Posts Tagged ‘Crosley Field’
GENTRY CRUISES, JENKINS COMES APART
Saturday, May 17, 1969
Gary Gentry gave up 12 hits but was never really worried during Saturday’s game at Crosley Field.
That’s because the Mets knocked out 14 hits of their own and had staked Gentry to a 10-0 lead before he gave up any runs to the Reds, which he didn’t do until the 6th.
Cleon Jones hit a 3-run homer in a 4-run 1st inning for New York. J.C. Martin would add a 2-run shot in the 3rd inning to give the Mets a 6-run cushion. The Amazins piled on 4 more runs over the next two innings. Jones finished with 4 RBI, Tommie Agee scored 3 runs and knocked in another, and Wayne Garrett had two hits and produced 6 total runs on the day. New York has now crept to within one game of the .500 mark.
Mets 11, Reds 3 W: Gentry (3-3) L: Maloney (3-1)
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Fergie Jenkins never made it out of the 5th inning in the Astrodome on Saturday.
The Chicago ace took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of that inning but fell into trouble after giving up a double to Jesus Alou. Johnny Edwards’s single scored Alou, and the Jenkins seemed to get rattled after the Cubs failed to convert an out on picther Don Wilson’s sacrifice bunt. Jenkins walked Joe Morgan to load the bases, Norm Miller singled in Edwards. Leo Durocher gave Jenkins the hook and brought in Phil Regan, but Jimmy Wynn’s sacrifice fly plated another run.
Pinch hitter Willie Smith tied the game with a single to score Don Young in the 6th, but Don Nottebart let the first two batters to face him in the home 6th to reach on singles, and Doug Rader scored on Joe Morgan’s sacrifice fly off Ted Abernathy with what proved to be the winning run. Houston’s Fred Gladding pitched 3 shutout innings to earn the save. Glenn Beckert had 3 hits and Billy Williams had 2 RBI in the loss.
Astros 5, Cubs 4 W: Nottebart (1-1) L: Wilson (3-4) SV: Gladding (3)
NL EAST STANDINGS
Team Name W L PCT GB Chicago Cubs 24 12 .667 - Pittsburgh Pirates 17 17 .500 6.0 New York Mets 17 18 .486 6.5 St. Louis Cardinals 15 19 .441 8.0 Philadelphia Phillies 14 18 .438 8.0 Montreal Expos 11 20 .355 10.5
“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.
7TH INNING LUCKY FOR METS, CUBS
Friday, May 16, 1969
The New York Mets prevailed in a wild, back-and-forth contest at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field on Friday.
The New York pitching staff squandered three leads (2-0, 3-2, and 4-3) and almost threw away a fourth. The Amazins struck back for 6 runs in the top of the 7th, all with two outs, off relief pitcher George Culver. After 6 Met singles, Tommie Agee’s 2-RBI triple gave New York a seemingly safe 10-6 lead.
But again the Reds came back. Cal Koonce inherited two runners with no outs in the bottom half of the inning and yielded an RBI single to Lee May. A second run scored when Tommy Helms grounded into a double play, and then Koonce served up a solo shot to Johnny Bench that cut New York’s lead to one. But the Mets reliever got out of the inning and held the Reds scoreless in the final two innings and was credited with the victory.
Wayne Garrett, Ed Kranepool, and Bud Harrelson each had 3 hits for the Mets. Tug McGraw started and was largely ineffective, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) in 5 innings.
Mets 10, Reds 9 W: Koonce (2-3) L: Culver (2-4)
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It was both a close game and a pitcher’s duel for 6 innings in Houston between the Cubs and Astros. It was neither after 6 1/2 innings…
Chicago’s Ken Holtzman and Houston’s Larry Dierker held the opposing lineups scoreless through 5 innings. Ron Santo’s RBI triple scored Glenn Beckert in the top of the 6th, and the game stood 1-0 entering the 7th. Seven singles, two doubles, and two intentional walks later, the Cubs had batted around in a 10-run outburst. Randy Hundley, who led the inning off with a bunt single, and Don Young both had 2 hits in the inning.
Staked to a sudden double-digit lead, Holtzman kept about his business and finished off another gem of a game. He gave up just 3 hits in a complete-game shutout that lowered his ERA to 1.63.
Hundley had 3 hits and 2 RBI, Santo 2 hits and 3 RBI, and Beckert 2 hits and 2 RBI. Don Kessinger and Ernie Banks also had 2 hits apiece for the North Siders. The team has now won 24 of its first 35 games.
Cubs 11, Astros 0 W: Holtzman (6-1) L: Dierker (5-4)
NL EAST STANDINGS
Team Name W L PCT GB Chicago Cubs 24 11 .686 - Pittsburgh Pirates 17 16 .515 6.0 New York Mets 16 18 .471 7.5 Philadelphia Phillies 14 17 .452 8.0 St. Louis Cardinals 14 19 .424 9.0 Montreal Expos 11 20 .355 11.0