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BURNS PENS 2ND SHUTOUT OF 1877 AT NIAGARA
ALL-STAR PITCHER CONFOUNDS HOSTS AS ST. JOHN’S WINS BY A DOZEN

BUFFALO, N.Y. (July 12, 1877) - St. John’s lost both of their first two games of the series at Niagara by a lone run: 11-10 on Tuesday and 7-6 on Wednesday in eleven innings. They made sure there was no chance of such an outcome on Thursday:

St. John’s broke out to a big early lead thanks to half a dozen runs over the first two innings. The scoring came from a number of sources: a Double by CF Rudolph Decker, a Single by 2B Cletus Cannon, a Single by RF Nelson Townsend, a Single by Konrad Jensen, a double by LF Joseph Evans, and another Single by Decker.

That early barrage proved to be far more than what St. John’s needed for the win, as #1 P Howard Burns was in total control in Buffalo:

• STJ P Howard Burns: CG SHO (19-8, 3.67), 8 HA, 0 BB, 3 K

The St. John’s defense helped Burns a lot, committing just one Error, turning one Double Play, and throwing out the only Niagara player who tried to steal a base.

St. John’s had three players with multiple Hits at Niagara, and they were led by Cannon:

• STJ #5 Cletus Cannon (2B/SS): 3/5 (2B, 4 TB), 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 SB

The Shutout brought Burns’ record to 19-8, with a 3.67 Earned Run Average, 72 Strikeouts, and 4.9 Pitching WAR over 255.0 innings so far in 1877. Cannon’s fine afternoon raised his Average to .292 (.714 OPS), with 22 Extra-Base Hits (14 2B, 8 3B) and 57 Runs Batted In through 63 games.

St. John’s exited the series at Niagara with a 40-23 record, best in the A.P.B.L. by two games. They are 7.5 games clear atop the Colonial Conference standings, and 9.5 games ahead of fourth-place Niagara.