Editor’s note: Tournament games are played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice.
Most of the action happened early in the game as the Chicago White Sox advanced to the semifinals of the 1955 Tournament with a 5-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Baltimore’s Cal Abrams hit a two-run homer in the top of the second against Chicago starter Billy Pierce to give the Orioles a 2-0 advantage that they couldn’t hold on to one inning later.
Walt Dropo‘s RBI single off Orioles starter Bill Wright that scored Jim Rivera in the bottom of the cut Chicago’s deficit in half.
The White Sox took the lead for good in the third inning.
Chico Carrasquel, Nellie Fox and Minnie Minoso each singled to load the bases with one out.
With George Kell at the plate, Carrasquel scored on a passed ball that got by Orioles catcher Gus Triandos.
After Wright retired Kell on a foul ball grabbed by Triandos, Rivera’s two-run single made it 4-2.
Both teams added one more run the rest of the way.
Bob Hale had a RBI single in the fifth for the Orioles to close the gap to 4-3, but the White Sox answered in the sixth as Sherm Lollar grounded out with the bases loaded to score Kell.
The starting pitchers for both squads went the distance allowing 10 hits. Pierce finished with four strikeouts, while Wright managed to fan just one hitter.
The White Sox move on to the semifinals to meet the winner of the (8) Pittsburgh Pirates at (4) Philadelphia Phillies contest in Comiskey Park.
1955 IN REAL LIFE: Rivera spent a lot of time running the bases in 1955 as he led the American League with 25 stolen bases. He was also caught a league-high 16 times. He finished the year with 10 homers and 52 RBI with a .264 batting average.
Rivera played 10 seasons in the majors all of the them with the White Sox except in his first and last year.
In 1952, he played with the St. Louis Browns before a trade had him going to Chicago. In 1959, he was an important part of the Go-Go White Sox that fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series.
The White Sox released him in 1961 and he ended his career after spending the remainder of the season with the Kansas City A’s. He led the AL with 16 triples in 1953.
Second Round Results and Schedule
Upper Bracket
(1) Brooklyn Dodgers 6, (5) Cincinnati Reds 4
(3) New York Giants 5, (7) St. Louis Cardinals 0
Lower Bracket
(3) Chicago White Sox 5, (7) Baltimore Orioles 3
(8) Pittsburgh Pirates at (4) Philadelphia Phillies
Semifinal Schedule
(3) New York Giants at (1) Brooklyn Dodgers
(8) Pittsburgh Pirates at (4) Philadelphia Phillies winner at (3) Chicago White Sox
First Round Results
Upper Bracket
(1) Brooklyn Dodgers 4, (8) Washington Senators 0
(5) Cincinnati Reds 7, (4) Boston Red Sox 3
(3) New York Giants 2, (6) Kansas City Athletics 1
(7) St. Louis Cardinals 6, (2) Cleveland Indians 1
Lower Bracket
(7) Baltimore Orioles 6, (2) Milwaukee Braves 1
(3) Chicago White Sox 8, (6) Chicago Cubs 4
(4) Philadelphia Phillies 3, (5) Detroit Tigers 1
(8) Pittsburgh Pirates 3, (1) New York Yankees 2