In game one at Cincinnati, Willie Mays steals the first of 338 bases. Then pitcher Willie Ramsdell picks him off second base. But the Giants win, 3 – 1, behind Sal Maglie. New York takes the nitecap as well, 6 – 4, as Monte Irvin (2) and Mays both swipe bases.
7/29/1949: Ralph Kiner hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning at Forbes Field before 30,000 fans. In the top of the fourth a heavy downpour halted play with two outs and the 2-0 lead still intact for the Pirates. That would have been Kiner’s 28th homer of the season in the year that he hit 54.
The Red Sox rout the Tigers, 8 – 1, behind Jack Kramer’s 10th straight win. Billy Goodman’s grand slam, along with homers by Kramer and Bobby Doerr, pace the attack. The victory extends the Red Sox’s American League lead to a half-game over the idle A’s.
In Boston, Big Bill Voiselle pitches the first-place Braves to a 2 – 1 win over the Pirates, and collects his 5th hit of the year. Voiselle raises his average to .097, a point higher than his uniform number. Voiselle has the highest uniform number ever in the majors in honor of his South Carolina home town of Ninety Six.
The Giants win their third straight shutout, stopping the Reds, 5 – 0, behind Dave Koslo. Larry Jansen and Clint Hartung threw the other two shutouts. Walker Cooper’s grand slam, off Ken Raffensberger, is the big blow.
In the second 1947 East-West Game, the West wins, 8 – 2. Artie Wilson goes 4 for 4 with a walk and four runs while Sam Jethroe drives in four in the one-sided affair.
The West wins the 1945 East-West Game, 9 – 6, as Jesse Williams drives in four and Archie Ware three. Verdell Mathis picks up two hits and tosses three hitless, scoreless innings for the victory. The West leads 9 – 0 after four due to poor pitching performances from Tom Glover and Bill Ricks.
New York’s Spud Chandler pitches 15 innings as the Yankees beat the White Sox, 7 – 3.
On the WGN’s White Sox pregame radio show, Yankee outfielder Jake Powel, in response to a Bob Elson question concerning his offseason employment as a Dayton, Ohio policeman, quips “I crack n*****s on the head”. Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis downplays the incident, describing the ballplayer’s comments as acting not “intentionally, but carelessly,” and will suspend the reserve flychaser for ten days.
The football Dodgers? The Dodgers smother the Cardinals, 22 – 7, in the first game of a twinbill, then lose 5 – 4.
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