Random Recap Thursday #15: Milwaukee Braves v. Los Angeles Dodgers 9/15/1959

 

Photo Credit: Athletes Quarterly

By Zane Miller

On Tuesday, September 15^th, 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 10^th 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 11^th 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.