[jksander]

June 30, 1947: We arrived in St. Louis to find it raining off and on, but with so many doubleheaders upcoming, it was decided that the game should go on. Dutch Leonard (8-6, 3.00 ERA, 132.0 IP, 42 K, 1.16 WHIP) was unfazed as he took on Steve Gromek (8-3, 2.16 ERA, 104.1 IP, 28 K, 1.18 WHIP) as we got going late in the evening, but it was Cleveland who took the first lead of the game when, in the top of the second, Sherm Lollar hit a sac-fly to drive home Hank Edwards. They added on moments later with an RBI single by Piper Davis, so we went into the bottom of the inning trailing by the early pair. They added a run in the seventh, going into the stretch leading 3-0 thanks to an RBI single by Whitey Kurowski, and our offense never really did much worth talking about. They went on to add another in the top of the ninth and shut us out 4-0 ... and with four games in the next two days (and six over the next four) we’ve got to find some offensive momentum or we risk this homestand starting out incredibly poorly. Leonard took the loss but pitched a complete game, allowing 10 hits and striking out three with four earned runs. But we were outhit 10-6, and none of our baserunners accomplished anything ... most notably, Jackie Robinson only got on base once, stole two bases to get into scoring position when he did, and then we left him there to rot. That’s not a recipe for winning games.

Diomedes Olivo won Rookie of the Month for June, making seven starts with a 3.18 ERA, putting up a 4-3 record while allowing teams to hit just .213 against him. So far this year he’s put up 2.1 wins above replacement in the season’s first three months, throwing 124 innings with a 3.63 ERA and a 7-9 overall record.

July 1, 1947: Tom Seats (9-5, 3.53 ERA, 112.1 IP, 33 K, 1.50 WHIP) pitched for us today, facing Jim Bennett (4-7, 5.38 ERA, 98.2 IP, 28 K, 1.57 WHIP). We took the lead quickly over Cleveland in the bottom of the first inning, thanks to back to back homers from Vern Stephens (scoring two runs) and Wally Judnich to give us a quick 3-0 advantage. Cleveland got on the board in the top of the second with a homer by Babe Young, but we hammered them in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases and scoring off a fielder’s choice, a wild pitch, and a two RBI double by Judnich to extend our lead to 7-1. We traded runs from there, but held our ground nicely as Seats pitched himself a complete game seven-hitter, our boys beating them soundly 9-3. Seats gave up three earned runs and only struck out one batter, but we outhit them 14-7 and he easily won his 10th game of the season. Vern Stephens was four for four with a walk, two runs and four more batted in as he led the way offensively, with Jackie Robinson adding three hits and three runs and Judnich hit twice with a run and three batted in as well.

Chicago (28-50) comes into town next for doubleheaders tomorrow and on the fourth, and then we’ll face three games in two days over the weekend against Detroit (40-36) before getting a reset for the All Star festivities. With seven games in five days, everybody’s going to get a workout, and we’re going to see what this staff is truly made of.

July 2, 1947: Amos Watson (1-1, 9 SV, 0.94 ERA, 38.1 IP, 18 K, 0.83 WHIP) pitched game one for us against the White Sox, and we again took the lead in the bottom of the first, Robinson scoring off a Vern Stephens RBI single. Chicago answered quickly with an RBI single by Tommy Butts in the top of the second, and they took the lead in the top of the fourth off a groundout by Taffy Wright. Sam Zoldak took the ball from Watson in the top of the sixth with the lead unchanged. In the bottom of the seventh, with two outs and Arky Vaughan on first, Richie Ashburn hit a line drive double into deep center that drove Vaughan around to score the tying run! Zoldak got us through the eighth safely, and when our bats didn’t buy a lead in the bottom of the inning, he got us through the ninth as well in a stirring display of bullpen dominance. Judnich walked to start the bottom of the inning, reaching second on a wild pitch that game two outs later as Richie Ashburn tried to will us to another win. He wound up walking, and Sam Zoldak pulled off the hit and run, both runners advancing as he took first to load the bases! That brought up Jackie Robinson with two outs, bases loaded, and a chance to walk it off. Unfortunately he popped out to right and this one went into extra innings. Jack Kramer took the ball from Zoldak, immediately letting pinch hitter Wally Platt take a double into deep center ... Zoldak’s gonna wish we let him stay in for a fifth inning, because after a walk, Luis Olmo hit a two-run double and just like that our game was in complete disarray. Kramer was an absolute mess out there, to the point where Ned Garver had to take over with two outs, men on first and second, and the score 5-2 in Chicago’s favor. Garver got the strikeout we needed, but only after giving up one of Kramer’s runs ... we went into the bottom of the 10th trailing by four, but we rallied and loaded the bases on one out in the bottom of the inning, and pinch hitter Dick Whitman hit a sac-fly to drive in a run that cut our deficit to three runs. Les Moss walked the bases loaded again, but there was no miracle for Richie Ashburn this afternoon as he popped out harmlessly and we lost 6-3. Kramer (4-3, 4.11 ERA) took the loss with two outs against four hits, a walk and four earned runs, and Chicago outhit us 9-8. Phil Cavarretta had two hits, while Ashburn hit once, walked twice, and drove in one of our three runs.

We still had a second game to play, and Fred Sanford (2-6, 4.89 ERA, 84.2 IP, 24 K, 1.56 WHIP) was the man of the hour, going up against Ray Prim (3-9, 3.45 ERA, 109.2 IP, 32 K, 1.35 WHIP). And he was on fire early, pitching five innings with just two hits against him, our guys getting the lead in the bottom of the fifth off an RBI single for Bob Dillinger! We added a run in the sixth off a Joe Schultz RBI double, and Ned Garver took the ball in the eighth with a two-run lead. He was great in the eighth but melted down in the ninth, giving up a solo bomb to Dave Philley, letting them tie us off a single by Fred Lombardi, and then walking George McQuinn to give them the damned lead, and we had nothing left in the tank, losing this one 3-2. What a brutal doubleheader. Garver blew his second save of the year and lost with three hits, three walks and three runs in his two innings, and though we outhit them 8-7, none came when it counted. Vern Stephens was our only offensive force, with three hits and a run scored.

July 4, 1947: Our home stand has not started as we’d hoped, with a 1-3 run so far against Cleveland and the White Sox. But we remain in contention, at 35-38, 9.5 games out of first with four teams in the middle of the pack who are within three games or so of each other. We just need to play with confidence, and build on the big improvements we’ve already made over last year’s mess of a season. I’d still love to put together a blockbuster trade that turns us into instant World Series hopefuls, but the smart move is to bide our time and just keep building our young team’s confidence.

Diomedes Olivo (7-9, 3.60 ERA, 124.0 IP, 62 K, 1.10 WHIP) has done well for us this year, coming in to the league in his late 20s with loads of expections riding on his status as a second round pick. Today he pitched game one against Chicago’s Ed Lopat (4-7, 3.81 ERA, 101.2 IP, 42 K, 1.24 WHIP) and our first three batters of the game hit safely, including Vern Stephens, whose RBI single put us into the lead with no outs in the bottom of the first. Jackie Robinson hit an RBI single to drive in another, he and Stephens pulled off a double steal, and Arky Vaughan laid down a perfect drive down the left field line, driving them both home ... happy birthday, America! Joe Schultz hit one into right to drive in our fifth run, before Chicago finally got its act together and got three quick outs off a double play and a grounder to go into the second inning trailing us 5-0. The game, from there, became a series of offensive showcases as we traded runs through the fourth inning, building an 8-3 advantage. Chicago kept it close in the fifth with a two-run Minnie Minoso homer, but Jackie Robinson hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning (his third hit of the game) and Al Javery took over in the top of the seventh with a 9-5 advantage. He hadn’t pitched since early June, but he acquitted himself nicely in the seventh, with three quick outs, and he did it again in the eighth. With the lead still at four runs and a second game still to be played, we kept him in for the ninth ... with two outs and a man on third Minoso hit a two-run homer to cut our lead to two, and Ernie Lombardi hit a single to force our hand; Sam Zoldak came out and got the groundout we needed to seal the deal on the victory, 9-7 -- lovers of offense rejoiced, but I hoped dearly that we’d be able to get through the second game with fewer fireworks from our opponent. Olivo got the win with six innings and six hits, walking four with three strikeouts and five earned runs. Zoldak got his second save of the year off just six pitches, but I was definitely impressed with Javery’s poise during his 2.2 innings -- three hits, one walk and two runs against him. We asked too much from him by keeping him out in the ninth, save situation or not. Thankfully our bats helped us outhit Chicago 13-9, with Robinson (three hits, a run and three RBIs) and Stephens (three hits, a walk, two runs and two RBIs) keeping us ahead of them all the way.

Dutch Leonard (8-7, 3.06 ERA, 141.0 IP, 45 K, 1.16 WHIP) pitched game two for us agianst Frank Papish (0-4, 5.66 ERA, 35.0 IP, 13 K, 1.74 WHIP), and we found ourselves mired in a real pitching duel early on, neither team’s offense able to get any foothold after the early game’s fireworks. But when we broke through in the bottom of the fifth it was in a big way ... Les Moss scored off an RBI single by Leonard to give us the lead, Vern Stephens hit a sac-fly that scored Richie Ashburn from third, and then Jackie Robinson hit a two-run double down the right field line to put us ahead 4-0! Leonard pitched around a leadoff triple by Eddie Joost in the sixth, stranding him as we held the shutout, and we bought insurance in the eighth with an RBI double by Arky Vaughan and an RBI single by Les Moss to lead by six heading into the final frame. Leonard finished what he started and we held firm to the 6-0 shutout victory. We only outhit them 9-8, but Robinson was solid as ever, with three hits, a run and two RBIs, helping set the table as Leonard won his ninth game of the year, a complete game eight-hitter with two strikeouts and no free passes.

July 5, 1947: Tom Seats (10-5, 3.49 ERA, 121.1 IP, 34 K, 1.44 WHIP) got the start in our first game against the Tigers, going up against Hal Newhouser (10-4, 3.19 ERA, 155.1 IP, 113 K, 1.31 WHIP), their 26-year-old firebombing ace. We took the lead in the bottom of the second with an RBI single off Richie Ashburn’s bat, but they got the run back in the top of the sixth when Eddie Lake had a single that was aided by an E9 error, allowing their pitcher to come around and score. We didn’t flinch, however, as Ashburn got the lead back for us with an RBI single, which Bob Dillinger followed with a single of his own that brought home two more runs to give us a 4-1 lead heading into the seventh inning! They led off with a solo homer from Hoot Evers in the top of the seventh, cutting our lead to two, and they got another when Newhouser hit a sac-fly that scored Billy Johnson. But Seats got us out of the inning with the lead still safe at 4-3. Ned Garver took the ball with one out and Ray Cullenbine on second in the top of the eighth, and he immediately gave up the tying run to Hank Greenberg with a single into left. With two outs the wheels fell off when Eddie Mayo tripled in two more to put them firmly into the lead, giving us real work to do on offense if we were going to salvage the game. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth Harry Walker came in as a pinch hitter, hitting a bloop single into right and then, with Bob Dillinger at the plate, stole second off a called strike and third off another ... but Dillinger hit one to short and ended the rally attempt. Jack Kramer came out to pitch in the ninth, letting them add on another run before getting the final out, and our bats had no answer as we dropped this one 7-4. Seats was phenomenal as usual, pitching 7.1 innings with seven hits, a walk and two strikeouts, but earned runs (four of them) doomed him, even accounting for the one that was surrendered by Garver. Each team hit 11 times, Ashburn leading our team with two hits a run and two RBIs ... we just couldn’t capitalize on the chance we had in the eighth to turn the tide.
 
All Star team announcements came out late this evening, and we had our share of winners. Dutch Leonard and Amos Watson will represent us, both as starters (I was surprised to see Watson not as a reliever ... I guess he’s convinced voters he can handle the spotlight! Wally Judnich won the fan vote and will represent us at first base, and Jackie Robinson made the cut at second base. Vern Stephens rounded out the bunch and will play third base during the annual showcase. Considering we’re in sixth place in the league, getting five players on the All Star rosters is a really good sign that people are noticing what our players have been accomplishing for a team that in the past has been a league doormat.

Richie Ashburn remains the #8 prospect in all of baseball according to the Sporting News, and though he’s put up more than a game of WAR since debuting 28 games ago, he’s still relatively unknown to the voters at large. I suspect he’ll be a perennial All Star before long at all, once he adjusts to the rigors of playing center field in the big leagues.

July 6, 1947: The All Star game’s just two days away, but today our focus is on the doubleheader we face against the Tigers as we hope to go into the break with some momentum on our side. Amos Watson (1-1, 9 SV, 1.25 ERA, 43.1 IP, 19 K, 0.85 WHIP) started against Preacher Roe (7-5, 3.19 ERA, 118.2 IP, 53 K, 1.26 WHIP) in game one, and we took the lead in the bottom of the first off a sac-fly by Vern Stephens. Jackie Robinson added an RBI triple in the third to score Cavarretta, and Richie Ashburn grounded out to score Joe Schultz in the fourth to add on. Hank Greenberg got Detroit on the board in the fifth with a solo homer, and Sam Zoldak took over for us in the top of the sixth, leading 3-1. Detroit got another run back with a double by Greenberg in the top of the seventh, and a two-run homer immediately after by Hoot Evers put them back into the lead 4-3. But we came out of the stretch ready to fight ... Ashburn walked, took second on a sac-bunt by Zoldak, and then Phil Cavarretta hit a towering two-runner out of left to put us back up 5-4! But Zoldak blew it again in the bottom of the inning, Ray Cullenbine hitting an RBI double to tie it up again, putting pressure on our bats once again to deliver. Jack Kramer took the mound in the ninth, still tied at five-all, and they took the lead off a sac-fly by Dick Wakefield. We went down one, two, three in the bottom of the inning, losing this one 6-5. Zoldak blew his fourth save and Kramer took his fourth loss despite our outhitting them 12-10. Cavarretta hit three times with two runs and two RBIs, but our bullpen kept giving up runs and we don’t have the power to sustain repeated comebacks ... it just wasn’t in the cards, especially with a second game yet to be played.

Fred Sanford (2-6, 4.52 ERA, 91.2 IP, 31 K, 1.51 WHIP) pitched game two against Virgil Trucks (8-4, 3.60 ERA, 115.0 IP, 63 K, 1.29 WHIP), and we got him a lead in the bottom of the first with a two-run homer by Vern Stephens. Incredibly, we blew them out in the second, adding a two-run single by Harry Walker, an RBI double for Phil Cavarretta, an RBI single by Stephens, and an RBI single by Arky Vaughan, sending us into the third inning leading 7-0! It didn’t stay a shutout for long ... they scored two each in the third and fourth, adding a run in the fifth after we’d gotten two of those back, so this one quickly turned into a shootout on both sides. But we held our lead, and by the time Al Javery came out to pitch in the eighth inning we still were ahead 9-5 and looking solid. But he quickly got into trouble -- Vic Wertz hit a sac-fly to get one run back, and Barney McCosky hit an RBI single to gain back another, both coming on two outs. With runners on first and second we went to Ned Garver, who advanced both runners off a wild pitch but then got the out we needed to avert the crisis. Les Moss hit an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth to get us into double figures scoring, and Garver got us the rest of the way as we held tough to win a slugfest 10-7. Sanford got the win, pitching seven innings with six hits, three walks, three strikeouts and five runs, three of them earned. We outhit them 11-10, and Garver held firm with his second save of the season, getting through the last four outs with just one hit. Vern Stephens was unflappable, hitting three times with three runs and three RBIs, and Wally Judnich scored a run thanks to FOUR WALKS ... he never hit in the game but he made things happen regardless.

We’ll go into the All Star break with a 38-40 record, 9.5 games out of first as we sit in sixth place -- half a game behind Philly, 5.5 games up on Washington. The Yankees lead the division at 49-32, 2.5 games up on Cleveland and 5.5 up on Detroit ... we still have room to make waves in the league, and if we can get our heads on right as we come back from the break, a top half finish isn’t out of the question. But getting to .500 and above is not assured if we can’t find a way to become more consistent.