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.
Del Ennis had three homers and drove in six runs to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to an 11-3 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the second round of the 1948 Tournament.
Dutch Leonard gets the start for Philadelphia as the Phillies hope to sweep the best of three series with a win in the second contest. Mel Parnell will get the ball for the Red Sox from manager Joe McCarthy.
Ennis set the tone in the top of the first as the Phillies scored four times.
Richie Asburn led off the game with a single off Boston starter Joe Dobson. After Walked struck out, Eddie Miller hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Ashburn from the bases.
Ennis drilled a long ball that made it two 2-0. Dick Sisler followed with another single before Andy Seminick smacked a two-run homer to cap the frame.
Keeping up the with power surge, the Red Sox got on the scoreboard with a solo shot from Bobby Doerr in the bottom of the first off Schoolboy Rowe.
The score remained the same until Ennis hit his second homer in the third to put the Phillies up 5-1.
Birdie Tebbetts had a sacrifice fly for Boston in the fifth to close the gap to 5-2, but the Phillies sent Dobson (1-1) to the showers in the sixth.
After getting an out, Dobson would be done when Granny Hamner doubled and Willie Jones singled to bring home a run.
McCarthy called Earl Johnson from the bullpen, which turned out to be the wrong decision as he faced four hitters and didn’t retire a batter.
Johnson walked Ashburn and after Walker singled, the bases were loaded. Miller singled to knock in a pair of runs and it was 8-2. Ennis was Johnson’s final batter when he hit a three-run homer.
Tex Hughson would end the inning for Boston and finish the contest on the mound for the Red Sox.
Rowe (1-0) went the distance for the Phillies giving up six hits with three strikeouts.
The final run for the Red Sox came in the ninth when Ted Williams tripled and scored on a ground out by Vern Stephens.
1948 Tournament
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
(N8) Chicago Cubs vs (N5) New York Giants
(N3) Brooklyn Dodgers vs. (N2) St. Louis Cardinals
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