ANYBODY?

Where the hell's Benny today? Must have one of those girl-dates or something. Anyway, he forgot to pick up today's American League ball scores from my ticker, so here they are. Supposedly there's a Yankee fan interested, and looks like all the Eastern teams did the winning. I'll drink to that.
—Mort

YANKEES 4-13-4, at INDIANS 3-5-1

RED SOX 8-15-0, at TIGERS 6-12-1

SENATORS 6-12-1, at WHITE SOX 2-11-1

ATHLETICS 5-7-1, at BROWNS 3-12-1

AMERICAN LEAGUE through Monday, September 22
x-Washington Senators	90	58	.608	—
Detroit Tigers	81	69	.540	10
Chicago White Sox	78	71	.523	12.5
New York Yankees	76	72	.514	14
Boston Red Sox	70	79	.470	20.5
St. Louis Browns	70	80	.467	21
Cleveland Indians	68	82	.453	23
Philadelphia Athletics	63	85	.426	26

CHILLS AND THRILLS WITH MY NEW BENNY

September 22, 1924

This was the ball game day to beat all ball game days. All five boroughs were crackling, what with the Bucs at the Polo Grounds and the on-fire Cubbies at Ebbets and both games completely critical. Pittsburgh's magical digit stood at two, so the race could all be over or half-over or keep on going.

Cal thought we should each pick one of the games to go to but I said heck with that, let's try both. I pulled off the same trick when I was here with Benny back in May, and that was for games that were hardly important. We could start at Ebbets and if things got out of hand, shoot up to Coogan's Bluff on the el train. Isn't that why they invented out-of-town score boards? Anyway, I needed to be with Rachel and her father in case Brooklyn got their faces pounded in, because that's what a husband and son-in-law should do.

Pretty weird season for these Cubs, huh? They're under .500 for most of the first half, then turn into a juggernaut around the time they're eliminated and they just haven't stopped, having just beat the Giants two out of three. Luckily the Robins missed Pete Alexander this time but still got Vic Aldridge in the opener against Bill Doak. Doak can either be shaky or unhittable, and from the start it's the second category. Chicago can't even scratch a hit off him until Hartnett doinks a single leading off the 5th.

Meanwhile, High triples in a 1st inning Robins run, then scores on a passed ball. Four straight singles and a scoring double play grounder in the 4th make it 4-0, and then the crowd roars even louder because a big "3" goes up for the Giants on the score board to wipe out what was a 1-0 Bucs lead! I look at Cal, who's just bought himself a sausage roll covered in mustard and onions and doesn't look like he's ready to move.

"Whaddya think?"

"What do I think about what?"

"About going to the Polo Grounds."

"Now?? I've just purchased my lunch!"

"C'mon, Cal, you're a big reporter, right? This game's in the bag! You wanna miss the Pirates losing?"

Rachel wasn't thrilled about me leaving, mostly for superstition reasons, but she was almost too fixed on the game action in front of her to notice.

"Shake a leg, old man!" I jabbed Butterworth's arm and he grumbled and followed me out, trying to eat his sausage roll at the same time.

By the time our train rumbled over the Manhattan Bridge there were mustard drips and onion pieces on his coat, and he held onto a pole like he thought we were going to end up in the river. I guess it's what happens when you just take taxis and airplanes everywhere. We changed over to the 6th Avenue elevated line and headed north. Two newspaper boys with bundles of Herald Tribunes under their arms got on and were talking baseball so we asked if they knew the ball scores. "Giants winning, Cubs and Brooklyn all tied up!" he yelled. Butterworth went nuts. "What?? What happened?"

"You got me, mister. I just heard this from a pretzel guy near the park."

So we had to wait all the way up till our stop at 155th Street. What we didn't figure on was how jam-crowded the Polo Grounds was. The Giants were the league champs the last three years, after all, and the Pirates were trying to take their place so every seat and standing spot was filled. There was a smoky cigar haze in the air over the park, and we could even see a bunch of fans watching way up on the bluff.

Butterworth didn't have a press pass for the game so couldn't get us in that way and I hurried him around to a spot under the outfield fence that worked last time. It did this time too, except we were forced to squeeze our way through a crowd to a rope strung across the outfield. Cal was grumpy and uncomfortable but we didn't really have a choice there.

It was 4-2 Giants in the top of the 5th, with Pie Traynor in the box against Art Nehf. We could just make out the Brooklyn score on the raised board behind us, which was now 6-4 Robins after 6th. A guy next to us said he heard from someone else who heard from someone else who heard from a press row kid that Zack Taylor homered off the foul pole to put them ahead.

Then Traynor ripped a single into left that Kelly fielded right in front of us and everyone's shoulders sagged. Max Carey was up, who bats cleanup against lefties and had already doubled in the first Buc run in the 3rd. This time he bombed a pitch high and deep to our left, Kelly raced over, the crowd pulled back on the rope to try and give him more room to catch it but it was way into the crowd and the damn score was tied!

Kremer came back out, trying to get his 20th win that he missed out on last time, but the Giants pounced on him like leopards on a deer. Kelly scorched a doubled, Youngs singled him in, Wilson and Terry walked, Jackson singled in two more, Nehf hit a scoring fly and four New York runs were in! I thought of hurrying back to Brooklyn right then but me and Cal both knew how capable the Pirates were of coming back at any time.

So we stayed put and watched Traynor smack a homer in the top of the 7th to get them closer. Cuyler doubled to begin the 8th, but Nehf bore down and squirmed out of the mess, then after Kelly singled in Heinie Groh for a ninth Giants run, Grimm bounced into a huge double play started by Terry in the 9th, and Kremer had been beaten again. Everyone would survive another day!

We pushed our way through the cheering exit crowd, back to the el platform, and back onto the train. The stupid Cubs had tied the Brooklyn game again with two in the 8th and it was 6-6 going into extra innings. Most everyone on the train was talking baseball, and at every stop, whoever got on would get grilled for an Ebbets Field score.

Believe it or not, they were in the 12th inning, still tied 6-6 when me and Cal got there. Rachel had chewed most of her fingernails off and Saul sat there with a handkerchief draped over his face like an Arab person. "We've had so many chances to win this game," Rachel moaned, "SO many chances!" There was the bases loaded thing in the 7th when Brown popped out. There was the two Robins on base in both the 10th and 11th. Rube Ehrhardt had already thrown almost five relief innings for us, and wouldn't be available the rest of the series, which was bad news for tomorrow with Decatur starting.

And here were the Robins with two more on base against Rip Wheeler and left there when Taylor and Mitchell make outs. Butch Weis reached on a walk with one out in the Cubs' 13th, but Hollocher hit into a twin killing. Neis then walked with one out in our 13th, High skied to center, and up walked Zack Wheat. Rachel couldn't stand it anymore and jumped up on her seat.

"Attack it, Zack!! Attack it!" Some of the fans around us chuckled because a woman was getting loud, but most were too nervous to react. Wheat's a .370 hitter with a bushel of big hits for Brooklyn all year, but this looked like one of those games that was never going to—

CRACK!!

And there it went!! High and far and higher and farther and completely out of sight to right field and Rachel was jumping on me and hats were flying everywhere and Cal's glasses were steaming up and I think he yelled for the first time in his life and Saul was thanking whoever his God was and Wheat ran across the plate and into a hooting crowd of teammates waiting for him, something I'd never seen before and the Robins were four games out for the first time since forever and ain't this the greatest game ever invented?

—Vinny

CHC 000 022 020 000 0 - 6 10 1
BRK 200 202 000 000 2 - 8 12 1

PGH 001 120 100 - 5 9 2
NYG 003 140 01x - 9 11 2

Other National League games today:

CARDINALS 5-12-3, at BRAVES 3-8-2
Nice try for Boston to win another actual game, but no dice for them.

REDS 9-14-1, at PHILLIES 3-13-0
The same can be said for my stinky team, now with a record of 2-17 in September. Were those Black Phillies really here?

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Monday, September 22
Pittsburgh Pirates	91	58	.611	—
Brooklyn Robins	87	62	.584	4
New York Giants	86	63	.577	5
Cincinnati Reds	83	65	.561	7.5
Chicago Cubs	79	70	.530	12
St. Louis Cardinals	72	76	.486	18.5
Philadelphia Phillies	56	92	.378	34.5
Boston Braves	40	108	.270	50.5

GRIMES IS ALL WET, THANK THE LORD

September 21, 1924

By C. Jedediah Butterworth
Base Ball Freescriber

BROOKLYN—After following two contests in distant cities the last few days, it is a pleasure to arrive at Ebbets Field with both pennant participants romping in front of me. It is also grand to reunite with young Master Spanelli, his fetching new bride Rachel, and Rachel's father Saul, a jolly fellow with deep knowledge of the Robins and his pet pigeons.

Famed spitballer Grimes is hurling for the home nine, one loss to the Pirates away from extinction, so the ball park air is charged with fevered anxiety from the outset. And Burleigh's ball is at its wettest. Grimes acts as if he is throwing the gooey sphere on nearly every pitch, so the hitter is never sure when he'll really see it, and the method has Carey, Grimm and Moore out of balance as they make three quick outs.

Morrison has been the surprise winner for Pittsburgh all season, but a walk to High, single by Wheat and scoring fly by Fournier put Brooklyn on top 1-0 in the bottom of the inning. The Ebbets throng then has a groaning party, for short-stop Mitchell flubs two balls in the second around a Glenn Wright double to even the game 1-1. The Robins fire back with a 2-run salvo, though, in the 3rd: Neis doubles, High walks, Wheat doubles and Brown hits the scoring fly.

From there, the Swami of Saliva takes over. Every time a Pirate reaches base, a whiff or double play follows. Three out of the four middle innings begin with a Buccaneer reaching a bag, but all are abandoned on the high base path seas. Our seats along third base are not the closest, but I can still see the pitches breaking seven or eight inches, and the Pirate flailing is apparent for all to see. Grimes strands a pair to finish off the 9th, retiring Maranville and pinch-sticker Barnhart, and the magical digit remains at two heading into Monday.

Over a bountiful Jewish dinner at Rachel's family house later, we discuss the next day's potential, with the blistering hot Cubs invading Ebbets and Pittsburgh hopping across town to the Polo Grounds. To dramatically survive another day is all one can ask for at this point.

PGH 010 000 000 - 1 6 1
BRK 102 001 00x - 4 8 3

Other ballgames today:

CUBS 9-12-1, at GIANTS 4-16-0
McGraw is on the verge of being put out of his Irish misery. Today's hurling disaster belongs to Hugh McQuillan, who serves up a run-scoring Ray Grimes single and 3-run Hack Miller homer in the 1st at the Polo Grounds to put the home fans asleep and his team in a foul trench from the outset. Pete Alexander, who notches win no. 20 against just four losses, is pecked for eight hits but only two runs in the first four innings, while Hugh Q. dashes all hope by surrendering a Grantham grand slammer in the 4th. The typical too-late Giants rally falls short yet again, and one more loss or Pirate win will now nail their casket shut. Expect the funeral right there tomorrow, when Kremer of Pittsburgh faces Nehf.

at INDIANS 8-15-0, RED SOX 4-14-1
No one can beat this Tribe of late, as a 3-1 lead for Fuhr turns into an 8-2 Cleveland advantage with one blood-spattered 5th inning. Seven straight Indians strike hits, and Boston is never heard from again.

YANKEES 6-11-1, at TIGERS 3-10-2
New York tries their best to throw away their second straight game at Navin but Rip Collins surprises the base ball world by issuing circuit clouts to both Meusel and Schang in the itop of the 10th and Hoyt goes the distance for the win. Detroit ends up taking the drama-filled season series 13-9, and Mr. Collins will have one more chance for his 26th victory.

WHITE SOX 10-14-2, ATHLETICS 9-11-3
How awful a finish are the Mackmen having? Well, despite plating six runs off Ted Lyons in the 3rd and taking a 9-4 lead to the last of the 9th, Chicago scores six times off Burns and Meeker to delight the dozen citizens remaining in the stands and wins on two-out singles to Elsh and Hostile Johnny Mostil.

at BROWNS 17-19-0, SENATORS 6-13-2
Goslin snaps out of his runs batted in slump with a single in the 1st for a 1-0 Nats lead. Every other thing imaginable goes the Brownie way, as Zahniser, Martina, McGrew and the team dog are pummeled mercilessly. It becomes so bad that Mule Shirley, Pinky Hargave and Showboat Fisher make rare appearances in the Senator lineup. Baby Doll Jacobson is the chief culprit here, with two doubles, a homer and seven knocked in as St. Louis snatches fifth place away from Boston.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Sunday, September 21
Pittsburgh Pirates	91	57	.615	—
Brooklyn Robins	86	62	.581	5
New York Giants	85	63	.574	6
Cincinnati Reds	82	65	.558	8.5
Chicago Cubs	79	69	.534	12
St. Louis Cardinals	71	76	.483	19.5
Philadelphia Phillies	56	91	.381	34.5
Boston Braves	40	107	.272	50.5
AMERICAN LEAGUE through Sunday, September 21
x-Washington Senators	89	58	.605	—
Detroit Tigers	81	68	.544	9
Chicago White Sox	78	70	.527	11.5
New York Yankees	75	72	.510	14
St. Louis Browns	70	79	.470	20
Boston Red Sox	69	79	.466	20.5
Cleveland Indians	68	81	.456	22
Philadelphia Athletics	62	85	.422	26

PUT THE ARSENIC AWAY

September 20, 1924

Dazzy knew what to do. Dazzy always knows what to do. Matter of fact the few times he's lost games this season it's because the Robins hitters went to sleep on him. So here's Max Carey stepping into the batter box, Brooklyn one loss to the Bucs away from heading to the boneyard, and Dazzy buries a fastball in his right shoulder to knock him out of the game. Oh, the Pirates leaped off their dugout bench and yelled and screamed and called Vance something I can't tell you, but the game went on and Pittsburgh was all shook up, because Grimm bounced the next pitch into a double play and a rally never happened.

And the plunking changed everything. Cuyler had to move to center field from left where he's sometimes wobbly anyway, and with two outs in the last of the 1st and Andy High on second, Fournier smashed one deep to Kiki's left. It got over his head easily, he fumbled the ball near the fence, and High scored for a 1-0 Brooklyn lead. Rachel leaped for joy and I got an early cheek-kiss out of it.

In the 6th, a Brown double, Fournier triple and Wheat single off Cooper put Brooklyn ahead 4-0. Dazzy belted a home run earlier, his fourth of the year, to make it 2-0 in the 3rd, but the big story was his pitching. After the 1st inning business he retired TWENTY Pirates in a row and looked good enough to throw a no-hit, no-run game.

Traynor finally got the first Bucs hit with a one-out single in the 8th. Wright followed with a hit but Dazzy wiped out the next two guys, and a Grimm triple and Moore sacrifice pop gave the Pirates their only run in the 9th. To finish off the glorious day, Vance whiffed Cuyler, who ended up going 0-for-4 with one butchered outfield play. It may have been his worst game of the year, and we were honored to see it.

Tomorrow it'll be Morrison against Grimes with the same dire situation on the line, and Cal Butterworth wired this morning to announce he was flying in our direction to take in the game, now that the American league has a champ. That should make an even more fun party, especially if he likes brisket beet.
—Vinny

PGH 000 000 001 - 1 3 3
BRK 101 002 01x - 5 10 0

Other Ballgames today:

CUBS 10-13-4, at GIANTS 6-11-2
The bug bite that's bothered McGraw's goons all year—inconsistency—scratches them again and just about knocks them out of the race. Mule Watson, pitching much better than he should for most of the season, picks the worst day he could to have his arm fall off. Ten of the fourteen Cub batters he faces in the first two-plus innings reach base, and if it isn't for two double plays he would've been behind more than the 7-0 that he was. The Giants finally wake up against Kauffman in the 7th and score six runs in the last three innings, but Chicago is way ahead by then. Gabby Hartnett drives in three more and now has 136 knocked in on the year.

REDS 7-13-2, at PHILLIES 2-3-1
Good Lord, are we ever bad. Not that we have a chance anytime or anywhere against Eppa Rixey, now 21-8, but we can barely score runs any more, even with all our regulars still playing on the dinky Baker Bowl field. Kind of glad I left town.

CARDINALS 12-20-1, at BRAVES 2-8-1
Gee, I never thought this would happen.

at TIGERS 8-14-2, YANKEES 7-11-0
Okay, here's the game the Tigers were supposed to have yesterday. Down 6-0 in the 1st to Joe Bush and the Yanks, they chip away for the next seven innings and finally take the lead on a 2-run Rigney double in the 8th off Milt "Ghastly" Gaston. Can't even blame Ruth for this one.

SENATORS 13-15-0, at BROWNS 3-6-2
And just becuase the season has gone this way, here's the game the Senators were supposed to have yesterday. Washington scores in every inning but three off Danforth, Grant, and Lyons, and Mogridge gets the win. The only issue for the Nats lately is Goose Goslin, who's done nothing important with the bat for a while. In this one he comes up five times with men on the bases and drives in none of them. Maybe he's saving up for the World Series.

at INDIANS 17-23-4, RED SOX 4-11-0
Boy, when half the Cleveland lineup isn't out with injuries like they usually are, they can sure mash the ball. Joe Sewell goes 6-for-6 and tops the 100 run batted in mark despite hitting only one homer all year.

at WHITE SOX 5-11-0, ATHLETICS 4-7-0
Last place looks like a certain thing for the A's. They tie up Sloppy Thurston on another late homer by Bill lamar, but Hooper singles in the bottom of the 9th for the Chcago winner anyway.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Saturday, September 20
Pittsburgh Pirates	91	56	.619	—
Brooklyn Robins	85	62	.578	6
New York Giants	85	62	.578	6
Cincinnati Reds	82	65	.558	9
Chicago Cubs	78	69	.531	13
St. Louis Cardinals	71	76	.483	20
Philadelphia Phillies	56	91	.381	35
Boston Braves	40	107	.272	51
AMERICAN LEAGUE through Saturday, September 20
x-Washington Senators	89	57	.610	—
Detroit Tigers	81	67	.547	9
Chicago White Sox	77	70	.524	12.5
New York Yankees	74	72	.507	15
Boston Red Sox	69	78	.469	20.5
St. Louis Browns	69	79	.466	21
Cleveland Indians	67	81	.453	22.5
Philadelphia Athletics	62	84	.425	26.5

A MUTED CELEBRATION

SHOCKER AND PENNOCK END PENNANT RACE WITH UNCANNY WHITEWASHINGS

September 19, 1924

ST. LOUIS—With a Senator win or Tiger loss poised to finish off all American League drama, it seemed fitting to coax a flight to the Mississippi out of Dean C. Smith. If Washington were to prevail today, readers would choose to be at their side, and the spectacle of Ty Cobb reaching his volcanic peak is one I would choose to avoid at any cost.

So here I am near the banks of the Great River, watching Walter Johnson warm up to face the sinking Brownies. At 22-10, Walter will most likely finish second to Rip Collins in any Pitcher of the Year consideration, but I would not want to step into a batter box against him on a day like this. True to form, he dispatches with the first nine men he faces, but his batting mates cannot break through against Urban Shocker, despite five men getting aboard in the first three innings.

The Train does away with Sisler and Robertson to begin the St. Louis 4th, before Baby Doll Jacobson ignites the crowd with a searing triple between Goslin and Leibold. Ken Williams meekly pops out to end things, and Johnson visibly bears down all the more. Bennett nicks him for a two-out single in the 5th, but after Harry Rice lines out we move to the 6th, still scoreless. The early news from back in Detroit is encouraging, as New York has a 1-0 lead into the 4th, but the Senators want to win this prize with a win.

Yet Shocker has them in a constant bind, allowing one runner to reach base every inning and leaving him there. With one out in the Browns' 6th, Walter finally hiccups. Sisler lashes a single. Robertson gets him to third with another. Baby Doll, his triple still fresh in the Train's mind, seems to rattle him further for Jacobson then knocks a single into left for a 1-0 St. Louis lead!

Johnson smotes every Brownie hereafter. but all that does is make the Washington frustrations mount. Ruel walks with two outs in the 7th: stranded. Rice singles with two outs in the 8th: stranded. Harris singles to lead the 9th, but Peckinpaugh flies out, pinch-batter Richbourg bounds into a force, and Ruel fans on three pitches and the Nats have dropped a game they had no business losing.

We writers are allowed access then to the visitor clubhouse, where the glum but anxious players sit around in their half-dressed states and wait for the upstairs ticker machine to wire us further news from Navin Field. Ghastly quiet fills the room for a good half hour, and then a press row boy pops in with a burst of news—

The Yankees have scored five times in the 5th!

The club house explodes with cheers. Manager Harris' coaches and a few of the players try to shake his hand, but Bucky will have none of it yet. "Still four innings to go, men!" he proclaims, and the expectant hush gradually returns.

While the players largely play cards to keep their nerves in check, the reporters are forced to speculate among themselves or discuss possible Senator rotations for the World Series. The Washington scribes are a decidedly animated bunch, including a young fellow named Povich who seems smarter than the rest, and I have just as much trouble standing still as them.

Inning after scoreless inning, the press boy appears to announce the same score. My feet are becoming sore. Finally, the full bottom of the 9th action is sent down and read aloud to us by the apple-cheeked youngster:

"Haney pop out...Heilman single...Manush single...Woodall double play—"

And nothing else is heard. Roars and leaping cleats. Hand shaking and back patting and hugs and even some teary-eyed players. Harris emerges from an office with boxes of cigars and the room resembles an opium den in seconds. Joe Judge has a couple bottles of Canadian whiskey stashed in his equipment bag and those are passed around for frantic swigs.

For my part, I am happy for the first Washington pennant in years, but my heart goes out to my home fans in Detroit, wondering what in tarnation happened back there today. When I discover the answer, I am grateful I journeyed west to be share these moments with champions.

WAS 000 000 000 - 0 6 0
STL 000 001 00x - 1 5 0

Other American League games:

YANKEES 6-8-0, at TIGERS 0-6-2
Pure and simple, the Tigers are helpless against Herb Pennock, recently expunged from the rotation but resurrected for this one all-important game with Detroit. By contrast, the usually hideous Ken Holloway pitches a game even beyond his decrepit ability, falling behind 1-0 early on a triple by the punchless Everett Scott, then beginning the fatal 5th inning like this: single and error (by Holloway, naturally), Witt walk, Hendrick single, Ruth triple, Meusel triple, Pipp triple before Cobb stalks to the mound and no doubt comes within a fly's breath of tearing Holloway's throat open with his bare hands. Bert Cole comes on to stun the gathering by retiring all 15 New Yorkers he faces, but doom has drenched the ball yard for the day. Leave it to the Yanks to fail miserably in big games all year, then win the one the Tigers desperately need.

ATHLETICS 4-10-3, at WHITE SOX 2-10-2 (12 innings)
A thrilling encounter at Comiskey, as the Mackmen tie the score in the 9th after casting runners adrift against Robertson all game, then with it with two off Cvengros in the 12th, Slim Harriss getting the victory.

at INDIANS 15-17-0, RED SOX 5-8-4
It is actually 3-2 Boston in the 4th when the Tribe goes on a four-inning warpath. Ferguson, Piercy and Murray give up eight Cleveland doubles, which tends to be an impediment to winning.

AMERICAN LEAGUE through Friday, September 19
x-Washington Senators	88	57	.607	—
Detroit Tigers	80	67	.544	9
Chicago White Sox	76	70	.521	12.5
New York Yankees	74	71	.510	14
Boston Red Sox	69	77	.473	19.5
St. Louis Browns	69	78	.469	20
Cleveland Indians	66	81	.449	22.5
Philadelphia Athletics	62	83	.428	25.5

WHAT WERE WE THINKING OF?

September 19, 1924

Back in Brooklyn, me and Rachel and Saul jazzed up for the big final Pirates-Robins series of the year, over 25,000 people packed into Ebbets—and Tiny Osborne goes out to the mound and gets skinned alive.

After the Bucs' embarrassing loss to the Phillies yesterday when their manager fielded a cuckoo lineup, why did any of us think Brooklyn even had a chance against them? Carey ripped Tiny's first pitch for a bleeding triple into right center, and then things got bad. Moore singled with one out, the Cuyler single we can set our pocket watches to was right after that. A Traynor single made it 2-0 and the sausage rolls we'd eaten before the game were already bubbling in our guts like rotten lava.

Maranville doubled on the first pitch of the 2nd and Grimm got him in with a single. After Meadows disposed of the Robins again, Cuyler yawned and put one over the fence on the first pitch of the 3rd. Osborne, definitely soiling himself out there, got the next two guys easy but then Wright doubled, Maranville singled, and pitcher Meadows doubled to make it 6-0 in a flash.

Wilbert Robinson walked to the mound to paddle Tiny's fanny and send him to bed, and then the weirdest thing happened. Jim Roberts, a completely terrible pitcher (says Saul) who's hardly been used at all, took over and threw 2-hit shutout ball for four and a third innings! You just never know in this game, you never know. Brooklyn tried to make a game of it with two runs in the 4th and Fournier's scoring single in the 7th, but it was pretty obvious that even if the Robins tied the game the Bucs would take out their cutlasses and draw and quarter somebody else. Oh yeah, and today's three Cuyler hits puts him up to .379.

We were all quiet as mice eating dinner at Rachel's house later, and me and her read fiction books and drank tea later with some opera on the phonograph, because it was tough to find things to talk happy about. Dazzy Vance goes tomorrow against Cooper with Brooklyn's pennant life on the line, and if he fails, at least we'll be forced to get on with our lives and I can shut off that stupid opera.
—Vinny

PGH 213 000 000 - 6 14 2
BRK 000 200 100 - 3 7 1

Other National League games:

at GIANTS 5-7-1, CUBS 4-10-3 (10 innings)
I almost was ready to drop the Pirates' magical digit to two, but the Giants keep it at three as they come back from being down 4-1 in the 8th against the hottest team in either league. One in the 8th, two to tie in the 9th with the help of a Hollocher two-base error, then two walks, a Critz error and sacrifice pop fly by Jackson and New York hands Vic Keen his undeserved 20th loss of the year.

CARDINALS 5-7-0, at BRAVES 2-7-0
Hy Myers tosses a single, triple and homer into the ring from the eighth spot for St. Louis. Closing in on 110 defeats, the Braves and Marquard give up three Card runs in the 1st and that's all I wrote.

REDS 8-18-1, at PHILLIES 7-14-1
With all Reds batting where they're supposed to be, they crush three Phillie phools for 18 hits, but Mays almost blows the game anyway and Dibut is forced to cut off a big 9th inning rally by getting Harper to pop out with two men aboard and two outs. The Amazing Heinie is on base all five times to make himself feel good for a day, even though it's our 90th loss of the year.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Friday, September 19
Pittsburgh Pirates	91	55	.623	—
New York Giants	85	61	.582	6
Brooklyn Robins	84	62	.575	7
Cincinnati Reds	81	65	.555	10
Chicago Cubs	77	69	.527	14
St. Louis Cardinals	70	76	.479	21
Philadelphia Phillies	56	90	.384	35
Boston Braves	40	106	.274	51

TAKE THAT, WISE GUYS

September 18, 1924

So I had a long talk with Benny this morning while we ate hot muffins from a wagon on Broad Street. Yelling at the Pirate players wasn't helping one bit, so unless we were going to run on the field and trip or tackle them, it was probably a better idea to just sit in the stands and do some rooting and praying like Phillies fans normally do.

What we never imagined was the Bucs tripping themselves up by being braggy jerks.

Yup, manager Bill McKechnie decided our team was so horrible that he could shuffle all his lineup spots like playing cards and beat us anyway. Which is what he did, leading off Cuyler, batting Wright third and Traynor fourth and speedy Max Carey all the way down at seventh. Their pitcher Kremer went along with it, even with him going for his 20th win, but Wright spoiled his plans in the Phillie 1st by tossing away a grounder and helping us get two runs.

Both Kremer and Hal Carlson pitched nothing but zeroes for the next six innings, Carlson doing his usual runner-stranding magic. After another Wright flub in the 7th, Hal tripled off the wall, scored on a Heinie single, and we were up 4-0! Then it was time for the Pirates to get mad again, and they put together a nifty two-run rally in the 8th started by a Cuyler single of course. Betts came on in relief and got Moore and Carey to end the mess, Mokan singled in our fifth run, and we actually got them out in the 9th, Cuyler rapping into a double play to end it.

"We beat the Bucs!" yelled Benny, making much more noise than the other thousand or so people who were there. "The heck with that, we won a baseball game!" I shouted back. Then I gave him a good hug because I was headed back to Brooklyn tonight to start my new life with Rachel.

The strange thing is that the Pirates are also headed to Ebbets Field and their final three with the Robins, so I guess the start of our new life might include a pair of sausage rolls.
—Vinny

PIT 000 000 020 - 2 10 2
PHI 200 000 21x - 5 10 0

Other ballgames today:

at ROBINS 10-16-1, CARDINALS 4-10-2
It's 4-1 Cards headed to the last of the 3rd, when Jesse Haines just plain cracks open. A single, walk, error by him and double by Dick Loftus gives Brooklyn two runs, before the Robins score one in the 6th, four in the 7th and two more in the 8th to run away with the game and give Decatur a rare win. If Brooklyn can pull off a miracle sweep of the Bucs they'll be just three games out. Do I believe in miracles?...Usually!!

REDS 6-16-4, at GIANTS 4-10-0
As Rachel's father would say, oy. Up 2-0 thanks to more horrible Cincy fielding, Jack Bentley turns in another in his never-ending series of sickening starts for the Giants, giving the Reds five hits and three runs in the 4th, then three more hits and a run in the 5th before he's yanked out for Wayland Dean. The Giants try and fight back but leave runners in scoring spots every inning against Tom Sheehan, who ends up going the whole way. Pittsburgh's magical digit drops to four with the New York loss.

CUBS 6-14-0, at BRAVES 0-2-0
Can we hear it for the Crushing Cubbies? They finish an amazing 21-1 against the Braves and do it in style as Aldridge shuts them down for his first shutout and 20th win of the season.

SENATORS 5-9-0, at INDIANS 4-7-0
Not sure which A.L. battle Butterworth made it to today, but they're both tight and Washington clinches at least a tie for the pennant in this one as Curly Ogden goes to 19-6 and Bucky Harris racks up his 16th game-winning hit, second to Goslin on the team.

at TIGERS 6-9-1, ATHLETICS 3-10-3
With Whitehill dueling Heimach 1-1 through five, Heilman breaks the game up with a solo homer and Rigney triples in three in the 7th to put the last-place Mackers away. The Yankees are at Navin Field tomorrow while the Senators are in St. Louis, but I don't have a good feeling about any miracles happening in Michigan.

RED SOX 9-15-0, at WHITE SOX 4-12-4
Ehmke goes the distance, and Boston wins their season series with Chicago 13-9.

YANKEES 10-13-4, at BROWNS 2-6-1
Wally Pipp continues his mashing with a double, homer and single, Ruth walks four times and scores four times, and Shawkey beats Vangilder to save a little face, even though the Browns take this series 13-9.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Thursday, September 18
Pittsburgh Pirates	90	55	.621	—
New York Giants	84	61	.579	6
Brooklyn Robins	84	61	.576	6
Cincinnati Reds	80	65	.552	10
Chicago Cubs	77	68	.531	13
St. Louis Cardinals	69	76	.476	21
Philadelphia Phillies	56	89	.386	34
Boston Braves	40	105	.276	50
AMERICAN LEAGUE through Thursday, September 18
Washington Senators	88	56	.611	—
Detroit Tigers	80	66	.548	9
Chicago White Sox	76	69	.524	12.5
New York Yankees	73	71	.507	15
Boston Red Sox	69	76	.476	19.5
St. Louis Browns	68	78	.466	21
Cleveland Indians	65	81	.445	23.5
Philadelphia Athletics	61	83	.424	26.5