[jksander]

AUGUST 8, 1956 . . . For our first of two games against the Redlegs at Crosley Field, we’ve got Saul Rogovin (15-3, 1.80 ERA, 210.1 IP, 261 K’s, 0.74 WHIP) going up against Bob Anderson (1-3, 5.46 ERA, 29.2 IP, 11 K’s, 1.82 WHIP). This one was a duel in the early-going, with just four combined hits in the first five innings, only one of our batters making it into scoring position and no one managing to score. Rogovin got on board to start the top of the sixth, and Poppell hit a weak squib that just went out of reach of their pitcher, allowing him to take a base without the ball coming close to the outfield, but Rogovin got caught trying to steal third, and then Al Rosen hit into a double play to keep the game scoreless heading into the bottom of the inning. And in a game that stayed tightly competitive from there, it was Cincinnati that finally broke the stalemate, with third-baseman Bob Elliott hitting just his fourth homer of the year out to left field to put the Redlegs up 1-0 in the bottom of the eighth. And then, moments later, Rogovin gave up a second homer -- this time a three-run blast by Frank Robinson to center field -- which made it a 4-0 game with two outs secured, before he was finally able to get us into the top of the ninth now feeling like a bomb had gone off in our dugout. Poppell finally got us on the board, reaching base on a single, then stealing second and third, making it home on a flyout by Robinson that brought Willie Mays up with two outs and the game in his hands. He quietly struck out swinging and the game ended as a frustrating 4-1 defeat. Thank God we’ve got just one game left in this road trip and we can get home to friendlier climes.

Saul Rogovin fell to 15-4 with the loss, giving up five hits with nine strikeouts, two walks, and four runs scored, only one of which was earned. So despite the shellacking in the bottom of the eighth, his ERA actually improved to 1.77. We had five hits as well, with Poppell scoring our only run and adding two steals to his already gaudy total for the year. No one on the team had more than one hit.

AUGUST 9, 1956 . . . Brooklyn moved to within a game and a half of us in the NL race, making this last game in Cincinnati even more crucial.Camilo Pascual (7-8, 3.04 ERA, 136.0 IP, 92 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) got the start, facing Charlie Rabe, a no-name rookie who has played just one inning all year. We wanted to make a quick statement, and did so with another solid effort by Poppell, who walked and then added two more stolen bases before scoring on a sac-fly by Rosen -- 1-0, Cubs! Robinson and Banks managed to hit in the inning as well, but the Redlegs kept us from adding extra runs before we came up to pitch for the first time. Poppell got a hit in the top of the second with two outs, driving Maris from first to third, but we weren’t able to get Maris in to score. Pascual loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning but emerged unscathed. We loaded them up quickly in the top of the third, with walks by Robinson and Banks surrounding a hit by Mays, no outs. And we DID do damage, Kaline hitting a nice bouncing ball into right field that scored a run while keeping the bases jammed. Maris beat out a weak infield hit to drive in a third run while keeping the gun loaded, and with two outs Poppell picked up his second hit of the game and made it 5-0, batting in two runs with a single into right field. Pascual struggled in the bottom of the fourth, and the Redlegs got on the board with a bases-loaded two-RBI double by Nellie Fox. He got through the inning without surrendering anything further, however, and we went into the top of the fifth leading still 5-2.

I tried to give Pascual the benefit of the doubt, but he came out in the bottom of the fifth and immediately put the first two batters on base, so I brought in Erskine to stem the tide. Poppell botched a catch at second, however, the error allowing the Redlegs to load the bases on what should have been an easy double play opportunity. Erskine got the next two outs easily, though a third run did score thanks to a sac-fly by Hobie Landrith, and this one became a nailbiter when pinch-hitter Albie Pearson got an RBI single that scored the runner from second and put Elmer Valo on third with the score now 5-4 Cubs. Nellie Fox then hit a single, scored two runs, and this one was all f---ed up with the Redlegs leading 6-5. Erskine finally got the last out, but had officially blown his shot at the win. We’d head into the sixth inning with our confidence completely shattered, needing to dig deep and find some way to take control of the game again.

Bob Purkey came in to pitch in the bottom of the sixth with the score still 6-5 Redlegs, calming things down with three quick outs. Rosen walked to start the top of the seventh, taking second on a wild pitch, and making it to third on a groundout by Robinson to first. And Willie Mays finally got himself his 38th homer of the season, putting us back in the lead 7-6 heading into the stretch. Vern Law came in with one out and men on first and second in the bottom of the seventh, and we got out of the inning on a perfect 6-4-3 double play on a grounder by pinch-hitter Johnny Temple as we held tough to our lead. Law got himself a double with two outs in the top of the eighth, but Poppell grounded out to first, keeping us from buying any insurance runs. He safely got us through the bottom of the inning despite putting runners on the corners, keeping the lead safe for Koufax. Rosen picked up a double to start the top of the ninth, and Robinson promptly batted him home with a double of his own to give us a little breathing room. Mays and Banks then walked, giving us a chance to really break this one wide open. Del Crandall got an RBI single to keep the bases loaded and give us a three-run lead, and we went into the bottom of the ninth just needing to hold on to this. Our rally had left Koufax no longer warm, however, so Law stayed out to start the bottom of the inning. He got two quick outs, and we sat Sandy down, letting Law complete the multi-inning save himself. A final out made by Mays in center field and we’d pulled off the 9-6 victory!

Pascual and Erskine did their best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, giving up eight hits and six runs between them through five innings. But Bob Purkey calmed the waters, lasting 1.1 innings with a hit, a walk and a strikeout, improving to 4-0 with a 4.91 ERA. And Vern Law, our deadline trade acquisition, gave us 2.2 innings with three hits and a strikeout, notching his first save as a Cub and keeping his ERA at 1.80 since joining the team. Just like last game, each team had the same number of hits (12) but we prevailed in the slugfest, led by Jake Poppell with two hits, a walk and two steals for a run and two RBIs. Jackie Robinson added two hits, two walks, a run and an RBI, and Willie Mays had two hits, a walk, three runs and two RBIs, the top of our lineup contributing the bulk of our offensive output.

We’ll be back at home tomorrow afternoon for a four-game weekend series against the bottom-dwelling St. Louis Cardinals, followed by three games against the Redlegs on our turf after a night off on Monday. We then travel to St. Louis next weekend for three, returning to Wrigley on the 21st for two agains Philly, three against the Giants, a doubleheader against Pittsburgh and then three critical matchups against the Dodgers to put us closer to Labor Day. We’re back to 2.5 games ahead of Brooklyn, and this stretch will be very important as we try and put some distance between us and our rival.
 
Here are the current league standings, along with Run Differential:

NATIONAL LEAGUE
1. Chicago Cubs (76-35) +184
2. Brooklyn Dodgers (72-36, 2.5 GB) +165
3. Philadelphia Phillies (62-47, 13 GB) +84
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (55-56, 21 GB) +4
5. Milwaukee Braves (52-57, 23 GB) -22
6. New York Giants (49-60, 26 GB) -111
7. Cincinnati Redlegs (40-70, 35.5 GB) -114
8. St. Louis Cardinals (32-77, 43 GB) -190

AMERICAN LEAGUE
1. New York Yankees (73-38) +189
2. Detroit Tigers (65-42, 6 GB) +86
3. Cleveland Guardians (65-44, 7 GB) +104
4. Boston Red Sox (57-52, 15 GB) +42
5. Kansas City Athletics (50-59, 22 GB) -63
6. Chicago White Sox (48-60, 23.5 GB) -27
7. Baltimore Orioles (40-68, 31.5 GB) -176
8. Washington Senators (37-72, 35 GB) -155

Neither pennant is likely to be decided before very late in the month of September. Willie Mays, meanwhile, remains atop the home run leaderboard, with 38 dingers this season, four ahead of Mickey Mantle and five ahead of Ted Williams. His pace has slowed significantly, however, and the national media have stopped expecting anyone to come close to challenging the Babe’s record.