Aug 1, 1963 – Dodger Stadium
GAME 1 - LAD 8, PIT 6
Bob Friend vs Sandy Koufax
What would the odds be that both aces would wind up not surviving the second inning of a game played in pitcher friendly Dodger Stadium ? Now throw into the mix that one of those aces was the immortal Sandy Koufax and the odds are astronomical. Still, that’s exactly what happened. Koufax barely survived 2 innings on the hill. His many protagonist was Roberto Clemente who hit a pair of 3 run homers in back to back innings. On most days if you score 6 runs off Sandy in 2 innings you are in the driver’s seat, but not today. Not on a day where Bob Friend gave up 5 runs in the same span. Friend was given the gift of offensive support vs the normally unhittable Koufax and he squandered it. An RBI single by Tommy Davis in the first and a 2 run RBI single by TD in
the second knocked Friend back down to reality, so he was replaced by Elroy Face, who himself would not survive the 4th. LA would score 3 runs in the 4th to take an 8-6 lead. Tommy Davis once again had an RBI single (his 3rd of the day). With Face and his understudy, Tommy Sisk, paying way too much attention to Maury Wills, Dodger hitters (Jim Gilliam & Davis) did damage. The unsung hero was Dodger swingman Bob Miller, who pitched 5 scoreless innings in relief of Koufax to get the win. Ron Perranoski would toss 2 scoreless innings on the back on to nail down the save in a game the Pirates let slip away.
Dodgers lead series 1-0
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