DODGERS DROP FINALE, TO FACE GIANTS IN BEST-OF-3 PLAYOFF
Comeback from 9-1 Deficit to Phils Falls Short
PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 30 (AP) - Facing the need to win their regularly scheduled
finale to avoid a best-of-three playoff with the New York Giants, the Brooklyn
Dodgers yielded five first inning runs to the Philadelphia Phillies and fell
behind 9-1 after four innings, only to mount a furious comeback that fell
short. The Phillies prevailed, 11-9, at Shibe Park. The Dodgers will
return to Brooklyn to host the Giants in the first game of a tie-breaking
playoff at Ebbets Field tomorrow. Game two--and, if necessary, Game
three--will be played at the Polo Grounds.
The Dodgers saved some of their worst baseball of the year for their most
important game. Brooklyn committed four errors, leading to five unearned
Philadelphia runs and stranded 13 baserunners on the afternoon. As the
Giants did in their finale with the Braves, the Dodgers fell behind 5-0 in the
first inning. Unlike the Giants, the Dodgers would prove unable to
overcome the deficit.
Brooklyn threatened to score in the top of the first, but Roy Campanella
grounded into an inning-ending fielder's choice with runners on first and third.
The Phillies seized control of the contest in the bottom of the inning.
Eddie Pellagrini and Richie Ashburn led off with consecutive singles off Dodgers
starter Preacher Roe and then Willie Jones hit a potential double play grounder
to second, but Jackie Robinson kicked the ball for an error, filling the bases
with none out. Del Ennis followed by roping a double to left-center,
driving home a pair and advancing Jones to third. Tommy Brown's slow
roller to third brought home Jones and moved Ennis to third. Mel Clark
then delivered the coup de grace with a home run into the lower stands in left,
capping the first inning scoring with the Phillies on top 5-0.
The Dodgers had a golden opportunity to get right back in the game in the
second, but settled for just one run. Phillies starter Bubba Church hit
Andy Pafko with a pitch to open the frame and then walked Gil Hodges.
Billy Cox drew a four-pitch walk of his own and the bases were filled with no
outs. But Church fanned Roe and Carl Furillo followed with a swinging bunt
to the right side. The baserunners all moved up 90 feet with Pafko
scoring, but Furillo was retired for the second out and Pee Wee Reese flied to
right, with Clark making a nice catch to end the inning.
The score was still 5-1 in the bottom of the fourth when the Phillies appeared
to blow the game open once and for all by scoring four more runs--all of them
unearned. The inning started innocently enough as Roe retired Granny
Hamner on an infield pop fly and Andy Seminick on a grounder to short.
Church lifted a fly to right that Furillo inexplicably dropped for a two-base
error. Perhaps unnerved, Roe walked Pellagrini and Ashburn doubled to
right-center, scoring both runners. That finished Roe for the day; he was
replaced by Clyde King. Jones greeted King by launching his 27th home run
of the year into the left field seats, putting Philadelphia on top by a
seemingly insurmountable 9-1 score.
The Dodgers had played horribly to this point, but to their credit, they didn't
fold. Pee Wee Reese led off the fifth with a walk and moved to third one
out later on Robinson's single to center. Campanella reached on an infield
single, scoring Reese with Robinson moving to second. Pafko lined out to
second, but Hodges walked to fill the bases and Cox came through with a bullet
up the middle to score two more runs. Pinch hitter Rube Walker struck out,
but the Dodgers had crept to within 9-4.
The Phillies got one of the runs back in their half of the fifth, and again, it
was unearned. With Phil Haugstad on the mound, Brown walked and Clark
struck out. Hamner singled Brown to second but Seminick flied to center
for the second out. It appeared that Haugstad would escape damage when he
induced pinch hitter Stan Hollmig to ground to Reese at short, but Pee Wee
booted the ball, filling the bases. Pellagrini then walked, forcing in a
run, before Ashburn flied to center to end the inning.
The Dodgers pushed across two more runs in the top of the sixth on back-to-back
triples Reese and Duke Snider followed by a Robinson double, making it
10-6. The Phillies got one of the runs back in the home half. Jones
singled and Ennis walked to open the inning and Dodgers manager Charlie Dressen
pulled Haugstad in favor of Clem Labine, as part of a double switch.
Labine retired Brown on a fly to left but Clark singled to left to fill the
bases. Hamner grounded to first, with Hodges forcing Jones at the plate,
but Seminick grounded a single to left. Ennis scored, but Don Thompson,
who had entered the game in left field as part of the double switch that brought
Labine to the mound, gunned down Clark at the plate for the third out.
Still, Philadelphia led, 11-6.
The Dodgers moved closer still in the seventh. Cox singled to left and
Thompson walked. Andy Hansen came on to pich for the Phillies and Furillo
grounded into a fielder's choice, leaving runners at the corners with one
out. Reese bounced back to the mound; Cox held third and Furillo took
second as Reese was thrown out at first for the second out of the inning.
Snider walked to fill the bases and Robinson followed by lashing a single to
right, scoring two runs, and reducing the Brooklyn deficit to three.
Campanella lined to Ashburn in center to end the inning.
The Phillies didn't score in the seventh and the Dodgers threatened the lead for
the first time in the game. Wayne Terwilliger hit for Labine and reached
on a two-base throwing error by shortstop Hamner. Hodges doubled to the
left-center gap, scoring Terwilliger and cutting the Phillies lead to
11-9. The potential tying run was standing at home plate in the form of
Cox who reached on an infield single, leaving runners on the corners with no
outs. The tying run was now on base and the lead run was at the plate,
represented by Thompson. Ken Heintzelman was brought on to replace Hansen,
and moved ahead in the count 0-2. He then made a mistake, leaving a
breaking ball in the strike zone and Thompson ripped a line drive that was
speared by Jones at third. He stepped on the bag to double up Hodges and
threw to first, narrowly missing a triple play when Cox dove back just ahead of
the throw. The Dodgers best opportunity to even the score or take the lead
had been snuffed out. Furillo grounded to third to end the inning and,
after Philadelphia failed to score in the bottom of the eighth, Jim Konstanty
was brought on in the ninth and retired the Dodgers in order to end the
game. Despite their best efforts to pull of the improbably comeback,
Brooklyn fell short, succumbing to a rash of unearned runs earlier in the game.
At Ebbets Field tomorrow, Jim Hearn of the Giants is expected to face Ralph
Branca of the Dodgers in the playoff opener.
9/30/1951, Brk51-PhN51, Shibe Park (N) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1951 Dodgers 0 1 0 0 3 2 2 1 0 9 13 4 13 0 1951 Phillies 5 0 0 4 1 1 0 0 x 11 13 1 9 1 Dodgers AB R H BI AVG Phillies AB R H BI AVG Furillo rf 6 1 0 1 .298 Pellagrini 2b 3 2 2 1 .263 Reese ss 5 2 2 0 .282 Ashburn cf 5 2 2 2 .328 Snider cf 5 1 2 1 .297 Jones,W 3b 4 2 3 2 .308 Robinson,J 2b 6 1 4 3 .345 Ennis lf 4 2 1 2 .313 Campanella c 5 1 1 1 .310 Brown,T 1b 4 1 1 1 .211 Pafko lf 1 1 0 0 .255 Clark,M rf 5 1 2 2 .323 Labine p 0 0 0 0 .133 Hamner ss 5 0 1 0 .231 Terwilliger ph 1 1 0 0 .209 Seminick c 5 0 1 1 .264 Branca p 0 0 0 0 .189 Church p 2 1 0 0 .250 Hodges 1b 3 0 1 1 .246 Hollmig ph 1 0 0 0 .000 Cox 3b 4 1 3 2 .274 Thompson,J p 0 0 0 0 .067 Roe p 2 0 0 0 .111 Hansen,A p 1 0 0 0 .000 King p 0 0 0 0 .071 Heintzelman p 0 0 0 0 .031 Walker,R ph 1 0 0 0 .307 Konstanty p 0 0 0 0 .000 Haugstad p 0 0 0 0 .000 39 11 13 11 Thompson,D lf 1 0 0 0 .196 40 9 13 9 Dodgers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Roe L 19-10 3.2 7 8 4 1 0 66 45 2.68 King 0.1 1 1 1 0 0 2 2 4.45 Haugstad 1.0 2 2 1 3 1 35 15 4.71 Labine 2.0 2 0 0 1 1 37 19 3.47 Branca 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 14 9 3.41 8.0 13 11 6 5 2 154 90 Phillies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Church W 15-13 5.0 6 4 4 5 6 85 47 3.79 Thompson,J H 2 1.0 4 4 4 2 1 38 19 6.11 Hansen,A H 1 1.0 3 1 0 1 0 28 20 2.43 Heintzelman H 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 9 6 3.75 Konstanty S 11 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 7 5 5.03 9.0 13 9 8 8 7 167 97 Brk: Walker,R batted for King in the 5th Thompson,D inserted at lf in the 6th Terwilliger batted for Labine in the 8th PhN: Hollmig batted for Church in the 5th E-Furillo, Reese 2, Robinson,J, Hamner. 2B-Robinson,J(29), Hodges(26), Ashburn(29), Jones,W(33), Ennis(22). 3B-Reese(9), Snider(6). HR-Jones,W(27), Clark,M(1). RBI-Furillo(84), Snider(103), Robinson,J 3(94), Campanella(100), Hodges(128), Cox 2(61), Pellagrini(26), Ashburn 2(59), Jones,W 2(126), Ennis 2(86), Brown,T(29), Clark,M 2(9), Seminick(51). CS-Pellagrini. K-Snider, Robinson,J, Campanella, Hodges, Roe 2, Walker,R, Ennis, Clark,M. BB-Reese, Snider, Pafko 2, Hodges 2, Cox, Thompson,D, Pellagrini 2, Jones,W, Ennis, Brown,T. HBP-Pafko. HB-Church. GWRBI: Ennis Temperature: 69, Sky: clear, Wind: right to left at 9 MPH. Attendance: 11,487 Game Time: 2:57