Game 1 in Pittsburgh - October 6th, 1938
Paul Derringer (21-13, 3.22) v Satchel Paige (26-18, 3.18)
No preludes here, I’m just gonna get straight into it.
They waste no time doing the same, scoring one on two hits in the top 1st, then add a second in the 4th on a DiMaggio solo shot.
After a slow start, our bats come alive in the next with O’Dea putting us on the board via an RBI single. Duke bunts the two runners into scoring position with just one out and a crisp hit by Dandridge plates them both to put us in front. Danny then swipes second and moves to third on a WP but is doubled up by an amazing throw from RF by Henrich.
The 3-2 line holds until the 9th and I bring in Matlock to try lock it down. He gives us a clean inning and the sort of start we needed.
Pirates 3, Yankees 2
Game 2 in Pittsburgh - October 7th, 1938
Ray Brown (22-12, 2.88) v Lefty Grove (10-3, 2.93)
Pirates lead series 1-0
This time it is us with the early run, driven in by a Foxx SF, and then we get three more as we load the bases and Red Worthington clears them with a two-out double.
We go further ahead in the 3rd when Foxx leads off with a trip and Dihigo plates him with another sac fly. The next frame sees us with a real chance to blow it open as we load them up again with none out. One scores on a Wright groundout but that’s all we can manage.
With Jim Willis in for Grove to start the 6th, we threaten again but don’t score. We do, however, add another one in the next as Worthington’s night to remember continues with an RBI single.
Brown is magnificent, never remotely in trouble as he hurls a 4-hitter and suddenly this series has gone just ever so slightly off script.
Pirates 7, Yankees 0
Game 3 in New York - October 9th, 1938
Lefty Gomez (29-8, 2.88) v Bill Lee (18-11, 3.35)
Pirates lead series 2-0
We know our greatest weapon now is pressure, and apply some early as we score one on a Paul Waner single before making an out. This time, however, they hit straight back with a run in the home half.
We edge ahead again in the 3rd on a two-out hit by Foxx and just avoid giving it straight back as Little P nails Gordon at home with a bullet. We can’t repeat the dose in the next, however, as Lee’s late-season struggles persist and they tag him for a pair to leapfrog us at 3-2. A leadoff jack to DiMaggio in the next and I send Ruffing in to see if he can stem the tide.
He can, but these moody bats of ours have gone quiet, with Dihigo yet to register a hit in the series. And with Gomez working his magic, they put us away with a barrage of hits and 4 runs in the 8th and it finishes a fairly comprehensive 8-2.
Yankees 8, Pirates 2
Game 4 in New York - October 10th, 1938
Satchel Paige (0-1, 3.38) v Paul Derringer (1-0, 2.25)
Pirates lead series 2-1
They just look a different side at home and that first win has put plenty of wind in their sails as they get to Duke early with a 1st-inning 2-spot. Another in the 3rd puts them further in control as we go back to looking like we’ll be lucky to score a run.
We do, however, in the next as Dihigo finally gets in the hit column and then Don Padgett, in for a struggling Ken O’Dea, gets the biggest hit of his short career as he dispatches a hanger by Satch into the RF seats for a 3-run tater that puts us ahead.
That lead lasts precisely one out as Henrich makes it 4-4 with a solo homer, but again this amazing group bounces back as Foxx doubles Vaughan all the way home from first with two out.
However, they are just pummelling Derringer and get it back level in the home half, then chase him with three more to make it 8-5. This is a war we will never win and sure enough they just don’t stop hitting, adding another run in the 7th to get out by four.
We erase that one in the next on a run-scoring single by Padgett, which ends Satchel’s game, and then put the tying runs on base with one out in the 9th, but still it ends 9-6 and the series is all tied up again.
Yankees 9, Pirates 6
Game 5 in New York - October 11th, 1938
Lefty Grove (0-1, 10.80) v Ray Brown (1-0, 0.00)
Series tied 2-2
Padgett keeps his spot for this game after his fine effort yesterday and Dihigo just has to start contributing if we are to have any real hope here.
Once again they come at us from the off as Gordon gives them the lead in the 1st with a solo shot, then they put the foot down in the 4th with four more as we can do little to stop the freight train and offer next to nothing at the plate.
I lift Brown in the 6th for a PH to no avail and Grove goes all nine to shut us out on 4 hits and send us back home on the brink.
Yankees 5, Pirates 0
Game 6 in Pittsburgh - October 13th, 1938
Red Ruffing (0-0, 0.00) v Lefty Gomez (1-0, 2.00)
Yankees lead series 3-2
Desperate times and all that, as I opt for Ruffing to try and keep our season alive—no enviable task, indeed. He’ll only be able to go maybe 5 at most after his relief appearance in Game 3. O’Dea returns.
DiMaggio, who has just carved us up in this series, gets us again in the 1st with a run-scoring double and Gehrig then singles him in. Joltin’ Joe’s third homer of the series makes it 3-0 in the 3rd, then O’Dea’s dirty series reaches its nadir as he drops a straight pop-up and they take full advantage with another one as things properly go off the rails. On top of all this, we are yet to get a hit.
Ruffing gives us his five and I switch him out and, while we get off the shutout in the 8th on Dihigo’s second hit of the series, we go down very quietly as that script in the end gets followed pretty closely. Remarkably, this is the first World Series we have lost since the Browns beat us in 1922, but – despite giving our all – beaten we are, and fairly handily so in the end.
Yankees 4, Pirates 1
NEW YORK WINS SERIES 4-2
SERIES MVP: Joe DiMaggio (New York)
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