Giants: Fresh off a 5 game sweep of the expansion NY Mets the Giants sit 2 games in first place atop the NL.  The Giants are firing on all 8 cylinders and have even been able to overcome some mediocre back end starting pitching.  Jack Sanford has picked it up as of late by getting 2 nice wins and lowering his ERA.  Felipe Alou is posting MVP type numbers and is second in the league with 11 HR's.  Cepeda is hitting well over .300 as well, but his power numbers are down.  Willie Mays has been slumping as of late with his average falling below .300 for the first time all season.  To stay in 1st the Giants will need the Say Hey Kid to revert back to his early season form.

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Candlestick Park for today's game between Philadelphia and San Francisco. San Francisco has won 8 straight, and 9 of their last 10. Jim Bunning takes the mound for Philadelphia. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 5 and 0 with an ERA of 1.99. Billy O'Dell will be on the mound for San Francisco. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 3 and 1 with an ERA of 2.22. It's 58 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, out to rcf. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Candlestick Park for today's game between Philadelphia and San Francisco. San Francisco has won 8 of their last 10. Chris Short takes the mound for Philadelphia. He's made 4 starts on the year and is 2 and 0 with an ERA of 2.55. He'll be opposed by Jack Sanford. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 2 and 3 with an ERA of 3.64. It's 63 degrees. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to Candlestick Park for today's game between Philadelphia and San Francisco. San Francisco has won 9 of their last 10. Art Mahaffey takes the mound for Philadelphia. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 2 and 2 with an ERA of 3.03. Mike McCormick will be on the mound for San Francisco. He's made 2 starts on the year, with no decisions and an ERA of 6.23. It's 61 degrees, wind speed 15 mph, out to lcf and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Giants 2, Phillies 1: Bunning was un-hittable in game 1 as he tossed goose eggs for 9 innings to earn the complete game shutout and improve his record to 6-0.  John Callison hit his league leading 13th HR to setup the victory.  Game 2 saw extra innings as both starters (Chris Short and Jack Sanford) allowed only 2 runs.  San Fran won it as pinch hitter Matty Alou singled home the winning run with 2 outs off of reliever Ed Roebuck.  The finale saw Mike McCormick throw 8 innings of fantastic ball.  Phils starter Art Mahaffey rubbed up a blister and exited the game in the 5th.  Relieve Rick Wise wasn't much better than Mahaffey and the Giants cruised to an easy win.  Giants catcher Ed Bailey and third sacker Jim Davenport hit back to back jacks.

PBP Highlights:
Callison hits his league leading 13th: Callison will lead off the inning .277 average on the season with 12 home runs and 38 runs batted in he's hitting .260 in May .. the lefty toes the rubber here's the pitch fastball Callison swings.. flied deep towards right center Mays and Alou, F going back .. gone! HR number 13 for Callison a 389 foot homer

Back to back jacks by Bailey and Davenport: Runner on 3rd Bailey at the plate batting .242 on the year with 8 home runs and 25 runs batted in he's hitting just .154 in May Davenport is on deck .. the pitch to Bailey he swings.. flied deep to right center way back it might go Callison racing back .. at the fence .. a long way out of here! he got a hanging curve! HR number 9 for Bailey a 421 foot blast Bases empty the third baseman Davenport steps in batting .271 with 2 home runs and 11 runs batted in he's hitting .343 in May .. Mahaffey gets the sign Mahaffey with the 0-1 fastball Davenport swings.. here's a deep fly towards right center way back Gonzalez racing back .. Home Run HR number 3 for Davenport a 373 foot homer.  The Giants have just hit back to back home runs for the first time this season.

Boxscores:
Bunning Blanks San Francisco 5-0
San Francisco Edges Philadelphia 3-2 in 11
San Francisco Beats Philadelphia 4-1

Managers:
Giants (Marc Weiss), Phillies (Bill Keller)

Reds: Cincy has made great strides in the last few weeks by creeping out of 9th place and moving up to 6th and 1 game under .500.  Much of it can be credited to Frank Robby (.434-7-32) posting triple crown numbers and get just about every timely hit possible.  Vada Pinson has been heating up and that means a Cincy gets a threat on the basepaths.  Pinson has raised his average over 75 points to a robust .339.  The pitching has been ok and has been led by the surprising performance posted by game 2's probable starter Ken Hunt (3-0, 2.68).

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Crosley Field for today's game between Milwaukee and Cincinnati. Bob Buhl takes the mound for Milwaukee. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 3 and 3 with an ERA of 3.32. He'll be opposed by Bob Purkey. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 3 and 3 with an ERA of 5.29. Cincinnati left fielder Frank Robinson is riding a 12 game hitting streak. Cincinnati center fielder Vada Pinson is riding a 10 game hitting streak. It's 78 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, out to rf. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Crosley Field for today's game between Milwaukee and Cincinnati. Warren Spahn takes the mound for Milwaukee. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 2 and 4 with an ERA of 3.50. He'll be opposed by Ken Hunt. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 3 and 0 with an ERA of 2.68. Milwaukee catcher Del Crandall is riding a 10 game hitting streak. Cincinnati center fielder Vada Pinson is riding a 11 game hitting streak. Cincinnati left fielder Frank Robinson is riding a 13 game hitting streak. It's 73 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, in from rcf. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Braves 1, Reds 1: The Reds and the Braves split this quick 2 game set.  Game 1 saw Bob Purkey and the Reds jump out to a big lead.  Milwaukee added 3 runs later in the game to bring it closer to respectability.  Game 2 saw Warren Spahn show glimmers of his former greatness.  In the end he did give up 6 runs, but pitched good enough to win.  Cincy catcher Bob Schmidt could not throw out any Brave attempting to steal.  Milwaukee brought their track shoes with them for this set.  Ed Mathews hit 3 homers in this game and walked on 5 pitches in his final AB, as it looked like Cincy wanted no part of him.  Frank Robby is still hot, which was evidenced by his 5 for 8 and 3 RBI's in the series.

PBP Highlights:
Mathews 3 Home Run Event: Empty Hitting 3rd, here's Mathews hitting .302 on the year with 7 home runs and 27 runs batted in he's hitting .338 in May .. 0-2 count Mathews swings.. he got a hold of this one he hits a deep fly ball towards right center it could go Bell racing back .. Home Run HR number 8 for Mathews that one measured 366 feet.  3rd Mathews to the plate man on 2nd Hunt gets the sign from Zimmerman 0-1 count Mathews swings.. to right center and deep way back it's got a chance to go Pinson chasing back gone! that's his 2nd HR of the game that's number 9 for Mathews that one measured 381 feet.  Empty Mathews comes up against Hunt man on 1st Hunt is ready 0 balls, 2 strikes fastball Mathews swings.. it's a well hit fly ball to right center back, back Bell racing back .. gone! his 3rd HR on the day what a game for Eddie! HR number 10 for Mathews a 371 foot homer.  1st & 2nd the third baseman Mathews steps in 3-1 count curveball low and away and Nunn issues the walk 1st.

Boxscores:
Cincinnati Over Milwaukee 8-4
Milwaukee Edges Cincinnati 7-6, 3 HRs For Mathews

Managers:
Braves (Marc Weiss)

Colt 45's: Took 3 of 4 from the Phills and got back into contention.  Houston's pitchers are quite stingy, but on paper their offense is anemic.  Tell that to Roman Mejia who is hitting .356-7-35, which are triple crown type numbers.  Playing in the cavernous Colt stadium will prevent him from contending for the HR title.  Norm Larker and Al Spangler are both hitting over .330 and part time catcher Merritt Ranew is hitting .327.  Bob Aspromonte has covered every infield position for the Colts and is hitting .297 with 4 long balls.  George "Red" Witt will make his season debut in game 1 of the set.  Bob Bruce is coming off a nice outing and his 1-0 will go in game 2.  Hal Woodeshick has been roughed up as of late and hopes to right the ship in game 3.

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Colt Stadium for today's game between Pittsburgh and Houston. Bennie Daniels starts for Pittsburgh. He's made 4 starts on the year and is 0 and 3 with an ERA of 9.47. He'll be opposed by George Witt. He'll be making his first start of the year. It's 87 degrees. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Colt Stadium where it's Pittsburgh against Houston. Joe Gibbon takes the mound for Pittsburgh. He's made 3 starts on the year and is 0 and 1 with an ERA of 3.00. He'll be opposed by Bob Bruce. He's made 2 starts on the year and is 1 and 0 with an ERA of 3.04. It's 88 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, out to rf. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to Colt Stadium for today's game between Pittsburgh and Houston. Jim Umbricht takes the mound for Pittsburgh. He's made 2 starts on the year and is 1 and 0 with an ERA of 7.97. He'll be opposed by Hal Woodeshick. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 1 and 3 with an ERA of 4.50. It's 89 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, right to left and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Pirates 2, Colt 45's 1: Taking 2 of 3 with the back end of their rotation on the hill is a major coup for the Bucs.  Houston was torched for 14 runs in the opener where just about everything went right for Pittsburgh and wrong for the home team.  The Colt 45's partially returned the favor by blowing Pittsburgh out in the second game.  The series finale featured a good old fashioned pitcher's duel between Pittsburgh's staff (4 pitchers) and Houston's Hal Woodeshick (CG 2 ER's).  The Pirates plated 1 run in the 3rd & the 4th innings respectively before the heavens opened up and a 21 minute rain delay occurred.  One can't be sure if it was the rain or all the runs scored in the previous 2 games affected both offenses, but something did since neither team scored the rest of the way.  Elroy Face came on in the 8th and threw 2 scoreless innings to notch his 4th save.  The Pirates now have 5 starters hitting over .300 (Groat/Clemente/Stuart/Smith/Maz).  Roman Mejias and Norm Larker are the only Houston starters who are over .300.

PBP Highlights:
Jim Pendleton hits tape measure shot for Houston's lone run: Pendleton to face Umbricht the 1-0 pitch Pendleton cuts.. he hits a deep fly to left center .. .. way out of here! he got a hanging curve! HR number 3 for Jim 442 foot blast

Hal Smith knocks in Clemente for game winner in 4th: Bases empty Smith,H at the plate .319 average on the season with 5 home runs and 16 runs batted in he's hitting .340 in May Virdon is on deck if he can get on .. man on 2nd 0 balls, 1 strike curveball Smith,H cuts.. line drive through the middle it's a base hit Clemente takes a look at home he's heading for home Warwick's throw Clemente slides for the plate Smith,H with the tag safe! 1st

Boxscores:
Pittsburgh Blanks Houston 14-0
Houston Beats Pittsburgh 7-1
Pittsburgh Nips Houston 2-1

Managers:
Colt 45's (Marc Weiss)

Mets: It's not even June yet and the Mets fans are already chanting "wait till next year".  The Amazin's were swept by the Giants in a series where they dropped 5 straight.  Jay Hook has almost half the team's wins and even he is having a tough time finding the plate.  Joe Christopher arrived mid way through the Giants series as the team hopes to get some type of spark.

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Dodger Stadium where it's New York (N) against Los Angeles (N). New York (N) has lost 5 straight. Bob Miller starts for New York (N). He's made 3 starts on the year and is 1 and 3 with an ERA of 7.40. He'll be opposed by Sandy Koufax. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 5 and 1 with an ERA of 2.55. It's 72 degrees, wind speed 15 mph, out to cf. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Dodger Stadium for today's game between New York (N) and Los Angeles (N). New York (N) has lost 6 straight, and 8 of their last 10. Al Jackson starts for New York (N). He's made 7 starts on the year and is 1 and 6 with an ERA of 5.15. He'll be opposed by Johnny Podres. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 2 and 2 with an ERA of 2.95. It's 75 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, right to left. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to Dodger Stadium for today's game between New York (N) and Los Angeles (N). New York (N) has lost 7 straight, and 9 of their last 10. Jay Hook takes the mound for New York (N). He's made 8 starts on the year and is 4 and 2 with an ERA of 4.18. He'll be opposed by Bob Miller. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 3 and 1 with an ERA of 2.77. It's 70 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, out to rf and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Dodgers 3, Mets 0: The Mets keep on finding different ways to lose games.  They easily could have take 2 of the 3 games in this set.  Unfortunately, easy is not how the Amazin's do things.  In game #1 the Mets chased the great Koufax from the hill by the 7th inning and had a nice 3-1 lead.  Bob Miller was cruising, but again nothing comes easy to the Mets.  The Dodgers scored a run in the bottom of the 8th to cut the deficit to 1 then won it in the bottom of the 9th when Met left fielder (and hitting star) Frank Thomas booted a Moose Skowron single, which allowed Maury Wills and Ron Fairly to score.  The Mets made 5 errors, which included 4 in the first.  Game 2 saw LA jump out to a quick 3-0 lead off of Met starter Al Jackson in the 1st.  Dodger lefty John Podres went 8 innings and gave up only 1 and increased his record to 3-2.  The finale was almost a replay of game #1.  Met starter Jay Hook was cruising until he tired in the 8th.  Frank Howard hit a 2 run shot to make it 3-2 NY.  Hook was able to get 2 outs in the 8th and gave way to lefty Ken MacKenzie who got Dodger lefty Ron Fairly to line out.  Craig Anderson started the 9th and was a victim of a Ellio Chacon error.  Skowron and Roseboro both got on as did Dick Tracewski.  With 2 outs pinch hitter Willie Davis delivered the game winning walk off single to propel LA to the 3 game sweep.

PBP Highlights:
New York makes 4 errors in 1st inning of Game #1: runner on 1st Miller,B checks the runner at first he's set the first pitch to Gilliam Wills is going for 2nd pitch out Chiti throws down to 2nd low throw and it gets past Neal! Wills ends up at third! Chiti will be charged with an error Empty runner on 3rd 1-1 count curveball Gilliam swings.. here's a grounder out toward short gloved by Chacon Wills is heading for home Chacon throws to first bad throw Wills scores Gilliam is safe at first 3rd Fairly faces Miller,B hitting .303 on the year with 2 home runs and 18 runs batted in he's hitting .254 in May .. man on 1st 1-1 count fastball Gilliam is trying for 2nd Fairly cuts.. deep fly ball down the right field line it's in foul territory Hickman going back .. if it's fair it's a home run it is .. into the crowd 1st Batting 3rd, it's Fairly hitting .303 with 2 home runs and 18 runs batted in he's hitting .254 in May Davis is on deck .. runner on 1st 1-2 count cutter Gilliam is going for 2nd Fairly swings.. bounced right side of the infield Neal boots it Gilliam goes to 2nd Fairly to first Neal will be charged with an error 4 errors on the day for New York (N)

Jumbo Frank Howard's 2 run HR and the start of the bottom of the 9th: runner on 2nd the first pitch to Howard he cuts.. blasted down the left field line it's well hit Thomas,F going back quickly he goes up it's gone if it's a fair ball it is .. it's gone! HR number 11 for Frank that one was 365 feet 2nd Anderson,C now pitching appearance number 10 on the season he's 0 and 1 with a 2.92 ERA Davis will get this inning started .. Anderson,C stares in the pitch Davis swings.. grounder to Chacon at short he throws to first and the throw pulled Kanehl off the bag Davis is safe at first Empty

Boxscores:
Los Angeles (N) Edges New York (N) 4-3
Los Angeles (N) Beats New York (N) 5-1
Los Angeles (N) Edges New York (N) 4-3

Managers:
Dodgers (George Bserani), Mets (Marc Weiss)

Cards: St. Louis has had virtually no offense.  After the #6 spot in the lineup they are vitually dead.  Their corner outfielders have not produced, which has put a big strain on the pitching staff.  Gibson started out 0-3, but has won his last 2 outings and looks to get stronger.  This team needs to make a move or they will be sole owners of 9th place, since they Mets seem to own 10th.

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Sportsman's Park III for today's game between Chicago and St. Louis. St. Louis has won just 2 of their last 10. Dick Ellsworth gets the start for Chicago. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 1 and 3 with an ERA of 5.75. He'll be opposed by Bob Gibson. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 2 and 5 with an ERA of 3.23. It's 75 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, left to right. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Sportsman's Park III for today's game between Chicago and St. Louis. St. Louis has won just 2 of their last 10. Don Cardwell takes the mound for Chicago. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 4 and 2 with an ERA of 4.22. He'll be opposed by Ray Sadecki. He's made 4 starts on the year and is 0 and 4 with an ERA of 4.09. It's 76 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, in from rf and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to Sportsman's Park III where it's Chicago against St. Louis. St. Louis has won just 2 of their last 10. Dick Drott takes the mound for Chicago. He's made 2 starts on the year and is 1 and 3 with an ERA of 3.64. He'll be opposed by Curt Simmons. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 4 and 2 with an ERA of 4.58. It's 84 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, out to lcf. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Cubs 3, Cards 0: This Cardinal offense would be considered anemic, even in the dead ball era.  Something's got to give.  Everyday they trot of corner outfielders who have limited range and .220 averages.  The pitching has little or no margin for error as well as evidenced by the poor performances that top 3 starters Gibson, Sadecki and Simmons posted in this series.  To focus on the positive the Cubs put up some fantastic offensive numbers in this sweep, which the Cards were never really in.  It started right off with the leadoff hitter Al Heist (hitting .188 at the time) crushing a Gibson fastball to open the series with a HR and never ceased.  Cub pitching was obviously aided by the soft lineup the Cards are posting.  Two Time NL MVP (58-59) Ernie Banks had a 2 home run game. and the rest of the lineup was on full throttle.  The Cubs moved over .500 for the first time since the second week of the season and look to be contenders if they can get enough pitching.  St. Louis needs to add a few bats as well as some relief pitching or they'll own 9th place.

PBP Highlights:
Ernie Banks' 2 HR, 5 RBI and 1 Triple Game:

1. Bases empty the shortstop Banks steps in runner on 2nd 3-1 count breaking ball Banks swings.. fly to left center it's well hit way back there it might go .. James,C on the warning track at the wall .. outta here! Home Run number 11 for Banks that one measured 439 feet
2. 1st & 2nd Banks now batting runner on 3rd the count is even, 2-2 Banks swings.. it's drilled down the left field line this one is well hit Home Run his 2nd HR of the game that's number 12 for 'Mr. Cub' 359 foot blast
3. Banks to face Gibson,B runner on 1st the payoff pitch breaking ball Banks swings.. it's laced to left James,C on his horse but it hopped past him that will be extra bases Altman scores Banks rounds second he'll try to stretch it into a triple it'll be close the throw comes in from James,C Banks with a head first slide he is.. .. safe! triple

Pitcher Don Cardwell hits a Grand Slam: Cardwell digs in against Sadecki the sacks are full 0-1 count Cardwell cuts.. he clubs this one here's a well hit fly ball.. hit towards left center way back there it might go Flood going back quickly Grand Slam! that's Cardwell's first home run that one measured 398 feet...Cubs jump out to a quick 4-0 lead over the Cards.  Cardwell threw 7 innings and gave up 1 run and walked out of Sportsman Park with his 5th win on the season.

Boxscores:
Chicago Beats St. Louis 5-1
Chicago Beats St. Louis 7-3
Chicago Beats St. Louis 9-3, 2 HRs For Banks

Managers:
Cubs (Marvin Sik), Cardinals (Marc Weiss)