The Pirates were rained out yesterday in New York. With a doubleheader already scheduled for today due to a rainout in May, yesterday’s game will be made up later in the season and the teams’ five-game series will be four games.
In game one today, the Pirates knocked out Giants’ starter Jack Scott early while their own starter, Emil Yde, threw a complete game. The result was a 12-3 win for the Bucs. Game two went the other way, as an eighth-inning rally against Johnny Morrison gave New York a 7-5 victory.
The first game was quiet for three innings, but the Pirates broke out in the top of the fourth. Their first five batters reached base against Scott. Eddie Moore singled, Kiki Cuyler walked and Clyde Barnhart beat out a bunt to load the bases. Pie Traynor singled in two runs and Glenn Wright doubled in two more. John McGraw replaced Scott with Hugh McQuillan and George Grantham singled to drive in the fifth run of the inning. The Bucs could have had more, but Grantham got thrown out trying to take second. McQuillan walked three batters later in the inning, but stranded them all.
The Giants got back in the game quickly, closing to 5-3 in the bottom of the fourth. Ross Youngs singled and Frankie Frisch reached when Eddie Moore threw wildly to second on a force attempt. Irish Meusel followed with a three-run home run to left.
After the fourth, Yde kept the Giants off the board the rest of the way. He was helped by three double plays, all of the 5-4-3 variety.
The Pirates meanwhile kept piling on. They got two more in the fifth on a two-run single by Johnny Gooch. In the sixth, they knocked out McQuillan when a single and two walks loaded the bases and Barnhart doubled in a pair. Jack Bentley replaced McQuillan, but Traynor and Wright both singled in runs to run the score to 11-3. The final run came in the eighth on another RBI single by Gooch.
The win brought Yde’s record to 8-5, giving him seven wins in his last eight decisions. Barnhart had four hits and three runs, Wright three hits and three RBIs, and Gooch three RBIs.
In the second game, both teams chipped away in the early innings. The Bucs scored single runs in each of the first three innings off Wayland Dean. Clyde Barnhart singled to drive in Max Carey in the first. In the second, Carey singled home George Grantham. In the third, Grantham singled, stole second and scored on a single by Earl Smith. The Pirates missed chances, though, stranding six runners in the three innings.
The Giants stayed even, getting three of their own off Morrison. They got two unearned runs in the bottom of the second. After two singles and a fly out, Moore dropped the ball on a force play at second to load the bases. A ground out scored one run and the pitcher, Dean, singled in another. The Giants tied the game in the third on a two-out single by Travis Jackson.
Morrison got some revenge in the top of the fifth, hitting a two-out RBI single. That put the Pirates back up, 4-3.
On the mound, Morrison got a better handle on things from the fourth through the sixth, although he needed to wriggle out of trouble in the fifth. In the seventh, though, New York scored four. The first three came quickly. Frisch singled, Meusel doubled and George Kelly blasted a three-run home run. With two out, Jackson singled, stole second and scored on a hit by Frank Snyder. That put the Giants up, 7-4.
Moore led off the ninth for the Bucs with his second home run of the day and fourth of the year. Dean, however, got the next three batters to pop up, ending the game.
The loss dropped Morrison to 8-6. The split left the Pirates with a one-game lead over the Giants. The teams finish their series tomorrow.
