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.
The best of five semifinal series in the 1948 Tournament between Philadelphia and Boston is all even after the Phillies late rally gave them an 8-4 road victory over the Braves.
A pair of homers by the Phillies made the difference. Johnny Blatnik broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth with a solo blast off Braves starter Bill Voiselle.
In the ninth, Dick Sisler smashed a three-run bomb to secure the win for the Phillies.
Boston opened the affair to the delight of the hometown crowd as if they would dominate the contest with three runs in the first off Philadelphia starter Schoolboy Rowe.
Bob Elliott brought home a pair of runs with a triple and Jeff Heath capped the uprising with a RBI single.
The Phillies asnswered quickly with three runs in the top of the second to tie the game. Granny Hamner had a RBI single and Richie Ashburn tied it with a two-run single.
Both teams scored in the fourth. Ashburn drove in a run for the Phillies with a single, while a sacrifice fly by Boston’s Al Dark knotted the contest at 4-4.
Hamner and Sisler led the Phillies with three hits apiece as Heath topped the Braves with three hits.
Rowe (2-0) was able to survive a dozen hits in his complete game performance with five walks and a strikeout.
Voiselle (1-1) left the mound with one out in the top of the ninth after Sisler’s homer. He also surrendered 12 hits as he fanned four. Nels Potter got the final two outs for the Braves.
Game three in Philadelphia features Dutch Leonard (2-0) on the mound for the Phillies with the Johnny Sain (2-0) getting the ball for the Braves.
1948 Tournament
Semifinal Pairings and Results
(N1) Boston Braves vs. (N6) Philadelphia Phillies
Braves 8-0, Phillies 8-4
(N8) Chicago Cubs vs (N2) St. Louis Cardinals
Cubs 8-5
Second Round 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 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