1915 World Series
Game 1
This was a good pitching duel between Giants starter
Jeff Tesreau and Chicago's
Reb Russell. White Sox first baseman
Jack Fournier got the scoring started with a 2-out 2-run homer off Tesreau in the bottom of the 3rd. The Giants answered in the next inning with a solo home run from
Dave Robertson. An inning later, shortstop
Milt Stock hit a solo home run off Russell, after hitting just 3 during the entire season, to give the Giants a 2-1 lead.
In the top of the 9th with White Sox closer
Harry Suter on the mound, the Giants got two singles with two outs. Then
Larry Doyle hit a routine fly ball to left field that
Ping Bodie misplayed, allowing another run to score. That would prove disastrous for Chicago because in the bottom of the 9th, the White Sox got a solo home run from catcher
Ray Schalk which would have tied the game without Bodie's error, but instead the White Sox failed to score another run against reliever
Louis Drucke and lost 3-2.
Game 2
After his big error the day before, Ping Bodie was motivated to make amends today. In the first inning with two runners on base and two out, he laced a 2-run double off
Dick Rudolph. The Giants tied the score with two runs the next inning off veteran starter
Ed Walsh. In the bottom of the inning with a runner on first, Giants catcher
Chief Meyers fielded a bunt by Walsh but threw it into center field trying to make a play at second base. A double and a single later, the White Sox had scored three more to take a 5-2 lead.
In the 3rd, Bodie ended the inning with a spectacular diving catch. He led off the next inning and nearly hit one over the fence but was robbed by Giants right fielder
Dave Robertson. Two innings later, Bodie hit a 2-run homer off Rudolph to open the game up 7-2. The Giants managed to narrow the score to 7-5 and in the 8th inning they had the bases loaded but Chicago closer Harry Suter came in to get the last out. Suter then pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to seal the win.
Game 3
In the top of the first inning, Giants starter
Rube Marquard was in trouble with the bases loaded and nobody out. He struck out slugging cleanup hitter Jack Fournier and then struck out Ping Bodie. However, he was not so lucky against
Braggo Roth, who cleared the bases with a triple into the right-center fielded alley. In the 4th, Roth led off with a solo home run. The Giants scored two runs in the 6th and then Giants reliever
Al Demaree, who was actually a starter during the regular season, got three outs the previous inning on just three pitches. However, in the 8th, he threw 6 pitches to the first batter,
Happy Felsch, and walked him. He threw 8 more pitches to the next batter, Edd Roush, for another walk. He settled down and got the next two batters out, but then Braggo Roth stepped up to the plate in another key situation and belted a 3-run homer on the second pitch he saw. Meanwhile, White Sox starter
Phil Douglas threw a complete game and Chicago went on to win 7-3.
Game 4
This was a fantastic pitching duel between Chicago's
Jim Scott and San Francisco's
Christy Mathewson. Both pitchers went 7 1/3 innings without giving up a run. The game remained scoreless going into the top of the 9th when relievers
Red Ames, who began the season as the closer, and Louis Drucke, who finished the season as the closer, combined to allow seven, yes seven, runs cross the plate as the White Sox took a 3-1 series lead.
Game 5
The Giants made a surprising decision to play rookie
George Kelly at second base in place of 2-time Batter of the Year
Larry Doyle because Doyle is left handed and the White Sox were sending their only left-handed starting pitcher to the mound in Reb Russell. It is also likely that Doyle was sitting due to his .111 World Series average. As surprising as the move was, it paid off when Kelly hit a solo home run off Russell in the bottom of the 4th, delighting the home crowd. Other than that hit, Russell and his counterpart Jeff Tesreau were nearly unhittable and they struck out 11 batters each!
With the Giants still winning 1-0 in the top of the 9th, White Sox catcher Ray Schalk singled with runners at 1st and 2nd off reliever
Doc Crandall to tie the game. Crandall then got shortstop
Buck Weaver to ground into an inning-ending double play. In the bottom of the 9th, Russell got the first two Giants batters out but Dave Robertson kept the inning alive with a single. Fred Merkle then hit a ball to third that was muffed by poor-fielding Braggo Roth, who is often removed late in games for a defensive replacement. Russell was then pulled for setup man
Mellie Wolfgang, who had not yet appeared in the World Series. After a called strike,
Heinie Groh hit the second pitch up the middle into center field, scoring Robertson from second and winning the game.
Game 6
In the bottom of the 3rd, White Sox shortstop
Buck Weaver, who was hitting a paltry .100 in the series, led off with a solo home run against Dick Rudolph to start the scoring. Then in the 5th, Rudolph got the run back by hitting a solo home run himself with two outs against Ed Walsh. Chicago immediately got the run back in the bottom of the 5th inning though and then the Giants tied it up once again in the top of the 6th inning. In the bottom of the 6th, Chicago took a 3-2 lead on a 2-out solo home run by Jack Fournier. An inning later, pinch hitter
Dutch Zwilling hit a 2-out, 2-run home run off Rudolph to give the White Sox a 5-2 lead. Reliever
George Mogridge pitched a scoreless 8th inning and Mellie Wolfgang closed it out in the 9th, giving the White Sox their first ever World Series title!
Recap
Both teams really played their hearts out but in the end Chicago got more key hits and their pitching was stronger. In fact, not a single White Sox reliever was charged with a run the entire series. Their four starters had a combined 2.30 ERA over six starts (47 innings pitched).
Series MVP
Co-MVP's were named for the first time:
Reb Russell, SP, White Sox: 0-2, 16.2 IP, 18 K, 1.62 ERA
Jeff Tesreau, SP, Giants: 1-0, 14.2 IP, 16 K, 0.61 ERA
