[jksander]

APRIL 18, 1955 . . . We’re going to stick with a four man rotation from here on out, with Joe Dobson moving into the bullpen as a long relief option. So Saul Rogovin (0-0, 5.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.25 WHIP) will be taking on Milwaukee’s Ray Crone, who will at age 23 be making his major league debut! Last year in AAA he was 4-7 with a 3.59 ERA, 55 K’s, and a 1.40 WHIP through 95.1 innings of work. He is currently ranked in the top ten among BNN prospects, having rapidly improved over the last season from the lower rankings of the top 100. So he is clearly Milwakee’s big hope to move toward the future.

Rogovin told the newspapermen before the game that he’s finally started to feel like his shoulder’s back to normal, that he can throw the way he sees things in his head for the first time since the injury, and he showed it early in this one, getting through the second inning with two strikeouts and a walk, no hits, keeping Milwaukee on their heels as they tried to figure him out. But the Braves were on their A-game themselves, and this one looked to be a real nailbiter of a defensive effort, until Al Kaline got himself am RBI double to finally put us up 1-0 in the top of the third, Del Crandall advancing from first via a wild pitch and coming all the way around on the hit by Kaline. Gene Baker then hit a triple to drive in Kaline. Willie Mays hit a flyout to center field for our second out, scoring a third run via Baker, bringing up Roger Maris with two outs and the bases empty. He flew out to left for the final out, and we’d broken this one wide open, leading 3-0 heading into the bottom of the third. Rogovin came in and just stunned the home crowd into silence by striking out the side, and we were clearly in full control of this one. He gave up a hit in the bottom of the fourth, spoiling any chance of a no hitter, but the runner they stranded on base was left rudderless.

Del Crandall scored two runs with a homer in the top of the sixth, his first of the year, to extend our lead to 5-0, and Rogovin stayed sharp through the sixth (and the third time through the start of the order) still carrying a one hitter in what was clearly setting up to be his best start since before he was injured last summer. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the eighth, his third homer in seven games, and Braves reliever Taylor Phillips then loaded the bases with two outs, setting up Gene Baker with a chance to blow this one up. A lightly hit ball that rolled just past the shortstop left their fielders reeling as two more runs scored. By the time Willie Mays batted out to first, ending the top of the eighth, we held an 8-0 lead! Rogovin stayed in to finish what he’d started, dominating them down to the final out, at which point he gave up an errant fastball to Hank Aaron, who hit it out of the park and spoiled the shutout. But he held tough for the final out as we won this one 8-1.

Rogovin pitched one of the finest games of his career, throwing a complete game two-hitter through 128 pitches, with 11 strikeouts against three walks and the single earned run, which drops his ERA down to 3.43! EIGHTY of his 128 pitches were for strikes! We, meanwhile, scored our eight runs on 11 hits, and everyone got one including Rogovin. Gene Baker hit twice for a run and three RBIs, while Ernie Banks added two hits including his homer. Del Crandall hit once and walked THREE TIMES, scoring three times and batting in two.

APRIL 19, 1955 . . . Robert Diehl (1-0, 3.52 ERA, 7.2 IP, 4 K’s, 1.30 WHIP) pitched today against legendary Braves pitcher Warren Spahn (1-0, 5.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 5 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) in the second game of this three-game road-and-away series. Wilie Mays hit an RBI double in the top of the first that allowed Al Kaline to score a run, and then Spahn threw a wild pitch that bounced off the backstop and Mays was able to score from third to make it quickly 2-0. Robert Diehl hit an RBI double in the top of the second, driving Roy Sievers home to make it 3-0, and Roy Sievers batted in a two-run double in the third as Milwaukee looked to be melting down. Milwaukee had two in scoring position with two outs in the fifth, but they couldn’t get anyone around to score. They pulled Spahn with two men on and no outs in the top of the seventh, and Maris scored moments later on a flyout to center by Rosen, giving us a 6-0 lead with the Braves showing no signs of fighting back. In the top of the eighth Gene Baker hit a solo homer, his second of the year, to make it 7-0, and we scored three more in the top of the ninth off a Del Crandall homer to left, his second of the year as well. For all appearances, the Braves do not look any more likely to compete this year than they did last year, though only the season will tell. Diehl stayed in to complete the game, finishing out the 10-0 shutout as we continue to dominate in the early going.

Diehl was exceptional this afternoon, giving up just four hits with a walk and six strikeouts through 108 pitches, improving to 2-0 with a 1.62 ERA through two starts. We hit ten times ourselvs, led by Ernie Banks with two hits and two runs scored, alongside Roy Sievers who added a hit with three walks, scoring twice and driving in two more. Willie Mays only got one hit, but he walked three times as well, scoring twice and driving in another. Only Al Rosen didn’t join the hit parade today, but he got an RBI on a sacrifice play, so even he got to enjoy the moment.

We improved to 7-1 with the win, while the Braves slid to 1-6. We’ll play the third game in the set back at Wrigley tomorrow afternoon. The Washington Senators dropped a pair early this week, leaving the Detroit Tigers, at 6-0, as the only undefeated team left in the majors. Our +37 run differential through our first eight games is by far the best in the league. It’s more impressive, I feel, that we’re 6-1 away from Wrigley. That has to bode well for our ability to continue to strive for that elusive World Series title through whatever adversity we come up against.

APRIL 20, 1955 . . . This afternoon Hy Cohen (1-1, 3.18 ERA, 17.0 IP, 11 K’s, 0.88 WHIP) pitched against Milwaukee pitcher Johnny Antonelli (0-1, 4.15 ERA, 17.1 IP, 5 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) on a clear day at Wrigley where the wind is almost certain to wreak havoc -- at first pitch our radio guy reported a stiff “breeze” blowing in from right at 17 miles per hour, adding a real chill to the 46 degree temperatures. Al Rosen got a great hit into the outfield through the gap to drive in a run from Roger Maris. But Ernie Banks tried to advance from second to third and was caught up in a rundown, getting himself tagged out to end the inning up 1-0. But after that first flurry of action, neither team got much going offensively, as both pitchers were locked in and throwing fire. Antonelli stumbled in the bottom of the sixth, loading the bases and giving up a sharp hit into right to Roy Sievers, who reached first while driving in two runs to give us a 3-0 lead. Sandy Koufax came in to pitch in the top of the ninth, getting his three outs on just a dozen pitches, completing the 3-0 shutout as we swept the Braves and improved to 8-1.

Hy Cohen improved to 2-1 on the year, improving his ERA to 2.16 with a three hit five strikeout three walk ballgame, throwing 117 pitches in eight innings. Koufax earned his third save, striking out a batter and getting two flyouts, and the bullpen stays perfect for another day! We know it’s bound to end sooner than later -- and if history proves the rule, it’ll be in an ugly game -- but it’s comforting to know that we have bullpen pitchers who can get outs when we need them, and we can trust them in almost any situation. We outhit them 7-3, spoiling Antonelli’s six strikeout night, led by Al Kaline who hit twice for a run on the ground, while Maris and Banks also got hits to score runs. Roy Sievers got a hit and drove in two runs, giving him a .409 average and a .636 slugging rating through 22 plate appearancs. A late bloomer, he’s finally showing at the plate what the scouts have been saying he would.
 
APRIL 22, 1955 . . . Another cold, blustery, wind blowing in day with just over 16,000 fans in the stands despite clear skies. Camilo Pascual (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1 K, 1.00 WHIP) took the mound against Redlegs pitcher Tom Poholsky (0-0, 5.68 ERA, 6.1 IP, 3 K’s, 1.58 WHIP) as Cincinnati tries to keep their recent upswing going -- they’re 5-4 heading into today’s game. Pascual struggled in the early going, giving up two hits to the first two batters, Cincinnati going up 1-0 on a groundout to first in the top of the first inning. But he got a pair of flyouts to keep the game from spiraling so early, and we went into the bottom of the inning trailing by the one run. Pascual loaded the bases in the top of the second, but he got an out at home as the bases stayed loaded on a grounder to first, and then a bullet to center field was caught for out number two while the runners were unable to advance. Unfortunately the third time was not the charm -- Elmer Valo hit a double right on the safe side of the right foul line, driving in three more runs and putting us quickly in a 4-0 hole. And Pascual’s nerves were looking very frayed as he came into the dugout. He calmed down coming in for the third inning, and whatever the pitching coaches said to him seemed to do the trick, but it didn’t get our bats going until Willie Mays got a hit to lead off in the bottom of the fourth, a double that seemed to spark things in the dugout. Ernie Banks got a hit into right field, driving Mays to third, and Al Rosen hit one that rolled to the warning track, reaching second base and driving in a run! That sent us into the top of the fifth trailing by three.

Duncan Jones got a base hit with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, stole second, and then came around to score on a Willie Mays double. But Roger Maris struck out to stop the rally before it had any time to forment. Pascual stayed in his rhythm, however, getting us through the seventh inning with the score still 4-2 Redlegs. Sandy Koufax entered in the top of the eighth, letting two men into scoring position but getting us out of the frame with a strikeout. Duncan Jones and Roger Maris got base hits in the bottom of the eighth, and Jones advanced to third on a flyout by Ernie Banks to give Al Rosen a real chance to make something happen. He got a blast up the middle, driving Jones in to score while Maris advanced to third. But Del Crandall batted out to third, sending us into the top of the ninth with the score now 4-3. Harry Dorish came in to pitch, getting two quick outs and then letting Nellie Fox barely beat out an infield squib. But he got the final out on the next pitch, sending us into the bottom of the inning needing a run to stay alive. Roy Sievers came in to hit for Gene Baker, but he struck out swinging. We brought Frank Ernaga in for Dorish, and they walked him, setting up Al Kaline nicely at the plate. But Kaline hit a lazy fly to deep center for out number two, putting pressure on Duncan Jones, who rose to the occasion, getting a clutch hit into left field to give us a runner in scoring position. But the wind robbed Willie Mays of a homer that would have given us the win, instead keeping it juuuuuuust in bounds for the center fielder to snatch up. Redlegs win this one, 4-3.

Camilo Pascual recovered well from his first two disastrous innings, but the damage was done. He lasted seven innings, giving up only six hits and striking out six, but he walked three and gave up four earned runs. He’ll slip to 1-1 on the season with a 3.00 ERA. Our bullpen kept us in this one once beyond that, two innings combined of two hit ball, with Koufax striking out one and walking another. Still no bullpen runs scored! We just didn’t have a rally in us this time.