The World Series by Stephanie Peters Page B

tie the Series at one game apiece.
    The next day, however, it was the Pirates' star pitcher, Deacon Phillippe, who led the charge, giving Pittsburgh a 4–2 victory
     over Boston. Phillippe pitched again in game four, the first played in Pittsburgh, and again, he was in top form, holding
     the Sox to just one run for the first eight innings. The Pirates, meanwhile, chalked up five.
    Boston managed to push across three runs in the ninth and came very close to winning the game and tying the Series. But they
     didn't. Final score, 5–4 Pirates.
    There were five games yet to be played in the best-of-nine series. The championship was still up for grabs.
    The next game was scoreless through the fifth inning. Then, in the top of the sixth, the Red Sox loaded the bases. Pitcher
     William “Brickyard” Kennedy then handed Boston its first run by walking the next batter. Another run was scored when Wagner
     made a wild throw to first. Criger bunted in a third run, and two more runners crossed home plate when Young blasted a triple
     into the crowds in left field. When Dougherty also lambasted a triple, Young made ithome. In a single inning, the score had gone from 0–0 to 6–0!
    By the bottom of the ninth inning, the Red Sox had added five more, while the Pirates had posted a mere two runs for a final
     score of 11–2. The next day's game saw the Pirates falling again, this time 6–3. The Series was now tied at three games apiece.
    Game seven was scheduled to be played the following afternoon in Pittsburgh. But Barney Dreyfuss postponed the game after
     receiving reports of sixty-mile-an-hour winds at Exposition Park. He believed that such winds could put the players at risk.
    Boston players protested loudly. They thought that Dreyfuss had put off the game so that his team could recover from its two
     recent losses. If so, the strategy failed. Boston thrashed Pittsburgh 7–3 the next day.
    The two teams returned to Boston for game eight. Once again, Bill Dinneen was masterful, sending the first eleven batters
     back to the dugout without a hit. He allowed Wagner a hit in the fourth inning, but Wagner died on base. Boston, meanwhile,
     racked up two runs that same inning, and then added another in the sixth.
    The Pirates were still scoreless when they came to bat in the top of the ninth. The first two batters flied out, bringing
     up Wagner. Two pitches later, the count was 0 and 2.
    A third strike would end the game and the Series. A hit would keep things alive for the Pirates. An article in the next day's
Boston Post
tells what happened next:
    “Slowly [pitcher Bill Dinneen] gathered himself up for the effort, slowly he swung his arms above his head. Then the ball
     shot away like a flash toward the plate where the great Wagner stood, muscles drawn tense waiting for it. The big batsman's
     mighty shoulders heaved … as he swung his bat with every ounce of power in his body, but the dull thud of the ball, as it
     nestled in Criger's waiting mitt, told the story.”
    With that final strike, the Boston Red Sox won the first-ever World Series. There was no World Series in 1904 due to ongoing
     tension between the NL and the AL. But in 1905, the two organizations officially adopted the World Series as baseball's championship.
     That year, and the years that followed, the World Series saw play by some of the sport's best-known athletes. Cy Young, Honus
     Wagner, Ty Cobb,Christy Mathewson, Rube Marquard, Frank Baker, Babe Adams, and their talented teammates all delivered outstanding performances
     that contributed to their teams' victories and helped the World Series become a world-class sporting event.
    But even the most skilled athletes and teams have off days. The 1912 World Series proved that.
    That year, the New York Giants faced the Boston Red Sox. The Giants had had a stellar year, with a final record of 103-48.
     The Sox were even better, posting 105 wins and 47 losses, a season record that went unmatched until 1931.
    Strong