[jksander]

SEPTEMBER 26, 1956 . . . Robert Diehl (1-1, 3.69 ERA, 31.2 IP, 13 K’s, 1.36 WHIP) got the start today against Vinegar Bend Mizell (10-16, 4.39 ERA, 250.1 IP, 128 K’s, 1.38 WHIP). St. Louis got on the board first with an RBI single by Wally Moon, sending us into the bottom of the first inning with a rare deficit to overcome. The way the wind was blowing, Jim King had to get a lot of work in at left field, but he was phenomenal for the Cardinals early on as they fought to hold on to the lead by a thin tether. The two pitchers battled evenly until the bottom of the fifth, when Jackie Robinson got a hit up the middle with the bases loaded, driving in a pair to give us a 2-1 lead! But St. Louis answered the call -- with two outs and men on third in the top of the seventh, Orlando Cepeda hit a two-RBI single to put them back in control, sending us into the seventh inning stretch trailing 3-2. Carl Erskine came in to pitch in the top of the eighth, and he kept them honest with three quick outs, but we couldn’t find a hit either, sending us into the top of the ninth trailing by a run and needing to keep it that way. Groundout, strikeout, popout and we were into the bottom of the frame, needing at least a run if we wanted to own the record-breaking win streak. Erskine struck out, but Poppell got on base with an infield hit, but Rosen popped out to left! Poppell stole second, and then successfully took third while the pitcher was throwing a strike to Mays. With the count one ball two strikes, Mays swung for the fences ... but came out with a whiff and we lost this one 3-2 to the Cardinals, bringing an end to the streak but forever leaving the memory of this season tied with that of the Giants back in ’16!

Robert Diehl took the loss, but threw seven innings with just four hits, striking out six but walking four and surrendering three runs. Erskine was excellent through two, with two strikeouts and nary a hit, giving him a 3.84 ERA now through 86.2 innings. We outhit the Cardinals 7-4 but they simply outhustled us, much more eager for their 47th win than we apparently were to get our 111th. Poppell picked up two hits, walked once and stole four bases, getting caught once, giving him 113 steals this season, while Robinson provided much-needed power, hitting twice and batting in a pair of runs.

SEPTEMBER 29, 1956 . . . Two games left! Tonight we play the Cincinnati Redlegs, with Tom Acker (11-5, 3.32 ERA, 151.2 IP, 117 K’s, 1.11 WHIP) pitching against Don Drysdale (8-20, 4.46 ERA, 242.0 IP, 135 K’s, 1.44 WHIP). This one was a stalemate from the start, until the bottom of the fifth when Willie Mays smacked a hard-hit ball into center field, driving in two runs with a triple to put us up 2-0! Al Kaline batted in a third run a moment later, giving us a three-run lead heading into the sixth inning. Ted Kluszewski hit a solo bomb in the top of the seventh to get the Redlegs on the board, but Gus Bell hit into a double play to end the rally. Koufax came in for the final inning, and promptly gave up a solo homer to Kluszewski, his second of the game, to pull the Redlegs within one, but Sandy was spot on from there and was able to get around a single baserunner to keep Cincinnati from forging a comeback. We won this one 3-2 and will head into the final game of the season on a defensive high note.

Acker improved to 12-5 for the season, with his final ERA resting at 3.21. He went eight innings with just four hits, a walk, a strikeout and an earned run, while Koufax netted his 24th save, with two hits and an earned run to put his ERA at 3.36. We had eight hits to their six, led by Mays who hit three times with a run and two RBIs. Poppell had a walk, a stolen base and a run scored, and Al Rosen added a hit, a walk and a run.

SEPTEMBER 30, 1956 . . . Carl Erskine (7-3, 3.84 ERA, 86.2 IP, 74 K’s, 1.14 WHIP) will start his third game of the season in tonight’s final game, making his 47th appearance as a Cub, going up against Bobby Shantz (10-17, 5.44 ERA, 228.1 IP, 97 K’s, 1.49 WHIP). Erskine has been hot for the last month, but in the top of the second Nellie Fox hit a two-RBI single to put the Redlegs up 2-0. So Jackie Robinson came out and hit a solo bomb to lead off the bottom of the second, his 38th longball of the year, so we went into the third only trailing 2-1. Erskine got a base hit to start the bottom of the third, and Poppell followed suit, bringing up Rosen who quietly loaded the bases with a hit into right field. That’s when Willie Mays came out and hit his 54th home run, a grand slam that put us in the drivers’ seat 5-2! With the bases loaded again in the bottom of the fifth, Al Kaline walked in a run and then Maris walked in another, and then Del Crandall walked in a third as the Redlegs’ reliever melted down completely. Erskine then did the most un-Pitcher-like thing, and came out with some power, hitting our second grand slam of the game to officially bring the fans to complete pandemonium. Just like that we were up 12-2 heading into the top of the sixth. The Redlegs got a pair of runs back in the top of the sixth with a two-run homer by Hobie Landrith, but Jackie Robinson hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning, his second of the game, and Jack Poppell hit a line drive into right with the bases loaded that drove in two more runs. Willie Mays hit into right to score three more with a triple, and this rout was like no other -- a three run triple and two grand slams in one game! Vern Law came in to close things out, and we went into the stretch leading 20-4. Crandall batted in a run in the bottom of the seventh, and in the bottom of the eighth Willie Mays hit a double that completed the cycle! Johnny Temple grounded out but drove in a run for the Redlegs in the bottom of the ninth, but it didn’t matter -- we won this one by a margin that looked more like a football game, beating Cincinnati 21-5 to close out this season with a 112-42 record.

Carl Erskine finished the season with an 8-3 record and a 3.98 ERA, allowing four hits through eight innings with a walk, two strikeouts and four earned runs, while Law came in for a three-inning “save” to allow just one hit, one walk, one strikeout and one earned run to give him a 4.59 ERA through 33.1 innings since being acquired at the deadline. We scored our 21 runs on 15 hits, easily led by Willie Mays, who hit for the cycle, getting four hits, three runs and seven RBIs out of this one. Jackie Robinson also hit two homers, walking twice as well to score three times and drive in four runs. Mays finishes the year with 176 RBIs, just 15 away from the record Hack Wilson set back in 1930.

The World Series will begin here in Chicago on October 3, with games against the Yankees in New York on the 6th, 7th and (if game five is necessary) the 8th. We’d then return to Chicago for games six and seven if needed on the 10th and 11th.