[jksander]

June 20, 1916: Dick Rudolph and Walter Johnson faced off in a battle of seasoned veterans today, and as expected scoring was at a premium ... until it wasn’t! In the bottom of the fourth we came to life, as Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to get us on the board, and moments later Mike Mowrey hit a three-run double to immediately dig the Senators a huge hole. Rudolph himself reached on an E6 error to allow another run through, and we were up 5-0 heading into the top of the fifth! John Henry hit a solo bomb for the Senators to get them on the board in the top of that inning, and they got another run back in the top of the ninth but left runners on the corners as we held tough to beat them 5-2! Both starters finished their games, with Rudolph picking up the win with a seven-hitter, walking two, striking out three and allowing just two runs (one earned). We outhit them 10-7, led by McInnis with two hits, a run and an RBI, while Mowrey had a hit, a walk and a run with three RBIs.

June 21, 1916: Mike Mowrey hit an RBI single to give us the lead in the bottom of the second in game two against Washington, but Ray Morgan drove home Harry Harper with an RBI single of his own in the top of the third to tie things up. They took the lead in the top of the sixth with a sac-fly by Joe Judge, but that time we had the answer, tying things in the bottom of the sixth with a single by Nap Lajoie to go into the seventh knotted up 2-2. Gene Packard got us through the seventh without letting them go back ahead, and Byron Houck took over in the eighth -- and it did not go well. Rip Williams hit an RBI single, Eddie Foster hit a sac-fly to add on, and an RBI single for Sam Rice made it a three-run lead for the visitors as they batted around on Houck, facing little resistance. He pitched the rest of the way, and we left two runners stranded in the bottom of the ninth so we had our chances, we just couldn’t capitalize. This one would go down as a 5-2 loss, evening the series ahead of tomorrow’s rubber match. Houck (4-3, 3.49 ERA) took the loss, allowing two hits, FIVE WALKS and striking out one with three earned runs. We matched them with nine hits as a team, led by Wally Schang with two hits and a run scored.

June 22, 1916: Washington took the lead in the top of the second with an RBI single by Jim Shaw, and a six-run inning in the top of the seventh for them put the nails in our coffin, as “Bullet Joe” Bush ran out of ammunition, Dickey Kerr furthering the collapse as he barely managed to get us two outs to escape the inning. We plated two runners in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t get a run on the board as they humiliated us 7-0. We were outhit 10-6, led by Amos Strunk who had two hits and a walk. Bush (4-8, 3.47 ERA) took the loss with three hits, SEVEN WALKS and four strikeouts, allowing the first three runs, while Kerr took one for the team and pitched the last 2.2 innings, allowing seven hits, two walks, a strikeout and four earned runs. So we’ll head into our series against Boston (29-35) having lost five of our last 10 games as we cling to third place (tied with the Yankees at 3.5 games back of first).
 
June 23, 1916: Boston took the lead in the bottom of the third off a groundout by Harry Hooper, but we answered in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by Mike Mowrey ... Nap Lajoie had stolen second and was able to score his way from first on the play ... the almost-42-year-old still has a lot of life in him! But the Red Sox retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a single by Hooper that scored Babe Ruth from third, so again we had to find an answer. This time it was Mowrey again, driving in Amos Strunk with an RBI single, and we went into the bottom of the sixth tied again at 2-2. Boston hit us back hard in the bottom of the eighth, Chick Shorten driving in two runs with a line drive single into left field, and though we fought valliantly in the ninth, scoring off an RBI single by Rube Oldring to get back within a run, we didn’t have the juice for a full comeback, losing this one 4-3. Pedro Dibut took the loss, falling to 9-6 with a 2.12 ERA after 7.1 innings with six hits, a walk, two strikeouts and three earned runs. Each team had nine hits, ours led by Mike Mowrey who had three hits, a run and two RBIs. The 32-year-old has a .332 average through his first 199 at-bats, and has put up 3.1 WAR with 12 doubles, four triples and 29 RBIs.

June 24, 1916: We took the lead in the top of the first this afternoon thanks to a Nap Lajoie RBI single, but the Red Sox answered in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI single by Harry Hooper, our nemesis, to tie the score 1-1. Rube Oldring batted us into the lead in the top of the sixth with a single that scored McInnis from third, but yet again the Red Sox found a reply, Olaf Henriksen doubling in a Hooper run in the bottom of the eighth to send us into the top of the ninth tied 2-2. In the top of the eighth we again retook the lead, this time off a two-out RBI single by Oldring, who has proven to be a real clutch hitter, and we kept the rally going with a single by Alex McCarthy to send Oldring over to third. But we weren’t able to add any additional insurance, going into the bottom of the inning with a one-run lead. We stranded two runners in the ninth as well, and Dick Rudolph stayed out to pitch in the bottom of the inning as he aimed to finish what he’d started. He got Pinch Thomas to ground out, but Jack Barry singled, reaching second on a controversial balk call moments later before Harry Hooper grounded out for their second out of the inning. Larry Gardner singled Barry over to third, and Rudolph had to face Olaf Henriksen for all the marbles, two outs and men on the corners. He had ice in his veins, striking out Henriksen swinging as we held on to win 3-2! Rudolph got the complete game win, allowing nine hits with three walks, three K’s and two runs (one earned), and he’s now 5-3 with a 1.79 ERA since coming to Philadelphia (and 8-6 with a 1.59 ERA for the season!) We outhit them 10-9, led by Rube Oldring, who had two hits and two RBIs.

June 26, 1916: In a real duel, we wer able to finally be the team to break through first in the top of the sixth when Stuffy McInnis hit an RBI single to drove Jimmy Walsh around from second to put us up 1-0! Gene Packard, our starter, hit into a fielder’s choice in the seventh that allowed Rube Oldring to score our second run, and in the top of the eighth McInnis scored off an RBI single by Mike Mowrey to put us ahead 3-0! Boston scored in the bottom of the ninth off a two-out RBI double for Ray Haley, but they stranded him and Everett Scott as we held firm to win 3-1. Packard pitched seven strong innings today with seven hits, two walks and a strikeout, and Byron Houck earned his sixth save of the year with a two-inning one hit three walk one strikeout one earned run effort. We outhit them again 9-8, this time led by McInnis who had three hits, a run and an RBI, putting him at .300 for the year after 66 games and 270 at-bats.

June 27, 1916: Boston was having nothing to do with us taking this series, as they came our roaring in the bottom of the first, scoring off an RBI double by Pinch Thomas and an RBI single from Tillie Walker. And in the bottom of the third they doubled down, Walker hitting a three-run bomb to dig us a 5-0 hole as their fans celebrated in the bleachers. The game quickly became an absolutely humiliating rout, of which I’ll speak litlte except that in the end they’d steamrolled us 16-2, outhitting us 20-11. Tillie Walker finished with four hits, a run and EIGHT RBIs, while Pinch Thomas hit four times, walked once and had five runs with four RBIs for the Red Sox ... what a drubbing! Bullet Joe Bush was out after 5.1 innings with nine hits, two walks, four strikeouts and eight runs (seven earned), and Bill Morrissette did no better, allowing eight hits, a walk and seven runs in just one inning of work, striking out one batter. Sam Crane, a rarely used pinch hitter for us, ended up leading the way with two hits and a run, which says very little of our offense as we split this series at two games each.

We’ll end this month and enter the next with a four-game series hosting the now-Connie Mack led Yankees as we start a long summer homestand. We’re in fourth place at 35-32, a game behind the Yankees and 4.5 out of first as the St. Louis Browns continue to stun the American League with their 41-29 record. I feel like we’re in a good spot to stay in this pennant chase, but we need to develop a sense of offensive consistency or the long hot summer months will be a real slog.