[jksander]

July 23, 1957: Milt Pappas (8-6, 3.26 ERA, 141.0 IP, 78 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) pitched against Boston’s Willard Nixon (7-8, 3.88 ERA, 127.2 IP, 84 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) in our first of three at Fenway to start this road trip. But our plans for Pappas to pitch deep into this game hit a snag for us in the third inning, when we had to pull Pappas because of a finger blister. We had to bring Charlie Rabe out with one out and a man on first without a lot of time to prep him, but he did the job and kept us in the game, and he pitched well in the fourth and fifth innings as well to keep us in this scoreless battle. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth, and in the bottom of the seventh Boston took over, Ted Lepicio hitting a three-run homer over the Monster, and by the time we got the final out we were down 4-0 heading into the eighth inning. Portocarrero came out for the bottom of the eighth, giving up another pair of runs, and we lost what had been a razor-sharp battle by a 6-0 margin. Gorman took the loss, falling to 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA, allowing four hits and four runs (two earned). We were outhit 9-6, but our batters did nothing to actually further the goal of scoring runs. David Shea led the team with two hits, but couldn’t get anywhere once on base.

Pappas is supposed to be day to day for at least four days, and we’re hoping the blister subsides before his next time up in the rotation.

July 24, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.28 ERA, 137.0 IP, 61 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) pitched against Mike Fornieles (6-5, 3.89 ERA, 74.0 IP, 44 K’s, 1.45 WHIP). Ernie Banks got us a lead in the first inning with a two-run single, but we gave both runs back in the bottom of the second when Ted Lepicio hit a homer again out of left. DeMaestri hit an RBI single in the top of the fourth to put us back into the lead, and we started trading runs from there. Del Crandall put us up 4-3 with an RBI single in the top of the fifth, and we added on in the seventh with an RBI double by Crandall and when David Shea reached on an error, driving home Crandall to put us up 6-3 going into the stretch. Art Ditmar came out in the bottom of the inning and Miller in the eighth, but Miller gave up an RBI single to Sammy White and, with two outs and men on first and second, Bessent came out to try and shut the rally down. He struck Willie Kirkland out and got us into the top of the ninth still leading by a pair. But with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, he gave up a two-run homer to Willie Jones, and we were knotted up at six each. Bessent got us out of the inning but it meant heading into extras for the fourth time in five games. Portocarrero came out in the bottom of the 10th, still tied up, and he got us into the 11th, but with two outs in the bottom of that inning Johnny Blanchard reached first on an E6 error that allowed Ted Williams to walk it off and lose it for us 7-6. Portocarrero took the loss, falling to 1-2 with a 6.52 ERA, and we matched them 12-12 on hits, led by Banks with three hits, two runs and two RBIs.

July 25, 1957: Larry Jansen (1-6, 5.56 ERA, 66.1 IP, 32 K’s, 1.63 WHIP) pitched today against Frank Baumann (11-8, 3.64 ERA, 131.0 IP, 88 K’s, 1.21 WHIP). Boston took the lead with a solo homer by Frank Malzone in the bottom of the second, but we answered with an RBI single by O’Connell that tied the game. Boston would retake the lead for good in the top of the sixth, thanks to an RBI double by Ted Williams and a sac-fly by Malzone, but Jansen pitched a complete game, and though we lost 3-1, this time it couldn’t be blamed on anything but our inability to turn base hits into runs. Jansen fell to 1-7 with a 5.33 ERA, allowing seven hits and three earned runs with six strikeouts, and we were outhit 7-5, O’Connell batting in our only run and newcomer David Shea scoring it.

July 26, 1957: Onward to Washington, where today Sam Jones (1-3, 1 SV, 4.18 ERA, 33 K’s, 1.73 WHIP) pitched against Mickey McDermott (7-6, 3.36 ERA, 128.2 IP, 57 K’s, 1.27 WHIP). Washington took the lead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single by Bob Allison, but Del Crandall hit an RBI double in the top of the fourth to tie us back up. Bob Miller took over for Jones in the bottom of the sixth, and in the top of the seventh Danny O’Connell hit an RBI single that put us up 2-1, but we gave it right back in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double by Russ Snyder and an RBI single by Mickey McDermott to put the Senators back on top. Don Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth, but our bats couldn’t get us back into this one and we lost in the end 3-2. Miller took the loss, falling to 2-4 with a 5.46 ERA, and we lost despite outhitting them 8-5 ... Del Crandall leading the way with two hits, a walk and an RBI.

July 27, 1957: Milt Pappas (8-6, 3.20 ERA, 143.1 IP, 79 K’s, 1.36 WHIP) was good to go today against Art Houtteman (4-5, 3.92 ERA, 98.2 IP, 41 K’s, 1.45 WHIP). Eddie Yost batted in a run for the Senators in the first inning, and Sam Dente batted in another in the bottom of the fourth to give them a 2-0 lead. But Daryl Spencer hit a two-run blast in the top of the fifth to tie the game up, and Roy Sievers hit a two-run blast in the top of the sixth to give us a 4-2 lead! But Daryl Spencer re-injured his oblique in the top of the seventh and had to be pulled from the game after sliding into second with no outs ... DeMaestri made it count with a two-run homer with Cannizzaro the pinch-runner (and future third base replacement) at second. But Spencer has been a sparkplug for us all year, and losing him again just seems like another kick in the balls. Tom Gorman came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh leading by four runs, and Gorman hit a sac-fly to drive in another run in the top of the ninth to seal the deal ... even with the Senators loading the bases in the bottom of the inning, he didn’t blink, staying out to keep them from adding on as we won 7-2. Pappas earned the win, improving to 9-6 with a 3.19 ERA, allowing six hits and two earned runs with three walks and a strikeout in his six innings. Gorman, meanwhile, picked up a three-inning save (his fifth save of the year) with four hits a walk and a strikeout. We outhit them 11-10, led by Andy Pafko with three hits and a run, and by Spencer with two hits, a run and two RBIs. Spencer’s out at least for three weeks and has been placed in the IL, joining Metkovich and Diering who we hope will be able to return in a few days, so we’ve brought up minor leaguer Phil Jantze to give us a backup at third while Cannizzaro takes over in the starting lineup.
 
July 28, 1957: Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.34 ERA, 143.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) faced off against Walt Masterson (4-9, 5.62 ERA, 107.1 IP, 53 K’s, 1.72 WHIP) in the first game of today’s doubleheader against the Senators. The game was a deadlock until the top of the seventh, when Thomas Paddock hit an RBI double that gave us a 1-0 lead on Washington. But the Senators got it back in the bottom of the eighth when Ken Aspromonte grounded out to first, allowing a runner in from third to tie us back up. Erskine got us out of the inning without giving them a lead, and Don Bessent came out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth and got the outs we needed to send this into extra innings yet again. He stayed out through the 10th inning, and in the top of the 11th Roy Sievers hit a two-run homer to give us the lead! Art Ditmar came out for the bottom of the inning, getting three quick outs to shut them down as we won game one 3-1! Erskine lasted eight innings with four hits, three walks, two strikeouts and one earned run, but it was Bessent (5-4, 3.89 ERA) who got the win, going two innings with a strikeout and no baserunners. Ditmar then picked up his fifth save of the year, striking out one without a baserunner himself and improving his ERA to 3.20 through 56.1 innings. We outhit Washington 9-4, led by Thomas Paddock with two hits, a walk and an RBI.

Jansen and Jones would be pitching on far too short rest, so we gave Charlie Rabe (1-2, 5.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 9 K’s, 2.11 WHIP) a chance in game two knowing we were going to have him on a short leash and depend heavily on the depth of our bullpen. He faced off against Camilo Pascual (14-7, 2.71 ERA, 195.2 IP, 129 K’s, 1.15 WHIP), so it was hardly a matchup on paper that inspired much hope. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to get us a lead in the top of the first, however, so at least we got going on a good note. But in the bottom of the third, Eddie Yost hit a single that, coupled with an E9 error, allowed both Pete Runnels and Ken Aspromonte to score, giving them the lead back. Joe DeMaestri strained his groin sliding into second in the top of the fifth with one out, and we had to sub in George Wilson as a pinch-runner ... and we were unable to get him around to score. Banks batted in another run in the top of the sixth, however, cutting their lead to one run, and we brought Arnie Portocarrero out to pitch in the bottom of the sixth. Bob Miller came out in the eighth with no outs and men on first and second, and he got two quick outs before Fred Valentine batted one of the runners in with a single, getting us into the top of the ninth trailing by a pair with time running out. Unfortunately we weren’t able to get anything going and we lost this one 4-2. But we’d been more competitive than I’d expected based on our pitching struggles. Rabe lasted five innings with five hits, a walk, four strikeouts and three earned runs, taking the loss as he fell to 1-3 with a 5.48 ERA. We outhit them 8-7, led by O’Connell with two hits and two runs, and by Banks with a run and an RBI (his 48th since joining our team).

DeMaestri is joining our growing list of injured players, with George Wilson starting in his place for at least the next couple weeks due to the groin injury. We’ve got a day off tomorrow, and then will play the Yankees (68-29) for three, including a Wednesday doubleheader. We then have Thursday off and travel to Baltimore (30-67) for three, with an additional day off the following Monday. Wednesday is also the trade deadline, though nothing looks likely to happen on our end as we’re not in a position for move-making. We’re 44-54 and in fifth place in the AL ... unlikely to fall to the bottom of the league, but 24.5 games out of pennant contention. So far our owner is happy with our attendance improvements this year, and unless we do completely crash and burn I think my job is safe into next year ... but his patience will wear thin if I can’t find ways to get this team to gel into a much more competitive unit as we near the decade’s end.

July 30, 1957: Sam Jones (1-3, 1 SV, 3.98 ERA, 61.0 IP, 37 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) started in game one against the Yankees, facing Mike McCormick (10-6, 3.06 ERA, 158.2 IP, 115 K’s, 1.17 WHIP). Mickey Mantle hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth to give the Yankees the lead, and they added a pair in the bottom of the fifth to extend it. Tom Gorman came out to pitch trailing by three in the bottom of the seventh, and he got us through the remainder, but we lost this one 3-0 regardless. Jones fell to 1-4 with a 4.03 ERA, allowing five hits with five walks, three strikeouts and three earned runs in his six innings, and we were outhit 7-2.

We got an unexpected offer from St. Louis this afternoon, and with our pitching crunch what it is we had to consider it. They asked for Joe DeMaestri in exchange for 35-year-old starter Bill “Lefty” Wight, retaining 75% of his remaining contract on the season plus $25,000 in cash. Wight has started in 16 games this season and has a 5-6 record, a 4.21 ERA and 54 K’s, through 104.2 innings, giving him 1.6 WAR on the year. It’s an offer I simply can’t refuse in the situation we’re in, so we’ve accepted. Wight will join us in Baltimore, where he’ll pitch for us in the first game of that series.
 
July 31, 1957: David Shea dropped down to AAA today to make room for Catfish Metkovish, who returned from his injury and rejoined the lineup for today’s doubleheader. Milt Pappas (9-6, 3.19 ERA, 149.1 IP, 80 K’s, 1.37 WHIP) started in the first game against Billy O’Dell (2-0, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 8 K’s, 1.09 WHIP), who has only pitched in two starts since returning from his stretched elbow ligament from last September. Ernie Banks hit a solo homer in the top of the first to get us on the board, and Roy Sievers hit one in the top of the fourth to extend the lead. Banks hit an RBI double in the top of the sixth to make it a three-run shutout lead as Pappas quietly pitched his best start of the season. He stayed out and finished the complete game shutout as we won the game 3-0! In his first complete game of any kind, Pappas only allowed four hits all game, with two walks and two strikeouts, showing just how good he can be when he’s locked in -- he also improved to 10-6 with the win, his ERA at 3.01 through nearly 160 innings. We outhit the Yankees 6-4, led by Ernie Banks with two hits and two RBIs, while Roy Sievers added three hits, a walk, a run and an RBI.

Carl Erskine (8-8, 3.22 ERA, 151.0 IP, 68 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) pitched against Sal Maglie (14-4, 1.95 ERA, 152.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.01 WHIP) in the day’s second game, and the Yankees wasted no time getting the lead, scoring off a wild pitch in the bottom of the first. But Erskine hit a sac-fly that drove in George Wilson to tie it up in the top of the third, at which point we started trading runs ... Tony Kubek hit an RBI single for the Yanks in the bottom of the third, and we tied it up in the top of the sixth with a solo homer by Ernie Banks. Bob Miller came out to pitch in the bottom of the eighth with the score tied 2-2, and with one out and the bases loaded we had to go to Ditmar, who allowed a run to score with a sac-fly by Earl Torgeson, getting us out of the inning with a strikeout by Charlie Silvera. We were unable to get anyone to score in the top of the ninth and lost this one in the end 3-2. Miller (2-5, 5.48 ERA) took the loss, getting only one out for us and negating Erskine’s seven innings with eight hits, two walks, 11 strikeouts and two earned runs. But we were outhit 9-3, so in the end it was our lack of offense that let us down. Banks led the way with his homer, his 17th since joining our team and his 29th of the season as a whole.

The trade deadline has now passed, and any further moves that can be made will depend on any fortuitous players being put on waivers. Milt Pappas was named July’s AL Rookie of the Month, starting nine times in July with a 4-1 record, a 2.59 ERA and 29 strikeouts, holding opposing batters to a stingy .186 average.

August 2, 1957: Bill Wight (5-6, 4.21 ERA, 104.2 IP, 54 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) made his debut for us in tonight’s game in Baltimore, facing Ted Wills (6-3, 2 SV, 3.45 ERA, 65 K’s, 1.32 WIHP). And he pitched extremely well for us in a game with no offense. But in the bottom of the seventh with two outsm the Orioles got on the board with an RBI single from Hal Smith, and they added a two-run single by Gus Triandos just moments later to suddenly turn a tight game into a rough jam. Tom Gorman came out with two outs and a man on, and by the time we got the final out we were in a 4-0 hole we would not get out of despite Gorman pitching well the rest of the way. We were outhit 11-8, and after six great innings, Wight wound up with four earned runs from the seventh, turning a good start into a terrible one in the blink of an eye.

August 3, 1957: Sam Jones (1-4, 1 SV, 4.03 ERA, 67.0 IP, 40 K’s, 1.69 WHIP) pitched against Roger Craig (6-10, 4.40 ERA, 131.0 IP, 71 K’s, 1.33 WHIP) in the second game in Baltimore, and our bats got us a good lead in the top of the second, thanks to a three-run homer by George Wilson, his first of the year! But the Orioles got three runs back in the bottom of the second and bottom of the fourth combined, and we were back into a battle. Ernie Banks hit an RBI single in the top of the fifth to get us a slim lead back, but Jones allowed Triandos to hit a two-run double to push them back on top in the bottom frame. Sam Jones then hit an RBI single to tie it back up and save himself from getting another loss, as we brought out Arnie Portocarrero in the bottom of the sixth with the score tied 5-5. We held our own from there, and in the top of the eighth Portocarrero hit an RBI single to get us into the lead, with Metkovich doubling to bring him home. Metkovich would score off a sac-fly by Banks, and we led by three heading into the bottom of the eighth with Art Ditmar coming out to pitch. Baltimore got a run back with a run that scored despite Jimmy Kindell hitting into a 4-6-3 double play, and Don Bessent came out in the bottom of the ninth, shutting them down as we won 8-6! Arnie Portocarrero (2-2, 5.27 ERA) went two innings with just a hit and a walk, and Ditmar picked up his second hold to set up Bessent for his 11th save as we held tough to win tonight. We outhit the Orioles 12-10 in the slugfest, led by Wilson with two hits, a walk, three runs and three RBIs.

August 4, 1957: Charlie Rabe (1-3, 5.48 ERA, 23.0 IP, 13 K’s, 1.91 WHIP) started our final game in Baltimore, facing Glen Hobbie (2-6, 6 SV, 4.17 ERA, 69.0 IP, 42 K’s, 1.67 WHIP). Baltimore took the lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to an RBI triple by Wes Covington and a sac-fly by Brooks Robinson, but we tied it up in the top of the sixth with RBI singles by Sievers and Crandall. In the top of the seventh we took the lead when O’Connell hit an RBI single, and Banks batted in another to make it a two-run lead going into the stretch. Tom Gorman came out with one out and nobody on in the bottom of the seventh, and in the bottom of the eighth the Orioles got a run back with a homer out of right by Lenny Green. Art Ditmar came out with a man on second and one out, getting us out of the jam and into the ninth with a one run lead. Ditmar stayed out and got the three outs we needed in the bottom of the ninth to hold them off 4-3! Rabe improved to 2-3 with a 4.91 ERA, allowing just two hits, three walks and six strikeouts with two earned runs in his 6.1 innings, and Gorman picked up his second hold, Ditmar then saving his sixth game of the season with 1.2 innings, a walk and two strikeouts. We outhit Baltimore 9-4, led by O’Connell with three hits, one walk and one RBI.

We’ve got one week left on this road trip, after which we’ve got a three week stretch of home games. After a travel day tomorrow we’ll face Chicago (46-59) for three games and then Cleveland (61-43) for a four-game weekend series.