[jksander]

MAY 19, 1957 . . . Bob Purkey (2-1, 2.70 ERA, 40.0 IP, 10 K’s, 1.00 WHIP) is up to pitch in game one this afternoon, against Philly’s Don Newcombe (1-3, 5.52 ERA, 31.0 IP, 18 K’s, 1.48 WHIP). Purkey got the first two outs quickly, then surrendered a home run to Jackie Jensen to put the Phillies up 1-0 in the top of the first. He then stunned the crowd silent by giving up another, this time to Del Ennis, before getting the third out to send us up to the plate trailing by two. Ernie Banks batted in a run with a sac-fly in the bottom of the second, however, and Del Crandall hit a two-run blast moments later with two outs to make it a 3-2 Cubs lead! The Phillies got a run back in the top of the third, Smoky Burgess batting in the tying run, Al Rosen hit a sac-fly that drove in a run from Poppell to make it 4-3 in the bottom of the third, but they got it back in the top of the fourth with an RBI single by Newcombe. Purkey loaded the bases from there, with one out, but got a strikeout and a groundout at first to get out of the inning still tied 4-4. In the bottom of the fifth Rosen got a sharp hit into deep right, doubling to drive Poppell in for the go-ahead run, sending us into the top of the sixth leading 5-4. Ernie Banks hit a homer in the bottom of the sixth, his sixth of the year, to add some insurance, and Purkey pitched solidly through the top of the seventh, sending us into the stretch with a 6-4 lead. In the bottom of the seventh, Poppell picked up his third hit, stealing another pair of bases and Maris batted him home with another sac-fly to make it 7-4, giving him six stolen bases in today’s game! Poppell now holds the regular season NL record for steals in a single game. Dick Drott came in as our closer in the top of the ninth, He got the first two outs quickly, allowed a pair of baserunners, and then struck Jackie Jensen out swinging to end this one as a 7-4 victory!

Purkey improved to 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA, allowing eight hits with two walks and five strikeouts, to go with four earned runs. Drott got his second save of the season, allowing a hit and a walk but getting through with no runs surrendered, giving him a 6.75 ERA through seven appearances. We outhit the Phillies 10-9, led by Poppell who had three hits, six steals and scored three of our seven runs. Crandall and Banks had solid power tonight, each of them batting in two runs.

In the second game, Carl Erskine (1-1, 2 SV, 5.19 ERA, 8.2 IP, 4 K’s, 1.85 WHIP) got the spot-start, facing Harry Cox (0-0, 1.80 ERA, 10.0 IP, 6 K’s, 0.79 WHIP). Robinson hit his seventh homer of the season in the bottom of the second to put us up 1-0, and in the bottom of the fourth he hit another to extend the lead! Philly got on the board with a homer by Del Ennis in the top of the sixth, and we still held that 2-1 lead when Don Gross came in to pitch in the top of the seventh. He got an out quickly, and then Granny Hamner hit a solo blast over the center wall to tie us up 2-2. With the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh, there was no way they were going to risk throwing to Robinson, who was walked to put us into the lead again 3-2, with Banks and Don Demeter striking out to end the frame. But the Phillies wouldn’t surrender -- top of the eighth, one out, Del Ennis hits an RBI double to tie it back up, Gross getting us out of the inning tied at three. Ed Bouchee pinch hit for Lee Mise but batted out to left., while Mike Krsnich pinch hit for Gross, striking out swinging. Poppell got off a good hit in the infield, but they were too quick and were able to get him out at first for the third out. Dick Drott came in to pitch for Gross, with Del Crandall coming in to take over at catcher in the top of the ninth, and Drott was incredible, getting three batters out in a row on a combined total of four pitches! And with one out in the bottom of the ninth, Rosen standing on first, Willie Mays hit a towering blast out to left, walking this one off with a two-run homer -- we’d win the game 5-3 to keep our win streak alive.

Carl Erskine was solid as a spot starter, putting together a quality start, six innings with seven hits, five strikeouts, a walk and one earned run to improve his ERA to 3.68. Gross blew the save, allowing three hits and two runs (one earned) with a strikeout in two innings, but Drott got the win, improving to 1-2 with a 6.10 ERA in his hitless ninth inning. We outhit the Phillies 11-10, led by Jackie Robinson with two hits (both homers) for two runs and three RBIs. Maris had three hits and a run, while Rosen hit twice and walked twice, scoring a run as well. Demeter started in place of Rosen to give him a rare day off, coming out with a hit and a walk to give him a .667/.727/1.222 slug line through his first eight games (and nine at-bats). He’s still a liability in the outfield, but can handle games like this on a limited basis.

We’ve played four more games than the Dodgers have, but we’re now within a half game of them in the standings heading into our upcoming series against the 14-18 Giants who sit in fifth place. Our nine-game winning streak leads the majors, while the 23-5 Yankees are on an eight game winning streak, leading Baltimore (19-13) by six games.

MAY 21, 1957 . . . Hy Cohen (2-2, 2.63 ERA, 54.2 IP, 40 K’s, 1.04 WHIP) started today against the Giants’ Jack Sanford (0-3, 5.40 ERA, 46.2 IP, 18 K’s, 1.50 WHIP). Maris batted in a run in the bottom of the first to give us a 1-0 lead, but the Giants got on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI double by Don Blasingame, tying it up 1-1. Roger Maris hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to get us back into the lead, his fourth of the year, and in the bottom of the eighth Robinson hit an RBI double that made it 3-1 Cubs. Mays tagged up to score at home off a sac-fly by Ernie Banks, and Kaline hit a two-run dinger to put this one out of reach. Cohen stayed out to complete the game and we beat the Giants easily by a 6-1 margin.

Cohen improved to 3-2 with a 2.40 ERA, allowing just four hits with a walk, six strikeouts and a single earned run. We picked up nine hits ourselves, led by Maris who hit three times for two runs and two RBIs -- he’s now hitting .299 with a double, three triples and four homers, his best major league start since hitting .271 with 19 homers in ’55. Poppell picked up two hits, stole a base and scored a run and Kaline’s homer put us over the top as we won our 10th game in a row.
 
MAY 22, 1957 . . . Saul Rogovin (4-3, 1.98 ERA, 59.0 IP, 65 K’s, 0.78 WHIP) started the second game against the Giants, facing Herm Wehmeier (2-3, 2.73 ERA, 52.2 IP, 28 K’s, 1.18 WHIP). We loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, Robinson batting in a run with a one-out single to put us ahead 1-0. Kaline hit a double that drove in Maris and Mays, then Robinson tried for home successfully with Kaline getting tagged out at third for our final out -- 4-0 lead for the Cubs after one! We loaded the bases in the fourth but came up empty, loading them again in the fifth, at which point Kaline hit a sac-fly to left, driving in our fifth run of the day. Rogovin hit himself an RBI to make it a six-run lead, Poppell walked in a run, Rosen walked in another and the wheels were falling off for the Giants. Maris walked in the third run in a row, all three by reliever Howard Tresp, who had come in to relieve Wehmeier and was not looking up to the task. Willie Mays hit a sac-fly to center to drive in our 10th run of the game, Robinson batted in another, and by the time Banks hit into a fielder’s choice to end the frame we led 11-0 heading into the top of the sixth. Robinson hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, his ninth of the season, and Rogovin locked in through the remainder to close out the 14-0 shutout emphatically, striking out their final two batters as an exclamation point.

Rogovin improved to 5-3 with a 1.72 ERA, a four-hitter with 10 strikeouts and no walks or runs. We picked up 13 hits, led by Jackie Robinson who hit four times for three runs and five RBIs. Kaline was also highly productive , hitting two times and batting in four runs. We’re now half a game ahead of the Dodgers going into our four game series against the Braves of Milwaukee, who sit in fourth place, 7.5 games back, with a 15-16 record.

MAY 24, 1957 . . . Camilo Pascual (5-0, 1.99 ERA, 49.2 IP, 32 K’s, 0.79 WHIP) gets the first start agianst the Braves in this home series, going up against Warren Spahn (3-3, 3.60 ERA, 55.0 IP, 17 K’s, 1.25 WHIP). Del Crandall batted in a run in the bottom of the second, quickly giving us a 1-0 lead, and Pascual didn’t give up a hit until the sixth inning, when Gene Mauch and Don Mincher both got on base with singles. Spahn sac-bunted to move them both into scoring position, and Gene Woodling hit a sac-fly to left that brought the tying run home. Both pitchers stayed sharp and the game remained knotted heading into the top of the ninth, with Pascual setting their batters down three in a row, two by strikeout to give us a chance to walk this one off. Spahn walked Mays to start the bottom of the inning, but a Robinson popout and Banks hitting into a double play sent us into extra innings still tied 1-1. Pascual stayed out in the 10th but surrendered a solo homer to Eddie Mathews before getting a pair of groundouts and a strikeout to send us into the bottom of the frame. With two outs in the bottom of the 10th, Don Demeter pinch-hit for Pascual, getting a bouncing hit into left for a single, but Poppell couldn’t beat out an infield hit and we lost this one 2-1, snapping our winning streak in extras.

Pascual got his first loss of the year, pitching 10 innings and allowing just three hits, with one walk and 11 strikeouts, his ERA improving to 1.96. We outhit the Braves 6-3, but no one on our team hit twice, Mays scoring our only run while Crandall batted it in. We’re now 1-5 in extra innings games, and 5-6 in games decided by a single run.

MAY 25, 1957 . . . Sandy Koufax (4-1, 1.91 ERA, 47.0 IP, 43 K’s, 0.81 WHIP) came up in the rotation today, facing Al Worthington (3-2, 3.43 ERA, 44.2 IP, 21 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). This one was a nailbiter from the word “go,” with almost no one making it on base for either team. We picked up three hits and a walk to their one hit in the first five innings, but only got one runner into scoring position and he got nowhere from there. And Koufax walked a pair and gave up an RBI single to Hank Aaron in the top of the sixth to put them on the board first, up 1-0. Don Gross came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, getting a groundout and two strikeouts to get through it. In the bottom of the inning, Del Crandall got on base with a walk, and they walked pinch-hitter Don Demeter as well, bringing up Poppell with two outs. Poppell took the count full and then swung hard, getting one on the ground just past the shortstop to load the bases! But Rosen batted out to right and ended the inning without us scoring. Dick Drott came in to pitch in the top of the ninth, getting Hank Aaron to pop out to center to start things out, and Eddie Mathews popped out to Banks for number two. Hal Smith popped out to Mays at center, and we had ourselves one last chance going into the bottom of the ninth down 1-0. Maris grounded out to first, but they walked Mays, who stole seocnd and then was picked off trying to steal third ... he got greedy! Robinson walked, and then Banks grounded into a fielder’s choice to end the game as another one run loss for us. We head into tomorrow’s doubleheader in a scoring funk as the Braves pull back above .500 on the season.

Koufax took the loss, falling to 4-2 with a 1.83 ERA, allowing two hits with two walks, four strikeouts and the one earned run. Gross and Drott each gave up no hits from the bullpen, with Gross striking out a pair, but our bats, despite outhitting them 5-2, couldn’t make anything happen. We were crushed on the basepaths, with Mays getting the one steal but also getting caught for the third time this year, while Poppell tried once and failed as well, only his sixth time being caught in more than 50 tries. Despite that, Poppell led the team with three hits -- he just couldn’t do anything with them.
 
MAY 26, 1957 . . . Bob Purkey (3-1, 3.00 ERA, 48.0 IP, 15 K’s, 1.04 WHIP) got the start in game one of today’s doubleheader, facing Milwaukee’s Johnny Antonelli (1-5, 4.88 ERA, 55.1 IP, 31 K’s, 1.37 WHIP). Del Crandall got a hit into right field with two outs in the bottom of the second, to put us up 1-0, but the Braves got it back in the top of the third with a two-run homer by Aaron to make it 2-1 Braves. Gene Woodling hit a solo shot to right in the top of the fifth to make it a two-run lead for Milwaukee, but in the bottom of the fifth with two outs Jackie Robinson hit a single that drove in two runs to tie it all up at 3-3, and Ernie Banks slapped a homer into the left field bleachers, his seventh of the season, to make it a two-run Cubs advantage! Tom Acker came out to pitch in the top of the sixth, and Mike McCormick pitched in the seventh, getting us into the stretch with our two-run lead still in hand. Mays took his base on balls in the bottom of the seventh, stealing twice and coming around to score thanks to a fly-out by Kaline to give us a 6-3 lead. McCormick stayed out in the eighth but gave up a two-run blast to Eddie Mathews to cut our lead to a run, so we brought in Don Gross with no outs to see if he could hold it. He gave up a pair of hits but got us out of the jam. We went into the top of the ninth with the one-run lead intact, Dick Drott coming in to close it out. Gene Woodling got on base with a single, advancing to second thanks to a sac-bunt by Johnny Logan. Hank Aaron batted out to right, and Eddie Matthews followed suit as we held tough to win this one 6-5.

Purkey came out of the game with a win, lasting five innings to improve to 4-1, allowing five hits with a pair of strikeouts as his ERA improved to 3.23. Acker was solid through an inning and 16 pitches, and McCormick should have stuck to one inning as well ... instead the two runs he surrendered in the seventh blew his ERA up significantly to 15.00. He hasn’t gotten a lot of bullpen opportunities, and therefore is still an unknown quantity in his rookie season, though he picked up a hold today. Gross got a hold as well, improving his ERA to 2.08 through 13 innings of work this season, and Drott earned his third save. They outhit us 8-7, but we outwalked them 5-4 and picked up three steals (two for Mays and one for Banks) to give us the slight edge. Jackie Robinson led the way with three hits, two runs and two RBIs, helping to ensure we wouldn’t get swept.

Hy Cohen (3-2, 2.40 ERA, 63.2 IP, 46 K’s, 0.97 WHIP) got the start in game two, facing Bob Turley (3-3, 5.84 ERA, 37.0 IP, 29 K’s, 1.68 WHIP). And much like the other games in this series, the early-afternoon game being an outlier, this one was again a pitching duel from the start. At the end of five innings we were locked up 0-0 with just three hits between the two teams. Maris walked in the bottom of the sixth, and then Mays got our third hit of the game and turned it into a double, putting runners in scoring position for the first time! Robinson then hit one up the gap and drove in the go-ahead run. Mays scored a second run moments later, but Banks won’t get the RBI as he hit into a double play. Lee Moss reached base on an error, driving Al Kaline to second, and an error at shortstop let Cohen load the bases. But Jack Poppell struck out swinging and ended the inning with us ahead 2-0. But the Braves got on the board in the top of the seventh with an RBI single by Bill Bruton, sending us into the stretch leading by a one run margin. Willie Mays picked up his ninth homer of the year in the bottom of the seventh to make it 3-1 Cubs, and Cohen closed out the remainder of the game without incident as we kept that margin to the end.

Cohen improved to 4-2 with a 2.23 ERA, allowing just four hits with nine strikeouts and the one earned run. We came out with six hits ourselves, led by Mays with two hits, two runs and an RBI. Poppell, Maris, Robinson and Banks each hit once as well. We immediately hit the road after the second game, as we have to make the drive down to St. Louis to start our three-week road trip, as we’re now tied in the standings with the Dodgers -- though they still have played four fewer games than us so they hold the official lead due to win-percentage.

NL Standings
1 (tie). Brooklyn Dodgers (25-10)
1 (tie). Chicago Cubs (27-12)
3. Milwaukee Braves (17-18, 8 GB)
4. Pittsburgh Pirates (18-20, 8.5 GB)
5. Philadelphia Phillies (16-20, 9.5 GB)
6. New York Giants (15-22, 11 GB)
7. St. Louis Cardinals (15-22, 11 GB)
8. Cincinnati Redlegs (14-23, 12 GB)

AL Standings
1. New York Yankees (27-7)
2. Baltimore Orioles (23-15, 6 GB)
3. Detroit Tigers (22-16, 7 GB)
4. Boston Red Sox (18-19, 10.5 GB)
5. Cleveland Guardians (16-19, 11.5 GB)
6. Washington Senators (16-25, 14.5 GB)
7. Chicago White Sox (14-22, 14 GB)
8. Kansas City Athletics (12-25, 16.5 GB)

Mickey Mantle leads the home run race with 15, five more than Gil Hodges, his closest competitor. He remains on pace for 68 homers, which has the New York media already starting to go a little crazy in the annual “will someone beat the Babe’s record?” If it’s going to happen for Mantle, this seems like it would be the year ... he’s leading the majors in average (.379), slugging (.806), OPS (1.287) and batting WAR (3.7), by far his best start since hitting .342/.459/.702 with 54 homers in 1953.