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AUGUST 14, 1955 . . . For the final game in this homestand and in this series with the Braves, Hy Cohen (23-4, 1.50 ERA, 252.2 IP, 229 K’s, 0.72 WHIP) pitched against Bob Buhl (5-12, 5.51 ERA, 132.1 IP, 59 K’s, 1.59 WHIP). The Braves got on the board quickly in the top of the first thanks to a two-out RBI sac fly by Joe Adcock, but we got the run back thanks to an RBI single by Willie Mays in the bottom of the inning, and Ernie Banks loaded the bases by beating out an infield bounce. Daniel Howard walked in the go-ahead run, and then Buhl walked Al Rosen too, and this one looked like we might break it wide open. Buhl walked in a third run in a row via Crandall, and their manager was apoplectic, making us wonder would Buhl even make it out of the first inning? Dave Baker batted in a run on a fielder’s choice to give us our first out, and Hy Cohen flew out to center for out number two while driving home Howard. Batting for the second time in the inning, Al Kaline batted it to the shortstop who made the quick throw to second for the final out, but we’d built a stunning 6-1 lead. Buhl got replaced after one out in the second inning, but with Bill Kennedy in there in relief the game settled into a groove, with nobody scoring. Cohen put a couple into scoring position in the top of the seventh, and Bill Bruton batted a run in to make it 6-2, but we went into the stretch with a legit four-run lead still intact. Ernie Banks hit a run scoring triple to make it 7-2 in the bottom of the seventh, and Al Rosen added another, reaching first on an error that scored Banks. Al Kaline batted in another run in the bottom of the eighth, and a Mays RBI single made it 10-2 Cubs. Banks flew out to left and drove in an 11th run, and we went into the top of the ninth with a nine run lead. Cohen stayed out and completed the 11-2 victory as we successfully avoided a sweep in a blowout.
Hy Cohen improved to 24-4 on the season with a 1.51 ERA, giving up five hits for two runs with six strikeouts and four walks. We outhit the Braves 12-5, led by Mays with three hits two runs and two RBIs, and by Ernie Banks with two hits two runs and two RBIs. Kaline and Serena each had two hits as well, making the top of our order quite lethal. Willie Mays was named NL Player of the Week, hitting .500 with three runs batted in. No homers, but he did hit 12 times.
Finally we get a day off, and then we’ll spend the rest of the month on the road, facing Cincy, Milwaukee, Brooklyn, Pittsburgh, the Giants and then Philly, 14 games in 16 days. We then have 12 games at Wrigley to open September, followed by our last five games (against St. Louis and Cincy) on the road to complete the season. We hold a 13-game lead on the Phillies still, with just 31 games remaining (including three against them) and our magic number stands at twenty.
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