Upcoming Series at a Glance:

 Forbes Field | 5/26-5/28
LAD 1964-PHI (21-18) 5th   @   Pirates 1960-PIT (24-17) 3rd
4 R-Art Mahaffey (2-3, 3.44)   @   3 R-Bob Friend (6-4, 3.32)
5 L-Dennis Bennett (4-5, 4.27)   @   4 R-Vern Law (5-3-, 2.55)
3 R-Jim Bunning (7-0, 1.49)   @   1 L-Harvey Haddix (3-4, 2.92)

Scouting Report:
Phils: The Phils hope to keep riding their hot streak on this road trip after they took 2 of 3 from LA in Chavez Ravine.  Game 3 starter, Jim Bunning is undefeated and is fresh off a huge complete game victory where he outdueled the great Sandy Koufax.  Richie Allen leads the team with a .304 average.  Johnny Callison has 13 homers and 42 ribbies to lead both the team and the league..

Pirates: The Pirates dropped 3 of 4 to the 1st place Giants and are now 4 games out of 1st.  They have their top 3 starters going vs Philly with the hopes of getting back on track.  Dick Groat is hitting .372, Dick Stuart has 11 HR's and 34 RBI's and is tied with Roberto Clemente for the team lead..

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Forbes Field for today's game between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Art Mahaffey will start for Philadelphia. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 2 and 3 with an ERA of 3.44. He'll be opposed by Bob Friend. He's made 10 starts on the year and is 6 and 4 with an ERA of 3.32. It's 75 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, out to lcf and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Forbes Field for today's game between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Dennis Bennett takes the mound for Philadelphia. He's made 10 starts on the year and is 4 and 5 with an ERA of 4.27. He'll be opposed by Vern Law. He's made 10 starts on the year and is 5 and 3 with an ERA of 2.55. It's 63 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, out to rf. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to Forbes Field for today's game between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Jim Bunning starts for Philadelphia. He's made 9 starts on the year and is 7 and 0 with an ERA of 1.49. He'll be opposed by Harvey Haddix. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 3 and 4 with an ERA of 2.92. It's 75 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, right to left. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Phillies 3, Pirates 0: The Pirates let a golden opportunity slip through their hands and the Phillies moved right into the thick of the race.  With SF getting swept by the Cards every stood to gain ground.  Philly did...Pittsburgh did not.  All three games were close, but the backend of Philly's rotation got the best of Pittsburgh's front end.  In the finale Bunning was his unhittable self.

Boxscores:
Philadelphia Nips Pittsburgh 4-3
Philadelphia Slips Past Pittsburgh 5-4
Philadelphia Over Pittsburgh 3-1

Managers:
Marc Weiss Game 1/3 Philly, Game 2 Pit

 

 Crosley Field | 5/26-5/28
LA 1963-LA (24-15) 2nd    @   CIN 1961-CIN (18-21) 7th
2 L-John Podres (3-2, 2.66)   @   3 R-Jim Maloney (0-1, 6.98)
3 R-Don Drysdale (6-1, 3.29)   @   4 L-Jim O'Toole (3-4, 3.97)
0 L-Sandy Koufax (5-2, 2.35)   @   1 R-Joey Jay (2-6, 3.43)

Scouting Report:
Dodgers: LA has the big 3 going in this set.  Koufax is fresh off a complete game loss where he gave up1 unearned run.  Drysdale was not spectacular in his last outing even though the team won 5-4.  Junior Gilliam and Tommy Davis are both hitting in the .370's.  Frank Howard has 12 homers and 33 RBI's to lead the power categories.

Reds: Dropped 3 of 4 at home to the Cubs which is nothing to be proud of.  Frank Robinson (.434-9-17) is the sole reason this team has a pulse.  Gordy Coleman is hitting .306 with 11 homers.  The pitching has been dreadful and the matchup's in this series vs the Dodgers' Big 3 is should not bring a smile to any Redleg's fan.

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Crosley Field for today's game between Los Angeles (N) and Cincinnati. Johnny Podres will start for Los Angeles (N). He's made 7 starts on the year and is 3 and 2 with an ERA of 2.66. He'll be opposed by Jim Maloney. He's made 2 starts on the year and is 0 and 1 with an ERA of 6.98. It's 80 degrees and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Crosley Field for today's game between Los Angeles (N) and Cincinnati. Don Drysdale takes the mound for Los Angeles (N). He's made 10 starts on the year and is 6 and 1 with an ERA of 3.29. He'll be opposed by Jim O'Toole. He's made 9 starts on the year and is 3 and 4 with an ERA of 3.97. It's 75 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, right to left. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to Crosley Field for today's game between Los Angeles (N) and Cincinnati. Sandy Koufax takes the mound for Los Angeles (N). He's made 8 starts on the year and is 5 and 2 with an ERA of 2.35. He'll be opposed by Joey Jay. He's made 8 starts on the year and is 2 and 6 with an ERA of 3.43. It's 75 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, left to right and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Reds 3, Dodgers 0: Cincy swept this close series by hanging tight with the Dodgers and getting the opportune hit when needed. In game 2 the Dodgers made a huge fielding error attempting to throw out a runner at the plate instead of going for a sure thing double play. In the finale they left poor Koufax on the mound to rot even though he was dead tired. Sandy wound up walking the bases full as well as the winning run, which turned out to be the only run of the day. San Fran was swept by St. Louis earlier in the day, which means the Dodgers blew a golden chance to gain ground..

Boxscores:
Cincinnati Edges Los Angeles (N) 3-2
Cincinnati Edges Los Angeles (N) 4-3
Cincinnati Blanks Los Angeles (N) 1-0

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

 

 County Stadium | 5/26-5/28 
HOU 1962-HOU (21-20) 6th   @   MIL 1960-MIL (17-21) 8th
2 R-Bob Bruce (2-0, 2.27)   @   1 R-Bob Buhl (3-4, 3.71)
5 L-Jim Golden (2-2, 4.33)   @   6 R-Carl Willey (3-4, 3.60)
3 R-Ken Johnson (4-4, 4.59)   @   2 R-Lew Burdette (3-1, 5.25)

Scouting Report:
Colt 45's: They'll have to perform better vs Milwaukee than they did vs the Mets (split 4 games.).  Houston has trouble winning away from the pre-fab cavernous Colt Stadium that they play home games in.  How long can they ride the hot bats of Roman Mejias and Norm Larker ?.

Braves: Just dropped 3 of 4 to the 9th place Cardinals.  Del Crandall had his 12 game hitting streak snapped, but is still hitting over .330.  Aaron is at .298 and inching up to .300.  The pitching is the real reason this team is floundering.  The starters have unusually high ERA's and that just might be due to the bullpen not being able to hold a lead.

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to County Stadium for today's game between Houston and Milwaukee. Bob Bruce takes the mound for Houston. He's made 3 starts on the year and is 2 and 0 with an ERA of 2.27. He'll be opposed by Bob Buhl. He's made 8 starts on the year and is 3 and 4 with an ERA of 3.71. It's 72 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, right to left. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to County Stadium where Houston will take on Milwaukee. Jim Golden gets the start for Houston. He's made 3 starts on the year and is 2 and 2 with an ERA of 4.43. He'll be opposed by Carl Willey. He's made 8 starts on the year and is 3 and 4 with an ERA of 6.70. It's 63 degrees, wind speed 15 mph, left to right and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to County Stadium for today's game between Houston and Milwaukee. Ken Johnson takes the mound for Houston. He's made 8 starts on the year and is 4 and 4 with an ERA of 4.59. He'll be opposed by Lew Burdette. He's made 7 starts on the year and is 3 and 1 with an ERA of 5.25. It's 64 degrees, wind speed 15 mph, out to cf and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Colt 45's 2, Braves 1: Bob Bruce pitched a gem en route to his third win (3-0). When he tired in the 8th bob Tiefenauer was brought on to notch to face Hank Aaron and work the 9th. Houston scored 1 run in both the first and third innings respectively by playing small ball. Milwaukee kept waiting for the big inning, which never came.

Bill Bruton lead the game off with a double and proceeded to be stranded by the next 3 batters. Milwaukee fans began to feel some unrest after the Braves stranded a ton of runners in game 1 of the series. In the 4th Hank Aaron hit a 372 foot solo shout and in the 5th pitcher Carl Willey crushed a 2 out 2 strike pitch for another solo homer to put Milwaukee up 2-0. Houston answered back in the 6th by chasing Willey from the box with 5 runs. As usual Roman Mejia (2 RBI's) was the center of the offense. Wes Covington led off the 8th with a solo shot and after Eddie mathews lead off the 9th with one of his own Houston starter Jim Golden was replace by veteran close Don McMahon. Things looked good when he got Aaron, but Ed Mathews reached base and Wes Covington proceeded his second homer of the day to win it.

Houston got on the board 1st with 3 singles and a sac fly by Carl Warrick. Both pitchers were putting up goose eggs thanks to some great fielding and some key double plays. In the top of the 6th Bob Aspromonte singled home Norm Larker to increase Houston's lead to 2-0. In the bottom of the inning Red Schoendienst lead off and reached first off of a dribbler that Houston catcher Hal Smith couldn't handle. No error was charged on the play, but the makings for a big inning were set in place. Ed Mathews proceeded to double Red home. Hank Aaron single and there were now runners at the corners for Joe Adcock who delivered an RBI single to knot the game at 2. Wes Covington, yesterday's hero, struck out to end the inning. No one threatened until the top of the 9th when Aspromonte singled and pinch hitter Buddin walked. Left fielder Al Spangler singled in the go ahead run and Russ Kammener came on in the 9th to close it out as Houston took 2 of 3 from the Braves in Milwaukee.

Boxscores:
Houston Edges Milwaukee 2-1
Milwaukee Over Houston 6-5, Covington With 2 HRs
Houston Slips Past Milwaukee 3-2

Managers:
Marc Weiss Game 1/3 Houston, Game 2 Milwaukee

 

 Wrigley Field | 5/26-5/28 
NYM 1962-NYM (11-30) 10th   @   chi 1961-CHI (20-17) 4th
7 R-Roger Craig (1-4, 5.59)   @   6 R-Glen Hobbie (3-4, 4.33)
10 R-Jay Hook (5-2, 4.03)   @   6 L-Dick Ellsworth (3-3, 4.33)
6 L-Vinegar Mizell (1-0, 1.32)   @   17 R-Don Cardwell (6-2, 3.52)

Scouting Report:
Mets: Stop the presses the Amazin's have double digit wins and actually split a series on the road.  Frank Thomas is posting triple crown #'s (.344-14-38). Jay Hook has stepped up as the ace with 5 of NY's 11 wins.

Cubs: The Cubs are red hot.  They have won 7 of the last 8 game games and have moved into the 1st division.  Banks and Williams have 12/11 homers respectively and Santo is hitting over .340.  During the hot streak the pitching has been above average as well.

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Wrigley Field for today's game between New York (N) and Chicago. New York (N) has won just 2 of their last 10. Chicago has won 8 of their last 10. Roger Craig gets the start for New York (N). He's made 9 starts on the year and is 1 and 4 with an ERA of 5.59. He'll be opposed by Glen Hobbie. He's made 9 starts on the year and is 3 and 4 with an ERA of 4.33. Chicago first baseman George Altman is riding a 10 game hitting streak. It's 67 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, in from lcf. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Wrigley Field for today's game between New York (N) and Chicago. Chicago has won 8 of their last 10. Jay Hook will start for New York (N). He's made 10 starts on the year and is 5 and 2 with an ERA of 4.03. Dick Ellsworth will be on the mound for Chicago. He's made 8 starts on the year and is 3 and 3 with an ERA of 4.33. Chicago first baseman George Altman is riding a 11 game hitting streak. It's 67 degrees. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to Wrigley Field for today's game between New York (N) and Chicago. Vinegar Bend Mizell will start for New York (N). He's made 1 start on the year and is 1 and 0 with an ERA of 1.32. He'll be opposed by Don Cardwell. He's made 8 starts on the year and is 6 and 2 with an ERA of 3.52. Chicago right fielder George Altman is riding a 12 game hitting streak. It's 63 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, left to right. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Mets 2, Cubs 1: With the Giants getting swept the hot Cubs had a real chance to move up the ladder since they were facing the Mets...a team that has 4 road wins all year.  The Cubs had a huge problem:  Frank Thomas.  Frank played for the Cubs for a bit in '61 and wound his way up to New York thanks to the expansion draft.  The expansion draft was a great way for the 8 original NL teams to cast off their unwanted players and get paid for it.  Well Thomas paid back his old squad by hitting 5 HR's in the series and single handedly winning games 1 and 2.  As one can tell pitching was not an important part of this series.  The Cubs have shaky pitching at best and the Mets just flat out do not have any.  The series finale saw Don "Popeye" Zimmer smash 3 HR's as the Cubs pounded NY all the way back to the Polo Grounds.  The on bright pitching spot was Jay Hook getting his 6th win.  Hook's #'s do not look as good as they should, since he was left in the game way too long due to New York's lack of bullpen prowess.

PBP Highlights:
Frank Thomas hits 5 HR's in series including 3 in one game: Thomas,F comes up against Hobbie Mantilla is on deck .. 0-2 count Thomas,F swings.. flied deep down the left field line way back get up, get up, get out of here Banks backing up .. gone his 3rd HR today what a day for Thomas,F Thomas,F gets number 17 that's HR number 10 for May! that one measured 374 feet.  2nd Thomas,F now batting hitting .355 on the year with 17 home runs and 45 runs batted in he's hitting .321 in May .. runner on 1st one ball and no strikes change-up Thomas,F swings. long fly ball to right way back it's got a chance to go .. .. way out of here! that's number 18 for Thomas,F that's HR number 11 for May! 400 foot homer.  Bases empty Thomas,F at the plate hitting .359 on the year with 18 home runs and 47 runs batted in he's hitting .327 in May .. 1st and 2nd occupied 0 balls, 1 strike fastball Thomas,F cuts.. well hit fly ball down the left field line Banks going back quickly .. gone his 2nd HR today Thomas,F gets number 19 that's HR number 12 for May! 375 foot blast.

Zimmer hits 3 HR's in finale: Bases empty Zimmer steps in against Mizell .244 average on the season 2 home runs and 17 RBI's on the season he's hitting .253 in May .. here it comes Don swings.. Don got a hold of this one long fly ball down the left field line get up, get up, get out of here Thomas,F racing back Tater! number 3 on the season for 'Popeye' a 377 foot blast

Bases empty Zimmer now in the batter's box batting .248 with 3 home runs and 18 runs batted in he's hitting .260 in May .. man on 1st 1-2 count Zimmer swings.. flied deep down the left field line Thomas,F backing up .. on the warning track Home Run that's his 2nd HR of the game HR number 4 for Don 361 foot blast

Bases empty Zimmer digs in against Hillman .252 average on the season with 4 home runs and 20 runs batted in he's hitting .265 in May .. Hillman with the 0-1 curveball Zimmer swings.. Zimmer really nailed this one down the left field line and deep way back Thomas,F going back quickly Home Run his 3rd HR today what a game for 'Popeye'! HR number 5 for Zimmer that one measured 367 feet

Boxscores:
New York (N) Slips Past Chicago 7-6, 3 HRs For Thomas,F
New York (N) Beats Chicago 10-6, Thomas,F Belts 2 HRs
Chicago Pounds New York (N) 17-6, 3 HRs For Zimmer

Managers:
Mets (Marc Weiss)

 

 Sportsman Park | 5/26-5/28 
sf 1962-SF (28-13) 1st     @   stl 1964-STL (14-26) 9th
3 L-Mike McCormick (1-0, 4.29)   @   6 L-Curt Simmons (4-3, 4.57)
4 R-Juan Marichal (10-0, 1.92)   @   7 L-Ray Sadecki (0-5, 4.97)
7 L-Billy Pierce (4-2, 4.07)   @   9 R-Ernie Broglio (2-4, 5.80)

Scouting Report:
Giants: Can anyone stop Marichal ?  First pitcher to 10 wins and he's getting stronger.  Last two outings were 1 and 2 hitters respectively.  Mays has been slumping .283, but Cepeda, Alou and Kuenn have picked up the slack and young Stretch McCovey looks to get more playing time as well.

Cardinals: Hot of a 3 of 4 game win cycle vs the Braves.  Still in 9th place.

Pre-game:
Game 1: Welcome to Sportsman's Park III for today's game between San Francisco and St. Louis. San Francisco has won 8 of their last 10. Mike McCormick takes the mound for San Francisco. He's made 3 starts on the year and is 1 and 0 with an ERA of 4.29. He'll be opposed by Curt Simmons. He's made 8 starts on the year and is 4 and 3 with an ERA of 4.57. It's 82 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, out to rcf. Play Ball!

Game 2: Welcome to Sportsman's Park III where it's San Francisco against St. Louis. Juan Marichal takes the mound for San Francisco. He's made 10 starts on the year and is 10 and 0 with an ERA of 1.92. He'll be opposed by Ray Sadecki. He's made 5 starts on the year and is 0 and 5 with an ERA of 4.97. It's 84 degrees, wind speed 5 mph, right to left and we have light rain. Play Ball!

Game 3: Welcome to Sportsman's Park III for today's game between San Francisco and St. Louis. St. Louis has won 5 straight. Billy Pierce takes the mound for San Francisco. He's made 6 starts on the year and is 4 and 2 with an ERA of 4.07. He'll be opposed by Ernie Broglio. He's made 9 starts on the year and is 2 and 4 with an ERA of 5.80. It's 80 degrees, wind speed 10 mph, in from lcf. Play Ball!

Series Results:
Cards 3, Giants 0: The Cardinals defeated the 1st place Giants behind a complete game performance from lefty Curt Simmons. Cardinal righfielder Carl Warwick put St. Louis on the board as he deposited a Mike McCormick offering over the fence in Sportsman Park. St. Louis never had a big inning, but managed to score a solo run in 5 of 9. In the second Bill White doubled and moved to third on a Chris James single. Julian Javier singled to make it 2-0 with no out. The Cards had the makings for a big inning, but Bob Uecker popped out and pitcher Curt Simmons hit into a double play to end it. In the 4th Javier hit a solo shot to make it 3-0. The Cards scored solo runs in the 5th and the 6th as well. San Fran's offense is too potent to keep down and Cepeda was able to score 2 runs, which included a solo shot in the 9th with 2 out, but that was all window dressing as the Cards had this one firmly in hand.

Sporting a 10-0 record Juan Marichal took the mound looking to dominate one of the loop's light hitting lineups. The Cardinals must not have read the papers, which gave them no chance at all, and pounded out 7 runs as Marichal was vitimized by 3 gopher balls. The biggest clout was Julian Javier's grand slam in the 4th, which put St. Louis up 5-0. The Cards tacked on 2 more in the 5th when Dick Groat and Ken Boyer hit solo shots. By the 6th inning Marichal was known as Juan "gone" since he was replaced by Bobby Bolin. The Giants managed to add 3 more runs to make the final score respectible (7-4). Cardinal lefty, Ray Sadecki, notched his 1st win of the season (1-5) and Ron Taylor pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to notch his 2nd save.

The Cards held on to gain the series sweep by defeating the Giants 9-7. St. Louis jumped out to a 7-0 lead by the third inning and seemed to be on cruise control until the Giants touched Card starter Ernie Broglio (3-4) for 4 runs in the top of the 4th. San Fran scored 2 in the 9th to bring it to a 2 run deficit, but yesterday's winner Ray Sadecki came on to get 1 out in relief for the save.

Boxscores:
St. Louis Upends San Francisco 6-3
St. Louis Beats San Francisco 7-4
St. Louis Tops San Francisco 9-7

Managers:
SF Game 1 (Marc Weiss), STL Game 2 (Marc Weiss), Game 3 (CPU)