The Pirates had a chance to sweep their three-game series against St. Louis at Forbes Field, but Rogers Hornsby had a big day and Cards’ starter Duster Mails held the home team to three hits. The 7-2 loss, combined with a Giants win over Boston, dropped the Bucs into a tie for first.
The Cards’ player-manager put them up quickly in the top of the first. After a one-out single, Hornsby homered to right-center. Pirates’ starter Babe Adams pitched well for a while after that, keeping St. Louis from getting a runner past first over the next five innings.
The Pirates had only one hit, a double by Pie Traynor, in the first three innings. In the fourth, Kiki Cuyler produced a run entirely with his wheels. The Bucs’ right fielder beat out an infield hit, then stole second, third and home, giving him 20 steals on the year. In the midst of Cuyler’s spree of larceny, Traynor walked and, after the steal of home, scored on a double by Glenn Wright to tie the game, 2-2.
That was as far as the Pirates’ offense got. In the final five innings, Mails allowed two walks, one of them to Adams, and no hits. The Bucs got nobody past first.
The 43-year-old Adams ran out of gas in the top of the seventh. With two out, right fielder Jack Smith doubled in a run, then after a walk Hornsby doubled in two more, giving him four RBIs. A single by Jim Bottomley brought in Hornsby to give the Cards a 6-2 lead. St. Louis got a final run in the ninth, when Bottomley had another RBI single off reliever Tom Sheehan.
The loss dropped Adams to 5-4. The Pirates make a one-day trip to Chicago for a game tomorrow, then they return home the next day to start a 19-game home stand.
