Yesterday, American Pharoah won the Belmont Stakes to become the first Triple Crown winner in the last 37 years – and the twelfth Triple Crown winner of all time. Victor Espinoza was the jockey.

On this date – June 7 – in 1930, Gallant Fox won the Belmont by three lengths over Whichbone to become the second horse of all-time to win the Triple Crown. Earle Sande was the jockey.

On this date – June 7 – in 1941, Whirlaway won the Belmont by 2½ lengths over Robert Morris to become the fifth horse of all-time to win the Triple Crown. Eddie Arcaro was the jockey.

On this date – June 7, 1964 – Gene Mauch was sending Jim Bunning (5-2) to the mound with the hopes of preventing the Giants from sweeping the series. Bunning’s mound opponent was Bob Hendley (4-4).

Hendley was knocked out early the first time he faced the Phillies, on May 21st in San Francisco, but he wound up with a no-decision that day.

In his last start four days earlier, Bunning pitched 10 shutout innings against the Dodgers but got a no-decision.

Bunning shut the Giants down in the top of the first.

In the bottom of the first, Bob Hendley hit Tony Taylor to begin the inning. Hendley then walked Cookie Rojas to put runners on first and second. Johnny Callison singled, Taylor scored, and it was 1-0 Phillies. Rojas advanced to third.

With runners on first and third and nobody out, the chess match for first place began.

With Richie Allen coming up to bat, manager Al Dark gave lefty Bob Hendley the quick hook. Dark called on right-hander Bobby Bolin (1-2) to face Allen. Bolin had pitched six scoreless innings in relief against the Phillies on May 21st in San Francisco to pick up a win.

Tonight, Bolin walked Richie Allen to load the bases.

Gene Mauch then sent left-handed hitter Wes Covington up to pinch-hit for the right-handed Danny Cater.

Dark countered by removing Bolin and replacing him with lefty Ken McKenzie (0-0) to face Covington.

McKenzie got Covington to pop to third.

With the bases loaded and one out – and with right-hand hitter Roy Sievers up next – Dark replaced McKenzie with right-hander Gaylord Perry (3-1). The day before, Perry pitched a scoreless inning against the Phillies.

Roy Sievers hit a long fly, Cookie Rojas scored, and it was 2-0 Phillies.

With runner on first and second and two outs, Perry struck out Gus Triandos to end the inning.

From there through the bottom of the sixth, Bunning and Perry put up zeroes and the score remained 2-0 Phillies.

In the top of the seventh, Alvin Dark lifted Perry for pinch-hitter Willie McCovey, who flew out.

In the bottom of the seventh, Dark brought lefty Billy O’Dell in to pitch. O’Dell pitched two scoreless innings the day before in picking up the win.

O’Dell and Bunning pitched scoreless half-innings and the score remained 2-0 entering the bottom of the eighth.

In the bottom of the eighth, Johnny Callison led off with a triple over Willie Mays’ head in center ─ his fifth triple of the season. Richie Allen followed with a single and Johnny Callison scored to make it 3-0.

Bunning had given up only five hits over the first eight innings and the game looked to be in the win column. So Gene Mauch inserted Ruben Amaro and John Herrnstein into the game as defensive replacements.

In the top of the ninth, Orlando Cepeda doubled. Former Dodger great Duke Snider – hitting just .170 – slammed his third home run of the season over the right field wall to cut the Phillies lead to 3-2. It was the 406th home run of Snider’s career.

Bunning then struck out Tom Haller for the first out.

But rookie Jim Ray Hart tied the game 3-3 with his fourth home run of the year.

Gene Mauch then made a double-switch:

• • Ed Roebuck (1-1) came in to pitch.
• • Tony Gonzalez came in to play centerfield.

The day before, Roebuck gave up his first runs of the season and picked up his first loss.

Al Dark sent Harvey Kuenn up to pinch-hit for O’Dell. Kuenn had gotten the game-winning hit in Friday night’s game as a pinch-hitter.

But this time, Roebuck got Kuenn to fly to right for the second out, and he got Jim Davenport on a grounder to short to end the inning.

But the game was tied 3-3.

In the bottom of the ninth, Bob Shaw (3-3) came in to pitch. Shaw won Friday night’s game.

Shaw retired the Phillies in order to send the game into extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, Roebuck hit Jesus Alou leading off. Chuck Hiller singled to put runners on first and second with nobody out.

Mauch replaced Roebuck with Jack Baldschun (3-2).

Willie Mays popped to the catcher for the first out.

With Orlando Cepeda batting, Alou made a bonehead play by wandering too far off second and Baldschun picked him off for the second out – and leaving a runner on first.

Baldschun walked Cepeda to put runners back on first and second with two outs.

With Duke Snider due up, Gene Mauch brought lefty Chris Short (3-3) in to pitch ─ in between starts. It was Short’s ninth relief appearance of the season.

Al Dark countered by sending right-handed hitter Del Crandall up to pinch-hit for Snider.

Short was wild. He walked Crandall to load the bases, and then he walked Tom Haller to force in a run and put the Giants ahead 4-3.

Mauch replaced Short with Dallas Green (1-0).

Green retired Jim Ray Hart to end the inning.

For the bottom of the tenth, it was Al Dark’s turn to make defensive changes

• Del Crandall stayed in to catch.

• Tom Haller moved from catcher to rightfield.

• José Pagan came in to play shortstop.

Tony Taylor singled and moved into scoring position on a sacrifice by Cookie Rojas. Johnny Callison grounded out and Taylor moved to third with two outs.

In what looked like a questionable move, Al Dark brought lefty Billy Pierce (1-0) in to face Richie Allen. But the move was a ruse. Pierce walked Allen intentionally to get to left-handed hitting John Herrnstein.

Pierce retired Herrnstein on a ground ball to first to end the game and wrap up the series sweep for the Giants.

In the highly-strategic game, Al Dark used 21 players and Gene Mauch used 17.

Bob Shaw (4-3) picked up the victory in relief – his second win of the series – and Billy Pierce picked up his first save.

Ed Roebuck (1-2) – who’d pitched scoreless baseball before the series with the Giants began – picked up his second loss in the last two days.

For the Phillies, that was four straight losses against the Giants and five losses in six games with the Giants this season.

The series sweep by the Giants flip-flopped the Giants and Phillies positions in the standings. The Phillies were 1½ games ahead when the series began, but now found themselves 1½ games behind the Giants in second place.

(Excerpted from 1964 – The Year the Phillies Blew the Pennant by Barry Bowe.)