[jksander]

September 14, 1929
Giants (68-68) vs. Cardinals (77-60) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

This one was a wild ride! They scored two in the top of the first, and though we got a run back in the bottom of the inning, it wasn’t until the fifth when we tied it up at 2-2. Syl Johnson got us into the stretch with it still tied, and then we went off, scoring five runs in the bottom of the inning to take control! Johnson got us through the eighth inning, and with it not being a save situation (two more runs had given us a 9-2 lead!), our manager Billy Southworth brought out my new friend Jack Berly to finish things off in the ninth. He gave up a two-out triple to New York’s center fielder Jimmy Welsh, and a triple by second baseman Eddie Collins drove in a run. But we got the win, 9-3, and that made the clubhouse atmosphere after the game a celebratory one as we got within six and a half of the Robins, with the Giants on the brink of elimination.

September 15, 1929
Giants (68-69) vs. Cardinals (78-60) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Fred Frankhouse was our pitcher today, a popular 25-year-old starter who is only in his third year -- he spent most of this year at AAA Rochester, all before my time there, so I’m not familiar with him as a player. He got absolutely shelled in the third inning, giving up four runs to give the Giants a 5-1 lead, and that quickly started a bullpen game ... which had me nervous, since I’m not fully rested, but I’m rested enough I could eventually find myself out there pitching today. Hi Bell took over with two outs and empty bases in the top of the third inning, and he was impressive to watch from the bullpen as he shut them down in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. We’d gained a run back in the bottom of the fifth when Charlie Gelbert reached on an E6 error, scoring Ernie Orsatti, and in the top of the seventh Southworth sent out Clarence Mitchell to take over still trailing 5-2. He gave up four more runs in the eighth, and though we got three back in the bottom of the ninth, it was still a 9-5 blowout loss.

September 16, 1929
Giants (69-69) vs. Cardinals (78-61) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Veteran pitcher Bill “Wee Willie” Sherdel took the mound for us today, with 13 wins and more than 200 innings under his belt already this year. And the game did not go particularly well ... five innings in, we were in a 6-1 hole, and though Gus Mancuso hit a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, we still trailed by four when I got the call. It’s a pitching change, rookie Jochen Fontaine taking the mound. I must have blacked out, because I don’t remember anything of the sixth inning, though apparently it went swimmingly -- I got leadoff man Freddie Lindstrom to pop out to left, while Edd Roush and Bill Terry grounded out harmlessly. Our skipper told me I was going to keep the ball, and I promptly put two men on base, though I got rid of one of them when Freddy Leach hit into a 4-6-3 double play, sending Mel Ott over to third. I had a moment of real fear when the ball came off Bob O’Farrell’s bat ... he’s a powerful hitter, and it looked like a homer to me, but Ripper Collins stole it at the wall and we’d gotten through the seventh! We got two quick outs ourselves in the bottom of the inning, so Fischer didn’t bother pinch hitting for me, making it pretty clear he expected me to get through the rest of the game if I could, since we still trailed by four runs. Our bats never woke up, but I had the game of my life and did manage to keep them from adding on, getting through the ninth with that deficit unchanged. We lost 6-2, but I really felt I’d proven myself ... four innings and more than sixty pitches thrown, with two hits and three walks, nothing else. I’m exhausted, but if I can keep throwing like that against this level of competition, how could they send me back down? Just gotta keep it going as long as I can.

September 17, 1929
Giants (70-69) vs. Cardinals (78-62) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Syl Johnson was back on the mound for the final game of the series against the Giants, with us trailing the Robins by seven still in the pennant race here in the National League. And our offense was potent all night as Johnson wheeled and dealed, leading 8-1 after five and coasting to what wound up being a 10-2 victory. Johnson pitched the entire way, nine innings with five hits, and just two runs (one earned), which gave him his 19th win of the season, and Ripper Collins hit his 31st homer of the season to help get the rout going.

September 20, 1929
Robins (86-55) vs. Cardinals (79-62) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

The race is tight, now, with Brooklyn still leading by seven games, with Pittsburgh (82-63) now a game up on us. The Cubs and Giants have officially been eliminated, so it’s a three team race with Brooklyn danagerously close to clinching -- their magic number is seven, but we have these three games left against them, as well as six more against Pittsburgh, so if we could get ourselves into a groove, it’s not out of reach ... but there’s not much room left for error. We had rookie starter Paul “Duke” Derringer pitching for us today, and he got us into the stretch with a 6-4 lead! Bill Doak took over in the top of the eighth, and in the bottom of the inning Gus Mancuso hit an RBI single to add on to our lead. Doak shut them down nicely from there as we won 7-4, Derringer earning his ninth win while Doak saved his third, inching closer to the Robins as this race glows red hot!
 
September 21, 1929
Robins (86-56) vs. Cardinals (80-62) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Bill Sherdel started today’s game, and both teams scored plenty early on ... but in the bottom of the fourth inning we took the lead 4-3 off a two-run homer by Jimmie Wilson, his 22nd of the season. But Sherdal stayed out just a bit too long. With two outs in the top of the seventh he let Wally Gilbert hit a single, and then Rube Bressler put the Robins back ahead 5-4. Hi Bell took over, getting the find out to put us into the stretch. He pitched around runners on the corners in the eighth to keep us within a run, and then in the bottom of the eighth inning we took control, scoring five runs including the go-ahead that was scored by Jim Bottomley off a fielder’s choice. With the lead secure our manager kept Bell in there for the ninth, and they got three runs back off a homer by Babe Herman to get them within one. Bill Doak took over, one out and nobody on, promptly loading the bases as we desperately tried to hold on. Fischer sent out starter Clarence Mitchell with three on, one out, and he walked in the tying run and the comeback was completed by Clyde Barnhart who hit an RBI single to drive in another. We just couldn’t stop them once they started, and the Robins piled on, gutting us for eight runs in the inning to take a 13-9 lead, which is how it stayed. I never got out of the bullpen, and this place was like a morgue when it was all over and done.

The World Series is looking like a lost cause at this point, as Brooklyn’s magic number is now just five with 11 games left for them to play. None of us young callups want to jinx anything, but we all know we’ll get more chances to show our stuff if we’re out of contention. But we’re all also fans of the game, and getting our Cardinals into the postseason is a dream nobody wants to let go of.

September 22, 1929
Brooklyn (87-56) vs. St. Louis (80-63) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Syl Johnson pitched today, so all of us in the bullpen figured it was unlikely we’d see much (if any) time on the field. And he did well as has been the standard, making up for two early runs to the Robins in the first inning by pitching us into the stretch with just one additional run against, while our bats scored four in the first two frames. Jim Bottomley hit a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh to extend our lead to three runs, and I got the call in the top of the eighth! With a three-run lead to protect, I faced the top of their batting lineup ... and unfortunately their leadoff man Harvey Hendrick hit a solo bomb out of right off just my fourth pitch of the afternoon. The next two batters each made it on base with hits, and I got yanked before I could barely break a sweat. Hi Bell came out to pitch with the score 6-4 and runners on first and second, no outs. He loaded the bases with a walk to Johnny Frederick, then got three quick outs, bang-bang-bang, to get us into the bottom of the inning with the lead still safe. If we weren’t living under Prohibition, I’d owe that man a beer. Bell pitched around runners on the corners in the ninth and we got the win 6-4, keeping our slim hopes of a postseason series alive.

No thanks to me ... I faced three batters, got no one out, and succeeded in giving up my first major league homer, all in less than ten minutes. We have seven games in a row at home this week and then four days off before our only remaining road games of the season, and I’m wondering if our manager Southworth is going to want me out there much during that time. Hopefully I didn’t blow my chance.

September 23, 1929
Reds (63-81) vs. Cardinals (81-63) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Grover Cleveland Alexander got the start today, and the 42-year-old legend got us through five innings, but we trailed 4-3 when Southworth pulled him for Jack Berly. He had a solid inning, pitching around runners on the corners to keep us within the one run, but in the eighth he wasn’t as lucky -- with two outs, Evar Swanson hit an RBI single to add on a run as the Reds extended their lead. Clarence Mitchell took over in the ninth, keeping the score from ballooning, but our offense was flat and we lost 5-3.

September 24, 1929
Reds (64-81) vs. Cardinals (81-64) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Our manager started Fred Frankhouse, who hasn’t started in nine das, which didn’t make many of the veterans in our bullpen think it was a great sign for our World Series hopes being anything but dead on arrival. But he pitched incredibly well, and we had a 4-1 lead with one out in the bottom of the seventh when the game was called due to a heavy storm system that rolled in, flooding the outfield. So we got the win, having outhit them 9-4, and Frankhouse had seven innings with just four hits, a walk, a run and five strikeouts. So I learned a lesson, that perhaps our coaches and manager do know more than we do ... or that God likes the Cardinals, sending a rainstorm before we could melt dwon. Either way, fine by me!

September 25, 1929
Reds (64-82) vs. Cardinals (82-64) -- Sportsmans Park, 3:05 p.m. CT

Paul Derringer got the start, and we scored six runs across the first three innings to build a real solid lead! Derringer was absolutely brilliant all day, leaving us playing cards in the bullpen as the game quickly turned into a rout in our favor. We led by nine after five innings, and Derringer got himself a complete game, though he blew the shutout, settling for a 9-3 win as we continue to keep our hopes alive. Ripper Collins hit his 32nd homer, going 2-3 with three runs and three RBIs thanks to his homer and a double.