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.
Things went from bad to worse for the Cincinnati Reds as the Boston Red Sox pounded out 21 hits on the way to a 20-1 win in the opening round of the 1948 Tournament.
Johnny Vander Meer (0-1) started for the Reds and he didn’t last past the fourth as he gave up nine runs on six hits with five walks.
Dom DiMaggio knocked in the first tally in the bottom of the second on a fielder’s choice.
Vern Stephens gave Boston a 4-0 advantage in the third as he smacked a three-run bomb.
The bad for Vander Meer came in the fourth as he walked three batters that led to a RBI single by Johnny Pesky and an eventual grand slam by Bobby Doerr as the Red Sox built their 9-0 lead.
Cincinnati Johnny Wyrostek gave the Reds their run with a double in the top of the sixth against Boston starter Joe Dobson (1-0), who went the distance giving up nine hits with three strikeouts..
Jim Blackburn, who was the best pitcher for the Reds on the day, gave up a run in the sixth on a RBI single by Doerr.
The worse for the Reds happened in the seventh. With the score being out of hand, Harry Gumbert suffered through a dozen of Boston’s 14 hitters that came to the plate as the Red Sox scored eight times.
An error with two outs opened the flood gates with six unearned runs scoring as the Red Sox ended the frame with an 18-1 margin.
Highlights from the onslaught including RBI doubles by Pesky and DiMaggio and two-run single by Birdie Tebbetts. Ted Williams drove in a run on a ground out, while Billy Goodman brought home two runs with a sacrifice fly and a bases loaded walk.
The Red Sox were not finished as Stephens capped the contest in the eighth with a two-run homer off Walker Cress for his second long ball of the affair.
Pesky led Boston with four hits as Stephens had three. Stephens and Doerr both knocked in five runs.
Boston will send Mel Parnell to the mound in the second contest of the three-game series as the Red Sox look to advance. Ken Raffensberger starts for the Reds.
1948 Tournament
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
(A1) Cleveland Indians vs. (N8) Chicago Cubs
(N5) New York Giants vs. (A4) Philadelphia A’s
(N3) Brooklyn Dodgers vs. (A6) St. Louis Browns
(A7) Washington Senators vs. (N2) St. Louis Cardinals
Second Round Pairings
(N1) Boston Braves vs. (A5) Detroit Tigers