1905 Chicago Cubs replay update: Three-fingered shutout

by Scott Fennessy

The Cubs face the Pirates in game 2 of this series. The bucs have been playing well and look to close ground on the Cubs.

Sam Leever faces Mordecai Brown. Both pitchers have struggled at times, and also looked strong, so I don’t know what to expect.

Brown allows a single to Wagner in the first, and he steals second easily, but does not score. In the bottom of the frame Billy Maloney gets yet another lead off hit with a big double to right center. Still there with two out Frank Chance gets an 0-1 curveball and drops it into shallow left center for an RBI single. Chance steals second for his 32nd of the year, but no further runs score as Leever toughens up, but the score is 0-1 Cubs on top. Brown looks great in the second with a perfect inning, and with one out in their half struggling Art Hofman gets a solid single to right. He is off with the pitch, Casey swinging to protect the runner, Heinie Pietz throws to second and he is SAFE!. Casey then gets a pitch to his liking and pulls one down the left field line; it rolls to the wall and Hofman scores easily, and Casey pulls into second with a double. Leever again settles down and nothing else happens.

Both pitchers get into a rhythm and neither team scores although Wagner got a double over Frank Schulte’s head in right that very nearly left the yard in the 4th, and some scattered singles for both pitchers until the Cubs bat in the 8th inning still leading 2-0. Johnny Kling hits a one hop smash that eats up Claude Ritchey at second and “Noisy” reaches safely on the error. Tinker works Leever hard and eventually takes one for the team, getting hit in the shoulder with a fastball on a 2-2 pitch that got away. The trainer checks him out, and he will be fine. Both runners advance on Hofman’s grounder to Ritchey and Jim Casey hits Leever’s first pitch deep down the line in left, going , going, FOUL BALL, just outside the pole!! He then gets another pitch and hits it to deep center, and Ginger Beaumont awaits, makes the catch in fairly deep territory. The throw is late, and Kling scores the run. Brown then strikes out to end the inning. Brown then gets the Pirates in the 9th and the Cubs get a much needed win 3-0 final.

For the Pirates, they really did not do much although Honus Wagner did go 2 for 4 with a double and a steal. He now has a 6 game hit streak. Sam Leever did pitch well, but as he tired late he got a bit wild hitting two batters and walking one. He only allowed 7 hits in the loss scattered over 8 innings. At the plate he was robbed twice by Frank Schulte on solidly hit balls.

Brown pitched yet another beauty allowing just 3 hits today walking 2 and striking out 3 in route to his 4th shutout of the year and his 11th win of the year. Jimmy Slagle continues to hit well with two more hits and a walk, and now has a 5 game hit streak, and Jim Casey had his hit streak also reach 5 games. Art Hofman went 2 for 3 and while it is hard for me to bench a guy who has finally started to hit well, he is still only hitting .214 while Slagle is raking at a .298 mark. Johnny Evers returns tomorrow and I am hoping this provides the spark needed to try and catch the red hot Giants.

Giants 47 14 .770
Cubs 42 17 .712

[photo credit]