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jksander · 06-11-2023, 02:24 AM

APRIL 24, 1953 . . . Mays is in the lineup today, saying he’s stretched and ready to go. And the way the cross-winds are blowing in again we’re going to need all the hitting we can get. Cavarretta hit a double in the bottom of the third that sent Fondy home, giving us a 1-0 lead in a game that had been a pitcher’s duel early. And in the fourth inning Clyde McCullough hit a towering three-run homer to make it a 4-0 game! Their reliver, Eddie Yuhas, came out in the ninth with the Cards still trailing 4-0, and he promptly loaded the bases with no one out. He was lucky to get out of it with us only scoring one run, batted in by Eddie Sauer, and Bob Rush came in to close it out and preserve the shutout. He gave up a triple with two outs, but rang up the final batter of the day as we shut out the Cardinals 5-0!

Rush improved to 2-1 (2.53 ERA) in a complete game shut-out, giving up just four hits, with five strikeout against a single walk. “Bob had them chasing a lot of pitches and talking to themselves,” I told the Sun Times reporter after the game. “It was really something special to watch.” He has now pitched 21.1 innings in three starts. Dee Fondy was excellent in the lead-off position, with three hits in four at-bats, scoring twice. Mays struggled from the plate, walking once and reaching first on an error, but both times he was stranded.

APRIL 25, 1953 . . . 15,000 fans showed up today for another blustery gry day at Wrigley, but it’s a lot more fun drinking beers in the bleachers when we’re winning like this. Unfortunately Don Newcombe was not sharp coming out to the mound tonight. He gave up a hit on the first pitch to Enos Slaughter, and then on his eighth pitch of the night Stan Musial hit it into the bleachers to put the Cards up by two in just half an inning. But Newcombe settled in nicely, and in a crazy plate appearance in the bottom of the third, he hit a deep fly to out to right field, sacrificing himself so that McCullough, who had doubled and then reached third on a sacrifice out by Miksis, could find his way home. That put us on the board down 1-2 with two outs. Fondy singled his way to right to take first base, and then stole second on a wild pitch to get into scoring position with Cavarretta at the plate, and Cavaretta then promptly walked, giving us the go-ahead run on first. But Willie Mays struck out, stranding them both to end the inning.

Jackson hit a triple into the ivy in the bottom of the fourth, followed by a walk by Miksis, which set Newcombe up to be either a hero or a goat as he hit from the nine spot again with two outs. He hit the ball to shallow right, but astonishingly the first baseman bobbled the ball, allowing Newcombe to get to second, driving in Jackson to tie the game and sending Miksis to third! And this time Fondy was the one to hit a light blooper to the shortstop, WHO BOBBLED THE BALL TOO, allowing Fondy to safely stay at first and driving Miksis and Newcombe home! Unbelievable errors, back to back, and our pitcher has been involved offensively twice in our comeback, up 4-2 at the end of four.

We went up 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a Randy Jackson two-run homer, but St. Louis didn’t quit, scoring twice in the sixth before I had to bring Bob Kelly in with two outs to put the fire out. And in the seventh, with two outs, the Cardinals again scored as Kelly uncharacteristically melted down himself. And quite suddenly we were down 6-7 and still with just two outs. Finally Kelly got the final out, but we needed Fred Baczewski warmed up as quickly as possible so he could close things out. Baczewski got us safely to the bottom of the ninth without any more damage, but we still trailed 6-7 and badly needed some offense if we were to stay alive in this one. And as crazy as it sounds, our lead-off man Fundy HAMMERED a ball to right and it wound up in the bleachers to tie the score at 7-all! Cavarreta hit a ball lightly off his bat and it stayed far enough left in the infield for him to safely reach first, keeing our hopes alive with no outs! But Willie Mays hit into a double play, and sour hit it to deep center for an easy out, meaning we were headed for our first bout of extra innings, knotted 7-7.

Del Rice doubled to center field in the top of the 10th, driving a run in to put the Cards up 7-8 with two outs, and then Harry Walker singled on the next at-bat, but deepe enough to drive Rice in to make it 7-9 and hammering fear into the hearts of every Cub fan here. We came up to bat trailing by those two runs. Banks got on base with a single, but Jackson and McCullough hit deep fly balls for outs, followed by a Miksis bloop to left that went nowhere. Alas, we lost this one in 10, 7-9, making tomorrow the series decider.

Newcombe finished with 5.2 innings of action, giving up four earned runs though he negated at least one of those with the run he batted in. Bob Kelly wound up with his first blown save, and Baczewski (2.2 innings pitched, three hits and 2 K’s with no earned runs thanks to his two runs being blamed eventually on fielding errors by Miksis). Ernie Banks had three hits in five at-bats, driving in two runs, while Fondy continues to impress, finishing with two hits in five at-bats, and Jackson added three hits in five at bats. He and Fondy each had their first home runs of the season.

06-11-2023, 02:24 AM	#5
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,859	APRIL 24, 1953 . . . Mays is in the lineup today, saying he’s stretched and ready to go. And the way the cross-winds are blowing in again we’re going to need all the hitting we can get. Cavarretta hit a double in the bottom of the third that sent Fondy home, giving us a 1-0 lead in a game that had been a pitcher’s duel early. And in the fourth inning Clyde McCullough hit a towering three-run homer to make it a 4-0 game! Their reliver, Eddie Yuhas, came out in the ninth with the Cards still trailing 4-0, and he promptly loaded the bases with no one out. He was lucky to get out of it with us only scoring one run, batted in by Eddie Sauer, and Bob Rush came in to close it out and preserve the shutout. He gave up a triple with two outs, but rang up the final batter of the day as we shut out the Cardinals 5-0! Rush improved to 2-1 (2.53 ERA) in a complete game shut-out, giving up just four hits, with five strikeout against a single walk. “Bob had them chasing a lot of pitches and talking to themselves,” I told the Sun Times reporter after the game. “It was really something special to watch.” He has now pitched 21.1 innings in three starts. Dee Fondy was excellent in the lead-off position, with three hits in four at-bats, scoring twice. Mays struggled from the plate, walking once and reaching first on an error, but both times he was stranded. APRIL 25, 1953 . . . 15,000 fans showed up today for another blustery gry day at Wrigley, but it’s a lot more fun drinking beers in the bleachers when we’re winning like this. Unfortunately Don Newcombe was not sharp coming out to the mound tonight. He gave up a hit on the first pitch to Enos Slaughter, and then on his eighth pitch of the night Stan Musial hit it into the bleachers to put the Cards up by two in just half an inning. But Newcombe settled in nicely, and in a crazy plate appearance in the bottom of the third, he hit a deep fly to out to right field, sacrificing himself so that McCullough, who had doubled and then reached third on a sacrifice out by Miksis, could find his way home. That put us on the board down 1-2 with two outs. Fondy singled his way to right to take first base, and then stole second on a wild pitch to get into scoring position with Cavarretta at the plate, and Cavaretta then promptly walked, giving us the go-ahead run on first. But Willie Mays struck out, stranding them both to end the inning. Jackson hit a triple into the ivy in the bottom of the fourth, followed by a walk by Miksis, which set Newcombe up to be either a hero or a goat as he hit from the nine spot again with two outs. He hit the ball to shallow right, but astonishingly the first baseman bobbled the ball, allowing Newcombe to get to second, driving in Jackson to tie the game and sending Miksis to third! And this time Fondy was the one to hit a light blooper to the shortstop, WHO BOBBLED THE BALL TOO, allowing Fondy to safely stay at first and driving Miksis and Newcombe home! Unbelievable errors, back to back, and our pitcher has been involved offensively twice in our comeback, up 4-2 at the end of four. We went up 6-2 in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to a Randy Jackson two-run homer, but St. Louis didn’t quit, scoring twice in the sixth before I had to bring Bob Kelly in with two outs to put the fire out. And in the seventh, with two outs, the Cardinals again scored as Kelly uncharacteristically melted down himself. And quite suddenly we were down 6-7 and still with just two outs. Finally Kelly got the final out, but we needed Fred Baczewski warmed up as quickly as possible so he could close things out. Baczewski got us safely to the bottom of the ninth without any more damage, but we still trailed 6-7 and badly needed some offense if we were to stay alive in this one. And as crazy as it sounds, our lead-off man Fundy HAMMERED a ball to right and it wound up in the bleachers to tie the score at 7-all! Cavarreta hit a ball lightly off his bat and it stayed far enough left in the infield for him to safely reach first, keeing our hopes alive with no outs! But Willie Mays hit into a double play, and sour hit it to deep center for an easy out, meaning we were headed for our first bout of extra innings, knotted 7-7. Del Rice doubled to center field in the top of the 10th, driving a run in to put the Cards up 7-8 with two outs, and then Harry Walker singled on the next at-bat, but deepe enough to drive Rice in to make it 7-9 and hammering fear into the hearts of every Cub fan here. We came up to bat trailing by those two runs. Banks got on base with a single, but Jackson and McCullough hit deep fly balls for outs, followed by a Miksis bloop to left that went nowhere. Alas, we lost this one in 10, 7-9, making tomorrow the series decider. Newcombe finished with 5.2 innings of action, giving up four earned runs though he negated at least one of those with the run he batted in. Bob Kelly wound up with his first blown save, and Baczewski (2.2 innings pitched, three hits and 2 K’s with no earned runs thanks to his two runs being blamed eventually on fielding errors by Miksis). Ernie Banks had three hits in five at-bats, driving in two runs, while Fondy continues to impress, finishing with two hits in five at-bats, and Jackson added three hits in five at bats. He and Fondy each had their first home runs of the season.