Saturday, June 27, 1914 Baltimore vs. Buffalo (Double Header) – Game 28 & 29

Baltimore 4 Buffalo 3 – Babe Ruth Pinch Hitter – 0 for 1 at bat

            With the Orioles down 3-1 in the eighth inning of the first game of a double header against Buffalo, Ruth pinch hit for pitcher Danforth but made an out.   However, the Orioles scored 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth for a walk off victory.  

Baltimore 10 Buffalo 5 – Babe Ruth Starting Pitcher – Complete Game Victory – 1 for 4 at bat

               Babe was the starting pitcher in the second game of the double header.  Although he had a rough first inning giving up three runs, he shut out the Bison in the next seven innings.  In the meantime, the Orioles closed the gap by scoring one run in both the first and second innings.  In the fifth, they jumped to the lead with five runs and scored three more insurance runs, bringing a 10-3 lead into the ninth inning.  Babe gave up two more runs in the ninth, but finished the game with a 10-5 victory.  He was also one for three at bat and stole a base.  The win gave him an 11-6 record with the Orioles achieving a 44-22 record for the season.

Thursday, June 25, 1914 Baltimore vs. Toronto – Game 27

Baltimore 13 Toronto 8 – Babe Ruth Relief Pitcher – 5 Innings – No Decision – 0 for 1 at bat Scored

                

              Starting Orioles pitcher Danforth, couldn’t get anyone out in the first inning giving up 6 runs on 6 hits and a walk.  Relieved by Davidson, the Maple Leafs added a seventh run before the Orioles had their turn at the plate.  But the Orioles came back with three runs in the first, three runs in the second and three runs in the third to take a 9-7 lead.  With two men on and no out in the fifth inning, Babe Ruth relieved Davidson.  Babe gave up one run, making the score 9-8, but held the lead after that.  The Orioles scored four more in the fifth to close out the scoring with a 13-8 victory.  Babe Ruth faced 14 batters, gave up 1 run on 3 hits with 4 strike outs and 3 walks.  Since he came in while the Orioles were leading, he should not be credited with a victory.  The win gave the Orioles a season record of 42-21.

Tuesday, June 23, 1914 Baltimore vs. Toronto – Game 26

Baltimore 3 Toronto 0 – Babe Ruth Starting Pitcher – Complete Game Victory – 0 for 3 at bat

                Babe came back from his worst outing of the season to throw a 3-0 complete game shut out against the Maple Leafs.  He only gave up 5 hits, struck out a season high 8 batters, walked two and hit one batter.  The Orioles scattered three runs on nine hits for the victory.  Babe’s record improved to 10-6, with the Orioles season record 40-20.

Wednesday, June 17, 1914 (First Game of Double Header) Baltimore vs. Rochester – Game 25

Baltimore 0 Rochester 6 – Babe Ruth Starting Pitcher – Relieved in 2^nd Inning – Losing Pitcher

                After a scoreless first inning, Babe was rocked in the second inning giving up 5 runs to the Hustlers on the way to a 6-0 Orioles loss.  He was relieved after 1 1/3 innings after giving up 7 hits with one strike out and one walk.  The loss gave him a 9-6 record for the year.  This was the third straight loss for the Orioles at the hands of Rochester coming after the Orioles 13 straight victories.  Their season record fell to 36-18. 

                For unknown reasons, Babe is called Frank Ruth in the Baltimore Sun article.  

                After this poor start, Ruth did not make an appearance in another game until June 23rd.  He did not play in five games between these two starts.

Saturday, June 13, 1914 Baltimore vs. Newark – Game 24

Baltimore 3 Newark 2 – Babe Ruth Starting Pitcher – Complete Game Victory – 0 for 2 at bat

               Babe pitched his third straight complete game victory with a 3-2 win over the Newark Indians.  He only gave up 6 hits, struck out 5, walked 4 and hit one batsman.  He had a shut out going into the seventh inning and a 3-0 lead, but gave up a run in both the seventh and eighth innings before slamming the door in the ninth for the win.  The win improved his record to 9-5, and the Orioles season record to 35-15, the twelfth straight victory for the Orioles.

Wednesday, June 10, 1914 Baltimore vs. Jersey City – Game 23

Baltimore 4 Jersey City 2 – Babe Ruth Starting Pitcher – Complete Game Victory – 0 for 4 at bat

            Babe Ruth kept the Orioles nine game winning streak alive with a 4-2 complete game victory against Jersey City.  He gave up two runs on eight hits.  He also struck out 4, walked 4 and threw a wild pitch.   The win improved his record to 8-5, and the Orioles season record of 32-15.

     Note:  The quality of the copy of the Baltimore Sun is extremely poor for some dates in June 1914.  The statement above reads:  Verbout outpitched Babe Ruth, although the latter held his opponents at bay after the second round ... Babe Ruth was [unknown word] up pretty lively in the first two sessions.  Four hits, one a triple, netted the visitors two runs.  Babe settled down at this stage and held the Skeeters to four hits during the remaining seven innings.

Sunday, June 7, 1914 Baltimore vs. Jersey City (Second Game of Double Header) – Game 22

Baltimore 4 Jersey City 1 – Babe Ruth Starting Pitcher – Complete Game Victory – 1 for 4 at bat

            The Orioles had won four games in a row, including the first game of a double header, when Babe Ruth started the afternoon game against the Skeeters.  Babe gave up 1 run on four hits, striking out 5, walking 5, and hitting one batter in a 4-1 complete game victory.  The win improved his record to 7-5 and the Orioles season record to 28-15.

Thursday, June 4, 1914 Baltimore at Providence - Game 21

Baltimore 1 Providence 2 7 Innings – Babe Ruth Starting Pitcher – Complete Game Loss – 0 for 2 at bat

                Babe Ruth started the home series for the Orioles against the Grays and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, but the Orioles could only manage a single run.  The game ended in a 2-1 defeat when the game was called due to darkness after the seventh inning.  Babe struck out seven, walked two, threw one wild pitch and balked once during the defeat.  The loss lowered his record to 6-5 and the Orioles season record to 23-15.  It was the last loss the Orioles would experience in the next 13 games.

Monday, June 1, 1914 Baltimore at Jersey City – Game 20

Baltimore 9 Jersey City 6 – Starting Pitcher – Taken out in 8^th Inning – No Decision – 1 for 4 at bat

            Having pitched less than two innings the previous day, Dunn started Babe against the Jersey City Skeeters.  Going into the seventh inning, the Orioles led 3-0.  Babe gave up a run in the seventh, but the Orioles came back in the eighth to take a 6-1 lead.  However, Babe did not make it out of the eighth inning giving up three more runs.  Jersey City tied the game 6-6, after Ruth left the game.  But the Birds came back scoring three more runs in the ninth inning for a 9-6 victory, and a season record of 21-14.  Since the Orioles took the lead, after he left the game, Ruth was not credited for the win.

           Babe did not play in the last two games against Jersey City which the Orioles won.  However, during the grueling 24 game road trip in all seven other cities of the International League, Babe had played in 14 games.  He was the starting pitcher in 8 games, once a relief pitcher, started in the outfield in 2 games and pinch hit in three games.  Between May 20^th and June 1^st, he played in eleven of the twelve games and appeared in both games of three double headers during the stretch.

            Did Dunn overuse his rookie pitcher on the road?  While Babe completed all three of his starts during the Orioles initial 13 game home series, during the road trip he only finished half of the 8 games he started.  In the first home series, Babe gave up only 5 runs in 29 innings pitched.  His road record was 25 runs in 59 1/3 innings pitched.  He also started two games as a lead off right fielder during the road trip and pinch hit in three games allowing him little rest.  During the first home series, he only pinch hit twice and never played the field for an entire game.

            When the Orioles returned to Baltimore on June 4^th, to begin a thirty game home stand, Babe was primarily used as a starting pitcher.  He was sufficiently rested between starts returning good results.