COONEY OUTDUELS BELL IN BRAVES' WIN
Tiny Crowd Witnesses Blink-of-an-Eye Masterpiece
BOSTON, August 6 (AP) -- Johnny Cooney fired a one-hit shutout and scored the
game's only run as the Boston Braves slipped past the St. Louis Cardinals
1-0. A very small crowd, announced as 981 patrons, cheered the Braves on,
but the patrons had scarcely taken their seats when the game was over.
Official game time was declared as one hour and 28 minutes.
Cooney (9-2) held the Cardinals without a baserunner through three innings but
Jack Smith led off the fourth with a double to left-center field. It would
be the only St. Louis hit of the contest. Wattie Holm's bunt attempt was
caught on the fly by Cooney for the first out and Rogers Hornsby's grounder to
second became the second out of the inning, with Smith moving to third.
Cooney retired Sunny Jim Bottomley on a pop fly to short to end the
threat. It was the only time in the game that the Cardinals managed to get
a runner past first base.
St. Louis starter Hi Bell (9-7) was doing a pretty nice job of his own, but
Boston dented the scoreboard in the bottom of the third. Cooney got the
rally started with a one-out single to right-center. Frank Wilson then
laced a hit-and-run single to right field, chasing Cooney to third. Ernie
Padgett's line drive safety to left scored Cooney, with Wilson holding at
second. Bell then rose to the occasion, inducing a pop fly off the bat of
Casey Stengel and fanning Stuffy McInnnis to end the inning. The Braves
had been held to a single tally, but that turned out to be all Cooney would
need.
After Smith's fourth inning double, Cooney retired the next five Cardinals in
order before walking Mike Gonzalez with two outs in the fifth. Holm also
walked with two outs one inning later. But both runners were stranded at
first base.
In the eighth, Howard Freigau reached on Braves shorstop Bob Smith's throwing
error, but Bell erased him by hitting into a double play.
Boston threatened to expand its lead in the bottom of the eighth. Cooney
led off with his second hit of the game, a single to right-center.
Wilson's sacrifice attempt failed, but Padgett slapped his second base hit of
the game, advancing Cooney to second. Stengel's infield single filled the
bases but Bell retired McInnis on a pop to first and took care of Powell on an
infield fly to short.
Cooney had to deal with the top of the St. Louis order in the ninth. Smith
lined to Cotton Tierney at second. Holm bounced a ball right back to
Cooney for the second out. Hornsby's routine fly to right was handled
easily by Stengel and Cooney had his complete game shutout. The complete
game was the left-handers sixth of the year in nine starts. The shutout
was his first, and just the second complete game shutout by a Braves pitcher
this year; Jesse Barnes has the other. Boston does have a third shutout
which was, interestingly enough, a combined effort by Barnes, who fired eight
innings, and Cooney, who tossed the final frame.
8/6/1924, SLN24-BoN24, Braves Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1924 Cardinals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 1924 Braves 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 x 1 6 1 7 1 Cardinals AB R H BI AVG Braves AB R H BI AVG Smith rf 4 0 1 0 .293 Wilson cf 4 0 1 0 .305 Holm cf 3 0 0 0 .250 Padgett 3b 3 0 2 1 .242 Hornsby 2b 4 0 0 0 .375 Stengel rf 4 0 1 0 .294 Bottomley 1b 3 0 0 0 .283 McInnis 1b 4 0 0 0 .252 Blades lf 3 0 0 0 .385 Powell lf 4 0 0 0 .280 Cooney ss 3 0 0 0 .273 Tierney 2b 3 0 0 0 .257 Gonzalez c 2 0 0 0 .288 O'Neil c 3 0 0 0 .212 Freigau 3b 3 0 0 0 .262 Smith B. ss 3 0 0 0 .212 Bell p 3 0 0 0 .080 Cooney p 3 1 2 0 .302 28 0 1 0 31 1 6 1 Cardinals INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Bell L 9-7 8.0 6 1 1 0 5 99 76 3.63 8.0 6 1 1 0 5 99 76 Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Cooney W 9-2 9.0 1 0 0 2 1 91 58 3.96 9.0 1 0 0 2 1 91 58 E-Bottomley, Smith B.. 2B-Smith(8). RBI-Padgett(33). K-Bell, Wilson, McInnis, Powell, Tierney, Smith B.. BB-Holm, Gonzalez. HBP-Padgett. HB-Bell. GWRBI: Padgett Temperature: 80, Sky: clear, Wind: in from right at 17 MPH. Attendance: 981 Game Time: 1:28