[jksander]

JULY 5, 1953 . . . I found out that the Yankees lost yesterday, so we’re now the proud holders of the longest active streak in the majors, league non-withstanding! Minner and Rush will be pitching in today’s games as we see if we can continue our strong offensive play through another double-header. Ernie Banks gave us a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first in game one, driving in two runs with a deep double to get the fans to start celebrating early, going even wilder when Sauer drove in the third run with another double, and McCullough added a run scoring triple to make it 4-0! Cincinnati fans barely had time to buy a draft beer before they were in the toilet in this one. A runner scored for Cincy in the top of the third, but McCullough added a run scoring double in the bottom of the inning to negate it. McCullough singled up the middle in the top of the eighth, giving him a single, double and triple for the game, and then Eddie Miksis homered over the center Ivy, adding two runs to our tally! Minner gave up a run in the top of the ninth with a double play that allowed the runner on third to reach home, but he got the third out quickly enough and we held tough to win over the Reds 7-2!

Minner, with the win, improves to 6-7 on the year with a 4.54 ERA, having thrown nine innings with only six hits, along with three strikeouts and no walks. McCullough was only a homer away from hitting a cycle, but his three hits scored a run and batted in two so he did just fine, getting his average up to .302 in the process! Ernie Banks also had three hits to score two and drive home two more, bringing his average up to .295 on the season. Miksis had his fourth homer of the year, hitting twice to score one and drive in two more.

Five games in three days is hard on a pitching staff, but Bob Rush comes up to the mound in the second game with a full contingent of relivers ready in the wings as we try to extend our winning streak to double digits in front of nearly 16,000 fans. Unfortunately the Reds drew first blood via a two-run homer by Rocky Bridges in the second, and we gave up a third run in the top of the third. But in the bottom of the third inning, Ernie Banks hit a three-run 430-foot homer over the right field wall to tie the score up at 3-3 -- we just don’t quit!

Two scoreless innings followed, and then in the top of the sixth with Newcombe warming up and two outs, Rush surrendered a three-run homer to their damned pitcher, Joe Nuxhall, putting us back in a three-run hole again. Newcombe came in and promptly gave up two hits of his own, resulting in a seventh run by the Reds before he finally got the out and sent them down. McCullough pinch-hit for Atwell to load the bases in the bottom of the sixth with just one out, and we pinch-hit Baumholtz for Newcombe, warming Hatten up in the bullpen. Baumholtz managed to walk in a run to make the score 7-4 Reds, and then DEE FONDY HIT A GRAND SLAM, only his sixth homer of the year, putting us back up 8-7! I can’t believe it! But Hatten couldn’t hold it ... in the top of the seventh he gave up a two-run triple with two outs, whipsawing us back into a one point deficit.

Bob Kelly came in to pitch in the top of the eighth with our boys trailing still 9-8, and he immediately **** his pants, giving up a two-run homer to make our hole 11-8. By the time we got to the bottom of the inning we trailed by four, down 12-8, and our hitters went nowhere. Top of the ninth, we brought in Dutch Leonard, hoping to at least keep the score where it was so we’d have at least a chance at a comeback, what with the top of the lineup coming up and all. And he got the three outs, though we had a four run deficit to make up in a single inning after already having scored eight -- definitely seemed like a lot to ask considering the whole five games in three days thing. Willie Mays got hit by a pitch with two outs to take first, but Banks hit into a fielder’s choice and was tagged out at first, ending the game, and our winning streak, with an 8-12 loss.

Let’s just say our pitching was a disaster and leave it at that. Hatten took the loss and fell to 0-3, also blowing his third save. The less said about it beyond that, the better. Fondy had a great game again with two hits that helped him score a run and drive in four, the grand salami being overshadowed in the end by the blown save. Ernie Banks had three RBIs as well, which I suppose makes it all the more fitting the way we lost this one -- our offense did everything it could to win and our bullpen did everything it could to collapse.

We get a day off and then we will make the short drive up to Milwaukee to play two games. We trail them by 12 games in the pennant race, so getting these wins on the road could be pivotal down the stretch. To this point in the season they have an 8-3 record against us, so we really need to prove that the win streak was a start of something, not the end of it. Hacker and Klippstein have been red hot and will be our starters for these games as we hope not to have to touch the bullpen.