The 1927 Pittsburgh Pirates won twice in extra innings and managed to split the series against the first-place 1920 Cleveland Indians. It was enough to keep the Pirates’ pennant hopes barely alive at 16-12, while the Indians (19-9) will have at least a share of the lead heading into the final week of the season. Three of the four games were decided by one run and the other was a two-run contest.
Paul Waner hit .412 (7-for-17) and Joe Harris drove in five of the 10 Pirate runs, including the game-winner in both extra-inning victories. Elmer Smith batted .533 (8-for-15) to lead the Indians.
Game #1: Cleveland 5, Pittsburgh 4
The Indians scored all five of their runs in the second, third and fourth innings to take a 5-1 lead. Five different Cleveland players scored runs and five different Indians had runs batted in. The Pirates closed the gap on Joe Harris’ solo homer in the fifth, then got two in the ninth on Johnny Gooch’s RBI double and Lloyd Waner’s RBI single before the final out was made.
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRA AB R H BI 1920 CLEVELAND INDIA AB R H BI
Lloyd Waner 4 1 2 1 Charlie Jamieson 4 1 1 1
Joe Harris 5 1 2 2 Doc Johnston 4 1 2 1
Paul Waner 4 0 0 0 Tris Speaker 4 1 1 1
Glenn Wright 4 0 0 0 Elmer Smith 4 1 2 1
Pie Traynor 4 0 1 0 Steve ONeill 2 0 0 0
Clyde Barnhart 3 1 1 0 Larry Gardner 4 0 1 1
George Grantham 4 0 2 0 Ray Chapman 4 0 0 0
Johnny Gooch 4 1 1 1 Bill Wambsganss 3 0 0 0
Carmen Hill BY 2 0 0 0 Jim Bagby BZ 3 1 0 0
Kiki Cuyler 1 0 0 0
Hal Rhyne 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 36 4 9 4 TOTALS 32 5 7 5
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 001 010 002 -- 4
1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS 012 200 00x -- 5
LOB--1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 7, 1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS 5.
ERR--Clyde Barnhart, Joe Harris, Ray Chapman. 2B--Johnny
Gooch, Joe Harris, Elmer Smith, Charlie Jamieson. 3B--Doc
Johnston. HR--Joe Harris. SB--Doc Johnston.
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES IP H R ER BB SO HR
Carmen Hill BY [L] 6.00 7 5 3 2 4 0
Mike Cvengros BXW 2.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS
Jim Bagby BZ [W] 8.33 8 4 4 2 1 1
Duster Mails AXZ [S] 0.67 1 0 0 0 0 0
Game #2: Pittsburgh 1, Cleveland 0 (11 inn.)
Was this the game of the year? Pittsburgh’s Lee Meadows and Cleveland’s Stan Coveleski both threw 10 scoreless innings. Finally, Coveleski faltered in the top of the 11th. Pinch-hitter Kiki Cuyler led off with a triple and scored on Joe Harris’ sacrifice fly. Cleveland left runners in scoring position five times, including in both the 10th and 11th innings.
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRA AB R H BI 1920 CLEVELAND INDIA AB R H BI
Lloyd Waner 4 0 0 0 Charlie Jamieson 4 0 1 0
Joe Harris 4 0 1 1 Doc Johnston 4 0 1 0
Paul Waner 5 0 3 0 Tris Speaker 5 0 0 0
Glenn Wright 4 0 1 0 Elmer Smith 3 0 0 0
Pie Traynor 4 0 0 0 Steve ONeill 4 0 0 0
Clyde Barnhart 4 0 0 0 Larry Gardner 4 0 1 0
George Grantham 4 0 0 0 Ray Chapman 4 0 2 0
Johnny Gooch 4 0 0 0 Bill Wambsganss 4 0 0 0
Lee Meadows BZ 3 0 0 0 Stan Coveleski AXZ 3 0 0 0
Kiki Cuyler 1 1 1 0 Joe Evans 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 37 1 6 1 TOTALS 36 0 5 0
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 000 000 000 01 -- 1
1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS 000 000 000 00 -- 0
LOB--1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 6, 1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS 6.
ERR--Lee Meadows BZ, Charlie Jamieson. 2B--Paul Waner, Ray
Chapman (2). 3B--Kiki Cuyler. SACF--Joe Harris. SACB--Doc
Johnston. SB--Doc Johnston.
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES IP H R ER BB SO HR
Lee Meadows BZ [W] 10.00 4 0 0 2 3 0
Johnny Miljus AYZ [S] 1.00 1 0 0 0 0 0
1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS
Stan Coveleski AXZ [L] 11.00 6 1 1 2 4 0
Game #3: Cleveland 4, Pittsburgh 2
The Pirates scored first on Glenn Wright’s RBI double in the first inning. The Indians tied it on Larry Gardner’s RBI double in the second inning, then went ahead on Elmer Smith’s two-run homer in the fourth inning. The Pirates got within a run in the eighth, but Cleveland’s Duster Mails got the final six outs for his second save of the series.
1920 CLEVELAND INDIA AB R H BI 1927 PITTSBURGH PIRA AB R H BI
Charlie Jamieson 4 0 0 0 Lloyd Waner 4 0 2 0
Doc Johnston 5 0 0 0 Joe Harris 3 1 1 0
Tris Speaker 2 1 0 0 Paul Waner 4 1 2 1
Elmer Smith 4 2 4 2 Glenn Wright 4 0 1 1
Steve ONeill 4 0 0 0 Pie Traynor 4 0 0 0
Larry Gardner 4 0 1 1 Clyde Barnhart 4 0 0 0
Ray Chapman 4 1 1 0 George Grantham 4 0 0 0
Bill Wambsganss 4 0 2 0 Johnny Gooch 4 0 1 0
Guy Morton CXY 2 0 0 0 Ray Kremer AYZ 2 0 0 0
Duster Mails AXZ 1 0 1 1 Kiki Cuyler 1 0 1 0
Earl Smith 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 34 4 9 4 TOTALS 35 2 8 2
1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS 010 200 001 -- 4
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 100 000 010 -- 2
LOB--1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS 7, 1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 7.
ERR--Guy Morton CXY. 2B--Elmer Smith, Ray Chapman, Larry
Gardner, Lloyd Waner, Glenn Wright. HR--Elmer Smith.
SACB--Guy Morton CXY. SB--Elmer Smith.
1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Guy Morton CXY [W] 7.00 7 2 1 1 6 0
Duster Mails AXZ [S] 2.00 1 0 0 0 1 0
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Ray Kremer AYZ [L] 7.00 6 3 3 2 3 1
Mike Cvengros BXW 2.00 3 1 1 1 1 0
Game #4: Pittsburgh 3, Cleveland 2 (10 inn.)
The Indians took a pair of one-run leads, but the Pirates tied the game immediately both times. Pittsburgh’s Joe Harris tied the game the second time on an RBI double in the fifth inning. It stayed 2-2 and went into extra innings. Cleveland had its chances, leaving 12 runners on base, including six in scoring position. The Indians loaded the bases with no one out in the eighth but couldn’t bring home a run. In the bottom of the 10th, Lloyd Waner singled with one out and scored on Harris’ drive into the gap.
1920 CLEVELAND INDIA AB R H BI 1927 PITTSBURGH PIRA AB R H BI
Charlie Jamieson 5 1 2 0 Lloyd Waner 5 2 2 0
Doc Johnston 5 0 1 0 Joe Harris 5 0 2 2
Tris Speaker 5 0 2 0 Paul Waner 4 1 2 0
Elmer Smith 4 0 2 1 Glenn Wright 4 0 0 0
Steve ONeill 4 0 0 0 Pie Traynor 4 0 2 1
Larry Gardner 5 1 2 0 Clyde Barnhart 3 0 0 0
Ray Chapman 3 0 1 1 George Grantham 4 0 0 0
Bill Wambsganss 4 0 0 0 Johnny Gooch 4 0 0 0
Ray Caldwell CYZ 4 0 0 0 Vic Aldridge CY 3 0 1 0
Kiki Cuyler 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 39 2 10 2 TOTALS 37 3 9 3
1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS 000 110 000 0 -- 2
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 000 110 000 1 -- 3
LOB--1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS 12, 1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES 7.
ERR--Ray Caldwell CYZ, Joe Harris. 2B--Larry Gardner (2),
Paul Waner, Pie Traynor, Joe Harris. SACB--Bill Wambsganss.
SB--Elmer Smith.
1920 CLEVELAND INDIANS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Ray Caldwell CYZ [L] 9.33 9 3 3 1 9 0
1927 PITTSBURGH PIRATES
Vic Aldridge CY [W] 10.00 10 2 2 4 6 0
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 