Sunday, January 26, 2014

World Series: Did You Know?

The Pittsburgh Pirates actually out-hit the Yankees in game 1 of the 1927 World Series. Were the Yankees of that year not that good?

Well, they were. But it was as if the Pirates weren't scared of them. At least in game 1. The Pirates sure put on a brave fight at home.

After Lou Gehrig cashed in Babe Ruth with a triple to open the scoring in the top of the first, the Bucs came right back! Waite Hoyt hit leadoff hitter Lloyd Waner. His brother Paul hit a double. A sac fly scored Lloyd and squared things at 1.

The Yankees erupted in the top of  the 3rd. An error, a single by Ruth and a walk to Gehrig, would start a 3-run inning that had to have the Pirates thinking reality here: no chance against New York!

But the Pirates were quick to answer in the bottom of the third, as starting pitcher Ray Kremer got things going with a double. Paul Waner then hit a single to score him. It was still 4-2, Yankees however.

The Yankees would make it 5-2 in the top of the 5th as Matt Koenig hit a double, Ruth grounded out and Gehrig hit a sacrifice fly of his own. The Pirates would need a miracle to come back. They almost got it!

In the bottom of the inning, with one out, Pittsburgh got 3 straight hits and a run to make it only 5-3, Yankees. The Pirates then had runners on the corners but could do no more.

The Pirates went 1-2-3 in the next two innings, but the Yankees did not score in the 6th, 7th or 8th inning. Actually, the Yankees would not touch home in this game again. But the Pirates sure did!

In the bottom of the 8th, three more singles led to another Pirate run and ran the Bucs hit total to 9. Now it was only 5-4, New York! The Pirates again had runners on the corners. But this time the tying run was 90 feet away and the winning run needed only a double. But Wilcy Moore, the Yankees bullpen ace, got Earl Smith to ground out to first. Both teams would be retired in order in the next inning. The Yankees managed only 6 hits in total on this afternoon.

The 1927 Yankees, one of the greatest baseball teams ever, had won this close game and were on their way to a sweep. But even great teams can be out-hit and still win. That's baseball for you!

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