June 9, 1915
Phillies @ Chicago Cubs
Athletics vs. Cleveland Indians
Okay, here we go! The
battle for first place in the National League was on! After yesterday’s game against the Cardinals,
the Phillies took the 300 miles train ride from St. Louis to Chicago (which
could have taken over 9 hours) while the Cubs got to sleep in their own beds
last night. Obviously this was a
mismatch of fitness and the Phillies would play today’s game fatigued, but they
did have their best weapon, Grover Cleveland Alexander, on the mound to guide
them to victory. If the Cubs weren’t
physically tired, they almost certainly were mentally exhausted. As I mentioned yesterday, the pressure of
being the league leader may have got to Chicago because they weren’t playing
the same quality of ball of late that they exhibited on their rise to the
top. Since taking the top spot in the NL
from the Phillies the Cubs were 4-4 and lost two series to the struggling
Pirates and Giants. The mediocre streak
gave the rest of the league a chance to catch up with them; on the day the Cubs
took over first place only the Phillies were within two and half games of them,
but as of today Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Boston were all within striking
distance. Both teams had something to
prove in this series. The Cubs had to
show they were still the class of the league despite the recent struggles. The Phillies needed to show that their recent
winning wasn’t just a fluke of playing a weak opponent. Let’s get to the action!
Alexander’s foil for the Cubs was man named Larry Cheney and
his story is very interesting. Cheney
grew up in Kansas and played his amateur ball as a catcher. In his first year in the minors, his manager
saw how powerful his arm was and began his transformation into a pitcher. The only problem was Cheney had very little
control of his blazing fastball. But for
anyone with that much talent it was only a matter of time before he was given a
tryout with a big league club. His came
in 1906 with the Chicago White Sox and it didn’t go well. Cheney did, however, learn how to throw a
nasty spitball and it changed his life (the spitball wasn’t outlawed until
1920). The White Sox had no use of his
services that season and he bounced around the minors, plagued by injuries,
until 1911 when Cincinnati gave him a spring training tryout, which was cut
short when Cheney contracted typhoid.
Even if his recovery destroyed his chance with the Reds, fate opened the
door to the Cubs. The 10 innings he
pitched that year brought much acclaim as he struck out 11 batters and gave up
zero runs. The only thing that could
ruin such a grand debut would be if a comebacker caught him off guard and smashed
his pitching hand and nose. Well, that’s
what happened. But it another twist of
fate, he had to learn an overhand throwing style to compensate for the weak
thumb that developed and it made his spitball just pop. He won 20 games each season from 1912 to 1914,
had a 2.65 ERA, and 11.4 rWAR, establishing him as a premier starter in the
National League. He was still extremely
wild (he still holds the Cubs record for most wild pitches in a career and he
only played for them for three and a half years), but I guess you could say he
was effectively wild. Sadly, 1915 was
the beginning of the end for Cheney as he just couldn’t overcome all of the
walks. He bounced around between the
Cubs, Dodgers, Braves, and Phillies for the next five years before he retired
at age 33.[1]
Against the Phillies today, Larry Cheney was not his normal
wild self. Sure there were some wild
pitches and hit batsmen, but he didn’t walk a single Phillie. He did, however, start the game off a little
shaky when Dave Bancroft and Bobby Byrne both hit singles off of him. They eventually made their way to second and
third on a combination of tagging up on fly balls and wild pitches, but the
Phillies couldn’t take advantage of the early threat. In fact, it wasn’t until the third that the
Phillies broke through for runs. It
started when Byrne was hit by a pitch.
Beals Becker was up next and got his first of three hits on the day when
he shot a double down the third baseline, scoring Byrne. Becker moved to third on the throw to the
plate and scored when Gavvy Cravath grounded out to second. What a treat to see the Phillies have two
early innings in which they provided a threat.
It was a good sign that the bats were coming back.
Meanwhile Alexander was cruising once again. The first three innings he struck out three
Cubs and didn’t allow a ball out of the infield. In the fourth he walked a batter and let two
pop flies get to Bud Weiser and Cravath, sure signs that he was finished. Just
kidding, he set the next eight batters down in order. For the second game in a row Alexander took a
no-hitter deep into a game, but like his last effort, this game wouldn’t end in
history. The twenty-second batter of the
day lined a double to the right-centerfield wall. While I’m sure Alex was absolutely frustrated
at not completing the no-hitter, he had to be proud that in his last 16 innings
he let up no runs, two hits, and two walks while striking out 13. Truly a magnificent run. The Phillies scored again in the fifth to
give Alexander a three run lead and first place was in their sights. Surely the wheels wouldn’t fall off, right?
In the bottom of the eighth Roger Bresnahan was on first
with two out. Then pinch hitter Polly
McLarry hit a single. The Wilbur Good
hit a single that scored Bresnahan. Bob
Fisher walked to load the bases and Frank Schulte cut the Phillies’ lead to one
with a base hit. Alexander was in trouble
for the first time all month and it was in the biggest game of the year so
far. The bottom of the ninth did not get
better. Vic Saier lead off with a double
and future Phillies great Cy Williams moved him to second with a single. Then, just like that, after all the work
Alexander put in dominating the Cubs, he allowed Bresnahan’s single to score
the tying run. We are going to extras.
The tenth was uneventful except for the fact that Alexander
remained in the game and seemed to be back to his high level of
performance. The Phillies broke the tie
in the eleventh when Becker scored on a sacrifice fly from Bert Niehoff. Now it was once again up to Alex to close out
the Cubs but, boy, was he shaky. The
Cubs put men on first and third with one out and their hero of the game, Roger
Bresnahan, stepped to the plate.
Alexander reached back for a little extra and forced Bresnahan to pop up
into a double play. And just like that
Alexander and the Phillies were out of the jam and into first place![2] [3] [4]
What a game! Both
clubs battled hard and displayed that their spots at the top of the standings
were warranted. It was one of those
games where it was sad that one team had to lose because they both performed so
well. But bully for the Phillies because
they battled against their own failings and miscues of May to retake first
place. Alexander deserves double credit
for his fantastic pitching for most of the game and then for his ability to
regain his composure after giving up the lead.
Getting a win and pitching all 11 innings is such an accomplishment. And how about those bats coming back for 10
hits?! The team was rounding into form
and hopefully taking over the Cubs would give them the confidence to propel
them going forward. The clubs had the
day off tomorrow, so the fans would have to wait two days for this great series
to resume. There was still the chance
that the Cubs could take the next two games and overtake the Phillies, so there
was a lot at stake. But for tonight the
Phillies got to go to bed as a first place club.
[2]
“Phillies Pound Cheney For Runs,” Evening
Ledger, June 9, 1915, accessed June 9, 2015, http://1.usa.gov/1KSYLbU.
[3]
“Phillies Now Lead In Pennant Race,” New
York Tribune, June 10, 1915, accessed June 9, 2015, http://1.usa.gov/1T8NObC.
[4]
“Phillies Score In Eleventh,” The Sun,
June 10, 1915, accessed June 9, 2015, http://1.usa.gov/1B34ZWa.
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