The Prates ran themselves into a run in the opening inning when Max Carey (four hits) singled with one out, stole second, and scored on Kiki Cuyler's base hit. Cuyler also stole second and, although, stranded, this would be a sign of things to come on the afternoon. Although the Big Train was still a formidable pitcher, the 37-year-old was not the overpowering force he had been for nearly two decades and Pittsburgh looked to take advantage of the step or two he had lost. After Washington battled back to take a 2-1 lead on a catcher's interference call in the 2nd and three singles in the 3rd, the National Leaguers scored twice in their half of the 3rd to grab back the lead and then ran Johnson ragged in the 4th. Eddie Moore reached on a Roger Peckinpaugh miscue to lead it off, stole second and third, and then scored on Carey's single. Max then pulled the same stunt, swiping his own way to third before Cuyler drove him in with a safety (giving PIT six steals in four innings!). Johnson then wilted in the 5th, allowing three hits and two more runs to put the Pirates up 7-2, and Lee Meadows cruised to the finish for a complete-game seven-hitter. The elation in the Pittsburgh clubhouse was dampened, though, by news that Meadows was experiencing arm pain after the game and was doubtful to appear again in the Series. Pittsburgh 9-18-1, Washington 2-7-2. [scoresheet]
The home club hadn't yet registered a base hit off Coveleski when the came to bat in a scoreless tie in the 4th but Moore singled to start the inning, stole second, and scored on Cuyler's long triple; Glenn Wright followed two batters later with a three-bagger of his own to score a pair and Pittsburgh had jumped to a three-run lead. The running game struck again in the 6th when Carey doubled, stole third and scored when Muddy Ruel's rushed throw skipped into left field. The Nats cobbled together three singles in the 7th to finally put a dent in Aldridge, but the Pirates scored again in the 8th and Washington went out with a whimper when Sam Rice was caught napping off on second base on Bucky Harris' line drive to end the game. Pittsburgh 5-7-0, Washington 1-9-2. [scoresheet]
The venue might have changed, as the Series relocates to the Nation's Capital, but the Pirate approach has not - Moore leads off the game with a single, then steals second and third, and scores on Cuyler's grounder to short. Perhaps the pressure has begun to unsettle the Washington pitchers, as Ferguson gets touched for two runs in each of the next three innings, on nine hits, and Pittsburgh is off to the races again. Things get even uglier in the middle innings as the visitors build an 11-0 lead before the Nationals finally score on Joe Judge's 8th-inning home run with two aboard. The Pirates have scored twenty-six runs, on forty-three hits, in the the first three games of the Series and Washington simply seems overwhelmed; they will place their season in the hands of Johnson in Game Four, but can he find a way (which he could not in Game One) to stop the onslaught? Pittsburgh 12-18-2, Washington 4-7-0. [scoresheet]
Barney escapes a second-and-third, no out mess in the top of the 1st by getting Cuyler to pop to second and then inducing two tappers back to the box. Washington rides that momentum to a run in the bottom half when Judges singles home Goose Goslin off of Emil Yde (stepping into the rotation for Meadows); Joe Harris is cut down at home by Clyde Barnhart's throw, but WAS has only their second lead of the Series. It lasts until the 5th - with two outs and no one aboard, Yde scratches a single, and then Moore bounces one to Judge which kicks off the firstbaseman's glove to set the table for Carey's game-tying single. To the Nationals' credit, they respond in the bottom of the inning when Goslin singles, Joe Harris walks, and Judge grounds one through the infield to score the go-ahead run. And this is obviously not the same Johnson that toed the rubber in the Series opener - he holds Pittsburgh to one hit from the moment Washington took the lead again until there are two outs in the 9th inning, and then grits his teeth through two base hits that pushed the potential tying run into scoring position before retiring Moore on a ground ball to end the game. At the very least, the American Leaguers had won back some pride. Washington 2-8-1, Pittsburgh 1-9-0. [scoresheet]
The Pirates score first for the fourth time in five games, using two hits plus another stolen base and a sacrifice fly to plate two 1st-inning runs, but Washington answers with one in their half as Judge delivers another two-out RBI. But his fielding error leads to a Pittsburgh run in the 3rd, and three Coveleski walks drive another two scores in the 4th that give the visitors a 5-1 lead. Washington closes this to 5-3 after Goslin homers in the 5th but, after the clubs exchange runs in the 7th, the Nationals are down to their final six outs still trailing by 6-4. This late deficit then becomes four runs, and desperate, after Pittsburgh turns two hits and three bases on balls into a pair of 8th-inning runs. A little help from the Pirate defense sparks the home club in the bottom of the 8th, though, as Moore throws wildly to first on Goslin's grounder to put runners on second and third with no outs and Judge then rips a two-run double to fill in half of the hole. After Joe Harris walks and Peckinpaugh grounds out Ruel comes up with the huge hit, lining one into center to score two runs and tie the game, although Washington left the bases loaded to squander a chance to grab the game by the scruff of the neck. That appeared as if it would be costly when Stuffy McInnis doubles to start the 9th; two outs later, Moore singles him home to put PIT on top yet again and matters only didn't get any worse for the Nats because Goslin gunned him down at home to end the inning after Carey's double. Goslin leads off Washington's last chance with a base hit and steals second, but Judge and Joe Harris both hit fly balls that were turned into outs and the AL pennant winners were down to their final out. That brought Peckinpaugh to the plate - the veteran shortstop was only 2-for-16 thus far in the Series (although he had drawn three walks in the game), but was up to the moment as he looped a game-tying single to right, Ruel walked, and Ossie Bluege grounded one over the third-base bag and down the LF line to score Peckinpaugh with the game-winning run in a Series classic that extends Washington's season by another day. Washington 10-14-2, Pittsburgh 9-15-3. [scoresheet]
Faced with the Forbes Field fandom, Washington finally managed to put a substantial marker down first, scoring three times in the 3rd on a pair of singles and Goslin's second homer of the Series. Just like that, however, the Pirates were back at them, matching those in the bottom half on five hits capped off by Cuyler's RBI double and Barnhart's two-run single. Ferguson and Kremer kept things tight through six innings, but Washington capitalized on a Pirate mistake to grab the edge in the 7th. With two outs and no runners aboard, Ferguson reached when Wright mishandled his one-hopper and took second when Moore couldn't pick Rice's ground ball. Kremer's wild pitch moved both men ahead, and Bucky Harris singled to score them both for a 5-3 lead. That was enough for Ferguson, who recovered from his disastrous Game Three outing to pitch nine innings that were good enough to bring the Nationals back to a level Series with the momentum now wearing a 'W' on its sleeve. Washington 6-8-1, Pittsburgh 4-10-3. [scoresheet]
Everything to play for but, to the immense disappointment of the Pittsburgh crowd, only one team appeared ready to play and it was not theirs. Washington jumped all over Aldridge from the outset, Rice doubling on the game's first pitch and scoring one of the Nationals' three 1st-inning runs with the help of another Pirate error (Moore's fourth in three games) and a hit batsman. The barrage continued in the 2nd as WAS piled up six hits on their way to four more scores, Goslin singling in a pair in front of a Joe Harris triple. With a rejuvenated Johnson on the hill, things were indeed looking grim for Pittsburgh; they scratched out a run in the 3rd, but were nowhere near being a threat until the first three men singled off Barney to begin the 8th. This led Bucky Harris to reluctantly pull the club icon from the game, and Firpo Marberry came on to put out the fire at the cost of only one insignificant run. In the 9th the reliever did his best to make things interesting, allowing three singles and a pair of walks and bringing the tying run out of the dugout, but McInnis popped up behind the plate and Ruel made the catch near the (now, mostly empty) stands to cement an historic four-game Series comeback. Washington 9-15-0, Pittsburgh 4-12-2. [scoresheet]
A Series of two halves, to be sure. Pittsburgh utterly dominated their half by both running and battering Washington into submission, and then the Nationals found the means to win three consecutive close games before their own offensive outburst in Game Seven. As a result the stats were fairly lopsided in favor of the losers (1960 Pirates-Yankees, anyone?), with Washington surviving an ERA of nearly 6.00 and a Pittsburgh team OPS of nearly .800. [Series stats]
Joe Judge delivered a series of timely hits (Series-leading nine RBI), but it was Nationals LF Goose Goslin that was at the center of all of those rallies - Goslin reached base 16 times in the seven games, scored nine times and drove home six including a Series-best two home runs. Serious consideration was given to the performance by Max Carey in a losing cause - eighteen hits, four walks, five doubles and five steals for a breathtaking 1.371 Series OPS.
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