[jksander]

JULY 27, 1954 . . . We really need to get some big wins now against Brooklyn in this three-game series -- they’ve been our biggest rival of the year, and this is our opportunity, with just seven games left against them this season, to close the door on their pennant chase dreams. We open the road series with Robert Diehl (9-3, 3.01 ERA, 119.2 IP, 59 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) going up against Brooklyn’s Russ Meyer (8-6, 3.86 ERA, 151.2 IP, 59 K’s, 1.24 WHIP). The Dodgers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, Carl Furillo hitting an RBI double, but Diehl struck out Gil Hodges to finally get our first out, and a Frank Thomas pop-up to Elston Howard got us out of the inning without further damage. Jackie Robinson beat out an infield single in the bottom of the second, but a double play cleared the bases and a strikeout got us out of the inning safely. Diehl reached base on a fielding error at first in the top of the third, Brooklyn’s second error of the game thus far, and a third error (also at first!) allowed Cavarretta to reach base and push Diehl in to scoring position with just one out! Willie Mays got a long shot into center, off the wall and just into the outstretched hand of the fielder, but Diehl reached third safely without a throw, giving us runners on the corners with two outs. But Roger Maris struck out swinging, ending the inning with nothing to show, saving Brooklyn from their miserable fielding. An error at second by the Dodgers, their fourth of the game, allowed Elston Howard to safely reach first when he should have been an easy out to end the inning, but Gene Baker couldn’t get anything out of the infield and we went into the bottom of the fourth still trailing by a lone run. But Brooklyn’s offense stayed sharper than ours -- Roy Campanella hit a solo shot to right, his 28th of the season, giving them a 2-0 lead, though Diehl stayed sharp and kept them from doing further damage when a runner eventually reached scoring position. Through four innings we had only two hits, with Brooklyn notching five plus their four errors -- keeping this a winnable game if we could just string some hits together.

Ernie Banks put us on the board with his 15th homer of the season, a solo blast that made it a 2-1 ballgame with two outs in the top of the sixth, and moments later Al Rosen hit one of his own to deep left, over the wall, and his 16th four-base blast of the season knotted the game at 2-2! Elston Howard singled into left, but Gene Baker was unable to keep the rally going and we went into the bottom of the inning holding some momentum for the first time today. Vern Fear came in with two outs and a man on first in the bottom of the sixth, and he quickly got their runner out at second with a well-timed pick, getting out of the inning on a single pitch! Vern Fear gave up a two-run, two-out blast in the bottom of the eighth that put the Dodgers back up 4-2, however, bringing in Harry Dorish to try and give us a shot. He gave up a triple but then got the final flyout to get us into the top of the ninth needing to score at least two runs if we wanted to stay in this one. Al Rosen flew out to center, but Elston Howard made it to first on a single that rolled just past the shortstop into the outfield. Bill Serena came in to hit for Gene Baker, but he struck out swinging. And Kenny Chapman pinch hit for Dorish with two outs, but he flew out to center and ended the game as a 4-2 loss.

Vern Fear took the loss, falling to 2-1 with a 1.88 ERA thanks to three hits for two earned runs with a strikeout and a walk in two innings of work. Diehl lasted 5.2 innings with seven hits and two earned runs to go with three strikeouts and a walk over 91 pitches. Harry Dorish got one out and had one hit in an eight pitch effort in a position where there was little he could do to affect the outcome. Brooklyn may have committed four errors, but they also outhit us 11-6, with two homers ultimately giving them an edge. Elston Howard tried to pick us up and carry us to the win, hitting three times in the clutch but being stranded each time. The Banks and Rosen homers wound up being our only offense, and it wasn’t enough.

JULY 28, 1954 . . . Warren Hacker (10-7, 3.35 ERA, 158.2 IP, 89 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) took the mound today against Brooklyn’s Jimmy Podres (14-3, 2.75 ERA, 144.0 IP, 75 K’s, 1.04 WHIP), one of the NL’s leading contenders for the Cy Young. We struck first, a Roger Maris single into the outfield allowing Cavarretta to score and put us up 1-0 with just one out and two men on. Ernie Banks struck out swinging and AL Rosen flew out weakly to right, keeping this from becoming a real corker of an inning, but leads are hard to get against the Dodgers and we hoped to be able to build on it. This turned into our game to commit errors -- Ernie Banks bobbled a throw in the bottom of the first, and Willie Mays uncharacteristically dropped a catch in the bottom of the second that allowed Jackie Robinson to reach second. But both times Hacker successfully pitched around the errors, and this one remained a nailbiter. Hacker gave up a solo blast to left for the tying run by Duke Snider in the bottom of the third, and Frank Thomas hit one of his own in the fourth, driving in two runs to give Brooklyn a 3-1 lead and take the wind completely out of our sails. Snider hit a second solo homer off Hacker in the fifth and we went into the sixth inning trailing by three against a team that we continue to struggle to hit against.

Harry Dorish came in to put out the fire in the bottom of the sixth, but in the seventh inning Duke Snider hit his THIRD HOMER OF THE NIGHT and just drove a nail into our hearts. Tom Ferrick came in for the bottom of the eighth, getting us three workmanlike outs against the middle of their order, but we went into the top of the ninth trailing by four runs, and they finished us off quickly to complete the 5-1 beatdown.

Hacker stumbled yet again, losing the game and falling to 10-8 with a 3.46 ERA, giving up just six hits but three of them for homers, amounting to four earned runs. He struck out four batters, but continues to look like his best stuff may be behind him. Dorish lasted two innings with just one hit (a homer, of course) for a run, with a single strikeout. And Ferrick did what he needed to do in a situation with no upside. They outhit us 7-6, with Cavarretta’s two hits leading to our only run, a run batted in by Maris. Beyond that, very little to be pleased about here. If we keep struggling like this on offense, this is going to be a long, painful road trip.

JULY 29, 1954 . . . We’ve made a trade with the AL bottom-dwelling Baltimore Orioles, who really wanted Warren Hacker and were willing to overlook his recent struggles -- so we’ve agreed to send him, along with relievers Jim Brosnan and Bob Spicer to give them some pitching depth, in exchange for 27-year-old left fielder Roy Sievers (solid power and eye, average fielder), 31-year-old third-baseman Grady Hatton (excellent eye, should be a solid pinch hitter, good defense and infield arm in a pinch off the bench) and 23-year-old starter Bob Turley. Turley is the big get here -- he’s been struggling for the Orioles this year due to how terrible their offense is, and he’s gone from finishing third in the 1953 Cy Young voting for the American League (18-14, 2.71 ERA, 216 K’s, 1.35 WHIP through 282 innings) to going 8-12 this year with a 4.32 ERA, 104 K’s and a 1.67 WHIP. Hacker clearly wanted a fresh opportunity, choosing to waive his no-trade clause in the process, and Turley has the potential to become a real lynchpin to our rotation alongside Cohen, with tons of stamina, amazing “stuff” and a fastball, slider and sinker that are already well respected nationally. He’ll need time to rest before slotting into our starting rotation -- he’ll take over the fourth spot in our rotation behind Cohen, Diehl and Dobson, hopefully being ready in time for our Sunday doubleheader against Pittsburgh on August 1st. Our fans were disappointed by the loss of Hacker who had been a favorite after the Cy Young run last year, but the addition of Sievers and Turley have everyone on the north side excited.

We’ll be playing the Dodgers for our final game of the series this afternoon, and then heading to Pittsburgh for four games in three days. Stay tuned for the stretch run in this tightening race in the National League!