Posts Tagged ‘Ron Taylor’
HANDS SHUTS OUT BRAVES, METS RALLY BEHIND SEAVER
Friday, May 30, 1969,
Bill Hands was dominant at Wrigley Field, tossing a complete-game shutout against the first-place Atlanta Braves.
Hands yielded just 5 hits and no walks while striking out 6. Ron Reed held the Cubs scoreless through 6 innings but then Randy Hundley led off with a bunt single in the 7th. The play seemed to unravel Reed, who hit the next batter, Don Young, with the pitch, and committed an error on Hands’s sacrifice attempt to load the bases with no outs. Hundley scored on Don Kessinger’s infield grounder and Young crossed the plate on Glenn Beckert’s single.
In the top of the inning, Felix Millan had led off with a double but then Hands retired the nos. 3, 4, and 5 hitters in the Atlanta lineup on two strike outs and a groundout.
Beckert and Billy Williams both went 2 for 4 for the Cubbies.
Cubs 2, Braves 0 W: Hands (4-5) L: Reed (5-3)
***
Trailing 3-0 to the visiting San Francisco Giants after 6 innings, the Mets rallied for 4 runs to give Tom Seaver his 7th win of the season.
Willie McCovey got the scoring started with a towering home run, his 14th, off Seaver in the 2nd inning. Ron Hunt’s RBI single in the 3rd and a sacrifice fly from McCovey in the 6th pushed Frisco’s lead to 3 runs.
But Ron Swoboda homered in the 7th off Giants starter Mike McCormick, and Rod Gaspar had a round-tripper in the 8th. Immediately following Gaspar’s shot, Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones, Swoboda, and pinch-hitting Duffy Dyer collected consecutive hits to plate the tying and go-ahead runs. Ron Taylor came in to strike out future Hall of Fame Willies Mays and McCovey and got the save.
Mets 4, Giants 3 W: Seaver (7-3) L: Linzy (2-2) SV: Taylor (2)
NATIONAL LEAGUE STANDINGS
NL EAST
Team Name W L PCT GB RS RA Chicago Cubs 31 16 .660 - 226 145 Pittsburgh Pirates 23 23 .500 7.5 194 201 St. Louis Cardinals 21 24 .467 9.0 145 148 New York Mets 20 23 .465 9.0 166 174 Philadelphia Phillies 18 23 .439 10.0 170 181 Montreal Expos 11 31 .262 17.5 144 212
NL WEST
Team Name W L PCT GB RS RA Atlanta Braves 28 15 .651 - 193 168 Los Angeles Dodgers 26 18 .591 2.5 189 152 Cincinnati Reds 23 19 .548 4.5 230 187 San Francisco Giants 24 21 .533 5.0 188 170 Houston Astros 24 25 .490 7.0 197 225 San Diego Padres 19 30 .388 12.0 145 224
“Recreating the Miracle Season” is brought to you by the book 1969: The Year Everything Changed.
WYNN’S TWIN SHOTS DOOM METS, BANKS SLAMS CUBS PAST PADS
Saturday, May 24, 1969
Jerry Koosman pitched well but Ron Taylor came on and gave up 3 runs in the 8th as the Houston Astros put the game out of reach. Jimmy Wynn homered twice for Houston, and starter Larry Dierker struck out 11 Mets en route to his seventh win.
Astros 5, Mets 1 W: Dierker (7-4) L: Koosman (1-3)
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Chicago’s 5-run rally in the 5th inning overcame Ken Holtzman’s rocky start. Ernie Banks hit a grand slam and Ron Santo had a homer run with one on for the Cubs. Glenn Beckert went 3 for 5.
Cubs 7, Padres 5 W: Abernathy (3-0) L: Kelley (2-4) SV: Regan (3)
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)
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.
JENKINS’ 9 K, HR PUTS CUBS PAST METS
April 25, 1969
The Cubs bested the Mets in a battle of aces and home runs at Shea on Friday.
In the first matchup in their four-game weekend series, Fergie Jenkins beat Tom Seaver 3-1. Three different Cubs touched Seaver for solo shots: Don Kessinger in the 3rd, Ron Santo in the 4th, and Jenkins himself in the 5th. New York’s Ron Swoboda got his team on the board in the 6th with a round-tripper, but that would be it for scoring in this all-or-nothing affair. Jenkins struck out 9 Mets in a complete-game outing, while Seaver and reliever Ron Taylor combined to strike out 10 Cubs.
Cubs 3, Mets 1 W: Jenkins (3-1) L: Seaver (1-2)
NL EAST STANDINGS AFTER APRIL 25
Team Name W L PCT GB Chicago Cubs 12 5 .706 - Pittsburgh Pirates 11 5 .688 0.5 Philadelphia Phillies 6 8 .429 4.5 New York Mets 6 9 .400 5.0 Montreal Expos 6 10 .375 5.5 St. Louis Cardinals 6 10 .375 5.5
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.
RECREATING THE ‘69 MLB SEASON – APRIL 8, 1969
This is the first entry in what will be a season-long recreation of the storied pennant race between the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets in 1969.
Many writers picked the Chicago Cubs as the team with the best chance to unseat defending the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. The Cubs opened their 1969 season with a 7-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at Wrigley Field. In spring training, future HOFer Ernie Banks had beamed “The Cubs are gonna shine in ‘69!” and the 38-year-old first baseman carried Chicago on his back in this Tuesday afternoon opener with 2 HR and 5 RBI. Fergie Jenkins took a 5-2 lead into the top of the 9th but then surrendered a 3-run homer to Philly shortstop Don Money. The game went into extra innings, and in the 11th Money doubled to knock in his fifth run of the game. But pinch-hitter Willie Smith hit a 2-run, walk-off HR in the bottom of the inning to send the North Side crowd home happy.
Cubs 7, Phillies 6 W: Regan (1-0) L: Lersch (0-1)
***
Meanwhile, the expansion Montreal Expos played their inaugural contest against the New York Mets at Shea Stadium in Flushing, Queens. It was a wild affair, and Expos starter Mudcat Grant lasted only 1 1/3 innings while giving up 6 hits and 3 runs. Tom Seaver, the franchise pitcher for the Mets, also had a rocky start and allowed 9 baserunners and 4 runs – 2 unearned, thanks to a first-inning error by second baseman Ken Boswell – through 5 innings. After Seaver departed, relievers Cal Koonce, Al Jackson (who’d started the very first Mets game back in 1962) and Ron Taylor poured gasoline on the fire by giving up 7 more runs. The Mets staged a 4-run rally in the 9th but came up one run short against an Expos team that belted three home runs, including one from future Mets outfielder Rusty Staub. Centerfielder Tommie Agee and pinch-hitter Duffy Dyer knocked in 3 runs each, and catcher Jerry Grote scored 3 runs in a losing effort.
Expos 11, Mets 10 (11 inn) W: Shaw (1-0) L: Koonce (0-1) SV: Sembera (1)
NL East Standings after April 8, 1969
Team Name W L T PCT GB Chicago Cubs 1 0 0 1.000 - Montreal Expos 1 0 0 1.000 - Pittsburgh Pirates 1 0 0 1.000 - New York Mets 0 1 0 .000 1.0 Philadelphia Phillies 0 1 0 .000 1.0 St. Louis Cardinals 0 1 0 .000 1.0