[jksander]

JULY 16, 1955 . . . Robert Diehl (12-3, 1.84 ERA, 151.1 IP, 72 K’s, 0.81 WHIP) is up for game one against the Phillies’ ace Don Newcombe (15-5, 2.33 ERA, 170.0 IP, 117 K’s, 0.88 WHIP). And this game delivered the pitching duel all the fans expected coming in. In the first four innings, each team got one random hit apiece, and solid fielding performance (and some amazing diving catches!) kept this one exciting minus any offense. Gene Baker got a hit up the middle to start the top of the sixth, and Diehl reached base on a fielding error by the shortstop, and then Al Kaline broke this one wide open with his eight homer of the year, a three-run blast, that gave us a 3-0 lead out of nowhere -- leaving the Phillies crowd nearly stunned to silence.

Then things turned insane, in the bottom of the sixth, when Diehl got shaky and plunked two batters in a row, nearly leading to a benches-clearing brawl! Smoky Burgess took a walk to load the bases, and then Gene Baker botched a catch, a costly error that kept the bases loaded and allowed a run to score on two outs. Diehl, shaken, threw one inside and plunked Alvin Dark, and this time it got real -- Dark stormed the mound, though his team held him back, and the umps threw Diehl out of the game, deeming the hit-by-pitch intentional. We had to rush Harry Dorish in, with Dark’s hit-by-pitch making the score 3-2. Dorish got the final strikeout, but this game had devolved quickly. I’ll take full responsibility, I should have pulled Diehl more quickly, but I trusted him to be able to let cooler heads prevail, and instead he surrendered to the moment.

Dorish got us through the bottom of the eighth with the lead still 3-2, and we brought Sandy Koufax in to try and get us out of here quickly, as the atmosphere was still very tense. But with two outs, Granny Hammer got a base hit into center field, and Koufax walked Jones and Ashburn, before he finally got his bearings and got the final out. We escaped with a 3-2 win but heading into tomorrow’s doubleheader, things couldn’t be more up in the air.

Diehl still qualified for the win, improving to 13-3 with a 1.78 ERA, with one hit, one strikeout and two walks leading to two unearned runs. Harry Dorish got his second hold, lasting 2.1 innings after Diehl was thrown out, striking out a pair and walking a batter, giving up just one hit. And Sandy Koufax got us through the final inning with a hit, a strikeout and two walks, making this one of the strangest three-hitters I’ve ever experienced. We put up six hits ourselves, led by Kaline who had two hits for a run and three RBIs. Maris also had a pair of hits but was left stranded both times.

I’ve received word from the Commissioner that Robert Diehl has been suspended by the league for the next ten games, and I’ve placed him on our restricted list until the end of his suspension. We’ve called Bud Watkins up from AAA to pitch in our fourth rotation spot until he is able to return, and because of the doubleheader we’re moving Dave Hillman from the bullpen to the fifth starting spot until further notice. We just know this is going to provide Philadelphia with plenty of ammunition ahead of tomorrow’s doubleheader.