Posts Tagged ‘Ted Abernathy’
‘SAY HEY’ KID SENDS CUBS TO DEFEAT
Tuesday, July 29, 1969
Willie Mays tripled in the go-ahead run and then scored an insurance run in the seventh inning as the Giants beat the Cubs. Chicago starting pitcher Jim Colburn lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk. Bobby Bonds had 3 hits and scored twice for San Francisco. Frank Linzy got the win after pitching 4 shutout innings out of the ‘pen. Ron Santo and Don Young collected 2 hits apiece for the Cubbies.
Giants 4, Cubs 2. W: Linzy (9-6) L: Abernathy (4-3)
CUBS, METS BOTH LOSE AT HOME
Friday, July 11, 1969
The Cubs let things get away in their first game back at Wrigley.
RBI singles from Paul Popvich and Glenn Beckert gave Chicago a 5-3 lead over the Phillies going into the top of the 9th. But after reliever Hank Aguirre was greeted with a home run by Johnny Briggs, his second in consecutive at-bats, Ted Abernathy came in and poured gasoline on the fire by giving up hits to 4 of the 5 batters he faced, including a roundtripper to Ron Stone.
Billy Williams went 3 for 5 and both Don Kessinger and Beckert went 2 for 4, who lost despite pounding out 11 hits.
Phillies 7, Cubs 5. W: Boozer (1-0) L: Abernathy (4-2) SV: B. Wilson (4)
***
Jim McAndrew, Danny Frisella, and Jack DiLauro combined for the dubious distinction of surrendering 11 runs on 15 hits to the expansion Montreal Expos at Shea. Art Shamsky went 2 for 3 with a home run, and rookie Bobby Pfeil also had 2 hits for New York. Expos starting pitcher Mike Wegener not only got the win but was his team’s hitting star, going 3 for 4 with 4 RBI.
Expos 11, Mets 4. W: Wegener (4-7) L: McAndrew (2-3) SV: Radatz (2)
TOM SEAVER TAKES PERFECT GAME INTO 9TH AGAINST CUBS **40 YEARS AGO TODAY**
Wednesday, July 9, 1969
Tom Seaver flirted with perfection, and now the Mets are flirting with the unimaginable – a run at first place.
It was clear from the first inning onward that the Mets’ young ace brought his good stuff to the ballpark. He struck out Don Kessinger to start the game and retired the side in order in the first. In the bottom of the inning, Tommie Agee led off with a triple and rookie Bobby Pfeil followed with a double off Chicago’s Ken Holtzman to score the game’s first run. Although the Mets would add three more in the game, one on a Cleon Jones homer, Agee’s was all they would need as Seaver pitched the game of his life.
New York’s 24-year-old hurler struck out the side in the second. He sent the Cubs down 1-2-3 in the third, and then again in the fourth. As he would later comment, “I was aware from the fourth inning on that I had a perfect game, and I was going for it.”
By 1969, only eight pitchers in the entire history of baseball had recorded a perfect game – that is, allowing not one opposing batter to reach base on either a hit, walk, error, or getting hit by a pitch. That’s nine consecutive 1-2-3 innings…27 batters up, 27 batters out.
After he got relief pitcher Ted Abernathy on strikes to end the top of the 6th, Seaver had gone through the Chicago lineup twice without a blemish. He took on the top of the order again in the seventh, getting Don Kessinger and Glenn Beckert on flyouts and Billy Williams on a groundout. Ron Santo flied out to lead off the eighth. Still going strong, Seaver struck out both Ernie Banks and Al Spangler.
When Seaver came to bat in the bottom of the inning, the game stopped for nearly two minutes as the Shea crowd stood in applause for the most dominant performance by a Mets pitcher they had ever seen.
In the top of the ninth and the game all but in hand, Seaver took the mound just three outs from baseball immortality. He got Randy Hundley out weakly, pitcher to first. Up next was the 8th-place hitter, Jim Qualls, a seldom-played rookie who brought a .244 average into the game. Seaver wound up and delivered a pitch, and Qualls blooped it into leftfield for a soft hit, not far from where Ed Kranepool’s game-winner had landed the previous night.
The quest for the perfect game was over, but the home crowd stood and cheered again in recognition of Seaver’s outstanding night. Visibly disappointed, he collected his emotions and retired pinch-hitter Willie Smith on a foul pop-up and then got Don Kessinger to fly out to leftfield for the game’s final out.
Seaver’s pitching performance would go down in Mets memory as The Imperfect Game. “That was the best game I ever pitched,” he’d later say. “It was better than my no-hitter with Cincinnati. I had great stuff that night, superb control, and a mastery of all my pitches. It was obvious even before the game.”
And it was now obvious that the Chicago Cubs had serious competition in the N.L. East.
Mets 4, Cubs 0. W: Seaver (14-3) L: Holtzman (10-5)
Chicago Cubs AB R H RBI BB SO Kessinger ss 4 0 0 0 0 2 Beckert 2b 3 0 0 0 0 0 Williams lf 3 0 0 0 0 1 Santo 3b 3 0 0 0 0 1 Banks 1b 3 0 0 0 0 2 Spangler rf 3 0 0 0 0 3 Hundley c 3 0 0 0 0 0 Qualls cf 3 0 1 0 0 0 Holtzman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 Abernathy p 2 0 0 0 0 2 W. Smith ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 Totals 28 0 1 0 0 11
New York Mets IP H R ER BB SO HR BFP Seaver W (14-3) 9 1 0 0 0 11 0 28
Team Name W L T PCT GB Chicago Cubs 52 33 1 .612 - New York Mets 47 34 0 .580 3.0 Pittsburgh Pirates 41 43 0 .488 10.5 St. Louis Cardinals 42 45 0 .483 11.0 Philadelphia Phillies 37 45 0 .451 13.5 Montreal Expos 26 58 0 .310 25.5
CUBS, METS STRUGGLE ON THE ROAD
Tuesday, July 1, 1969
A pair of 5-run rallies in the 2nd and 3rd powered the Expos over the Cubs at Jarry Park. Ken Holtzman took just his 3rd loss of the season after surrendering 9 hits and getting charged with 9 runs (2 unearned) in just 3 2/3 innings. Bob Bailey doubled twice and had 3 RBI for Montreal, while Gary Sutherland scored three times and knocked in 2. Don Kessinger and Willie Smith each went 3 for 5 in a losing effort.
Expos 11, Cubs 4. W: Renko (1-1) L: Holtzman (10-3) SV: Face (4)
The Mets dropped a doubleheader in St. Louis. Steve Carlton pitched the Cards to a 4-1 win in the opener, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 9. Nolan Ryan had trouble finding the plate, walking 7 and suffering his first loss of the year.
In the nightcap, the Mets scored 3 runs off starter Mike Torrez in the 1st inning, but St. Louis charged back with 8 runs off starter Jack DiLauro and reliever Don Cardwell. Cleon Jones, Art Shamsky, Wayne Garrett and Don Clendenon each recorded 2 hits in the second game.
Cardinals 3, Mets 1 (1). W: Carlton (9-5) L: Ryan (3-1)
Cardinals 8, Mets 5 (2). W: Torrez (2-4) L: DiLauro (0-3) SV: Hoerner (8)
Team Name W L T PCT GB Chicago Cubs 49 28 1 .636 - New York Mets 40 34 0 .541 7.5
Monday, June 30, 1969
Dave Lemonds took the loss in his first start for Chicago after leaving with 2 outs in the 3rd. The rookie gave up just 2 runs but allowed 4 hits and 3 walks to the host Expos before departing. Phil Regan and Ted Abernathy yielded another 3 runs over the next 3 innings, as Coco Laboy led the Montreal charge with 2 hits and 3 RBI.
Expos 5, Cubs 2. W: H. Reed (3-1) L: Lemonds (0-1) SV: McGinn (3)
Jerry Grote’s 3-run blast highlighted a 6-run Mets rally in the opening innning in St. Louis. Rod Gaspar went 2 for 4 with 2 runs and 2 RBI, and Art Shamsky added a home run. Jim McAndrew started and finished the game for New York, allowing 2 runs on just 3 hits and while also singling in 2 runs in the 6th inning.
Mets 10, Cardinals 2. W: McAndrew (2-2) L: Briles (6-7)
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
SPANGLER, SANTO LEAD CUBS ATTACK IN ATLANTA
Thursday, June 12, 1969
The Cubs rapped out 16 hits against Braves pitchers en route to a 12-6 victory.
Chicago led 7-0 after seven innings, thanks in large part to Al Spangler. The left-handed half of the Cubs’s rightfield platoon went 3 for 5 with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. Ron Santo also had 3 hits including a 2-run shot in Chicago’s 5-run outburst in the 9th inning to cap off the game.
Atlanta’s 3 runs in the 8th off starter Dick Selam and 3 more in the 9th charged to Phil Regan, made the final score sound closer than the game really was.
Cubs 12, Braves 6 W: Selma (6-3) L: Hill (0-1) SV: Abernathy (3)
***
Team Name W L T PCT GB Chicago Cubs 38 18 1 .679 - New York Mets 29 24 0 .547 7.5
CUBS AND REDS HAVE RARE TIE, KOOSMAN AND METS KEEP ROLLING
Saturday, June 7, 1969
The Cubs couldn’t hold off the Reds and then couldn’t hold off the rain.
Bill Hands and Chicago led 5-1 after 6 innings at Wrigley. But Cincinnati rallied for 4 runs over the next 2 innings, 2 of them charged to relief man Ted Abernathy, who went threw just 1/3 inning. Then, with a man on and two out in the top of the ninth, rain came pouring down and the game was eventually called at 5-5 to result in a rare tie.
Ernie Banks had a 2-run homer for the Cubs in the first, Don Kessinger was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI, and Ron Santo was 2 for 4 with an RBI.
Reds 5, Cubs 5 (tie)
***
Jerry Koosman pitched his third straight dominant game and mastered the Padres for the second time in two weeks.
After tossing 10 scoreless innings and striking out 15 against San Diego on May 28, Koosman struck out 11 and carried a shutout into the 9th inning. Rod Gaspar went 3 for 3 and Cleon Jones, Ron Swoboda, Ed Charles and Al Weis had 2 hits apiece for New York as the Mets scored one in the 4th, two in the 7th, and one more in the 8th.
New York has now won 9 straight.
Mets 4, Padres 1 W: Koosman (3-3) L: Podres (5-4)
NL EAST STANDINGS
Team Name W L T PCT GB R +/-
Chicago Cubs 36 16 1 .692 - 100 New York Mets 27 23 0 .540 8.0 5 Pittsburgh Pirates 26 26 0 .500 10.0 2 St. Louis Cardinals 25 28 0 .472 11.5 0 Philadelphia Phillies 18 30 0 .375 16.0 -32 Montreal Expos 11 37 0 .229 23.0 -92
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)
***
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)
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)
***
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)
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)
***
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.