NL RACE TIGHTENS
Robins 9th Inning Heroics Drop Bucs
Snyder, Giants Win in Final AB
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Sept. 20 (AP) - New York City is the center of the National
League pennant race this weekend and rarely, if ever, have two more exciting
games been played in the boroughs at the same time than was the case this
afternoon. At the foot of Coogan's Bluff, pinch hitter Frank Snyder's
RBI-double in the bottom of the ninth inning scored Travis Jackson with the
game-winning run as the Giants slipped past the Chicago Cubs, 2-1.
Meanwhile, in Flatbush, the Pittsburgh Pirates took an eighth inning lead on Max
Carey's two-run home run only to fall in the bottom of the ninth when the Robins
rallied for two runs off reliever Ray Kremer and pulled out a dramatic 4-3
victory.
The upshot of today's games is that Pittsburgh's lead over New York is down to a
game-and-a-half. The Pirates will take on Brooklyn again tomorrow at
Ebbets Field while the Giants host the Cubs in their series finale at the Polo
Grounds. After a Monday off day, the Giants will host Pittsburgh for three
games beginning on September 23.
Today's game in Upper Manhattan was a pitchers' duel from the beginning.
Bill Terry's one-out solo home run in the second inning off Chicago starter
Grover Cleveland Alexander (7-8) put the Giants on top, but the Cubs got the
equalizer in the third when Alexander singled to left with one out, advanced two
second on a Virgil Barnes wild pitch, and, one out later, scored on Cliff
Heathcote's single through the box.
The Cubs never advanced another baserunner past second against Barnes (16-8) and
never had two men on base at the same time at any point in the game.
The Giants' best scoring opportunity before the ninth came in the sixth
inning. With one out, George Kelly singled to left and Terry's single to
center chased Highpockets to third. Hack Wilson worked the count full
against Alexander but swung and missed on the full count pitch with Terry on the
move. Cubs catcher Gabby Hartnett erased Terry on the blown hit-and-run to
complete the double play and end the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, Ross Youngs ripped a two-out triple into the right
field corner. Alexander walked Kelly intentionally to bring Terry to the
plate. It was a controversial move, since Terry was 3-3 at the time and
Alexander was surrendering the platoon advantage. But Terry's batting
average had just risen to .200 for the first time in ages, so the Cubs took the
chance and it paid off when Alexander retired the Giants first baseman on a soft
grounder to first.
George Grantham led off the Chicago ninth with a single, but he was quickly
eliminated in a stolen base attempt and Barnes then fanned the next two hitters.
In the bottom of the ninth, Wilson was retired, but Travis Jackson singled
between short and third. Jimmy O'Connell came on to pinch hit for Hank
Gowdy and grounded a single through the middle that was knocked down by diving
Cubs shortstop Sparky Adams for an infield hit. With runners at first and
second and one out, Frank Synder came on to hit for Barnes. He ripped a
1-1 Alexander fastball past a diving Bernie Friberg at third for the game-winner
as 20,244 partisans roared.
Across the bridge, events were, if anything, even more dramatic.
The Robins pushed solo runs across in the first and second innings off Pirates
starter Wilbur Cooper. Zack Wheat scored Andy High with a double to center
in the first and Milt Stock's RBI single plated Tommy Griffith in the
second.
But Cooper really turned the screws on Brooklyn from that point on, establishing
a rhythm and allowing only two harmless singles over the next five innings.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn's Dazzy Vance thoroughly stifled the Pirates until the
fourth. With two outs, Glen Wright doubled to the gap in right-center and
Pie Traynor's ensuing single through the middle scored Pittsburgh's first run
and cut the Robins' lead to 2-1. And then Vance completely shut Pittsburgh
down, holding them hitless into the eighth.
The top of the eighth began innocently enough when Carson Bigbee, pinch hitting
for Cooper, flied out to left. Eddie Moore then lifted a shallow fly to
right. Griffith's misread it, initially breaking back on the ball, then
was unable to recover and Moore had a bloop single. Max Carey, hitless to
that point in the game, then unloaded on Vance's 2-1 offering, blasting it over
the scoreboard onto Bedford Avenue to suddenly put the Pirates on top 3-2.
The Brooklyn crowd was absolutely stunned by the sudden turn of events and it
appeared that the Pirates, winners of 27 of their last 31 games, would pull out
yet another contest.
Vance, seemingly miffed by his bad fortune, promptly struck out Kiki Cuyler and
Wright to end the inning. Vance would go on to fan nine in the game.
Ray Kremer came on in relief of Cooper and needed only ten pitches to make quick
work of the Robins in the bottom of the eighth. Vance did him one better,
tossing only nine pitches while retiring Pittsburgh in order in the top of the
ninth.
In the bottom of the ninth, Kremer retired Jack Fournier, the National League's
home run leader, on a fly to left. But Eddie Brown, who had been quiet to
this point in the game, laced a double over the head of first baseman Charlie
Grimm. With light hitting catcher Hank DeBerry due, Brooklyn manager
Wilbert Robinson called on Bernie Neis to pinch hit. Neis lined a 1-1
offering to center for a base hit in front of Carey. Brown turned third
and headed to the plate. Carey's throw was a bit off target, allowing
Brown to score the game's tying run. Meanwhile, Neis alertly took second
on the throw. Griffith then cued a 3-2 pitch to the left side.
Pirates shortstop Wright barehanded the ball and made a strong throw to first,
but Griffith, hustling all the way, beat it out, with Neis, representing the
potential game-winning run, moving to third. The Pittsburgh infield came
in all the way around with Milt Stock at the plate. On the very first
pitch, Stock, perhaps a bit overanxious, tapped a weak grounder toward
third. Neis bolted on contact and third baseman Pie Traynor grabbed the
ball and fired toward the plate--too late. Neis slid in with the winning
run and the Robins had completed the improbable comeback, ending the Pirates'
winning streak at seven and tightening the NL pennant race in the process.
9/20/1924, ChN24-NYN24, Polo Grounds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1924 Cubs 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 4 1 1924 Giants 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 10 2 9 1 Cubs AB R H BI AVG Giants AB R H BI AVG Adams ss 4 0 1 0 .256 Lindstrom 3b 3 0 0 0 .241 Heathcote cf 4 0 1 1 .370 Frisch 2b 4 0 0 0 .318 Grantham 2b 4 0 2 0 .327 Youngs rf 4 0 1 0 .344 Fitzgerald rf 4 0 0 0 .000 Kelly cf 3 0 2 0 .308 Friberg 3b 4 0 0 0 .252 Terry 1b 4 1 3 1 .199 Grigsby lf 3 0 1 0 .361 Wilson lf 4 0 0 0 .317 Hartnett c 3 0 0 0 .327 Jackson ss 4 1 1 0 .301 Cotter 1b 3 0 0 0 .289 Gowdy c 3 0 0 0 .365 Alexander p 3 1 1 0 .233 O'Connell ph 1 0 1 0 .292 32 1 6 1 Barnes p 3 0 1 0 .156 Snyder ph 1 0 1 1 .325 34 2 10 2 Cubs INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Alexander L 7-8 8.1 10 2 2 2 4 109 73 3.31 8.1 10 2 2 2 4 109 73 Giants INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Barnes W 16-8 9.0 6 1 1 0 4 112 68 3.14 9.0 6 1 1 0 4 112 68 NYN: O'Connell batted for Gowdy in the 9th Snyder batted for Barnes in the 9th E-Jackson 2. 2B-Barnes(2), Snyder(17). 3B-Youngs(13). HR-Terry(4). RBI-Heathcote(53), Terry(17), Snyder(52). SB-Grantham(21), Alexander(1). CS-Heathcote, Grantham, Terry. K-Heathcote, Fitzgerald, Friberg, Grigsby, Wilson, Jackson, Barnes 2. BB-Lindstrom, Kelly. WP-Barnes. GWRBI: Snyder Temperature: 56, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: right to left at 10 MPH. Attendance: 20,244 Game Time: 1:59 9/20/1924, Pit24-Brk24, Ebbets Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1924 Pirates 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 3 5 0 4 0 1924 Robins 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 9 1 6 0 Pirates AB R H BI AVG Robins AB R H BI AVG Moore rf 4 1 1 0 .309 High 2b 4 1 2 0 .329 Carey cf 4 1 1 2 .343 Mitchell ss 3 0 0 0 .274 Cuyler lf 4 0 0 0 .363 Wheat lf 4 0 1 1 .367 Kremer p 0 0 0 0 .145 Fournier 1b 3 0 0 0 .331 Wright ss 4 1 1 0 .280 Brown cf 4 1 1 0 .312 Traynor 3b 4 0 1 1 .281 DeBerry c 3 0 0 0 .229 Maranville 2b 4 0 0 0 .282 Neis ph 1 1 1 1 .350 Grimm 1b 3 0 1 0 .301 Griffith rf 4 1 3 0 .270 Smith c 3 0 0 0 .440 Stock 3b 4 0 1 2 .277 Cooper p 2 0 0 0 .361 Vance p 2 0 0 0 .170 Bigbee ph 1 0 0 0 .278 32 4 9 4 33 3 5 3 Pirates INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Cooper 7.0 6 2 2 0 1 75 53 3.44 Kremer BS 1, L 14-9 1.1 3 2 2 0 0 26 15 2.95 8.1 9 4 4 0 1 101 68 Robins INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Vance W 23-7 9.0 5 3 3 1 9 115 78 2.46 9.0 5 3 3 1 9 115 78 Pit: Bigbee batted for Cooper in the 8th Bigbee moved to lf in the 8th Brk: Neis batted for DeBerry in the 9th E-High. 2B-Wright(27), Wheat(38), Brown(24), Griffith(22). HR-Carey(8). RBI-Carey 2(68), Traynor(66), Wheat(100), Stock 2(71), Neis(32). CS-High. K-Moore, Carey, Cuyler 2, Wright 2, Traynor, Maranville, Smith, Vance. BB-Grimm. SH-Mitchell, Vance. HBP-Fournier. HB-Cooper. GWRBI: Stock Temperature: 58, Sky: clear, Wind: in from right at 7 MPH. Attendance: 9,316 Game Time: 1:54