‘27 Yanks sweat it out against ‘11 A’s to advance to round 3

In a dandy series, the 1927 Yankees move to the semi-finals by defeating the 1911 Athletics 3 games to 2.

Pennock	Iron Horse	Homer Run	Stuffy	The Bambino

GAME ONE – The Yankees scored once in each of the first three innings. It was all they needed as Herb Pennock scattered 9 hits over 9 innings for the 3-0 shutout. Earle Combs led the Bombers offense with 3 hits. Lou Gehrig went deep. “Gettysburg” Eddie Plank also went the distance, but picked up the L.

GAME TWO – A classic Murderer’s Row execution as they pound out 20 hits in a 12-2 pounding. Combs led off the B1 with a triple. Mark Koenig singled him in. Babe Ruth singled and Lou Gehrig followed with a 3-run bomb. It was pretty much over from there. Koenig would lead the hit parade with 4 safeties. Bob Meusel and Tony Lazzeri added 3 apiece and Ruth blasted a 2-run shot. Waite Hoyt went 8 strong for the win. Chief Bender was beat like a tom-tom drum.

GAME THREE – Evidently, the New Yorkers celebrated way too much on the train from NY to Philadelphia. They could muster just 5 hits and 2 late-inning runs off Cy Morgan in a 4-2 Philadelphia victory. Morgan fanned 9 Yanks, including Ruth 3 times. Meanwhile Connie Mack’s boys took advantage of the sluggish Bronx defenders with a classic display of small ball. Four singles and a couple of squeeze bunts plated a pair of runs in the 1^st. Home Run Baker lived up to his name with a 2-run blast in the 5^th. Dutch Reuther started and lost for New York.

GAME FOUR – A wild, back-and-forth contest saw the Athletics sending the series to a do-or-die 5^th game with a 10-9 victory. The Yanks struck the opening blow in the T2 when Joe Dugan doubled home Meusel, who had tripled. The A’s answered with a pair in the bottom half when Rube Oldring’s groundout and Jack Barry’s squeeze bunt plated runs. Barry’s 3-run clout highlighted a 4-run Philly outburst in the 4^th for a 6-1 lead. It was short-lived as Ruth blasted his own 3-run homer in the 5^th. Meusel added a solo shot to make it 6-5. The A’s added another in the B5 when Danny Murphy, Stuffy McInnis and Bris Lord started the inning with 3 straight singles. The 2-run advantage disappeared in the T7 when the Bombers again put a 4-spot on the board. Meusel’s 2-run bomb was the biggest explosion. Cornelius McGillicuddy didn’t even flinch, and neither did his team. Jumping all over Dugan’s 2 errors, the Elephants pushed across 3 more in the B7 to take a 10-9 lead. Dave Danforth took over on the mound for Jack Coombs and shut down the Bombers over the final two innings to save the win. Cy Moore took the loss in relief.

GAME FIVE – Mack’s men again started out to show they would not be intimidated, even back at the “House that Ruth Built.” Using their speed and bunting skills, they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the 1^st. Oldring drove home a pair with a single. Unfortunately for the Athletics, it would be all they would manage off Pennock (W), Bob Shawkey, and Moore. Babe Ruth swatted a solo shot in the B1 to start the comeback. Dugan tripled in the tying run in the 2^nd. The Yankees would finish up pounding out 12 more hits (Dugan and Combs with 3 each) off Plank and a 6-2 victory.

--submitted by Bruce Thomas--