PHILS RALLY LATE TO EARN SPLIT, SNAP 17-GAME LOSING STREAK
Surkont Fires 2-Hitter For Braves In Opener
PHILADELPHIA, August 7 (AP) - The sun finally showed its face in
Philadelphia. The Phillies rallied for three runs in the bottom of the
ninth inning to slip past the Boston Braves, 5-4, in the nightcap of a
doubleheader, earning a split and finally ending the club's 17-game losing
streak. It was the first Phillies victory since winning the first game of
a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs on July 22.
The losing streak was extended to 17 games in an opener that featured a
pitcher's duel between Boston's Max Surkont and Philadelphia's Robin
Roberts. Surkont had the better of the match-up, blanking the Phillies on
a mere two hits. Surkont retired the first 16 batters he faced before
issuing a one-out walk to Del Wilber in the sixth inning. Surkont didn't
surrender his first hit until Del Ennis singled with two outs in the
seventh.
The Braves scored all the runs they would need in the fourth inning. Bob
Elliott led off the frame with a single and Sid Gordon's sacrifice was muffed by
Wilber, leaving runners at first and second with none out. Willard
Marshall's slow roller to second advanced both baserunners 90 feet. Ebba
St. Claire was intentionally walked to fill the bases but Johnny Logan foiled
the strategy by lining a two-run single to center field for a 2-0 Braves lead.
Boston threatened on a couple of occasions later in the game but Roberts held
the Braves at bay. Unfortunately for the Phillies, Surkont was even
better. The harmless walk and single in the sixth and seventh innings
respectively represented all the baserunners Philadelphia could muster until the
ninth, and even then it required a defensive lapse to provide any hope at
all. After Surkont fanned pinch hitter Andy Seminick to start the inning,
Eddie Waitkus had his routine grounder to second booted by Roy Hartsfield for an
error. Surkont retired Richie Ashburn on another grounder to Hartsfield,
with Waitkus advancing to second, but Willie Jones reached on an infield single
with Waitkus moving to third. Despite the fact that this was only the
third Philadelphia batter to reach base safely in 8 2/3 innings, the Phillies
brought the potential winning run to the plate in the form of Ennis, but Surkont
induced a routine fly to center to end the game.
The nightcap looked like yet another Philadelphia defeat. After Granny
Hamner hit a solo home run off Braves starter Johnny Sain to give the Phillies a
1-0 lead in the second, Boston evened the score in the third on Sain's RBI
single and then took the lead in the fourth when St. Claire's two-out double
scored Elliott, who had led off the inning with a walk. The Braves picked
up an insurance run in the sixth when Earl Torgeson led off the frame with his
11th home run of the year. The Phillies edged to within one run in the
eighth on back-to-back two-out doubles by Ashburn and Jones but the Braves
regained their two-run lead in the top of the ninth on Elliott's RBI double.
Trailing 4-2 entering the bottom of the ninth, with Sain on the hill, the
Phillies appeared destined to fall for the 18th consecutive time. But Dick
Sisler led off the inning with a double and when Hamner drove him home with a
double of his own, Sain was lifted in favor of Phil Paine. Putsy Caballero
looped a single to left, with Hamner holding at third. Pinch hitter Tommy
Brown was retired on a pop fly to first, but Wilber crushed a ball over the head
of Sam Jethroe in center. Hamner and Caballero both scored without a play
on what was credited officially as a triple and the Phillies had miraculously
ended their nightmarish losing streak.
8/7/1951, BoN51-PhN51, game 1, Shibe Park (N) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1951 Braves 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 8 1 7 0 1951 Phillies 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 4 1 Braves AB R H BI AVG Phillies AB R H BI AVG Hartsfield 2b 4 0 2 0 .276 Waitkus 1b 4 0 0 0 .268 Jethroe cf 4 0 0 0 .309 Ashburn cf 4 0 0 0 .330 Torgeson 1b 4 0 1 0 .264 Jones,W 3b 4 0 1 0 .302 Elliott 3b 4 1 1 0 .311 Ennis rf 4 0 1 0 .321 Gordon lf 3 1 2 0 .332 Sisler lf 3 0 0 0 .272 Marshall rf 4 0 0 0 .271 Hamner ss 3 0 0 0 .224 St.Claire c 3 0 1 0 .259 Caballero 2b 3 0 0 0 .167 Logan ss 4 0 1 2 .238 Wilber c 2 0 0 0 .262 Surkont p 3 0 0 0 .107 Roberts p 1 0 0 0 .211 33 2 8 2 Seminick ph 1 0 0 0 .271 29 0 2 0 Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Surkont W 10-9 9.0 2 0 0 1 2 107 66 3.35 9.0 2 0 0 1 2 107 66 Phillies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Roberts L 16-8 9.0 8 2 1 1 3 133 94 2.61 9.0 8 2 1 1 3 133 94 PhN: Seminick batted for Roberts in the 9th E-Hartsfield, Jones,W, Wilber. 2B-Gordon(22). 3B-Hartsfield(1). RBI-Logan 2(12). K-Jethroe, St.Claire, Logan, Ennis, Seminick. BB-St.Claire, Wilber. SH-Gordon, Surkont, Roberts. GWRBI: Logan Temperature: 92, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 13 MPH. Attendance: N/A Game Time: 1:55 8/7/1951, BoN51-PhN51, game 2, Shibe Park (N) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1951 Braves 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 4 11 1 11 0 1951 Phillies 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 5 10 2 6 1 Braves AB R H BI AVG Phillies AB R H BI AVG Hartsfield 2b 5 0 2 0 .277 Waitkus 1b 4 0 0 0 .265 Jethroe cf 4 1 2 0 .311 Ashburn cf 4 1 1 0 .329 Torgeson 1b 4 1 1 1 .264 Jones,W 3b 4 0 1 1 .301 Elliott 3b 4 1 1 1 .311 Ennis rf 4 0 0 0 .318 Gordon lf 5 0 2 0 .332 Sisler lf 4 1 1 0 .271 Addis rf 4 0 0 0 .258 Hamner ss 4 2 3 2 .229 St.Claire c 4 0 1 1 .259 Caballero 2b 4 1 2 0 .184 Logan ss 3 1 1 0 .241 Seminick c 3 0 1 0 .271 Marshall ph 0 0 0 0 .271 Konstanty p 0 0 0 0 .000 Sisti ss 0 0 0 0 .269 Brown,T ph 1 0 0 0 .206 Sain p 3 0 1 1 .280 Meyer p 1 0 0 0 .132 Paine p 0 0 0 0 .000 Wilber c 2 0 1 2 .265 36 4 11 4 35 5 10 5 Braves INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Sain 8.0 8 4 4 0 0 87 59 5.00 Paine BS 1, L 0-1 0.1 2 1 1 0 0 8 7 10.57 8.1 10 5 5 0 0 95 66 Phillies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Meyer 7.2 10 3 3 4 1 110 67 4.88 Konstanty W 3-2 1.1 1 1 1 1 0 23 11 5.22 9.0 11 4 4 5 1 133 78 BoN: Marshall batted for Logan in the 8th Sisti inserted at ss in the 8th PhN: Wilber inserted at c in the 8th Brown,T batted for Konstanty in the 9th E-Sain, Hamner, Wilber. 2B-Elliott(24), Gordon(23), St.Claire(8), Logan(5), Ashburn(21), Jones,W(24), Sisler(11), Hamner(14). 3B-Wilber(3). HR-Torgeson(11), Hamner(8). RBI-Torgeson(55), Elliott(63), St.Claire(25), Sain(7), Jones,W(84), Hamner 2(55), Wilber 2(22). SB-Hartsfield(5), Jethroe(22). K-Gordon. BB-Jethroe, Torgeson, Elliott, Sain, Marshall. SH-Addis, Meyer. PB-Wilber. GWRBI: Wilber Temperature: 92, Sky: clear, Wind: out to center at 13 MPH. Attendance: 8,562 Game Time: 1:55