[jksander]

June 17, 1958: Richard Sovde (4-3, 4.18 ERA, 56.0 IP, 33 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) pitched against Baltimore’s Ted Wills (2-7, 4.01 ERA, 73.0 IP, 43 K’s, 1.70 WHIP) in our first game back at Muncipal Stadium, and we felt lucky to have a crowd of nearly 11,000 considering how inconsistent we’ve been all year (and with the Orioles in last place in the league). Ron Fairly hit a solo homer in the bottom of the first to give us a lead, his eighth homer of the season as a rookie, and Roy Sievers hit a two-run blast in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 3-0 lead. Ted Wills hit an RBI single in the top of the fifth to get Baltimore on the board, and Art Ditmar took over in the top of the sixth ... at which point the Orioles struck hard. Carroll Hardy hit a solo homer and then two batters later Ted Wills hit a two-run homer, their pitcher singlehandedly putting them ahead 4-3. Danny O’Connell tied it up with a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth, and Ditmar stayed out there to keep fighting. But with the score still tied 4-4, Dan Osinski came out to pitch in the top of the eighth, and this game went into extra innings from there. Osinski was phenomenal, getting us through the top of the 10th unscathed, and Daryl Spencer led off in the bottom of the inning with a walk-off homer to win it for us 5-4! Ditmar came in with a chance to win in the sixth and instead got his third blown save of the season, but Osinski was brilliant in three innings, striking out three against just one hit as he won his first game of the year ... he’s now 1-5 with a 3.86 ERA. We outhit Baltimore 11-7, led by Fairly, O’Connell and Spencer, who each had two hits, a run and an RBI.
 
June 18, 1958: Tom Poholsky (1-4, 5.97 ERA, 24.2 IP, 14 K’s, 1.38 WHIP) got the start against Jim Owens (2-6, 5.88 ERA, 64.1 IP, 32 K’s, 1.83 WHIP). Gus Triandos batted in a run for the Orioles with a double in the top of the first, but Ernie Banks hit his 20th homer in the bottom of the inning to tie it up. Sievers hit an RBI double to push us into the lead in the bottom of the fourth ... but with two outs in the top of the fifth Triandos hit an RBI double that tied it up again. Danny O’Connell got the lead back with a two-run homer in the bottom of the inning, and Ditmar took over in the sixth ... he did well in that inning, but got completely destroyed in the seventh, giving up five hits and a walk to give Baltimore a five-run power drive before we could get Bob Miller warmed up ... he took over with two outs and a man on second, trailing by three, getting the out we needed though knowing we probably should have brought him in for the seventh entirely. Ron Fairly hit a two-run blast to get us back within one heading into the top of the eighth, and Miller pitched the rest of the game but our bats had nothing left ... we’d lose this one 7-6. Ditmar, now at 0-1 with four blown saves, has proven to be incredibly hit or miss. Today he had 1.2 innings with six hits, a walk and five earned runs, almost all of that coming in the seventh inning. He’s supposed to be our best long relief option, and right now I can’t trust him. Miller pitched 2.1 innings with one hit, one walk and one strikeout, but Baltimore wound up outhitting us 12-11. Spencer had three hits, and Sievers hit twice with an RBI, while Fairly and O’Connell each batted in two runs.

June 19, 1958: Bill Wight (1-5, 6.59 ERA, 57.1 IP, 16 K’s, 1.55 WHIP) pitched against Dave Wickersham (4-7, 5.93 ERA, 68.1 IP, 24 K”s, 1.77 WHIP) in our final game of the series against Baltimore. Spencer hit an RBI single to put us into the lead in the bottom of the second, and Crandall followed him with a two-run homer to make it 3-0 heading into the top of the third. Don Bessent took over in the top of the fifth, with Wight already at 80 pitches. In the bottom of the fifth Fairly and Banks hit RBI singles and Sievers batted in a run with a sac-fly to make it a 6-0 lead. Diering hit a sac-fly to score our seventh run in the bottom of the sixth, and Spencer hit a two-run homer in the seventh to make it a nine run shutout lead. Bob Miller came out to pitch with one out and no one on in the top of the eighth, and he got us the rest of the way as we shut the Orioles down 9-0. Bessent got the win, improving to 2-1 with a 6.92 ERA, allowing three hits, a walk and four strikeouts through 3.1 innings. We outhit Baltimore 10-8, led by Spencer, who had three hits, three runs and three RBIs.

Ahead of the Boston series, we’ve decided to call up Dean Stone (4-4, 3.06 ERA, 97.0 IP, 66 K’s, 1.32 WHIP, 2.1 WAR) from AAA Buffalo as extra pitching depth, since we have no days off until the All Star break. To make room, we’ve had to waive and DFA Andy Pafko, who at 37 has been stuck behind Ron Fairly and Roy Sievers and has yet to make a major league appearance this season. Stone will replace Wight, who will become our long relief / spot starter, in the back of the rotation.

June 20, 1958: Milt Pappas (6-3, 3.13 ERA, 86.1 IP, 52 K’s, 1.27 WHIP) got the start against Frank Baumann (6-5, 4.06 ERA, 84.1 IP, 46 K’s, 1.47 WHIP) in our first of three against Boston. We got him a good lead in the bottom of the first, thanks to an RBI triple by Banks, an RBI double by Sievers and an RBI single by Spencer. Banks scored off a groundout by Sievers in the bottom of the third, and Banks hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth (his 21st!) to give us a 7-0 lead! Pappas batted in a run to add on in the fifth, and in the bottom of the seventh Crandall hit an RBI triple and Pappas got a second RBI single to turn this into a rout. Pappas pitched a complete game three-hit shutout as we crushed the Red Sox 10-0! Pappas improved to 7-3, allowing three hits, three walks and striking out six, throwing 125 pitches, easily a season high. We had 15 hits ourselves, led by Banks with three hits, three runs and four RBIs. Roy Sievers added three hits, a run and an RBI, and Pappas had three hits, a run and two RBIs. Banks remains right there in the home run race, just one behind Mantle’s 22.

June 21, 1958: Carl Erskine (6-4, 3.56 ERA, 86.0 IP, 54 K’s, 1.22 WHIP) pitched against Ray Sadecki (0-2, 3.97 ERA, 34.0 IP, 25 K’s, 1.65 WHIP), Boston’s 17-year-old rookie who they drafted 16th overall this past November. Jackie Jensen hit a solo homer for Boston in the top of the first, and Sammy White hit an RBI single in the fourth to make it a 2-0 lead. But in the bottom of the fifth Del Crandall hit an RBI single to get us on the board, and Ron Fairly hit a two-run homer to put us into the lead! Dan Osinski took over in the top of the seventh, and Bob Miller came out in the eighth ... Blaylock was ready to come out in the ninth, but he didn’t need to -- we’d added RBI singles from Sawatski and Crandall, the latter driving in two runs to give us a four-run lead. Miller stayed out there and got us through the top of the ninth, and we won this one 6-2! Erskine improved to 7-4 with a six inning five hit, one walk, two run effort, striking out four. Osinski picked up his sixth hold, and Miller saved his fourth game with two innings and just a hit and two strikeouts. We outhit Boston 10-7, led by O’Connell, who had three hits and a run scored, and by Crandall who hit twice with a run and three batted in.

June 22, 1958: Dean Stone made his MLB debut for the season, going up against Frank Sullivan (8-5, 4.22 ERA, 100.1 IP, 49 K’s, 1.29 WHIP). Boston went up 1-0 with a Nellie Fox homer in the top of the first, but Ernie Banks answered with a two-run blast, his 22nd of the year, to put us into the lead in the bottom of the inning. Bill Wight came out of the pen in the top of the sixth, still leading 2-1, and Dan Osinski took over in the top of the eighth. With the lead still at one run in the top of the ninth, Bob Blaylock came out to close, but Ted Williams hit an RBI single to score Nellie Fox and tie the game at 2-2. Blaylock stayed out to pitch us through the top of the 11th, but in that inning Jackie Jenson hit a two-out double that drove in the go-ahead (again by Fox). We had no answer in the bottom of the inning and lost this one 3-2. Blaylock fell to 0-3 with his third blown save of the year, allowing five hits, a walk and two earned runs in his three innings. Wight had his first hold, and Osinski his seventh, while Stone debuted with five innings and just five hits, two walks, a strikeout and an earned run. Boston outhit us 11-7, Banks leading the way for us with two hits, two walks, a run and two RBIs.
 
June 23, 1958: Richard Sovde (4-3, 3.98 ERA, 61.0 IP, 38 K’s, 1.44 WHIP) pitched against Harold Larned (3-5, 3.62 ERA, 99.1 IP, 76 K’s, 1.57 WHIP) in our first of four games against the Washington Senators. Ernie Banks hit an RBI double in the bottom of the first to get us on the board, and Richard Sovde hit an RBI single in the bottom of the second that scored two more. O’Connell added an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, and we brought out Art Ditmar in the top of the sixth leading 4-0. Bill Wight took over in the seventh, and in the top of the eighth Fred Valentine got Washington on the board with an RBI single. Tom Gorman came out to close in the top of the ninth, leading by three, and he shut the Senators down as we won 4-1. Sovde improved to 5-3 with a 3.68 ERA, allowing just three hits though he walked five against two strikeouts, or he would have stayed out longer than five innings. Gorman wound up with his second save, with a hit and two strikeouts in the ninth inning, and though we were outhit 8-6, Chuck Diering led the way with a hit, a walk and two runs scored.

June 24, 1958: The Senators are now 34-34, and we’re 32-33, so this series has a chance to really define how we want our season to go. Milt Pappas (7-3, 2.83 ERA, 95.1 IP, 58 K’s, 1.22 WHIP) started against Walt Masterson (3-6, 5.14 ERA, 75.1 IP, 16 K’s, 1.66 WHIP). Fred Valentine hit an RBI triple in the top of the third to give Washington the lead, but Ron Fairly hit a sac-fly that scored Walt Bond from third, tying it up in the bottom of the inning. Roy Sievers hit a two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth to put us into the lead, and Don Bessent came out to close it in the top of the ninth, shutting them down nicely as we won 3-1! Pappas improved to 8-3, allowing just three hits, two walks and a run with five strikeouts through eight innings, and Bessent came out for his first save to prevent a late-innings collapse. It was a duel all the way, with four hits for each team, ours led by Sievers who had a hit, a run and two RBIs thanks to his 13th homer of the year. Even better, we improved to .500 for the season, passing the Senators as we moved into fourth place in the AL ... just seven games out of first as crazy as that sounds!

June 25, 1958: Carl Erskine (7-4, 3.52 ERA, 92.0 IP, 58 K’s, 1.21 WHIP) pitched against Camilo Pascual (10-5, 2.28 ERA, 138.0 IP, 78 K’s, 1.13 WHIP), who this year has finally figured out how to keep his walks down, and it’s been paying off in wins. That didn’t help him early in this game, as Ernie Banks hit an RBI single to get us into the lead and Chuck Diering batted Banks home with a groundout to first, putting us up 2-0 after one inning. But Erskine gave up three runs in the top of the second to bail him out, scoring off a pair of RBI singles and a groundout of their own. George Wilson tied it up with a solo homer in the bottom of the second, but Pascual himself hit a homer in the top of the fourth, and this one seemed destined to be a shootout. Bill Wight came out to pitch in the top of the seventh still trailing 4-3, and Bob Miller came out in the top of the ninth to keep that margin unchanged. Unfortunately our bats were done for the night and might as well have stayed in the dugout ... we’d lose this one 4-3, Pascual’s homer remaining the deciding factor as he pitched a complete game seven hitter. Erskine fell to 7-5, allowing seven hits in six innings with three walks, four strikeouts and four runs (three earned), while Wight and Miller combined for three innings with one hit, one walk and three strikeouts. They outhit us 8-7, led by Banks who had a hit, a walk, a run and an RBI.

June 26, 1958: We’ve got our fourth game against Washington today, and it would be great to get the win in the series so we can go back in front of them in the playoff chase and return to .500 on the year. Dean Stone (0-0, 1.80 ERA, 5.0 IP, 1 K, 1.40 WHIP) pitched his second start of the season, facing Art Houtteman (1-5, 1 SV, 7.47 ERA, 53.0 IP, 20 K’s, 1.75 WHIP). Houtteman hit an RBI single to put them up 1-0 in the top of the third, but we tied it in the bottom of the inning with an O’Connell RBI double. But Stone struggled in the fourth, giving up two runs off a double by Tommy Davis and a third off a single by Houtteman, their pitcher again stepping up big ... that’s been a big factor in this series, pitching offense. Bill Wight came out in the sixth still trailing by three, and he pitched three innings before being replaced by Ditmar, in a game we lost badly 8-2. Stone took the loss, falling to 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA, lasting five innings with seven hits, three walks, two strikeouts and four earned runs, and we were outhit 13-8. Ron Fairly led the way with two hits and two runs scored. We settled for a split series after four, with three left against the Yankees here in Kansas City before we hit the road for three weeks around the All Star break.

June 27, 1958: Richard Sovde (5-3, 3.68 ERA, 66.0 IP, 40 K’s, 1.45 WHIP) pitched against Saul Rogovin (3-6, 4.61 ERA, 91.2 IP, 43 K’s, 1.42 WHIP) in game one against the Yankees, and Roy Sievers batted in a run with a single to put us up 1-0 after the first inning. But Mickey Mantle hit a solo homer to tie it up in the top of the sixth, his 23rd of the year, and Bob Miller took over on the mound in the top of the seventh. Tom Gorman came out in the top of the ninth still knotted up at one run each, and in the bottom of the inning Ernie Banks led off with a solo blast of his own (also #23) to win the game for us 2-1! Gorman took the win, improving to 5-0 with a 3.57 ERA, allowing two hits with two strikeouts as he kept us in the game. Sovde lasted six innings with just three hits, four walks, a run and six strikeouts, and Miller had two innings with a walk and four K’s. We outhit New York 7-5, led by Banks who hit twice with two runs and an RBI as he kept pace with Mantle in the homerun chase.

June 28, 1958: Tom Poholsky (1-4, 5.97 ERA, 39.2 IP, 17 K’s, 1.39 WHIP) pitched in game two, facing Mike McDaniels (7-4, 3.77 ERA, 117.0 IP, 73 K’s, 1.19 WHIP), and he got shelled immediately, giving up five runs in the top of the first. Ron Fairly scored off a groundout by Sievers to get us on the board in the bottom of the first, and we kept Poholsky out for the second but he gave up two more runs, and his night was pretty much over. His time as a member of our rotation may be as well. Art Ditmar took over in the third, trailing 7-1, and Wight took over in the top of the seventh trailing 9-5. We gave up another run in the top of the eighth and went on to lose 10-5 in a game we never competed in once Poholsky had his meltdown. He gave up nine hits and seven earned runs along with a pair of walks in the first two innings, and that was enough we could never recover. They outhit us 14-7, our team led by Fairly who had two hits, two runs and an RBI.

Andy Pafko has refused to be demoted after clearing waivers, and has been released at a cost of $3,187. Meanwhile, we’ve made a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies that will send Poholsky, back-up second baseman Danny O’Connell, and AA closer Dean Skidgel to the Phillies in exchange for two starters -- 28-year-old Ron Negray, who has a four pitch mix and great control of a plus-plus curveball, and 24-year-old Johnny Kucks, who has solid movement and control and a five pitch mix (and questionable stuff). He holds runners well, and has the leadership traits we need to help secure the back end of our rotation. Kucks has gone 4-7 at the MLB level with a 2.98 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP and 48 K’s through 96.2 innings, putting up 2.0 WAR for a Phillies team that is off to a miserable 23-45 start this year, worst in the majors. Negray has a 2-9 record for the Phillies with a 5.38 ERA, but has a 1.41 WHIP and does not walk people -- he has the stamina to do well for us in the back end of the rotation as well.
 
June 29, 1958: With O’Connell now headed for Philadelphia, Billy Martin has the job of second baseman sewn up for us the remainder of the season, with Spencer and Bond backing him up when needed. Kucks is stepping into our third spot in the rotation between Erskine and Sovde, with Ron Negray as our fifth starter ... Wight will remain our spot starter / long reliever along with Ditmar, and Dean Stone will step into a middle relief role with Bob Miller. This afternoon Milt Pappas (8-3, 2.70 ERA, 103.1 IP, 63 K’s, 1.17 WHIP) pitched against New York’s Sal Maglie (3-1, 4.08 ERA, 53.0 IP, 22 K’s, 1.43 WHIP). Daryl Spencer walked in a run in the bottom of the first to give us an early lead, and Del Crandall hit a solo homer to extend it in the bottom of the second. Gil McDougald got the Yankees on the board with an RBI double in the top of the third, but Banks hit an RBI single to get the run back in the bottom of the fourth, extending our lead to two runs. Bob Blaylock took over in the top of the ninth, and Woodie Held led off with a solo homer to cut our lead to one, but Berra and Kubeck had flyouts surrounding a strikeout by Lee Thomas and we got out of here with a 3-2 win. Pappas earned the win, allowing five hits with a run and two strikeouts in his eight innings, improving to 9-3 with a 2.59 ERA, while Blaylock saved his 13th game with a hit, a strikeout and an earned run. He’s now got a 4.72 ERA through 26.2 innings over 19 appearances. We matched them for hits with six each, led by Banks who had a hit, a walk and an RBI.

We’ll head into the road trip with a 35-36 record ... we’ll play three against Detroit (44-29), three against Chicago (31-43) and two against Cleveland (45-31) this week before getting some much needed days off for the All Star break. We’ll then face Baltimore (29-46) for three, Washington (39-36) for a doubleheader on July 13, Boston (31-39) for three and New York (38-34) for four before finally returning to KC for two and a half weeks in late July.

June 30, 1958: Carl Erskine (7-5, 3.58 ERA, 98.0 IP, 62 K’s, 1.23 WHIP) got the start against Detroit’s Jim Bunning (6-4, 4.38 ERA, 100.2 IP, 71 K’s, 1.32 WHIP). The Tigers lead the AL currently, but only 14,000 fans showed up, perhaps a sign that the fans view us as an inferior opponent. Ernie Banks drove in a run with a sac-fly in the top of the first to put us in the lead, but Erskine got reamed in the bottom of the inning, allowing five runs off a pair of homers by Bill Virdon and Fred Hatfield. Erskine grounded out to first and drove in a run in the top of the second to cut their lead to three runs, and we trailed 6-3 when Dean Stone came out to pitch in the bottom of the seventh. Bob Miller took over with two outs in the bottom of the eighth, but he gave up three hits in a row (the last one being a three-run homer for Johnny Callison), and we lost this one 9-3. Erskine took the loss, falling to 7-6 with a 3.89 ERA after an eight hit, six run game, and we were outhit 10-8. Banks led the way with a hit, a walk and an RBI.

July 1, 1958: Johnny Kucks (4-7, 2.98 ERA, 96.2 IP, 48 K’s, 1.15 WHIP) made his first start of the year for us, facing Bob Kuzawa (6-5, 3.88 ERA, 67.1 IP, 36 K’s, 1.43 WHIP). It didn’t go particularly well against the heavy-hitting Detroit lineup, and when Bill Wight took over in the bottom of the fifth with one out we trailed 4-0. Wight pitched the remainder of the game and gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth as we lost this one 6-0, our offense completely failing to show up. Kucks allowed five hits, three walks and four runs (three earned) with two strikeouts in his 4.1 innings, and Wight only gave up four hits and two runs with three K’s, but Detroit outhit us 9-2 and didn’t walk us once. It’s hard as hell to win a game with only two baserunners in a nine inning stretch,so we never stood a chance against a team that looks worthy of being the first AL team not named Yankees or Guardians to go to the World Series since 1946 ... though the Guardians only trail them by a game and a half.

July 2, 1958: Richard Sovde (5-3, 3.50 ERA, 72.0 IP, 46 K’s, 1.43 WHIP) took on Tom Brewer (6-6, 4.06 ERA, 99.2 IP, 47 K’s, 1.39 WHIP) as we tried to get out of Detroit with at least one good game under our belts. But they took a two-run lead in the bottom of the first and rolled with it. Dean Stone came out in the bottom of the sixth trailing 4-2, a Fairly homer in the second and a Sievers RBI single in the fifth our only offense. Bob Miller took over in the eighth with the same margin, and we traded runs down the stretch as we lost 5-3 to complete the loser’s sweep. Sovde allowed eight hits and four runs with three walks and a strikeout in his five innings, and we were outhit 11-6. Sievers led the way with two hits, a run and two RBIs, while Fairly added two hits, a run and an RBI with his 11th homer of the season.

July 3, 1958: Milt Pappas (9-3, 2.59 ERA, 111.1 IP, 65 K’s, 1.13 WHIP) pitched against Chicago’s Jack Kralick (4-8, 3.78 ERA, 116.2 IP, 68 K’s, 1.23 WHIP), and in the top of the fifth we got the lead thanks to a three-run double by Del Crandall! George Wilson hit a sac-fly that drove in a fourth run in the top of the eighth, and Pappas tried to close it out but got into a jam in the bottom of the ninth ... an RBI single by Larry Doby scored the White Sox’s first run, and with bases loaded and just one out, Bob Blaylock came out to try and finish it. David Smith popped out harmlessly to the catcher, holding all three runners, and Don Bacon popped out to Bond in left field, allowing us to escape safely with a 4-1 win. Pappas improved to 10-3 with a 2.48 ERA, throwing 114 pitches and allowing nine hits with a walk, a run and six strikeouts. Blaylock came in for the high leverage save, his 14th of the season, and on three pitches he put us on his shoulders. Chicago outhit us 9-6 but we still gutted out the win, led by Crandall who hit four times with a run and three batted in.
 
July 4, 1958: It’s America’s birthday, and we’re celebrating with a south side doubleheader in Chicago. Ron Negray (2-9, 5.30 ERA, 91.2 IP, 43 K’s, 1.41 WHIP) started the first game, facing Billy Pierce (9-6, 3.45 ERA, 146.0 IP, 87 K’s, 1.14 WHIP). Negray pitched five innings but dug us a six-run hole, Ditmar taking over in the top of the sixth. It turned into a rout from there as Ditmar gave up four runs with just one out. Wight came out to finish the game and we were humiliated 11-0. Negray allowed seven hits and six earned runs with a walk and no strikeouts in his five innings, but we were outhit 11-3 and out-walked 6-5. Banks “led” the way with two hits and a walk but got nothing to happen for him on the basepaths.

Carl Erskine (7-6, 3.89 ERA, 104.0 IP, 62 K’s, 1.26 WHIP) pitched in game two, facing Stan Williams (4-10, 4.49 ERA, 104.1 IP, 77 K’s, 1.33 WHIP) in a battle of old guard versus new guard on the mound. Carl Sawatski hit a two-run single to get us on the board in the top of the fourth, and a Joe Astroth single coupled with an E8 error allowed us to head into the bottom of the inning leading 4-0. But Chicago scored two in the bottom of the inning and three more in the bottom of the sixth before we retook the lead 6-5 off an RBI single by Diering and a groundout by Banks in the top of the sixth. Dan Osinski came out to pitch in the bottom of the inning, and Ray Sievers hit an RBI single that, coupled with another E8 error, allowed Astroth and Martin to both score, giving us a three-run lead. Jim Rivera hit a solo homer to get them back within two, and with one out and men on first and second we brought out Gorman to finish the job. He shut them down the remainder of the game and we got out of Chicago with an 8-6 win. Erskine improved to 8-6, allowing seven hits, four walks and five earned runs but getting bailed out by our offense. Osinski got through 2.1 innings with three hits, two walks and a run, earning his eighth hold, while Gorman picked up his third save of the year with two hits through 1.2 innings. Chicago outhit us 12-9, but we made our baserunners count -- Sievers led the way with two hits, a walk, a run and two RBIs, while Astroth added two hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs. We’ll take our 37-40 record into Cleveland, where we’ll play two against the 47-33 Guardians before the All Star break.

July 5, 1958: Richard Sovde (5-4, 3.74 ERA, 77.0 IP, 47 K’s, 1.48 WHIP) pitched against Hoyt Wilhelm (3-4, 3.44 ERA, 89.0 IP, 48 K’s, 1.19 WHIP). Ernie Banks hit a solo homer, his 24th of the year, to put us up 1-0 in the top of the first, and we brought Bob Miller out in the fifth with the same lead. Tom Gorman came out in the bottom of the seventh with one out and a man on first, and he blew the save when George Crowe hit a single that drove in both Stan Lopata and George Strickland to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead. Don Bessent gave up a run in the eighth, and though Roy Sievers hit a solo bomb in the ninth, it wasn’t enough ... we lost this one 3-2. Gorman fell to 5-1 with his third blown save of the season, allowing a hit, a walk and an unearned run, but Cleveland outhit us 9-4 so it was impressive that our pitchers kept us in the game as long as they did. Banks and Sievers each hit homers, giving us our only offense.

July 6, 1958: As usual we’re limping into the All Star break on fumes, and our schedule after the break looks as tough as any we’ve seen since I took over as GM and manager in 1955. We’re sending Milt Pappas, Ernie Banks and rookie Ron Fairly to the All Star game, Roy Sievers finished second behind Ted Williams in the fan vote, and Roger Maris took the second spot based off his .284 average and 23 homers. Johnny Kucks (4-8, 3.12 ERA, 101.0 IP, 50 K’s, 1.18 WHIP) started today’s game in Cleveland, facing Tom Cheney (10-4, 4.24 ERA, 129.1 IP, 83 K’s, 1.38 WHIP). Cleveland went up 2-0 in the bottom of the second thanks to an RBI single by Lopata and a walk by Rocky Colavito, but Banks hit his 25th homer in the top of the fourth, followed soon thereafter by a two-run homer by Daryl Spencer that put us into the lead 3-2. Dean Stone took over with one out and a man on first in the bottom of the fifth, getting us out of the inning on a solid double play, and Don Bessent came out with an out and men on first and second in the bottom of the seventh, getting us out of that jam as well. Bob Blaylock came out in the bottom of the ninth still holding a one run lead, but with one out he gave up a solo homer to Vic Power and this one was headed for extras. Tom Gorman came out in the bottom of the 10th, and with the score still tied at three Osinski came out in the 12th. Bill Wight came out with a runner on first and no outs in the bottom of the 14th, and a pair of back to back errors loaded the bases with one out. They walked it off with a sac-fly to left and we lost 4-3 in the 14th inning. We outhit Cleveland 9-8, led by Banks with three hits, a run and an RBI, while Spencer added two hits, a run and two RBIs. We had to burn through seven pitchers, and while Bessent got his first hold, Blaylock blew his fourth save and Osinski got yet another loss, falling to 1-6 despite a 3.38 ERA through 32 innings and 23 appearances.

We’ll head into the All Star break with a 37-42 record, 12.5 games out of first place and tied for fifth with the Red Sox. We’re only five games out of last place in the AL, so there’s nowhere to hide ... keep skidding on this road trip and we could wind up crashing and burning.We’re 24-15 in home games but 13-27 on the road, and we’re 2-6 in extras and 9-15 in one-run games ... that’s not a recipe for doing well in as tough a league as this is.

July 8, 1958: The AL beat the NL in the All Star game by a 4-2 margin this season. Milt Pappas got the win with three quick outs in the bottom of the third, but neither Banks nor Fairly got a hit in their appearance. Minnie Minoso was named All Star MVP, with a hit, a run and two RBIs thanks to a sixth-inning homer.