[jksander]

APRIL 18, 1954 . . . Warren Hacker pitched the first game of today’s doubleheader, and St. Louis got on the board first with two runs in the top of the second to go up 2-0 on a triple, and then they added a third run when Mays bobbled a cach at shortstop -- as good as his bat is, his defense is still somewhat suspect at times. And at that point Hacker really started to crumble, giving up hits I wouldn’t have expected. He got out of the inning with no further damage, but was already at 40+ pitches. He has not looked like himself so far, but I am hopeful he’ll settle in as the season progresses; he had a slow start last year and we all saw how that turned out.

Ernie Banks got us on the baord with a solo homer in the bottom of the second, his third in four games, and Hank Sauer jacked one over left immediately after, making it 3-2. Hacker gave up another run on a triple in the third, and we went into the bottom of the seventh still trailing 4-2. Woody Smith started the inning with a single to right, and Ken Boyer came in to pinch hit for Hacker and got safely to first on an infield hit thanks to his great speed. Russ Snyder then batted out to deep center, but the runners held, leaving us with two outs. And Cavarretta flew out to left, leaving us two more men wasted on the bases. Frank Smith came in to pitch in the eighth, amd asode from a one-out single, he got out of the inning unblemished, and Willie Mays hit a solo homer to left in the bottom of the inning, his fourth of the year, putting us within a run! Frank Smith got us through the ninth without adding any runs, but we couldn’t get anyone onboard in the bottom of the ninth, dropping to 2-2 with a 3-4 loss.

Hacker fell to 1-1 on the season with a 4.15 ERA, giving up 10 hits (way too many) for four runs (three earned), striking out four and walking three (also too many) over seven innings and 123 pitches. Frank Smith gave up just two hits with three strikeouts and a walk in two innings, a solid effort. Mays, Banks and Sauer homered, but we were outhit 12-8 -- surviving on just the long ball is going to be risky indeed, especially when they’re all solo ones. Sauer was our only player with two hits.

With his baserunning speed and good power, eye and speed on the basepaths, I’m experimenting with Russ Snyder as our lead-off man. Dee Fondy has been having surprising issues with skill drops, particularly in his eye ratings, since he turned 29. At this point he seems happy coming off the bench as a sub / pinch-hitter, so I’m comfortable starting Cavarretta at 1B and having Fondy as an option I can turn to earlier in a game and still use his defensive abilities as well.

In the second game of our double-header, Saul Rogovin got his first start of the year this afternoon and he got out of a bit of a jam with two walks and a hit to avoid being dinged with any runs. And Russ Snyder came out for the bottom of the first and absolutely HAMMERED his first major league home run of the year to put us up 1-0! Rogovin gave up a run to tie it up in the top of the third, and then an RBI single drove in a second to put us in a one run hole. Multiple singles in a row added up to a struggle, but he got himself out of it. The homer train continued for us, however, and Willie Mays hit a long ball to left to keep his pace blistering and tying the score 2-2. The homer-per-game pace is clearly unsustainable, but damned if it isn’t fun! Rogovin set down the side with three strikeouts in a row in the fourth, and he wound up lasting through six before I had Dee Fondy pinch hit for him with the bases loaded and only one out, still knotted up. Fondy got a hit through the middle right by the second baseman, scoring the go-ahead run! Russ Snyder then walked the bases loaded, but Cavarretta flew out to left to end the inning with our 3-2 lead.

Steve Nagy came in to pitch in the seventh for the first time this year, with Sandy Consuegra ready to go in the closing role when needed, but Nagy struggled immediately, giving up two hits including a run scoring single, and by the time he got his first out we were down 4-3. Consuegra came in and got the second out by strikeout, and the third by flyout. Consuegra gave up four runs in the top of the eighth and this game melted down quickly. What a shame. We came up to bat in the bottom of the eighth facing a five-run deficit and though Consuegra pitched well the rest of the way, our offense was shut down the remainder of the way as we lost this one 8-3.

Steve Nagy took the blown save and the loss, opening his season with an 0-1 record and a 13.50 ERA. He gave up three hits and two runs in 15 pitches, only getting one out. Consuegra pitched 2.2 innings and gave up six hits and four runs, all in the top of the eighth, and though he got through a perfect ninth inning and threw 52 pitches with three strikeouts, the damage was done. He has a 9.82 ERA through 3.2 innings, but I certainly don’t think this game showcased his true skill. Not going to let a small sample size scare me off of what we all knew was going to be a bullpen work-in-progress. It was disappointing however that Rogovin, who threw six innings of six-hit ball with just two runs scored didn’t get to keep his win -- he had four strikeouts and three walks, which contributed to his early exit.

St. Louis outhit us 13-8, but McCullough was a bright spot with three hits in four tries, though he was stranded each time. Russ Snyder had a hit, two walks and scored a run while batting one in, and Willie Mays’ homer gave him nine RBIs through five games. There’s no way he keeps up this insane pace on homers, but the fans are loving it while it lasts. Hank Sauer also had a hit and scored a run.

We will head into a two-game split home and away set after an off day, taking on Milwaukee with a 2-3 record. The Braves have also started out 2-3. Tuesday’s game should pit Herb Score (0-1, 4.76 ERA) up against Warren Spahn (1-0, 1.00 ERA) in what should be a nice test for the 20-year old rookie starter.