REDS SNAP 14-GAME 'L' STREAK WITH EPIC COMEBACK
7-Run 9th Inning Beats Cubs
CINCINNATI, June 2 (AP) - It's been a horrid start to the season for the
Cincinnati Reds who entered their June 2 game with the Chicago Cubs at 4-32 and
on a 14-game losing streak. For all the world it appeared that those marks
would be 4-33 and 15 straight losses when the Reds entered the bottom of the
eighth inning trailing the Cubs 9-2. But after scoring what appeared to be
a consolation run in the home half of the eighth the Reds, aided by a key error,
scored seven in the last of the ninth to pull out a 10-9 victory at Crosley
Field. The Cincinnati revival matches the largest late inning comeback in
the major leagues this season. On April 24, the St. Louis Browns trailed
the Cleveland Indians 9-2 entering the bottom of the ninth inning at Sportsman's
Park before rallying to tie the game and eventually win it, 14-13, in eleven
innings.
Chicago roared out to a 6-0 lead after five innings. The Cubs picked up a
run in the second when Billy Jurges singled home Kiki Cuyler, who had
doubled. The Cubs scored three more runs in the fourth. Cuyler and
Jurges reprised their roles perfectly to make it 2-0 and, later in the inning,
Gabby Hartnett homered and Chuck Klein drew a bases loaded walk to make it
4-0. In the fifth, an error charged to second baseman Tony Piet and Billy
Herman's single produced two more runs giving Chicago a 6-0 advantage. The
rout appeared to be on in full.
The Reds picked up a pair of runs in the sixth on singles by Piet and Chick
Hafey but the Cubs got those tallies back, plus one, as part of a three-run
eighth; Dolph Camilli drew a bases loaded walk and Jurges completed his
four-hit day with a two-run single, putting Chicago on top 9-2.
In the bottom of the eighth, back-to-back doubles off the bats off Harlin Pool
and Mark Koenig cut the deficit to 9-3, but it appeared to be too little too
late.
Back in the bottom of the seventh, when the Cubs led only 6-2, the Reds had
loaded the bases with two outs. With arguably Cincinnati's most dangerous
hitter--Hafey-- due up, Cubs manager Charlie Grimm, taking no chances, removed
starter Bud Tinning from the game in favor Bill Lee. Lee ended the threat
by inducing Hafey to ground out to short and when the Cubs rallied for three
more runs in the top of the eighth and Lee--despite surrendering a run--escaped
the eighth with minimal damage, the move was more or less forgotten.
But in the bottom of the ninth, with Lee still on the mound for Chicago, pinch
hitter Ernie Lombardi led off with a triple. Sparky Adams then drove home
Lombardi with a first pitch single to right to cut the deficit to 9-4.
Piet's base hit put runners on first and second and Hafey cleared the bases with
a double to the gap in left-center, making the score 9-6. Suddenly the
tying run was in the on deck circle with no outs. Grimm removed Lee at
this point and replaced him with Guy Bush but the new pitcher walked Jim
Bottomley, bringing the tying run to the plate. Pool then drew another
free pass, loading the bases. It was the first time all year that the Reds
had managed to have six consecutive hitters reach base safely. The Cubs
might still have escaped with a win but third baseman Woody English botched
Koenig's would-be double play grounder, allowing Hafey to score. It was
now 9-7, the bases were still loaded and still no outs. Bob O'Farrell's
slow roller to first finally procured the first out of the inning, but all three
baserunners moved up, with Bottomley scoring to make it 9-8. Linc Blakely
then topped a grounder to the left side. English's only play was at first,
allowing Pool to score the tying run. Lombardi came up for the second time
in the inning and Bush hit him with a pitch, leaving runners on first and third,
then fell behind Koenig 2-0. The Cincinnati shortstop guessed fastball,
got it, and lined it into left-center field for the game-winning hit.
Until the ninth inning of this, their 37th game of the season, the Reds hadn't
scored more than four runs in an inning all year long.
6/2/1934, ChN34-Cin34, Crosley Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1934 Cubs 0 1 0 3 2 0 0 3 0 9 13 1 13 1 1934 Reds 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 7 10 13 1 11 1 Cubs AB R H BI AVG Reds AB R H BI AVG Herman,Bi 2b 6 1 3 1 .315 Adams 3b 4 2 1 1 .200 English 3b 3 0 0 0 .289 Piet 2b 5 1 3 2 .230 Klein rf 2 1 1 1 .333 Hafey lf 5 1 2 3 .287 Stephenson lf 6 1 1 0 .412 Bottomley 1b 4 1 1 0 .266 Cuyler cf 4 2 1 0 .298 Pool rf 4 2 1 0 .211 Camilli 1b 4 1 2 1 .398 Koenig ss 5 1 2 2 .291 Jurges ss 5 0 4 4 .262 O'Farrell c 5 0 0 1 .237 Hartnett c 4 2 1 1 .216 Blakely cf 5 1 2 1 .208 Tinning p 3 1 0 1 .222 Kleinhans p 1 0 0 0 .000 Lee,B p 1 0 0 0 .150 Stout p 0 0 0 0 .167 Bush p 0 0 0 0 .294 Schulmerich ph 0 0 0 0 .253 38 9 13 9 Freitas p 0 0 0 0 .500 Lombardi ph 1 1 1 0 .250 39 10 13 10 Cubs INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Tinning 6.2 6 2 2 4 2 102 61 4.20 Lee,B H 1 1.1 6 5 5 0 0 28 20 3.02 Bush BS 1, L 7-3 0.2 1 3 0 3 0 26 7 3.44 8.2 13 10 7 7 2 156 88 Reds INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Kleinhans 4.2 8 6 4 5 1 112 61 5.14 Stout 1.1 0 0 0 1 1 19 10 5.28 Freitas W 1-1 3.0 5 3 3 3 1 59 29 4.40 9.0 13 9 7 9 3 190 100 Cin: Schulmerich batted for Stout in the 6th Lombardi batted for Freitas in the 9th E-English, Piet. 2B-Cuyler(11), Camilli(16), Jurges(11), Hafey(7), Pool(2), Koenig 2(8). 3B-Lombardi(1). HR-Hartnett(4). RBI-Herman,Bi(5), Klein(32), Camilli(29), Jurges 4(33), Hartnett(16), Tinning(1), Adams(9), Piet 2(6), Hafey 3(15), Koenig 2(17), O'Farrell(5), Blakely(2). K-English, Camilli 2, Adams, Koenig. BB-English 2, Klein 4, Camilli, Hartnett, Tinning, Adams 2, Piet, Bottomley, Pool, Schulmerich, Freitas. SH-English. HBP-Cuyler, Lombardi. PB-Hartnett. HB-Bush, Kleinhans. WP-Kleinhans. GWRBI: Piet Temperature: 92, Sky: clear, Wind: in from center at 9 MPH. Attendance: 3,607 Game Time: 2:49