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THE 1914 "MIRACLE" BRAVES
Pittsburgh takes advantage
of the Braves pitchers
May 19, 1914 ... The Boston Braves had three pitchers that worked in the game today, but each weakened and caused a triumph by the Pittsburgh Pirates, winning 7 to 5 at Forbes Field.
Dick Crutcher was the first pitcher and he sailed along smoothly until the fourth inning, when the whole force of nine pirate players went to bat and never let up until they had scored five runs, on four hits, two base on balls, a sacrifice fly, and an error by Johnny Evers. Evers wild throw
to third base allowed the first of the five runs across the plate.
After the disasters fourth inning Gene Cocreham succeeded Crutcher and did fine work for three innings, during which only two Pirate batters reached first base, one on a single, and the other on a base on balls. In the eighth-inning however, Cocreham faltered. With the score tied at 5 to 5,
he began the inning by striking out Joe Leonard. Honus Wagner was tossed out by Jack Martin and then Ed Konetchy hit for a single and Joe Kelly received a base on balls.
Dick Rudolph then came in to pitch for Cocreham and umpire Al Orth decided that the count was two balls and no strikes on Mike Mitchell. He was instantly assailed by all the Boston infielders, who claimed that the proper count was one strike and one ball. Orth remain steadfast and Captain
Johnny Evers notified him that the game was being played under protest. Mitchell then hit for a single to score Konetchy and Gibson, followed with another single that brought home Kelly. These runs won the game for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The Braves played well from start to finish. They fielded sharply and Hank Gowdy played a good game behind the plate. In the sixth inning, Leslie Mann in his first home run of the season with the ball going into the deep corner in center field. Rabbit Maranville, however, was the star at the
plate. Five times he went to bat and four times he connected safely. His first it was a double, his second an infield single, and two more singles to the outfield.
The Braves scored two runs in the third inning on two hits and an error. In the sixth Mann's home run scored two more runs. In the seventh inning Evers went the first on balls, took second on Maranville's out at first, and scored on a single by Larry Gilbert, to tie the game. |
