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| Photo Credit: Athletes Quarterly |
By Zane
Miller
On Tuesday,
September 15th, 1959, the recently relocated Los Angeles Dodgers
played host to the also recently-relocated Milwaukee Braves at the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum, both teams coming into the matchup at strong records of
79-64 and 78-65 respectively.
Not only
did both teams have nearly identical records, the two had also secured World
Series rings within the past few years. The Braves nabbed what would be their
only championship in Milwaukee in 1957, while the Dodgers won it all in 1955
while playing in Brooklyn. However, the team had yet to win the World Series in
the brief window of time following their move out west, but that was soon to
change.
In the
meantime, the Braves made their way out to the City of Angels for a two-game
set against the Dodgers. Game one of the mini-series saw Milwaukee take a 4-1
victory on the back of an exceptional pitching performance from longtime
starter Bob Buhl. For Tuesday’s game, though, the Braves went with 23-year-old Joey
Jay. While Jay had been used sporadically by the Braves over the past few
seasons, 1959 would be the year he would finally get a full-time shot in the starting
rotation. While not having an amazing season, Jay wasn’t doing terribly either,
going 5-10 with a 3.96 ERA at this juncture.
For the
Dodgers, they opted to send starting pitcher Roger Craig to the mound. Joining
the Dodgers’ big league squad just in time to win the 1955 World Series, Craig
made the move across the country with the team in 1958, but received a rude
welcome as he injured his shoulder early in the year and was forced to sit out
most of the season. In 1959, however, Craig bounced back and then some, leading
the National League in complete game shutouts. At this point in the year, Craig
had an impressive 2.36 ERA and an 8-5 record.
It didn’t
take long for the Braves to find themselves in front, as they got a two-run
home run courtesy of first baseman Joe Adcock in the first inning. However, the
next three frames would be filled with missed opportunities for Milwaukee, as
they had runners on first and second in the second and fourth innings and the
bases loaded in the third, but failed to convert these scoring chances into a
single run as Craig got himself out of the jam each time. This finally led to
the Dodger offense coming through with a big inning of their own, starting off
with left fielder Norm Larker driving in the team’s first run on an RBI single.
A John
Roseboro single set up rookie shortstop Maury Wills with runners at the corners
and he did not disappoint, getting an RBI single to even the game at 2-2.
Interestingly, manager Walter Alston made the decision to replace Craig with a
pinch hitter despite him going just four innings, but there were runners at
first and third once again. Just like Wills, pinch hitter Sandy Amoros got the
job done, picking up an RBI groundout to put Los Angeles out in front. After
Jim Gilliam drew a walk, second baseman Charlie Neal drove in the run from
second with another RBI single. This was enough to chase Jay from the game, but
new pitcher Juan Pizarro couldn’t immediately stop the bleeding as former Rookie
of the Year and St. Louis Cardinal Wally Moon mashed an RBI single of his own
to make it a 5-2 lead once the inning was said and done.
The teams
traded a pair of runs in the middle innings as the Dodgers maintained their
three-run advantage, but the Braves offense was ready to strike once the top of
the eighth came around. Future Hall of Fame slugger Henry Aaron had the bases
loaded, and was determined not to let another golden opportunity fall by the
wayside. Aaron drilled a line drive double into left field, scoring two runners
to cut the lead to 6-5. However, that was where the score would stay as despite
having the bases loaded with just one out after an intentional walk, the theme
of the Braves faltering in big moments continued as reliever Larry Sherry ended
the threat without further damage.
After
Milwaukee reliever Don McMahon held the Dodgers scoreless in the bottom of the
inning, the Braves rallied in the top of the ninth. Catcher Del Crandall, who
would go on to earn his second of four career Gold Glove awards this year, took
care of business with his bat to kick off the inning with a double to left
field. Light-hitting second baseman Felix Mantilla wasted little time in getting
him home, pushing in an RBI single to tie the game once again. The Braves went
quietly in the rest of the inning and, after a bottom of the ninth scoring threat
was thwarted by McMahon, the contest was headed to extras.
After a game
marred by ineptitude with runners in scoring position, the Braves were met with
another such chance in the 10th frame. A pair of singles from Aaron
and Adcock set up runners at second and third for shortstop Johnny Logan. A
four-time All-Star who had been with the Braves organization since 1947, Logan hammered
a line drive that was caught by the right fielder, but was still able to score Aaron
from third to retake the lead.
The Braves
ended up having another opportunity with the bases loaded, as Crandall was intentionally
walked and Mantilla reached on a fielding error for another shot at increasing
the advantage. However, seldom-used reliever Chuck Churn got John DeMerit to
fly out, ending the inning and bringing up the bottom of the Los Angeles order.
McMahon
went back out for a third inning of work, but perhaps he was getting stretched
a bit too far. After handily getting the first out, Wills and pinch hitter Chuck
Essegian contributed back-to-back singles. Essegian was promptly out of the
game as Joe Pignatano pinch ran for him at first, with Wills moving over to
third. With an extra out to work with, Gilliam hit a sacrifice fly to center
field, allowing Wills to come home for the tying run.
Even with
the contest evened up at 7-7, manager Fred Haney chose to keep McMahon in the
game. However, needing just more out and only a runner at first, the chances
were still in favor of the game going into the 11th inning. Knowing
the situation, the Dodgers were able to force McMahon to throw even more
pitches with some excellent plate discipline. A single by Neal was followed by
a walk from Moon about a decade before the Moon would be walked on, setting up right
fielder Ron Fairly with the bases loaded.
A newcomer
to the Dodgers roster, Fairly was having a somewhat underwhelming rookie season
which finished with just four homers, 23 RBIs and 58 hits in 118 games. On this
day, however, Fairly came through in the clutch. As McMahon threw three
straight balls, he took a called strike, but was undeterred as the fifth and
final pitch of the at-bat fell in outside of the zone for the rare walk-off
walk. Pignataro touched home plate for a crucial 8-7 win for the Dodgers,
winning the battle as part of the greater war against the Braves for the
National League title.
Los
Angeles went on to win that war, finishing with an 88-68 record to the 86-70
showing of Milwaukee to take their place as NL representative in the World
Series. Squaring off against the Chicago White Sox, Los Angeles secured a
six-game series victory to claim their first championship as a California team.
