SANDERS DRIVES IN 7 AS BRAVES ROUT CARDS

Redbirds’ 7-Game ‘W’ Streak Snapped

BOSTON, June 17 (AP) – Ray Sanders set a new National League season high by driving in seven runs, leading the Boston Braves to a 9-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals in the first game of a doubleheader at Braves Field.  The loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the Cardinals, who started a new skein when they prevailed in the nightcap, 5-3.

Sanders singled, doubled and homered for Boston.  Tommy Holmes added three hits and scored three times for the Braves.

The Braves jumped all over St. Louis starter Ken Burkhart for three runs in the very first inning, with the first four batters all reaching safely.  Johnny Hopp led off the game with a base hit and advanced to second on a single by the newly acquired Billy Herman.  Holmes then doubled to left-center, scoring Hopp and advancing Herman to third.  Sanders followed with a two-bagger of his own, producing his first two RBIs and giving Boston a 3-0 lead.

The Braves doubled that advantage in the fourth, with Sanders right in the middle of the action again.  Boston starting pitcher Ernie White aided his own cause when he grounded a single through the middle leading off the inning.  Hopp grounded into a fielder’s choice, forcing White at second, for the first out, and Herman lined to left for the second out. But Holmes laced an opposite field single, with Hopp advancing to third, and Sanders belted a three-run homer that landed in the Jury Box in right field for a 6-0 Boston lead.

The Cardinals got on the board in the top of the fifth, mostly courtesy of White’s ongoing wildness.  The St. Louis starter had walked three batters in the first four innings and issued consecutive free passes to Jeff Cross and Erv Dusak with one out in the fifth.  Stan Musial then doubled to left, plating Cross and advancing Dusak to third.  White was able to wriggle out of further damage, but walked the bases loaded with one out in the top of the sixth.  Ed Wright replaced him and pitched out of the jam by retiring Cross on a foul to first and Dusak on a grounder to third, allowing the Braves to maintain their five-run lead.

Boston then blew the game open in the bottom of the frame.  Herman started it off with a one-out single and Holmes doubled him to third.  Sanders then lined a single to left, scoring both runners, giving him seven RBIs in the contest.  Sanders later came home on Connie Ryan’s base hit to cap the scoring.

The previous high for RBIs in an NL game was six, which had been done three times.  The major league high thus far this season is eight, accomplished by Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers on June 12 in a victory over the New York Yankees.

6/17/1946, SLN46-BoN46, game 1, Braves Field

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

1946 Cardinals         0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0     1  6  0    14  0

1946 Braves            3  0  0  3  0  3  0  0  x     9 14  0     8  0

Cardinals            AB  R  H BI   AVG    Braves               AB  R  H BI   AVG

Cross             2b  3  1  1  0  .268    Hopp              cf  5  2  1  0  .333

Dusak             lf  3  0  0  0  .111     Gillenwater      cf  0  0  0  0  .329

Musial            1b  5  0  2  1  .451    Herman,B          3b  5  2  2  0  .276

Slaughter         rf  5  0  1  0  .280     Fernandez        3b  0  0  0  0  .221

Kurowski          3b  4  0  0  0  .234    Holmes            rf  4  3  3  1  .304

Adams,Bu          cf  5  0  0  0  .270    Sanders           1b  4  1  3  7  .262

Marion            ss  2  0  1  0  .252    Rowell            lf  4  1  1  0  .244

Kluttz,C          c   3  0  0  0  .263    Padgett,D         c   3  0  0  0  .194

Burkhart          p   1  0  0  0  .071     Litwhiler,D      ph  1  0  0  0  .333

 Jones,N          ph  1  0  0  0  .000     Masi             c   0  0  0  0  .279

 Donnelly,B       p   0  0  0  0  .000    Ryan              2b  3  0  1  1  .247

 Moore,T          ph  0  0  0  0  .236    Culler            ss  4  0  2  0  .211

 Brazle           p   0  0  0  0  .222    White,E           p   2  0  1  0  .500

 Sessi            ph  1  0  1  0  .500     Wright,E         p   0  0  0  0  .250

 Wilks            p   0  0  0  0  .333     McCormick,M      ph  1  0  0  0  .225

                     33  1  6  1           Posedel          p   0  0  0  0  .000

                                                               36  9 14  9

Cardinals                        INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

Burkhart         L 3-3           4.0  8  6  6  3  1  77  43  4.00

Donnelly,B                       1.0  1  0  0  0  1  15  11 10.80

Brazle                           2.0  5  3  3  0  0  30  23  1.72

Wilks                            1.0  0  0  0  0  1  15  10  1.24

                                 8.0 14  9  9  3  3 137  87

Braves                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA

White,E          W 1-0           5.1  3  1  1  8  2 101  53  1.42

Wright,E         H 1             1.2  1  0  0  0  0  13  10  3.39

Posedel                          2.0  2  0  0  1  1  30  19  3.38

                                 9.0  6  1  1  9  3 144  82

SLN: Jones,N batted for Burkhart in the 5th

     Moore,T batted for Donnelly,B in the 6th

     Sessi batted for Brazle in the 8th

BoN: Litwhiler,D batted for Padgett,D in the 6th

     Masi inserted at c in the 7th

     McCormick,M batted for Wright,E in the 7th

     Fernandez inserted at 3b in the 8th

     Gillenwater inserted at cf in the 9th

2B-Musial 2(14), Slaughter(12), Holmes 2(16), Sanders(10), Rowell(5),

Culler(4). HR-Sanders(6). RBI-Musial(37), Holmes(28), Sanders 7(34),

Ryan(14). K-Dusak, Slaughter, Kurowski, Sanders, Ryan 2. BB-Cross 2, Dusak 2,

Kurowski, Marion 2, Kluttz,C, Moore,T, Holmes, Rowell, Ryan. SH-Sanders,

White,E.

GWRBI: Holmes

Temperature: 90, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: left to right at 14 MPH.

Attendance: N/A

Game Time: 2:16