[jksander]

MAY 7, 1954 . . . Hy Cohen came out tonight for his second start ever, first ever on the road as a Cub, and his first since pitching that perfect game on May 2nd. And Al Kaline gave him run support from the word ‘go,” hitting a solo homer (his eighth of the year overall!) to put us up 1-0 on the very first pitch of the night! Elston Howard hit a triple that batted in two more, and by the time Cohen came up to throw his first pitch of the night we already had a 3-0 lead on the Braves. And Cohen gave up both a walk and a hit in the inning to prove he’s human ... in fact, the Braves took the game on a three-run homer moments later, and though Cohen only gave up two walks and two hits, the score was 4-3 Braves at the end of the first inning.

Cohen gave up a triple in the bottom of the second but escaped with no runs, but he gave up a two-run homer in the third to make it 6-3 Braves, but Cohen hit a ground-rule double to start the fourth inning and was able to get around to score, cutting the Milwaukee lead to two runs. In the top of the sixth Cohen reached second on a throwing error at first, giving us a man in scoring position with just one out and the top of the lineup coming up to hit. Kaline walked and Cavarretta hit it through the gap just out of the reach of the center fielder, allowing Cohen to score his second run of the game to make it 6-5! Cohen stayed strong from the mound and in the top of the eighth we loaded the bases, bringing up Willie Mays who singled to right and drove in the game-tying run, at which point Ernie Banks drove one to left, pushing in our seventh run and giving us, and Cohen, the lead! Consuegra came in for three quick outs in the bottom of the eighth, and he came back for the bottom of the ninth inning with the lead still at one run. Two bobbled balls allowed two runners to reach base, but Consuegra was the consumnate professional -- unfortunately a bobbled catch by Mays made it a trifecta and scored the tying run, driving runners to second and third. A bases-loaded walk and then a throw from shortstop to first ended the inning, but now we were headed for extras on the road.

Willie Mays hit a solo homer in the top of the 13th inning to put us up 8-7, and Ernie Banks scored a run on a throwing error to home plate, making it a 9-7 lead! Bob Alexander held tough through the bottom of the inning and we wound up winning this one in a marathon 9-7 victory, absolutely stunning the fans from Milwaukee who had stayed through a nearly four hour game.

Cohen lasted seven innings, giving up seven hits for six earned runs with five K’s and a trio of walks to bring his ERA down to 3.38 on the year. Consuegra got a blown save, his first of the year, but only gave up one hit in two innings with a strikeout and a walk. Alexander earned his win, improving to 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA out of the bullpen, throwing four complete innings with only one hit and a strikeout, lasting 37 pitches and proving to be a real workhorse! We outhit the Braves 20-9 but struggled to string hits together -- this should not have been nearly as hard as it was. Kaline was a stud again from the leadoff, hitting four times to score twice and drive one in, while Mays hit three times for two runs and three RBIs including the game winner in the 13th.

Russ Snyder still reportedly has two or three weeks before he’ll be ready to consider a rehab assignment after his broken foot sidelined him. We’re definitely keeping an eye on his recovery time, but the team is doing well in the interim, so we have to keep hoping luck remains on our side.
 
MAY 8, 1954 . . . Warren Hacker hit a blooper to right field that barely eluded the fielder, allowing our first run of the night to score in the top of the second inning, putting us up 1-0 on the Braves. Kaline batted in another with a double before they were able to successfully get the final out. And Hacker came out pitching like we haven’t seen so far this year, dominating the first few innings to put us in a areally solid position. Hank Sauer added an RBI sac-fly in the top of the third to make it 3-0, and Hacker stayed in his top form through the remainder of the game. Cavarretta drove in a fourth run in the top of the ninth, and Hacker shut them down in the bottom of the frame with two strikeouts and a flyout to preserve the 4-0 complete game victory!

Hacker improved to 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA thanks to the nine innings of three-hit ball he threw, alongside five strikeouts and a walk. Cavarretta hit three times and scored a run and batted one in, while Mays and Sauer each added a pair of hits as we out-bashed the Braves 10-3 in our sixth win in a row!

MAY 9, 1954 . . . Klippstein pitched for us today, and we brought in Roger Maris to sub at third base to give Woody Smith a day to rest -- it’s not his normal position, but we’re clogged right now at left field, so it’s going to be important to see if he can fill in elsewhere or if he’s only going to be useful out in left. We took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third thanks to a solo homer by Gene Baker, and Cavarretta hit a solo homer in the top of the fourth to make it 2-0. Willie Mays made it 4-0 with a two run homer in the sixth, his ninth homer of the season, and Bob Alexander came in with one out in the bottom of the eighth to make sure we kept the lead intact. And he lasted through the remainder of the game, closing out a 4-0 win as we swept Milwaukee and kept our win-streak going!

Klippstein took the win, improving him to 5-0 with a 0.92 ERA, giving up just two hits with two strikeouts and three walks in 7.1 innings. Alexander came in and threw 1.1 innings of no hit, one strikeout ball, improving his ERA to 2.45 and earning his first save of the year. Cavarretta was our best batter of the night with three hits for two runs and an RBI, and with three players hitting homers we were able to overcome a weak hitting night overall and win this one in style.

St. Louis has been dominating the NL so far, rushing out to an 18-8 record, but we’re nipping at their heels just a game and a half back of first thanks to seven wins in a row (and an 8-1 record so far in May). We head into Philly (14-11, 3.5 GB) on a serious roll and with a chance to keep our season rolling in the right direction.

Bad news: Russ Snyder had a setback in his recovery -- our team trainers now say he has to undergo foot surgery and will now likely not return until the middle of June at the least. I’m confident at least that the 19-year-old slugger is in good hands, but it’s disappointing that he’s out of the picture for so long when he was hitting .382/.432/.588 through eight games with four doubles and a homer to go with three stolen bases. Here’s hoping he comes back strong before the All Star break.