09 Chicago came into the series having
shut out the powerful 2003 Mariners in three straight games. The 46
Tigers had averaged 8 runs per game in their 6 wins. Something would
have to give.
Game 1: Ed Ruelbach had won his two previous starts throwing 18
innings and not having given up a run. Virgil Trucks who in 1952 would
go 5-19 with two no hitters, had thrown one inning in the previous 9
games. The Tigers 4th starter had not needed to start due to the
schedule. Now he would be called upon to try to hold in the bunting,
slashing, running Cubs. His rustiness was evident when he drilled Frank
Chance with a fastball to lead off the first. Harry Steinfeldt bunted
him to second and Pat Moran doubled him home. Meanwhile Ruelbach was
shutting down the Tigers through the first fur, allowing two weak
singles. But Doc Cramer drew a walk to lead off the 5th. Birdie
Tebbets singled and an Eddie Mayo groundout moved the runner to 2nd and
3rd. Virgil Trucks took matters into his own hands and ripped a single
to right scoring both runners. The Tigers never looked back. Hank
Greenberg doubled home 2 in the 9th. Trucks was magnificent, giving up
only five hits, no walks and no strikeouts. The Tigers had some concern
as Kell had to leave the game late when he was struck in the head with a
thrown ball while sliding into 3rd with a triple. Tigers 5 Cubs 2
Game 2: Three Fingered Mordecai Brown was 2-1 coming in, having
struggled in his
three appearances. Dizzy Trout had not pitched badly
in his three appearances but he had been tagged with the three Tiger
losses of the tourney. Kell had taken some aspirin for his headache and
was back in the lineup. In the first, after Solly Hofman was safe on
an Eddie Lake error, Chance singled with two outs. Trout should have
been out of the inning and hit temper got the better of him., He lost
his control and walked the next two hitters, forcing in a run. Chance
scored another run in the 3rd when he singled was moved to 2nd and
scored on Jimmy Archer's single. Meanwhile Brown was easily shutting
down the Tigers on 3 hits through the first 5 innings. With two out in
the 6th, things began to look up for the Tigers as Roy Cullenbine
singled and trotted down ahead of Greenberg's 5th homer of the season
(and the only homer in the series). Chicago came right back in the
bottom of the frame when Joe Tinker singled. Brown attempted to bunt
him to second but Tebbets mishandled the bunt and everyone was safe.
Johnny Evers stroked a double and gave Brown a lead he would not
relinquish. Cubs 3 Tigers 2
Game 3: Orval Overall (no really that was his given name, not a
nickname) had thrown two complete games, including a shutout. Hal
Newhouser had thrown 4 complete games, giving up 7 earned runs and
winning all four. In the top of the 3rd, the West Siders scored in
typical fashion. With two outs, Hofman worked Prince Hal for a walk,
stole= second and scored on Frank Schulte's single. But Overall
couldn't make it stand up. In the 6th, with one out, Overall pitched
around Greenberg too carefully and Hank, showing patience took a walk.
Dick Wakefield doubled him to third and he scored on Cramer's
groundout. Newhouser looked energized as he took the mound in the 7th.
He would only allow a walk over the next three innings, striking out
4. The Tiger bats still needed to get going and the next inning they
did. Mayo led off with a single and went to second on Newhouser's
sacrifice. With two out, Georgie Kell tripled him home and scored on
Greenberg's single. Kell had a great series going 6 for 16. But more
importantly, he sacrificed his body by playing in at third on nearly
every hitter. Consequently, the Cubs were deprived of a major weapon as
they were unable to bunt for a hit throughout the Series. Tigers 3
Cubs 2
Game 4: Rube Kroh would start for the Cubs. He had last pitched
two weeks prior, going 11
innings against the A's with no decision. He
would be matched up against Fred Hutchinson. Hutch had been the
surprising choice for the Tigers' third starter over Virgil Trucks, but
he had responded with 2 wins. Hoot Evers would get the call in center
against the lefty Kroh. Evers had lost his centerfield starting job too
Doc Cramer, going a disastrous 0-12 in his first 4 games. He had since
been relegated to pinch hitting and defensive replacement. The Tigers
would also be without Birdie Tebbets who had started every previous game
of the series, behind he plate hitting .353 coming into this series.
But Birdie needed a day off and manager Tom Davis decided he would
rather have Birdie available for a fifth game. Paul Richards would
serve behind the plate and he called and caught a great game, throwing
out Johnny Evers in Chicago's only steal attempt of the game before
giving way to a pinch hitter in the 8th. The Tigers scored first when
Cullenbine and Greenberg doubled. After Wakefield moved Hank to third
with a single, Hoot Evers brought him home with his first hit of the
tourney. The Cubbies got one back in the 5th Chance led off with a
single and went to third on Steinfeldt's single. Tinker's fly ball made
it a 1 run game. Hoot Evers singled home another run in the 6th to
give Hutch a two run lead he took into the 9th. Hofman led off the
frame hitting an easy ground ball to Lake who booted it. Schulte worked
Hutch for a walk and the tying run was on. Chance's sacrifice moved
the tying run to second. Harry Steinfeldt was the next hitter. , He
had come into the series hitting nearly .400 but the Tigers had shut him
down through the first three games, going 0 for 10. He had singled
earlier, but after talking it over, the decision was made to pitch to
him rather than set up the force. This was the right decision as
Steinfeldt hit a high pop up in short left, too short to try to score
the runner. Joe Tinker was the Cubbies' last hope but his lazy fly to
left settled into Dick Wakefield's glove and the Tigers advanced to the
Elite Eight. Tigers 3 Cubs 1
Kudos to Cubs manager Brian Stokes for taking this club into the
round of 16. The 09 Cubs simply cannot hit They have absolutely no
power (big surprise) but unlike other teams of the era, they had no
hitter over .290 in the lineup. Every run had to be painstakingly
manufactured and with George Kell taking away the bunt option, they were
forced to swing away, and hit a lot of last fly balls. Unlike their
previous victims, the Mariners, the Tigers were able to adjust to
hitting no homers (only one for the series) and instead scored on
doubles and triples. The pitching was pretty evenly matched but the
Tigers simply had better hitters.
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--
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