From the obvious department: game four’s are important. Detroit and Portland have a chance to take commanding leads; New York and Baltimore look to overcome a 2-1 deficit and reset their series to best of 3’s.

#Detroit Wolverines v New York Gothams, Game 4

Detroit leads, 2-1.

Detroit didn’t announce their starter until the last minute, finally settling on Hank Aguirre over Justin Verlander. Part of the reason is a desire to neutralize the Gothams’ left-handed bats–the trio of Jimmy Sheckard, Geroge Van Haltren, and Johnny Callison are all far more effective against righties, and only Sheckard will be in the starting lineup, as will Johan Camargo, replacing the struggling Pinky Higgins at 3B.

New York is coming back with Christy Mathewson on shortish rest–if they can get 4 or 5 good innings out of Matty, it will be a success.

Pete Runnels and Willie Mays doubled in the first inning, giving the Gothams a 1-0 lead.

Mathewson was his worst enemy and then his savior in the third: George Davis singled and Tony Phillips was safe on a sacrifice bunt attempt putting runners at first and second with no outs. Bob Bailey tapped it back to the mound and Mathewson’s throw was wild, allowing Davis to score. Mathewson was visibly upset, and responded by striking out Ty Cobb, Hank Greenberg, and Oscar Gamble in order. Matty did what he was asked to do: 5 innings, 5 hits, 1 run.

Buster Posey doubled home Runnels in the bottom of the 5th giving New York a 2-1 lead which increased to 3-1 on a Benny Kauff pinch-hit single in the 6th. RBI’s from Mays and Wes Westrum made it 5-1.

The Gothams bullpen continues to be magnificent: Steve Howe, Carson Smith, Mike Norris, and Brian Wilson each pitched a scoreless inning in relief of Mathewson.

Cobb had 3 hits, but the rest of the the Wolverines’ offense struggled. Runnels had 3 hits for the Gothams as he, Posey, and Mays combined for 7 hits, 4 runs, and 3 RBIs from the first 3 positions of their order.

DET 1 (Aguirre 1-1) @ NYG 5 (Mathewson 2-1; Howe 1 H; Smith 1 H)
HRs: None.
Box Score

There was some bad news after the game for the Gothams: Howe, who has been quite effective in the postseason, strained his hamstring and will be out for the rest of the playoffs, meaning a roster change will be needed before game 5.

#Baltimore Black Sox v Portland Sea Dogs

Portland leads, 2-1.

A matchup of two hurlers who have struggled mightily in the postseason: Portland’s Bert Blyleven and Baltimore’s Mike Mussina.

Blyleven didn’t look very good initially, surrendering 4 hits and 2 runs in the top of the first (Bobby Wallace scored on a Curt Blefary sacrifice fly and Bryce Harper singled home the second run). Mussina was equally rough, though: Bobby Murcer, Rogers Hornsby, Buddy Bell, and Joe Mauer all had RBI doubles in an inning helped by two Baltimore errors. By the end of it, 12 Sea Dogs had come to the plate, and Portland had an 8-2 lead.

Blefary–in a massive slump all postseason–took Blyleven deep in the 3rd, cutting the lead to 8-4 and Larry Gardner hit a solo shot just inside the right field foul pole in the 5th to make it 8-5. Meanwhile, Mussina was literally perfect until a Gavvy Cravath double in the bottom of the 5th. Jim Fregosi took him deep two batters later, ending Mussina’s day and restoring a 5 run edge for Portland.

Homeruns from Paul Blair and Harper brought Baltimore closer, but Portland’s Elmer Brown was efficient and able to shut the door. Portland was now 1 game away from the Whirled Series!

Frank Robinson had 3 hits for Baltimore in the loss.

BAL 7 (Mussina 0-2) @ POR 10 (Blyleven 2-0; Brown 1 Sv)
HRs: BAL – Blefary (1), Gardner (1), Blair (1), Harper (3); POR – Fregosi (3).
Box Score

With Howe out, the Gothams were caught between needing a lefty from the pen and an additional starting pitcher. The settled on Vean Gregg, despite his struggles since his arrival from Homestead in a midseason trade.