The Pirates played a doubleheader in Philadelphia, losing the first game, 8-5, and winning the second, 13-8. The twinbill was necessitated by a rainout yesterday, following the off-day on Sunday.
In the opener, the Bucs were done in by a seven-run sixth inning. Up until then, Vic Aldridge and Jimmy Ring were battling in a 1-1 tie. Aldridge was making his first start for the Pirates, and just his third appearance, after being acquired in a big off-season trade with the Cubs.
Each team scored early. The Phillies got a run in the bottom of the first when Cy Williams singled to drive in George Burns, who’d doubled. The Pirates immediately tied it when Clyde Barnhart led off the top of the second with his first home run of the year.
Aldridge had to work out of trouble several times before the sixth. The Pirates, for their part, wasted leadoff doubles in the fifth and sixth.
In the bottom of the sixth, Aldridge ran into home run problems. The Phillies started the inning by loading the bases on a hit, a hit batsman and an error by Pie Traynor. That brought up Ring, who belted a grand slam over the short right field wall in Baker Bowl. After a walk and a single, Aldridge gave up another home run to right, this one by George Harper. The Phillies led, 8-1.
The Pirates got some offense late to make the game look closer. With two out in the eighth, Eddie Moore and Barnhart singled, and Traynor and Glenn Wright both doubled to produce three runs. They got a final run in the ninth when Earl Smith got a pinch-hit double and came around on a single and a ground out.
The loss for Aldridge was his first decision as a Pirate. Max Carey had three hits, Barnhart reached base four times and Wright had two doubles.
In game two, the Pirates’ offense got going early and often, scoring nine runs in the first three innings. A walk and singles by Kiki Cuyler, Traynor and Wright scored two in the first. In the second, the Bucs loaded the bases with the help of a double by pitcher Lee Meadows. Cuyler doubled to drive in two runs. A third run scored on a Barnhart sacrifice fly and Cuyler came around on a wild pickoff attempt. Another double by Cuyler and a two-run single by Eddie Moore plated three more in the third.
Pirate starter Ray Kremer was long gone by the time all the runs came in. He lasted only four batters in the bottom of the first. A walk, a double and another walk loaded the bases, and a Harper double brought in two. Meadows replaced Kremer and got an unconventional double play. On a grounder to short by Walter Holke, Wright caught the lead runner, Cy Williams, in a rundown and, after tagging Williams, Traynor caught Holke trying to go to second.
Meadows gave up a run in the second when Heinie Sand and Clarence Huber led off with doubles. After Meadows walked Phillies reliever Skinny O’Neal, the Bucs got a break when Huber got hit by a grounder between third and short.
The score held at 9-3 until the sixth. The Pirates stretched it to 11-3 in the sixth. One run came in on a bases-loaded double play, then Wright singled in another. They got their last two in the eighth on two walks, two errors and an RBI double by Wright.
The Phillies also got some late runs. One scored on a fielder’s choice in the seventh. In the eighth, they knocked Meadows out. Russ Wrightstone led off with a home run, then a walk and three singles produced two more. Babe Adams came on to get three outs, with a fourth run scoring on a sacrifice fly. That set the final score at 13-8.
Despite giving up six runs, Meadows got the win to go 4-2. The Pirates had 14 hits. Cuyler went 4-for-4 with two doubles, five runs and three RBIs. Wright had three hits and three RBIs. The Bucs are now 8-12 and head to Boston for three against the Braves, starting tomorrow.
