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BILL JAMES |
THE 1914 "MIRACLE" BRAVES
The Braves beat the Cubs and win the series
May 24, 1914 ... The Boston Braves got six hits off Bert Humphries and George Pierce to beat the Chicago Cubs by a score of 3 to 2 and winning the series at West Side Grounds. The Braves
took three of the four games played here.
Chicago knocked out nine safe hits, but with the exception of the fourth inning, the Boston pitchers kept the hits pretty well scattered. In the fourth inning, the Cubs scored both their runs and except for that, Bill James pitched very well for the Braves. In the fourth, the Cubs bunched
three hits with two base on balls. One of the passes forced a run across and Wilbur Good's single scored the other.
James also got into a pretty tight hole in the third inning, but escaped without being scored upon. The Cubs filled the bases with none out, but Rabbit Maranville forced the runner at third, Tommy Leach popped out to Butch Schmidt and Humphries was doubled off first.
Down 2 to 0, Schmidt singled to start the Braves fifth inning and went to second on Jack Martin's out. Hank Gowdy connected for a hit that went through short, sending Schmidt home with the first Boston run. Then Leslie Mann hit one just out of Leach's reach in center, to send home Gowdy with
the tying run. Mann went to third on Leach's throw home and scored what proved to be the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Bill James. Pierce came into pitch the sixth inning and the Braves never threatened again.
In the ninth-inning it looked for a minute or two, that the Cubs would grab again in a late rally. Art Phelan batted for Pierce and reached on a base hit. Leach then sacrificed him to second and he went to third on Gowdy's bad throw. Bubbles Hargrave then batted for Good and flied out to
Martin. Fritz Mollowitz was the third pinch-hitter, batting for Vic Saier, and he struck out to end the game. |
