Game 15, in which the Seattle Indians improve to 5-10

For their 15^th game of the year, the Indians sent out Bill Plummer to the mound, only to have him injure his arm and come out of the game early. Plummer, whose son Bill would go on to back up for Johnny Bench and later manage the Seattle Mariners, started pitching in the PCL at the age of 19 with Portland, then moving to Seattle for a small part of the 1923 season. In 1924, he had come out of spring training as, going by this article and previous ones, the best pitching option for the Indians. He would pitch 130 innings in 1924, followed by 142 in 1925. He sat out 1926, and then tried one last comeback on August 16, 1927 at the age of 25. He lasted 5 and 2/3 innings that day against the San Francisco Seals.

This game gave the Indians their 5^th win of the year, Plummer his third. Sacramento pitcher Bill Prough took the loss. This was to be Prough’s last year in the PCL. From 1914 to 1924, he pitched nearly 3300 innings in the PCL with Oakland and Sacramento, going 175-192 with a 3.04 ERA. Overall, he had 18 minor league seasons, throwing 4676 innings in 642 games, with 269 wins and 252 defeats. Those numbers are incomplete, but only slightly since his first year with Iowa’s Keokuk Indians need to be counted up. You can add 1 major league game onto Prough’s stats, as he pitched 3 innings on April 27, 1912, for the Cincinatti Reds. He went out to the mount that day with another guy getting his cup of coffee, Hanson Horsey. Their efforts were part of a 23-4 beating at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Sacramento Pitchers Again Maltreated By Killefer’s Larrupers

Lane, Eldred and Rohwer Account for Eleven Base Knocks-Plummer Forced to Quit With Sore Arm.

ANOTHER victory resulted for the Seattle Indians yesterday when they made all but one of seventeen hits count and defeated the Sacramento Senators, 11 to 5. It was the second straight victory of the home series for the Indians, and was witnessed by a good-sized weekday crows.

     The victory was not without cost, however, for Bill Plummer, the youngster who had already accounted for two of the Indian four winning games, was forced to retire at the end of the seventh inning with a sore elbow.

     So long as Plummer felt right the Senators were helpless. Earl McNeeley, Solon center fielder, was the only man to find Plummer’s delivery safely for three innings. His speed was terrific and he shot through several balls that broke a full foot and broke fast, too. His control was splendid, too, and he looked even better than he did the day he beat the Angels for Seattle’s first victory.

     Plummer’s arm commenced to go bad in the fourth, however. He was found for two scratch singles, but with the bases full and the count three and two on Cochrane he curved one through the heart of the plate for a strike out and ended that trouble.

     He might have escaped trouble in the fifth except that Ted Baldwin made an excusable error on a chance shot his way by McGinnis, following which Merlin Kopp spanked one over the right field wall, scoring McNeeley and McGinnis ahead of him.

     Kopp drove in the other two Solon runs in the seventh but he was mighty lucky. He was falling away from a curve ball and hit in self defense, the ball dropping in right field for a double. Mollwitz had singled and McNeeley doubled ahead of Kopp’s blow.

     Manager Killefer sent Carl Williams in to finish the game. Plummer looks like the best Indian pitching bet so far and no chances were taken with him.

Indians Bunch Their Blows

     The way the Indians are bunching their blows is a caution. In two games at home they have wasted just one hit each.

     It was the same way in training season. Let some one of them start a rally and they were as apt to bat all the way around as not. That’s what makes for winning baseball clubs.

Sand Blowers Connect

     It was the sand blowers again who delivered the knockout punches for three of Col. Charles Pick’s hurlers.

     Lane delivered to singles, a double, and a sacrifice fly and scored twice.

     Cliff Brady delivered two singles, two sacrifices and scored a run.

     Brick Eldred delivered four singles, drove in three runs and scored one himself.

     Ray Rohwer delivered two triples, two singles and two runs, besides driving in another counter.

     For your information a “sand blower” in the parlance of the Indian training camp, is a human being built so closed to the ground that when he takes a deep breath and expels it with force the sand flies.

     Lane, Brady, Eldred and Rohwer can all walk under a bar held five feet six inches off the ground-hence the title.

Score in First Five Cantos

     In every one of the first five innings Indian runs pattered across the plate.

     Bill Lane started the first inning by pushing a bunt down the first base line and beating it out. Brady sacrificed and after the midget center fielder had taken third on Crane’s long fly to center, Eldred delivered his first pinch blow, Lane scoring.

     Ray Rohwer punched a rousing triple to left center off Bill Prough to open the second. Ted Baldwin walked and after Earl Baldwin had fanned Bill Plummer delivered a sacrifice bunt which scored Rohwer and moved Ted Baldwin along to second. He was picked off of that bag by a quick throw from Schang.

     The Solons got Lane out finally in the third, after that player had reached first base safely six consecutive times in two days, but Cliff Brady gave the Indians a start with a clean single over second.

     Prough kicked Crane’s chance, then threw badly to catch Brady and both of them were safe. Eldred’s single to left scored Brady. Crane and Eldred moved up on a double steal and Crane scored on Bowman’s terrific line fly to Kopp. Ray Rohwer crashed out his second triple of the day, scoring Eldred.

     Three more trickled over in the fourth. Bill Plummer began it with a rousing double to right center. Schang threw to catch him at second and nobody covered, the ball going to center field and Plummer to third. Lane doubled to left and was sacrificed along by Brady. Crane doubled to left center, scoring Lane, and scored himself on Brick Eldred’s third consecutive run producing bingle, Daka Davis, claimed by the Solons from San Francisco when the Seals asked waivers on him, did the pitching following Plummer’s blow.

     Vinci, a young left-hander, stepped onto the mound in the fifth and was greeted with two more runs. Rohwer hit the first ball he threw to right for a single. Ted Baldwin forced Rohwer and Earl Baldwin was hit by a pitched a pitched ball. Plummer filled the bases with a scorching single off Siglin’s bare hand. Lane’s long fly to center allowed Ted Baldwin to score and Earl Baldwin to take third from where the latter runner scored on Brady’s single to center.

     The last counter came in the eighth when Earl Baldwin doubled to left scoring Rohwer, who had singled and gone to second while Ted Baldwin was forcing Eldred at third.

     Eldred earned Rohwer’s hit for him by yelling, “I have it,” in the midst of the Sacramento infield, as a result of which no one touched Rohwer’s high fly until it hit the ground.