In a game in which both catchers were perfect at bat, Ernie Lombardi won it for the Reds with his mitt.
Ninety years ago, on July 6, 1934, the Reds edged the Cardinals, 16-15, at St. Louis. Lombardi, the Reds catcher and future Hall of Famer who was nicknamed “Schnozz” because of his big nose, produced five hits in five trips to the plate. Cardinals catcher Spud Davis, a career .308 hitter, was 4-for-4 with two walks.
The game ended when Lombardi tagged out Leo Durocher at the plate.
Theatre of the absurd
Played on a Friday afternoon, a paid gathering of 1,100 came to Sportsman’s Park to see the last-place Reds (22-46) and second-place Cardinals (41-28).
The home team gave what the St. Louis Star-Times described as a “burlesque performance,” committing three errors, stranding 12 runners and allowing the Reds to score in six of the first seven innings.
Of the seven pitchers used by the Cardinals, three were future Hall of Famers (Jesse Haines, Dizzy Dean and Dazzy Vance), but the only one who didn’t give up a run was Tex Carleton, who worked the ninth.
The Reds led 8-0 in the second and 15-8 in the sixth, but their pitchers were as ineffective as those on the Cardinals.
More to come
Ahead by five, the Reds scored the decisive run in the seventh when Lombardi drove in ex-Cardinal Chick Hafey from second with a two-out single, extending the lead to 16-10.
However, an error by Lombardi in the bottom half of the inning gave the Cardinals a chance to create some drama.
The first batter, Jack Rothrock, hit a pop fly near the plate in fair territory. Lombardi called for it, but dropped the ball, and Rothrock was safe at first. Frankie Frisch flied out and Joe Medwick, on what should have been the third out, fanned.
Rip Collins then drove a pitch onto the pavilion roof in right for a two-run home run, getting the Cardinals within four, at 16-12.
The Cardinals scored again in the eighth, making it 16-13.
In the ninth, Tex Carleton “showed his pals how real baseball should be pitched,” the Star-Times noted, and retired the Reds in order.
Fantastic finish
In the home half of the ninth, the Cardinals had runners on first and second, two outs, when their eighth-place batter, Leo Durocher, came to the plate against Si Johnson, who was on his way to a 22-loss season with the Reds.
Durocher hit a pop-up in foul ground, but “got a break when a boy in a grandstand box prevented Lombardi from reaching over for a catch,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
Given a second chance, Durocher drilled a double to right, driving in both runners and making the score 16-15.
Next up was the pitcher, Carleton.
Cardinals player-manager Frankie Frisch had used 20 of his 22 players, including five as pinch-hitters. Only pitchers Paul Dean and Bill Hallahan hadn’t appeared in the game. Deeming neither a better option than Carleton, Frisch let Tex bat.
(Carleton produced 100 hits in the majors, including 17 in 1934.)
Carleton hit a sharp grounder to the right of shortstop Mark Koenig, who fielded the ball, but his low throw to first wasn’t in time to nail the runner.
When Durocher, who rounded third, saw first baseman Jimmy Shevlin fumble the ball, he dashed for the plate, hoping to score the tying run.
According to the Star-Times, “Shevlin quickly recovered the ball but his throw home was bad. Lombardi reached out, pulled in the ball and wheeled around just as Durocher tried to slide under him. Umpire Bill Klem whipped off his mask and cap and shouted, ‘You’re out!’ “
Believing he was safe, an angry Durocher “wanted to throw a fistful of dirt” at Klem, “but resisted the impulse,” the Post-Dispatch reported. Boxscore