Evans grinned and moved on.
The practice was smart and snappy on both sides, and a hush of suppressed excitement settled down on the spectators when the bell rang for the game to begin.
The hush was broken by a roar of applause as the Giants scattered to their positions and this swelled into a hurricane of cheers as Joe pulled on his glove and walked out to the box.
The first inning was short and sweet—sweet at least for the Giants. Seven of them might as well have been off the field, for all the work they had to do.
Joe shot the ball across the plate like a catapult and Burton, the first man up, was set down on strikes. McGee, the second batter, raised a towering foul that Mylert caught after a long run close to the Giants’ dugout. Henderson, the third in the Cub batting order, took three whiffs at the circumambient and went growling back to the bench while Joe was forced to raise his cap as he made his way to the dugout.
“That’s what you call putting them over, Joe,” commended McRae. “Keep it up, and we’ll win in a walk.”
“You sure had them buffaloed,” beamed Robbie. “They didn’t get even a bowing acquaintance with the ball.”
Axander walked to the box with a confident smile and got a generous hand from the Chicago supporters in the crowd and also from the New York fans, who liked the veteran twirler for his skill, his sportsmanship, and his long years of service during which he had been an honor to the national game.
He whipped over the first ball for a clean strike. The second just missed slicing the corner of the plate and went for a ball, Curry refusing to bite. The next was a fast one, shoulder high, and the big Giant fielder laced it into right for a sharp single.
It was an auspicious beginning, and it looked still better when Renton, attempting to sacrifice, laid down a baby bunt that Axander ran in for but fell down while attempting to field.