Posts Tagged ‘Rich Nye’
SEAVER SHUTOUT MOVES METS 5 GAMES UP
Thursday, August 18, 1969
Tom Seaver stayed in his groove, going the distance in a five-hit shutout while striking out nine Expos hitters. Ed Kranepool homered and singled to drive in both runs of the game. Seaver has now won eight consecutive games while lowering his season ERA to 2.33.
Mets 2, Expos 0. W: Seaver (23-7) L: Stoneman (10-18)
The Cubs strung together 3 runs in the bottom of the seventh to temporarily take the lead, only to see Philadelphia answer back with 3 runs in the top of the eighth off Rich Nye and Phil Regan to regain the lead. Chicago rookie Joe Decker started and gave up two runs in six solid innings.
Phillies 5, Cubs 3. W: Jackson (16-13) L: Regan (12-6)
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NL EAST W L T PCT GB
New York Mets 91 58 0 .611 -
Chicago Cubs 87 64 1 .576 5.0
JENKINS WINS 20TH, KOOSMAN TOSSES SHUTOUT
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
CUBS SWEEP DOUBLEHEADER FROM PHILS, METS KEEP PACE WITH SWEEP OF EXPOS
Sunday, July 13, 1969
Ken Holtzman shut out the Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader, and Jim Colburn, making his Major League debut, picked up a victory while going 5 1/3 innings and allowing 3 runs. Don Kessinger was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI in the first and scored twice in the second. Glenn Beckert was 3 for 4 and Ron Santo struck a 2-run shot in the first game. Ernie Banks was the hitting star of the second game, going 2 for 3 with 4 RBI. Billy Williams scored twice in the nightcap, as well.
Cubs 6, Phillies 0 (1). W: Holtzman (11-5) L: Fryman (8-6)
Cubs 6, Phillies 4 (2). W: J. Colburn (1-0) L: L. Palmer (0-1) SV: Nye (2)
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At Shea, Jerry Koosman recorded a complete-game win in the opening end of a doubleheader with the Expos. Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky and Ed Kranepool each went 2 for 3.
The second game was a wild affair, with starters Nolan Ryan and Howie Reed both getting touched for 6 runs in 3 1/3 inning and neither figuring in the decision. Tommie Agee hit a leadoff home run and then followed with a 3-run blast to cap a 5-run rally in the 4th inning. Agee also scored the go-ahead run in the 7th on Ron Swoboda’s single and the insurance run on Wayne Garrett’s single in the 8th. The Mets centerfielder finished the game with 3 hits, 4 runs scored, and 4 RBI in 4 at-bats.
Mets 4, Expos 3 (1). W: Koosman (7-5) L: J. Robertson (2-7)
Mets 9, Expos 7 (2). W: Koonce (3-3) L: McGinn (4-9) SV: Taylor (7)
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Team Name W L T GB
Chicago Cubs 56 34 1 -
New York Mets 49 36 0 4.5
METS SLUGGER LEADS CHARGE AGAINST PIRATES, CUBS STARTERS DROP THE BALL AS TEAM DROPS TWO IN ST. LOUIS
Sunday, July 5, 1969
Trailing 6-1 after just 2 innings, the New York Mets rallied back in Pittsburgh to win 8-7. Don Clendenon’s 3-run homer capped a 4-run rally in the 6th inning.
After starter Jim McAndrew had lasted just 2/3 of an inning and Nolan Ryan went just as long, the combination of Danny Frisella, Ron Taylor, and Cal Koonce kept the Mets in the game. Jerry Grote had 2 hits and an RBI, as did Ron Swoboda off the bench.
With Chicago’s doubleheader loss, the Mets pulled back to within 5 games of the Cubs.
Mets 8, Pirates 7. W: Taylor (4-2) L: Hartenstein (2-4) SV: Koonce (6)
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The Cubs were scoreless in 16 of 18 innings of a doubleheader in St. Louis as they were swept by the Cardinals.
In the first game, Steve Carlton scattered 8 hits over 8-plus innings as the Cards carried a 4-0 lead into the 9th. Ernie Banks went 3-for-3, and Ron Santo and Randy Hundley had 2 hits apiece for the Cubs. Steve Huntz’s 2-run single in the 4th proved to be the difference.
In the second game, Rich Nye gave up 5 runs in just 3 innings. St. Louis starter Mike Torrez yielded 3 unearned runs in 2 2/3, but Chuck Taylor came out of the pen to throw 6 1/3 shutout innings. Mike Shannon’s 3-run homer and Joe Torre’s 2-run roundtripper powered the Cardinals’ attack in game 2. Jim Qualls was 2 for 4 with 2 ribbies for Chicago.
Cardinals 4, Cubs 2 (1). W: Carlton (10-5) L: Hands (9-7) SV: Hoerner (9)
Cardinals 6, Cubs 5 (2). W: C. Taylor (1-0) L: Nye (1-4)
Team Name W L T PCT GB Chicago Cubs 52 31 1 .627 - New York Mets 45 34 0 .570 5.0
CUBS COME UP 90 FEET SHORT IN PITTSBURGH
Monday, June 16, 1969
The Cubs’s second comeback of their game in Pittsburgh fell short, making their first comeback all for naught.
Dick Selma got bombed out of the game early, giving up 5 runs while getting just one out Pirate out. Chicago trailed 6-2 after one inning but rallied for 3 in the 4th and 2 in the 7th to take a one-run lead. Relievers Hank Aguirre and Phil Regan combined for 6 shutout innings, but then Regan faltered in the 8th. Clemente tripled and Stargell singled to tie the game, and then after Regan was replaced by Rich Nye, Al Oliver greeted Nye with a 2-run homer.
With two outs in the top of the ninth, Jim Hickman’s pinch-hit single scored Ron Santo and moved the tying run to third base in the form of Al Spangler. But Steve Blass got pinch-hitter Rick Bladt on strikes to end the game.
Randy Hundley had 3 RBI and Don Kessinger had 2 for the Cubs.
Pirates 9, Cubs 8. W: Dal Canton (4-0) L: Regan (7-4) SV: Blass (1)
KESSINGER LEADS CUBS OVER REDS, SEAVER STARS ON MOUND AND AT BAT IN 10TH WIN
Saturday, June 14, 1969
Another wild one in Cincinnati.
This time, the Reds squandered an early 4-0 lead. All 4 runs were charged to Ken Holtzman, wo lasted just 2 2/3. Don Nottebart came on and yielded 3 more in just 2 1/3. But Ted Abernathy and Phil Regan settled things down over the next 4 innings and allowed the Cubs to claw back into the game. Reds starter Tony Cloninger left after 5 1/3 and was charged with 6 runs (1 unearned).
With the score tied 7-7 after 9 innings, Chicago scored 2 runs in the tenth. Don Kessinger was again a hitting star, notching 3 hits for the second straight day and knocking in 2 more runs, including one on an RBI double in the tenth. Randy Hundley had 2 hits and an RBI, and both Ernie Banks and Don Young knocked in 2.
Lee May homered off Rich Nye with 2 outs in the bottom of the tenth to draw the Reds to within 1 again. Nye then walked Johnny Bench to put the tying run on base, but Fergie Jenkins came on to make a rare relief appearance and got the final out to preserve the win.
Four Reds batters - Bobby Tolin, Alex Johnson, May and Bench – each had 3 hits.
Cubs 9, Reds 8 (10 inn.) W: Regan (7-2) L: Granger (1-2) SV: Jenkins (1)
***
Tom Seaver knocked in 2 runs but allowed just 1 to the Dodgers in a Mets win.
The Mets ace went 8 strong innings, his only earned run coming in the first when Willie Crawford tripled with one out and then scored on Wes Parker’s single.
Art Shamsky homered in the second off starter Don Sutton to tie the game, and he started a rally in the fourth with a single and a stolen base. Ed Charles followed with a two-out single, and after a walk to Jerry Grote loaded the bases, Seaver helped himself with a single into centerfield to score Shamsky and Charles. Grote was tagged out in a rundown between second and third.
Seaver stayed in a groove through 8 innings, and Tug McGraw pitched a scoreless ninth to earn the save.
Mets 3, Dodgers 1 W: Seaver (10-3) L: Sutton (9-5) SV: McGraw (3)
Team Name W L T PCT GB RS RA Chicago Cubs 40 18 1 .690 - 310 202 New York Mets 30 25 0 .545 8.5 209 202
CUBS WIN WILD ONE, METS TAMED IN LA
Friday, June 13, 1969
On Friday the 13th, the Cubs emerged with the win in a wild, back-and-forth affair at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field.
Don Kessinger had 3 hits and 3 RBI, while Paul Popovich, substituting for the injured Glenn Beckert, also had 3 hits for the Cubs. Ron Santo had 2 hits and 3 RBI, and both Ernie Banks and Billy Williams homered. Chicago scored 4 runs in the first 3 innings off Reds starter George Culver, but Fergie Jenkins all 4 runs back to Cincinnati in the third.
The Reds knocked Jenkins out with 2 more in the fifth to take the lead, but the Cubs tied it 2 in the top of the sixth. Chicago looked to win in regulation with 2 in the ninth off Wayne Granger, but Phil Regan blew the chance for the save and allowed the Reds to tie the game again. But the Cubs roared back in the top of the tenth, sending nine men to bat and plating 6 runs off Jose Pena.
Cubs 14, Reds 8 (1o inn.) W: Regan (6-2) L: Pena (1-1) SV: Nye (1)
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The Mets lost to the Dodgers 1-0 as neither team scored an earned run.
The only run of the game came in the second inning, when Manny Mota singled off Jerry Koosman and advanced to second on Art Shamsky’s error. Jim Lefebvre then singled Mota in. Both Dodgers went 2 for 3 in the game.
Koosman pitched well, allowing just the one marred run in seven innings, but LA’s Alan Foster was better. The 22-year-old went the full nine, allowing 7 hits and walking just one, to earn his first win of the season. New York came that close to scoring in the fifth, when Ed Charles tried to score from second on Jerry Grote’s single but was thrown out by Mota at home.
Wayne Garrett went 2 for 3 for the Mets.
Dodgers 1, Mets 0 W: Foster (1-4) L: Koosman (3-4)
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Team Name W L T PCT GB
Chicago Cubs 39 18 1 .684 -
New York Mets 29 25 0 .537 8.5
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)
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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)
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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
ASTROS SWEEP METS, SANTO’S HR SALVAGES SPLIT WITH PADRES
Sunday, May 25, 1969
Jimmy Wynn homered for the third time in two days and the Astros knocked Tom Seaver out of the game after just 4 innings. Cleon Jones went 3 or 3 but it wasn’t enough for the Mets, who left Houston having dropped 3 games in the Astrodome.
Astros 6, Mets 3 W: Lemaster (3-5) L: Seaver (6-3) SV: Gladding (9)
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The Cubs split the Sunday doubleheader with the Padres in San Diego. Nate Colbert hit a grand slam and Johnny Podres got the complete-game win in game one, a 10-2 blowout. In the second game, both teams went scoreless until Ron Santo touched ex-Cub starter Joe Niekro for a home run in the top of the 9th. Ted Abernathy got the win by pitching 3 scoreless innings in relief, after starter Bill Hands had tossed 6 shutout innings for Chicago.
Padres 10, Cubs 2 (1) W: Podres (4-3) L: Nye (0-3)
Cubs 1, Padres 0 (2) W: Abernathy (4-0) L: Niekro (1-3)
GIANTS TOO BIG FOR CUBS
Friday, May 9, 1969
The San Francisco Giants didn’t need their best hitter to beat up on the Chicago Cubs.
With slugging first baseman Willie McCovey sitting out with an injury, the Frisco lineup was still able to pound the Chicago staff for 11 runs in an ugly rout at Wrigley. Leadoff man Don Mason went 3 for 6 with 3 RBI, Ken Henderson also went 3 for 6 while knocking in 2, and Bob Burda had 4 RBI including a 3-run homer in a 5-run outburst in the 7th that broke the game open for the Giants.
Cubs starter Bill Hands gave up 10 hits and 4 runs through 5 innings and suffered the loss. Leo Durocher was a frequent visitor to the mound, as the Chicago manager summoned 5 pitchers from the bullpen. After Ted Abernathy allowed three runners without recording an out in the 6th, Rich Nye was touched for 4 runs in just 2/3 of an inning. Phil Regan only made things worse by giving up 2 runs over 2 innings pitched.
Ironically, the top three men in the Chicago lineup – Don Kessinger, Glenn Beckert, and Billy Williams, were on base all day with 7 hits between them. But the Cubs managed just one run, on Willie Smith’s solo shot in the 4th off winning pitcher Bobby Bolin.
Giants 11, Cubs 1 W: Bolin (2-2) L: Hands (3-4) SV: Gibbon (2)
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The idle New York Mets picked up a half-game in the standings and remained in fourth place in the division.
NL EAST STANDINGS
Team Name W L PCT GB Chicago Cubs 19 11 .633 - Pittsburgh Pirates 16 12 .571 2.0 Philadelphia Phillies 12 13 .480 4.5 New York Mets 12 15 .444 5.5 St. Louis Cardinals 12 16 .429 6.0 Montreal Expos 10 17 .370 7.5
“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.