Week 16 Results (07/29/1957 - 08/04/1957)

Monday, July 29, 1957

Transaction List:

 

Baltimore first baseman Bob Hale made his final season appearance on 07/28/1957

 

Chicago (AL) outfielder Ron Northey (team finale 07/23/1957) was released

 

Philadelphia outfielder Ron Northey (team debut 07/30/1957) was signed as a free agent

 

Kansas City pitcher Rip Coleman was recalled before 07/30/1957

 

Cleveland pitcher Johnny Gray made his first season appearance on 07/30/1957

 

Washington third baseman Eddie Yost returned to play on 07/31/1957 following his injury (?) of

07/09/1957

 

Chicago (AL) 5 Baltimore (H) 3

 

The White Sox ended their series in Baltimore by taking 4-of-5 games as Billy Pierce (15-5, 2.46) went all the way for the complete-game victory. Nellie Fox went 3-for-5 with three runs scored and Minnie Minoso went 3-for-4 with two RBI's and a double to lead the offense.

 

Cleveland 3 Boston (H) 1

 

The Indians bullpen combined for six innings of three-hit, no-run relief to clinch the win for the visitors. Vic Wertz hit a two-run homerun (#25) in the fourth to get Cleveland the lead they never gave up.

 

Philadelphia 6 Chicago (NL) (H) 3

 

After having been blanked in both games yesterday the Cubs wasted little time getting on the scoreboard with a two-run first, but Robin Roberts (9-10, 5.05) settled down from there and went all the way for the win. A three-run double by first baseman Ed Bouchee in the top of the eighth was the big hit for the Phillies.

 

Milwaukee (H) 4 New York (NL) 1

 

The first place Milwaukee Braves know they still have a long way to go and they started by grinding out a 4-1 win over the Giants. Warren Spahn (13-5, 3.30) got the win, and Eddie Mathews went 3-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and RBI, and a late homerun (#28) to help cushion the lead.

 

St. Louis (H) 8 Pittsburgh 3

 

The Pirates pitching staff has been running on fumes recently and several attempts at finding a fourth or fifth starter have not proven to have been fruitful, so today Whammy Douglas (0-1, 10.50) was given the opportunity. St. Louis welcomed Douglas to the big leagues by scoring twice in the first and then four more times in the second, the big hit being a three-run homerun by Al Dark (#6). Given the team pitching situation, Douglas was allowed to bat in the top of the third and promptly hit into a double play, one of three Pittsburgh double plays on the day. Welcome to the big leagues Mr. Douglas.

 

Note: Pittsburgh became the first team to reach the 100 games played mark.

 

Tuesday, July 30, 1957

 

Transaction List:

 

Chicago (NL) pitcher Bob Anderson made his major league debut on 07/31/1957

 

New York (NL) pitcher Jim Constable made his season debut on 08/01/1957

 

Baltimore (H) 5 Cleveland 4

 

The Orioles scored twice in the first and then Bob Neiman tripled home three runs in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead and the Billy Loes (8-8, 2.75) held off a furious Cleveland rally to get the win.

 

Boston (H) 8 Detroit 5

 

Ted Williams put the Red Sox head to stay with a three-run homerun in the bottom of the third to overcome a four-run second inning by the Tigers. The Tigers stayed close but Bob Porterfield (10-2, 2.25) and Mike Fornieles held off a late Tigers rally attempt for the win.

 

New York (AL) (H) 3 Kansas City 0

 

Mickey Mantle tripled (#9) in a run to in the third inning to get the scoring started and then he scored right after that on a single and the Yankees had the lead they needed. Whitey Ford (5-3, 2.26) scattered five hits and went all the way for the complete game shutout.

 

Dick Donovan

Chicago (AL) 7 Washington (H) 1

 

The White Sox continue on, starting with a four-run second inning and then slowly adding on and letting their starting pitcher ride home from there. Dick Donovan (15-2, 2.34) went all the way but lost his shutout opportunity with two outs in the bottom of the ninth when Roy Sievers homered (#32).

 

Chicago (NL) (H) 3 Brooklyn 2 (GM 1) (12)

 

Brooklyn and Chicago just completed a five-games-in-three-days series in Brooklyn (Week 14) and now it was time for a second five-games-in-three-days series, this one in Chicago. Roy Campanella hit a solo homerun (#9) in the top of the eighth to tie the score at 2-2 and extra innings soon followed. Ernie Banks led off the bottom of the twelfth with a long solo homerun (#24)and the Cubs had their game one victory.

 

Brooklyn 9 Chicago (NL) (H) 7 (GM 2)

 

The Cubs jumped on Don Newcombe for two in the second and then three more in the third and the Dodgers appeared to be drifting to another loss, but they did score a few runs to keep it close. Then Brooklyn came out of nowhere to explode for five runs in the top of the eighth, the big hit being a three-run double from Carl Furillo. This was the third time the Dodgers had the bases loaded with two outs but the only time when they were able to convert.

 

Cincinnati (H) 15 Philadelphia 3 (Grand Slam!)

 

Frank Robinson hit a three-run homerun (#11) in the first to get the Reds off to a fast start and Jerry Lynch added a grand slam (#2) in the eighth to complete the debacle, with three Reds homeruns in between. Joe Nuxhall (4-7, 4.86) didn’t get the complete game because he received an ejection for arguing an umpire's call with one out in the ninth.

 

Pittsburgh 17 Milwaukee (H) 14 (10)

 

After having lost three in a row the Pirates found themselves in third place in the NL and in Milwaukee for a pair of games. The Pirates scored in each of the first five innings, including scoring four runs in both the fourth and fifth innings to take an 11-4 lead. Both teams scored three runs in the seventh, and then the Pirates pen collapsed as the Braves scored seven runs in the bottom of the ninth to tie the score at 14-14. Undaunted the Pirates came right back with three in the top of the tenth and then held on for the win. Pittsburgh shortstop Dick Groat went 6-for-6 with six RBI's to push the Pirates to victory.

 

St. Louis (H) 7 New York (NL) 1

 

Del Ennis provided the pop by having a 3-for-5 day that included a double and a homerun (#17) and three big RBI's. Lindy McDaniel got the start was pulled for an injury for the second time in his last three starts. Larry Jackson (11-3, 1.51) and Lloyd Merritt shut down the Giants thereafter.

 

Note: The BBR Box Score shows that Valmy Thomas was the starting catcher for New York while ATMgr shows Wes Westrum.

 

Wednesday, July 31, 1957

 

Transaction List:

 

Washington pitcher Jim Heise made his final major league appearance on 07/30/1957

 

Chicago (AL) catcher Sherm Lollar returned to play on 08/01/1957 following his injury (?) of 06/20/1957

 

Note: After yesterday's games, the Cardinals find themselves back in first place, ahead of the Braves by a few percentage points, with Pittsburgh trailing by one-half game behind the NL leaders.

 

Cleveland 4 Baltimore (H) 3

 

Jim Bunning

The Indians built an early 4-1 lead and then held on to defeat the hometown Orioles. Shortstop Chico Carrasquel had a 2-for-3 day and three RBI's to lead the Cleveland charge.

 

Detroit 6 Boston (H) 0 (No-Hitter!)

 

The Tigers slowly but surely built a lead and added on to support Jim Bunning (13-5, 2.94) who threw a no-hitter in Fenway Park against the powerful Boston Red Sox, the sixth no-hitter of the season.

 

New York (AL) (H) 5 Kansas City 3 (GM 1)

 

The Yankees took a 3-1 lead with three runs in the third, the big hit being a two-run homerun by Bill Skowron (#16). Bob Turley (9-3, 2.85) loaded the bases in the ninth but Bob Grim came in to quench the fire.

 

Kansas City 5 New York (AL) (H) 4 (GM 2)

 

After having lost game one the A's scored three times in the top of the first to grab the quick lead on game two. The Yankees threatened several times thereafter but Arnie Portocarrero (4-7, 4.1) managed to hold them off until the eighth when Mickey Mantle tied the game with a two-run homerun (#18). The A's came right back with two in the ninth and then held off yet another Yankees comeback attempt to gain the doubleheader split.

 

Chicago (AL) 6 Washington (H) 2

 

The White Sox soldiered with another workman-like victory over the Senators. They built a lead, scored some more after that to build a cushion, their pitching throttled the opponents, and in the end, it was yet another victory. Bob Keegan (9-5, 3.42) went all the way for the win.

 

Brooklyn 6 Chicago (NL) (H) 1 (GM 1)

 

A three-run homerun by Sandy Amoros (#6) in the top of the first inning went a long way to giving to providing a nice cushion for Don Drysdale (10-6, 1.80) and Drysdale obliged by shutting down the Cubs in game one.

 

Chicago (NL) (H) 9 Brooklyn 8 (GM 2)

 

The Cubs knocked Roger Craig (3-5, 5.50) out of the box with a five-run second and then they added two more in the third, but by the end of the seventh the Dodgers had tightened things up by making the score 9-8, the big hit being a pinch-hit three-run double by Randy Jackson in the top of the seventh. The Chicago bullpen came to the rescue and put out the fire and get the Cubs a split in the doubleheader.

 

Cincinnati (H) 7 Philadelphia 2

 

The Phillies had two errors on the day and both times they turned what should have been the third out into a run-scoring opportunity for the Reds. Vicente Amor (1-0, 8.10) made his first start of the season and went all the way to provide some rest for the Reds beleaguered bullpen.

 

Milwaukee (H) 6 Pittsburgh 4

 

Twice the Braves took a two-run lead and twice the Pirates came back to tie, but back-to-back triples by Red Schoendienst and Nippy Jones in the bottom of the seventh put the Braves back up again by two and this time the Pirates ran out of innings. Bob Buhl (15-5, 1.56) got the win.

 

New York (NL) 10 St. Louis (H) 2

 

The Cardinals scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the third thanks to a Ray Jablonski error, but  Ray Crone (4-8, 5.50) held the hometown team scoreless the rest of the way. Meanwhile, the Giants came back to tie and move ahead, and then in the top of the ninth Jablonski hit his second homerun (#2) of the day, this one a three-run shot, and then before the inning was over Eddie Bressoud added a three-run homerun (#3) of his own.

 

Thursday, August 1, 1957

 

Transaction List:

 

Detroit outfielder Johnny Groth (team debut 08/01/1957) was purchased from Kansas City on 08/01/1957

 

Cincinnati outfielder Bob Thurman was injured (?) on 07/31/1957 and did not return to play until 08/27/1957

 

Cleveland outfielder Joe Caffie made his season debut on 08/02/1957

 

Detroit 5 Boston (H) 0

 

Duke Maas (8-8, 3.35) scattered five hits and kept the Red Sox off the board for a shutout win on the road in Boston, the second consecutive shutout over the Red Sox. A five-run eighth blew open a tight game.

 

Chicago (AL) 7 Washington (H) 1

 

Chicago starter Jack Harshman (8-9, 6.07) got the scoring started with a solo homerun (#3) in the third and then Harshman added to the lead with a two-run blast (#4) as part of a three-run sixth to blow this game open. The only Senators run came on a homerun from Roy Sievers (#33).

 

Brooklyn 5 Chicago (NL) (H) 1

 

Brooklyn didn’t have the lead until Gil Hodges hit a two-run homerun (#23) in the eighth to give the Dodgers a 2-1 lead and then Jim Gilliam added a three-run shot (#4) in the ninth to salt this one away for Sandy Koufax (6-5, 4.52).

 

Philadelphia 6 Cincinnati (H) 1

 

The Phillies scored three in the top of the first and then added on late to pave the way for Curt Simmons (10-9, 2.72) to get the win on the road in Cincinnati.

 

St. Louis (H) 10 New York (NL) 1

 

Four different Cardinals had three hits on the day but it was a three-run homerun from Ken Boyer (#14) that put the game out of reach for Sam Jones (6-5, 2.88), who struck out twelve Giants on the day.

 

Friday, August 2, 1957

 

Transaction List:

 

St. Louis pitcher Billy Muffett made his major league debut on 08/03/1957

 

Boston pitcher Dean Stone returned to the mound on 08/03/1957 following his injury (?) of 07/14/1957

 

Cincinnati outfielder Joe Taylor made his season debut on 08/03/1957

 

Note: After today's games are completed all teams will have met or passed the 100 games played mark (even the Cubs).

 

Kansas City 4 Baltimore (H) 3 (10) (GM 1)

The Orioles slowly built up a 3-0 lead but then in the seventh Baltimore starter Jerry Walker developed control issues and the A's came back to tie the score at 3-3. The A's finally took the lead when third baseman Hector Lopes led off the top of the tenth with a solo homerun (#12).

 

Note: Kansas City pitcher Mickey McDermott started both games of the doubleheader at first base. He does have four homeruns already this season, so I am supposing the A's must be a little dinged up at this point of the season plus they may have just wanted an additional left handed bat in the starting lineup.

 

Kansas City 3 Baltimore (H) 0 (GM 2)

 

Mickey McDermott got the A's off to a lead with a two-run homerun (#5) in the top of the sixth and Ned Garver (6-8, 4.17) held the hometown Orioles to only two hits to get the win and the doubleheader sweep.

 

Boston (H) 5 Chicago (AL) 1

 

A Luis Aparicio error led to a five-run third for the Red Sox, the big hit being a three-run homerun from second baseman Ted Lepcio. The Red Sox then committed three errors in the sixth to get the visitors on the board, but Frank Sullivan (15-3, 1.93) only allowed two hits and got the win.

 

New York (AL) (H) 3 Cleveland 2

 

The Yankees only had two hits on the day, but they did accrue nine walks, and the hits they did get came as part of the three-run fifth inning. Tom Sturdivant (9-4, 3.63) and Bob Grim held off the Cleveland attack for the win.

 

Detroit 7 Washington (H) 4

 

Washington catcher Lou Berberet hit a three-run homerun in the first, but Paul Foytack (13-7, 3.35) held the home team down following that, and the Tigers came back to win the game easily.

 

Chicago (NL) (H) 2 Pittsburgh 1 (12)

 

Pittsburgh right fielder Frank Thomas muffed a fly ball in the eighth inning and allowed Lee Walls to reach third base, but on the next play Thomas threw out Walls attempting to score on a sacrifice fly attempt. Thomas then hit a homerun (#17) in the top of the ninth for the first score of the game, but then Ernie Banks tied the score at 1-1 with a homerun (#25) in the bottom half of the inning. There the score stayed until Jim Bolger knocked a pinch-hit single and drove in the game-winner in the bottom of the twelfth.

 

New York (NL) 15 Cincinnati (H) 5

 

The Giants pounded six homeruns and twenty hits as they dismantled the Reds pitching staff in the first game of the series. Third baseman Ray Jablonski had a 5-for-6 day with two homeruns (#5, #6) and six RBI's and Bobby Thomson also had two homeruns (#17, #18) to support Curt Barclay (8-9, 5.20). This was Jablonski's second two-homerun game this week.

 

Brooklyn 6 Milwaukee (H) 11

 

Braves pitchers walked eleven Dodgers batters and the visitors were able to make it pay when they exploded for a five-run fifth inning. Jim Gilliam has a two-run single followed by a two-run double from Carl Furillo in the fifth and Johnny Podres (11-5, 3.29) was able to cruise to victory from there.

 

St. Louis (H) 3 Philadelphia 2 (10)

 

The Cardinals scored two early but the Phillies finally got one the board with two unearned runs in the top of the seventh. Both teams had opportunities to score but failed, until Al Dark led off the bottom of the tenth with a triple, followed by two intentional walks to load the bases, and then Wally Moon lined a pitch off the wall to score the game-winner.

 

Note: RIP Bob J. Miller

 

Saturday, August 3, 1957

 

Transaction List:

 

Chicago (AL) catcher Earl Battey made his final early-season appearance on 08/02/1957

 

New York (NL) first baseman Whitey Lockman was injured (?) on 08/02/1957 and did not return to play until 08/15/1957

 

New York (AL) infielder Andy Carey returned to play on 08/04/1957 following his injury (?) of 07/14/1957

 

Boston infielder Gene Mauch returned to play on 08/04/1957 following his injury (?) of 06/30/1957. Boston pitcher Murray Wall (team debut 08/04/1957) was purchased from New York (NL) on 08/01/1957

 

Baltimore (H) 3 Kansas City 1

 

The Orioles got back in the win column when Gus Triandos hit a pinch-hit three-run triple in the bottom of the eighth, more than enough for Hal Brown (9-5, 3.25) to hold on for the victory.

 

Chicago (AL) 11 Boston (H) 9

 

The White Sox scored three times in the first and then added three more in the second, and if that wasn't enough they then put up a four-spot in the sixth as well. The Red Sox offense came alive after that and made it close, but Gerry Staley finally got the third out in the ninth to preserve the win for Billy Pierce (16-5, 2.38). Larry Doby went 4-for-6 with three runs scored, five RBI's and two doubles to lead the offense for the White Sox.

 

Cleveland 4 New York (AL) (H) 0

 

Early Wynn (10-12, 3.63) dazzled the Yankees with his array of pitches and went all the way for the shutout win. Vic Wertz hit a two-run homerun (#26) in the first and the Indians added a few insurance runs later in the game.

 

Detroit 14 Washington (H) 4

 

The Tigers got off to a fast start by scoring three times in the second and then built up a 14-0 lead after the fifth before the Senators had even gotten their second hit. Billy Hoeft (12-4, 2.59) got the win plus went 3-for-5 on the day with a run scored and an RBI. All of the Tigers in the starting lineup had at least one hit and one run scored.

 

Cincinnati (H) 5 New York (NL) 2

 

Cincinnati right fielder Wally Post has only seen sporadic duty over the past month but was back in the starting lineup today and his three-run homerun (#15) in the bottom of the first put the Reds ahead to stay. Art Fowler (7-4, 3.66) and Tom Acker held off the Giants for the Reds win.

 

Milwaukee (H) 4 Brooklyn 2

 

Solo homeruns from Del Crandall (#9), Red Schoendienst (#10), and Hank Aaron (#36) got the Braves off to an early 3-0 lead and Lew Burdette (11-8, 3.88) went all the way for the home game victory.

 

St. Louis (H) 3 Philadelphia 0

 

Von McDaniel (6-2, 2.04) allowed only two hits and got the shutout win. His run support came from his catcher as Hobie Landrith hit two solo homeruns (#4, #5) in support of his pitcher.

 

Sunday, August 4, 1957

 

Transaction List:

 

Bobby Bragan was replaced by Danny Murtaugh as the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

 

Note: In 1957 the Pirates were fighting to get out of last place. Bobby Bragan  (Bio) was constantly tinkering with his lineup and looking for a consistent end-of-the-rotation starter(s), that, plus Bragan could be a bit abrasive to younger players and for a team that was on the come the way the Pirates were … well, even Bragan admitted he was not the best choice.

 

Obviously, the replay Pirates have been on a roll from the beginning of the season. The juggled lineups have always worked as the Pirates seem to find a different hero on an almost daily basis. Bob Friend and Vern Law have anchored the rotation, although they do need some backend help as the current slide has exposed. Still, I hardly think that Bragan would have been canned at this point of the season unless there was something specific that forced management's hand … so that's what I am going with ... a dark cloud had appeared over Pittsburgh and Bragan departed underneath it.

 

Baltimore (H) 6 Kansas City 1

 

The Orioles had a 6-0 lead after the third and Billy Loes (9-8, 2.64) kept the A's off the scoreboard until the ninth inning on his way to the complete-game victory. Baltimore shortstop Willy Miranda was only hitting .183 but had two big RBI's to jumpstart the Orioles offense.

 

Boston (H) 3 Chicago (AL) 2

 

The Red Sox scored twice in the second, the White Sox scored twice in the fourth, and then Ted Williams hit homerun #29 to put Boston up again and there the score stayed. Bob Porterfield (11-1, 2.25) outdueled Dick Donovan (15-3, 2.39) for the win.

 

New York (AL) (H) 8 Cleveland 2 (GM 1)

 

Whitey Ford (6-3, 2.23) didn’t allow any runs until the seventh inning but the Yankees has built a comfortable lead by that point and Ford was able to go all the way for the game one win. Mickey Mantle hit his AL-leading tenth triple and drove in two key runs to help put the game out of reach.

 

New York (AL) 2 Cleveland 1 (GM 2)

 

Run scoring singles from Bill Skowron and Harry Simpson in the first inning was all the Yankees needed to sweep the home doubleheader against Cleveland. Tommy Byrne (4-4, 5.66) and the New York bullpen made that slender lead stand up, with Bob Turley coming in to throw a 1-2-3 ninth.

 

Washington (H) 6 Detroit 0

 

It was the Senators turn to get off to a fast start and a Roy Sievers two-run single  in the first help build a quick 3-0 lead. Pedro Ramos (5-12, 4.86) went all the way for the shutout win.

 

Chicago (NL) (H) 4 Pittsburgh 2 (GM 1)

 

The Pirates scored twice in the fourth and Bob Friend (20-4, 1.98) appeared  to have things well in hand but then Ernie Banks hit a solo homerun (#26) in the sixth to get the Cubs on the board, and then in the seventh a two-out two-run double by Moose Moryn put the Cubs on top. Banks added a second solo homerun (#27) for some insurance in the eighth and Moe Drabowsky (9-5, 3.23) was able to pick up a complete-game win in game one.

 

Pittsburgh 5 Chicago (NL) (H) 0 (GM 2)

 

The Pirates got back in the win column with a complete game shutout from Bob Purkey (9-6, 3.19). Bill Mazeroski went 3-for-3 on the day with two walks and a key two-run homerun (#8) in the sixth to provide Purkey with some much-needed cushion.

 

Danny O'Connell

New York (NL) 8 Cincinnati (H) 2 (GM 1)

 

A pair of three-run homeruns from second baseman Danny O'Connell (#2, #3) powered the Giants to a game one win in Cincinnati. Mike McCormick (2-0, 4.91) got a spot start and made the best of it.

 

New York (NL) 3 Cincinnati (H) 2 (GM 2)

 

A doubleheader sweep for the Giants as Stu Miller (2-12, 3.75) and the New York bullpen kept the powerful Reds offense quiet. Third baseman Ray Jablonski drove in Willie Mays in the top of the ninth with the run that provided the difference in the final score.

 

Milwaukee (H) 3 Brooklyn 0

 

Wes Covington (#20) and Johnny Logan (#6) hit solo homeruns in the bottom of the second off Sal Maglie (4-6, 2.18) and Bob Buhl (16-5, 1.48) did the rest by shutting out the Dodgers.

 

St. Louis (H) 8 Philadelphia 0 (GM 1)

 

The Phillies committed errors on two consecutive plays meaning that instead of three outs Stan Musial would come to bat and one three-run homerun (#31) later and the Cardinals were off and running. Vinegar Bend Mizell (4-6, 4.10) limited the visitors to only five hits as he picked up the game one shutout victory.

 

St. Louis (H) 6 Philadelphia 5 (GM 2)

 

Once again back-to-back errors by the Phillies opened the door for the Cardinals as they scored four times in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead. Lindy McDaniel (15-2, 1.91) got the win although Hoyt Wilhelm gave up two runs in the ninth to make the score close.