BEVENS TOPS TRIBE DESPITE 9 WALKS

Robinson Homers Twice for Yanks

NEW YORK, June 7 (AP) – Bill Bevens recorded his fifth win of the season, tossing a complete game as the New York Yankees topped the Cleveland Indians 7-3 at Yankee Stadium.  Bevens accomplished the feat despite issuing nine free passes, the most allowed by a pitcher in a single game this year.  Aaron Robinson hit two home runs and drove in four for New York.  Charlie Keller continued his recent hot streak with three hits, including his ninth home run of the season.

The Yankees took firm command of the game in the very first inning, with significant assistance from Cleveland’s shoddy defense.  Tommy Henrich drew a one-out walk from Indians starter Red Embree, and Keller doubled Henrich to third.  Joe DiMaggio flied to deep center, scoring Henrich with the game’s first run and advancing Keller to third.  Nick Etten’s grounder to first should have ended the inning with Cleveland trailing just 1-0, but Les Fleming misplayed the ball for an error, allowing Keller to score and keeping the inning alive.  Joe Gordon then reached when second baseman Ray Mack booted his ground ball for the second error of the inning.  Robinson then applied the coup de grace with a home run into the bleachers in right-center field.  The Yankees led 5-1, with four of the runs unearned.

The Indians did try to make a game of it in the top of the fifth.  Don Ross led off with a base hit and that’s when Bevens began to run into control problems.  He walked Frankie Hayes and Mack to load the bases with no outs.  Bevens had issued only one base on balls through four scoreless innings, but went on to walk eight more hitters over the final five frames.  To add insult to injury, Bevens turned Embree’s comebacker—which easily could have been a 1-2-3 double play—into an error, allowing Ross to score Cleveland’s first run, while keeping the bases loaded with no outs.  Lou Boudreau followed by grounding a two-run single into center field.  The score was now 5-3, with the tying runs on first and second and still no one out.  But Bevens regained his composure.  He fanned Gene Woodling for the first out, then retired Fleming and Hank Edwards to end the inning.

Charlie Keller opened the bottom of the fifth with a home run, and New York added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth when Robinson led off the inning with a blast deep into the lower grandstand in right.

Bevens held the Indians hitless after the fifth, but did issue multiple walks in the sixth, seventh and ninth innings.  He managed to avoid any damage, however, en route to the complete game.

6/7/1946, Cle46-NYA46, Yankee Stadium

                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP

1946 Indians           0  0  0  0  3  0  0  0  0     3  4  2     9  1

1946 Yankees           5  0  0  0  1  0  0  1  x     7  9  1     8  2

Indians              AB  R  H BI   AVG    Yankees              AB  R  H BI   AVG

Boudreau          ss  5  0  1  2  .316    Stirnweiss        3b  3  0  1  0  .281

Woodling          cf  5  0  1  0  .256    Henrich           rf  4  1  0  0  .273

Fleming,L         1b  4  0  1  0  .267     Lindell          rf  0  0  0  0  .196

Edwards,H         rf  4  0  0  0  .315    Keller            lf  5  2  3  1  .254

Seerey            lf  3  0  0  0  .250    DiMaggio,J        cf  4  0  0  1  .264

Ross              3b  4  1  1  0  .370    Etten             1b  4  1  0  0  .283

Hayes,F           c   1  1  0  0  .225    Gordon,J          2b  3  1  0  0  .245

Mack              2b  2  1  0  0  .215    Robinson,A        c   4  2  4  4  .422

Embree            p   2  0  0  0  .192    Rizzuto           ss  3  0  0  0  .311

 Rocco            ph  0  0  0  0  .333    Bevens            p   3  0  1  0  .038

 Ferrick,T        p   0  0  0  0  .000                         33  7  9  6

 Keltner          ph  0  0  0  0  .236

                     30  3  4  2

Indians                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Embree           L 5-3           6.0  6  6  2  4  2 108  58  3.22

Ferrick,T                        2.0  3  1  1  1  0  29  18  6.75

                                 8.0  9  7  3  5  2 137  76

Yankees                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Bevens           W 5-3           9.0  4  3  2  9  5 151  77  2.43

                                 9.0  4  3  2  9  5 151  77

Cle: Rocco batted for Embree in the 7th

     Keltner batted for Ferrick,T in the 9th

NYA: Lindell inserted at rf in the 9th

E-Fleming,L, Mack, Bevens. 2B-Keller(8). HR-Keller(9), Robinson,A 2(5).

RBI-Boudreau 2(19), Keller(40), DiMaggio,J(32), Robinson,A 4(13).

K-Woodling, Edwards,H, Seerey 2, Ross, Bevens 2. BB-Fleming,L, Seerey,

Hayes,F 3, Mack 2, Rocco, Keltner, Stirnweiss, Henrich, Gordon,J, Rizzuto,

Bevens. SH-Stirnweiss.

GWRBI: DiMaggio,J

Temperature: 68, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 24 MPH.

Attendance: 36,776

Game Time: 2:19