Pivotal World Series Moments
Hoyt Sets Tone for Ailing Yankees
1928 World Series Game 1: St. Louis Cardinals @ New York Yankees
After winning 110 games in 1927, the Yankees won "only" 101 games in 1928, and they needed almost all of them to edge out the Philadelphia Athletics, who won 98.
Because the A's were on the heels, the Yankees didn't clinch the pennant until the Fri­day of the last weekend of the season. As a result, Manager Miller Huggins wasn't able to rest his stars more than a few days heading into the World Series.
2B Tony Lazzeri's right shoulder ached every time he threw a ball or swung a bat. 3B Joe Dugan was hampered by an old knee injury. Backup Benny Bengough did all the catching down the stretch. Herb Pennock couldn't pitch at all after his arm blew out in August. Babe Ruth had a charlie horse that made him limp.
The Cardinals had been made over by general manager Branch Rickey since they up­set the Yankees in the 1926 World Series. The changes started in December, 1926, when player-manager Rogers Hornsby was traded to the New York Giants for 2B Frankie Frisch. After Bob O'Farrell managed the Redbirds to a second-place finish in 1927, Bill McKechnie became the skipper for '28.
Like the Yankees, the Cards had a tight pennant race, edging the Giants by just two games. The National League champs hoped they could edge out the crippled Yankees.


Waite Hoyt


Bill Sherdel

Yankees Strike First
21-game winner Bill Sherdel, a southpaw, started Game One for St. Louis and immedi­ately gave up a run on doubles by Ruth and 1B Lou Gehrig. The duo would plague the Redbirds throughout the Series.
With their starter Waite Hoyt, a 23-game winner during the season, shutting down the Cardinals, the Yankees tripled their lead in the fourth on Ruth's double and LF Bob Meu­sel's home run.

L-R: Lou Gehrig, Jim Bottomley, Mark Koenig, Chick Hafey
The visitors finally got to Hoyt in the seventh when 1B Jim Bottomley clouted a homer into the right field stands.
The Yanks got that run back in the bottom of the eighth on consecutive singles by SS Mark Koenig, Ruth, and Gehrig off reliever Syl Johnson.
Bottomley got the Cards' third hit when he singled with two outs in the top of the ninth, but Hoyt got LF Chick Hafey to fly out to secure the 4-1 victory.
The Yankees went on to sweep the Cardinals, outscoring them 27-10. St. Louis batted just .206 in the series and posted a 6.09 ERA.
References
The New York Yankees: An Informal History, Frank Graham (1943)
The St. Louis Cardinals - the First Century: A Short History of the National League's Greatest Team, Mario Vricella (1992)