[jksander]

August 19, 1916: We continued to hit well, and in the bottom of the third inning we took a 2-0 lead thanks to an RBI triple for Jimmy Walsh and an RBI groundout by Amos Strunk. But they got them both back in the top of the seventh, scoring off a Harry Heilmann and an RBI double by Marty Kavanaugh. But we were unfazed, and in the bottom of the eighth Nemo Leibold doubled in a run to get us the lead back, scoring himself moments later off a single by Lee McElwee. Amos Strunk hit an RBI single to add on, and we went into the top of the ninth leading by three runs. Byron Houck closed out the ninth inning and we were able to keep our win streak alive with a 5-2 victory! Gene Packard improved to 8-7 with a 2.20 ERA, allowing two hits, two runs and three walks in his eight innings, while Houck earned his 13th save with a strikeout and nobody making ti on base. This was his 100th inning pitched this season and he still has a 2.52 ERA!

August 21, 1916: Detroit got on the board quickly, scoring off a Ty Cobb RBI single in the top of the first, but Stuffy McInnis hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning to flip the lead back to us, just his second homer of the season! Ossie Vitt hit a two run double in the top of the fourth to put them back on top, but we again answered in the bottom of the inning ... Rube Oldring reached base on an E5 error, letting McInnis score, Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single to give us the lead, and Alex McCarthy grounded into a 5-4-3 double play that let Oldring score, giving us a 5-3 lead going into the top of the fifth! Red McKee hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to get Detroit back within a run, but a Jimmy Walsh RBI single and a two-run triple by Amos Strunk gave us a four-run cushion as the Tigers struggled to keep up. We removed all doubt in the bottom of the seventh, as Malone hit a solo homer, Alex McCarthy got an RBI triple and Nemo Leibold grounded out to score McCarthy, giving us an 11-4 lead heading into the eighth inning. Mowrey walked in a run in the eighth to pile on, and we won with ease 12-4. Pedro Dibut improved to 17-12 with a 2.26 ERA, lasting just six innings with 10 hits, three walks, four runs (three earned) and two K’s, but Hi Jasper earned his fourth save with a three inning effort, allowing five hits and striking out one but allowing nobody to score. This was a hitter’s game, with each team notching 15 ... we were led by McInnis, who had three hits, a walk, three runs and two RBIs, while Mowrey added three hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs.

August 22, 1916: Jimmy Walsh hit a squeeze bunt to the third base side, reaching safely and allowing Alex McCarthy to score in the bottom of the third, giving us a 1-0 lead. But in the top of the fourth the Tigers bit back, scoring two runs off a single by Sam Crawford and adding on when Crawford stole third and then slid home off an E2 error after a botched pickoff throw. We answered with a groundout by Oldring that scored Strunk, followed by an RBI single by Mowrey to tie it 3-3 in the bottom of the inning, and a two-run homer by Strunk put us up 5-3 after five innings, his third homer of the year as he remains red hot from the plate. We traded runs from there, but were able to hold our own down the stretch, and got out of this one with a 6-5 victory, our sixth in a row! Dick Rudolph pitched another complete game, with nine hits, nine strikeouts and three earned runs, and though they outhit us 9-8, Strunk was dominant with three hits two runs and two RBIs. He’s second on the team only to McInnis in runs batted in, and is now hitting .336 with 4.8 wins above replacement.

August 23, 1916: Detroit took the lead with a Harry Heilmann RBI single in the top of the first, but we answered in the bottom of the second with an RBI double by Mike Mowrey to tie it up. But the Tigers were on a rampage from there, scoring six unanswered runs in the next three innings to take a commanding 7-1 advantage midway through the fifth inning, Gene Packard getting pulled by our skipper after just four frames. We got a pair back in the bottom of the fifth off a single by Lew Malone, and continued to claw runs back in the sixth thanks to a two-run triple by Jimmy Walsh and a groundout by McInnis that scored Walsh. Bill Morrisette continued to pitch well as a long reliever, getting three quick outs in the top of the seventh, and in the bottom of the inning Malone scored after stealing third and getting a careful leadoff prior to a single by Rube Oldring, tying the score at 7-7! Oldring scored moments later off a single by Walsh, and Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to score Nemo Leibold, giving us a 9-7 advantage heading into the top of the eighth! Byron Houck took over on the mound from Morrisette from there, pitching the rest of the way as we held on to the 9-7 victory as the win streak lives on. Morrisette earned his win, pitchiung three innings with three hits, two walks, two strikeouts and one earned run, giving him a 7-4 record and a 3.64 ERA through 47 innings. Houck then pitched a two-inning save, his 14th of the year, shutting down six batters in a row off just 17 pitches. We outhit them 19-11 to complete the incredible comeback, led by Malone (three hits, two runs, two RBIs) and Jimmy Walsh (three hits, a walk, a run and three RBIs) while Stuffy McInnis added three hits, a run and an RBI.

Seven wins in a row and back to back sweeps have improved our position greatly ... we now trail Chicago by just six games, and have built a 2.5 game gap between us and the third-place Browns, who only lead the fourth place Yankees by half a game.