RobKirkpatrick.com

Sunday, September 21, 1969

The Mets rebounded after getting no-hit the day before to sweep a Sunday doubleheader at Shea and take a big step toward claiming the National League Eastern Division title.  Jerry Koosman and Don Cardwell gave the New York bullpen the day off by each going nine full innings.  Art Shamsky went a combined 4 for 7 with a home run, 4 runs scored, a two RBI; and Ken Boswell went 3 for 6 on the day. 

The Mets’ magic number is now 4. 

Mets 5, Pirates 3 (1).  W: Koosman (16-9)  L: Ellis (10-17)

Mets 6, Pirates 1 (2).  W: Cardwell (8-9)  L: Blass (15-10)

Fergie Jenkins has been a workhorse for the Cubs in ‘69, and on Sunday he threw his 22nd complete game and collected his 21nd win. Reserve shortstop Paul Popovich went an impressive 3 for 3 and scored twice, and Randy Hundley hit a two-run shot for Chicago.

Cubs 4, Cardinals 3.  W: Jenkins (21-14)  L: Taylor (7-5)

***

NL EAST                             W    L    T   PCT    GB   M# 
New York Mets                   93   61    0  .604     -      4 
Chicago Cubs                    89   66    1  .574   4.5    -

Wednesday, September 17, 1969

Fergie Jenkins recorded his 20th win of the season despite allowing 12 hits and 4 walks in 7 1/3 innings to the Phillies at Wrigley. The Cubs seemed to break open a tie game with 5 runs in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by Jenkins’ own triple with the bases loaded, and another in the seventh. But Philly struck back with 4 in the top of the eighth before Rich Nye righted the ship with 1 1/3 scoreless innings to close out the game. Ron Santo went 3 for 3 with a 2-run homer and 3 RBI, and Billy Williams was 3 for 4 with a home run and scored three times.

Cubs 9, Phillies 7.  W: Jenkins (20-14)  L: Champion (5-10)  SV: Nye (3)

Jerry Koosman was untouchable on the mound in Montreal, tossing a six-hit shutout against the Expos. Leadoff man Wayne Garrett had two hits and two RBI for the Mets, Ken Boswell was 2 for 3 and scored a run, and Al Weis was 2 for 5 and knocked in a run.

Mets 5, Expos 0.  W: Koosman (15-9)  L: Waslewski (2-9)

NL EAST                               W    L    T   PCT    GB   
New York Mets                   90   58    0  .608     -  
Chicago Cubs                    87   63    1  .580   4.0

Saturday, September 13, 1969

Ron Swoboda struck a grand slam in the eighth inning off reliever Chuck Hartenstein to power the Mets to a comeback win, their tenth straight victory. Tom Seaver went the distance to win his seventh consecutive decision.

Mets 5, Pirates 2.  W: Seaver (22-7)  L: Walker (2-6)

Meanwhile, Fergie Jenkins fell apart in the eighth in St. Louis as the Cardinals mounted their own four-run rally, with Joe Torre and Tim McCarver knocking in two runs apiece on singles. 

Jim Hickman and Randy Hundley had each homered for Chicago, while Billy Williams went 2 for 5 with an RBI.

Cardinals 7, Cubs 4.  W: Grant (8-11)  L: Jenkins (19-11)  SV: Hoerner (15)

BONUS GAME

With four teams all within 3.5 games of each other atop the National League West coming into Saturday, the Astros and Braves locked in an epic matchup. Houston’s Larry Dierker hurled an amazing 12 scoreless innings, nearly matched by Phil Niekro’s11 shutout frames. The Astros looked to have won it when Jimmy Wynn singled in two runs off Cecil Upshaw in the top of the 13th, but then closer Fred Gladding was touched for a single, double, walk, and single and was eventually charged with the loss when Wade Blassingame walked Bob Aspromonte to force in the winning run. The extra-innings win kept Atlanta in first place by one game over Cincinnati in the West.

Braves 3, Astros 2 (13 inn.).  W: Doyle (2-0)  L: Gladding (3-7)

***

NL STANDINGS

EAST                             G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
New York Mets                  145   88   57    0  .607     -   576  496
Chicago Cubs                   147   85   61    1  .582   3.5   668  544
St. Louis Cardinals            145   78   67    0  .538  10.0   534  490
Pittsburgh Pirates             143   76   67    0  .531  11.0   635  591
Philadelphia Phillies          143   57   86    0  .399  30.0   576  652
Montreal Expos                 146   46  100    0  .315  42.5   521  718

WEST                             G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Atlanta Braves                 146   81   65    0  .555     -   615  582
Cincinnati Reds                143   78   64    1  .549   1.0   724  709
Los Angeles Dodgers            143   78   65    0  .545   1.5   593  488
San Francisco Giants           145   79   66    0  .545   1.5   645  592
Houston Astros                 143   75   68    0  .524   4.5   625  589
San Diego Padres               145   45  100    0  .310  35.5   404  665

Tuesday, September 9, 1969

A black cat visited the Chicago Cubs dugout, and now the Cubs are wondering if it’s an omen for their 1969.

As Don Kessinger stepped into the batter’s box, a stray black cat in circled Glenn Beckert in the visitor’s on-deck circle, hissed at manager Leo Durocher, and then scampered back under the stands of Shea Stadium.

Are the Cubs jinxed?  Some people might say so, as Chicago’s division lead has now shrunk to just one-half game with the Mets 7-1 victory on Tuesday night. 

Ken Boswell got the scoring started with a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning. Two innings later, Art Shamsky was picked off by Fergie Jenkins but remained alive when Chicago’s Glenn Beckert botched the run down. Don Clendenon followed with a two-run shot to give the Mets a 4-0 lead.

New York starter Tom Seaver allowed the Cubs’s only run of the game on a Ron Santo single in the fourth. But the Mets added single runs in the fourth, fifth, and seventh to pull away. Art Shamsky hit a solo homer, and both Tommie Agee and Jerry Grote went 2 for 4.  Seaver went the distance in a masterful effort, giving up just five hits while striking out five.  His counterpart tallied nine strikeouts but proved very hittable, allowing ten hits and seven runs (two unearned) in seven innings of work.

With New York’s two-game series sweep of the Cubs, Chicago leaves town with the slimmest of leads in the division and actually one more loss on the season than the (for the moment) second-place Mets. Next up, the last-place Expos come to Shea for a three-game series, while the Cubs remain on the road and head to Philadelphia.

Can the New York Mets, baseball’s loveable losers for the past seven seasons, move into first place?  Tune in tomorrow to find out…

Mets 7, Cubs 1.  W: Seaver (21-7)  L: Jenkins (19-13)

***

                                              W    L    T   PCT    GB  
Chicago Cubs                    84   58    1  .592     -  
New York Mets                  82   57    0  .590   0.5  

Saturday, September 6, 1969

The Pirates manhandled Fergie Jenkins en route to a 19-hit attack and a second straight rout of the Cubs at Wrigley. Jenkins lasted just 2 1/3 innings, allowing 8 hits and 6 runs. Don Nottebart fared even worse in relief, getting touched for 3 runs while retiring just one batter. Ted Abernathy also gave up 4 runs in 3 innings of work. Matty Alou, Gene Alley and Al Oliver each had 3 RBI, and Carl Taylor went 4 for 5 with 2 RBI for Pittsburgh. Bobby Veale, meanwhile, pitched a complete game and struck out 10 Cubs.

Pirates 13, Cubs 4.  W: Veale (17-11)  L: Jenkins (19-12) 

Don Cardwell and Tug McGraw combined on a shutout of the Philadelphia Phillies at Shea. Eighth-place hitter Bud Harrelson was  for 3 and scored twice and Jerry Grote homered for the Mets.

Mets 3, Phillies 0.  W: Cardwell (6-9)  L: Johnson (6-12)  SV: McGraw (11)

***

NL EAST STANDINGS

                                            W    L    T   PCT    GB   

Chicago Cubs                  84   55    1  .604     -  
New York Mets                79   57    0  .581   3.5  

Tuesday, September 2, 1969

The Chicago Cubs completed one win and then won a complete game.

The June 15 game at Crosley Field between the Reds and Cubs had been suspended after 7 innings with the Cubs leading 5-4.  The game was resumed today in Cincinnati, and Ken Johnson kept things status quo by pitching two shutout innings. Paul Popvich’s home run and three RBI back in June proved to be the difference.

For the day’s originally scheduled game, Fergie Jenkins gave up two runs and struck out seven in nine full innings. Don Kessinger doubled and homered, and both Glenn Beckert and rookie Oscar Gamble had two hits and three RBI. Pete Rose was 3 for 4 for Cincinnati. The two official wins on the day increased Chicago’s division lead to five full games.

Cubs 6, Reds 5 (1).  W: Nye (3-5) L: Arrigo (2-6) SV: Johnson (2)

Cubs 8, Reds 2 (2).  W: Jenkins (19-11)  L: Cloninger (9-15)

The Mets built a lead against the host Dodgers thanks to two home runs by slugger Don Clendenon and three hits from Ken Boswell.  New York starter Gary Gentry lasted into the ninth, when Los Angeles mounted a comeback that fell one run short when Tug McGraw came on to strike out Willie Davis with men on first and third.

Mets 5, Dodgers 4.  W: Gentry (10-11)  L: Sutton (15-13)  SV: McGraw (10)

***

NL EAST STANDINGS

                                              W    L    T   PCT    GB  
Chicago Cubs                    84   52    1  .618     - 
New York Mets                  77   55    0  .583   5.0 

Thursday, August 28, 1969

Billy Williams went 2 for 3 with a home run and both Glenn Beckert and Ron Santo had two hits as the Cubs snapped their losing streak by beating the Reds.  Fergie Jenkins was dominant, striking out eight while allowing just five baserunners, all on singles.

Cubs 3, Reds 1.  W: Jenkins (18-11)  L: Arrigo (2-6)

NL EAST                          W    L    T   PCT    GB   
Chicago Cubs                    79   52    1  .603     -  
New York Mets                   74   52    0  .587   2.5  

Wednesday, August 20, 1969

The Mets turned in a dominant performance against San Francisco at Shea, as Jim McAndrew evened his record with a 2-hit shutout against the potent Giants lineup and Art Shamsky had a 3-run homer and 4 total RBI. Bobby Pfeil went 3 for 4 and scored twice, and Bud Harrelson had a triple and single.

Mets 6, Giants 0.  W: McAndrew (5-5) L: Perry (15-10)

***

At Wrigley, Atlanta’s Rico Carty doubled and homered to lead the Braves over Fergie Jenkins and the Cubs. Tony Gonzalez and Hank Aaron each got two hits for Atlanta, who are currently in third place in the West. Don Kessinger, Glenn Beckert, Ernie Banks, and Gene Oliver all collected two hits apiece for Chicago, and Ron Santo knocked in two runs in the loss.

Braves 6, Cubs 2.  W: Reed (12-8)  L: Jenkins (17-11)

NL EAST STANDINGS

Team                             W    L    T   PCT    GB 
Chicago Cubs                    76   46    1  .623     -  
New York Mets                   68   51    0  .571   6.5 

Wednesday, July 16, 1969

The Mets put up 6 runs in the first two innings and held on for a 9-5 win to take a second series from the Chicago Cubs this month.

New York jumped early on starter Fergie Jenkins, who allowed three straight hits to start the game. Jenkins was charged with 5 runs in just 1 inning of work.

Staked to an early lead, though, ex-Cubs starter Don Cardwell was unable to make it out of the second innings for the Mets. Chicago drew to within 6-5 after 3 innings, but New York’s Cal Koonce righted the ship with 5 scoreless innings in relief, and Ron Taylor added 2 of his own to finish out the game and the series at Wrigley.

Art Shamsky went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI, Tommie Agee had a double and home run, and Cleon Jones went 2 for 5 and scored three times. J.C. Martin has 2 hits and 2 RBI, and Ken Boswell also had 2 hits and an RBI.

The win pulled the Mets back to within 3.5 games of the first-place Cubs.

Mets 9, Cubs 5.  W: Koonce (4-3)  L: Jenkins (12-7)  SV: Taylor (9)

***

Team Name                        W    L    T   PCT    GB
Chicago Cubs                    57   36    1  .613     -
New York Mets                   51   37    0  .580   3.5

Saturday, July 12, 1969

Don Kessinger and Billy Williams both collected 3 hits and Willie Smith struck a 3-run homer as Ferge Jenkins and the Cubs beat the visiting Phillies.

Cubs 7, Phillies 4. W: Jenkins (12-6)  L: Wise (6-7)  SV: Regan (8)

Team Name                        W    L    T    GB
Chicago Cubs                    54   34    1     -
New York Mets                   47   36    0   4.5