[jksander]

APRIL 22, 1953 . . . Unbelievably, our 5-1 start has us tied with the Milwaukee Braves (6-2) in the overall National League standings, so these two games today and tomorrow here at Wrigley are going to be key. We’ve already proven we can beat the Cardinals and the Reds, but the Braves, Phillies and Giants look to be the programs to beat this year and we’ve got to prove we can put up runs against them. With Hacker and Minner lined up to start in the two games, I like our chances if we can put some runs on the board. That may not be so likely today, however, as the wind’s blowing in hard and it’s cloudy and in the low 40s, which kept a lot of fans at home. Based on my experience attending games like this, I suspect scoring will be at a premium.

After Warren Hacker put three batters in a row down in just seven pitches, Willie Mays hit a single up the gap in the bottom of the first, driving Dee Fondy in from second to score the first run of the game. Mays then scored on an error after an Ernie Banks single, when the fielder tried to throw for third and missed, allowing Mays to come all the way around to make it 2-0. Jackson then hit a double that drove Banks home, giving us a three run lead with two outs. And though that was all the damage we could do, it had our crowd totally riled up and the Braves were reeling.

The game stayed just like this until the top of the sixth inning, when an Andy Pafko solo homer spoiled Warren Hacker’s no-hitter and put the Braves on the board down 3-1. But Phil Cavarretta batted in a run in the bottom of the seventh to extend the lead, and Hacker remained stone cold dominant from the mound. Ernie Banks hit an insurance homer in the bottom of the eighth, and Hacker closed it out perfectly in the end as we won the game 5-1 over the visiting Braves.

Hacker pitched a complete game three-hitter, giving up only the one earned run with three strikeouts against two walks as he improved to 2-0 (2.00 ERA). Ernie Banks had the best hitting game of his career thus far, hitting three times in four at-bats and scoring two runs himself. He now is hitting .385 / .433 / .692 on the season in 26 at bats, with two home runs.

APRIL 23, 1953 . . . Fundy got on base in his first at bat and managed to get all the way around to score, including a stolen base on the way, giving us a 1-0 lead at the end of one. In the bottom of the third, Minner got on base from the nine-spot, got to second on a sacricifce bunt by Fondy, advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Cavarretta, and then Willy Mays came to the plate and socked a homer to put us up 3-0 on just three hits to that point. Milwaukee got on the board in the top of the fourth, but Willie Mays hit his second homer of the game in the bottom of the fifth to make it a 4-1 ballgame with five innings complete. Willie Mays hit a triple in the bottom of the seventh, but was injured sliding into third, so we had to insert Frank Baumholtz as a pinch runner and he played the rest of the game from center field. Hank Sauer walked to give us runners on the corners, and Ernie Banks capitalized on it by hitting a single to drive Baumhholtz home, making it 5-1 before Randy Jackson struck out to end the inning.

Unfortunately, Paul Minner started to struggle in the ninth inning. He loaded the bases, and Milwaukee added two runs to their tally as I started warming up Bob Kelly, though I hoped Minner could get out of this jam on his own. He got outs one and two with the bases still loaded, but the second was a deep fly-out to right which allowed the runner at third to score. He managed to get the final out on an infield grounder, keeping the lead safe and securing our 5-4 win.

Despite the crazy finish to the game, Minner completed the game on his own and had only given up four hits the entire game, and only three of his runs were earned. He added four strikeouts against a walk improving to 2-0 overall with a 2.12 ERA. Willie Mays had two homers and a triple in just three at-bats with four RBIs before leaving with his injury. Ernie Banks was also clutch again with two hits and an RBI in four plate appearances, and Fondy had a hit and scored a run as well to stay above .300 in the lead-off spot.

Mays is day to day with a mild hamstring strain. Unfortunately that means we may not have him for tomorrow night’s home game against St. Louis. Rush, Newcombe and Klippstein will be our starters for the three-game series. We head into that game with a 7-1 record and a two game lead in the pennant race. The Cardinals are 2-6 and in dead last position, but I know they’d love to make some of that ground up.