Babe Adams went the distance as the Pirates ended their three-game losing streak with a 6-1 win in St. Louis. The win improved their record to 4-8.
Adams hadn’t pitched well in his first several outings, but this time he allowed just seven hits and walked nobody. Much of what trouble he faced in this game resulted from four errors behind him, two by shortstop Glenn Wright. The Cards got runners to second and third with one out in the bottom of the second, partly due to an error, but Adams got a popup and a lineout to keep them off the board.
In the fourth, St. Louis took a 1-0 lead when Les Bell tripled and Chick Hafey singled him in.
The Cards had a good chance in the sixth when three straight, one-out singles loaded the bases, but Adams got Hafey to bounce back to the mound and turned a double play. Another error in the seventh put two on with two out, but Adams got a ground out.
The Pirates didn’t have much luck with Cardinals’ knuckleballer Jesse Haines until the fifth. Pie Traynor led off with a single and got caught stealing, but Wright followed with his third home run of the year to tie the game.
The game stayed 1-1 until the top of the eighth. Catcher Earl Smith put the Bucs ahead when he led off with his second home run of the season. Adams followed that with a single and, an out later, an error put two on. Eddie Moore doubled both runners in, knocking out Haines. Clyde Barnhart greeted reliever Johnny Stuart with a single to drive in Moore, making the score 5-1.
The Pirates got their final run in the ninth when Al Niehaus doubled and Adams drove him in with another single.
The win improved Adams’ record to 1-1. Niehaus had three hits, including two doubles.
