John Clarkson delivered the first pitch in team history, and a moment later he struck out Hugh Duffy to notch the team's first out. Clarkson looked sharp from the get-go, and the mighty Canary sluggers had trouble squaring up to his curve.
Clarkson's opponent, Tim Keefe, retired the first three Resolutes in order. In the top of the second, however, left fielder Fred Clarke stepped into the box to face his former teammate. Clarke caught Keefe's fastball and belted it over the right-field wall. Fred Clarke had just recorded the Resolutes' first base hit, and it was a home run! I can only image the scene if this game had been real -- the Resolutes' fans would have lost their minds as a jubilant Clarke rounded the bases and a stunned Keefe could only shake his head in dismay.
Keefe did a lot of head-shaking, as it turned out. The Canaries' ace never had his best stuff, surrendering walks and hits left and right in seven laborious innings. He was fortunate that he had allowed only three runs, as the Resolutes struggled all game with runners in scoring position.
Meanwhile, Clarkson was cruising. Aided by fine defensive work from middle infielders Monte Ward and Frank Grant, not to mention the strong throwing arm of catcher Connie Mack, Clarkson silenced the league's most potent offense. A leadoff single to Ed Delahanty in the top of the ninth provided a minor scare, but Clarkson made short work of the heart of the Canaries' lineup and completed the first shutout of his career. Not only that, Clarkson won a ballgame for the first time since Season 2, when he took home the Pitcher MVP award. His career unraveled after that magical run, but maybe, just maybe, John Clarkson is back!
If the rest of the Resolutes' games are going to be this intense, I'm in for a long season!
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