After a series of rainouts, the Pirates finished up their regular season by splitting a doubleheader in Cincinnati. They won the first game, 4-2, and lost the second, 4-1. It was their first action in a week, and what was supposed to be a four-game series will only be three, with one left unplayed. The Pirates finish their season with a record of 95-58 and an eight and a half game lead over the New York Giants, who finished 86-66, with two games unplayed.
Ray Kremer started game one, marking the second straight Pirates game that he’s started. The first, of course, was a week ago. He went five innings, allowing just four hits and a run. The run came in the bottom of the first, when Sam Bohne led off with a single and Chuck Dressen followed with a triple. Kremer managed to get the next three batters without letting Dressen score. He allowed just two singles over the next four innings.
The Reds started Marv Goodwin, who’s made four appearances this year after last pitching in the majors in 1922. Goodwin managed to work out of trouble in the first three innings. His toughest spot came in the second, when the Pirates loaded the bases with one out. He got Kremer to hit into a 1-2-3 double play.
Kremer got some revenge in the top of the fourth. With two on and two out, he singled to drive in one run, tying the score, although he was thrown out trying to reach second.
The Bucs finally took the lead in the sixth. A double by Glenn Wright, an infield hit by George Grantham and a ground out left runners at second and third with two out. Stuffy McInnis, batting for Kremer, singled to put the Pirates up, 3-1.
Johnny Morrison took over and, despite giving up six hits and two walks, mostly kept the Reds in check over the final four innings. The Reds got runners to third with fewer than two outs in both the sixth and seventh innings, but didn’t score. In the eighth, Joe Schultz tripled with two outs to drive in Hughie Critz.
The Pirates got that run back in the top of the ninth when Eddie Moore tripled and Kiki Cuyler brought him in with a sacrifice fly. That made it 4-2, and Morrison kept it there in the bottom of the inning.
The win went to Kremer, leaving him with the Pirates’ final two wins of the season and a 17-8 record. Grantham went 4-for-4 with two doubles, and Cuyler had three hits, including his 26th triple. That’s the second most ever by a Pirate and the third-most by any player since the turn of the century. Cuyler also stole two bases, giving him 42 on the year, but Max Carey stole one to finish with 46, the top total in the National League.
The Pirates were mostly quiet in the second game against Reds’ ace Pete Donohue, who picked up his 21st win. They managed only seven hits, with the only run scoring on a sacrifice fly by Grantham in the second inning. They got runners to third three times after that, but couldn’t plate any of them.
The Pirates sent out Bud Culloton, rather than go with any of their top pitchers. It was his first appearance for the Pirates in exactly two months. Culloton allowed two runs, one unearned, over five innings. Red Oldham gave up two more in three innings. Bohne had three hits for the Reds. The loss was Culloton’s only decision of the year.
The Pirates and the Washington Senators will face off in the World Series, starting on October 7. The first two games will be at Forbes Field.
