Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 45

coming off his best regular season at 17-10; with a 3.02 ERA. The seventeen game winner for the Phillies became a lowly, 3-9 pitcher in 1950.. The lefthander started beautifully in Game 3 against Eddie Lopat and carried a 2-1 lead going into the eighth. After retiring the first two Yankees, Heintzelman stuttered and walked three consecutive batters in the inning. Sawyer saw that it was time to make a change and called for Konstanty who induced Bobby Brown to ground to Granny Hamner. Unable to get a break, the Phillies' winced as their shortstop fumbled the ball, and the tying run scored. The Yankees continued their momentum With Russ Meyer pitching in the ninth, they made it three tight triumphs in a row as Gene Woodling scored the go ahead run on a Jerry Coleman single.

Despite being on the verge of another Yankees sweep, the Phillies had kept pace with the perennial champs and only lost

by three consecutive one run decisions, the closest of any contender in any previous New York rally. Their efforts however, would be in vain, as Casey Stengel introduced a young up and coming talent in Game 4. His name was Ed "Whitey" Ford and the rookie went 9-1 during the regular season after being called up from Kansas City of the American Association. After teammate Yogi Berra led off the Yankees' attack with a run scoring single and a bases empty home run, Ford breezed into the ninth inning