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SEPTEMBER 26, 1953 . . . Kenneth Chapman hit a homer out to left in the bottom of the second to put us up 1-0, but Hacker got sloppy in the third inning (and our fielding sure as hell didn’t help) allowing the Cardinals to tie it up 1-1 in the top of the third, an unearned run but a run nonetheless. We loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth but couldn’t drive anyone around. Bob Rush came in for the top of the seventh and got three outs to keep things tied up heading into the stretch. And in the bottom of the eighth, Randy Jackson hit his 13th homer of the year, putting us up 2-1 and I thought for sure there was a bomb going off in this place! Bob Rush closed it out expertly in the ninth and we won this one 2-1 staying alive long enough for us to find out for sure what happened tonight in Cincinnati.
Hacker lasted six innings for four hits and just the one earned run, getting himself a quality start with six strikeouts and three walks. And Bob Rush came in for the three-inning win, improving to 15-12 with a 3.89 ERA, giving up just a single hit with three strikeouts and a walk. Randy Jackson had two hits with a run and an RBI (thanks for the homer, Randy!) while Cavarretta hit twice and walked but never scored, and Kenneth Chapman’s homer played a huge role as well (his eighth of the year!) Fondy went hitless, snapping his 20-game hitting streak.
Milwaukee won their game at Cincinnati today 6-5 in 11 innings, officially clinching the NL Pennant. We can be proud, however, of the fact that we’re heading into our last game of the year with a 94-59 record in a year we were expected by our owner to just be fighting to stay above .500 ... and if we win our final game we’ll have won 50 games after the All Star break. Whether management keeps much of this core together for next year, no one can take this season away from us.
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