Good afternoon from Fenway Park (1941) where game two of the series between Ohio (3-1) and Boston and the Braves (2-2) is about to get underway.
Bit of a new look to the Ohio lineup today to compensate for the season-ending injury to Johnny Bench in the last game.
Martinez retires Ohio in order in the top of the first.
Couple of base hits for Boston in the bottom of the first but Hank Aaron ends the threat hitting into a 6-4-3 double play. No score here at Fenway.
Trouble early in the second as Martinez issues back-to-back walks to Doby and Averill to lead off the inning.
Here’s Speaker with a hard hit ground ball to Doerr at second. He tosses to Maranville covering second. Steps in the bag getting one. Fires to Sisler at first completing the double play. Ohio went from runners on first and second with no out to a runner on third with two gone.
Oh no. Here we go again. After a couple of high and tight fastballs to Tony Perez, Martinez has hit him square on the elbow. Perez is grimacing.
The bad blood started in the last game between these two when Bench slid into second with his spikes up to break up a double play. He was called out for interference but he provoked the ire of the home team.
After he hit a home run he got hit on the wrist and had to come out of the game. We found out later it had been broken and he’s gone for the season.
Now it looks like Perez is going to be lifted for a pinch runner here. The Ohio players are incensed. They’re in the top step of the dugout and Martinez is giving it back to them.
Ewing with a single. Doby scores and Sewell moves around to third. Ohio opens up the scoring and takes a 1-0 lead.
There’s a walk to the number nine hitter Joe Morgan. Ohio has the bases loaded and Nap Lajoie coming to the plate.
Lajoie grounds to second to end the inning. Martinez walks 3 and hits a batter. Ohio gets one hit and notches a run to take the lead 1-0.
After giving up the double and home run Martinez struck out the next two batters he faced to get out of the inning. Martinez is struggling with his control this afternoon.
Martinez hits Morgan! Morgan charges the mound. The benches clear.
The umpires have retired order. Martinez has been ejected from the game. Morgan is also out of the game but it’s unclear if he’s been ejected.
Jake Beckley is pinch running for Morgan.
Kid Nichols is in to pitch for Boston and the Braves.
Nap Lajoie singles, driving in Ewing. Beckley moves over to third and Ohio continues to respond to the Boston aggression by putting up runs. 4-0 now and still just one out here in the fourth.
Boudreau goes to the opposite field with a ball down the right field line. Beckley scores! Lajoie is around third. Rice comes up throwing it’s going to be close but the throw is just a little offline. It’s a two run single for Boudreau and a 6-0 lead for a Ohio.
That closes the book on Martinez. He goes 3-and-third giving up 5 runs, all of them earned, on four hits, 3 walks, and two hit batters. He struck out 4.
Robinson grounds to short and Doby singles moving Boudreau over to third.
Averill grounds to second and the long top of the fourth is come to an end for Ohio. 3 runs on 4 hits and a hit batter. They lead 6-0.
Young continues to cruise. He walks Mathews but that’s all Boston gets in the bottom of the fourth.
Tris Speaker led off the fifth for Ohio with a single but then Sewell, Ewing, and Beckley were retired in order.
Boston is threatening now following back-to-back lead off singles from Fisk and Maranville. They stand on third and first respectively with no outs.
Bobby Doerr with a shot deep to second. Lajoie comes up with it but he only has one play and that’s at first. Doerr is retired but he advances the runners. Fisk scores and Maranville moves up to second.
The good news is Morgan wasn’t ejected but the bad news is he too was injured in that melee after he was plunked. But the good news is it doesn’t look serious and Ohio is saying he’s day-to-day.
Nichols retires the top of the Ohio lineup in order in the sixth.
A lead off single by Aaron ahead of a double play ball by Sisler and a Mathews double ahead of a Collins fly out is the story of the sixth for Boston. They’ve stranded a base runner in every inning of the game to this point. Ohio leads 6-1.
Nichols walked Larry Doby to start the seventh but it was erased in a double play ball from Averill. Speaker grounder to first.
Sewell singles to lead off the 8th for Ohio. An error by Maranville allows Ewing to reach and Sewell to advance to second. Beckley hits a grounder to Maranville who has one play at second erasing Ewing. Runners on the corners with one out.
Boudreau raps a single and Sewell scores. Lajoie moves over to third. 7-1 Ohio.
Robinson flies out to centre to end the inning.
Knuckleballer Phil Niekro is coming in to pitch the 9th for Boston and the Braves.
Niekro retires Ohio in order with a strike out and two fly outs. Mathews, Collins, and Fisk are due up for a Boston in the last of the ninth.
Boston goes quietly in the ninth and they fall to Ohio by a final score of 7-1. For Ohio they score 7 runs on 10 hits and leave 8 men on base. Boston and the Braves score one on 8 hits. They have one error and leave 8. Ohio improves to 4-1 and Boston’s record is now 2-3.
Cy Young goes 9 for the complete game win. His record is now 2-0. Pedro Martinez, ejected back in the fourth, nets the loss. His record is 1-1.
