A's Hold Off Sox in Defeat (4/12/13)

Two games in a row the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Athletics have come down to the final out. Unfortunately for Boston, both times it was Connie Mack's A's that have come out the winner. Neither Jack Coombs of the A's or Hugh Bedient of the Red Sox could last more than an inning and when the game more or less reset in the second inning, only the A's scored a run which led to a 5-4 Philly win at Fenway Park.

The game really came down to the top of the third inning with Dutch Leonard (0-1) on the mound facing Stuffy McInnis in a 4-4 game. If Leonard had struck him out the game would have remained tied, instead he drove in Eddie Collins with what would eventually be the winning run. The problem was the Red Sox smacked around Jack Coombs who Connie Mack curiously started 2 days after Opening Day but Eddie Plank was up to the task. Plank scattered 6 hits in 8 2/3 shutout innings to win the game and pave the way for Boston's defeat.

Jackass of the Night is Hugh Bedient. You would think the Sox would be able to smack Coombs around given he started just two days ago, so if Hugh had even a half decent start, the Sox may have won this one.

                                                         Jackass of the Night: Hugh Bedient


The Good:

Tris Speaker was 2 for 3 with a run scored.

Hal Janvrin was 2 for 3 with a walk and an rbi.

Bill Carrigan was 1 for 3 with an rbi.

One of the rare times the losing pitcher makes the good list but Dutch Leonard was outstanding in long relief, tossing 8 innings of 1 run ball. The one run just happened to be a difference maker. He also was 1 for 2 at the plate.



The Bad:

Neil Ball struck out as a pinch hitter.

Clyde Engle failed to reach as a pinch hitter.

Jake Stahl struck out as a pinch hitter.



The Ugly:

Harry Hooper was 0 for 3 but walked and scored.

Steve Yerkes was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Duffy Lewis was 0 for 2 but drove in a run.

Larry Gardner was just 1 for 4 but scored a run.

Heinie Wagner was 0 for 3 but walked and drove in a run.




Final Thoughts:

Once again this is not how the Boston Red Sox wanted to open the season. After losing a slugfest on Opening Day, they lose a battle of long relief pitchers today. The A's have always been a good team, as they repeated as champions in 1910 and 1911, so this is a great test to find out if the Sox can hang with them this year. So far they can....but Philly seems to have that something extra. It would be unfair to expect Smoky Joe Wood to have a similar season to 1912 but he's got to be great to match Chief Bender and the A's this year. The Sox start a series on Monday with the newly named New York Yankees, no longer the Highlanders. Smoky Joe Wood looks to rebound from his Opening Day disaster opposite Ray Caldwell.