Posts Tagged ‘Atlanta Braves’
AGEE AND GARRETT BURN ATLANTA, HICKMAN HAS 10 TOTAL BASES IN GAME VS DODGERS
Sunday, August 10, 1969
Team W L T PCT GB
Chicago Cubs 71 43 1 .623 -
New York Mets 62 48 0 .564 7.0
St. Louis Cardinals 63 51 0 .553 8.0
Tommie Agee and Wayne Garrett continued their hot hitting and the Mets continued their dominance of the Braves.
Agee had two doubles and a home run, and Garrett went 2 for 4. Nolan Ryan left with an injury after 2 1/3, giving way to Don Cardwell, who went 4 innings. Tug McGraw then finished the game, preserving the shutout. New York has taken six of its last seven games against Atlanta.
Mets 3, Braves 0. W: Cardwell (4-9) L: Britton (6-3) SV: McGraw (7)
***
Don Sutton got the better of Ken Holtzman in Los Angeles. Dodgers leadoff man Ted Sizemore went 3 for 4 and scored twice. Randy Hundley went 2 for 4 with a run and RBI for the Cubs.
Dodgers 4, Cubs 2. W: Sutton (14-11) L: Holtzman (13-6) SV: Mikkelsen (2)
Saturday, August 9, 1969
Tommie Agee went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, and Wayne Garrett drove in two as the Mets continued their mastery of the Atlanta Braves. Bobby Pfeil and Cleon Jones also added 2 hits each. Tom Seaver went 7 1/3 for the win, while his counterpart Pat Jarvis exited early after allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in just 2 1/3 innings.
Mets 5, Braves 3. W: Seaver (16-7) L: Stone (9-8) SV: Koonce (7)
***
Jim Hickman had two home runs and a double as Bill Hands shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-0. Randy Hundley also homered.
Cubs 4, Dodgers 0. W: Hands (14-8) L: Foster (3-7)
CUBS MOVE TO 8 GAMES UP IN EAST
Team Name W L T PCT GB
Chicago Cubs 70 42 1 .625 -
New York Mets 60 48 0 .556 8.0
St. Louis Cardinals 61 51 0 .545 9.0
Friday, August 8, 1969
The Mets split a doubleheader in Atlanta. In the first game, Cleon Jones doubled in the go-ahead run in the ninth and singles from Don Clendenon and J.C. Martin plated insurance runs; Jerry Koosman pitched a complete game. In the second, both lineups seemed tired as neither team scored in the first nine innings. Ron Reed bested Gary Gentry’s nine shutout innings with ten of his own. In the bottom of the tenth, Clete Boyer led off with a single off Ron Taylor and scored on a single from Felipe Alou.
Mets 4, Braves 1 (1). W: Koosman (9-7) L: Pappas (5-9)
Braves 1, Mets o (2, 10 inn.). W: Reed (10-8) L: Taylor (6-3)
The Dodgers’s Bill Singer two-hit the Cubs in a series opener in Los Angeles. Fergie Jenkins gave up 4 runs (1 unearned) in 5 innings of work.
Dodgers 5, Cubs 0. W: Singer (14-7) L: Jenkins (15-10)
Thursday, August 7, 1969
Both the Mets and Cubs had off.
Wednesday, August 6, 1969
The Mets scored 2 runs in the first but went scoreless the rest of the game as the host Reds won 3-2. Ron Swoboda had 3 of the team’s 10 hits. Jim Merritt settled down after the opening frame and went the distance for the win.
Reds 3, Mets 2. W: Merritt (11-5) L: McAndrew (3-4)
Don Kessinger singled to drive in Jim Hickman with the tying run, and Jimmy Wynn’s error allowed Nate Oliver to score the go-ahead run on the play, as well. Rich Nye made a spot start and got the win desite giving up 4 runs in 6 innings. Dick Selma went 3 innings to finish out the game.
Cubs 5, Astros 4. W: Nye (3-5) L: Billingham (4-6) SV: Selma (1)
METS, CUBS OPEN WEEKEND SERIES WITH WINS
Friday, August 1, 1969
The Mets answered 3 runs from the Braves in the top of the first with 4 runs of their own and went on to win 5-4.
Starting pitcher Don Cardwell got just one out and had to be spelled early by Cal Koonce, who got New York out of the first without further damage. In the bottom of the frame, Bud Harrelson, Bobby Pfeil, and Tommie Agee all singled off staff ace Phil Niekro to load the bases with no outs. Ron Swoboda walked with two outs to force in a run. Two more scored on a Rod Gaspar single, and then the Mets went ahead when Swoboda scored on a passed ball.
Jerry Grote added a home run in the fourth, and Koonce went deep with 6 1/3 innings out of the pen while allowing just one run. Ron Taylor came on for a seven-out save.
Mets 5, Braves 4. W: Koonce (5-3) L: Phil Niekro (15-9) SV: Taylor (10) Ernie Banks drove in two on a single in the first inning and Jim Hickman did the same in the seventh to pace the Cubs over the Padres at Wrigley. Bill Hands outpitched Clay Kirby to earn the win.
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Cubs 5, Padres 2. W: Hands (12-8) L: Kirby (3-14) SV: Regan (11)
NL EAST STANDINGS
W L T PCT GB
Chicago Cubs 65 41 1 .613 -
New York Mets 56 44 0 .560 6.0
NIEKRO, PERRY TAME CUBS, METS
Wednesday, June 11, 1969
Bill Hands failed to get out of the first inning as the Braves put up 4 runs and Phil Niekro made them hold up.
Atlanta loaded the bases with no outs and Orlando Cepeda doubled to drive in 2 runs. Darrell Evans’s sac fly scored a third run, and Felix Millan sent Hands to the showers with a run-scoring single. Rich Nye took over and pitched very well in relief, allowing just 1 more run in 7 2/3 innings.
Niekro picked up his 10th win by giving up just 2 hits, including Randy Hundley’s solo shot in the 6th.
Braves 5, Cubs 1 W: Niekro (10-4) L: Hands (5-6)
***
The New York Mets’s winning streak ended at 11 as the Giants bounced around starter Gary Gentry and reliever Tug McGraw, who were each charged with 3 earned runs. San Francisco scored 2 in the 1st, 2 in the 4th, and 3 in the 7th to put the game away. Ron Hunt and Willie Mays led the Giant attack with 3 hits each.
While five Mets pitchers were giving up a total of 12 hits and 9 walks, Gaylord Perry was in cruise control. The 30-year-old hurler yielded just 2 runs on 4 hits through 9 innings.
Giants 7, Mets 2 W: Perry (9-5) L: Gentry (5-5)
***
Team Name G W L T PCT GB Chicago Cubs 56 37 18 1 .673 - New York Mets 53 29 24 0 .547 7.0
HOLTZMAN WINS 10TH, METS’ STREAK AT 11
Tuesday, June 10, 1969
A late, 3-run rally give Chicago’s Ken Holtzman his 10th win of the season.
Holtzman went seven innings while allowing just 1 run, but his team trailed 1-0 going into the top of the 7th in Atlanta. Pinch-hitter Willie Smith led off the 8th with a home run off Braves starter Ron Reed, and after Al Spangler singled, Ron Santo’s home run put the Cubs in front. Phil Regan took over from there to close out the win in this first game of the road trip.
Both Spangler and Santo went 2 for 4 in the winning effort.
Cubs 3, Braves 1 W: Holtzman (10-1) L: Reed (5-5) SV: Regan (6)
***
Tommie Agee went 4 for 5 with 3 runs and 3 RBI to lead the Mets to their 11th consecutive victory.
San Francisco’s Mike McCormick and reliever Ron Herbel both proved ineffective on the mound. Jerry Grote and Mets starter Don Cardwell both went 3 for 3, and Cleon Jones knocked in 3 runs as New York beat the host Giants. Cardwell pitched well through eight innings but faltered in the 9th, giving up 3 runs before giving way to reliever Ron Taylor.
Mets 9, Giants 4 W: Cardwell (2-4) L: McCormick (3-3) SV: Taylor (5)
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Team Name W L T PCT GB Chicago Cubs 37 17 1 .685 - New York Mets 29 23 0 .558 7.0
SWEEPS WEEK FOR CUBS, METS!
Sunday, June 1, 1969
Ken Holtzman had another rocky outing but again the Cubs still came away with the win.
Chicago scored 6 runs in the 3rd inning off Atlanta starter Pat Jarvis, the big blow coming on Randy Hundley’s 3-run shot. But Holtzman gave up two 2-run homers, one to a unusual suspect (catcher Bob Tillman) and one to a very usual one (Hank Aaron) and failed to make it out of the 5th inning.
Dick Selma came on to pitch 4 2/3 scoreless innings in relief, though, to earn the win as the Cubs pulled away from the Braves and completed a three-game sweep. Ron Santo had a monster day with 3 hits and 4 RBI. Billy Williams (who also homered), Ernie Banks, and Willie Smith had 2 basehits apiece for the home town, and Jim Hickman added a home run of his own. The Braves’s Orlando Cepeda had 3 hits.
Cubs 13, Braves 4 W: Selma (5-3) L: Jarvis (5-3)
***
Willie McCovey homered for the third consecutive game against the Mets but New York emerged with the win and the series sweep at Shea.
With the score tied 4-4 going into the bottom of the 9th, Giants reliever Joe Gibbon walked the bases loaded and then walked Ron Swoboda to force in Bud Harrelson with the winning run.
Neither starter had fared well. Bobby Bolin was fortunate to give up only 4 runs in surrendering 8 hits and 3 walks in just 4 1/3 innings. Meanwhile, the Mets’s Jim McAndrew was similarly lucky after giving up 3 hits and 4 walks that led to 2 runs (1 unearned) in 1 2/3 innings. Manager Gil Hodges brought in Don Cardwell, who pitched a strong 6 1/3 innings while giving up 2 runs. Ron Taylor pitched the 9th and got the win in relief.
Both Harrelson and Swoboda went 2 for 4, and Jerry Grote was 2 for 3 with a triple. Ed Kranepool had an RBI single.
Mets 5, Giants 4 W: Taylor (1-0) L: Gibbon (1-3)
NL EAST STANDINGS
Team Name W L PCT GB Chicago Cubs 33 16 .673 - Pittsburgh Pirates 25 23 .521 7.5 New York Mets 22 23 .489 9.0 St. Louis Cardinals 22 25 .468 10.0 Philadelphia Phillies 18 25 .419 12.0 Montreal Expos 11 33 .250 19.5
BRAVES SCALP METS, CUBS SHUT OUT L.A.
Thursday, May 22, 1969
Like Tom Seaver the day before, Mets pitchers threw to Braves bats. Unlike Seaver’s the day before, their pitches were hit where Mets fielders weren’t.
A procession of New York arms that included Tug McGraw, Don Cardwell, Cal Koonce, Al Jackson, and Ron Taylor gave up a total of 18 hits, just a day after they managed just 3 off Seaver. Clete Boyer went 3 for 3 with a home run and scored four times, Felix Millan homered and scored 3 times, and Hank Aaron had first-inning home run that put the Braves up 2-0 en route to a blowout.
Braves 15, Mets 3 W: Jarvis (4-2) L: McGraw (3-1) SV: Stone (1)
***
Fergie Jenkins and Bill Singer each pitched complete games but Jenkins outpitched Singer as the Cubs won at Chavez Ravine.
Jenkins held Los Angeles scoreless while Glenn Beckert’s run-scoring single in the 6th and Don Kessinger’s 2-RBI single in the 7th accounted for all the scoring.
Cubs 3, Dodgers 0 W: Jenkins (6-2) L: Singer (5-4)
METS REACH .500 AS SEAVER WINS 6TH, HANDS DROPS GAME TO DODGERS
Wednesday, May 21, 1969
Tom Seaver pitched to contact and his fielders played sparkling defense behind him.
The New York Mets ace, who usually strikes out his share of batters, struck out only 2 Braves but also gave up only 3 hits as he recorded a shutout in Atlanta Stadium.
Tommie Agee and Ken Boswell both doubled and singled, and Cleon Jones was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. But little Buddy Harrelson had the biggest hit of the game when he tripled off starter Phil Niekro with the bases loaded in the 8th to break the game open.
Mets 5, Braves 0 W: Seaver (6-2) L: Niekro (6-3)
From 1969: The Year Everything Changed (Skyhorse Publishing, 2009):
The Mets began to creep closer and closer to the .500 mark. On May 21, Seaver shut out National League West leading Atlanta…With the win, New York’s record improved to 18-18, marking the latest point in any season the franchise had not had a losing record. In the locker room after the game, many team members celebrated as if they had just pulled into first place. Seaver, emerging as the team leader, remained stoic, telling the reporters who had assembled to write about the miraculous achievment that, “.500 is nothing to celebrate.”
***
Leadoff man Willie Crawford homered in the first and later singled in another run as the Dodgers beat the visiting Cubs 3-1.
Lefty Claude Osteen went the distance to notch the win for Los Angeles. Bill Hands took his 5th loss of the season, giving up 3 runs in 7 innings. Ron Santo went 2 for 4 for Chicago.
Dodgers 3, Cubs 1 W: Osteen (6-2) L: Hands (3-5)
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR AS METS COMEBACK FALLS SHORT
Thursday, May 15, 1969
The Atlanta Braves handed Don Cardwell his sixth loss in seven decisions.
The down on his luck Mets pitcher lasted just 3 innings, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, including the first of two home runs from slugger Hank Aaron. Rookie Jack DiLauro made his Major League debut in relief and pitching a scoreless 4th and 5th innings, but Cal Koonce surrendered an RBI double by Bob Tillman in the 6th and Aaron’s second home run in the 7th.
Trailing 6-2, New York rallied for three runs in the 8th, and hope surged through the home crowd when the Mets moved two runners into scoring position with one out in the 9th. But after an intentional walk to Wayne Garrett, Ken Boswell’s grounder to first resulted in a force out at home, and reliever Cecil Upshaw earned his ninth save of the year by retiring Cleon Jones on a pop-up to end the game. Garrett went 3 for 4 on the day, and Art Shamsky went 2 for 4 with 2 RBI in the Mets loss.
Braves 6, Mets 5 W: Jarvis (3-2) L: Cardwell (1-6) SV: Upshaw (9)
NL EAST STANDINGS
Team Name W L PCT GB Chicago Cubs 23 11 .667 - Pittsburgh Pirates 17 15 .531 5.0 New York Mets 15 18 .455 7.5 St. Louis Cardinals 14 18 .438 8.0 Philadelphia Phillies 13 17 .433 8.0 Montreal Expos 11 19 .367 10.0
“RECREATING THE MIRACLE SEASON” is a look back at the storied division race between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in 1969. Keep checking back throughout the 2009 season to get the game stories from 40 years ago to the day. This on-going feature is brought to you by the book 1969: The Year Everything Changed, available now from Skyhorse Publishing.
CUBS RALLY PAST PODRES, PADRES; METS WIN GAME OF CRAZY 8′S
Wednesday, May 14, 1969
The Cubs scored a dramatic come-from-behind victory to sweep a series with the San Diego Padres.
With 1955 World Series hero Johnny Podres, now of the Padres, looking to save a 2-1 San Diego lead, Ernie Banks tied the game with a leadoff home run in the last of the 9th. With the Wrigley Field crowd still buzzing two batters later, Nate Oliver doubled, and after an intentional walk to Adolfo Phillips, Frank Reberger came on to face pinch-hitter Willie Smith. Smith singled into left field and Oliver came around to score the winning run.
Both starting pitchers threw well. San Diego’s Tommie Sisk gave up just one run in 6 innings, while Bill Hands gave up 2 in 6 1/3. Ron Santo also homered for the Cubs, and Don Nottebart got the win in relief.
With the Pirates’ loss on Wednesday, Chicago’s win moved their division lead to 5 games.
Cubs 3, Padres 2 W: Nottebart (1-0) L: Podres (3-3)
***
A Cleon Jones grand slam highlighting an 8-run rally in the 8th inning as the Mets busted out against the Atlanta Braves.
New York ace Tom Seaver was human today, giving up 10 hits and seeing his team trail 3-1 going into the bottom of the 8th. But then things fell apart for Atlanta. Braves starter Phil Niekro struck out the Mets’s Amos Otis to begin the inning, but catcher Bob Didier’s passed ball allowed Otis to reach base. Harrelson followed with a single, and then pinch-hitter Art Shamsky reached on an error by shortstop Sonny Jackson to load the bases. Tommie Agee, New York’s hottest hitter, launched a 2-run double into centerfield to tie the game. George Stone replaced Niekro and intentionally walked Ed Charles to set up a force play at home, but then Stone hit Ken Boswell with a pitch to force in the go-ahead run. Next up stepped Jones, who broke the game wide open with a blast over the outfield fence, giving him 5 RBI on the day. Two batters later, J.C. Martin tripled and then scored on a Stone wild pitch.
Seaver recorded his fifth win of the season while Niekro suffered just his second loss in eight decisions this year. Felipe Alou homered for Atlanta. Ron Taylor pitched the 9th to earn his first save.
Mets 9, Braves 3 W: Seaver (5-2) L: Niekro (6-2) SV: Taylor (1)
NL EAST STANDINGS
Team Name W L PCT GB Chicago Cubs 23 11 .667 - Pittsburgh Pirates 17 15 .531 5.0 New York Mets 15 17 .469 7.0 St. Louis Cardinals 14 18 .438 8.0 Philadelphia Phillies 12 17 .414 8.5 Montreal Expos 11 19 .367 10.0
“RECREATING THE MIRACLE SEASON” is a look back at the storied division race between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in 1969. Keep checking back throughout the 2009 season to get the game stories from 40 years ago to the day. This on-going feature is brought to you by the book 1969: The Year Everything Changed, available now from Skyhorse Publishing.