Busch Mem Stdm
GAME 1
Koufax vs Gibson
STL 5, LAD 4 (16 inn)
Early on both HOF pitchers looked to be in good form in this most anticipated pitching matchup of the week. LA played small ball to eek out a run in the first with the full intent on making that stand up. A Julian Javier solo blast in the 5th tied it up. A Dick Groat ground out in the 6th gave Gibby and the Cards a 2-1 lead that looked like a sure bet when Smokey Alston came to the mound to remove Koufax with 2 outs in the 7th. Rest assured this was not a move that ole' Walt wanted to make. His star lefty had 7k's without a walk and was pretty much in control, but soreness in that arthritic left elbow made the grizzled manager err on the side of caution. Gibby's chances of victory exponentially escalated until the top of the 8th when LA put runners on 1st and second with one out for Willie Davis who got just enough of a Gibson fastball to clear the fence to put the Dodgers up 4-2. Celebration time wasn't long lasting as the Redbirds struck back for 2 in the home half of the inning. After a failed drag bunt attempt by Bobby Tolan, Stan the Man walked, and Kenny Boyer tripled him home. Banjo hitting Dal Maxvill, who replace Groat at short slashed a seeing eye single just out of reach of Jim Lefbvre and Norm Larker to score Boyer and tie the game. By the end of the 8th both future HOF starters were long gone. After regulation the game was still undecided, so it headed to extra innings. Fast forward to the bottom of the 16th with Howie Reed on the mound for the Dodgers and of all people Dal Maxvill at the plate. Reed served up a 3-bagger to Dal and then gave up the game winner to Javier, who had the honor of starting the Cardinals scoring and ending it for the day. Both teams exhausted their pens as St. Louie drew first blood in this battle of mid 1960's titans.
GAME 2
Drysdale vs Broglio
LAD 3, STL 1
Game 1 was laced with drama and extra innings. Game 2 of this series was all about "Big D". From start to finish LA's tall righty, Don Drysdale, dominated. The intimidating one easily went the distance, while fanning 8 and allowing just 1 unearned run on 4 hits. Speedster Maury Wills (3-5, 2R, 1RBI) paced LA's offense. Jim Gilliam and Tommy Davis each had RBI's as well.
Dodger Stadium
GAME 3
Carlton vs Singer
STL 7, LAD 2
The first game of a twilight twin bill saw the Cards rough up Bill "The Throwing Machine" Singer to the tune of 7 runs in 7 innings. For the second straight outing Singer (0-2, 10.29) didn't have it. Newly activated Larry Sherry mopped up the final 2 scoreless innings. Lefty Steve Carlton was two outs short of completing the circuit. STL's hit parade reached 14. Kenny Boyer (3-5, RBI) and Julian Javier (3-4, 2R, RBI) were the leaders of the pack. Bill White and Curt Flood had 2 hits each as the Cards took game one with relative ease.
GAME 4
Simmons vs Sutton
LAD 6, STL 5
Simply put, the second game of the double header was going to make or break LA's young season. After dropping 3 of 4 to the hated Jints, the Dodgers were in jeopardy of doing the same thing against the Redbirds. Starting the season 2-6 would be a hole the would be virtually impossible to climb out of. When the Cards exploded for 4 runs in the 6th to break a scoreless tie it looked like the season was on life support. The Dodgers were able to claw their way back to a 4-2 deficit by scratching out 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th. Both teams exchanged solo runs in the 7th, so the Cards had what seemed to be a nice 5-3 lead heading toward the final 3 outs. Tommy Davis, who was 0-3 on the day, led off with a slow grounder up the first base line that Bill White fielded and flipped to Ron Willis who stumbled to the bag and dropped the ball just as the hard charging Davis touched it. Up stepped Jim Lefebvre, who was hitting just .114 on the season. Not a lot of confidence coming from the 3rd base dugout until Jim jumped on a 0-1 fastball from Willis that kept tracking for the LF fence. Lou Brock, who could outrun a locomotive, gave it a chase and when he jumped at the base of the wall he had a chance to grab it. The ball eluded Brock and hit off the wall. Flood, who was backing up the play, tracked down the ball and tossed it in to hold Lefebvre to a stand up double as Davis easily scored. Willis now had a 1 run lead with nobody out. He jammed "Sweet" Lou Johnson with a 1-2 fastball that LA's rightfielder fought off and parachuted into right to score Lefebvre to tie the game. By this point Wills was flummoxed, which facilitated lefty Joe Hoerner's arrival from the Cardinal pen. The lefty/lefty matchup between Hoerner and Willie Davis favored St. Louis on paper, and as it turned out on the ball field as well. Hoerner fanned Davis on some high heat that infuriated 3-Dog to the point where he was chest to chest with the home plate ump. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and both parties decided to keep it civil. Hoerner looked to be in control of things, but when Wes Parker blooped one into right to tie the game Cardinal fans listening at home to Jack Buck on KMOX had that queesy feeling in their collective bellies. John Roseboro was in the hole 0-2 when he got a hanging curve that he hit far enough to exit most ballparks, but not the cavern in Chavez Ravine. Both runners moved up 90 feet with the game tied 5-5 and 2 outs. Alston sent Wally Moon up to pinch hit for Howie Reed. "The Unibrow" is that rare lefty who hits lefties well, which is exactly what he did to Hoerner lining a 1-0 offering into center to score Johnson and get the Dodgers a much needed split and new life for a season that looked to be on the edge.
GAME 1
Koufax vs Gibson
STL 5, LAD 4 (16 inn)
GAME 2
Drysdale vs Broglio
LAD 3, STL 1
Dodger Stadium
GAME 3
Carlton vs Singer
STL 7, LAD 2
GAME 4
Simmons vs Sutton
LAD 6, STL 5
Simply put, the second game of the double header was going to make or break LA's young season. After dropping 3 of 4 to the hated Jints, the Dodgers were in jeopardy of doing the same thing against the Redbirds. Starting the season 2-6 would be a hole the would be virtually impossible to climb out of. When the Cards exploded for 4 runs in the 6th to break a scoreless tie it looked like the season was on life support. The Dodgers were able to claw their way back to a 4-2 deficit by scratching out 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th. Both teams exchanged solo runs in the 7th, so the Cards had what seemed to be a nice 5-3 lead heading toward the final 3 outs. Tommy Davis, who was 0-3 on the day, led off with a slow grounder up the first base line that Bill White fielded and flipped to Ron Willis who stumbled to the bag and dropped the ball just as the hard charging Davis touched it. Up stepped Jim Lefebvre, who was hitting just .114 on the season. Not a lot of confidence coming from the 3rd base dugout until Jim jumped on a 0-1 fastball from Willis that kept tracking for the LF fence. Lou Brock, who could outrun a locomotive, gave it a chase and when he jumped at the base of the wall he had a chance to grab it. The ball eluded Brock and hit off the wall. Flood, who was backing up the play, tracked down the ball and tossed it in to hold Lefebvre to a stand up double as Davis easily scored. Willis now had a 1 run lead with nobody out. He jammed "Sweet" Lou Johnson with a 1-2 fastball that LA's rightfielder fought off and parachuted into right to score Lefebvre to tie the game. By this point Wills was flummoxed, which facilitated lefty Joe Hoerner's arrival from the Cardinal pen. The lefty/lefty matchup between Hoerner and Willie Davis favored St. Louis on paper, and as it turned out on the ball field as well. Hoerner fanned Davis on some high heat that infuriated 3-Dog to the point where he was chest to chest with the home plate ump. Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and both parties decided to keep it civil. Hoerner looked to be in control of things, but when Wes Parker blooped one into right to tie the game Cardinal fans listening at home to Jack Buck on KMOX had that queesy feeling in their collective bellies. John Roseboro was in the hole 0-2 when he got a hanging curve that he hit far enough to exit most ballparks, but not the cavern in Chavez Ravine. Both runners moved up 90 feet with the game tied 5-5 and 2 outs. Alston sent Wally Moon up to pinch hit for Howie Reed. "The Unibrow" is that rare lefty who hits lefties well, which is exactly what he did to Hoerner lining a 1-0 offering into center to score Johnson and get the Dodgers a much needed split and new life for a season that looked to be on the edge.
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