two Game 6s today, the last two active series of the round of 16. summaries after the jump; you can follow the tournament at Cardinal70's tracker page.
Game 6, 1886 v 1934
Game 6, 1944 v 1964
1886 BROWNS v. 1934 CARDINALS
Game 6
(1934 leads, 3 games to 2)
summary by Zubin
Another elimination game for the 1886s is on tap today. I originally planned to use Caruthers in this game, but his relief appearance in game 5 pushes his next start back to Game 7, if necessary. Instead Dave Foutz will square off against Paul Dean. The two pitched against each other in Game 3, with Foutz ultimately emerging as the victor. Still, Dean held his own, allowing 1 earned run on 8 hits. For the 1934s there are significant stakes in this game, as a win today would allow Dizzy Dean to pitch Game 1 in the next series. Lineups are below:
| 1886 | 1934 |
|---|---|
| Arlie Latham, 3b | Pepper Martin, 3b |
| Bill Gleason, ss | Jack Rothrock, rf |
| Tip O'Neill, lf | Frankie Frisch, 2b |
| Charlie Comiskey, 1b | Joe Medwick, lf |
| Curt Welch, cf | Ripper Collins, 1b |
| Yank Robinson, 2b | Bill Delancey, c |
| Doc Bushong, c | Ernie Orsatti, cf |
| Hugh Nicol, rf | Leo Durocher, ss |
| Dave Foutz, p | Dizzy Dean, p |
Again the scoring begins in the first inning. With one out, Rothrock squibs a ball down the third-base line. Latham charges and fields, but the throw isn't in time. After a Frank Frisch fly out, Ducky plates Rothcock with a double to right. 1934s are up, 1-0. Dean helps his own cause in the third with a bloop double to center. He's still on second two outs later, but Frisch capitalizes on the RBI opportunity with a groundball single to right. The Flash then steals second to set up another opportunity for Ducky, but Medwick grounds to first to end the inning. In the fourth, a Bill Delancey walk paired with a Ernie Orasatti double makes the score 3-0.
Meanwhile, the younger Dean is dealing: Though 4 innings he has a 1-hitter. But he hits a rough spot in the 5th. Welch leads off with a single and swipes 2d. Yank Robinson, who hasn't been his reliable self this series, fails to hit the ball to the right side to advance the runner; instead he taps it to short for the first out. Welch, undeterred, steals 3d. Frisch orders the infield to play at mid-depth, seemingly content to concede a run for an out. Bushong grounds one sharply to short, and Welch goes on contact --- but Durocher gloves it and, without hesitation, throws home. The throw is perfect, and so is the tag; Welch is out number 2. The fates then tease the Browns a bit when Hugh Nicol reaches on an e7 to put runners on the corners for Foutz. Unlike most modern pitchers, Foutz is a decent hitter, posting a 111 OPS+ in 1886, so it's a good opportunity for the Browns. But Dean is fearless; he gets a quick couple of strikes on Foutz and then sets him up inside. The result is a harmless pop up to short.
After that threat, Dean resumes rolling through the Browns. He pitches around a hit in the sixth and retires the Browns in order in the seventh. In the eighth, down to their last 6 outs before elimination, Nicol leads off with a single, but he's erased on a 6-4-3 double play. Latham and Gleason then hit back-to-back singles to bring the trying run to the plate in Tip O'Neill. The 1886 version of O'Neill has yet to go yard, and now would be an opportune time, But no such luck; Tip flies out to left. The 1886 only have 3 outs left.
Foutz comes back out to pitch a perfect eighth. He has now retired 10 Cardinals in a row and hasn't allowed a base runner since the fifth. He won't get a chance to extend that streak unless his teammates get him some runs. Dean seems to be tiring, but Sim-Frisch has a stocked and rested bullpen. Comiskey's up first; he grounds out to Collins. Welch comes up next and rips a pitch into the right-centerfield gap for a double. Robinson's hitting woes continue as he grounds out to short, not even advancing the runner. The Browns are down to their final out; the pride of the 1880s rests entirely on Doc Bushong. Dean issues a curve, and Bushong hacks at it. The ball one hops into Frankie Frisch's glove and the throw to Rip Collins at first is in plenty of time.
1934 takes the game 3-0 and the series 4-2. Paul Dean is the player of the game for his 7-hit shoutout; he and brother Dizzy are the series co-MVPs. In a combined 32 innings they allow only 4 earned runs. They will be a formidable 1-2 punch against the victor of the 1944/1964 series.
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1944 CARDINALS v. 1964 CARDINALSGame 6
(1964 leads, 3 games to 2)
summary by giveml
The 1964 Cardinals smell victory after taking a 3-2 lead in the series, but the plucky 1944 Cardinals are not ready to concede defeat. The 1944 team has played in three World Series in a row, winning two of them. They have won 316 games in the last three years as well. The `44s send Game 2 loser Max Lanier against Game 3 loser Ray Sadecki. One of these lefties will step up and carry his team into the winners' circle today. No surprises from either Johnny Keane or Billy Southworth with today's lineups, as the `44s use the same card as from each of the first five games and the `64s use the same lineup that has faced each of the lefty starters:
| 1964 | 1944 |
|---|---|
| Curt Flood, cf | Danny Litwhiler, lf |
| Lou Brock, lf | Johnny Hopp, cf |
| Dick Groat, ss | Stan Musial, rf |
| Ken Boyer, 3b | Walker Cooper, c |
| Bill White, 1b | Ray Sanders, 1b |
| Mike Shannon, rf | Whitey Kurowski, 3b |
| Julian Javier, 2b | Marty Marion, ss |
| Tim McCarver, c | Emil Verban, 2b |
| Ray Sadecki, p | Max Lanier, p |
Lou Brock has been enjoying a fine series, and this game is no exception: he singles with one out in the first, then goes to third as Groat bounces a sharp grounder through the hole into right. Boyer comes up with a chance to really set the `44s back on their heels, but he's fooled on a changeup and pounds it into the dirt toward short. Marion charges aggressively and throws across his body to Verban, who turns a nifty pivot and barely nips the hustling Boyer at first for a rally-killing double play to end the inning.
The '64s threaten again in the second. White works Lanier for a leadoff walk; after Shannon hits into a force, Javier finds the hole on the right side for a single and advances Shannon to third. Keane doesn't want to see another rally snuffed by the double play ball, so he starts Javier on the 2-1 pitch with McCarver at bat. The strategy pays off as McCarver spanks a grounder through the hole for an RBI single. Shannon scores on the play, and Javier continues on to third. Sadecki can't get the bunt down to move McCarver into scoring position and strikes out weakly to bring up Flood with two out. Flood works the count to 3-2 and, with McCarver running from first, lines the ball toward left field. Marion has him shaded just enough toward third to come up with the back-handed catch of the sinking liner to retire the side with the `64s in the lead 1-0.
Brock gets on base again leading off the top of the third, walking and promptly stealing second to move into scoring position for the heart of the order. But Lanier keeps his wits about him and retires Groat, Boyer, and White without the ball leaving the infield. The score is still 1-0 in favor of the `64s, but they've squandered some opportunities to establish a bigger margin.
The light-hitting Verban raps a clean single into center leading off the bottom of the third, and Lanier lays down a flawless bunt as Verban takes second. Litwhiler tries to shoot one through the right side, but Javier makes a fine play to his left and retires him for the second out of the inning. Hopp battles Sadecki by fouling off several pitches and running the count to 2-2. Sadecki challenges him with a fastball, and Hopp wins the battle by grounding a sharp single to right. Verban races home with the tying run, and Musial steps in with a runner on first and two out. Hopp gets an outstanding jump on Sadecki and steals second base easily as Musial takes a strike. Musial then hits an absolute rocket on the next pitch that slams into the center field wall and gives the `44s the lead. Musial is thinking triple all the way, but Flood makes a nice play and Stan decides not to push it with two out. McCarver comes out to the mound to settle his pitcher, and they decide to walk the right-handed Cooper in order to face the lefty Sanders. The strategy works this time as Sanders can only manage a weak fly ball to Flood. Nevertheless, the `44s have scored twice to take the lead by a score of 2-1.
Lanier pitches around another leadoff single in the 4th, and Marion gets things started in the bottom half by smoking a line drive over Javier's head for a one-out single. Sadecki looks to be carving up Verban as he jams him on an 0-2 tailing fastball, but the little second sacker is able to fight the pitch off and pop a Texas Leaguer just over Groat's outstretched glove for a bloop double that scores the gambling Marion all the way from first. Lanier gets in on the act as he bounces a single into left that scores Verban to extend the lead to 4-1. Litwhiler gets his second hit of the game as he bloops a double into left and Lanier pull in at third with one out. The crowd is really pumped and is looking for more damage as Hopp comes up with Musial on deck. But Sadecki feeds both left-handed hitters a steady diet of breaking balls and strikes them both out swinging to end the inning.
The '64s counterpunch in the sixth. Shannon's soft liner drops in front of Litwhiler for a hit. Javier follows that up with a single of his own, and Shannon takes third. McCarver rips a grounder through the right side, but Sanders dives and makes a sensational stop. He tosses to Lanier covering for the out as Shannon crosses the plate and Javier moves up to second. Johnny Lewis, pinch-hitting for Sadecki, battles Lanier and manages to work a walk, bringing up the top of the order. Southworth has seen enough, and he opts for the rubber-armed Al Jurisich to face Flood. Jurisich has no trouble with Flood as he strikes him out swinging for the second out. Brock stands in with runners on first and second and the `64s still down by two. As Jack Buck used to say, will it be a strikeout, a three-run homer, or something in between? Put your money on in between, as Brock pounds a fastball into the right field gap. Lewis was running all the way with two out and scores easily as does Javier. It's all tied up 4-4; Brock has a perfect day going, 2 hits and a walk.
Ron Taylor comes on to pitch the sixth for the `64s, and the `44s couldn't be happier. They have seen a lot of Taylor in this series and like the look of his stuff. Verban leads off with a hard liner that Boyer has to dive for; he makes the play for the first out. Jurisich bats for himself and hits a liner through the left side for a single. Litwhiler shoots a liner the other way, into the right centerfield gap, but Flood chases it down and makes a shoestring catch, nearly doubling Jurisich off first. Hopp is the fourth straight hitter to jump all over Taylor's offerings, and he blisters one over White's head that hooks just fair into the corner and rattles around long enough for Jurisich to score the lead run all the way from first. The manager orders Musial to be intentionally passed, and then Keane is out of the dugout to signal for the lefty, Mike Cuellar. He's no match for Walker Cooper, who narrowly misses a three-run homer as he bombs one off the top of the centerfield wall. Hopp and Musial score to extend the lead to 7-4. Cuellar is able to get the left-handed Sanders to take strike three, and we go to the seventh inning.
Jurisich looks to be a bit tired from his jaunt around the bases. Boyer leads off with a sharp grounder past Marion into left for a single. White, happy to see a right-handed pitcher, cranks a line drive down the line and over the 309 mark for a two-run homer that closes the gap to 7-6. Shannon makes a bid to go back-to-back, but hits it to the wrong part of the park as his towering shot is pulled down by Hopp on the warning track in front of the 420 mark. McCarver manages a two-out single, but Jurisch is able to retire the pinch-hitter Skinner to end the inning and preserve the lead.
Barney Schultz is summoned from the pen to start the eighth and is typically masterful as the `44s are baffled by the dancing knuckler. Kurowski looks awful on a ball out of the zone, and Marion and Verban both launch cans of corn. Jurisich stays in the game to pitch the eighth, his third inning of work, and retires Flood on a groundout to short. When Brock follows by slapping a single to left for his third hit of the game, Southworth gets Freddy Schmidt up in the bullpen in a hurry. As Groat steps in with the tying run on first, Southworth strolls to the mound to stall. After a long discussion about the weather, where to eat after the game, and the buxom blonde behind the dugout, the home plate umpire comes out to hurry things up. Southworth mutters something unpleasant and slowly makes his way back to the dugout. Jurisich responds by getting Groat to pop into short right field, but Southworth pops back out and Schmidt comes on to face the lead run in the person of Ken Boyer. Boyer is hoping for a long one to bring his team one step closer to a bubbly post-game celebration, but it is not to be as he can't catch up with Schmidt's heater and grounds to Sanders at first to end the inning.
Despite Barney Schultz having retired the side in order in the seventh, Keane elects to replace him with Bob Humphreys. The curious strategy seems to pay off as Humphreys quickly retires the pitcher Schmidt and the leadoff man Litwhiler. Hopp works him for a walk, and Keane replaces him with Ray Washburn. Musial is the first batter Washburn faces, and The Man buys a little insurance with a frozen rope over the right field fence to make it 9-6. The `64s noticeably droop as Musial rounds the bases. Groat loses the handle on Cooper's ensuing grounder for an error, and Sanders avoids the collar by chasing home Cooper with a bloop double that makes it 10-6. Washburn leaves the game without retiring a single hitter, and Glen Hobbie comes on to retire Kurowski to end the inning.
Freddy Schmidt is just too much for the dispirited `64s. He surrenders a seeing-eye single to White to lead off the ninth inning, but Shannon, Javier, and McCarver go down without a fight to end the game. The `44s have pulled even with a 10-6 victory.
Game 7 should be a classic. Tune back in tomorrow.