[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 15, 1953 . . . It’s a dreary grey day at Wrigley, and they’re calling for rain so let’s get this one in quickly. Willie Mays batted in a run to put us up 1-0 in the bottom of the first, and Ernie Banks hit a sac-fly to right, driving in Cavarretta for his 100th RBI of the year! So we led 2-0 at the end of one, and aimed to keep it that way. Hacker let runners reach the corners in the top of the third, but silenced the Phillies with two strikeouts in a row to end the inning safely. Hacker got his 900th out of the season with the first out of the sixth inning, and while he did surrender a run in the top of the seventh, the lead remained secure. We failed to get any insurance in the bottom of the eighth, sending us into the ninth with a 2-1 lead. Vern Fear came in to close, with Hacker having thrown 134 pitches in the first eight innings, and he went base hit, flyout to left, double play to end the inning and win the game! We got the 2-1 victory in before it could even rain a drop, tying the season series at 10-10 against Philadelphia.

Hacker improved to 26-7 with this win, his ERA a sparkling 2.35 thanks to a four-hitter with only one run, with four strikeouts and four walks. Fear’s 7th save of the season brought his ERA down to 4.11 with an 11 pitch effort. Mays hit twice for an RBI, while Banks was blanked at the plate but still batted in a run with his sacrifice. Fondy had a hit and a run and Cavarretta added two hits and a run scored as well.

We officially eliminated Philadelphia from the pennant chase with this victory, which makes it even sweeter. We’re still 2-1/2 games behind Milwaukee, but we’re alone in second, a game up on Brooklyn.

The draft pool came out today, and there are some good looking young players available for next year, including a bunch of players like Roberto Clemente, Joe Cunningham, Harmon Killebrew and Don Drysdale who I know we won’t be drafting since we’ve exceeded expectations this year. Here’s hoping our GM has his eye on some under-the-radar guys we can keep winning with.

SEPTEMBER 16, 1953 . . . Still cloudy today, but at least they’re not calling for rain, though here in the Windy City that’s never a guarantee. “Johnny K” Klippstein came out to play today, and he faced Philadelphia’s best starter, Curt Simmons, who has a 22-9 record and a sub-3.00 ERA. McCullough hit a triple in the bottom of the second that batted in a run and gave us the early 1-0 lead, and Sauer drove a shot to right and brought home a second runner, helping break this one open a bit. Klippstein gave up a solo blast by Del Ennis to cut the lead in half in the top of the fourth, but two strikeouts and a groundout ended the inning quickly after that. Unfortunately he did it again in the sixth inning and suddenly we were tied 2-2 thanks to two homers out of only four this to that point. Ernie Banks drove in the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth, Kenneth Chapman walked the bases loaded, and then Randy Jackson hit a single that drove in a run when the shortstop for the Phillies bobbled the ball ... two run lead! And Cavarretta added an RBI double in the bottom of the seventh to make it a three-run lead. Vern Fear came in to protect the lead in the top of the eighth, and though he got into a jam, he did not surrender any runs. I brought him back out in the top of the ninth with a three run lead, but he gave up two hits and a run and we had to bring in Willie Ramsdell to close it out. Ramsdell threw a strikeout for out number one and got a groundout to second for the second out, but the Earl Torgeson single drove a run home to make it 5-4. He then walked a batter and allowed a single to left, but he got the final out and we were able to escape with a 5-4 win by the skin of our teeth.

Klippstein took the win and improved to 15-4 with a 3.24 ERA on five hits with two earned runs and six strikeouts against a single walk. Vern Fear got his second hold despite four hits, two earned runs and a walk, and Ramsdell escaped with a save, though he gave up two hits with a strikeout and a walk. The run he gave up counted against Fear, however, so he brought his ERA down to 11.57 though I’m still leery about using him again -- way too little control over the pitches he selects. Each team had 11 hits, but Sauer was particularly solid with three hits with an RBI, and Chapman added a pair himself with a run scored. Six other Cubs had hits, so this was a team effort to keep our streak going.

Milwaukee keeps winning. Right now the magic number sits at six ... they need either six more wins to clinch, or for us to lose six. With them on a four-game winning streak and us on a five-game winning streak, the question remains who’s going to blink first? We’re still 2-1/2 games back, so we don’t have a lot of room left for error.

SEPTEMBER 17, 1953 . . . Clear skies today and mid-sixties temps as Bob Rush took the mound today for a 2:05 start at Wrigley. And Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead thanks to a wild pitch in the top of the fourth, as this one was turning into a pitcher’s duel. Randy Jackson and Bob Rush each got hits in the bottom of the fifth, and it was Rush’s RBI double that tied the score 1-1! Unfortunately Dee Fondy flew out to left, ending the rally before it could really get going. Mays got a single to start the sixth, and Chapman singled deep enough to allow Mays to reach third with two outs. But Hank Sauer grounded out to first and ended the inning with us still knotted. Phil Cavarretta singled up the gap with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to send the go-ahead run across home plate, and Willie Mays managed to get past an infield single and reach first safely, driving in a third run! We went into the top of the ninth with the lead intact, and Bob Rush got the three outs we needed, cementing the 3-1 victory, the sweep over the Phillies, and keeping our six-game win streak alive!

Bob Rush improved to 14-11 with this win, bringing his ERA down to 3.95 thanks to a five hit one run complete game with one strikeout and two walks over 106 pitches. Willie Mays had two hits and an RBI, while Randy Jackson added three hits for two runs scored. Six other Cubs got hits, including Bob Rush, who had one non-sacrifice hit for an RBI, his 11th run batted in this season.

We have a day off and then three road games at St. Louis, followed by a day off and a road game at Cincinnati. We then have a final off day before returning to Wrigley for a four-game series against St. Louis, including the rain-delayed finish to our game from way earlier this summer. Eight games left against the worst two teams in the NL. Meanwhile, Milwaukee has just six games left, also all against St. Louis and Cincinnati. So every win counts, and even if we win out, it’s quite possible they could too.

At least you know it’ll be a hell of a finish!