Thanks to timely hitting and loose defense by New York, Macks rally to win in 11 innings, 4-2
NEW YORK, April 30, 1910 – Suffering from cabin fever after a string of cold and rainy April days, nearly 22,000 loyalists crammed into American League Park to witness the affair between the Athletics and their Yankees. On a beautiful Saturday afternoon, the long time belligerents engaged in an epic struggle that had many on the edge of their wooden seats.
New York manager George Stallings sent Jack Quinn to the box to face Connie’s boys. Quinn baffled the Athletics through the first six innings – holding the them to three puny singles and nary a walk. No Elephant got beyond second base through the first six. Meanwhile, Chief Bender was effectively wild – holding the Yanks scoreless through the initial three frames. The large throng on Manhattan’s hilltop hung on every pitch.
The Yankees got to Bender in their half of the fourth frame when Birdie Cree rapped a double to left field. Frank LaPorte promptly sacrificed the professor to third and John Knight followed with a rip through Bender’s wickets to give the New Yorkers a 1-0 lead. Knight, then, foolishly tried to steal second base. Catcher Paddy Livingston, the cream of the defensive backstop crop, popped out of his crouch and fired a bullet to second. Knight was out by a country mile. Jimmy Austin then walked and just as foolishly tried to pilfer the second sack. He too died the same death.
The home nine got to work again in the sixth. The hot-hitting Harry Wolter walloped a double to right-center field. On a normal afternoon, with Wolter’s speed, the blast would have been good for at least three bags, or at best, a circuit clout. However, with the overflow crowd roped off in the pasture, the sphere found its way into the band of rooters for a ground rule double.
Before throwing his next pitch, Bender tried to catch Wolter napping. He spun around and fired wildly – allowing Wolter to take third. Hal Chase followed with a lazy fly to center fielder Rube Oldring. The fly ball, of medium depth, was immediately dispatched on a line to Livingston – holding Wolter at third. Cree strolled after Bender momentarily lost the strike zone. LaPorte followed with a slow grounder to third baseman Frank Baker. He tried to turn the around-the-horn, inning-ending double play, but LaPorte beat the throw to first, allowing Wolter to score. Knight rolled a tapper in front of the pan and was thrown out by Paddy to ward off further damage.
Then came the fateful seventh inning for the Yankees – possibly costing them a victory. Quinn quickly got a two strike count on Baker. He curved one and got the big third baseman to swing over the top of it for the first out. Or so everybody thought. The ball eluded catcher Ed Sweeney and allowed Baker to safely reach first base. The Elephants had an opening. Could they take advantage? You betcha!
Harry Davis wasted no time. He laced a double into the right field crowd – sending Baker to third in the process. Danny Murphy hit a bounding ball to Knight who bobbled the chance and threw late to first – scoring Baker and placing runners at the corners. Jack Barry then smashed a liner that nearly took the leather off Quinn’s left hand. The young ball tosser retrieved the ball and desperately fired to first, but Barry’s speed was too much and Davis raced across the pan with the tying run.
Livingston hit a one-hopper to the box. Quinn fielded the ball cleanly and fired to third baseman Jimmy Austin to force Murphy. Barry, feeling frisky, decided to take third base. Sweeney atoned for his error by nabbing the young shortstop for the second out. Bender grounded out to second base – mercifully ending the inning for the Yankees. In a matter of moments, the Yankees went from working on a three-hit shutout to a clean slate. Both pitchers would dig in.
Bender held the Yanks off the board in the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth. The Athletics came close to pushing the go-ahead run across in the top of the ninth. Baker reached third with only one out, but Quinn escaped the mess by retiring Davis and Murphy. The game would remain tied until the top of the eleventh inning.
Oldring reached on an infield single to deep short. The Rube then reached second base on Collins’s swinging bunt – Collins retired at first on the play. Oldring then raced home on Baker’s sharp single to right field. The Athletics had their first lead of the battle. Quinn briefly gathered himself by striking out Davis for the second out. Baker then put himself into scoring position by stealing second. Murphy added insurance when he lined an offering to center field to bring home Baker – giving the White Elephants a two-run cushion. Barry ended the inning by grounding out to second.
Sensing the game had slipped away, the large crowd of rooters grew quiet. Bender strolled to the mound needing just three more outs to secure the victory. He would have no issues. The wily veteran retired the Yanks in rapid succession to secure a hard fought, 4-2 triumph for the visitors from Philadelphia.
The box is as follows:
NOTES:
- The victory catapulted the Athletics (6-4) over the Yankees (5-4) back into second place.
- Yankees first baseman Hal Chase saved a run in the sixth inning by snaring a screaming liner off the bat of Eddie Collins. The ball would have gone for extra bases.
- Yankees center fielder Charlie Hemphill stifled a rally in the eighth inning when he threw out Topsy Hartsel at third base trying to advance on a fly ball.
- Athletics catcher Paddy Livingston continues to play flawless defense. In four starts this year, he has yet to commit an error and has thrown out at least one potential base stealer in every start.
- The Athletics will now head home for a long home stand which starts against the Red Sox on Monday.
American League
Yesterday’s scores (April 30, 1910):
- Philadelphia 4, New York 2 (11 innings)
- Boston 5, Washington 3
- Cleveland 2, St. Louis 1
- Chicago 1, Detroit 0
National League
Yesterday’s scores (April 30, 1910):
- New York 9, Philadelphia 4
- Pittsburgh 1, Chicago 0
- St. Louis 4, Cincinnati 1
- Brooklyn 4, Boston 2
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