Old Hoss Radbourn and John Clarkson toed the rubber in this rematch of our Game 1 starters. Unlike the previous two games of this series, the first inning was quick and scoreless. We did see some action in the second, however, when Resolutes third baseman John McGraw doubled -- his third extra-base hit of the playoffs -- and Clarkson later singled him home. The Legs struck back in their half of the frame; King Kelly singled, stole second, and scored on Sam Crawford's base knock.
Speed has been such a critical factor in this series, and next it was the Resolutes' turn to score after a single and stolen base. In the fourth, Elmer Flick ran himself into scoring position and came home on a liner by Frank Grant.
That play gave the Resolutes a 2-1 lead, but it was quickly overshadowed by a potentially series-changing injury. Before the fourth was over, Blue Legs catcher King Kelly would leave the game with an injury. Dr. Dee Twenty's prognosis is that Kelly will miss Game 4 as well. Up to this point, I would have rated Kelly -- a middle-of-the-order bat with great speed -- as the Legs' leading contender for Playoff MVP. Now he'll be on the sidelines with Frank Chance suiting up in the tools of ignorance. Chance is a solid hitter but a poor receiver, and the Legs have no one else on their roster who's rated at the catcher position. Ouch! Resolutes speedsters like McGraw, Grant, Flick, Pete Hill, and Monte Ward are going to run wild with Chance behind the plate.
The Resolutes added to their lead in the top of the sixth. Connie Mack doubled into the gap and later scored on Hill's single. It was now 3-1 for the visitors, but the potent Blue Legs offense was about to awaken from its game-long slumber.
When the eighth inning came around, I put myself in the cleats of the Resolutes' manager and had a critical decision to make. Would I leave Clarkson in to get three more outs, or pull him out and see if submariner Joe McGinnity could get a two-inning save? I decided to stick with the starter, but my decision quickly backfired when pinch hitter Harry Wright singled to open the frame. Billy Hamilton walked, giving the Legs two on with nobody out. After Wee Willie Keeler went down on strikes, Nap Lajoie smacked an RBI single to make it 3-2. The next batter was Big Dan Brouthers, who tied the game with a sacrifice fly.
We went into the ninth with the game tied at 3 and the series tied at 1. Al Spalding took over for Radbourn while Clarkson continued to throw for the Resolutes. Both pitchers worked a scoreless ninth. Then, in the bottom of the tenth, Keeler singled with one out and swiped second. Lajoie grounded out, bringing up Brouthers with two outs and the winning run in scoring position. The pitch from Clarkson was a curveball that didn't have quite enough bite. Brouthers launched it to right field and leaped for joy in unison with the Blue Legs fans as the ball sailed into the bleachers for a game-winning home run.
That, folks, was our first-ever walk-off homer -- or first walk-off hit of any sort -- in a playoff contest, as well as just the second postseason game to go to extra innings. The final score was 5-3 for the Blue Legs, and now with back-to-back wins, this team can secure a Creighton Cup championship with one more victory in either Game 4 or, if necessary, a winner-take-all Game 5.
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