Meran, the Cincinnati manager, who was a good sport, after he had recovered from his astonishment, came over to the Giants’ bench and shook hands with McRae and Robson.
“It was a hard game to lose, John,” he said to the Giants’ manager. “I thought we had it sewed up in the ninth. But there’s no use bucking against that pitcher of yours. I’m only glad that you can’t pitch him in all your games.”
Joe, flushed and smiling, was overwhelmed with congratulations, but he made light of his feat, as was his custom.
“It was simple enough,” he protested. “I had the luck to catch Emden off second and the boys did all the rest.”
“Simple enough,” mimicked Jim. “Oh, yes, it was simple enough. That’s the reason it happens every day of the week.”
It was a good beginning, but the old proverb that “a good beginning makes a bad ending” was illustrated in this Western tour. For some reason most of the Giant pitchers could not “get going.” Jim pulled out a victory in the Cincinnati series, but Markwith lost his game, and Hughson, who tried to pitch one of the games, found that he was not yet in shape.
That series ended two and two. In Chicago the Giants had to be content with only one victory out of the series. They hoped to make up for this in St. Louis. But they found that the fame of “Murderers’ Row” had not been exaggerated, and there was a perfect rain of hits from the Cardinals’ bats that took two games out of three, the fourth that had been scheduled being held up by rain.
When the team swung around to Pittsburgh, there were some added wrinkles between McRae’s brows.
“If we can only break even with Cincinnati and get the little end of it in Chicago and St. Louis, what will Pittsburgh do to us?” he asked Robbie, with a groan.
“What Pittsburgh will do to us, John,” replied Robbie soberly, “is a sin and a shame!”