SoM NNL Replay: LIN@HOM 3-5

NYL @ HOM game 1: 3-5 - first loss for the New York team

In the first game of a two game series, the home team Grays started the season with several infield injuries and have to see how well Monroe, Radcliff and Robinson can keep going until Lloyd and Warfield return, beginning with the Homestead season opener today.

They are up against New York pitcher William Bell, a tolerable batter, so we will see who will score better - the Giants who are fresh off sweeping Hilldale in their first away series of the season, or the Grays who want to see their fans off to a good home start after a win and two close losses in St. Louis.
The Grays come out of the gates in the first inning like they have something to prove. Temporary leadoff Carr singles and current no. three hitter Gibson hits one over the right field fence for a 2-0 lead to start the game.
In the bottom of the fifth, Carr (reaching on a throwing error from pitcher Bell with two outs) and Gibson with another homer repeat their two-run drill from the first to make it a 4-0 game for the home team.
Grays starter Tom Williams has good control in the early stages of the game, taking a one hitter past the sixth inning with only two walks and five Ks in the first half of the game. However, in the bottom of the sixth he strains a hamstring running out a popup to second base and needs to be replaced.
The Giants manage to score two quick runs off reliever Wickware who still seems to be tired from yesterday's start. However, the Grays score another run in the bottom of the seventh and Chet Brewer gets a two inning save despite allowing one more run in the top of the last to bring the Grays to an even 2-2 record to start the season.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: T Williams L: W Bell SV: C Brewer
New York Lincoln Giants	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	3	5	1
Homestead Grays	2	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	x	5	11	0

New York Lincoln Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO O Charleston  4 0 0 0 0 1 J Beckwith  4 0 0 0 0 2 T Scales  3 0 0 0 1 0 M Suttles  3 1 0 0 1 1 R Dixon  4 2 2 0 0 1 S Bankhead  2 0 0 1 1 0 R Parnell  4 0 1 1 0 0 F Duncan  4 0 2 1 0 1 W Bell  3 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 31 3 5 3 3 6 E- W Bell (1) 2B- R Dixon (1) Sac- S Bankhead (1) SB- R Dixon (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR W Bell  8.0 11 5 3 3 2 2 Homestead Grays Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO T Carr  5 2 2 0 0 0 C Smith  4 1 0 0 1 1 J Gibson  4 2 2 4 0 0 B Baro  4 0 3 0 0 0 V Harris  4 0 1 0 0 0 A Radcliff  3 0 1 1 1 0 N Robinson  3 0 0 0 1 1 B Monroe  4 0 2 0 0 0 T Williams  2 0 0 0 0 0 C Brewer  1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 34 5 11 5 3 2 2B- B Monroe (1) HR- J Gibson (2) Sac- T Williams (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR T Williams  6.0 1 0 0 2 6 0 F Wickware  1.0 2 2 2 1 0 0 C Brewer  2.0 2 1 1 0 0 0

SoM NNL Replay: CHI@STL game 2

Chicago American Giants at St. Louis Stars: A close affair

Game two starts with a more even contest. The Giants even manage to take the lead in on a two RBI single for McNair after Stearnes and Wright reach base to start the third. Cooper does manage to limit the damage done by St. Louis, but Brown ties the game with a solo homer in the bottom of the third.
The Giants continue to push their luck with aggressive small ball in the sixth. Bill Wright needs a triple dose of luck to just barely beat the throw to second on a very risky steal, then is nearly caught off guard when McNair pops a hit-and-run to second base man Johnson, and barely survives to score on a two run homer from Serrell that sails inches above Papa Bell's outstretched glove into the center field bleachers. Another lead for the Giants, this time with only one out in the inning. But once again they cannot add on to their lead immediately. In the seventh the Stars come back scoring Brown who reached second after Wright mishandled and dropped a sharp liner hit into right center. 
However, the bottom of the Giants order maintains some pressure and gives Stearnes a chance to bring home Mendez on a throwing error from first base man Leonard to Dizmukes.
In the ninth they mount another mini rally as Petway singles, advances to third on a hit-and-run single from Mendez and is scored on a sac fly from pinch hitter Hughes.
The Stars do put some pressure on newly signed reliever Mathis with a single and a double from pinch hitter Trouppe, but he manages to wiggle out of the inning, inducing Bell to popup to first in a clutch two-out, two-on situation to notch his first save.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: A Cooper L: D Dizmukes SV: V Mathis
Chicago American Giants	0	0	2	0	0	2	1	0	1	6	10	1
St. Louis Stars	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	4	9	1

Chicago American Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO T Stearnes  5 1 1 1 0 1 W Wright  5 2 2 0 0 0 H McNair  4 0 2 2 0 0 B Serrell  4 1 2 2 0 1 R Dandridge  4 0 1 0 0 0 B Perkins  3 0 0 0 1 0 B Petway  4 1 1 0 0 0 J Mendez  3 1 1 0 1 1 A Cooper  2 0 0 0 0 1 S Hughes  0 0 0 1 0 0 Totals 34 6 10 6 2 4 E- W Wright (1) HR- B Serrell (1) Sac- A Cooper (1), S Hughes (1) SB- W Wright (2), B Serrell (1), J Mendez (2) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR A Cooper  8.0 7 4 3 2 3 1 V Mathis  1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 St. Louis Stars Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO C Bell  4 1 1 0 1 0 B Rogan  3 2 2 1 1 0 W Brown  4 1 1 1 0 0 B Leonard  4 0 1 0 0 0 H Johnson  4 0 1 1 0 1 J Johnson  4 0 1 0 0 0 N Allen  4 0 1 0 0 1 D Radcliffe  4 0 0 0 0 0 D Dizmukes  3 0 0 0 0 2 Q Trouppe  1 0 1 0 0 0 Totals 35 4 9 3 2 4 E- B Leonard (1) 2B- Q Trouppe (1) 3B- B Rogan (1) HR- B Rogan (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR D Dizmukes  9.0 10 6 5 2 4 1

SoM NNL Replay: CHI@STL 1-6

Chicago American Giants at St. Louis Stars 1-6

The Giants start their series with a long road trip, and meet the other 2-1 NNL team in this two game series in St. Louis.

The injury plagues Giants signed another relief pitcher (Verdell Mathis) to take some pressure off their pitching staff. However, the first game in St. Louis is started by McDonald as per the normal rotation.
The early innings are dominated by defensive heroics - in the first, Cool Papa Bell robs MacNair of  homerun with a perfectly timed jump to pick a long flyball put of the center right bleachers. After a couple more spectacular line drives being caught or very narrowly missed, both teams trade double plays in the third.
In the fourth and fifth, however, Mendez allows to runs each on a total of five hits to let the Stars take a 5-0 lead.
In the second half of the game, the Giants try to get back into the game, but can show now results beyond a sixth inning leadoff solo homer from Stearnes as they strand two runners in the seventh and eighth.
In the end, the Stars bring their victory home with a rather straightforward 6-1 win.

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: W McDonald L: J Mendez
Chicago American Giants	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	9	2
St. Louis Stars	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	1	x	6	13	1

Chicago American Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO T Stearnes  5 1 1 1 0 0 W Wright  3 0 0 0 1 0 H McNair  4 0 0 0 0 0 B Serrell  4 0 3 0 0 0 S Hughes  4 0 1 0 0 0 R Dandridge  4 0 1 0 0 0 B Perkins  4 0 3 0 0 0 B Petway  4 0 0 0 0 2 J Mendez  4 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 36 1 9 1 1 2 E- H McNair (1), S Hughes (1) HR- T Stearnes (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR J Mendez  8.0 13 6 5 2 1 0

St. Louis Stars

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
C Bell	5	1	3	1	0	0
W Brown	5	0	0	0	0	1
B Rogan	4	0	1	1	0	0
B Leonard	4	1	2	0	0	0
H Johnson	4	1	2	0	0	0
Q Trouppe	3	1	0	1	1	0
J Johnson	3	1	1	1	1	0
N Allen	4	1	3	1	0	0
W McDonald	3	0	1	1	0	0
Totals	35	6	13	6	2	1

E- J Johnson (1)
2B- C Bell (1), B Rogan (1), N Allen (1)
Sac- W McDonald (1)
SB- B Leonard (1), H Johnson (2)
PK- C Bell (1)

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
W McDonald	9.0	9	1	1	1	2	1

SoM NNL Replay: Game 3 NYL@HIL

Game 3 NYL @ HIL 6-5: sweeping homers

The home team are determined not to go down as easily as in the first two games of the series, and to avoid being swept to start the season. Chances are their offence will do better as the three left handed batters at the top of their order face a rightie today.

The game starts well enough with a brief first half inning - despite a leadoff hit from Charleston, Leon Day gets out if the inning quickly with a double play grounder from Beckwith and a flyout to right from Scales.
And the Daisies manage to take the lead against the Giants for the first time, as their leadoff batter scores only their second run of the series after hitting a triple. However, the Giants immediately come back to tie the game in the top of the second. Leadoff Mule Suttles, fresh off of a four-for-four morning performance, is walked by Leon Day, advances to third on a single from Dixon and is brought home by a fielders choice grounder from Bankhead to second base man DeMoss.
In the top of the third, Day starts to show some uncertainty as he walks two batters with two outs to bring Mule Suttles to the plate. However, he can make Suttles send a grounder right over second base for the unassisted groundout by Short Stop Wells. Then, it's Byrds turn to show some weakness. After a single and a double to start the bottom of the third he nearly wiggles out of trouble with two quick outs, but Pennington manages to squeeze a grounder by Byrd and 2nd base man Palm to score two more runs for the Daisies.
In the fifth, the Giants pull ahead of the Daisies for the first time in this game with three runs scored off a Charleston triple and Suttles homer. The Hilldales try to respond immediately and manage to load the bases with one out on a single and two walks, but DeMoss and Day (who reached on hits on each of his first two at bats) fail to take the chance of putting something on the board.
Day manages to keep the Giants within striking distance for most of the game, but with another Charleston two run homer the Giants go into the bottom of the last inning with a solid three run lead. The Daisies do manage to mount a last inning rally on a walk, two hits and a sac fly, but Byrd keeps his nerves and closes out the game for a close 4-4 win and the sweep.
The Giants deliver a perfect start to the season. While Suttles cannot quite keep up the pace from his spectacular batting display in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader, Charleston begins the season at a spectacular one-homer-per game clip as part of a ten-homer show in the first three games by the New Yorkers.

Box Score

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: T Trent L: C Brewer
Homestead Grays	0	0	3	0	2	0	1	0	0	6	11	0
St. Louis Stars	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	4	x	8	14	1

Homestead Grays Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO P Lloyd  1 0 1 0 0 0 C Smith  5 2 3 3 0 0 T Carr  4 1 2 1 1 0 J Gibson  5 1 2 0 0 1 B Baro  5 0 1 0 0 0 V Harris  5 0 2 2 0 0 A Radcliff  3 0 0 0 1 0 B Monroe  3 1 0 0 1 0 C Brewer  2 0 0 0 1 0 N Robinson  3 1 0 0 0 1 Totals 36 6 11 6 4 2 2B- V Harris (1) 3B- C Smith (1), J Gibson (1) HR- C Smith (1) HBP- P Lloyd (1) Sac- C Brewer (1) SB- T Carr (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR C Brewer  8.0 14 8 8 3 5 0

St. Louis Stars

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
C Bell	4	1	2	2	1	1
B Rogan	5	1	0	1	0	1
W Brown	5	2	4	0	0	0
B Leonard	4	1	2	3	1	0
H Johnson	5	0	1	2	0	0
Q Trouppe	4	0	1	0	0	1
J Johnson	4	1	1	0	0	0
N Allen	3	1	2	0	1	0
T Trent	3	1	1	0	0	2
Totals	37	8	14	8	3	5

E- B Leonard (1)
2B- W Brown (1), B Leonard (1), J Johnson (1), N Allen (1)
Sac- T Trent (1)

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
T Trent	9.0	11	6	5	4	2	1

SoM NNL replay: first standings

Although it's a bit early and the stats are still really quite meaningless, I can't resist a quick look at the league leaders after just the opening three game series for each team.

National Negro League

Pos.	Team	Record	Win %
1	Chicago American Giants	2-1	.667
2	St. Louis Stars	2-1	.667
3	Kansas City Monarchs	1-2	.333

Eastern Colored League

Pos.	Team	Record	Win %
1	New York Lincoln Giants	3-0	1.000
2	Homestead Grays	1-2	.333
3	Hilldale Daisies	0-3	.000

League Leaders batting

Unfortunately these have to be drawn out from the team specific stats overviews in iScore, so I have to define simple thresholds and then pull all players above these into the list.
For this initial list I'm using the thresholds AVG .350, OBP .400, HR 2. All players with at least 10 PAs who meet or exceed one of these are listed below.

Player	Team	AVG	OBP	SLG	HR
Chino Smith	HOM	.625	.625	1.125	1
Willard Brown	STL	.571	.571	1.071	2
Mule Suttles	NYL	.545	.583	1.091	2
Quincy Trouppe	STL	.545	.583	.818	1
Pop Lloyd	HOM	.500	.538	.667	0
Oscar Charleston	NYL	.462	.500	1.385	3
Cool Papa Bell	STL	.462	.500	.769	1
Homerun Johnson	STL	.462	.462	.769	1
Biz Mackey	HIL	.444	.545	.444	0
Joch Gibson	HOM	.438	.438	.938	2
Louis Santop	KC	.417	.417	.417	0
Turkey Stearnes	CHI	.385	.385	.692	1
Hurly McNair	CHI	.364	.417	.545	0
Vic Harris	HOM	.357	.357	.429	0
Jud Wilson	KC	.333	.538	.444	0
Tank Carr	HOM	.333	.467	.417	0
John Beckwith	NYL	.333	.429	.583	1
Spoony Palm	NYL	.250	.250	1.000	3

SoM NNL Replay: NYL@HIL game 2 - another complete game shutout

Game 2 NYL @ HIL 5-0: rinse and repeat

Game 2 of the series starts like the first one, as the Giants take a 3-0 lead due to homers from Charleston and Suttles before Brown can get the fourth out. He does manage to stabilize, but only after giving up yet another solo homer to start the third, this time to Beckwith.
Except for Suttles who records three consecutive singles in his first three at bats, the Giants offense is nearly shut down after that - until, well, until Suttles' fourth at bat when he decides he's had enough of the baserunning stuff and just deposits one over the left field fence for the fourth homer given up by Brown in this game.
The Giants lead is never threatened by a harmless (or should I say hapless?) Hilldale offense, and Donaldson records the second complete game shutout of the season, allowing just two hits and only three innings with more than three Daisies coming up to bat.
Let's see whether the home team can avoid the sweep against this rather overpowering New York offense in the evening game of this Saturday double header.

Box Score

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: J Donaldson L: R Brown
New York Lincoln Giants	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	5	11	0
Hilldale Daisies	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0

New York Lincoln Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO O Charleston  5 1 1 1 0 2 J Beckwith  4 1 2 1 0 1 T Scales  5 0 0 0 0 0 M Suttles  4 1 4 1 0 0 R Dixon  4 0 0 0 0 0 S Bankhead  4 1 1 0 0 0 S Palm  4 1 1 2 0 0 R Parnell  4 0 2 0 0 0 J Donaldson  3 0 0 0 1 0 Totals 37 5 11 5 1 3 2B- R Parnell (1) HR- O Charleston (1), J Beckwith (1), M Suttles (1), S Palm (1) HBP- J Beckwith (1) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR J Donaldson  9.0 2 0 0 4 4 0 Hilldale Daisies Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO C Blackwell  4 0 0 0 0 0 P Hill  4 0 0 0 0 1 C Torriente  4 0 0 0 0 0 W Wells  4 0 0 0 0 0 S Pennington  2 0 0 0 2 0 B Mackey  2 0 1 0 1 0 C Taylor  3 0 0 0 0 2 B DeMoss  2 0 0 0 1 0 R Brown  3 0 1 0 0 1 Totals 28 0 2 0 4 4 Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR R Brown  9.0 11 5 5 1 3 4

SoM NNL Replay: Season opener NYL@HIL - four homeruns against (nearly) nothing

Game 1 NYL @ HIL: Another jittery season opener, another home team loss

The game starts just like the Kansas City season opener: the home team's starting ace is clearly struggling to get the adrenaline under control. Slim Jones gives up three solo homers to left in the first two innings, and the hosts only manage to keep the door open via an unearned run in the second after Giants' third baseman Beckwith airmails a throw into right field after a real nice backhanded stop of a scorcher from Pennington that was deflected by the third base pad.

However, in contrast to the other season openers with more scoring in the late game, Slim Jones gets the game under better control, scattering only three more singles, a walk and one more solo homer (again to Spoony Palm...). On the other side, the hometown daisies' bats remain completely silent as Manning only gives up two walks and one isolated single for the rest of the game.

Last inning pinch hitters Newt Joseph for the visiting Giants and Gardner for the Daisies do not make a big impact anymore, and Bill Holland gets to save a 4-1 win to start the season for the Giants.

Box Score

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	W: M Manning L: S Jones SV: B Holland
New York Lincoln Giants	2	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	4	9	2
Hilldale Daisies	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0

New York Lincoln Giants Hitters AB R H RBI BB SO O Charleston  4 1 2 1 0 1 J Beckwith  4 0 1 0 0 2 T Scales  3 0 0 0 1 1 M Suttles  4 1 2 1 0 0 R Dixon  4 0 1 0 0 1 S Bankhead  4 0 0 0 0 0 S Palm  4 2 2 2 0 0 R Parnell  4 0 1 0 0 0 M Manning  3 0 0 0 0 2 N Joseph  1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 35 4 9 4 1 7 E- J Beckwith (2) HR- O Charleston (1), M Suttles (1), S Palm (2) Pitchers IP H R ER BB SO HR M Manning  8.0 2 1 0 3 4 0 B Holland  1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0

  Hilldale Daisies

Hitters	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
C Blackwell	3	0	0	0	1	1
P Hill	3	0	0	0	1	0
C Torriente	4	0	0	0	0	0
W Wells	4	0	1	0	0	0
S Pennington	4	1	1	0	0	0
B Mackey	3	0	0	0	0	1
C Taylor	2	0	1	1	1	0
B DeMoss	3	0	0	0	0	1
S Jones	2	0	0	0	0	1
J Gardner	1	0	0	0	0	0
Totals	29	1	3	1	3	4

Pitchers	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO	HR
S Jones	8.0	8	4	4	1	7	4
R Currie	1.0	1	0	0	0	0	0