There was a two-hitter thrown in the opening tilt three straight years: 1948, 1949, 1950!
It was the strong Cleveland Indians vs. the upstart Boston Braves in 1948. And it was no surprise to see Bob Feller starting for the Indians. The Braves countered with Johnny Sain. The game is best remembered for a controversial call at second on a pickoff play.
Feller, pitching great on the road, battled Sain to a scoreless deadlock through 7 1/2 innings. Bob was working on a fine one-hitter. However, in the bottom of the eighth, catcher Bill Salkeld drew a leadoff walk. Phil Masi ran for him. Feller then pitched to Mike McCormick, who got the bunt down and moved Masi into scoring position. That should have been as far as Masi got. Eddie Stanky was walked intentionally. He, too, left for a pinch runner as Sibby Sisti came in to run. But it was the other pinch runner that had Feller's attention. Bob whirled around and fired a perfect strike to Lou Boudreau to catch 'em napping at second. However, Bill Stewart, the umpire at second, said that Masi made it back safely. There has been much debate. But there was no debate that Tommy Holmes later knocked home the game's only run with a single later that inning. Feller completed the two-hitter, and lost 1-0 to Sain.
In 1949, it was a classic Yankees / Dodgers duel. And while the series only lasted five games, the first two contests were 1-0. Allie Reynolds needed the two-hitter, as Don Newcombe matched him all the way. All Newk had was a four-hitter and eleven strikeouts through eight innings in this brilliant scoreless game at Yankee Stadium. Newk though, fell behind 3-0 to Tommy Henrich in the bottom of the ninth. Needing to throw a strike to Old Reliable, Newk ended up throwin his last pitch. Henrich hit a home run to right. Reynolds finally was rewarded. Only Pee Wee Reese and Spider Jorgensen could brag about hitting safely against Superchief!
The next year saw Vic Raschi join Allie with a two-hitter of his own in game one. Reynolds would have to the second contest to pitch. Raschi made sure it was the mighty Bronx Bombers with a win at Shibe Park. The upstart Philadelphia Phillies sent their top relief pitcher, Jim Konstanty out to the mound in this game. And amazingly, Jim didn't pitch like someone making his first start of the season. He matched Vic all the way. When the smoke had cleared however, big Jim found himself in the same boat as Don Newcombe the year before at this very same stage: a 1-0 loser!
But Jim had allowed just five hits, like Don. However, the Phillies could only get two hits, both in the bottom of the fifth. Neither of them led to any scoring, of course. The Yankees went on to a sweep of The Whiz Kids.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
It was the strong Cleveland Indians vs. the upstart Boston Braves in 1948. And it was no surprise to see Bob Feller starting for the Indians. The Braves countered with Johnny Sain. The game is best remembered for a controversial call at second on a pickoff play.
Feller, pitching great on the road, battled Sain to a scoreless deadlock through 7 1/2 innings. Bob was working on a fine one-hitter. However, in the bottom of the eighth, catcher Bill Salkeld drew a leadoff walk. Phil Masi ran for him. Feller then pitched to Mike McCormick, who got the bunt down and moved Masi into scoring position. That should have been as far as Masi got. Eddie Stanky was walked intentionally. He, too, left for a pinch runner as Sibby Sisti came in to run. But it was the other pinch runner that had Feller's attention. Bob whirled around and fired a perfect strike to Lou Boudreau to catch 'em napping at second. However, Bill Stewart, the umpire at second, said that Masi made it back safely. There has been much debate. But there was no debate that Tommy Holmes later knocked home the game's only run with a single later that inning. Feller completed the two-hitter, and lost 1-0 to Sain.
In 1949, it was a classic Yankees / Dodgers duel. And while the series only lasted five games, the first two contests were 1-0. Allie Reynolds needed the two-hitter, as Don Newcombe matched him all the way. All Newk had was a four-hitter and eleven strikeouts through eight innings in this brilliant scoreless game at Yankee Stadium. Newk though, fell behind 3-0 to Tommy Henrich in the bottom of the ninth. Needing to throw a strike to Old Reliable, Newk ended up throwin his last pitch. Henrich hit a home run to right. Reynolds finally was rewarded. Only Pee Wee Reese and Spider Jorgensen could brag about hitting safely against Superchief!
The next year saw Vic Raschi join Allie with a two-hitter of his own in game one. Reynolds would have to the second contest to pitch. Raschi made sure it was the mighty Bronx Bombers with a win at Shibe Park. The upstart Philadelphia Phillies sent their top relief pitcher, Jim Konstanty out to the mound in this game. And amazingly, Jim didn't pitch like someone making his first start of the season. He matched Vic all the way. When the smoke had cleared however, big Jim found himself in the same boat as Don Newcombe the year before at this very same stage: a 1-0 loser!
But Jim had allowed just five hits, like Don. However, the Phillies could only get two hits, both in the bottom of the fifth. Neither of them led to any scoring, of course. The Yankees went on to a sweep of The Whiz Kids.
References
Enders, Eric. 100 years of the World Series. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
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