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ELLIS KINDER |
BOSTON RED SOX ...
THE
CURSE OF THE BAMBINO, PART 3
A
DREAM SUBWAY SERIES DISAPPEARS ...
Ellis Kinder
shuts out Detroit
for the Sox 13th straight win
July 27, 1948 ... Revenge
was sweet for Ellis Kinder tonight at Briggs Stadium. The 34-year-old
right-hander made up for past humiliation at the hands of the Tigers,
as he unwrapped his finest pitching performance of the season, a
three-hit shutout, muzzling the Tigers, 8 to 0 before 54,609 fans.
Kinder's brilliant effort enabled the Red Sox to start their western road trip
on a successful note, and extended their winning streak to 13 straight games,
widening their lead over the Athletics, who were beaten by the Indians, to one
full game. The Sox proved their ability to win even without Ted Williams, who
was trying to recover from an injured leg.
Pitching for the St. Louis Browns a year ago, Kinder had been humbled five
times by Detroit. This season he had suffered two previous losses, one of them
being the only defeat the Red Sox had, during their recent homestand. He was
pitted against Hal Newhowser, who was seeking his fifth straight win, and 15th
of the season. But Newhowser wasn't around after the second inning. Kinder, on
the other hand, hurled hitless ball for five and a third innings, allowing only
one man to reach second base, that on a walk. He permitted only a single base
hit in each of the next three innings, and then bore down to retire the Tigers
in order in the ninth. He struck out four and walked only three batters,
allowing only one base runner to reach third.
He was in danger of losing his shutout only in the sixth and seventh innings.
In the sixth he walked Hal Wagner on four straight balls and then shortstop,
Eddie Lipon touched him for the Tigers first hit. But Kinder got the next two
men. In the seventh, Vic Wirtz opened with a double, but was stranded there.
Lipon's second hit in the eighth, was the only other safety.
While Kinder was rolling along to his fifth victory, the Sox batters upended
three Tiger pitchers. Southpaw Ted Gray, the third pitcher, who took over in the
fifth inning, silence the Red Sox bats without a hit over the next four innings.
The Sox second inning uprising happened after two were out, as Newhowser had
retired five in a row. Nine Red Sox batters went to the plate, without a out,
after that, as the Red Sox scored three runs in the second and two runs in the
third.
A sore right leg forced Ted Williams out of the lineup once again. Ted was
hit by a pitched ball in the third inning of the final Cleveland game last
Sunday. McCarthy scratched Ted after he saw him in the pregame practice.
Williams took only a few swings in the cage and had to call it quits, as he was
unable to put any pressure on his right leg. |
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