For a team lying on its pennant death bed, what better preacher is there to deliver the last rites than Walter Perry Johnson of Humboldt, Kansas? The Tigers make it easy for him today at Navin Memorial Gardens by fielding Wingo and Pratt in place of the untimely injured Blue and Heilman, and as a result, this reporter will be bidding an imminent farewell to his home club, unwilling to watch it be lowered into the ground.
For their part, Detroit begins the game in a feisty way, scratching out two runs against the Senator ace when Peckinpaugh muffs Rigney's grounder, before a wild pitch and singles by Manush and Bassler cause the huge crowd to temporarily lift their veils.
But they are dropped again in short order. Portsider Ed Wells, seemingly in baserunner trouble every moment of the season, has the game knotted on him with a two-out, two-run double by Washington manager Harris. Bucky is far and away the player of this series, and knocks in the eventual game-winners in the 4th with another two-run double. A judge single following that makes it 5-2, and all cheering potential in the grand yard swirls down the drain. A Rigney single in the 5th brings home Burke, but it is our final scoring breath of the day.
From there it is a Big Train spectacle, as he strands Manush on second after Heinie opens the 6th with a lead double, and a Pratt walk is the only mole that surfaces on the rest of the game's skin. Johnson's record improves to 22-10, and when his scimitar of an arm unleashes the final strike against Bob Jones in the 9th, the White Sox chances die in Chicago, and suddenly there are just two eaters left in the American League dining hall.
Bonnie and Smith and my precious children try to console me at dinner later, for despite my temperament change through the course of the year, seeing a loved one die before your eyes is still difficult to accept. It is Smith, however, who uplifts my spirits by keeping me laughing.
"Great news if you ask me," he says, between mouthfuls of beef stew, "Who the hell wants to watch Cobb win another World Series?" I toasted him with my glass of seltzer, and began to think of the final weeks ahead. The Braves did beat the Pirates today, in fact, so miracles of the National League variety are still possible.
WAS 020 300 000 -5 10 1
DET 200 010 000 - 3 6 0
Other ball games today:
at BRAVES 9-14-0, PIRATES 3-7-0
Yes, you read correctly. Lee Meadows is crushed by a five-run 5th and Johnny Cooney is a master of the mound, taking a 9-0 lead into the 9th before the Bucs leave a three-run calling card en route to Philadelphia.
CUBS 6-13-0, at PHILLIES 2-8-1
Hardly noticed, the hapless Phillies drop their ninth game in a row and now must welcome Pittsburgh to town. On the other bank of the river is Chicago, who behind Vic Keen's sterling work and a Hack Miller homer improve their record to 34-17 since July 20th.
at WHITE SOX 7-15-0, YANKEES 5-9-2
Herb Pennock is ripped off the mound by Huggins in the 7th and kicked out of the rotation for the rest of the year. Finishing with a hugely disappointing 16-16 record, with 323 hits racked up against him, Pennock in my view is the number one reason for New York's struggles. After battling back to tie the game 5-5 in the 8th, the Yanks give it away instantly on a Bibb Falk double against the equally disastrous Milt Gaston.
at BROWNS 6-9-1, RED SOX 3-9-0
Urban Shocker outlasts Ferguson in a truly meaningless affair witnessed by virtually no one.
| NATIONAL LEAGUE through Monday, September 15 | ||||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 88 | 54 | .620 | — |
| New York Giants | 82 | 60 | .577 | 6 |
| Brooklyn Robins | 82 | 60 | .577 | 6 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 79 | 63 | .556 | 9 |
| Chicago Cubs | 74 | 68 | .521 | 14 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 68 | 74 | .479 | 20 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 55 | 87 | .387 | 33 |
| Boston Braves | 40 | 102 | .282 | 48 |
| AMERICAN LEAGUE through Monday, September 15 | ||||
| Washington Senators | 87 | 54 | .617 | — |
| Detroit Tigers | 78 | 65 | .545 | 10 |
| Chicago White Sox | 74 | 68 | .521 | 13.5 |
| New York Yankees | 71 | 70 | .504 | 16 |
| Boston Red Sox | 68 | 74 | .479 | 19.5 |
| St. Louis Browns | 67 | 76 | .468 | 21 |
| Cleveland Indians | 63 | 80 | .441 | 24.5 |
| Philadelphia Athletics | 60 | 81 | .426 | 26.5 |
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