LUCKY SEVENTH

Trailing all afternoon, Athletics explode in the seventh to secure a 7-4 triumph

PHILADELPHIA, May 21, 1910 – As has become custom when the Detroit Tigers roll in to town, some of the season’s grandest gatherings assemble at the corner of Twenty-First and Lehigh to serenade Hughie Jennings’s boys in a way that only Philadelphians can. Today was no different.

The jeering commenced as soon as the Tigers emerged from the first base dugout for warm ups. Detroit’s great slugger, Ty Cobb, relishes his role as the villain – smirking, smiling, tipping his cap – raising the ire of his tormentors. It was a festive atmosphere this afternoon – an October feel – as an overflow crowd settled into their seats.

Umpire Jack Sheridan signaled to Connie Mack’s rookie lefty Tommy Atkins that it was time to play ball. Atkins was a curious choice to start the game. Like Harry Krause on Thursday, Atkins was coming off a long layoff – four weeks to be exact. Tommy’s last game action was nine-inning outing in Boston on April 25.

Mack’s strategy was to try and neutralize the top of Detroit’s lethal lineup. Three of their first four hitters are left-handed, and switch-hitting shortstop Donie Bush is no slouch from the port side. The Tigers had no problem quieting the large throng in the very first inning. The rusty Atkins – obviously hampered by the long layoff – walked Davy Jones to begin hostilities.

Bush promptly smacked a double down the right filed line. Right fielder Danny Murphy raced over and cut the ball off before it had a chance to scoot to the wall. Murphy’s actions temporarily halted Jones at third, but the Tigers were in business with Cobb’s lethal lumber next on the docket. The baby-faced Atkins was now in a heap of trouble.

Cobb, as is his custom, wasted no time in bringing both runners over the plate. He lined a long drive to deep, left-center field for a double that brought home Jones and Bush for the game’s first runs. With the equally dangerous Sam Crawford up next, Atkins lost all control and walked Wahoo Sam on four out of the zone. Still nobody out.

Jennings called on Jim Delahanty to move the runners over with a sacrifice. Del dropped a perfect bunt toward third base where Frank Baker fielded and fired in the direction of first base. The only problem is that first baseman Harry Davis is not ten feet tall. Baker’s wild heave allowed Cobb to score with Crawford ending up at third and Delahanty at second. Three runs across, two more in scoring position, and not a man out. Many in attendance were undoubtedly questioning their decision to come to the ballpark today.

Mack was possibly trying to figure out who to send down to warm up. Atkins needed a big out. He got one! George Moriarty hoisted a pop up back of third. Baker drifted into foul territory to secure the ball and with it, the game’s initial out. Baker was not finished being in the middle of the action quite yet.

Tom Jones chopped one to Frank who immediately made the decision to come home, where catcher Ira Thomas was waiting for Crawford with the ball – and with it, the second out. Atkins lost the plate yet again, walking hefty backstop Oscar Stanage to load the bases. The good news for Atkins was that Detroit pitcher Ralph Stroud was coming to bat. The rookie pitcher was still looking for his first career hit (in ten at-bats). He struck out on three pitches and the Tiges happily settled for an early, 3-0 lead.

Connie’s boys scratched out a run in the bottom of the second. The inning commenced when Stroud issued a free pass to Captain Davis. While Murphy was toiling at the dish, Stroud unleashed a wild pitch that sent Davis down to second. After Murphy grounded out, Jack Barry lined a single to left that easily scored Davis to put the Elephants on the board.

They crept to within one run in the bottom half of the fourth. One man was retired when Murphy took his turn at the pan. He waited on one of Stroud’s offerings and squarely walloped the pill to straightaway center field. Cobb turned and raced back for the ball. To no avail. By the time the ball was on its way back to the infield, Murphy was pulling into third base with a triple. Barry then lofted a long fly to the left pasture that chased Davy Jones back toward the wall. Jones hauled it in, but Murphy trotted home with the run.

After being lammed all over the yard in the first inning, Atkins settled down and held his ground against the hard-hitting Tigers – holding them scoreless over the next five frames. Detroit finally broke through again in the seventh. Bush led off with his second two-bagger of the contest. With a runner at second and nobody down, the unthinkable happened.

The great Cobb was at the plate for a chance at seriously hurting the Macks. Whether Cobb was ordered by Jennings or was on his own, he dropped a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt, moving Bush over to third. A curious move, indeed. Wahoo Sam then slugged a solid single to center and Bush galloped over the pan to give the visitors a 4-2 lead. Delahanty, Moriarty, and Tom Jones were retired in succession and Atkins could count his lucky stars.

The tide then turned and the large gathering truly had something to get worked up over. The Mackmen unleashed a fusillade against three Bengal pitchers to put the battle on ice. Thomas started the festivities by lifting a fly ball into left-center field. It turned out to be Detroit’s Bermuda Triangle. Davy Jones, Cobb, and Bush all converged on on the globule. Cobb hit a burst of speed and made a headlong attempt at a circus catch. Not only did he fail to come up with the ball, but he made a face plant in the sod, leaving a divot. Thomas was standing at second with his first double of the season.

After a valiant, seven-inning effort against the three-time defending American League champions, young Tommy Atkins was done. Mr. Mack lifted him in favor of backup catcher Jack Lapp. Jack lined a single to shallow right that was snared by Crawford on one hop. So shallow, in fact, that Thomas had to park his ice wagon at third. Mack immediately sent in Morrie Rath to run for Lapp. The Macks were now in business.

Heinie Heitmuller – giving Topsy Hartsel a rest today – pasted one past first baseman Tom Jones and into right field, bringing home Thomas and drawing the home nine to within a run. Jennings, sensing that Stroud was done, went out to the mound with a hook. He called on young left-hander Hub Pernoll to put out the fire. It was quite a lot to ask of a 22-year old making his sixth big league appearance.

Oldring was the first man to greet Piano Legs. The Rube nearly twisted himself into the dirt on the first pitch. The mighty cut produced a dribbler that rolled no more than 40 feet. Third baseman Moriarty charged and bare-handed the ball but had no play anywhere. The bases were now loaded with nobody out, and Eddie Collins was due up.

But, before Collins could dig in, home plate umpire Jack Sheridan had to take care of some business. The Tigers were growing weary of Sheridan’s strike zone and were letting the old arbiter hear about it. Tiger pitcher Ed Killian came out to home plate during the pitching change to intimately voice his displeasure. Sheridan, not one to mess around, removed his mask and ejected Killian for arguing. It was the second time during this series that Ol’ Jack had a Detroit ball tosser removed from the grounds.

Once the dust up subsided, Collins launched a fly ball to Crawford in deep right field. It was an out, but Rath raced home over the dish to tie things up. With the left-handed swinging Baker due next, Jennings made another peculiar move. He lifted the left-handed Pernoll in favor of diminutive righty Frank Browning to face the powerful Baker. Frank greeted Browning by lacing the first pitch to right, scoring Heitmuller and sending Oldring over to third.

Baker decided to show off his foot speed with a vacancy at the keystone corner. Baker’s jump was so huge that Stanage decided to just hold the ball and not risk having Oldring trying to purloin the dish. Captain Davis found a pitch to his liking and walloped a double down the left field line. Oldring and Baker raced over and did the two-step over the pan to give the Macks a five spot in the inning.

Now ahead, 7-4, with another man in scoring position, the Athletics looked for more. Murphy, already with two hits on the day, was looking to make it a trifecta. Instead, he lofted a can of corn for Cobb to reel in. Barry, the ninth man to bat in the inning, struck out to end Detroit’s misery. In the blink of an eye, the high-powered Athletics went from a two-run deficit to a three-run lead with six outs to go.

Mack called on Jack Coombs to come in for the final two innings. Colby Jack’s assignment was quite simple: throw strikes! Coombs pitched a perfect eighth, but ran into trouble in the ninth. Chick Lathers, pinch-hitting for Browning, singled to left leading off the frame. Davy Jones hit a come-backer to Coombs who turned and forced Lathers at second. Bush singled to left for his third hit of the game.

The capacity crowd grew eerily quiet. Just like that, the Tigers had the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning. And, it was none other than Ty Cobb himself. Undoubtedly, many in the crowd this afternoon, were at Columbia Park on September 30, 1907 when Mr. Cobb tied a crucial game with a two-run home run in the ninth inning to crush the Athletics’ World Series dreams. Would today be a repeat?

Coombs buckled down and coaxed both Cobb and Crawford to loft a pair of routine fly balls to secure a hard fought victory for the Mackmen. As over 20,000 rooters walked out of Shibe Park and into the late-afternoon light, many were surely suffering from pennant fever. And who could blame them.

The box is as follows:

NOTES:

• American League President Ban Johnson was in attendance at Shibe Park this afternoon. He witnessed the festivities from Benjamin Shibe’s private box.
• Athletics right fielder Danny Murphy was presented with a silver loving cup prior to his first at-bat in the bottom of the second inning.
• Holding a 3-2 lead in the top of the 6th inning, the Detroit Tigers loaded the bases with nobody out. They did not score.
• With a record of 20-5, the Athletics are off to their best start in franchise history.
• After an off day on Sunday, the two clubs will finish the four-game series on Monday afternoon.

American League

Yesterday’s scores (May 21, 1910):

• Philadelphia 7, Detroit 4
• St. Louis 3, Washington 2
• New York 5, Cleveland 4 (15 innings)
• Chicago at Boston (rain)

National League

Yesterday’s scores (May 21, 1910):

• Philadelphia at Chicago (rain)
• St. Louis 4, Brooklyn 3 (10 innings)
• Cincinnati 6, Boston 3
• Pittsburgh 1, New York 0