PIERCE'S GEM ENDS CHISOX 'L' STREAK
Yanks Drop Pitcher's Duel, Lead Cut to 1 1/2
NEW YORK, July 27 (AP) - Billy Pierce's up-and-down season continues. The
White Sox left-hander extinguished a New York threat in the bottom of the ninth
inning to post his league-leading third shutout of the season as Chicago eked
out a 1-0 victory before a disappointed crowd of 49,039 at Yankee Stadium.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the White Sox and pulled the club
to within 1 1/2 games of the first place New Yorkers. Yankees starter Tom
Morgan saw his outstanding performance wasted, as Pierce was just a bit better
today.
Both pitchers took shutouts into the ninth inning. The Yankees advanced
just one runner past second base in the first eight innings as Pierce dazzled
them with brilliant location and masterful change of speeds. Only four New
York batters reached base in the first eight frames, and the club's best scoring
opportunity came in the fourth. Phil Rizzuto led off with a single, but
Pierce retired Gil McDougald on a foul pop and Joe DiMaggio on a fly to
center. Yogi Berra's two-out bouncer to the right side split Nellie Fox
and Eddie Robinson perfectly, advancing Rizzuto to third. But Johnny
Mize's grounder was snared by Pierce to retire the side.
Morgan was every bit as effective as his Chicago counterpart. The Yankees
right-hander held the White Sox to six baserunners through eight innings and
survived a threat in the fifth. With one out, Chico Carrasquel tripled
over the head of DiMaggio in center field. But, with the infield pulled
in, Pierce rolled to Jerry Coleman at second for out number two. When Fox
did the same, Morgan had weathered the storm.
The double shutout was finally broken in the top of the ninth. Robinson
led off and worked the count to 3-2. He then drove a Morgan fastball into
the right field bleachers to give the White Sox the lead. The circuit
clout was Robinson's 21st of the year, tying him with Ted Williams for the
American League lead. Bud Stewart followed with a single. Jim
Busby's grounder to short advanced Stewart to second with one out. With
Morgan noticeably tiring, Yankees manager Casey Stengel lifted his starter in
favor of lefty Art Schallock. Morgan received a loud ovation from the home
crowd upon exiting and Schallock retired Carrasquel and Pierce without incident.
The Yankees immediately hit Pierce with his toughest jam of the game in the
bottom half of the inning. Rizzuto led off with a triple to
right-center. The tying run was now 90 feet from home plate with the
winning run standing in the batter's box. The Chicago infield moved in and
it paid off when McDougald grounded out to defensive replacement Floyd Baker at
third. DiMaggio was walked intentionally, to bring up the lefty swinging
Berra with a double play possibility in place. With DiMaggio representing
the tying run, the much swifter Johnny Hopp was summoned to pinch run.
Pierce quickly moved ahead of Berra 0-2 and ultimately struck the Yankees
catcher out on a slow breaking ball for the second out of the inning.
First baseman Johnny Mize and drew a walk on a 3-2 pitch to fill the bases with
two outs. The tying and winning runs were now in scoring position for Hank
Bauer. Bauer's .359 batting average entering the game would lead the AL if
he had enough plate appearances to qualify, but he was 0-for-3 in this
contest. Still, the New York outfielder was third in the league in home
runs just behind Robinson and Williams, led the club in runs batted in, had the
platoon advantage with Pierce on the hill and had to be pitched to with the
bases loaded. But Pierce rose to the occasion and struck out the dangerous
Bauer on three pitches to end the game.
The victory snapped a personal three-game losing streak for the White Sox hurler
and represented his first strong start since he fired a one-hit shutout at the
Washington Senators on June 14.
7/27/1951, ChA51-NYA51, Yankee Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1951 White Sox 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 5 0 7 0 1951 Yankees 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 3 7 1 White Sox AB R H BI AVG Yankees AB R H BI AVG Fox,N 2b 4 0 0 0 .270 Woodling lf 4 0 0 0 .306 Zarilla rf 4 0 1 0 .308 Rizzuto ss 4 0 2 0 .299 Baker 3b 0 0 0 0 .314 McDougald 3b 4 0 1 0 .263 Minoso 3b 3 0 0 0 .325 DiMaggio,J cf 3 0 0 0 .263 Robinson,E 1b 4 1 1 1 .283 Hopp pr 0 0 0 0 .333 Stewart lf 3 0 1 0 .310 Berra c 4 0 1 0 .278 Busby cf 4 0 0 0 .282 Mize 1b 3 0 0 0 .266 Sheely c 4 0 1 0 .143 Bauer rf 4 0 0 0 .352 Carrasquel ss 3 0 1 0 .308 Coleman,Je 2b 2 0 0 0 .303 Pierce p 3 0 0 0 .188 Morgan p 2 0 0 0 .250 32 1 5 1 Schallock p 0 0 0 0 .000 30 0 4 0 White Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Pierce W 7-9 9.0 4 0 0 3 6 108 70 3.58 9.0 4 0 0 3 6 108 70 Yankees INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Morgan L 5-1 8.1 5 1 1 3 2 134 82 3.13 Schallock 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 5 5 13.50 9.0 5 1 1 3 2 139 87 ChA: Baker inserted at 3b in the 9th Minoso moved to rf in the 9th NYA: Hopp ran for DiMaggio,J in the 9th E-Rizzuto, McDougald, Coleman,Je. 2B-McDougald(6). 3B-Carrasquel(4), Rizzuto(4). HR-Robinson,E(21). RBI-Robinson,E(94). SB-Minoso(18). CS-Minoso. K-Zarilla, Minoso, Woodling, Berra 2, Mize, Bauer, Coleman,Je. BB-Minoso, Stewart, Carrasquel, DiMaggio,J, Mize, Coleman,Je. SH-Morgan. GWRBI: Robinson,E Temperature: 94, Sky: clear, Wind: right to left at 11 MPH. Attendance: 49,039 Game Time: 1:55