[jksander]

JUNE 24, 1955 . . . We head into this weekend’s four game set against the Pittsburgh Pirates on a three-game winning streak thanks to our sweep of the Dodgers. We’re 55-16, seven games up on the Phillies, 21 games up on the Pirates who are currently 35-38 on the season. Next week we have three games against Milwaukee () on the road, and then return to Wrigley for eight games in seven days including two doubleheaders over the fourth of July weekend. We’re currently 6-1 against the Pirates heading into the series, with Robert Diehl (9-3, 1.81 ERA, 119.1 IP, 60 K’s, 0.75 WHIP) ready to start against Johnny Kucks (5-6, 3.99 ERA, 99.1 IP, 26 K’s, 1.35 WHIP) in game one.

In his first eight pitches of the afternoon, Diehl gave up two hits and a walk, allowing Rocky Colavito to drive in a run to put us quickly in a 1-0 hole, though a double play then got us out of the top of the frame without further damage. But Jackie Robinson tied the game up with an RBI double, and a wild throw to home on an Ernie Banks double helped drive Robinson in to score the go-ahead, sending us into the top of the second with a 2-1 lead. This stuff happens fast! Both pitchers settled into a groove from there, but Dale Long delivered a run scoring double for Pittsburgh in the top of the fifth that tied us up 2-2, and in the top of the sixth they took the lead off a solo homer by Rocky Colavito that made it a 3-2 lead for the Pirates. Gene Baker delievered big time for us in the bottom of the inning, however, hitting his eighth homer of the year to score three and put us ahead 5-3! Roy Sievers pinch-hit for Diehl and got on base, but Kaline batted out to short and sent us into the top of the seventh with Purkey coming in to take over leading by a pair of runs. Purkey gave up a run in the top of the eighth, and poor fielding at third and poor command by Purkey led to a bases-loaded walk to tie the game. But he got us out of it with a double play to get an out at home and an out at first, and we went into the bottom of the inning knotted 5-5. We brought Koufax in for the top of the ninth, and he got us through it efficiently, getting the final out via a pickoff play at second. And with two outs and two on, Willie Mays walked it off in the bottom of the ninth as we pulled out am 8-5 win!

Diehl had a solid start, going six innings with eight hits, two strikeouts, a walk and three runs (two earned) to keep his ERA as a solid 1.87 through 16 starts. Purkey gave us two innings but blew his save opportunity, giving up one hit with three walks to allow two runs (one earned) and lower his ERA to 1.80. But Koufax came in and got the win, improving to 2-1 with a one hit, one strikeout inning, improving his ERA to 2.35 through 46 innings. We outhit them 12-10 today, led by Kaline (two hits, two runs), Banks (two hits, one RBI) and Baker (two hits, two runs, three RBIs). And Willie Mays performed his late-game magic, driving in three with his only hit of the night, improving his average to .291 with his 14th homer for his 48th, 49th and 50th RBIs. Not bad, boys!
 
JUNE 25, 1955 . . . Saul “Strike Force” Rogovin (10-4, 1.95 ERA, 133.2 IP, 145 K’s, 0.75 WHIP) pitched today against Dick Hall (6-10, 2.98 ERA, 124.0 IP, 53 K’s, 1.23 WHIP). Jackie Robinson got us going quickly with a three-run homer, his 19th of the year, giving him the lead among all our players so far this season and putting us in a 3-0 first-inning lead. Robinson added another homer in the bottom of the sixth, his 20th, to put us up 4-0, and Al Rosen added an RBI single to extend the lead further. Rogovin batted in our sixth run with a groundout to first, and we went into the seventh inning leading by six. Rogovin was as impressive as ever, completing the game and the shutout as we stumped the Pirates again 6-0.

Rogovin improved to 11-4 with a five-hit shutout, striking out 15 against three walks through 129 pitches. He is currently projected to reach 300 innings of work this year, with 338 K’s, which would more than qualify him for his $15,000 bonus (and put him in the running for the Cy Young with Hy Cohen as well, which could net him another $20,000!) We out-hit the Pirates today 11-5, led by Robinson with two homers for four RBIs, while Rogovin and Mays each added a pair of hits as well.

JUNE 26, 1955 . . . Doubleheader Day! These Sundays are fan favorites, and we’ve got more trade news this morning ... the Yankees, still battling for the AL pennant with a 40-28 record (a game behind Cleveland and 3.5 back of the Boston Red Sox) have decided they are in MUST WIN mode, and have sent us three more solid prospects -- 2B Billy Moran (#75 BNN), CF Bob Will (#93 BNN) and 1B Pancho Herrera (#94 BNN), in exchange for pinch-hitting LF Roy Sievers and veteran third baseman Grady Hatton. Both Hatton and Sievers had been looking to start, which wasn’t going to happen, so this trade helps us build for the future while continuing to keep our owner happy with improvements to our farm system. Moran and Will should join us quickly on the main roster, but Moran will join our AA affiliate in Burlington. Unless something else incredibly tempting comes down the pike in July, I suspect we’re done dealing for the season. But I never say never.

In game one of today’s doubleheader, Hy Cohen (14-4, 1.41 ERA, 153.0 IP, 132 K’s, 0.68 WHIP) pitched against Bob Friend (6-6, 4.42 ERA, 114.0 IP, 58 K’s, 1.42 WHIP). Bob Purkey will be getting his first start at Catcher, with Crandall potentially starting the second game though we’ll make that decision between games. Willie Mays opened the game with his 15th homer of the year to put us up 1-0, but in the top of the fourth the Pirates got it tied back up 1-1 thanks to a solo blast to right by Dale Long. Rip Repulski got a double thanks to a rare error at left field by Roger Maris, but we got out of the inning without surrendering the lead. Both teams had great pitching and defense, and we went into the stretch still knotted 1-1.

Pittsburgh had to go to their bullpen in the bottom of the eighth with Mays and Banks on base and two outs. They brought in Roger Bowman (3-1, 3 SV, 2.01 ERA, 31.1 IP, 1.28 WHIP) with the score still tied 1-1, walking Gene Baker to load the bases. Bob Purkey struck out swinging to end the inning, and we went into the top of the ninth with Hy Cohen still going strong at 106 pitches. He set down the heart of their order with a strikeout and a pair of flyouts, and then came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth to lay down a perfect grounder into the outfield, taking his base with a giant grin on his face! Kaline hit a line drive that bounced off the Ivy, but they got the ball quickly and kept him to a double, giving us two in scoring position with no outs and Maris at the plate! Maris ground out to first and the runners held. Mays walked, to load the bases. And Jackie Robinson hit a grand slam to win the game 5-1! How awesome is a walk-off grand slam? These fans’ll tell you! You could hear them a mile away!

Cohen improved to 15-4 with a 1.39 ERA, giving up just four hits tonight with eight strikeouts and the one earned run. We outhit them 11-4 but struggled to bring runners around, though a walk-off like Robinson’s does a lot to forgive things like that! Robinson drove in four runs and hit his 21st homer of the season, Kaline had four hits for a run scored, and Willie Mays added two hits and two walks, scoring two and driving in another. Purkey has continued to impress us with his strong arm and ability to play quality defense at multiple positions, but he’s going to have to work on his hitting. He’ll make a quality backup catcher for us this year, but whether I’ll keep him as a two way player in the future will depend on if he can work on his bat skills.

Camilo Pascual (8-3, 2.88 ERA, 90.2 IP, 95 K’s, 1.07 WHIP) took to the mound in the second game, facing Don Bessent (4-3, 2.70 ERA, 80.0 IP, 36 K’s, 1.30 WHIP), with Purskey again catching. Al Kaline opened the bottom of the first with a triple, and Roger Maris wasted no time batting him in with a right field single. Mays hit a single that drove Maris to third, and Robinson brought him home with a sac fly to center. Rosen extended the lead to 3-0 with an RBI single, and we went into the second inning with a solid three run lead. Purkey walked in the bottom of the second and then advanced on a successful sac-bunt by Pascual, advancing to third thanks to a groundout by Kaline. Maris walked and then Willie Mays hit a one-out, three-run homer to put us up 6-0, his 16th homer of the season! Robinson hit a two-RBI triple in the bottom of the fourth to make it 8-0, but it would not be a shutout this time -- Danny O’Connell batted in a run with a double in the top of the fifth. Tom Ferrick came in to pitch in the top of the eighth and Pittsburgh picked up a run, but he set them down quickly in the ninth and we won this one 8-2, completing the sweep!

Pascual improved to 9-3 on the season with a 2.76 ERA, giving up just five hits with six strikeouts and one earned run through seven innings. Ferrick added two innings with one hit, two strikeouts and an earned run, giving him a 7.11 ERA through 6.1 innings and five appearances. Each team had six hits today, and we were led by Willie Mays’ two hits for two runs and three RBIs. Next up: a three game road set against Milwaukee (28-44, 29.5 GB). We are now 59-16 and have a seven game active win streak.

As the summer heats up, talk of the home-run race also is getting going. Jackie Robinson has hit 18 since joining the Cubs, giving him 21 for the season which is good right now for third place, two homers ahead of Hank Aaron (Milwaukee) and Gil Hodges (Brooklyn) but three behind Baltimore’s Gus Zernial and four behind Cincy’s Ted Kluszewski. Al Kaline (.328) has the fifth best batting average in the majors, but 1B Joe Cunningham from Kansas City has stunned everyone in his second season, hitting .397 so far through 219 plate appearances, with 13 doubles, three triples and 14 homers. If he keeps that up the rest of the year he’ll be a shoe-in for AL Most Valuable Player!

Hy Cohen currently has the best ERA and the most wins in the majors, but he’s 20 K’s behind Saul Rogovin for most strikeouts in the majors. So while Cohen has the best shot at the rare Pitching Triple Crown, he’ll have to chase down Rogovin if he wants to do it. And Saul’s 1.83 ERA (3rd) and 11 wins (tied for fourth) have him on the outside looking in in the Cy Young race, despite his 160 K’s. The crazy thing is, both pitchers are heads above the rest of both leagues in WAR, with Cohen (6.9 WAR) narrowly ahead of Rogovin (6.8 WAR). Forget Spahn and Sain, these two are combining for the kind of season championships are made of!