Editor’s note: The 1948 Tournament games are being played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice. Injuries will only be used during the game when they occur. For this tournament, the rules include a three-man pitching rotation using the best lineups available. The first and second round series will be the best two of three games. The semifinals are best of five, while the championship series is the best of seven.
St. Louis completed a sweep of a best of three series with Brooklyn as the Cardinals came from behind to post a 5-3 win over the Dodgers at Ebbets Field in the second round of the 1948 Tournament.
With the victory, the Cardinals are set to face the upset minded Chicago Cubs in the best of five semifinal round. The Boston Braves and Philadelphia Phillies meet in the other semifinal series.
Three runs in the top of the ninth proved to be the difference for the Cardinals as they ousted Brooklyn starter Preacher Roe (1-1).
Down by a run with one out, the Cardinals got singles from Nippy Jones and Ron Northey before Don Lang tied the affair with the third straight single off Roe that ended his day.
Carl Erskine took over for Roe and fanned Red Schoendienst, but Marty Marion‘s two-run single gave the Cardinals their insurmountable advantage.
Cardinals starter Harry Brecheen (2-0) gave up his seventh hit in the bottom of the ninth, but he was able to slam the door on the Dodgers to preserve the victory.
The Dodgers grabbed the lead early as Spider Jorgensen singled in the second inning before the Cardinals were able to tie it in the third.
St. Louis was able to take advantage of a pair of defensive mistakes by the Dodgers as Schoendienst reached second base on an error by Gene Hermanski in left field. Pee Wee Reese gave the Cardinals a run as the shortstop had a throwing error on a grounder by Marion.
Brooklyn took the lead in the bottom of the third when Jackie Robinson tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Reese.
The Dodgers added their third run in the fifth on a solo blast by catcher Roy Campanella.
Enos Slaughter closed the gap with a run-scoring single for the Cardinals in the eighth to make it 3-2 to set the stage for the game-winning rally.
1948 Tournament
Semifinal Pairings
(N1) Boston Braves vs. (N6) Philadelphia Phillies
(N8) Chicago Cubs vs (N2) St. Louis Cardinals
Second Round Pairings and Results
(N1) Boston Braves vs. (A5) Detroit Tigers, Braves 15-6, 9-2
(N6) Philadelphia Phillies vs. (A2) Boston Red Sox, Phillies 11-3, 4-3
(N8) Chicago Cubs vs (N5) New York Giants, Cubs 5-2, 3-0
(N3) Brooklyn Dodgers vs. (N2) St. Louis Cardinals, Cardinals 5-4, 5-3
First Round Pairings and Results
(N1) Boston Braves vs. (A8) Chicago White Sox, Braves 12-4, 5-0
(A5) Detroit Tigers vs. (N4) Pittsburgh Pirates, Tigers 11-4, 1-0
(A3) New York Yankees vs. (N6) Philadelphia Phillies, Phillies 6-2, 5-2
(N7) Cincinnati Reds vs. (A2) Boston Red Sox, Red Sox 20-1, 3-4, 9-5
(A1) Cleveland Indians vs. (N8) Chicago Cubs, Cubs 4-0, 1-3, 11-0
(N5) New York Giants vs. (A4) Philadelphia A’s, Giants 5-2, 6-1
(N3) Brooklyn Dodgers vs. (A6) St. Louis Browns, Dodgers 5-0, 6-3
(A7) Washington Senators vs. (N2) St. Louis Cardinals, Cardinals 3-0, 5-4