[jksander]

September 1, 1916: We roared out of the gate with an RBI triple by Stuffy McInnis, and he’d go on to score himself from third off a wild pitch to put us ahead 2-0 midway through the first inning. But George McBride hit a two-run double to tie it in the bottom of the frame, and from there this became a brutal pitching duel between Speed Martin (in only his second career start) and 21-year-old Harry Harper, who is 11-13 this season (his breakout year thus far). In the top of the ninth we broke through with an RBI double by Eddie Murphy to retake the lead by a run, but again they answered with a single, this time by Clyde Milan, and we went into extras knotted up 3-3. They’d eventually walk it off via a passed ball in the bottom of the 12th, as we lost 4-3. Jing Johnson taking his first major league loss in just his fifth appearance ... though he’d lasted 2.2 innings with two walks, a strikeout and just the one unearned run. Speed Martin had a great start, 8.1 innings with seven hits, five walks, five strikeouts and three earned runs, but they outhit us 8-6 and outwalked us 7-2, a recipe for disaster. McInnis led the way with a hit, a walk, two runs and an RBI.

September 2, 1916: Pedro Dibut had a rough night, letting a Danny Moeller groundout drive in Joe Judge for a second inning Senators lead. Ray Morgan added an RBI single in the third, and though Wally Schang got us on the board with a sac fly in the sixth, Ray Morgan got it back for them in the seventh off an RBI double. Washington would hold on from there to win 3-1, as Dibut took the loss as a 10 hit one walk three run complete game, only two of the runs being earned (but that was plenty). They outhit us 10-6 as well, McInnis hitting twice to lead the team but getting nowhere in the process.

We’re off tomorrow and then play a doubleheader on Monday to finish the Labor Day weekend.
 
September 4, 1916: Nap Lajoie came off the injured reserve list and is now the 32nd man on our expanded rosters, taking back his spot in the starting lineup at second base. In game one the Senators absolutely hammered us, scoring six runs in the bottom of the second to absolutely crush Dick Rudolph, an unheard-of rough go for the veteran. Rube Oldring hit a homer in the fifth to get us on the board down 6-1, and though we did our best to claw runs back, we had dug too much of a hole ... we went on to drop the first game by a 7-4 margin. Rudolph lasted six innings but took the loss anyway, in an eight hit seven run effort, though only three were earned. He didn’t walk or strike out anyone. We were outhit for the third game in a row by the Senators, going down 9-7, led by Oldring’s homer and by Amos Strunk who hit once and scored twice, including off an Eddie Murphy sac-fly in the seventh.

In game two we took the lead in the top of the first off a double by Stuffy McInnis, and Amos Strunk doubled in a pair in the fourth followed by a Nap Lajoie sac-fly that made it a 4-0 advantage midway through the inning. We’d add another pair of runs in the later innings and were able to coast to a 6-0 win, so we at least didn’t get swept ... but we’ve let the Yankees leapfrog us in the standings, and we now sit 10 games out of first. With Chicago’s magic number sitting at 17, our chances of a late-season comeback are looking slimmer than ever. Gene Packard got the win, pitching a complete game five hitter, however, no walks or K’s, and we outhit them 8-5, led by Strunk, who had three hits, two runs and two RBIs.

We’ve got three each against Boston () and New York () this week on our field, and we’ll need to win them all to have any chance of stealing our way back into this pennant race.

September 5, 1916: This game looked like it might be competitive early, as Boston opened things with a pair of runs in the top of the first (off a sac-fly by Duffy Lewis and an RBI single for Everett Scott), only to have us answer with an RBI single for Jimmy Walsh and a bases-loaded walk by Amos Strunk to tie it in the bottom of the second. But the rest of the game was all Boston. Pinch Thomas hit a two-run homer in the top of the fifth, and Chick Shorten hit an RBI single to ice it in the eighth as we lost this one 5-2. Speed Martin took the loss, falling to 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA, though he pitched 6.1 innings with just six hits (walking five and allowing four runs as a result). But we were outhit 9-4 so the bats didn’t give him much help. Strunk got on base with two walks and got the RBI off his bases loaded walk, and Alex McCarthy had two walks and scored a run. But the rest of the lineup was fairly anemic.

September 6, 1916: Boston scored five runs in the top of the third off RBI singles by Harry Hooper and Larry Gardner, a two-run double by Pinch Thomas and a sac-fly by Tillie Walker. We were in a six run hole when, in the bottom of the fifth, Pedro Dibut batted in Nap Lajoie to get us on the board, followed by RBI singles for Jimmy Walsh and Wally Schang to cut the lead to three. Bill Lamar hit a sac-fly in the bottom of the eighth to get us within two, but Duffy Lewis walked in a run for them in the ninth and we left the bags loaded in the bottom of the inning, losing this one 7-4. We’re limping badly now, and our lack of depth is starting to truly show. We outhit them 10-9, led by Schang with two hits and an RBI, but Dibut took the loss and fell to 17-15 off a seven hit two walk one strikeout six run (five earned) effort through six innings.

September 7, 1916: Alex McCarthy hit a two-run double for us in the bottom of the second to put us up 2-0, but Boston tied it in the top of the third with a two-run single that was aided by an E8 error, Pinch Thomas hitting a run scoring double to take the lead just minutes later. Hal Janvrin hit them a sac-fly to drive in another run in the top of the sixth, but finally we woke up, Oldring hitting a solo bomb, and Jimmy Walsh doubling in the tying run from Walsh, with Amos Strunk hitting an RBI double for the lead as we took a 5-4 advantage into the top of the seventh inning. Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single for insurance in the bottom of the eighth, and though he let them load the bases, Dick Rudolph had ice in his veins as he shut the Red Sox down in the bottom of the frame, stranding them all in a 6-4 win! He pitched a complete game, with 12 hits, two walks, three strikeouts and four earned runs, and though they outhit us 12-11, McCarthy led our offense to victory with three hits, a walk, a run and two RBIs.

St. Louis’s Cardinals, at 57-78, were eliminated earlier this week, and Detroit (58-75) and Cleveland (57-75) became the first of the AL’s teams to fall completely out of contention this week as well. Chicago’s magic number is now 14, with nobody within 9.5 games of them, while Brooklyn’s Robins lead the NL by three over the Giants, with a magic number of 22. That one is likely to go down to the wire, with the Cubs trailing in third by 11.5 games.