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jksander · 01-06-2024, 01:18 PM

JULY 24, 1956 . . . On the road again ... tonight we’re in Pittsburgh, with Saul Rogovin (13-3, 1.90 ERA, 180.1 IP, 230 K’s, 0.73 WHIP) pitching against the Pirates’ Hank Aguirre (8-5, 2.02 ERA, 129.1 IP, 85 K’s, 0.94 WHIP). In the top of the fourth, with the game still scoreless, Jackie Robinson hit a double, sending Rosen all the way around from first to score, and Robinson was able to beat out a throw to take third, though we left him stranded as we went into the bottom of the inning leading 1-0. But they tied us up quickly, thanks to a solo homer by Rocky Nelson in the bottom of the fourth, and it remained so heading into the seventh inning stretch. We came up in the top of the ninth, still tied 1-1, and with one out Rosen got himself a double to put a rare runner in scoring position with just our third hit of the evening. Jackie Robinson grounded out to first, advancing Rosen to third, but we weren’t able to get him in to score, sending us into the bottom of the ninth needing to keep them from breaking the stalemate, and Rogovin did just that, getting three quick outs to send us into extras.

Carl Erskine came out and got us the outs we needed in the bottom of the 10th, and he stayed sharp in the 11th as well, both teams holding tough defensively. Robinson walked to start the top of the 12th, moving to second off a single by Mays, and an Ernie Banks line drive into right loaded the bases without an out! Robinson scored on a sac-fly by Kaline, and a Del Crandall sac-fly to right drove in another run. Koufax came out to protect the two-run lead in the bottom of the 12th, giving up a hit but then getting three consecutive outs via contact to close out the 3-1 victory!

Rogovin put in a solid nine inning effort, allowing just four hits and a run, with 12 strikeouts and a walk. But Erskine’s two-inning no-hit stretch in extras (with a pair of strikeouts!) got the reliever the win, improving his record to 4-2 with a 3.44 ERA. Koufax allowed just the one hit and kept his ERA at 3.03. Each team had five hits this evening, our team led by Rosen with two hits, a walk and a run scored. Robinson had a hit and a walk for a run and an RBI, while Mays hit and scored a run as well.

JULY 25, 1956 . . . Camilo Pascual (6-7, 2.70 ERA, 120.0 IP, 82 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) started tonight against Pittsburgh’s Johnny Klippstein (8-9, 3.83 ERA, 159.2 IP, 100 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Jackie Robinson hit a solo blast in the top of the first, his 20th of the season, to give us an early 1-0 lead, but Billy Klaus hit one in the bottom of the second to tie us at 1-1. Jackie Robinson hit an RBI single to drive Jack Poppel in from third, and Ernie Banks hit a triple that drove in two more. Al Kaline hit one into deep center to make it 5-1, giving us a solid advantage heading into the bottom of the third. Pascual was able to breathe a little easier, even more-so when Willie Mays hit his 35th homer of the year in the top of the fifth to make the score 6-1. Ernie Banks then hit his 22nd of the year to make it 7-1, giving us a six-run advantage in the bottom of the fifth. But the Pirates got going in a big way in the bottom of the inning, Ken Boyer hitting a three-run homer into the right field stands to cut our lead to three. Willie Mays scored a run in the top of the seventh, stealing third and then making it around to home thanks to a botched throw to the third baseman. Kaline then batted Banks in to score with an RBI single, and we went into the stretch leading 9-4. Hersh Freeman came in to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and the Pirates got a run back with an RBI single by Boyer. But Robinson got himself another RBI single in the top of the eighth, so Freeman stayed out and pitched in the bottom of the inning, settling in nicely and getting through the inning without much fuss. With the five run lead still intact, he closed out the game by staying out for the ninth as well, and we won this one handily 10-5, giving Freeman a three-inning save.

Pascual improved to 7-7 with a 2.86 ERA, allowing four hits and four runs in six innings of work, striking out seven against four walks. Freeman gave us three very good innings, allowing just one run with a strikeout and two walks, with only one run scoring on his watch. We outhit them 11-5, led by Robinson (three hits, two runs, three RBIs), Banks (two hits, one walk, three runs, three RBIs) and Kaline (three hits, two RBIs). Poppell got a hit and walked twice, stealing two bases in three attempts, giving him 35 stolen bases in 42 tries this year. Willie Mays had a hit for two runs and an RBI, stealing his ninth base of the year as well.

JULY 26, 1956 . . . Hy Cohen (20-2, 1.68 ERA, 197.2 IP, 204 K’s, 0.77 WHIP) has been as hot as a pitcher can be this year, and he’s starting for the 24th time this year, facing Gene Conley (9-9, 2.35 ERA, 187.1 IP, 130 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in this one. Poppell took a walk to start the first inning, stealing second and third, coming around to score off a single by Rosen to put us very quickly ahead 1-0 -- folks around these parts are starting to refer to him as “Jackrabbit” Poppell! Willie Mays hit his 36th homer of the year in the top of the fifth, a three-run blast that made it 4-0 Cubs. Pittsburgh got on the board with a solo homer by Rocky Nelson in the bottom of the seventh, but Cohen was locked in and went into the bottom of the ninth still holding a three-run lead, shutting them down quietly as we held tough to win 4-1.

With another complete-game three-hitter under his belt, Cohen is now 21-2 with a 1.65 ERA, winning this one with only three strikeouts, a rarity earned almost exclusively through contact and solid fielding. We outhit them 5-3 but walked seven times. Rosen led the team with two hits for a run and an RBI, while Mays’ homer batted in three runs. Poppell finished with a hit, a walk, a run and three more stolen bases, continuing his amazing streak as a baserunner.

With the series sweep over Pittsburgh complete, we now head to Brooklyn (62-31, 5.5 GB) for a four-game set over the next three days. We’re on a five-game winning streak, but the Dodgers have won seven in a row and nine of their last ten. So these are not going to be easy wins to get.

JULY 27, 1956 . . . Tom Acker (5-2, 2.95 ERA, 82.1 IP, 58 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) got the start in game one at Brooklyn, facing Sal Maglie (17-2, 1.43 ERA, 188.2 IP, 122 K’s, 0.78 WHIP). Acker allowed a homer by Gil Hodges in the bottom of the first that quickly put the Dodgers up 2-0. Pee Wee Reese hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the second to make it 3-0, and Carl Furillo hit an RBI single to extend the lead further. The wheels quickly came off, as Hodges hit an RBI double that scored another pair, and we went into the top of the third down by six. Carl Erskine came in with one out and a man on first in the bottom of the fifth, striking out the first two batters he faced to get us out of the inning, and he got a hit to start the top of the sixth, but the top of our lineup left him high and dry. Pee Wee Reese and Carl Furillo doubled in consecutive at-bats, extending the Dodgers’ lead to seven runs, and a Duke Snider double made it quickly 8-0 as we completely embarrassed ourselves. A three-run Frank Thomas homer added insult to injury, and we went into the top of the seventh down by eleven. Our bats remained impotent and they stuffed this one down our throats from there, shutting us out 11-0 in an absolutely indefensible blowout.

Acker took the loss, falling to 5-3 with eight hits, three walks and four strikeouts, the six earned runs bloating his ERA to 3.43 in a 4.1 inning effort. Erskine added 1.1 innings, allowing four hits and five earned runs, leaving it to Larry Jansen to mop up the mess in a 2.1 inning two hit, one strikeout effort that at least put a tourniquet on our wounds. They outhit us 14-4, with Robinson (two hits), Kaline (one hit), Erskine (one hit) and Rosen (one walk) providing our only baserunners.

JULY 28, 1956 . . . Saul Rogovin (13-3, 1.85 ERA, 189.1 IP, 242 K’s, 0.72 WHIP) started today against Johnny Podres (10-6, 3.18 ERA, 158.2 IP, 85 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Banks reached first on an error to start the top of the second, and Kaline advanced him with a base hit. Roger Maris then got a solid hit into the outfield to drive in a run and put us up 1-0. Rogovin bunted Kaline and Maris into scoring position, and Poppell got a hit into the outfield, driving in a run, and he stole second to get himself into scoring position as well, with Maris now on third. Rosen walked the bases loaded, but Robinson grounded into an out at first to end the frame. But the Dodgers quickly got back in it with a two-run homer by Bill Mazeroski, tying us at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning, sending us into the third back at square one. They took the lead with a sac-fly by Roy Campanella that drove in Carl Furillo with two outs in the bottom of the third, and it stayed that way until the top of the sixth when we loaded the bases with two outs -- Ed Bouchee came in to pinch-hit for Rogovin, getting an infield hit that kept the bases loaded and scored the tying run! Poppell got an infield hit that drove in the go-ahead run and kept the bases jammed, but Rosen batted into a fielder’s choice that ended the inning with us now up 4-3.

Hersh Freman came in to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, getting out of the inning with relative ease as Frank Thomas batted into a rally-squelching double play. Jansen tried to stay out for the bottom of the seventh but gave up two hits in a row and we had no choice but to bring in Jansen with men on the corners and no outs. A sac-bunt moved Fred Hatfield to second while holding Solly Hemus at third, and Pee Wee Reese flew out to second, though he was deep enough for Hemus to score the tying run and blow the save. But Jansen struck out Anthony Pint swinging and got us out of the inning knotted 4-4. Jansen got a quick out, then surrendered a homer to Sandy Amoros that put the Dodgers back up 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth. Carl Erskine came in and got two quick outs, and with Koufax warming up, Dick Whitman pinch-hit for Erskine in the top of the ninth, promptly grounding out to first, as did Poppell. Al Rosen quietly walked, and Jackie Robinson got a great hit into left field to advance him into scoring position. But Willie Mays popped out to first, ending this one as our second loss in a row to the Dodgers, this time by a 5-4 margin. Heading into tomorrow’s doubleheader, things are feeling far from comfortable, as the Dodgers are now within 3.5 games of us.

Rogovin gave us five innings with four hits, four strikeouts, two walks and three earned runs -- we chose to pinch-hit and take two runs with the bases loaded, rather than keep him in and risk staying behind. It was a calculated risk, and our bullpen wasn’t up to the task. Freeman had a good inning, with two hits and a run, earning his fourth hold, but Jansen fell to 4-2 with his first blown save, giving us 1.1 innings with a hit, a strikeout and an earned run. Erskine got the outs we needed and brought his ERA back down to 4.18, but our bats had nothing left for the ninth, despite having outhit the Dodgers 8-7 in the game. Poppell had a hit, an RBI and a stolen base, bringing his total to 39, and Kaline was as solid as ever with three hits for two runs, bringing his average up to .301 through 98 games. The Dodgers just seem to have our number, and we need wins tomorrow in a big way if we don’t want to head into August neck and neck with our rivals.

01-06-2024, 01:18 PM	#272
jksander All Star Starter Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Indianapolis IN Posts: 1,758	JULY 24, 1956 . . . On the road again ... tonight we’re in Pittsburgh, with Saul Rogovin (13-3, 1.90 ERA, 180.1 IP, 230 K’s, 0.73 WHIP) pitching against the Pirates’ Hank Aguirre (8-5, 2.02 ERA, 129.1 IP, 85 K’s, 0.94 WHIP). In the top of the fourth, with the game still scoreless, Jackie Robinson hit a double, sending Rosen all the way around from first to score, and Robinson was able to beat out a throw to take third, though we left him stranded as we went into the bottom of the inning leading 1-0. But they tied us up quickly, thanks to a solo homer by Rocky Nelson in the bottom of the fourth, and it remained so heading into the seventh inning stretch. We came up in the top of the ninth, still tied 1-1, and with one out Rosen got himself a double to put a rare runner in scoring position with just our third hit of the evening. Jackie Robinson grounded out to first, advancing Rosen to third, but we weren’t able to get him in to score, sending us into the bottom of the ninth needing to keep them from breaking the stalemate, and Rogovin did just that, getting three quick outs to send us into extras. Carl Erskine came out and got us the outs we needed in the bottom of the 10th, and he stayed sharp in the 11th as well, both teams holding tough defensively. Robinson walked to start the top of the 12th, moving to second off a single by Mays, and an Ernie Banks line drive into right loaded the bases without an out! Robinson scored on a sac-fly by Kaline, and a Del Crandall sac-fly to right drove in another run. Koufax came out to protect the two-run lead in the bottom of the 12th, giving up a hit but then getting three consecutive outs via contact to close out the 3-1 victory! Rogovin put in a solid nine inning effort, allowing just four hits and a run, with 12 strikeouts and a walk. But Erskine’s two-inning no-hit stretch in extras (with a pair of strikeouts!) got the reliever the win, improving his record to 4-2 with a 3.44 ERA. Koufax allowed just the one hit and kept his ERA at 3.03. Each team had five hits this evening, our team led by Rosen with two hits, a walk and a run scored. Robinson had a hit and a walk for a run and an RBI, while Mays hit and scored a run as well. JULY 25, 1956 . . . Camilo Pascual (6-7, 2.70 ERA, 120.0 IP, 82 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) started tonight against Pittsburgh’s Johnny Klippstein (8-9, 3.83 ERA, 159.2 IP, 100 K’s, 1.11 WHIP). Jackie Robinson hit a solo blast in the top of the first, his 20th of the season, to give us an early 1-0 lead, but Billy Klaus hit one in the bottom of the second to tie us at 1-1. Jackie Robinson hit an RBI single to drive Jack Poppel in from third, and Ernie Banks hit a triple that drove in two more. Al Kaline hit one into deep center to make it 5-1, giving us a solid advantage heading into the bottom of the third. Pascual was able to breathe a little easier, even more-so when Willie Mays hit his 35th homer of the year in the top of the fifth to make the score 6-1. Ernie Banks then hit his 22nd of the year to make it 7-1, giving us a six-run advantage in the bottom of the fifth. But the Pirates got going in a big way in the bottom of the inning, Ken Boyer hitting a three-run homer into the right field stands to cut our lead to three. Willie Mays scored a run in the top of the seventh, stealing third and then making it around to home thanks to a botched throw to the third baseman. Kaline then batted Banks in to score with an RBI single, and we went into the stretch leading 9-4. Hersh Freeman came in to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and the Pirates got a run back with an RBI single by Boyer. But Robinson got himself another RBI single in the top of the eighth, so Freeman stayed out and pitched in the bottom of the inning, settling in nicely and getting through the inning without much fuss. With the five run lead still intact, he closed out the game by staying out for the ninth as well, and we won this one handily 10-5, giving Freeman a three-inning save. Pascual improved to 7-7 with a 2.86 ERA, allowing four hits and four runs in six innings of work, striking out seven against four walks. Freeman gave us three very good innings, allowing just one run with a strikeout and two walks, with only one run scoring on his watch. We outhit them 11-5, led by Robinson (three hits, two runs, three RBIs), Banks (two hits, one walk, three runs, three RBIs) and Kaline (three hits, two RBIs). Poppell got a hit and walked twice, stealing two bases in three attempts, giving him 35 stolen bases in 42 tries this year. Willie Mays had a hit for two runs and an RBI, stealing his ninth base of the year as well. JULY 26, 1956 . . . Hy Cohen (20-2, 1.68 ERA, 197.2 IP, 204 K’s, 0.77 WHIP) has been as hot as a pitcher can be this year, and he’s starting for the 24th time this year, facing Gene Conley (9-9, 2.35 ERA, 187.1 IP, 130 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in this one. Poppell took a walk to start the first inning, stealing second and third, coming around to score off a single by Rosen to put us very quickly ahead 1-0 -- folks around these parts are starting to refer to him as “Jackrabbit” Poppell! Willie Mays hit his 36th homer of the year in the top of the fifth, a three-run blast that made it 4-0 Cubs. Pittsburgh got on the board with a solo homer by Rocky Nelson in the bottom of the seventh, but Cohen was locked in and went into the bottom of the ninth still holding a three-run lead, shutting them down quietly as we held tough to win 4-1. With another complete-game three-hitter under his belt, Cohen is now 21-2 with a 1.65 ERA, winning this one with only three strikeouts, a rarity earned almost exclusively through contact and solid fielding. We outhit them 5-3 but walked seven times. Rosen led the team with two hits for a run and an RBI, while Mays’ homer batted in three runs. Poppell finished with a hit, a walk, a run and three more stolen bases, continuing his amazing streak as a baserunner. With the series sweep over Pittsburgh complete, we now head to Brooklyn (62-31, 5.5 GB) for a four-game set over the next three days. We’re on a five-game winning streak, but the Dodgers have won seven in a row and nine of their last ten. So these are not going to be easy wins to get. JULY 27, 1956 . . . Tom Acker (5-2, 2.95 ERA, 82.1 IP, 58 K’s, 1.08 WHIP) got the start in game one at Brooklyn, facing Sal Maglie (17-2, 1.43 ERA, 188.2 IP, 122 K’s, 0.78 WHIP). Acker allowed a homer by Gil Hodges in the bottom of the first that quickly put the Dodgers up 2-0. Pee Wee Reese hit an RBI triple in the bottom of the second to make it 3-0, and Carl Furillo hit an RBI single to extend the lead further. The wheels quickly came off, as Hodges hit an RBI double that scored another pair, and we went into the top of the third down by six. Carl Erskine came in with one out and a man on first in the bottom of the fifth, striking out the first two batters he faced to get us out of the inning, and he got a hit to start the top of the sixth, but the top of our lineup left him high and dry. Pee Wee Reese and Carl Furillo doubled in consecutive at-bats, extending the Dodgers’ lead to seven runs, and a Duke Snider double made it quickly 8-0 as we completely embarrassed ourselves. A three-run Frank Thomas homer added insult to injury, and we went into the top of the seventh down by eleven. Our bats remained impotent and they stuffed this one down our throats from there, shutting us out 11-0 in an absolutely indefensible blowout. Acker took the loss, falling to 5-3 with eight hits, three walks and four strikeouts, the six earned runs bloating his ERA to 3.43 in a 4.1 inning effort. Erskine added 1.1 innings, allowing four hits and five earned runs, leaving it to Larry Jansen to mop up the mess in a 2.1 inning two hit, one strikeout effort that at least put a tourniquet on our wounds. They outhit us 14-4, with Robinson (two hits), Kaline (one hit), Erskine (one hit) and Rosen (one walk) providing our only baserunners. JULY 28, 1956 . . . Saul Rogovin (13-3, 1.85 ERA, 189.1 IP, 242 K’s, 0.72 WHIP) started today against Johnny Podres (10-6, 3.18 ERA, 158.2 IP, 85 K’s, 1.12 WHIP). Banks reached first on an error to start the top of the second, and Kaline advanced him with a base hit. Roger Maris then got a solid hit into the outfield to drive in a run and put us up 1-0. Rogovin bunted Kaline and Maris into scoring position, and Poppell got a hit into the outfield, driving in a run, and he stole second to get himself into scoring position as well, with Maris now on third. Rosen walked the bases loaded, but Robinson grounded into an out at first to end the frame. But the Dodgers quickly got back in it with a two-run homer by Bill Mazeroski, tying us at 2-2 in the bottom of the inning, sending us into the third back at square one. They took the lead with a sac-fly by Roy Campanella that drove in Carl Furillo with two outs in the bottom of the third, and it stayed that way until the top of the sixth when we loaded the bases with two outs -- Ed Bouchee came in to pinch-hit for Rogovin, getting an infield hit that kept the bases loaded and scored the tying run! Poppell got an infield hit that drove in the go-ahead run and kept the bases jammed, but Rosen batted into a fielder’s choice that ended the inning with us now up 4-3. Hersh Freman came in to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, getting out of the inning with relative ease as Frank Thomas batted into a rally-squelching double play. Jansen tried to stay out for the bottom of the seventh but gave up two hits in a row and we had no choice but to bring in Jansen with men on the corners and no outs. A sac-bunt moved Fred Hatfield to second while holding Solly Hemus at third, and Pee Wee Reese flew out to second, though he was deep enough for Hemus to score the tying run and blow the save. But Jansen struck out Anthony Pint swinging and got us out of the inning knotted 4-4. Jansen got a quick out, then surrendered a homer to Sandy Amoros that put the Dodgers back up 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth. Carl Erskine came in and got two quick outs, and with Koufax warming up, Dick Whitman pinch-hit for Erskine in the top of the ninth, promptly grounding out to first, as did Poppell. Al Rosen quietly walked, and Jackie Robinson got a great hit into left field to advance him into scoring position. But Willie Mays popped out to first, ending this one as our second loss in a row to the Dodgers, this time by a 5-4 margin. Heading into tomorrow’s doubleheader, things are feeling far from comfortable, as the Dodgers are now within 3.5 games of us. Rogovin gave us five innings with four hits, four strikeouts, two walks and three earned runs -- we chose to pinch-hit and take two runs with the bases loaded, rather than keep him in and risk staying behind. It was a calculated risk, and our bullpen wasn’t up to the task. Freeman had a good inning, with two hits and a run, earning his fourth hold, but Jansen fell to 4-2 with his first blown save, giving us 1.1 innings with a hit, a strikeout and an earned run. Erskine got the outs we needed and brought his ERA back down to 4.18, but our bats had nothing left for the ninth, despite having outhit the Dodgers 8-7 in the game. Poppell had a hit, an RBI and a stolen base, bringing his total to 39, and Kaline was as solid as ever with three hits for two runs, bringing his average up to .301 through 98 games. The Dodgers just seem to have our number, and we need wins tomorrow in a big way if we don’t want to head into August neck and neck with our rivals. __________________ A Fledgling “Free Agency” Movement in the Post-War World -- An OOTP 26 Dynasty Online Leagues Modern Baseball (Chicago White Sox) Daily Double Baseball (Tampa Bay Devil Rays) Championship Baseball League (Winnipeg Goldeye) WPORBL 55 (Chicago Cubs) WPORBL 74 (Oakland A's) WPORBL 94 (Montreal Expos) WPOBL (Cincinnati Reds)