Game 1 Summary:

This was Joseph Schwartz first time to pitch major league ball and in the 1st inning he saw a 1,2,3 inning as Gordon flied out, Rizzuto lined out and Dimaggio also flied out.  In the bottom of the first Frank Chance grounded out to lead off for the Cubs but "Shoeless Joe" hit a base hit against Chesbro and after Hornsby flied out for the 2nd out, Hack Wilson drilled a two run homer to centerfield to give the Cubbies an early 2-0 lead.  Then Chesbro lost control and proceeded to walk Hartnett, Cuyler and Banks to load the bases with 2 outs for Stan Hack.  Hack hit a dribbler to Chesbro who couldn't handle it for a one-base error and Harnett scored the Cubs 3rd run.  Then Schwartz flied out the center to end the inning but at the end of the first, the Cubs lead 3-0.

Ruth led off in the bottom of the 2nd, and flied out, so good so far for Schwartz but then he had control problems as well and walked Gehrig and Mantle.  Then Dickey hit a ground ball to Schwartz who also had a problem like his counterpart and committed an error (note - the card Schwartz used was a pitcher 1e16) and the bases were loaded for weak hitting Clete Boyer.  Boyer shocked the Wrigley Field crowd by hitting a fastball by Schwartz over the left field fence (normal homer 1-8) for a grand slam -- and the Yanks took a 4-3 lead.  Chesbro followed Boyer with a single but Schwartz ended this disaster by getting Gordon and Rizzuto to fly out.  In the bottom of the 2nd, Chance led off with a walk and advanced to second on a groundout by "Shoeless Joe" but then Hornsby hit a solid double to center and Chance came in for the tying run.  Chesbro then got Wilson to fly out and struck out Harnett as the game ended the 2nd inning tied at 4.

In the top of the third Schwartz got Dimaggio to strike out but Ruth walked.  Then Schwartz struck out Gehrig and Mantle was up next.  Schwartz decided he didn't want to have a right-handed pitcher face Mantle so he took himself out and brought in the left-hander Hippo Vaughn. The strategy backfired as Mantle singed to left advancing Ruth to third for the go ahead run but Vaughn was able to get the right hitting Bauer, pinch hitting for Dickey to fly out to Cuyler.  Stengel did a double switch to go into the bottom of the third and brought in Lefty Gomez to pitch and hit 7th in Dickey's spot and brought Yogi Berra in to catch and hit 9th.  Cuyler led of the bottom of the third and greeted Gomez with a long fly to left - an usual homerun (ballpark homer) for him to give the Cubs a 5-4 lead but Santo pinch hitting for Hack hit into a double play with Banks on 1st and Vaughn flied out to center. End of Three - Cubs 5, Yankees 4.

In the top of the fourth after Boyer flied out, Berra got a base hit but Gordon lined into a double play.  In the bottom of the 4th, Frank Chance got on first base with a one base error on Gehrig and then "Shoeless Joe" on a hit and run got a double down the right field line and Chance scored the 6th Cub run - Gomez got Hornsby to ground out and struck out Wilson and Hartnett but the Cubs now led 6-4.

In the Yankee 5th Rizzuto walked but Vaughn got Dimaggio, Ruth and Gehrig all to fly out. In the Cubs 5th, Cuyler led off with a single but Banks hit into a Double play, Santo walked but Vaughn struckout.  In the top of the six the Yankees had first and second with two outs, the Cubs used 4 pitchers in the 6th, Pete Alexander came in to pitch and faced Skowron who singled so he got taken out when Stengel pitched hit Maris who then faced Weimar, a lefty and popped out to the catcher. Munson then pinch hit for Berra and walked against Weimar so Schwartz brought in Dean to face Gordon, 1st and 2nd and two outs and got him to ground out to Santo, the Cub's lead held.  In the bottom of the 6th, the Cubs had a rally.  Dimaggio made an unbelievable play on Chance to lead off the inning and robbed him of extra bases (Triple 1-13 missed).  "Shoeless Joe" singled and went to second on a walk to Hornsby (Ruether was the Yankees pitcher this inning), but Wilson flied out - however Bresnahan pinch hitting for Hartnett (and stays in to catch) get a base hit to center but Dimaggio throws out "Shoeless Joe" at the plate, still 6-4 Cubs.

In the top of the 7th, the Yankees try to fight back again - Rizzuto gets on by a HBP and after Dimaggio lines out, Ruth facing the lefty pitcher Pfiester of the Cubs gets a base hit and Rizzuto goes to 2nd base. Then Gehrig walks to load the bases for Mantle but Mantle hits a ground ball to Santo and Rizzuto is out at the plate.  Then with Elston Howard coming up, in a critical moment in the game, bases loaded and two out (Howard became the new catcher in the 6th inning when Berra was pinched hit) - Schwartz brings in his ace righty, actually his closer for this game Reulbach and he gets Howard to ground out.  In the bottom of the 7th with two outs Santa triples but Schwartz lets Reulbach bat and he strikes out.

We go to the top of the eighth and after Ruelbach gets Rolfe (replaced Boyer at 3B in the 6th) to ground out to the second basemen, Henrich hitting for Ruether gets a basehit.  However Gordon flies out - then Rizzuto walks for two on but Dimaggio lines out to Tinkers at SS (who came in with Pafko for CF for defense in the top of the 8th).  In the bottom of the 8th, against Wilcy Moore, Chance leads off with a single and goes to third on a base hit by "Shoeless Joe" and Pafko's long fly to left, scores Chance for a 7-4 lead as we go into the 9th with Reulbach trying to finish the game.

In the top of the 9th, Ruelbach gets both Ruth and Gehrig to strike out but Mantle, not allowing the Yanks to die hits a towering home run to make it 7-5.  Then Howard draws a walk so Schwartz brings in Jim Brosnan (a reverse righty) to face Rolfe who flies out to right field to end the game.  Magically the Cubs have held on to beat the Yankees and take a 1-0 Series lead.

The winning pitcher is Hippo Vaughn, the losing pitcher is Lefty Gomez and Brosnan gets a save.  The Cubs out-hit the Yanks 12-8 and each team had two home runs.

So lets see what happens in Game #2 .....  

Game #2

Pennock vs. Brown
Wrigley Field, 1961 Stadium
April 8th, 2018

Average Weather, Chicago Cubs Home Team
(Ballpark Singles L&R 1-6; Ballpark Homers L:1-10; R:1-13)

To Get a Copy of the Handwritten Scoresheet, click on the link below:
Handwritten Scoresheet Game #2
 

 

Yankees Hitting
Name	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	HBP	E	DP	SCFL	SAC	IBB
Gordon 2B '39 (1e19)	6		3	2					1
Rizzuto SS '50 (1e12)	5		2					1
Dimmaggio CF '41 (1e9)(-4)	5	1	2	1			1
Ruth LF '27 (2e9) (-3)	5	1	1	1			1		1
Gehrig 1B '27 (2e13)	4							1	1
Mantle RF '56 (2e5)(-3)	4		1					1	1
Howard C '61 (1e2)(-4)	2
a-- Allen RP '32
b-- Bauer PH '55	1		1
b-- Bonham RP '41
c-- Selkirk PH '36								1
c -- Arroyo RP '61
-- Pippgras RP '27
d -- Maris PH '61	1
d -- Page RP '49
Rolfe 3B '39 (2e16)	5	1	2		1
e-- Combs PR '27		1
e-- Boyer 3B '61 (1e21)
Pennock SP '24 (3e0)																1
a-- Berra C '56 (2e7)(-2)	4												1
Total	42	4	12	4	1		2	4	4				1			1
a -- Berra replaces Howard in 4th, bats 9th - Allen hits 7th
b -- Bauer PH for Allen, Bonham comes in to Pitch in 6th
c - Selkirk PH for Bonham in 8th, Arroyo comes into Pitch in 8th
Pitching change, Pippgras replaces Arroyo in 9th
d - Maris pinch hit for Pippgras in 11th, Page pitches in 11th
e - Combs PR for Rolf - Boyer comes in to play 3B in 11th
note - Combs scores on single to LF - Jackson, on his arm in 11th with winning run
Cubs Hitting
Name	AB	R	H	RBI	2B	3B	HR	BB	SO	SB	CS	HBP	E	DP	SCFL	SAC	IBB
Steinfeldt 3b '06 (2e11)'	3		2	1						1
-- Santo 3b '64 (1e19)	3		2		1
Jackson LF '20 (1e8)(0)	6		1
Hornsby 2b '29 (2e14)	6	1	1		1				1
Wilson CF '30 (3e12)(0)	3	1	2	2			1	2
--Evers PR '08
-- Pafko CF '50 (2e10)(-2)	1
Cavarretta 1b '45 (3e10)	1
a -- Chance 1b '03 (1e14)	4		3		1			1
Schultze RF '11 (2e4)(-3)	1		1		1
b -- Hickman PH '70	1
b -- Cuyler RF '29 (1e6)(-3)	3		1													1	1
Hartnett C '30 (1e4)(-4)	5							1
Banks SS '59 (2e12)	4	1	1		1				2
e-- Bresnahan PH '05	1
e -- Tinker SS '11 (1e29)
3 Fingers Brown SP '06 (2e6)	1							1
-- Pfiester RP '07
c --Hack PH '41	1
c -- Alexander RP '16
-- Weimer RP '03
-- Brosnan RP '57
d--Stephenson PH '29	1
d -- Ruelbach RP '05
-- Dean RP '34
-- Vaughn RP '18
f -- Kling PH '06	1
f-- Passeau RP '40
Total	46	3	14	3	5		1	5	3	1						1	1
a - Chance pinch hit for Cavarretta in 3rd inn stay in to play 1st base
b - Hickman pinch in for Schulte in 3rd inn, Cuyler comes in to RF in 4th
Pitching change, Pfiester in for Brown in the 6th inning
c - Hack PH for Pfister - Alexander comes into pitch in 7th inning
Pitching change, Weimar comes in for Alexander in 8th inning
Pitching change, Brosnan comes in for Weimar in 8th inning
d - Stephenson pinch hit for Brosnan, Ruelbach in for 9th inning
Pitching change, Dean comes in for Ruelbach in 10th inning
Pitching change, Vaughn comes in for Dean in 10th inning
e - Bresnahan PH for Banks in 9th inning, Tinker plays SS in 10th
f - Kling PH for Vaughn in 10th inning, Passeau pitches in 11th
Special Rolls
[a] - J Jackson 1-8 vs Left - Ampersand Single called off - could have given game lead in 8th
[b] - Bresnahan PH single 1-8 - roll LO - could have given game to Cubs in 9th
Yankees Pitching
Name	IP	H	BB	SO	HR	R	ER
Pennock	3-1/3	7	1	1	1	3	3
Allen	1-2/3	2	1	2
Bonham	2	2
Arroyo	1-2/3	2	2
Pippgras (1-0)	1-1/3	1
Page (S-1)	1		1
Total	11	14	5	3	1	3	3
Cubs Pitching
Name	IP	H	BB	SO	HR	R	ER
Brown	5	6	1	2	2	3	3
Pfiester	1	1		1
Alexander	1-1/3
Weimar	1/3		2
Brosnan	1/3		1
Ruelbach	1			1
Dean	--	1
Vaughn	1	1
Passeau (0-1)	1	3				1	1
Total	11	12	4	4	2	4	4
Game #2 BSH	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11		R	H	E
New York Yankee Greats			1			2					1		4	12	1
Chicago Cub Greats	2			1									3	14	0

Game 2 Summary:

The Yankees wanted revenge as they believed they had a superior team although their pitching did have trouble stopping the Cubs in Game 1.  But the Cubs had one of their best starting pitchers going with Three Fingers Brown.  So here is how this game played out ...

In the top of the first Rizzuto singled on Brown but was thrown out at second on a fielder's choice ground ball by Dimaggio and Ruth struck out.  In the bottom of the first with two outs for the Cubs, Hornsby doubled and Hack Wilson belted another 1st inning homer to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead.  In the second Brown continued his dominance and Gehrig, Mantle and Howard all grounded out.  The Cubs threatened again in the bottom of the second as Schulte led off with a double and after Harnett flied out and Banks struckout, Brown somehow managed a walk and Steinfeldt, the Cub 3rd basemen singled but Schulte couldn't score.  Then Pennock got "Shoeless Joe" who had been carving up Yankee pitching to flyout - this was a sign how tough it was going to be for the Cubs to score this day even though they continued hitting.

Top of the third saw the Yankees get on the scoreboard as Rolfe doubled to lead off the inning, Pennock sacrifice him to 3rd and Gordon's double scored him for a 2-1 score. Rizzuto walked but Dimaggio lined out and Ruth grounded out for the score to stay the same.  In the bottom of the 3rd the Cubs threatened again as after a 1 out flyout by Hornsby, Wilson singled and Chance pinch hitting for Cavaretta and in to play 1B, he doubled but Wilson was too slow to score.  Then Jim Hickman pinched hit for Schulte to try to take a further lead but lineout and Hartnett flied out so the Cubs blew another scoring opportunity in the third, still 2-1.  In the 4th it was a 1-2-3 inning for Brown, Gehrig grounded out, Mantle struck out and Howard grounded out. The Cubs found a way to get a run in the 4th as Banks doubled to center, a fly out by Brown but then Steinfeldt singled again and Banks scored.  Steinfeldt tried to steal on Berra and got to second and took third on a wild throw by Berra.  "Shoeless Joe" hit a ground ball to 3rd with the infield halfway in and Steinfeldt was stranded at third and then Hornsby struck out, 3-1 Cubs.

In the 5th, Rolfe grounded out, Berra pinch hit for Pennock and popped out and stayed in to catch. Gordon got a single to left but Rizzuto popped out to short.  So far the Yanks were having great trouble with Brown.  For the Cubs, once again they started a rally as Wilson walked to lead off the inning and Chance sent him to second with a single but Cuyler popped out, Hartnett lined out and Banks struck out.  The top of the 6th was the key inning for the Yankees, as their power erupted as Dimaggio and Ruth hit back-to-back homers to tie the game at 3 apiece to start this inning.  That was the end of Brown's day.  Schwartz brought in Pfiester to face Gehrig and struck him out, Mantle followed up with a single and then Bauer pinch hit for the Yankee pitcher Allen and lined out and Rolfe ended the inning with a groundout but the score was tied.  In the bottom of the sixth all the Cubs could do is a single by Santo who was forced out at 2nd by Shoeless Joe.  For the 7th inning, Schwartz brought in Pete Alexander who had a 1-2-3 inning getting Berra, Gordon and Rizzuto to hit into outs.  In the bottom of the 7th with one out Chance singles and Cuyler sacrifices him to 2nd with 2 outs but Hartnett grounds out to end the inning, still with the score tied.

We go to the top of the 8th and Schwartz takes out Alexander to face Ruth and bring in his left-handed reliever Weimar, so he gets Ruth out for out #2.  However Gehrig and Mantle draw walks and then Stengel brings up Selkirk who as a LH hitter hits lefties pretty well. So Schwartz counters with Brosnan his reverse righty ace but Selkirk draws a walk to load the bases. However, Brosnan is able to get Rolfe to pop out to the second baseman to end this half of the inning. Then in bottom of the 8th for the Cubs, with two outs Santo hit a double and a key key play came up with "Shoeless Joe" at bat -- from a strat perspective.   "Shoeless Joe" was facing a lefty, the Yankee relief pitcher Arroyo and the roll was "1-8" which is a single** however it has a "&" in front which is for clutch hitting and since there were two outs, this single was reversed to a lineout.  Another chance for the Cubs to score that was foiled.

Top of the 9th, Ruelbach comes in to pitch and has a 1-2-3 inning as Berra pop outs, strikeouts Gordon and Rizzuto grounds out.  Once again in the 9th, the Cubs have a key key opportunity to score and win.  With one out, Wilson walks and Evers pinch runs for him.  However Chance hits into a force play so man on 1st with two outs. But Cuyler get a single to right and Chance scampers to third - any type of hit, wild pitch, balk or pass ball wins it for the Cubs.  Stengel intentionally walks Hartnett to load the bases and the Yankees switch pitchers and bring in Pippgras to pitch.  The Cubs counter with Bresnahan to pinch hit for Banks - again we have a strat situation that comes up - a single 1-8 or lineout and the Cubs miss out due to the 20-sided - extra innings.  Tinker goes in to play shortstop and Pafko into CF. 

In the top of the 10th, Schwartz brings in Dean to face Dimaggio who singles, so he goes back into his bullpen for his last lefty to face Ruth, Gehrig and Mantle and Vaughn gets each of these sluggers to fly out.  In the bottom of the 10th with 2 outs "Shoeless Joe" singles but Hornsby flies out.  Schwartz wants to save Vaughn for Game 3 so he takes him out in the 11th and brings in Passeau - who is not one of the best Cub relievers.  Maris pinch hits for Pippgras and grounds out.  Then Combs hits for Rolf and singles and moves to second on a ground out by Berra.  Up comes Gordon who smashes a base hit (6-4 single on Passeau card) to LF which is 'Shoeless Joe' but he has a weak arm and Combs scores (1-19) with Gordon going to second - Rizzuto singles (6-5 on Passeau's card) but this time "Shoeless Joe" is able to throw out Gordon at the plate but now its 4-3 Yanks.

In the bottom of the 11th Pafko leads off and flies out - Chance drew a walk but Cuyler flied out and Hartnett grounded out as the Yankees eek out an extra inning win - the Cubs had four chances during the game to score their fourth run but just fell short.

So we head to game 3, the championship game to see who takes the series.  For Game 3, the Yankees have Eddie Lopat pitching and the Cubs go with a talented pitcher who is not so well known Jack Taylor (1902 Cubs, HR chance 1-1, 23-11, 1.33 ERA) to hopefully be able to keep the power of the Yanks held in check!

Game #3

Lopat vs. Taylor
Wrigley Field, 1961 Stadium
April 8th, 2018

Poor Weather, Chicago Cubs Home Team
(Ballpark Singles L&R 1-2; Ballpark Homers L:1-4; R:1-7)

To Get a Copy of the Handwritten Scoresheet, click on the link below:
Handwritten Scoresheet Game #3
 

Game 3 Summary:

The first two games of the series had been relatively close with lead changes happening in both games so far.  The Cubs had been out hitting the Yanks and it appeared that Schwartz strategy to hold the Yanks down by truly utilizing his best pitchers in the best game situation was working.  But could this continue into Game #3 with the power found in the Yanks lineup.  Three games were going to be played anyway but it just turned out the first two games were split so this final game would decide the champion.  Here again is a high level summary of what happened in Game #3.

The Cubs were thinking to use Hippo Vaughn to start Game #3 but instead decided to keep him in relief so they would have 3 left handed relievers for later in the game.  Therefore, Taylor was selected as their starter who had a very good season as a starter for the Cubs and a card.  Stengel decided to go with Lopat to counter.

In the first inning for the Yanks, Gordon lead with a ground out but a walk by Rizzuto who had been doing a good job in the series to get on base and after Dimaggio grounded out moving Phil to second, Ruth hit his second homer of the series to give the Yanks their first lead at 2-0.  Gehrig followed with a double and Maris starting for the 1st time in the series was intentionally walked to face Yogi Berrra who popped out to 3B Santo - it appeared the Yanks were going to make this a game.  However, that was to be their last hurrah ... let's continue.  In the bottom of the first only a walk to Stephenson, the Cub left fielder to face the left handed Lopat, was of any consequence, so still 2-0 Yanks.
 

Top of the second Rolfe walks, but Lopat flied out and Gordon hit into a 5-4-3 doubleplay to end the Yanks top of the inning.  In the bottom of the second Banks leads off with a double but Cuyler flies out and Bresnahan the catcher a popup to 1st.  However Santo gets a base hit with two outs, Banks is sent home to cut the lead but the Yanks let Banks score and Dimaggio throws out the slow footed Santo at 2nd base, now 2-1 Yanks.

Top of the 3rd Taylor has a 1-2-3 inning mowing down Rizzuto - Dimaggio - Ruth. In the bottom of the 3rd the Cubs take the lead - Steinfeldt pinch hits for Taylor and singles, he goes to third on a single by Chance and then scores on a single by Stephanson to tie the score at 2-2. Then with the infield in at the corners, Hornsby grounds to short but Chance is able to score giving the Cubs a 3-2 lead at the end of three innings.

Vaughn comes in next in the 4th and throws 1-1/3 inning of perfect ball - the Cubs get a hit from Cuyler in the 4th but tthat is all. Alexander comes in, in the Yankee 5th to face Mantle batting for Lopat and he flies out and gets Gordon to pop out.  In the bottom of the 5th Stengel brings in Duren, who is not very good at holding runners (+5 arm) so Chance leads off the 5th with a walk and then tries to steal (1-19) and is gunned down by Berra even with Duren and "Shoeless Joe" pinch hitting for Stephanson singles and is similarly gunned down by Berra (1-17, both attempts produced a 20 on the 20-sided) and then Hornsby struck out. So at the end of five innings its 3-2 Cubs.

The top of the 6th, the Yankees start a rally - Rizzuto leads off with a single and after Dimaggio flies out Ruth singles and Rizzuto is allowed to go to third but Ruth tries to come into second Cuyler throws him out to Hornsby at 2B.  Gehrig ends the Yankee 6th with a ground out.  In the Cubs 6th, Wilson leads off with a walk and due to Duren's terrible ability to hold steals second. After Banks flies out, Cuyler sends a bullet to centerfield and Wilson scores, 4-2 Cubs.  Bresnahan pops out to short against new Yankee pitcher Shocker, but then Santo hits a long drive to leftfield, a two run shot (1-4 on his card) and the Cubs move out to a commanding lead of 6-2.  Pfeister, the pitcher ends the inning with a strikeout.

For the Yanks in the 7th its 1-2-3 with Maris, Berra and Rolfe unable to hit the lefthanded Pfeister.  In the bottom of the 7th the Cubs continue to go crazy - Chance walks again and goes to third on a basehit by "Shoeless Joe". Hornsby singles with Chance scoring and Joe to send.  Hack Wilson strikes out but Tinkers comes in to hit for Banks and the hit and run is on and Tinkers doubles down the line scoring "Shoeless Joe" and Hornsby as the Cubs increase their lead to 9-2. Cuyler flies out and Hartnett coming in to play catcher lines out.

In the top of the 8th, Skowron hitting for the pitcher lineouts but Gordon doubles. He goes to third on Rizzuto ground out but Dimaggio hitless this day flies out to end the 8th, so the Yanks have one more chance.  In the meantime the Cubs continue their merry ways in the bottom of the inning - Santo hits his second homer (ball park 1-7), to lead off followed by a triple by Hickman batting for the pitcher Reulbach.  However, Chance hits a grounder to Rolfe and they through Evers at the plate who pinch run for Hickman and who stays in to play 2B.  Then "Shoeless Joe" goes 3 for 3 this day with another single that sends Chance to 3rd and Horrnsby sacrifice fly scores Chance as the Cubs increase their lead to 11-2.  Pafko who came into CF for Wilson singles "Shoeless Joe" to 2nd but Tinker ends the inning with a flyout.

So we go to the 9th and Schwartz who has designated himself as a relief pitcher and closer for this game comes in to finish it.  He is to face three of the most powerful hitters in the history of baseball.  So he starts this series for the Cubs in Game 1 and is the 9th inning or last pitcher for the Cubs in Game 3.

Babe Ruth is up takes the count to 2-2 and then lineout to Evers - that's one ...

Lou Gehrig - also goes to a 2-2 count and there is that special Schwartz fastball, its strike three - he's out, that's two.

Then its Roger Maris, who crushed right handed pitching with his bombs, fouls out to Hartnett and the Game is over - the Cubs take two out of three from the Yanks.  The Chicago crowd at Wrigley Field goes wild - all the Cub players in the dugout run out and jump on top of Schwartz as well as the positional players.  This result is just so unexpected and especially the Cubs staff holding the Yanks in this final game to two runs and only five hits while they bombed their pitchers with 16 hits and 11 runs.

So did this series show that the Greatest Cub Players are better than their Yankee counterparts?  And will the real Chicago Cubs be after Joseph Schwartz to become a new pitcher for them when he returns from Heaven or a new coach?  Well dear readers, you have only got a brief glimpse into the story this three game series is a part of, that happens in Heaven - contact me if you want to get on my list when this book is ready --

-- Wolfman aka Joshua Shapiro or is that Joseph Schwartz?
 

BASEBALL SERIES IN HEAVEN, PART III
(A full analysis of this series discussing the stats and results)
Click Here to read Part III of this Report, the Final Analysis

BASEBALL SERIES IN HEAVEN, INTRODUCTION
Click Here to Re-read the Introduction to this Report