Long Tall Sally

The Beatles released their fifth album – Long Tall Sally – in the United Kingdom, Spain, and France on June 19, 1964. The album was only 9:06 in length and contained just four songs:

• “Long Tall Sally” and “I Call Your Name” on Side One.

• “Slow Down” and “Matchbox” on Side Two.

The featured song was a cover of Little Richard’s 1957 hit in the U.S.

The album was later expanded – see the header photo – and released in Canada with several additional hit tunes by the Beatles included.

Five Games with the Mets

After winning two of three from the Cubs, the Phillies were traveling to Long Island to begin a rare, five-game weekend series against the Mets at Shea Stadium that included doubleheaders on Friday and Sunday wrapped around a single game on Saturday afternoon.

In their first two seasons of existence, the Mets played their home games at the Polo Grounds in the Coogan’s Bluff section of Manhattan, directly across the Harlem River from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. The Polo Grounds had been the Giants home from 1891 until the team fled the city after the 1957 season.

Polo Grounds

For the 1964 season, the Mets moved into their new home in Flushing, Queens ─ Shea Stadium.

The Phillies had taken three-of-four from the Mets the previous weekend in Philadelphia. The Mets were now solidly in last place, already 18 games behind the Phillies.

FIRST GAME

It was Art Mahaffey (6-2) against Carlton Willey (0-0) in the first game of the series.

Willey was making his first start of the season since being activated from the Disabled List two weeks earlier. He’d appeared in three relief outings so far, giving up two earned runs and eight hits in five innings pitched.

Art Mahaffey won his last two starts – the most recent a 9-5 win over the Mets the previous weekend.

Carlton Willey and Art Mahaffey pitched five scoreless innings to start the ballgame.

In the bottom of the fifth, thinking that Willey had run out of gas in his first start back, Mets manager Casey Stengel lifted him for a pinch-hitter.

To start the sixth inning, Stengel sent Larry Bearnarth (4-3) to the mound to replace Willey. This was already Bearnarth’s fourth appearance against the Phillies. He allowed just one unearned run in seven innings thus far.

In the top of the sixth, Johnny Briggs led off with a single. With a walk and a single already under his belt, Johnny Callison stepped up to the plate and hit his eighth home run to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

No more scoring through the top of the ninth.

Mahaffey was still pitching a shutout when the game reached the bottom of the ninth, but he then ran into some trouble.

Charley Smith led off with a single.

Rod Kanehl walked to put runners on first and second with nobody out.

Amado Samuel moved tying runners to second and third with a bunt for the first out.

Stengel sent George Altman up to bat for the pitcher, and Altman grounded out for the second out – with the runners moved up a base and Charley Smith scoring to cut the Phillies lead to 2-1. Kanehl moved to third with two outs.

Gene Mauch replaced Art Mahaffey with Ed Roebuck (1-2), and Roebuck proceeded to get Jim Hickman on a routine fly to center to end the game.

Art Mahaffey (7-2) picked up the win, Ed Roebuck got his 10th save, and Larry Bearnarth (4-4) took the loss.

The win made it two in a row for the Phillies, and six wins in seven games against the Mets.

SECOND GAME

Gene Mauch sent Ray Culp (2-5) to the mound in the second game to face Galen Cisco (3-7).

These two faced off against each other five days earlier in Philadelphia, with Culp besting Cisco 9-5.

Galen Cisco was making his 11th start of the season. Like the Mets, he was not having a good season record-wise, but he was pitching well. Two starts back, he shut out the Dodgers on four hits.

Ray Culp was making his eighth start. As previously mentioned, he beat Cisco and the Mets 9-5 the previous weekend in Philadelphia.

There was no score through two-and-a-half innings.

Chris Cannizzaro’s single in the second inning was the only hit for either team as the game moved into the bottom of the third.

Jim Hickman led off with a double, Ed Kranepool followed with his third home run of the season, and it was 2-0 Mets.

In the top of the fourth, Tony Taylor broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff home run into the leftfield stands to cut the Mets lead to 2-1 ─ Taylor’s second of the year.

Johnny Briggs followed with a single. One out later, Richie Allen singled and Briggs moved to third.

John Herrnstein hit a sacrifice fly to left to tie the game 2-2 – which left a runner on first with two outs.

Roy Sievers ─ struggling with a .146 batting average ─ unloaded a two-run shot into the leftfield stands to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. It was Siever’s third home run of the year.

Casey Stengel replaced Galen Cisco with Bill Wakefield (1-2). Wakefield pitched two innings against the Phillies on June 14th, when the Phillies touched him up for three runs on three hits.

From there, the game progressed through the fifth inning with no change in the score. And then Wakefield ran into trouble in the top of the sixth.

In the top of the sixth, Johnny Callison and Richie Allen led off with back-to-back singles.

After John Herrnstein flew out, Roy Sievers drove Callison homw with a double to center to make it 5-2 Phillies. Richie Allen stopped at third.

Runners on second and third with one out.

Wakefield walked Clay Dalrymple on purpose to load the bases.

The runners then moved up a base when Wakefield uncorked a wild pitch to put the Phillies ahead 6-2.

Nothing for the Mets in the bottom of the sixth.

In the top of the seventh, Tony Taylor led off with a double and moved to third on a deep fly to right off the bat of Johnny Briggs. Johnny Callison singled and it was 7-2 Phillies.

Ray Culp (3-5) retired the last nine batters he faced to pick up the win while Galen Cisco (3-8) took the loss.

The sweep of the doubleheader gave the Phillies five straight wins, five straight over the Mets, and 7-of-8 in the season series with the Mets.

Cards Beat Giants

Bob Gibson (6-4) gave up one run on six hits over eight innings as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

Ron Taylor pitched a perfect ninth to pick up his sixth save of the year.

Ron Herbel (4-3) took the loss.

For the second game in a row, Julian Javier was the hitting star for the Cards. His two-run home run in the bottom of the seventh broke the 1-1 tie. It was Javier’s eighth round-tripper and gave him seven RBIs in the last two games against the Giants.

The loss by the Giants and the sweep of the twi-nighter by the Phillies pushed the Phils 2½ games ahead of the Giants.

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