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Page 372 - Fewest singles in a World Series game, both teams - 2 - St. Louis NL (2) vs Philadelphia AL (0) , October 8, 1930.
One might think that a game that had only two singles was a taut pitchers duel, interrupted only by a couple of homers, but in this game, Game 6 of the 1930 World Series, it wasn't. The Athletics wrapped up their second straight World Series and their fifth overall with a 7-1 rout of the Cardinals at Shibe Park.
The Athletics had won the pivotal Game 5 on a combined shutout by Earnshaw and Lefty Grove, with the latter picking up the win after Philadelphia scored two runs in the ninth on a Jimmie Foxx home run. Manager Connie Mack started Earnshaw again in Game 6 on just one day's rest instead of #3 starter Rube Walberg, who had lost Game 3.
Hallahan's nickname was "Wild Bill" and it wasn't because he resembled Bill Hickok. Hallahan had walked 126 batters in 237 1/3 innings pitched. Earnshaw's nickname was "Moose." Not that I know why, but he walked even more batters than Hallahan, 139, and threw 296 innings.
The Athletics lineup had three straight future Hall of Famers batting 3-4-5 in catcher Mickey Cochrane, center fielder Al Simmons, and first baseman Foxx. The leadoff hitter was second baseman Max Bishop, who had the nickname "Camera Eye." Bishop drew 129 walks in just 128 games. His .232 batting average came with along with a .398 OBP.
The Cardinals had three future Hall of Famers batting 4-5-6 in second baseman Frankie Frisch, left fielder Chick Hafey, and first baseman Jim Bottomley. While Frisch was deserving of the honor, the other two men were deserving of their plaque in Cooperstown primarily because Frisch liked them and lobbied for them on the Veterans Committee.
It would take just 106 minutes for the Athletics to polish off the Cardinals in this game. Philadelphia had seven hits and all of them were doubles or homers. Cochrane and Foxx had one double each as did third baseman Jimmy Dykes. Right fielder Bing Miller had two doubles. Simmons and Dykes also hit home runs. The Athletics also drew five walks off a quartet of Cardinal pitchers.
The Redbirds didn't do much against Earnshaw, scoring one run in the ninth when Hafey doubled home Andy High. High singled in the ninth and Frisch singled in the fourth for the only one-base hits of the game. The Cardinals also had three doubles, two by Hafey and the other by pinch hitter Showboat Fisher. Fisher got his nickname by hanging around with Jerome Kern a lot as a youngster.
If there had been an MVP award for the series in 1930, it would have belonged to Earnshaw, who pitched 25 innings in three games and gave up just 13 hits and 2 runs while striking out 19.
The 1930 A's were in the middle of a three-year run as AL champs. They had won 104 games in 1929 and beat the Cubs in five games in the World Series, then they won 102 in 1930 and beat the Cardinals in six games. In 1931, the A's won 107 games, but lost to the Cardinals in seven games.
Game 6 was actually the second time the A's had won a game with no singles. They also won Game 1 on 5 hits: a double, two triples, and home runs by Cochrane and Simmons.
Other games where a team had no singles include Game 4 of the 1947 World Series when the Dodgers got only one hit, a game-ending double by Cookie Lavagetto; the Yankees in Game 4 of the 1952 series with two doubles, a triple and a home run; Don Larsen's perfect game in 1956; and Game 2 of the 1967 World Series when Julian Javier's 8th inning double was the only hit off of Boston's Jim Lonborg.
Sources: Retrosheet, Baseball-Reference.com, Sporting News Complete Baseball Record Book
It's surprising that this singles one would occur in one of the biggest hitting years in history.
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