BRIDGES FANS 13 AS TIGERS COMPLETE DH SWEEP OF A’S
Season Big League High Comes in Season Debut
PHILADELPHIA, May 5 (AP) – Tommy Bridges, making his season debut, fanned a major league season-high 13 batters, leading the Detroit Tigers to a 6-2 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Shibe Park. The Tigers took the opener, 6-4, behind a complete game effort from Al Benton (2-1). The sweep at the hands of Detroit leaves the A’s with an American League worst 3-15 record on the season and a losing streak of five games.
The 39-year-old Bridges had missed the first three weeks of the season due to unspecified arm problems, but looked young out on the mound against Philadelphia, clustering eight of his strikeouts over a four-inning span between the fourth and seventh frames. The only real mistakes made by Bridges—who allowed only four hits—were a pair of solo home runs yielded to A’s right fielder Hal Peck.
The Detroit offense provided Bridges with three runs in the top of the first inning off Philadelphia starter Bobo Newsom. Eddie Lake led off with a single and was doubled to third by Eddie Mayo. Barney McCosky grounded to second, plating Lake with the game’s first run, and advancing Mayo to third. Anse Moore then tripled to right-center, scoring Mayo for a 2-0 lead, and Hank Greenberg’s base hit drove in Moore for a 3-0 Tigers advantage.
Peck’s home runs came in the bottom of the first and third innings, bringing the A’s back to within a single run, but Bridges aided his own cause in the sixth when he singled home Jimmy Outlaw, who had reached on a base hit earlier, for a 4-2 lead. Mayo’s RBI-single and a run-scoring error in the ninth plated two more Detroit runs, and accounted for the final score.
But Bridges’ effort on the mound was the big story. He simply overpowered Philadelphia’s batters throughout, most notably left fielder Russ Derry, who fanned in all four of his plate appearances, becoming the first non-pitcher to strike out four times in a nine-inning game this season.
5/5/1946, Det46-PhA46, game 1, Shibe Park (A)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1946 Tigers 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 6 11 1 9 3
1946 Athletics 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 8 1 7 2
Tigers AB R H BI AVG Athletics AB R H BI AVG
Lake ss 4 0 1 1 .121 Peck rf 4 1 1 0 .286
Mayo 2b 3 0 1 0 .333 Wallaesa ss 5 1 1 1 .167
Hitchcock,B ph 2 0 0 0 .000 Derry lf 2 1 1 0 .154
McCosky,B cf 3 1 0 0 .259 Chapman,S cf 3 0 2 2 .373
Moore,A lf 3 1 1 0 .333 McQuinn 1b 3 0 1 0 .203
Greenberg 1b 4 1 2 0 .267 Rosar c 4 0 2 0 .321
Mullin rf 5 2 2 2 .184 Hall 2b 4 0 0 0 .071
Outlaw 3b 3 1 1 1 .286 Kell,G 3b 3 1 0 0 .373
Swift c 4 0 3 2 .750 Newsom,B p 1 0 0 0 .143
Benton p 3 0 0 0 .100 Flores p 1 0 0 0 .333
34 6 11 6 Berry,J p 1 0 0 0 .000
Konopka ph 1 0 0 0 .125
32 4 8 3
Tigers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Benton W 2-1 9.0 8 4 3 6 3 150 85 3.44
9.0 8 4 3 6 3 150 85
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Newsom,B L 0-2 4.0 7 5 5 5 2 72 37 6.66
Flores 2.0 0 0 0 1 1 34 21 2.25
Berry,J 3.0 4 1 1 0 3 49 31 4.15
9.0 11 6 6 6 6 155 89
Det: Hitchcock,B batted for Mayo in the 6th
Hitchcock,B moved to 2b in the 6th
PhA: Konopka batted for Berry,J in the 9th
E-Moore,A, Hall. 2B-Greenberg(3), Mullin 2(3), Outlaw(1), Chapman,S(4),
McQuinn(2). RBI-Lake(1), Mullin 2(4), Outlaw(1), Swift 2(2), Wallaesa(2),
Chapman,S 2(11). SB-Peck(1). K-Greenberg, Outlaw, Benton 3, Hitchcock,B,
Rosar, Hall, Berry,J. BB-Lake, McCosky,B 2, Moore,A 2, Greenberg, Peck,
Derry 2, Chapman,S, McQuinn, Kell,G. SH-Outlaw, Benton.
GWRBI: Mullin
Temperature: 66, Sky: clear, Wind: in from right at 8 MPH.
Attendance: N/A
Game Time: 2:24
5/5/1946, Det46-PhA46, game 2, Shibe Park (A)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP
1946 Tigers 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 6 8 1 7 0
1946 Athletics 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1 6 0
Tigers AB R H BI AVG Athletics AB R H BI AVG
Lake ss 5 1 1 0 .127 Peck rf 3 2 2 2 .303
Mayo 2b 5 2 2 1 .338 Wallaesa ss 4 0 0 0 .157
McCosky,B cf 3 0 0 1 .246 Derry lf 4 0 0 0 .118
Moore,A lf 5 1 1 1 .250 Chapman,S cf 3 0 0 0 .357
Greenberg 1b 4 0 1 1 .266 McQuinn 1b 4 0 0 0 .190
Mullin rf 4 0 0 0 .167 Rosar c 4 0 0 0 .298
Outlaw 3b 4 1 2 0 .364 Hall 2b 3 0 1 0 .097
Richards c 2 1 0 0 .130 Kell,G 3b 3 0 1 0 .370
Bridges p 3 0 1 1 .333 Christopher p 2 0 0 0 .143
35 6 8 5 Konopka ph 1 0 0 0 .111
Fagan p 0 0 0 0 .000
31 2 4 2
Tigers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Bridges W 1-0 9.0 4 2 2 2 13 135 83 2.00
9.0 4 2 2 2 13 135 83
Athletics INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA
Christopher L 1-3 7.0 7 4 4 3 5 125 78 3.81
Fagan 2.0 1 2 1 1 0 28 13 3.38
9.0 8 6 5 4 5 153 91
PhA: Konopka batted for Christopher in the 7th
E-Richards, Kell,G. 2B-Mayo(4). 3B-Moore,A(1). HR-Peck 2(3). RBI-Mayo(5),
McCosky,B(7), Moore,A(1), Greenberg(12), Bridges(1), Peck 2(6). K-Lake, Mayo,
Greenberg, Mullin 2, Peck, Wallaesa 2, Derry 4, Chapman,S, McQuinn 2, Rosar,
Kell,G, Christopher. BB-McCosky,B 2, Richards 2, Chapman,S, Kell,G.
SH-Bridges, Hall. HBP-Peck. HB-Bridges.
GWRBI: McCosky,B
Temperature: 66, Sky: clear, Wind: in from right at 8 MPH.
Attendance: 9,494
Game Time: 2:13