Kid Gleason League 9/01/50

[basilrathbonejr]

BeanEaters 3 Sasquatch 2

September has arrived and with it the American League race has tightened up considerably. Boston has caught first place Seattle with it hard fought 3-2 win in game one. The two teams both possess 30-22 records. Boston has won seven of its last ten games and four straight while Seattle has been 6-4 with two consecutive losses.

Kansas City is two games behind the co-leaders having won two straight and seven of ten.

Game one of the series in Seattle was a tense pitching duel between Seattle's Charlie Cruz and Fred Spring of Boston.

Spring went eight innings giving up one run on just three hits walking four and striking out ten batters.

Spring, under scrutiny in Boston for being inconsistent, had possibly his best outing of the season thus far. Spring issued all four of the walks he was charged with over the first three innings.

In the first inning, Spring gave up a to out single to Steve Didier, the only hit he allowed until the sixth inning, and a walk to Ed Corey, then got Bob Pryor to fly out to right fielder Alex Flaherty to end the threat..

Spring walked Pat Fluhrer to start the second inning but Catcher Steve Allanson threw out Fluhrer attempting to steal second.

Spring's final two walks came in the third inning when he walked Harry Foley with one out and Steve Didier with two outs but got out of the inning by striking out Ed Corey.

That strikeout began a streak of strikeouts for Spring in which he struck out six of the next seven batters including getting the side in the fourth inning.

The final punch out in that sequence was of Jeff Ramsdell to start the six inning. Didier (two for three w/a walk in the game) singled to center field and scored one out later on a triple by Bob Pryor putting Seattle ahead 1-0.

Spring retired the final six batters he faced before turning things over to Larry Hriniak in the 9th for his 12th consecutive save of the season, Hriniak's scoreless inning streak to start the season came to an end when he allowed a run on two hits in the inning upping his ERA from 0.00 to 0.51.

Cruz held that lead until the sixth inning Cruz limited Boston to just two hits over the first five inning, a lead off single by Mark Skowron who was caught staling. Uke Shanner singled with one out in the 3rd inning but Allanson grounded into a double play to end the inning.

Albie Crowell led off the 5th with a walk but Bryan Perez gronded into a double play to short circuit that scoring chance.

Cruz retired the side in order in the six before running into trouble in the seventh when Boston went to its bench for pinch hitters.

Buddy Kratcher batted for Mark Skowron, and singled to right field,

Jim Glauber batted for Alex Flaherty, and doubled to right field tying the game.

A two out single by Albie Crowell put Boston ahead for the first time in the game (2-1).

Jose Nicosia added thefinal Boston run in the 9th inning (3rd) when he homered off reliever Tom Hensley.