[Westheim]

Week 7 / 1950 - May 29-June 6, 1950

Results and Performances

Mon May 29 - off day
Tue May 30 - v CLE (1) ... L 4-1 ...
Tue May 30 - v CLE (2) ... W 6-4 ... Groth 3-5, 2B; Evers 3-5, HR, 4 RBI; Barnacle 2-4, BB, HR, RBI; Ginsberg 2-3, BB;
Wed May 31 - off day
Thu Jun 1 - @ PHA ... L 7-3 ... Evers 3-4, 2 2B, RBI; Wertz 1-2, 2 BB, HR, 2 RBI;
Fri Jun 2 - @ PHA ... W 17-1 ... Kell 3-5, 2 RBI; Wertz 4-5, HR, 2B, 5 RBI; Robinson 4-5, BB, 2B, RBI; Lipon 4-6, 2B, 4 RBI; Trout 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, W (4-0) and 1-5;
Sat Jun 3 - @ PHA ... W 13-7 ... Kell 4-5, BB, RBI; Evers 2-5, BB, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Wertz 4-6, 2 HR, 4 RBI; Robinson 2-4, BB, RBI;
Sun Jun 4 - @ WAS ... L 6-3 ... Groth 3-4, HR, RBI; Robinson 2-3, BB, HR, RBI;
Mon Jun 5 - @ WAS ... L 5-2 ... Kell 2-3, 2 BB; Robinson 2-3, 2B, RBI; Gray 7.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 10 K, L (4-5) and 1-3;
Tue Jun 6 - @ WAS ... W 5-3 ... Ginsberg 3-3, BB, RBI; Trout 6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, W (5-0) and 1-2, RBI; White 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K;

Ranking at week's end: 4th, 26-20, 9 GB
Power rankings: 6th (-1)

Key plays

Friday's middle game in Philly saw the Tigers make hay early on. Johnny Lipon hit a bases-clearing double in a 4-run second inning, and the Tigers had another 4-run frame in the fourth after having nobody on base with two outs. Lipon singled, Dizzy Trout hit an infield single, the A's made a pair of errors, Alex Kellner walked Hoot Evers with the sacks full, and Wertz singled up the middle to drive in two more. This was not even their last 4-spot, as they put up another one in the seventh, that one containing a 3-run homer by Wertz off Johnny Kucab.

Monday in the capital, Ted Gray struck out ten, including five in a row at some point, maintaining a 2-0 lead and 2-hit shutout through seven. In the bottom 8th, Buddy Kerr and Al Evans hit singles, and Gil Coan plated the Senators' first run with a groundout. Johnny Bero could have ended the inning by handling Clyde Vollmer's grounder for any sort of out, but dropped the ball. Gray walked Eddie Robinson to stuff the bases full, then threw a hanger to Eddie Yost to empty them on an unearned grand slam.

Around the leagues

May 29 - The Cardinals will be without SP Howie Pollet (4-3, 3.31 ERA) for the next month; the 28-year-old is fighting with shoulder tendinitis.
May 30 - CLE SP Bob Feller (6-1, 3.41 ERA) is expected to be out for three months after suffering injuries, including a strained hamstring, after falling off his tractor.
May 30 - The Red Sox' SP Ellis Kinder (6-2, 3.83 ERA) spins a 3-hitter against the Yankees in a 9-0 rout for the Bostonians.
May 30 - STL SP Gerry Staley (6-2, 3.68 ERA) tosses a 3-hit shutout against the Pirates, with the Cardinals prevailing 1-0.
May 31 - PIT SP Joe Muir (4-1, 3.96 ERA) will spend the rest of the season rehabbing a torn labrum.
June 1 - CIN C Walker Cooper (.338, 3 HR, 24 RBI) not only drives in seven runs in the Reds' 10-6 win over the Giants, but also ends the game in style in the 11th inning with a 2-out grand slam off NYG MR Jack Kramer (0-2, 8.31 ERA).
June 5 - BRO SP Willie Ramsdell (7-3, 3.24 ERA) 3-hits the Cubs in a 5-0 shutout.
June 6 - BRO RF Carl Furillo (.275, 6 HR, 35 RBI) doles out four base hits, including a home run, and 5 RBI in the Dodgers' 17-2 thrashing of the Cubs.

Players of the Week

AL: BOS Johnny Pesky (.330, 0 HR, 22 RBI) went .519 (14-27), 0 HR, 7 RBI
NL: BOB Sid Gordon (.305, 5 HR, 20 RBI) went .393 (11-28), 4 HR, 10 RBI

Players of the Month

AL POTM: CLE Mike Garcia (6-1, 1.85 ERA) went 5-0, 1.51 ERA
AL HOTM: BOS Bobby Doerr (.354, 11 HR, 43 RBI) went .365, 10 HR, 36 RBI
AL ROTM: WAS Irv Noren (.280, 6 HR, 31 RBI) went .296, 5 HR, 22 RBI
NL POTM: STL Harry Brecheen (7-1, 2.65 ERA) went 6-0, 1.36 ERA
NL HOTM: BRO Gil Hodges (.316, 12 HR, 36 RBI) went .327, 10 HR, 30 RBI
NL ROTM: BRO Morrie Martin (6-0, 2.34 ERA) went 6-0, 2.34 ERA

Complaints and stuff

Memorial Day was a mixed bag; Fred Hutchinson pitched a complete-game 14-hitter for the win after once more Hal Newhouser had been whipped by the opposition, lasting only six innings in the opener.

Vic Wertz homered in each game in the A's series, including a pair of moonshots off John Davis on Saturday, so maybe I just need to nag my players more to get them to perform? The Tigers flogged Davis for eight runs (six earned) in the first two innings in that game, which was a Newhouser start, and guess what - Hal still didn't win! He left the game in the second inning with a shoulder strain and we will see whether two weeks' rest will heal him up or whether I have to contact the butcher that always takes care of Uncle Jim's horses when they are no longer any good.

Art Houtteman got the W in relief on Saturday, picking up the majority of the outs to collect. Nevermind that he shed five runs in four innings...

Not only Wertz went deep this week; the team as a whole seemed to have found the power stroke, going deep 13 times in the last eight games after hitting only 20 home runs in their first 38 games. Too bad the pitching still can not keep up, and unfortunately we will now also blunder into the slaughterhouses of New York and Boston. Could be hard week coming up!

We'll actually play the Sox on both of the next two weekends, because the East Coast teams will come out west immediately once we're going back home. The A's will come to Detroit first starting on the 13th. We won't play a game with a team on our side of the Pennsylvania-Ohio state line until the 26th when we will play the White Sox for the first time since April 30.