Tuesday – June 16

The Phillies combined single runs in the second, third, and fourth innings with a strong three-hitter by Dennis Bennett to hold onto a 3-0 lead after six innings.

Phillies Second:

• Richie Allen singled.
• When Tony Gonzalez hit a tapper back to the mound for the first out, Allen moved up to second.
• When Roy Sievers followed with a single to left, Allen tried to score – but Billy Williams threw him out at home. Sievers took second on the play at the plate.
• Clay Dalrymple drove Sievers home with a double.

Phillies Third:

• With one out, John Herrnstein homered (#3).

Phillies Fourth:

• Tony Gonzalez doubled and Roy Sievers walked.
• Clay Dalrymple hit a ground ball to second. The Cubs went for two, but the relay to first was too late to get Dalrymple – Gonzalez moving to third.
• With the suicide-squeeze on, Bobby Wine laid down a bunt that scored Gonzalez to make it 3-0.

But Bennett ran into trouble in the top of the seventh:

• Billy Cowan led off with a double.
• One out later, Billy Ott doubled off the ivy in right and Cowan moved to third.
• With runners on second and third and one out, Bob Kennedy sent Jimmy Stewart up to pinch-hit for Larry Jackson – and Stewart delivered a two-run single to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Gene Mauch replaced Bennett with Ed Roebuck – who retired the Cubs one-two-three.

Mauch lifted Roebuck for a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the eighth and sent Jack Baldschun to the mound to pitch the ninth. And Baldschun struck out the side to nail down the save (#4) in the first game of the series.

Dennis Bennett (8-4) picked up the win – his team-leading eighth – and that made it four straight wins for the Phillies.

Larry Jackson (8-5) took the loss.

Around the League – When the Giants lost to the Reds 9-4, the Phillies moved into undisputed possession of first place 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