06/14/1930 before being released.

Cleveland (H) 8 Chicago (AL) 4 (GM 1)

The two teams went back and forth in this one, with neither team able to take the lead and hold it. In the bottom of the eighth Bob Seeds hit a three-run pinch-hit homerun, and the Indians had what they needed to hold off the White Sox in game one of the doubleheader. Indians first baseman Lew Fonseca made an appearance for the first time in three months.

Cleveland (H) 5 Chicago (AL) 1 (GM 1)

Ed Morgan got the scoring started for the Indians in both games with a homerun, giving him 32 for the season. Dick Porter added a two-run homerun in the fifth, and then Bibb Falk added his own two run homerun in the eighth to blow it open for Cleveland. Milt Shoffner (5-4) got his ERA below 9.00 (8.86) with a strong pitching performance.

Detroit 4 St. Louis (AL) (H) 2

The Tigers scored two runs in the first off Lefty Stewart (21-6) and George Uhle (17-9) didn’t allow any Browns runs until the seventh and the Tigers held on to get the win. Back-to-back solo homeruns by Liz Funk and Charlie Gehringer in the ninth gave Uhle a little breathing room.

Pittsburgh 4 Chicago (NL) (H) 3

The Cubs scored twice in the first, but George Grantham hit a grand slam in the fourth to put the Pirates ahead and Erv Brame (9-12) kept the Cubs bats quiet for the rest of the day. Charlie Root (19-6) failed to become the first twenty-game winner in the NL because of one bad pitch.

Note: Paul Waner took a pitch off the ribs in the fourth inning to load the bases right before Grantham had his slam and was unable to continue in today's game.

St. Louis (NL) 7 Cincinnati (H) 5

Flint Rhem (8-4) pitched a complete game win for the Cardinals plus his two-run homerun in the second inning gave the Cardinals a 5-1 lead. Jim Bottomley added two RBI's with a double and a triple on the day.

Brooklyn 9 New York (NL) (H) 7 (10)

When third baseman Freddie Lindstrom hit his second homerun of the game in the eighth inning the Giants were sure they had secured a victory, but the Robins regained the lead when they scored three times in the ninth. The Giants tied the score in the bottom of the ninth, sending the game into extra's, where Jake Flowers hit a two-run pinch-hit single to give Brooklyn a lead they would not relinquish.

Boston (NL) 11 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 4

The Braves knew if they won this one they would climb past the Phillies into seventh place, but things looked bleak when they were losing 3-0 after the fifth. Then the Braves bats came alive, scoring five times in the sixth, and then adding on from there. Center fielder Earl Clark hit a three run homerun in the ninth to put the game out of reach for Socks Seibold (12-12)

Thursday, August 28, 1930

The Cardinals and the Cubs are starting a four-game series in Chicago, with the Cubs tied with the Robins for first and the Cardinals a half-game behind. Meanwhile, The Robins are visiting the Giants … this could be an exciting weekend.

Philadelphia (AL) 10 Boston (AL) (H) 0

George Earnshaw (16-9) made his fourth start in eight days and he overpowered the Red Sox, only allowing three hits on the day. Al Simmons and Jimmy Dykes each had three RBI's, both getting big hits when they were needed.

Cleveland (H) 16 Chicago (AL) 1

Wes Ferrell (19-10) threw a complete game and went 3-for-5 with two RBI's on the day to help his own cause. Earl Averill hit a three-run homerun (#20) and had four RBI's (89) on the day and light-hitting third baseman Jonah Goldman added a three-run triple. Coupled with the Red Sox loss, the Indians have finally climbed out of seventh place.

St. Louis (AL) (H) 6 Detroit 1

The Tigers sloppy defense allowed in two runs early and a Red Kress two-run homerun (#13, 104) late in the game gave George Blaeholder (8-6) a little breathing room.

New York (AL) 3 Washington (H) 2

The Nationals scored two early to take a quick 2-0 lead, but then Earle Combs stroked a two-out pinch-hit double in the eighth to tie the score. Sam Byrd followed that up with a single to score Combs and the Yankees had the lead. George Pipgras (16-9) got the win and Hank Johnson got a two-inning save.

Note: In the top of the first Harry Rice led off with a double, was bunted third, and then thrown out at home trying to score on a fly out. Rice said the magic word and was told to leave the game.

St. Louis (NL) 9 Chicago (NL) (H) 2

George Watkins hit a two-run homerun (#27) in the fourth to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead, but Pat Malone (19-7) just didn't have it today as the Cardinals added on with three in the eighth and then three more in the ninth, getting a win for Burleigh Grimes (16-7). Watkins added a two-run triple in the eighth, bringing his RBI total to 93 (in 321 plate appearances).

Note: In the real 1930 game it took the Cardinals twenty innings to win 8-7.

Brooklyn 12 New York (NL) (H) 0

For a game that was tied 0-0 after five, that's a lot of runs for the Robins. They started off with three in the sixth, and then Wally Gilbert hit a grand slam in the seventh to blow the game open. Dazzy Vance (16-7) only allowed four hits but went 2-for-4 with two doubles and RBI's himself.

Boston (NL) 9 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 3

Now that the Braves have climbed out of last place past the Phillies they don't want to go back and today was a good start. Boston put up four runs in the top of the third to take a 5-1 lead and Tom Zachary (6-13) held the Phillies offense to six hits. Wally Berger homered in the fourth (#30, 93).

Pittsburgh (H) 5 Cincinnati (2) (GM 1)

The Pirates started the day 3.5 games behind the Reds, but have five games in the next four days at home against the Reds to maybe make a move up the standings. The Reds lineup welcomed Bob Meusel (back after missing most of August) and Joe Stripp (back after being out of the starting lineup for the past week) to make their lineup whole. No big innings for the Pirates today, but they slowly built a 5-0 lead after five and Ray Kremer (13-17) took it from there and got the win and Glenn Spencer got the save.

Cincinnati 3 Pittsburgh (H) 2 (GM 2)

Benny Frey (13-5) hamstrung the Pirates today and the Reds recaptured their 3.5 game lead over the Pirates, at least for today. The Pirates had a chance to tie it in the ninth, but Gus Suhr was stranded at second by Lloyd Waner and Denny Sothern.

Friday, August 29, 1930

Cleveland (H) 9 Chicago (AL) 6

The White Sox committed three errors and allowed seven unearned runs, but still made it close with a late-game rally that fell just short. Clint Brown (12-10) got the win and went 2-for-3 on the day with two runs scored, and Earl Averill contributed a homerun (#21) and four RBI's (93).

Note: White Sox shortstop Bill Cissell disagreed with the umpire on a controversial pickoff attempt in the bottom of the first and was ejected from the game for having a potty mouth. In the seventh inning center fielder Averill and right fielder Dick Porter collided when converging on a fly ball and both were removed from play.

Detroit 10 St. Louis (AL) (H) 0

Earl Whitehill (9-13) pitched a gem today, shutting out the Browns in their home park. John Stone hit a three-run triple in the first to get the Tigers off to a quick start and ended up with four RBI's on the day.

St. Louis (NL) 12 Chicago (NL) (H) 0

Jesse Haines (15-3) limited the Cubs to two hits and went all the way for the shutout victory. With several key players out of the lineup, Guy Bush (6-10) took one for the team and went all the way for the Cubs despite giving up 22 hits. George Watkins hit a three-run homerun (#28, 97) in the third to get the Cardinals off to a good start, and Charlie Gelbert added a three-run double in the eighth to put it out of reach.

Note: Hack Wilson and Gabby Hartnett were out of the lineup for the Cubs, and the Cardinals were missing Frankie Frisch and Chick Hafey.

New York (NL) (H) 6 Brooklyn 0

The Giants actually had fewer hits than the Robins (6-8), but the New York hits resulted in runs and Freddie Fitzsimmons (17-6) induced three Robins double plays to end potential rallies. Shanty Hogan got the Giants off to an early lead with a two-run homerun in the second inning.

Boston (NL) 14 Philadelphia (NL) (H) 3

The Braves have had a rough year offensively but today they exploded for 22 hits and thirteen runs in a win over the Phillies. Ben Cantwell (7-9) got the win and went 2-for-5 for the day, but the hitting star for the Braves was George Sisler who went 4-for-4 with six RBI's on the day. Lance Richbourg batted leadoff and went 5-for-6 with four runs scored.

Note: Wally Berger took a pitch off the elbow in the ninth and was removed from the game as a precaution.

Saturday, August 30, 1930

Boston (AL) (H) 3 Philadelphia (AL) 2 (14)

The A's kept putting runners on-base (nine hits and ten walks) and getting them into scoring position (four sacrifice hits) but could never get the hit to put them ahead. The Red Sox conserved their hits (six) until Bill Regan doubled home Russ Scarritt in the bottom of the fourteenth for the win.

Chicago (AL) 6 Cleveland (H) 2

Red Faber (6-13) gave up a two-run homerun to Dick Porter in the first, but that was all Cleveland would get today. Willis Hudlin (3-23) couldn’t hold that slim lead and gave up a two-run triple to Willie Kamm in a four-run second, and the White Sox went on to win this one easily.

Detroit 6 St. Louis (AL) (H) 4

In the fourth inning, both defenses took turns mishandling a sacrifice bunt and allowed runs to score, symbolic of two teams who looked like neither wanted to win. Waite Hoyt (8-15) settled down after that and the Tigers finally went ahead and stayed ahead to claim the victory.

New York (AL) 6 Washington (H) 3

The Yankees scored five times in the third but didn’t do much else offensively, but it was enough for Red Ruffing (10-12) to get the win. Lou Gehrig hit two doubles, giving him 47 for the season.

Note: Ruffing complained of shoulder stiffness in the eighth and was removed from the game.

Chicago (NL) (H) 9 St. Louis (NL) 6

In a game of back and forth, Jim Bottomley hit a two-out three-run homerun in the top of the seventh to tie the score back up at 6-6, but the Cubs could not be held back today as Woody English drove in two runs with a triple in a three-run Cubs eighth inning to put the home team ahead to stay. George Watkins homered (#29, 99) in the second to get the Cardinals an early 2-0 lead.

New York (NL) (H) 6 Brooklyn 3

The Giants scored five times (three unearned) in the first and led the whole game, but the Robins scored twice in the ninth and had the bases loaded when Bill Walker came in to get the last out to preserve the win for Clarence Mitchell (7-4).

Philadelphia (NL) (H) 3 Boston(NL) 0

Phil Collins (11-9) allowed only three hits and went all the way in shutting out the Braves in the final game of the series. Fred Frankhouse (3-9) only gave up two earned runs, but couldn't do it all by himself.

Cincinnati 16 Pittsburgh (H) 10 (GM 1)

The Reds scored nine times in the first, with Left fielder Bob Meusel contributing two doubles in one inning as the Reds batted around. The Pirates didn’t give up, and clawed their way back into it, eventually getting to within 11-10 after the seventh. The Reds then scored five times in the ninth to blow the game wide open.

Pittsburgh (H) 3 Cincinnati 2 (GM 2)

Larry French (11-16) held off the Reds today and contributed two triples to the Pirates offense. However, the Pirates didn't win it until the bottom of the ninth when Paul Waner doubled and was singled home by George Grantham with the game winner.

Note: Leo Durocher was ejected for arguing a failed pickoff attempt in the seventh inning.

Sunday, August 31, 1930

Philadelphia (AL) 4 Boston (AL) (H) 3

The A's pushed across the first run of the game in the fourth and then Al Simmons hit a two run homerun in the seventh to give Bill Shores (9-7) a little breathing room. The Red Sox came back to get within one with two in the ninth, but Jack Quinn got the final out and picked up the save.

Smead Jolley

Chicago (AL) (H) 2 Detroit 1

Jim Moore (1-0) made his first start of the season and went all the way to defeat the Tigers. Tommy Bridges (0-2) gave up solo homeruns to John Kerr and Smead Jolley in the first, but that enough for the White Sox today.

Note: Jim Moore, the pitcher, is not to be confused with Jimmy Moore, the outfielder, who played for the White Sox at the beginning of the season.

St. Louis (AL) (H) 5 Cleveland 0

The Browns scored two in the first and then kept adding until Lefty Stewart (22-6) had a complete game shutout.

Note: Roxie Lawson has now made three starts for Cleveland and this was the second time he couldn't complete the first inning because of an injury.

Washington (H) 5 New York (AL) 3

Sam West hit a solo homerun in the fifth to break a scoreless tie and then in the eighth Joe Cronin hit a two-run double to give Bump Hadley (15-6) and the Nationals a 5-1 lead. The Yankees scored twice in the ninth and had the bases loaded with only one out, but couldn't do any more damage.

Brooklyn (H) 5 Philadelphia (NL) 4

After playing yesterday at home in Philadelphia the Phillies took a short train ride to play their Sunday game in Brooklyn. Chuck Klein hit a three-run homerun (#30, 133) in the third and it looked like a four-run lead would enough for the Phillies, but Babe Herman hit two homeruns (#31, #32, 114) to get the Robins close. In the ninth Jake Flowers came through for the second time this week with game-winning pinch-hit single to give the Robins the win.

St. Louis (NL) 8 Chicago (NL) (H) 7

The Cubs kept taking the lead, but the Cardinals kept coming back and with a three-run sixth and then a three-run eighth went ahead to stay for good. Jim Bottomley went 3-for-5 with three RBI's and double and a homerun and Taylor Douthit hit 3-for-5 from the leadoff spot and scored two runs. Hack Wilson hit two homeruns (#38, #39) and drove in three runs (141), but the Cubs just couldn't bunch their hits the way the Cardinals did.

Pittsburgh 6 Cincinnati (H) 5

Erv Brame (10-12) drove in the first three Pirates runs and held off the Reds late inning charge to pick up the win. Pie Traynor went 3-for-4, scored twice, and hit a double and a homerun to spark the Pirates offense.

Boston (NL) 3 New York (NL) (H) 2 (GM 1)

First baseman Johnny Neun hit a solo homerun in the top of the first, but the Giants answered back with two in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead. In the top of the fifth Socks Seibold (13-12) drove in the tying run with a double and then scored the lead run when he was doubled home by Lance Richbourg. That was it for the scoring, and the Braves took game one of the doubleheader.

Boston (NL) 4 New York (NL) (H) 3 (GM 2)

Backup catcher Bill Cronin drove in two runs on the day, including the eventual game-winner in the sixth, and the Braves swept the Giants in the Polo Grounds. Tom Zachary (7-13) got the win and Bob Smith picked up a two-inning save.