Chicago snatched a victory out of the jaws of defeat in fine style here to-day. A two-base hit by Clapp and a single by Croft gave St. Louis an earned run in the fourth inning. In the fifth, after two hands were out, Clapp and Dorgan scored on errors by Anson and McVey and two hits, which were all the runs St. Louis could squeeze in. In the sixth inning an overthrow by Force gave McVey second, and he tallied on Anson's two-base hit. In the seventh Eggler earned first, and was sent home by Bradley with an earned run, with two men out. Battin made a miserable muff of Eden's bounder, and Brad got in with the tieing run. In the eighth inning, with two men out, Anson stole second on Battin's muff of Clapp's fine throw, which reached him in plenty of time to catch the striker, and Hines then brought in the winning run by a solid hit to left. Clapp's catching, Peter's fielding, Dorgan's throwing, and Croft's first-base play were the features of the game.
-Chicago Daily, August 25, 1877
In the game, Blong had three errors and Battin two. Battin's drop on Anson's steal appears to be the glaring error that had everyone scratching their heads and, later, pointing fingers. Force also was named in the scandal by the Chicago papers and his throwing error is probably the reason for that.
This is the game, played on August 24, 1877 in St. Louis, that Joe Blong and Joe Battin were alleged to have thrown. The Brown Stockings lost to Chicago that day by a score of 4-3 after having a three run lead through five innings.
(William) Spink alleged that two Brown Stockings had conspired with Chicago gambler Mike McDonald to fix the St. Louis-Chicago game of August 24...it seems clear that (Spink) intended to target pitcher Joe Blong and third baseman Joe Battin as the dishonest Brown Stockings...Evaluating the player performances of August 24, Spink complained, "The game was lost, after it had been won, by Battin, who has been the weakest spot in the St. Louis nine all season. In the early part of the contest, Blong pitched well, but towards the end went to pieces, his wild pitching and lack of headwork...proving very costly."
-Before They Were Cardinals
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