We’re back at Boston’s Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds once again today for Game 5. With the Giants still sitting on a commanding 3-1 lead, John McGraw will send Game 1 starter Iron Joe McGinnity in hopes of wrapping up the series. Jimmy Collins is countering with McGinnity’s Game 1 opponent, fellow Hall of Famer Cy Young. We’ve got excellent weather for a ball game in Boston this afternoon, and the grounds are packed with fans.
The Pilgrims plated the first two runs of the game on McGinnity in the bottom of the second. Buck Freeman and manager Jimmy Collins led off with back-to-back singles. McGinnity struck out Chick Stahl, but Hobe Ferris threaded the needle between Giants’ center fielder Roger Bresnahan and right fielder George Browne, the ball going all the way to the wall for a two-run-scoring triple.
McGinnity got let down by the Giants’ defense in the bottom of the fourth. Chick Stahl hit a two-out double. McGinnity gave Hobe Ferris an intentional walk in hopes of setting up a force out, but Duke Farrell hit a sharp liner right at third baseman Art Devlin. Devlin managed a miraculous stop, but his throw to first baseman Dan McGann got past the first baseman, and Stahl scored on the error.
With the exception of two out walks in the bottom of the sixth and the top of the seventh, both sides went out 1-2-3 from the fourth to the Americans’ eighth.
Giants’ manager John McGraw has sent himself up in the top of the eighth to pinch hit for Giants’ second baseman Billy Gilbert (yes, McGraw was still an active player in 1904), and McGraw then replaced Gilbert at second in the bottom half of the frame. With one out, the Americans’ Freddy Parent hit a line drive down the right field line, fair by inches. By the time George Browne got the ball back in, Parent was standing on second base. McGinnity managed to work right fielder Buck Freeman to a full count, but Freeman then crushed a hanging breaking ball, slamming it over the right field fence to put the Americans up 5-0.
While Iron Joe was getting knocked around quite a bit, Cy Young had been quietly tossing a masterpiece. Young had given up a base hit to Bill Dahlen with only one out in the top of the first, but from that point through two outs in the seventh, Young had retired seventeen consecutive hitters without a single baserunner. Bresnahan walked in the seventh, but entering the top of the ninth, Young’s line read one hit, no runs, one walk and three strikeouts.
Jack Dunn led off the ninth, pinch hitting for Iron Joe McGinnity. Young got him on three pitches. Art Devlin and Bill Dahlen then wrapped up the game on back-to-back lazy fly balls to Americans’ right fielder Buck Freeman.
So with the Americans winning Game 5 on Young’s masterpiece, 5-0, the series now stands at Giants 3 games, Americans 2.
Image courtesy of Pixabay by PIRO4D (no changes).
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