[jksander]

AUGUST 16, 1955 . . . The Redlegs are 63-57 and still technically alive in the pennant chase, at 29.5 games back in third place. Saul Rogovin (19-7, 1.86 ERA, 237.0 IP, 274 K’s, 0.80 WHIP) started the game against Cincy’s Bobby Shantz (7-11, 5.91 ERA, 123.1 IP, 72 K’s, 1.85 WHIP). Bill Serena opened the game with a two-run blast to left, just his second homer of the season, to make it 2-0 in the top of the first. We loaded the bases in the top of the second and Daniel Howard scored a run thanks to a flyout by Rogovin to make it 3-0. Bobby Shantz became Cincinnati’s first runner to get into scoring position, but we got three quick outs to strand him there in the bottom of the third. Danny Lynch hit a homer for us in the top of the fourth to make it 4-0, his second of the year as well, and Al Kaline added a two-run double in the top of the sixth to make it a six-run game! Del Crandall hit an RBI double in the top of the seventh to add a seventh run, and Rogovin batted in another with an RBI single to turn this one into a rout. We led 8-0 heading into the seventh inning stretch, and Rogovin held tough for a four-hit complete game shutout.

Rogovin got his 20th win of the year, improving to 20-7 with a 1.79 ERA, striking out 12 with just two walks. We outhit them 18-4, an absolute shellacking, led by Serena (three hits, one run, two RBIs), Banks (three hits), Crandall (three hits, two runs, one RBI) and Lynch (three hits, one run, one RBI). Daniel Howard hit twice and walked once, scoring twice on the ground as well, bringing his average up to .188/.333/.281 since joining us early in the month.
 
AUGUST 17, 1955 . . . We should get Robinson back by Sunday, Monday at the latest, giving us four or five games without him in the lineup. Maris’ recovery is more tricky -- he likely won’t be ready to return until late September, and will not be eligible for our playoff roster regardless. If his recovery is quicker than expected he may return to the roster in September in a more limited role, but it is quite liekly his season is over. If so, he had an excellent second year as a major leaguer, hitting .271/.354/.462 with 23 doubles, two triples, 19 homers and 55 RBIs. He hit more doubles and fewer homers this year, but his average was up thirty points over his rookie season, making this year a significant improvement. He also had seven steals in 11 tries, almost exactly the same as last year, showcasing solid speed. Imagine what he’ll be able to do when he really unleashes his skills on the league. His fielding was impeccable as well, with just four errors in 988 innings played, a zone rating of 2.1 and a .997 Efficiency Rating. In total he’s put together a 3.5 WAR season.

Camilo Pascual (13-5, 2.91 ERA, 161.0 IP, 173 K’s, 1.04 WHIP) pitched today in Cincy, facing George Susce (12-12, 3.06 ERA, 203.0 IP, 83 K’s, 1.09 WHIP). Al Rosen hit an RBI double to put us on the board in the top of the second, But in the bottom of the third, Hal Keller hit his 12th homer of the season and tied the game up and we had ourselves a ballgame! Bill Serena absolutely whallopped a ball in the top of the sixth, hitting his third homer of the year and his second in two days to put us up 2-1. Daniel Howard grounded out to first but drove in a third run, and we went into the bottom of the sixth leading by a 3-1 margin. Al Kaline went oppo to hit his 15th homer of the year, putting one over the right field wall to score two, making it 5-1 Cubs in the top of the seventh. Harry Dorish took over with a man on and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, and the Redlegs picked up a run thanks to an RBI double by Frank Robinson. But in the top of the eighth we got base hits by Mays and Banks, and then Daniel Howard took a walk to load the bases, and Al Rosen walked in a run to make it 6-2. Dorish stayed out for the ninth to close things out, and we won the game 6-2.

Pascual got the win, improving to 14-5 with a 2.90 ERA, thanks to a four hit, 10 strikeout game with only two walks and two earned runs. Dorish gave us 2.1 innings of impeccable work, with one hit and three K’s, giving him a 0.75 ERA in relief through 59.2 innings! We outhit Cincinnati 9-5, with Mays hitting three times for two runs on the ground, and Serena’s second homer gave us back the lead and helped spark the eventual beatdown.

AUGUST 18, 1955 . . . Robert Diehl (15-5, 1.66 ERA, 189.2 IP, 92 K’s, 0.83 WHIP) pitched today against Paul Minner (4-7, 4.11 ERA, 127.0 IP, 52 K’s, 1.39 WHIP) as the Redlegs were officially eliminated from the pennant race yesterday evening. There wasn’t a lot of action in this one initially, as both pitchers worked their way through the lineups without allowing many runners. We only had one runner, Bill Serena, get into scoring position during the first three innings, and he wound up stranded at third, and Cincy only managed one hit and a walk during that span. Then they woke us all up in the bottom of the fourth, as Gus Bell hit his 22nd homer of the year over the right field wall to put Cincy up 1-0. Minner still holds a grudge that we traded him away years ago, and he continued to throw fire in this one, but we did finally get a good hit -- Willie Mays nailed a triple to start the top of the sixth, and Daniel Howard got a hit into the outfield that allowed him to score, tying things 1-1. Diehl loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with just one out, then got out number two by popup to Banks, and we brought Dorish in to get us out of it, striking out Wally Post to get us into the top of the eighth still tied up 1-1, and he kept it tied through the eighth, Al Rosen getting us a hit to start the top of the ninth. Howard and Crandall batted themselves out, however, and they picked Rosen off at first as he took too large of a lead. Dorish got us three quick outs in the bottom of the ninth, Koufax waiting in the wings, and we headed for extras!

In the bottom of the tenth, Bob Elliott hit a triple with two outs, and then Johnny Temple got a walk and then stole second, putting two in scoring position. But Koufax didn’t blink -- a curveball to Arthur Schwartz led to a popout at right, and we were headed for more. With two outs in the top of the 11th, Ernie Banks hit a solo shot to left that barely stayed fair, giving him his 30th homer of the year and putting us in the lead 2-1! Koufax got an out to start the bottom of the inning, but then allowed runners to take first and second, bringing Bob Porterfield in with one out and two on, to put out the fire. He got Ted Kluszewski to pop out to right, holding the runners, and then Gus Bell flew out at center, and we pulled out the 2-1 11th inninv victory, completing the sweep!

Robert Diehl lasted 6.2 innings with six hits, four strikeouts, five walks and just one earned run, coming out of it with a no-decision. Dorish gave us 2.1 innings with just one hit and four strikeouts, bringing in Koufax, who improved to 6-3 thanks to 1.1 innings of three hit, one strikeout, one walk baseball. His ERA improved to 2.44 in the process, while Dorish’s remains absolutely phenomenal at 0.73. Bob Porterfield came in and got his first save in his 19th relief appearance, getting the two outs we needed and keeping his ERA at 2.54. They outhit us 10-9, but Serena, Banks and Howard each hit twice. Howard also walked once and batted in a run, and Banks finished with a run and an RBI.

Next up: three on the road against the Milwaukee Braves (52-69). The Dodgers, at 62-58, just moved ahead of Cincinnati into third, but they are now out of the race as well. It’s just us at 97-29 and the Phillies, 13.5 games back, at 82-41. Over in the AL, Boston (75-46) still leads by six games over Detroit (68-51) with the Yankees, 66-54, still fighting at 8.5 back. The Yanks are 8-2 in their last ten, while Detroit is 7-3, Boston trying desperately just to hold serve. Baltimore, meanwhile, became the first AL team to be officially eliminated, with their abysmal 39-82 record.