PHILS GIVE REDBIRDS COLD SHOWER CARLSON HANDCUFFS ST. LOUIS UNTIL NINTH

PHILS HAND HAINES HARD RETURN LICKING

CARLSON BLANKS REDBIRDS EIGHT FRAMES AS HORNSBY LIMPS OUT, MUELLER BOOTS FIFTH ERROR, AND QUAKERS TAKE OPENER, 6-2

— Jesse Haines made his first full route start since returning from the injured list Wednesday afternoon and discovered in a hurry that the Philadelphia Phillies had not arrived in town to serve as another Boston batting target.

The veteran Cardinal right-hander stayed atop the slab all nine innings, took his medicine like an old wheelhorse, and absorbed a 6-to-2 drubbing as Hal Carlson handcuffed the Redbirds for eight shutout rounds in the opening clash of the clubs’ first 1926 series.

And unlike the loose-jointed Braves, the Phillies played sharp enough baseball to make every Cardinal mistake sting twice.

Carlson was the whole works for Philadelphia through the first eight innings.

The chunky Quaker right-hander changed speeds all afternoon, floated slow stuff into awkward spots, then climbed the ladder with hard heat whenever the Cardinals finally worked themselves into dangerous counts. St. Louis never solved the pattern.

The Cardinals gathered only six safeties altogether and did not shove a run across until the ninth inning after the whole argument had already tilted firmly toward the Philadelphia dugout.

Ray Blades and Taylor Douthit were the lone Redbirds consistently bothering Carlson.

Douthit continued his sudden resurrection at the platter by slapping two more safeties and scoring once.

Only a week ago the young center gardener looked tangled beyond repair, buried in one of the worst batting funks on the club. Now he suddenly appears to be stinging the horsehide everywhere from foul line to foul line.

The youngster may have read every ugly word written about him lately because he has been playing red-hot baseball ever since.

Blades also gathered a pair of bingles while Jim Bottomley finally broke the shutout with a ninth-inning single that drove home both Cardinal tallies.

Until then Carlson had boxed the whole St. Louis attack nearly silent.

The Phillies meanwhile kept pecking away at Haines inning after inning.

Philadelphia first scratched in the third after the Cardinals helped the Quakers along with shaky defense and poor footing around the lot. Heinie Mueller, now carrying five miscues in right field already this season, booted another chance that opened the door for an unearned tally.

Tommy Thevenow was later charged with another Cardinal misplay, though the young shortstop appeared victimized more by ugly field conditions than bad hands. The infield dirt remained soft and tricky from recent weather, and Thevenow badly mistimed the hop while trying to charge the ball.

The Phillies took full advantage of every loose peg and muddy bounce handed to them.

Johnny Mokan did most of the damage.

The Quaker outfielder hammered three safeties in five trips and drove home three runs while repeatedly turning up in the middle of Philadelphia uprisings. Every time Haines looked ready to wriggle free, Mokan seemed to arrive swinging another troublesome stick.

Freddy Leach and Jack Bentley both doubled during the afternoon while Carlson helped his own cause with two safeties from the pitcher’s box. Then Ernie Friberg uncorked the afternoon’s loudest blow during the ninth when he walloped a homer into the distance and shoved the Phillies further out front.

Haines was not battered clean off the hill.

But he was worked hard.

The veteran right-hander allowed eleven safeties, walked three, and repeatedly pitched from traffic after the Phillies began cluttering the sacks. Still, Hornsby left him atop the slab for the full route, perhaps wanting the old right-hander to stretch the arm fully after weeks of interrupted labor.

The biggest jolt of the afternoon arrived in the fourth.

Hornsby himself slipped awkwardly while ranging after a play and immediately began favoring the leg afterward. The Cardinal pilot remained briefly before finally removing himself from the affair, apparently bothered by a strained hamstring or pulled muscle around the upper leg.

Specs Toporcer finished the game at second base.

The Cardinals afterward attempted to quiet fears around the clubhouse, though nobody appeared eager to guarantee Hornsby would immediately return at full strength.

The injury situation already remains troublesome enough.

Chick Hafey continues sidelined and now appears likely lost for at least another couple weeks. That leaves Waitie Holm as the only true reserve outer gardener presently available to Hornsby while the Cardinals continue trying to patch together healthy pasture combinations.

The Phillies, meanwhile, looked fresh and lively despite arriving in St. Louis for the opening stop of their first extended western road journey of the season. Wednesday marked the beginning of a brutal twenty-six-day trip for the Quakers, but Philadelphia showed no signs yet of tired legs or train weariness.

In fact, the Phillies looked sharper than the Cardinals most of the afternoon.

Carlson in particular impressed both dugouts with his calm route work and changing pace. Several baseball men around the park afterward openly wondered whether Philadelphia manager Art Fletcher might bring the right-hander back on shorter rest later in the series, especially with the Quakers beginning such a long swing away from home.

If Carlson throws again before the club leaves town, the Cardinals would likely prefer seeing considerably less of him.

The defeat dropped St. Louis back to 15 victories against 18 setbacks and immediately cooled much of the steam built during the Boston massacre.

The Braves had arrived broken.

Philadelphia arrived playing major league baseball.

And Wednesday afternoon the Cardinals learned the difference.

— Mike Allen, Bird Chatter Post