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THE 1914 "MIRACLE" BRAVES
Dick Rudolph's bad inning proves Braves undoing
June 3, 1914 ... The Boston Braves had a relapse at Ebbets Field as the residents smashed the tribe by a score of 6 to 3. The heartless Robins pounded the ball against the fences with vindictive force, and trampled
on the feet of the Braves infielders as they tore around the base paths. When the dust had settled and the scoreboard man pasted up yhe number 5, it was conceded that the Braves had no chance of beating Brooklyn this trip. What made the battling cyclone of the Robins all the more hard to take, was the fact that Dick Rudolph had
been pitching great ball up until the fifth inning and had a good chance of pulling off a victory.
Each pitcher had been touched for a run in the first inning and then they settled down to pitch good baseball. There was no sign scoring by either team in the next three innings, and while both Rudolph and Brooklyn starter Nap Rucker, were hit, they tightened up at once when there was a
danger of scoring runs. Rudolph pelted a screaming triple to left in the fifth inning but never advanced an inch.
In the fifth inning Rudolph seem to have lost his speed and the ball floated up to the plate like a balloon. Ollie O'Mara was the first batter up and smashed a clean single to center. Otto Miller followed with the same result, that sent O'Mara to third base. Then came the pitcher Rucker, who
is not known as a good hitter. Rudolph clearly thought the rally would end there, but to his surprise, Rucker drove the ball against the scoreboard in left field for three bases, scoring O'Mara and Miller.
Jack Dalton then hit one to short, that Rabbit Maranville made a quick play on, and threw him out at first. Rudolph then passed Hummel to put runners at first and third. Red Smith came up next and followed Rucker's example by smashing the ball against the left-field scoreboard, scoring
Rucker and Hummel. Collins retrieved the ball and threw it past Maranville, who had gone out this short left to make the relay home. The bad throw allowed Smith to score the fifth run of the inning, and make the score 6 to 1.
The Braves made an effort in the eighth and were aided by some Brooklyn errors. Maranville took advantage of a fumble by O'Mara to get on first base. Wilson Collins poked a single to center, but was forced at second on Gilbert's roller to Hummel, allowing Maranville to reach third. The
Rabbit raced home when George Cutshaw threw wild to third in trying to catch him. On the play Gilbert reached second base and after Schmidt had fanned, scored on Hank Gowdy's double to left. The final score was 6 to 3 in favor of Brooklyn. |
