1963: Braves eliminate Jints in 4

8/1/63 - Candlestick Park
GAME 1 - Braves 4, Giants 3
Warren Spahn vs Juan Marichal
Chalk up the win to the ageless wonder Warren Spahn who went 8 1/3 innings and gave up just 3 runs what many consider the best every day lineup in the NL.  Spahnie fanned 5 and walked none.  His opponent, Marichal, should have sued his defense for lack of support.  Ed Bailey and Harvey Kuenn combined for 3 errors, which helped undermine Marichal's efforts.  Noe was more glaring than the throwing error Kuenn made at third in the top of the 9th when the Braves rallied from 1 down to take a 4-3 lead.  Eddie Mathews led the inning off with a game tying homer.  Henry Aaron doubled, then moved to third on Kuenn's gaffe, then scored on Mack Jones' single.  After getting Bailey to pop out to second, Spahn served up a clean single to Felipe Alou on his 139th and final pitch of the day.  Bob Shaw trotted in from the pen to record the final outs and give the Braves a huge road win.
Braves lead series 1-0

8/2/63 - GAME 2 - Braves 5, Giants 1
Denny Lemaster vs Jack Sanford
The fans were treated to a wonderful pitcher's duel from two unheralded sources.   LeMaster, who went 11-14 during the season with a 3.04 ERA had grown used to the Brave bats going cold when he toes the rubber. Sanford, who won 24 during the Giants pennant winning season last year, relies on getting a lot of run support.  Ed Bailey's two out RBI single in the 4th broke a scoreless tie, but the Giants 1-0 lead was short lived because Gene Oliver took Sanford deep in the next half inning to knot the game back up.  It remained a tight 1-1 pitcher's duel until the fateful top of the 9th where the Braves exploded for four unanswered runs.  Denis Menke's two out 2 run single turned a 2 run lead into an insurmountable 4 run lead.  Gaylord Perry had to brought in to rescue Sanford and get the final two outs.  LeMaster exited the game with a no decision after 7 stellar innings.  Bob Shaw once again came into to weave his magic over the final 2 frames.
Braves lead series 2-0

8/4/63 - Milwaukee County Stadium
GAME 3 - Giants 3, Braves 2
Billy O'Dell vs Bob Hendley
Lee Maye singled with 2 outs and nobody on in the bottom of the 5th and immediately scored when Eddie Mathews ripped one right down the line in right field.  Maye, who was moving on the pitch came all the way around to score and break a scoreless tie.  Mathews was pegged out at third trying to stretch a double into a triple.  San Fran, who's back was up against the wall answered back with 2 runs of their own in the top of the 6th courtesy of two out two run double by the "Baby Bull", Orlando Cepeda.  Hank Aaron's two out single in the 7th would score Roy McMillan to tie the game up at 2-2.  By the 9th inning both starters (O'Dell / Hendley) were gone.  Don Larsen would pitch a perfect 8th for the Jints.  Ron Piche would come on for the Braves to get the final out in the 8th then start up the 9th where things were going very well until Chuck Hiller's gapper turned into a 2 out double.  Cap Peterson was called on to pinch hit for Larsen, and delivered a lead changing RBI single to make it 3-2. Bobby Bolin would fan Roy McMillian to start the bottom of the 9th.  Mack Jones would hit a line shot into the left center power alley for a 1 out triple.  With the infield in and his team's season on the line Bolin blew away Lee Maye on 3 straight pitches for the all important out number two.  This meant that Jones could only score on a hit or an error of some sort.  Up stepped future Hall of Famer, Eddie Mathews, who just got under a 2-2 Bolin offering and hit an elevator in a silo that eventually settled nicely in Hiller's glove at second to end the game.
Braves lead series 2-1

8/5/63 - GAME 4 - Braves 5, Giants 2
Jim Duffalo vs Bob Sadowski
In a series where the home team has not won a game over the first 3 contests the Giants  were hoping to keep the status quo and force a deciding 5th game back in the "City by the Bay".  Joe Torre's run scoring triple in the first put the Giants immediately behind the 8 ball.  A four run barrage in the home half of the 5th sealed San Fran's fate.  A two run single by Torre a two run double by Gene Oliver spelled "all she rode" for Duffalo and company.  Bob Sadowski was keeping the highly acclaimed Giant lineup at bay until the 7th when they posted their first run of the day on a sac fly by Ed Bailey to make it 5-1.  Sadowski would start the 9th, but after giving up a walk to Mays and a single to McCovey, he was replaced by Bob Shaw once again.  Shaw got Cepeda to ground out to short, which moved the runners up 90 feet.  Another Bailey sac fly would score Mays, but the Giants were not in a position to trade outs for runs.  Shaw would close out the game on his own terms by blowing away Felipe Alou on 4 pitches.  San Fran's late rally was way too little and much too late.  Shaw posted his second save of the series as the Braves move on to round 2.
Braves win series 3-1

Tigers outlast Twins in wild 5 game series

Game 1   Detroit 3 Minnesota 5
Det Hank Aguirre vs Min Camilo Pascual

Early on this was a pitching duel. Through the first 3 it was scoreless. Detroit scored in the 4th when Gus Triandos crossed the plate. Minnesota responded in the 5th as Zoilo Versalles tripled and drove in Rich Rollins. In the sixth Detroit got that back but in the bottom of the 6th Vic Power put it over the fence and Minnesota took the lead once again. In the bottom of the 7th the Twin's bats came alive with Rich Rollins, Zoilo Versalles hitting doubles and Vic Power, Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison and Bernie Allen singling. The Twins scored 3 runs taking the lead 5-2. In the 8th Norm Cash put one over the fence to make it 5-3 Twins but then Gerry Arrigo and Bill Dailey shutdown the Tigers. Bill Dailey got the save and Camilo Pascual the win. Hank Aguirre went the distance for Detroit and took the loss. Game MVP Zoilo Versalles

Game 2
Detroit 9 Minnesota 6
Det Jim Bunning vs Min Lee Stange

Harmon Killebrew started off early by putting a 2 run shot over the fence. Added to the lead in the 2nd when Vic Power singled in Earl Battey. In the 3rd Detroit got on the board as Al Kaline singled in Bill Bill Freehan and Rocky Colavito scored on a wild pitch. Minnesota added to their lead when Bernie Allen scored on a Rich Rollins single. Zoilo Versalles tripled in the 6th and Lenny Green sent him home with a single. Bob Allison scored in the 7th when Earl Battey sacrificed. Detroit then scored 3 in the eight when Jake Wood double to send home Bill Freehan and Al Kaline homered with Jake Wood on base. The Minnesota bullpen collapsed in the top of the 9th leading 6-5. With 2 out and a runner on first Bob Anderson the Detroit pitcher doubled Minnesota then walked pinch hitter Gates Brown to load the bases. Singles by Jake Wood, Dick McAuliffe and Al Kaline scored 4 Tiger's runs. Winning pitcher Bob Anderson and Fred Gladding got the save. Bill Dailey took the loss and was given a blown save.  Game MVP Al Kaline.

Game 3
Minnesota 1 Detroit 2
Min Jim Perry vs Det Frank Lary

A pitchers duel. Detroit scored one in the 5th on a Zoilo Versalles error. In the 6th Norm Cash put one out of the park. Minnesotas Bob Allison replied with a solo shot in the 7th. That was it for runs. Frank Lary went the distance for the win allowing only 2 hits. Jim Perry took the loss. Game MVP Frank Lary

Game 4
Minnesota 8 Detroit 2
Min Jim Kaat vs Det Phil Regan

Detroit scored early in the first when Jake Wood scored on a Al Kaline single. In the 6th  Harmon Killebrew drove in Lenny Green to tie it. In the 7th Jim Kaat was HBP and scored on a Vic Power single. Lenny Green scored on a wild pitch. Detroit got one back when Bill Freehan knocked in Norm Cash. Then the Twins bats came alive in the eighth. With 2 outs Detroits pitching collapsed. Zoilo Versalles, Tony Oliva, Lenny Green, Vic Power singled and Harmon Killebrew homered bringing his game total to 4 RBIs. Winning pitcher Jim Jim Kaat went 7 innings striking out 8. Loser Phil Regan. Game MVP Harmon Killebrew

Game 5
Detroit 13 Minnesota 4
Det Don Mossi vs Min Dick Stigman

It was fitting the final game went to extra innings but what a strange finish. Detroit opened the scoring when Al Kaline belted a 2 run homer in the 1st. Minnesota responded in the 2nd with 2 out when Earl Battey singled and Earl Battey scored.in the third with a leadoff double Jake Wood scored when Al Kaline singled. Minnesota got it back in the 4th as Bob Allison scored on a Dick McAuliffe error. Bill Bruton scored for the Tigers in the 6th when Bill Freehan singled and Bill Bruton scored. Up 4-2 things looked good for the Tigers but in the 8th Bob Allison scored after a leadoff single when Earl Battey doubled. Johnny Goryl scored on a Zoilo Versalles ground out. Tied at 4 the 9th and 10th were scoreless. In the 11th Detroit sent 13 batters to the plate. Rocky Calavito singled, Norm Cash doubled, Bill Bruton was given a free pass,A sacrifice fly by pinch hitter Gus Triandos scored the leading run. Another free pass to Bill Freehan, a walk to Bubba Phillips a bunt single by Jake Wood, Dick McAuliffe singled, an error by Vic Power allowed Al Kaline to get to first, a double by Rocky Colavito, Norm Cash singled, Bill Bruton got to first on an error by Johnny Goryl. Finally the onslaught ended when Gus Triandos grounded into a double play. All in all 9 runs crossed the plate. The Minnesota fans were stunned and although they tried to cheer them on in the bottom of the 11th when the first two batters reached base that's all it told. Fred Gladding got the win and Fred Lasher who was tagged with 6 of the runs the loss. Game MVP Al Kaline.

Detroit wins the series 3 games to 2.

--submitted by Robert Chisholm--

1963 Rd1 – Cincy sweeps Phightin’s

Game 1 - Cincinnati 7 Philadelphia 5

Cincinnati jumped out to a 7-2 lead, then held on to defeat the Phillies 7-5 in game one.  Vada Pinson was the hitting star for the Reds, going 2 for 5 with a triple and 3 RBIs.  Gordy Coleman knocked in 2 runs with a 3rd inning shot to right field.  Jim Maloney went put in 7 innings of work giving up 2 runs and 4 hits.  The Philly bats really didn't come to life until the 9th when Johnny Callison parked a Bill Henry pitch in the right field bleachers, but the Reds were able to hold on for the final out.  The game did get a little testy with 4 batters getting hit by pitches (2 from each team).
Game 2 - Cincinnati 11 Philadelphia 1

This one started out bad for the Phillies when leadoff hitter Leo Cardenas hit the first  pitch of the game out to left for a homerun.  The Reds scored again in the 2nd on a perfectly executed squeeze play and then 5 times in the 3rd on two out homeruns by Tommy Harper and Marty Keough.  Cincinnati added 4 more runs in the 8th keyed by Vada Pinson's bases loaded triple.  Jim O'Toole scattered 6 hits in 8 innings while giving up just one run.  He walked 2 and struck out 10 batters.
Game 3 - Philadelphia 2 Cincinnati 3

With their backs to the wall, the Phillies came out swinging against Joe Nuxhall in game three.  Wes Covington's double drove in Tony Taylor in the first and when Gene Freese booted Don Demeter's grounder, Philadelphia had runners at the corners with one out.  But luck turned against them again  when Roy Sievers flied out to left and Frank Robinson gunned down Covington at the plate to get Nuxhall out of the jam.  In the bottom of the 2nd, everything went wrong for the Phillies.  They committed 3 errors behind Cal McLish allowing Cincinnati to score two runs without a hit.  Both pitchers settled down after that and the score remained 2-1 after 8 innings..  Nuxhall had given up just 3 hits since the 1st, and McLish matched him with 3 hits in his 8 inning of work.  In the top of the 9th, Nuxhall retired the first batter, but Johnny Callison tied the game with his second 9th inning homerun of the series.  The Reds had two outs in the bottom of the 9th when Dick Hoak committed his 2nd error of the game allowing Cardenas to reach base.  Pinch hitter Marty Keough was hit by a Jack Baldschun pitch moving the winning run to 2nd base.  Pete Rose then lined a double into the right field corner off of Ryne Duren, driving in the winning run and sending Cincinnati into the next round.

--submitted by Brandon Hayes--

Phightin's sweep Spos at Vet

8/14 - 8/16 - Veterans Stadium
Phillies 9, Expos 3
Steve Rogers vs Curt Simmons

Bases clearing double

Philly jumped out to a huge 6-0 lead by the 4th on the heels of a 4 run outburst in the 2nd. A bases clearing double by Mike Schmidt drove in 3 runs with one swing. Juan Samuel’s triple came one batter later. Richie Ashburn’s 2 run single in the 4th sealed Rogers’ fate. Montreal would make a game of it with 3 runs in the 6th, but Philly answered right back with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to put it away. The only black spot in the Phightin’s world was the elbow injury suffered by Simmons with 1 out in the 8th. Philly docs think he’ll miss one week at the most before returning to the rotation.

Phillies 2, Expos 1
Bryn Smith vs Robin Roberts
Bryn Smith pitched the game of his life only to see his heart broken by a 2 run shot

Lost shutout and game in 7th

by Mike Schmidt in the bottom of the 8th. Smith to that point did a fantastic job trying to make Montreal’s solo run scored in the top of the 1st hold up. With one out in the opening stanza Delino DeShields singled ans stole second, then scored on Warren Cromartie’s RBI single. From that point on Robin Roberts and Smith would be locked in a scoreless duel until Schmitty homered in the 7th. The 1980 combo of Ron Reed setting up for Tug McGraw worked like a charm over the final 2 innings with the "Tugger" notching his 3rd save of the season.

Phillies 9, Expos 3
Dennis Martinez vs Steve Carlton

2 HR’s & 5 RBI

The Phightin’s impeached "El Presidente" in the fourth inning by battering him from pillar to post to the tune of 9 runs (8 earned). Steve Carlton would be the winner in this one, but he was purely the beneficiary of a fantastic offensive outburst. John Kruk would pace the Philly offense by going 3 for 4 with 3 runs scored and 5 RBI. Kruk did most of the damage with his two homers. Jim Konstanty was given a save based on his 4 scoreless inning of relief to finish the game. Both Andre Dawson and Andres Galarraga hit their respective first homers of the season as the Expos were swept right out of the city of Brotherly Love.

GAME 3 - Chisox Bring Brooms to Beantown

August 4, 1963 - Fenway Park
White Sox 3, Red Sox 0
Ray Herbert vs Dave Morehead

After sweeping the Senators in the preliminary round the Bosox were in jepordy of getting swept themselves. Pete Ward once again broke the ice with an RBI double in the second to score Floyd Robinson, who got on via a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. After giving up that solo run in the second Dave Morehead settled into a groove and matched Ray Herbert pitch for pitch until Jim Landis doubled home Ron Hansen and Cam Carreon to make it 3-0. Morehead walked both runners, and as the late great Bob Murphy used to say, "Oh those bases on balls will hurt you everytime". This time it hurt Boston by putting them in a 3-0 hole with 9 more outs left in their season. Compounding Boston's woes was the fact that Ray Hebert was flat out dominating. Hebert would continue to dominate as he recorded the final 9 outs with ease to win the series clincher for Chicago. Hebert struck out 6 in this tidy 6 hit shutout performance.

White Sox win series 3-0.

GAME 2 - Wood Knuckles under pressure to put Bosox on the brink of elimination

August 2, 1963 - Comiskey Park
White Sox 2, Red Sox 1 (11 inn)
Earl Wilson vs Juan Pizarro

It was a scoreless tie heading into the 8th until Red Sox catcher Bob Tillman shocked the world by attempting to drag bunt his way on. White Sox catcher J.C. Martin was caught completely by surprise and was late picking up the dribbler that went up the first base line. In his haste Martin decided against eating the ball and wound up air mailing his throw into right field, which allowed Tillman to stroll into second base. Wilson, who is a good hitting pitcher, singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. The infield was drawn in and Pizarro got Chuck Schilling to ground out to Nellie Fox at second. Tillman held at third, but would score on Ed Bressoud's sac fly to make it 1-0 Red Sox. Boston's lead was short lived. Mike Hershberger would lead off the bottom of the inning with a clean single to center. After Nellie Fox grounded back to the box, Hershey swiped third off of the big slow delivering Dick Radatz. Cunningham grounded to short, but Hershey was stuck at third because Bressoud was playing about 3 or 4 steps further in than normal. So, with 2 outs it now rested firmly on the shoulders of Gene Stephens, who replaced Floyd Robinson (injured in the 5th). Stephens, who is barely more than a fringe player and probably not used to such pressure fought off 3 Radatz' heaters before he finally served one into right center to tie the game. Neither team scored in the 9th, nor the 10th. Pizarro would leave the game after giving up just 1 unearned run in 10 stellar innings of work. Jim Brosnan would reliever for the Chisox and pitch a perfect top of the 11th, which included fanning Yaz for the final out. Wilbur Wood would come on in relief of Radatz for the Bosox. Wood's knuckler was all over the place. Pete Ward the lead off hitter was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Dave Nicholson, who had struck out twice already today worked out a walk on 4 pitches. Cam Carreon was sent up to bunt in place of Ron Hansen, and executed a perfect sacrifice to put the runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. J.C. Martin would hit a dribbler up the first base line and beat it out for a single. Ward got a late break and had to stay at third, so the bases were now loaded for Jim Landis, who was called in to pinch hit for Brosnan. Landis never moved the bat off his shoulders as Wood walked him on 4 straight pitches to force home the winning run.

White Sox lead series 2-0

1963 Rd 1: Pale Hose sweep Bosox in 3

August 1, 1963 - Comiskey Park
GAME 1 - White Sox 4, Red Sox 0
Bill Monbouquette vs Gary Peters

The way Gary Peters was dealing the folks up in Boston could have shut off their TV sets after Pete Ward doubled home Nellie Fox in the bottom of the 1st. Chicago would score 3 more times, including a solo shot by Ward, but that didn't matter. The only story today was Peters tossing a 2 hitter. Both of Boston's hits came early. Felix Mantilla singled with 1 out in the first, only to be erased on an inning ending DP. Mombo tried to help his own cause by singling in the third with 2 out. Gary Geiger was then hit by a pitch to put runners on 1st and second. Rob Gardner, subbing for the injured Mantilla blew a sign on the hit and run and Mombo was nailed by 15 feet at third by J.C. Martin to end the inning. The only other runner Boston would have would be Geiger, who walked with 2 outs in the 6th. Peters was that dominant

White Sox lead series 1-0