DODGERS WIN THE PENNANT
Newk Battles Wildness, Earns 'W'; Giants Defense
Undoes Club
NEW YORK, Oct. 3 (AP) - Don Newcombe, battling his control, pitched into the
eighth inning and Clyde King finished the game--including retiring the final out
with the tying run in the batter's box--and the Brooklyn Dodgers won the
best-of-three playoff series two-games-to-one over the New Giants with a 6-4
victory at the Polo Grounds.
Newcombe (22-8) walked five and was in constant trouble during the early going,
but righted the ship and retired 11 of 12 hitters at one point before tiring in
the eighth.
Giants starter Sal Maglie also ran into trouble early on but was badly impacted
by some shaky New York defense and errors ultimately cost the team the game.
Perhaps it was nerves, but both pitchers suffered through very difficult first
innings. The Dodgers took a three-run lead before many of the spectators
had settled in their seats. Carl Furillo led off the ballgame with a
single and advanced to third on Pee Wee Reese's double to left. With the
infield back to prevent the big inning, Duke Snider grounded to first, scoring
Furillo with the game's first run and moving Reese to third. Jackie
Robinson lined out to right, but Reese was able to tag and score the second run
of the frame. Andy Pafko then followed with a home run--his 31st overall,
his 21st as a Dodger--into the lower stands in left field and Brooklyn had a 3-0
lead.
The Giants, as they have so many times, came right back in the home half of the
first. Eddie Stanky led off with a walk and Alvin Dark tripled to deep
left-center, cutting the lead to 3-1. Don Mueller followed by slicing a
single to left, scoring Dark and, after Monte Irvin popped out, Whitey Lockman
whistled a single into center field, with Mueller stopping at second.
Bobby Thomson drew a walk, filling the bases, and with the infield at double
play depth, Willie Mays hit a weak roller to Billy Cox at third. Mays was
thrown out at first, but Mueller scored the tying run. Newcombe walked Wes
Westrum intentionally and retired Maglie on a grounder to second to end the
inning.
The Dodgers regained the lead--this time for good--in the third. The
inning started when Reese reached on Dark's error. Snider followed by
lining a single to right, with Reese taking third. Robinson then singled
to right, scoring Reese with the go-ahead run with Snider halting at
third. Pafko grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Snider scored to make
it 6-4. Both runs in the inning were unearned.
The Giants got a run back in the fourth. Westrum drew a leadoff walk and
was sacrificed to second by Maglie. Stanky grounded out to short, but Dark
doubled to left-center, scoring Westrum and cutting the lead to 5-4.
At this point, Newcombe buckled down and retired 11 of the next 12 batters he
faced. The Dodgers, meanwhile, pushed across yet another unearned run,
this one in the sixth. Pafko's leadoff ground ball to third was kicked by
Bobby Thomson for an error. Hodges then doubled to left-center, advancing
Pafko to third. Cox hit a fly ball that chased Irvin to the warning track
in left, scoring Pafko and moving Hodges to third. Maglie struck out Rube
Walker and retired Newcombe on a line drive to Lockman at first, but the Dodgers
had their insurance run.
Still, the lead wasn't safe. The Giants had proven themselves a remarkably
resilient offensive club over the past month or more and they attempted to rally
again. With one out in the eighth, Thomson singled to right, snapping a
string of eight consecutive batters retired by Newcombe. Mays hit a slow
roller to short for the second out, moving Thomson to second. Westrum then
slashed a sharp single into left field, with Thomson holding at third
base. Hank Thompson came on to pinch hit and drew Newcombe's fifth walk of
the game, filling the bases. With the top of the order due up and the
tying run now in scoring position, Brooklyn manager Charlie Dressen had seen
enough. Newcombe had pitched in relief in the playoff opener and started
the penultimate regularly scheduled game and was clearly pitching on
fumes. Dressen brought in Clyde King to face Eddie Stanky. King
worked ahead in the count 0-2 and retired Stanky on a grounder to second to
preserve the two-run advantage.
With his team's collective back against the wall, New York skipper Leo Durocher
pulled out all the stops and had a combination of George Spencer and Monte
Kennedy hold the Dodgers off the scoreboard in the top of the ninth.
King remained in the game to pitch the bottom of the ninth. He struck out
Dark on three pitches and retired Mueller on a grounder to Rocky Bridges--who
had entered the game as part of a double switch when King was brought on--at
third. King pitched a bit too carefully to Irvin and walked him on five
pitches, bringing up Whitey Lockman as the potential tying run. With Bobby
Thomson, the National League's leading home run hitter since September 1, on
deck, King worked the count to 1-1 and then induced Lockman to lift a routine
fly ball to left. Pafko made the catch and the Dodgers celebrated on the
Giants' home field.
New York pushed Brooklyn to the brink, forcing the improbable playoff series
following a remarkable September run, but in the end the Giants were done in by
their defense, which had been a problem all season long. New York finished
with the worst fielding percentage--by a wide margin--in the National League and
the three unearned runs the club allowed in the playoff finale arguably cost
them the game and the pennant.
The Dodgers will go on to face the Indians in the World Series, beginning
tomorrow at Municipal Stadium in Cleveland. The Indians are well-rested,
not having played a game since Sunday or a meaningful game since Saturday, and
have their choice of starting pitchers. The Dodgers are not so fortunate,
but will be able to send Preacher Roe in Game 1 on three days rest.
10/3/1951, Brk51-NYN51, Polo Grounds 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1951 Dodgers 3 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 6 9 0 7 0 1951 Giants 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 8 2 10 2 Dodgers AB R H BI AVG Giants AB R H BI AVG Furillo rf 4 1 1 0 .299 Stanky 2b 4 1 0 0 .260 Reese ss 3 2 2 0 .281 Dark ss 5 1 3 2 .285 Snider cf 4 1 1 1 .295 Mueller,D rf 5 1 1 1 .273 Robinson,J 2b 5 0 1 2 .341 Irvin lf 4 0 0 0 .331 Pafko lf 4 2 1 1 .253 Lockman 1b 5 0 1 0 .267 Hodges 1b 3 0 1 0 .247 Thomson 3b 3 0 2 0 .275 Cox 3b 4 0 0 1 .268 Mays cf 4 0 0 1 .279 King p 0 0 0 0 .071 Westrum c 2 1 1 0 .205 Walker,R c 3 0 1 0 .304 Maglie p 1 0 0 0 .167 Campanella ph 1 0 0 0 .309 Yvars ph 1 0 0 0 .367 Newcombe p 3 0 1 0 .250 Konikowski p 0 0 0 0 .000 Bridges 3b 1 0 0 0 .267 Koslo p 0 0 0 0 .093 35 6 9 5 Thompson,H ph 0 0 0 0 .252 Spencer p 0 0 0 0 .087 Kennedy,M p 0 0 0 0 .105 34 4 8 4 Dodgers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Newcombe W 22-8 7.2 8 4 4 5 3 131 72 3.19 King S 9 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 17 10 4.39 9.0 8 4 4 6 4 148 82 Giants INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Maglie L 20-12 6.0 9 6 3 0 4 107 68 2.65 Konikowski 1.2 0 0 0 2 0 25 10 8.44 Koslo 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 9 6 3.40 Spencer 0.2 0 0 0 1 0 14 6 5.97 Kennedy,M 0.1 0 0 0 1 0 4 1 2.85 9.0 9 6 3 4 4 159 91 Brk: Campanella batted for Walker,R in the 8th Campanella moved to c in the 8th Bridges inserted at 3b in the 8th NYN: Yvars batted for Maglie in the 6th Thompson,H batted for Koslo in the 8th E-Dark, Thomson. 2B-Reese(22), Hodges(27), Newcombe(5), Dark(41). 3B-Dark(5). HR-Pafko(31). RBI-Snider(105), Robinson,J 2(97), Pafko(90), Cox(62), Dark 2(78), Mueller,D(82), Mays(81). SB-Reese(17). K-Furillo, Snider, Cox, Walker,R, Stanky, Dark, Lockman, Mays. BB-Furillo, Reese, Snider, Hodges, Stanky, Irvin, Thomson, Westrum 2, Thompson,H. SH-Reese, Maglie. WP-Newcombe. GWRBI: Robinson,J Temperature: 56, Sky: clear, Wind: in from right at 1 MPH. Attendance: 34,322 Game Time: 2:37