[ayaghmour2]

September 30th, 1933:
Chicago Cougars at Philadelphia Keystones (Cougars lead 1-0)
Dick Leudtke (17-11, 2.87 ERA, 89 K) vs. Al Robinson (11-13, 4.20 ERA, 66 K)

Bottom First
Rabbit Forest started the game off with a ground out. Grover Lee then drew a walk, and I guess Leudtke didn't want any of Rankin Kellogg because he threw him four wide ones. Bobby Barrell flew out, but a third walk loaded the bases and got us into trouble quick. Thankfully, with the bases jacked, Cy Cox grounded into a 5-4 fielder's choice to end the inning.

Bottom Second
A dreaded leadoff walk of Lee Smith followed by a single by Cliff Herman gave the Keystones first and third with the starter Robinson up. He bunted, but Smith did not try to score. Instead, Robinson was thrown out and Herman reached second. It helped, as with second and third the lineup turned over and a 2-run single by Grover Lee gave Philly an early 2-0 lead. Kellogg singled to keep the inning alive, but Barrell grounded out to end the frame.

Bottom Third
Like the first, the inning started with a ground out and then a walk. There would not be another walk, as Lee Smith reached on a Russ Combs error as he couldn't field a grounder. He then got a liner hit right at him, and he dropped it, with the result a Keystone runner on each base. Leudtke did become locked in after, striking out the pitcher Robinson before Forrest flew out to end the frame.

Top Fourth
The offense finally did something for us, with Russ Combs starting the inning with a single. He stole second on the first pitch to Kincaid before he singled. Combs went around third and scored with Kincaid scurrying into second on the throw. A pair of Taylor flyouts allowed Kincaid to get to third and then score to tie the game at 2. Ashbaugh popped out to end the inning, but despite not deserving to be in the game, we are all tied up.

Top Sixth
After a rough start, Dick Leudtke really turned things around and kept us in this one. Him and Russ Combs both flew out to right on the first pitch. It looked to be a quick inning, but John Kincaid worked a walk to bring up Mike Taylor. He singled to center, and Kincaid went for third. Grover Lee came up firing, but his throw was offline and Kincaid scored to give us the 3-2 lead. Tom Taylor flew out to end the inning, but we were on top for the first time this game.

Bottom Ninth
Despite a decent amount of hits, the Keystones threw away a few early chances to score and they were starting to run out of outs. Chick Meehan started the inning (his second), but he had to deal with the 3-4-5 in the order. He got two quick strikes out Rankin Kellogg before getting him to fly out. Bobby Barrell came through, doubling and then getting to third on a Carl Ames ground out. With a 1-1 count, Cy Cox dribbled over one. Ashbaugh got it at first, tossed it back to Meehan, and we had a 2-0 lead.

This looks good! Headed back to Chicago for three and we just need to win two of them!

Final Score: Chicago 3, Philadelphia 2 (Chicago Leads 2-0)
Win: Dick Leudtke (1-0)
Loss: Al Robinson (0-1)
Save: Chick Meehan (1)

Notable Performances:
Dick Leudtke (CHC): 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 5 BB, 3 K
Chick Meehan (CHC): 2 IP, 2 H, K
Al Robinson (PHI): 9 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 2 K
John Kincaid (CHC): 1-3, 2 R, RBI, BB
Russ Combs (CHC): 1-4, R, SB
Bobby Barrell (PHI): 2-5, 2B
Rankin Kellogg (PHI): 2-4, BB
Cliff Herman (PHI): 1-3, R, BB
Grover Lee (PHI): 1-4, 2 RBI, BB