Monday, August 24

After taking 4-of-5 games from the Pirates, the Phillies started a six-game road trip. The first leg took them to Milwaukee for three games at County Stadium.

The Braves were treading water in sixth place – two games over .500 and 13½ games behind the Phillies. The Phillies held a 7-4 advantage in the season series.

Art Mahaffey (11-5) versus Bob Sadowski (7-8) in the series opener.

Play Ball:

The Phillies got started in the top of the first:

• With one out, Richie Allen beat out an infield single.
• Bob Sadowski hit Johnny Callison with a pitch.
• Wes Covington homered (#10) and it was 3-0.

But the Braves responded in the bottom half:

• Rico Carty doubled.
• One out later, Hank Aaron singled to score Carty.
• Eddie Mathews singled – Aaron going to third.
• Joe Torre singled to score Aaron.

Gene Mauch replaced Art Mahaffey with Ed Roebuck (4-2) – and Roebuck retired the next two hitters.

In the top of the second, Roebuck was lifted for pinch-hitter Johnny Briggs and replaced in the bottom of the second by Dennis Bennett (9-9) – who started against the Pirates two days earlier but lasted less than three innings.

The Braves got to Bennett right away:

• Bennett walked Bob Sadowski.
• Rico Carty singled – Sadowski ging to third.
• Lee Maye singled to score Sadowski and tie the game 3-3 – Carty stopping at second.
• Hank Aaron tapped a ball back toward the mound. Bennett’s only play was first base – the runners advancing to second and third.
• Eddie Mathews ripped a two-run single to put the Braves on top 5-3.

The Phillies rallied in the top of the third:

• Tony Gonzalez doubled.
• Two outs later, Wes Covington doubled Gonzalez home to trim the Braves lead to 5-4.

But the Braves added to the lead in the fourth:

• Rico Carty homered (#13).
• One out later, Hank Aaron homered (#22).

Mauch replaced Bennett with Ray Culp (8-7)  – and Culp retired the side.

In the top of the sixth:

• Frank Thomas reached first on an error.
• Clay Dalrymple homered (#6) to cut the gap to 7-6.

The Braves went back to work in the bottom half:

• Hank Aaron walked, Eddie Mathews singled, and Joe Torre walked to load the bases.
• Gene Oliver lined a hit into left-center. Aaron and Mathews scored to up the count to 9-6. Torre advanced to third, but Oliver was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.
• Denis Menke hit a sacrifice fly to make it 10-6.

The Braves piled on the seventh:

• With one out, Rico Carty doubled.
• Lee Maye singled – Carty stopping at third.
• Hank Aaron hit a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 11-6.
• Culp walked Eddie Mathews to put runners on first and second with two outs.

Then Mauch made a double-switch:

1. John Boozer (3-3) replaced Culp, batting fifth.
2. John Herrnstein replaced Frank Thomas at first base, batting ninth.

Torre greeted Boozer with a double to make it 12-6.

The Phillies added a run in the top of the eighth:

• Clay Dalrymple tripled and scored when Tony Taylor grounded out to reduce the gap to 12-7.

And they rallied in the ninth:

• With one out, Richie Allen singled.
• One out later, Wes Covington hit his second home run of the game (#11) to shrink the deficit to 12-9.

For Covington, that was 53 RBIs on the season – and this was his best offensive effort of the year:

• 4-for-5 at the plate.
• Two doubles.
• Two home runs.
• Six RBIs.

But it was too little and too late as Cookie Rojas pinch-hit for Boozer and grounded back to the mound for the final out.

Despite giving up nine runs – eight of them earned – Bob Sadowski (8-8) evened his record and racked up a complete-game victory. Dennis Bennett (9-11) took the loss.

Around the League:

The Giants beat the Dodgers 4-2 to pick up a full game and cut the Phillies lead to 6½ games.

The Reds were idle, but picked up ½ game to trail by seven.

After the Game: The condition of Dennis Bennett’s arm was now a major concern. When he tried to comb his hair, his arm hurt.

As he explained it:

“My arm started bothering me and they couldn’t find out why. They took X-rays and they did this and they did that. On road trips, in every town I went to, I would go to see their top physicians. I even went to the Mayo Clinic and they couldn’t find anything wrong. I was still pitching, but I couldn’t throw good, really. It hurt so much.”

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