For the second straight week, the 1946 Boston Red Sox and 1940 Cincinnati Reds ended up splitting their series. This one had three straight one-run pitchers’ duels followed by a slugfest and a big comeback.
Rudy York batted .538 (7-for-14) with two homers and five RBI to lead Boston (4-4). Billy Werber hit .438 (7-for-16) for the Reds (4-4). Joe Beggs saved both Cincinnati victories.
Game #1: Cincinnati 2, Boston 1
The Red Sox got the first run of the game on Rudy York’s sacrifice fly in the third inning, but that would be it. Boston would end up stranding 12 runners on base, including runners on second and third in the eighth inning and the bases loaded in the ninth. The Reds scored two unearned runs in the fourth on Harry Craft’s RBI double and Mike McCormick’s RBI single, and that’s all they would need.
1946 BOSTON RED SOX AB R H BI 1940 CINCINNATI REDS AB R H BI
George Metkovich 4 0 0 0 Billy Werber 4 0 1 0
Johnny Pesky 5 0 0 0 Lonny Frey 4 0 0 0
Ted Williams 2 1 0 0 Ival Goodman 4 0 0 0
Bobby Doerr 5 0 2 0 Frank McCormick 2 1 0 0
Rudy York 3 0 1 1 Ernie Lombardi 3 0 1 0
Dom DiMaggio 4 0 0 0 Harry Craft 2 1 1 1
Rip Russell 4 0 0 0 Mike McCormick 3 0 1 1
Hal Wagner 4 0 1 0 Billy Myers 3 0 1 0
Joe Dobson CY 2 0 1 0 Jim Turner BZ 3 0 0 0
Leon Culberson 0 0 0 0
Tom McBride 1 0 1 0
TOTALS 34 1 6 1 TOTALS 28 2 5 2
1946 BOSTON RED SOX 001 000 000 -- 1
1940 CINCINNATI REDS 000 200 00x -- 2
LOB--1946 BOSTON RED SOX 12, 1940 CINCINNATI REDS 4.
ERR--Johnny Pesky, Billy Myers (2). 2B--Rudy York, Tom
McBride, Harry Craft, Billy Werber. SACF--Rudy York.
1946 BOSTON RED SOX IP H R ER BB SO HR
Joe Dobson CY [L] 6.00 4 2 0 2 4 0
Jim Bagby CR 2.00 1 0 0 0 1 0
1940 CINCINNATI REDS
Jim Turner BZ [W] 8.33 6 1 1 4 2 0
Joe Beggs BZ [S] 0.67 0 0 0 1 0 0
Game #2: Boston 3, Cincinnati 2
Rudy York blasted two home runs, a solo shot in the second and a two-run tater in the sixth to account for all of the Red Sox runs. The Reds had a pair of one-run leads after Frank McCormick’s RBI single in the first and Mike McCormick’s sacrifice fly in the fourth.
1946 BOSTON RED SOX AB R H BI 1940 CINCINNATI REDS AB R H BI
George Metkovich 5 0 1 0 Billy Werber 3 0 0 0
Johnny Pesky 5 0 0 0 Lonny Frey 4 0 0 0
Ted Williams 3 0 0 0 Ival Goodman 3 1 2 0
Bobby Doerr 4 1 1 0 Frank McCormick 4 1 2 1
Rudy York 3 2 2 3 Ernie Lombardi 3 0 1 0
Dom DiMaggio 2 0 0 0 Harry Craft 3 0 0 0
Rip Russell 4 0 0 0 Mike McCormick 3 0 0 1
Hal Wagner 4 0 2 0 Billy Myers 3 0 0 0
Tex Hughson BXZ 3 0 0 0 Bucky Walters BY 2 0 1 0
Morrie Arnovich 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 33 3 6 3 TOTALS 29 2 6 2
1946 BOSTON RED SOX 010 002 000 -- 3
1940 CINCINNATI REDS 100 100 000 -- 2
LOB--1946 BOSTON RED SOX 8, 1940 CINCINNATI REDS 5. ERR--Rip
Russell, Johnny Pesky, Billy Myers (2). 2B--Bobby Doerr,
Ival Goodman (2). HR--Rudy York (2). HBP--Ernie Lombardi.
SACF--Mike McCormick. SACB--Harry Craft, Billy Werber.
1946 BOSTON RED SOX IP H R ER BB SO HR
Tex Hughson BXZ [W] 9.00 6 2 2 1 5 0
1940 CINCINNATI REDS
Bucky Walters BY [L] 7.00 5 3 3 3 1 2
Whitey Moore CXW 2.00 1 0 0 2 1 0
Game #3: Boston 2, Cincinnati 1
Boston’s Dave Ferriss outdueled Cincinnati’s Gene Thompson in another pitchers’ duel. Ted Williams homered to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead in the third inning. The Reds tied it in the sixth on Billy Werber’s RBI single. Boston went ahead in the seventh as Hal Wagner walked with one out, went to second on a passed ball, was sacrificed to third, and scored on George Metkovich’s RBI single.
1940 CINCINNATI REDS AB R H BI 1946 BOSTON RED SOX AB R H BI
Billy Werber 4 0 2 1 George Metkovich 3 0 1 1
Lonny Frey 4 0 1 0 Johnny Pesky 4 0 0 0
Ival Goodman 4 0 0 0 Ted Williams 4 1 1 1
Frank McCormick 3 0 0 0 Bobby Doerr 3 0 0 0
Ernie Lombardi 3 0 0 0 Rudy York 3 0 2 0
Harry Craft 3 0 0 0 Dom DiMaggio 3 0 0 0
Mike McCormick 3 0 0 0 Rip Russell 3 0 0 0
Billy Myers 3 1 1 0 Hal Wagner 1 1 0 0
Gene Thompson BX 1 0 0 0 Dave Ferriss CZ 1 0 0 0
Willard Hershberger 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 29 1 4 1 TOTALS 25 2 4 2
1940 CINCINNATI REDS 000 001 000 -- 1
1946 BOSTON RED SOX 000 100 10x -- 2
LOB--1940 CINCINNATI REDS 2, 1946 BOSTON RED SOX 6.
2B--Billy Werber, Rudy York. HR--Ted Williams. SACB--Gene
Thompson BX, Dave Ferriss CZ (2).
1940 CINCINNATI REDS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Gene Thompson BX [L] 8.00 4 2 2 5 9 1
1946 BOSTON RED SOX
Dave Ferriss CZ [W] 9.00 4 1 1 0 3 0
Game #4: Cincinnati 9, Boston 6
Boston was on the verge of a series win after taking a 6-1 lead after seven innings. Dom DiMaggio drove in three of the runs and Bobby Doerr had a two-run double in the first inning. Things fell apart in the top of the eighth as the first five Reds all reached base, and Cincinnati put up six runs on six hits and a walk. The big blows were a two-run double by Frank McCormick and a two-run triple from Harry Craft, while Mike McCormick’s RBI single put the Reds up 7-6. Cincinnati plated two more insurance runs in the ninth.
1940 CINCINNATI REDS AB R H BI 1946 BOSTON RED SOX AB R H BI
Billy Werber 5 2 4 0 George Metkovich 4 0 0 0
Lonny Frey 4 1 1 1 Johnny Pesky 4 3 2 0
Ival Goodman 4 2 1 1 Ted Williams 4 2 1 0
Frank McCormick 4 1 1 3 Bobby Doerr 4 1 2 2
Ernie Lombardi 5 0 1 0 Rudy York 4 0 2 1
Harry Craft 5 1 1 2 Dom DiMaggio 4 0 2 3
Mike McCormick 4 1 3 1 Rip Russell 4 0 0 0
Billy Myers 4 0 1 1 Hal Wagner 2 0 0 0
Paul Derringer BYZ 2 0 0 0 Mickey Harris CX 3 0 0 0
Morrie Arnovich 2 1 1 0 Pinky Higgins 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 39 9 14 9 TOTALS 33 6 9 6
1940 CINCINNATI REDS 000 010 062 -- 9
1946 BOSTON RED SOX 300 020 100 -- 6
LOB--1940 CINCINNATI REDS 6, 1946 BOSTON RED SOX 9.
ERR--Bobby Doerr. 2B--Billy Myers, Mike McCormick, Frank
McCormick, Johnny Pesky (2), Bobby Doerr. 3B--Harry Craft,
Ival Goodman. SACF--Frank McCormick, Rudy York. SACB--Lonny
Frey, Pinky Higgins. SB--Billy Werber.
1940 CINCINNATI REDS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Paul Derringer BYZ [W] 7.00 7 6 6 6 2 0
Joe Beggs BZ [S] 2.00 2 0 0 1 1 0
1946 BOSTON RED SOX
Mickey Harris CX 7.00 8 5 5 1 4 0
Clem Dreisewerd CZ [L] 1.00 3 2 2 0 2 0
Jim Bagby CR 1.00 3 2 2 0 0 0
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 