1905 Chicago Cubs replay update: Briggs and Cubs stun Cardinals

Scott Fennessy

9/15/1905
St. Louis, MO

The Cubs face the Cardinals in an odd stretch. This was originally a 3 game set that was cut to one to get to the desired 140 game amount. I really hope this was the last of the schedule adjustments, but I did them over a year ago. This is the conclusion of their road trip where they return home and face the Cardinals again.

The Cubs have been hit hard by injuries again lately, but the offense has held back the tide and they come in just a game behind the red hot Giants; and remain the only threat to the vaunted New York hitting machine.

Today the Cubs send Herb Briggs to the mound in place of Ed Reulbach, who is nursing a minor injury and will make his next scheduled start in Chicago. Briggs has done well in a split role in the bullpen and spot starter for the big three whenever they have gone down. Today he faces Charlie Brown of the Cardinals, and in his only appearance against the Cubs he looked more like the cartoon character of the same name than a major league pitcher. The Cardinals are minus the services of first baseman Jake Beckley who has a high ankle sprain and should be back off the DL in a few days.

Billy Maloney leads things off and he gets a first pitch fastball and rips this down the line into the right field corner and hustles into third with a stand up triple and things look good from the start. Still on third with one out Frank Schulte hits a curve ball to deep left field where Homer Smoot waits. He makes the catch, but the ball is cut at short and the Cubs take a 1-0 lead. Frank Chance then hits a single over short and the hit and run is on, if only to get the light hitting Art Hofman a better pitch to hit, and he does. A mistake fastball and he goes with the pitch to right and it splits the gap. Chance comes around to score and Hofman is in with his 11th double of the season and the Cubs keep the rally alive.

Johnny Evers who has responded well to being moved down in the order sends another pitch to right and Hofman comes in to score the third run of the inning. Joe Tinker who has had a tough year with the bat but has been more dependable lately hits a hard grounder that shortstop Danny Shay can’t handle and Evers moves to third as the ball scoots towards second and runners are on the corners. John O’Neill, subbing for the injured Johnny Kling then delivers with a single to left that scores Evers with the fourth run, and I feel pretty safe in believing the Cubs are going to win this game and that Brown won’t be around for the finish. Briggs grounds to first to end the inning. On the hill he gets three quick outs and it’s a 4-0 Cub lead after one inning.

Brown gets two outs before Schulte gets a single to left. Chance sends him and it pays off again as he gets a floating curve and he drills it into the left field gap. Smoot keeps it from going to the wall, but since Schulte was going with the pitch he scores easily and Chance has an RBI double. Brown stops the rally, but it is pretty clear he is in trouble today. Briggs gets another 1-2-3 inning and the Cubs already can coast if they want.

Tinker draws a one out walk as Brown, who has thrown a lot of pitches already looks tired. Going to second on a ground out Briggs helps his own cause with a single up the middle to drive in the 6th run of the day. This ends Brown’s day and pretty much seals the deal for Chicago. Chappie McFarland, a struggling pitcher who has lost his job in the rotation twice now comes in to try and eat some innings. He gets the final out of the inning. Meanwhile it’s still smooth sailing as Briggs retires the side in order to end the third with the Cubs on top 6-0.

Nothing happens as McFarland turns in a solid effort for the next couple of innings until the Cubs come back for more in the 6th inning. Maloney hits a fly ball that Smoot misplays and Billy takes second on the two base error. Jim Casey sends a single between third and short that scores the speedy center fielder and the Cubs pad the lead again. Casey has some speed so Chance sends him as Schulte is really hitting well right now and yet again it pays off as Schulte sends this to right for an RBI single and then steals second. Chance gets a grounder that scores the run (one of those rare chart results that say runner scores from second on a grounder that I have trouble believing) and the Cubs now lead 8-0. McFarland finally retires the side and Briggs gets another perfect frame and has a perfect game going.

The Cardinals finally get their first hit when Bill Shannon hits a solid single just over Evers’ head to start the 7th inning. Moving over to second with one out sets up what could have been a big inning, but unfortunately I played this one too cautiously, but given the score I doubt it makes a difference. Pepper Clarke draws a walk to put runners on first and second with one out and Smoot at the plate.

Smoot has the higher batting average at .276, but only has 1 homer, however, Mike Grady, who has the better card is hitting .262, but has 9 homers, so I did not want a double play to kill the rally so I had Clarke bunt the runners over to put two runners in scoring position. Unfortunately, while the sacrifice was successful, it was a true sacrifice, as unfortunately Smoot rolled a 66-0 followed by a 11-1. So much for his second long ball of the year. Grady then popped up to end the inning.

The Cubs keep hammering away as Maloney hits yet another fly ball that Smoot misplays for a two base error. Despite the fact that he plays for the hated Cardinals, I actually feel bad for the guy given the events of the last inning. One out later Schulte rips a single to left that scores Maloney and Schulte steals second, but is stranded there at innings end.

The Cubs finish the day’s scoring when Tinker gets his second hit of the day. While it’s been a tough year at the plate, it is his 10th double of the year. Briggs then gets a two out single to force in the 10th and final run of the afternoon. On the hill he gets yet another scoreless inning and picks up his fifth win of the year and his second shutout on a one hitter. The Cubs finish probably their best road trip of the year with a perfect 8-0 mark and trail New York by just a half game as they return home. Frank Schulte has 3 more hits and 2 steals bringing him to a .286 average and 39 steals. Chance had three hits as well and is hitting .349 for the year.

[photo credit]