Tuesday, July 14
The Phillies embarked on an 11-game road trip sending them to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee. First stop was Pittsburgh for three games against the Pirates. The Phillies held a 4-3 edge in the season series.
Neither team was playing well:
- The Phillies were in the midst of a downslide – having lost 4-of-5.
- The Pirates were in fourth place – three games over .500 and eight games out of first place – and they’d just lost three straight.
Gene Mauch went with 38-year-old Cal McLish (0-0) – who’d made only one appearance thus far on the season. Better than two weeks earlier, he pitched five innings of four-hit relief against the Colt 45s. This was his first start.
Danny Murtaugh went with Bob Veale (8-6).
Play Ball:
Cal McLish never made it thru the first inning:
- Manny Mota singled and Roberto Clemente doubled to put the Pirates on top 1-0.
Cal McLish summoned Gene Mauch to the mound. A short conference ensued and Mauch made a pitching change. McLish left and Dennis Bennett (9-6) entered.
Bennett lasted just three innings in his last start. But he told Mauch his arm felt fine and he wanted to give it a shot.
- Jerry Lynch greeted Bennett with a single and Clemente tried to score. Johnny Callison tried to throw him out, but Bobby Wine cut it off the throw and trapped Lynch in a 9-6-3-4 rundown. Clemente’s score made it 2-0.
Bennett settled down in the second, third, and fourth innings, but he gave up two runs in the fifth:
- Jim Pagliaroni singled.
- Gene Alley forced Pagliaroni at second.
- Bob Veale laid down a bunt that Richie Allen fumbled to put runners on first and second.
- Bob Bailey walked to load the bases.
- Many Mota singled to move everyone up a base – Alley scoring to make it 3-0 Pirates and the bases remaining loaded.
- Roberto Clemente hit into a force at second that scored Veale to up the lead to 4-0.
The Phillies rallied for two runs in the top of the sixth:
- With one out, Richie Allen walked and moved to second on a ground out.
- Ruben Amaro doubled to score Allen and put the Phillies on the scoreboard.
Amaro started at first because Gene Mauch choose to use him over slumping Roy Sievers – whose average dipped to .185.
- Bobby Wine singled to score Amaro and make it 4-2.
And they rallied for another run in the eighth:
- With two outs, Danny Cater singled and moved to second on a wild pitch.
- Ruben Amaro singled to score Cater and it was 4-3.
In the top of the ninth, Bobby Bragan picked Al McBean (3-0) to finish up.
With one out, John Herrnstein and Wes Covington singled.
But with the tying and winning runs on first and second, McBean struck out Johnny Callison and Richie Allen to end the game and earn the save (#12).
Bob Veale (9-6) got the win and Cal McLish (0-1) the loss.
After the Game:
The Phillies made three transactions:
- They released Cal McLish and he never pitched again. After 15 years, his career ended with a 92-92 record.
- Roy Sievers struck out as a pinch-hitter in the seventh to lower his average to .183. It was Siever’s last at-bat as a Phillie because general manager John Quinn sold his contract to the Washington Senators
- They called Costen Shockley up from the minors to replace Sievers .
Costen Shockley
Costen Shockley was a 22-year-old first-baseman who was tearing the cover off the ball with the AAA Arkansas Travelers.
It would take him two days to join the club.
Around the League:
The Giants lost to the Braves in a wild 8-7 affair with Juan Marichal (12-5) giving up nine hits and eight runs – five earned – in less than six innings. Marichal gave up home runs to Rico Carty (#9) and Eddie Mathews (#12).
Therefore, the Phillies didn’t lose any ground and continued to trail the Giants by one game.
In addition to being the official Eagles Outsider for BlameMyFather.com – Barry Bowe is also the author of:
- Born to Be Wild
- 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant
- 12 Best Eagles QBs
- Birth of the Birds
- Soon-to-be-published sexy, police procedural Caribbean Queen
- Soon-to-be-published novel Stosh Wadzinski
- Soon-to-be-published novel Polish Widow
- Work-in-Progress A Fuckin All-American
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