A fine pitching effort by the Cubs Guy Bush in Game 3 put the Chicago Cubs right back in this Series. The man with the unorthodox delivery kept the A’s off-balance all game. Of course, on the flip side, George Earnshaw did the same to the Cub. Funny game, baseball. Earnshaw pitched much better than he did in Game 2, when he got the win, and yet took home the loss in Game 3.
The Cubs had an opportunity to bring one home in the second, when Hack Wilson led off with a triple. But Earnshaw bore down, and after a ground out to short, Riggs Stephenson hit a sharp grounder to second. Little Max Bishop grabbed the pill and fired it home, where Mickey Cochrane slapped the cuffs on Hack. Rally extinguished.
The A’s introduced positive integers to the scoreboard with a run in the 5th, as a Bing Miller single brought Mickey Cochrane home.
As all baseball fans are aware, walking the opposing team’s pitcher almost always comes back to bite you, and the 6th inning proved no exception. Earnshaw led off the inning by walking .165 hitter Bush. That should have been no problem, as after a quick out Woody English then grounded one to Jimmy Dykes at third, who should have ended the inning by starting a double play. Instead he strangled the ball, and the Cubs now had themselves a bonafide rally. Singles by Hornsby (right) and Cuyler brought home three runs, and the game might as well have ended right there, as the rest of the scoreboard showed zeroes and the Cubs had a 3-1 win.
The A’s had no-one to blame but themelves after this one. “We had all kinds of opportunities to make it three in a row, but we just could not connect with men on the bases,” said Jimmie Foxx after the ballgame. “Bush pitched a great game, especially in the pinches, and well deserved the win.”
Indeed, the A’s generated a rally in the 7th, and with two runners on, an Al Simmons drive to deep center brought the crowd to their feet. But the ball was caught at the wall, and with runners on 2nd and 3rd, all Jimmie Foxx could do was dribble one in front of the plate for the third out. Rally extinguished.
Nonetheless, the A’s felt confident following the loss. “Today’s another day and, unless I miss my guess, the series will stand three to one in our favor by night,” said Foxx. Added Connie Mack, “I have plenty of good pitchers left for duty in the Philadelphia end of the Series. I believe that we will take both and end the Series here on Monday.” Game 4 starts today at 3 p.m. at Shibe.
