As the series moved to Cleveland, Lou Boudreau turned to his rookie southpaw sensation Gene Bearden (20-7, 2.43) to right the ship. Boston skipper Billy Southworth called on his own star rookie Vern Bickford (11-5, 3.27) to try to keep the Indians winless in this series.
Boston cleanup hitter Bob Elliott started the scoring in the top of the second when he blasted a Bearden knuckleball over the left field wall. The drive led many Braves fans listening to the radio broadcast to start thinking of a possible series sweep. But in the bottom of the frame Cleveland right fielder Wally Judnich doubled home Ken Keltner to tie the game 1-1. In the bottom of the fifth, Judnich and Bearden singled to put runners at the corners with two outs. Dale Mitchell then beat out a slow roller to allow the go-ahead run to score. After Larry Doby drew a walk to load the bases, Boudreau singled to drive home two more for the home team.
The score remained 4-1 into the eighth. In the bottom of that frame, Keltner belted a two-run homer to extend the lead to five. Bearden ran into trouble in the top of the ninth when a single by Tommy Holmes and a double from Alvin Dark gave the Braves runners at second and third with nobody out. Boudreau summoned Ed Klieman from the bullpen to relieve Bearden. The Indians right-hander retired the next three batters in order to close out the victory.
Cleveland 6, Boston 1
No comments:
Post a Comment