1964 Round 1 – Cardinals take Colts in 4

Mike Shannon	Bob Aspromonte	Curt Simmons	Lou Brock

St. Louis 3, Houston 2
Turk Farrell vs Bob Gibson
St. Louis scores in the 3rd  on a single by Bill White scoring Curt Flood. Added to the lead in the 6th when a Tim McCarver single scored Ken Boyer. In the 7th back to back home runs by Al Spangler and John Bateman knotted the game at 2. Bottom of the ninth Jim Owens in to relieve Turk Farrell and 1st batter game MVP Mike Shannon homered to win it for St.Louis. Bob Humphreys was the winner and Jim Owens the loser.

Houston 4, St. Louis 3 - 13 innings
Bob Bruce vs Ray Sadecki
St.Louis took the lead in the 1st as Dick Groat doubled scoring Curt Flood and Ken Boyer sacrificed scoring Lou Brock who was injured in the 2nd while playing leftfield. In the 4th Houston came alive scoring 3 as starting pitcher Bob Bruce singled scoring 1 and Eddie Kasko singled scoring 2 more. Pinch hitter Johnny Lewis scored on a Dick Groat single to tie it in the 7th. Pitching and fielding took over until the top of the 13th when Jerry Grote singled home Joe Gaines who lead off the inning with a walk. Dave Guisti pitched 3 1/3 innings allowing 1 hit to get the win. Roger Craig took the loss. Game MVP Bob Aspromonte

St. Louis 6, Houston 0
Curt Simmons vs Don Larsen
Game MVP Curt Simmons was strong going the distance and allowing just 5 hits. A 3 run shot by Javier in the 2nd, a single by Curt Flood punched in 2 more in the 4th and a single by Dick Groat in the 9th scored the 6th and final St. Louis run. Curt Simmons the winner Don Larsen the loser.

St. Louis 6, Houston 2
Gordie Richardson vs Turk Farrell
St. Louis jumped to a 2 run lead in the 1st Ken Boyer singled scoring Lou Brock and Bill White scored on a Dick Groat ground out. Houston got 1 back in the bottom half when Walt Bond flew out to center scoring Eddie Kasko. In the 6th White scored on a Tim McCarver single. The Colt 45s pulled back within 1 when pinch hitter Sonny Jackson singled in Mike White. The game remained close until the 9th when Dave Guisti came in and fell apart pitching a single to Curt Flood, a wild pitch then a 2 run homerun to Lou Brock, followed by a single to Ken Boyer another single to Dick Groat scoring Mike White. It was now 6-2.  Gordie Richardson the win, Turk Farrell the loss and Barney Schultz the save.

St. Louis - Michael Roberts

Houston - Robert Chisholm (submitted article)

1964 Round 1 – Giants knock off Braves in classic 5 game series

GAME 1 - Candlestick Park
Braves 5, Giants 2
Denny Lemaster vs Juan Marichal
Jim Ray Hart's solo blast and Del Crandall's RBI single in the bottom of the second put the Jints up 2-0.  For Crandall, who was traded from the Braves, this knock must have been as sweet as candy.  Milwaukee answered right back with 3 in the top of the 3rd.  Dennis Menke's 2 run double with 2 out was backed up by Eddie Mathews RBI single.  Gene Oliver's 2 run shot in the 6th provided the final margin.  Lemaster was solid in 6 2/3 giving up just 2 and fanning 9.  Marichal's sub par effort (5 ER in 7 IP) helped the visitors draw first blood.
Braves lead series 1-0.

GAME 2 - Candlestick Park
Giants 5, Braves 2
Tony Cloninger vs Gaylord Perry
Once again the losing team drew first blood with 2 runs.  RBI's by Hank Aaron and Joe Torre gave Milwaukee a 2-0 lead.  Gaylord Perry would not allow another run, nor would reliever Jim Duffalo, who pitched 3 perfect innings.  Jesus Alou's 2 run single in the bottom of the 6th got the Jints on he scoreboard and tied the game up at 2-2.  A squeeze bunt by Jim Davenport scored Matty Alou and single by Willie Mays scored Jesus.  Jim Ray Hart's solo shot to lead off the 7th gave the Jints a 3 run lead, which Duffalo would never put in jeopardy.
Series tied 1-1.

GAME 3 - County Stadium
Giants 8, Braves 7 (11 inn)
Bob Hendley vs H Fischer
The bottom of the 7th saw the Braves break a 3-3 tie with two runs to go up 5-3 off of reliever Bob Shaw.  Bill Hoeft was tasked with protecting that lead, but he gave up a 2 run blast to "Stretch" McCovey, which again tied the game, which eventually headed to extras.  San Fran thought they blew the doors open with 3 big runs in the top of the 11th, but they were not home safely yet.  Gene Oliver hit his 2nd homer of the game to make it a 2 run game.  The next two batters would go down swinging, which made Rico Carty the final out.  Carty might not be Mr. Personality or Mr. Clutch fielder, but he's a certifiable hitting machine.  Ask Shaw, who he took deep to make it a one run game.  Dennis Menke walked and Hank Aaron represented the winning run at the plate.  Don Larsen was the man chosen to face Aaron in a tense moment.  Mr. Perfect was used to tight situations like this and he calmly jammed Aaron who hit a one hopper to third that Hart turned into a 5-4 out to end the game.
Giants lead series 2-1.

GAME 4 - County Stadium
Braves 2, Giants 1
Bobby Bolin vs Warren Spahn
A sad ending to the Warren Spahn's Brave career turned out to be a happy ending for the team.  With the Braves up 1-0 and their backs up against the wall facing elimination Spahn took the hill for the 3rd inning.  After Orlando Ceped singled home Jesus Alou and the Giants threatening to have a big inning, Braves manager Bill Keller was forced to shelve sentimentality in favor of practicality.  Turns out brining in Bob Sadowski was the right move.  Sadowski stopped the Giant rally and went on to pitch 5 more scoreless innings before handing it off to Hoeft and Tiefenauer to finish off the 9th.  Both of Milwaukee's runs would come by way of the long ball.  Hank Aaron's solo shot in the 2nd and Dennis Menke's shot in the 3rd provided the difference as Sadowski was the right man in the right spot today.
Series tied 2-2.

GAME 5 - Candlestick Park
Giants 6, Braves 2
Denny Lemaster vs Juan Marichal
Rest assured the Dominican Dandy does not put together back to back bad outings.  Juan Marichal might not have been dominating today, but he was awfully good in going the distance and giving up just 1 earned run (2 total).  A 3 run 4th by the Jints gave Marichal a 4-1 lead.  Tom Haller's 3 run shot was just the right prescription for any patient who has his back up against the wall in a deciding game.  An error by shortstop Jose Pagan led to Milwaukee's second run of the day to make it 4-1.  Jesus Alou's solo shot and Orlando Cepeda's RBI triple gave Marichal a 4 run cushion, which was like money in the bank.  The "Dandy" got the first 2 outs in the 9th then labored a bit.  Carty would again come to the plate with 2 outs in the 9th and once again get on base.  The ever so dangerous Gene Oliver walked to bring up Lee Maye who is still standing at home plate with the bat on his shoulder looking at a called strike 3.
Giants win series 3-2.

1964 Round 1 – Tribe knock off defending champ O’s

GAME 1 - Memorial Stadium
Orioles 7, Indians 2
Jack Kralick vs Robin Roberts
picked up in 1964 right where he left off in 1963.  Putting together another gutsy veteran pitching performance, Robin Roberts went 7 innings and gave up just 2 runs and let his offense do the rest.  Heading into the 6th the game was tied 2-2.  That's when Baltimore got their act in gear and scored 5 runs over the next two innings.  RBI singles by Boog Powell and Gil Brandt in the 6th gave the O's a 2 run lead.  A two run homer by Brooks Robinson in the 7th made it a 4 run bulge and Powell homer, which came right after Robinson's made it an insurmountable 5 run lead that Dick Hall and Chuck Estrada easily protected.
Orioles lead series 1-0

GAME 2 - Memorial Stadium
Orioles 3, Indians 2
Sam McDowell vs Milt Pappas
Sudden Sam was a bit wild (4 walks & 1 HBP), but Baltimore wasn't able to take full advantage of it. It finally took an error by McDowell in the 6th to give the O's a 2-1 lead.  McDowell's day ended in the 7th when 3 consecutive singles (Johnson, Bowens & Robinson) made it 3-1.  It could have been worse if McDowell didn't fan Powell and get Dick Brown to ground into a 4-6-3 DP.  Vic Davalillo singled home Chico Salmon in the top of the 8th to once again make it a 1 run ballgame, but "the kitten" (Harvey Haddix),   pitched a perfect 9th in relief of Milt Pappas to close out the game.
Orioles lead series 2-0

GAME 3 - Municipal Stadium
Indians 9, Orioles 4
Dave McNally vs Luis Tiant
In a contrast of styles the soft tossing McNally could not keep pace with the hard throwing Cuban Luis Tiant, who had 7 shutout innings going before the O's finally got to him.  By that time the Tribe was up 8-0, so there is a good chance Tiant was just letting them put the ball in pay.  Cleveland's tablesetters, Vic Davalillo and Dick Howser were on base 6 times today and accounted for 3 runs.  Johnny Romano chipped in with a 2 run homer as the Tribe staved off elimination.
Orioles lead series 2-1

GAME 4 - Municipal Stadium
Indians 3, Orioles 1
Steve Barber vs Dick Donovan
A low scoring close to the vest 1-1 game took a turn in the Tribe's favor in the bottom of the 8th.  With Dick Hall already having pitched 2 innings of scoreless relief the Tribe figured out how to get it done.  Tito Francona doubled with 1 out, but when Johnny Romano lined out to short it looked like the O's would get out of the inning.  Max Alvis would have nothing to do with that line of thinking and gave the hometown fans something to cheer about with his RBI double of the left center wall to make it 2-1.  Leon Wagner gave hurler Donovan a much needed insurance run with his RBI single to score Alvis.  Dick Donovan started the 9th and quickly got Brandt and Brown to pop up to the infield.  Little Luis Aparicio would leg out an infield hit and steal second, but when Johnson lined out to Chance at first the game was over and the series was now all knotted at 2 apiece.
Series tied 2-2

GAME 5 - Memorial Stadium
Indians 10, Orioles 4
Jack Kralick vs Wally Bunker
With their backs up against the wall for two straight games the Indians were used to pressure situations.  After blowing a 2-0 series lead the O's now had the pressure on them and a youthful Wally Bunker on the hill.  Cleveland's veteran Kralic and Baltimore's novice Bunker battled in a tight duel for 4 innings.  Sam Bowens' solo shot to lead off the bottom of the 4th gave the O's their only lead of the day.  Leading 1-0 and heading into the 5th Bunker collapsed like a 3rd world government.  A bases clearing triple by Vic Davilillo followed and RBI ground out by Dick Howser to make it 4-1.  Leon Wagner's sac fly made it 5-1 and Chico Salmon's ground out made it 6-1.  The O's were now on life support.  Cleveland would mercifully pull the plug on the O's season with 4 more runs over the final 3 innings to close out a fantastic series comeback.  Davalillo would compile 3 hits on the day and 5 RBI's.
Indians win series 3-2

1964 Rd 1 – Game 3 - “Short but Sweet”

Game 3 found the teams in a new location, Los Angeles, and the Dodgers on the brink of elimination. The Phillies would hand the ball off to 17 game winner lefty Christ Short. The Dodgers would put their fate in the hands of Joe Moeller , a 21-year old who went 7-13 for the Boys in Blue. The Phillies continued their habit of scoring early and often when they picked up 2 runs in both the first and second innings to take a 4-0 lead over the Dodgers. The big blows were a 2-run HR by Wes Covington in the first and a Tony Gonzalez single in the 2^nd that plated 2. Walter Alston had a quick hook today pulling Moeller after only 3 innings of work. A trio of Dodger relievers, Nick Willhite, Larry Miller, and Howie Reed combined to hold the Phillies to 2 more runs in the next 6 innings. Chris Short would pitch a shutout until the Dodgers scored 1 run in the 7^th inning. Willie Davis provided the single that drove home the Dodgers first run. Cal McLish pitched the 8^th and into the 9^th before Jack Baldschun came in with a run in and a runner on bases and coaxed Willie Davis into grounding into a series-ending double play.

Final Score Phillies 6 Dodgers 2

WP Chris Short LP Joe Moeller Save Jack Baldschun (2)

--submitted by Frank Selders--

1964 Rd 1 – Game 2 - “The Days of Wine and Roseboro”

Game 2 of the best of 5 series found Philadelphia righty Art Mahaffey, a 12 game winner, facing the Dodgers' Don Drysdale the right-handed half of their Dynamic Duo. The Phillies offense wasted no time in this game scoring 3 runs on 4 hits in the bottom of the first to take a 3-0 lead on the Dodgers. Big hits in the inning were a lead-off triple by Tony Taylor followed by a Tony Gonzalez double an Allen single and a Dalrymple double. The Dodgers came back on Mahaffey in the 2^nd inning scoring 2 runs on 3 singles and a double by 3^rd baseman Darrel Griffith. This Dodger comeback only seemed to infuriate the Phillies as they answered back in the bottom half of the inning with hits by Mahaffey, followed by an error by Dodger 3^rd baseman Griffith , followed by consecutive hits by Gonzalez, Allen, and Covington which brought in 3 more Philadelphia runs which made the score 6-2 after only 2 innings. Dodgers fan were shocked and Phillies fans delighted to find that for the second day in a row a Dodgers 'ace was brutalized by a Philadelphia offensive juggernaut. The Dodger scored 1 in the top of the 4^th when Darrel Griffith GDP with runners on 1^st and 3^rd and no one out. Tommy Davis came home on the play to bring the score to 6-3 Philadelphia. Drysdale settled down after the first 2 innings and pitched until the 7^th innings striking out 7 and walking only 1. Mahaffey lasted 7 innings giving up 3 runs on 9 hits striking out 2 and walking 1. The Dodgers bullpen would hold the Phillies scoreless until the end of the game and Philadelphia reliever Johnny Klippstein would uncork a wild pitch with runners on the corners to lead to the Dodgers 4^th and final run. Dodgers defense has been suspect in the first 2 games giving up 5 errors.

Final Score Philadelphia 6 Los Angeles 4

WP Art Mahaffey LP Don Drysdale Save Jack Baldschun

--submitted by Frank Selders--

1964 Round 1 – Phillies 10, Dodgers 8 - “Aces Wild”

To the knowledgeable fan, a game featuring Sandy Koufax and Jim Bunning would be a close match of the low scoring variety. However, that was not to be the case on this day. Bunning and Koufax would be long gone before this slug fest would be over. The Dodgers started the scoring in the second inning bringing 2 around on a Gilliam triple and a Koufax single. The Phillies came back to take the lead in the bottom of the third inning scoring 5 times helped by back-to-back Dodgers errors and a grand slam off the bat of Johnny Callison. The Dodgers, not deterred by the poor performance of the ace, would come back to tie the game at 5 with a 3-run 4^th inning which was highlighted by a Darrel Griffith triple that scored Roseboro and Tommy Davis. The Phillies would quickly regain the lead as they scored 2 more and chased Koufax in the bottom of the 4^th to take a 7-5 lead on Tony Gonzalez' 2-run single. Bob Miller was now on the mound for the Dodgers and Bunning would be pulled after completing 5 innings. The Philadelphia crew would add 1 run in the 6^th to make the lead 8-5. The ever-resilient Dodgers came back to tie the game in the 8^th inning scoring 3 runs off of Philly reliever and former

dodger Ed Roebuck. Pitcher Bob Miller doubled with 2 on and Willie Davis came through with a key single to lead the way. Looking at a possible extra-inning affair the Phillies would bring up the bottom of their order to face the Dodger reliever Jim Brewer. But extra-innings would not be in the cards as shortstop Bobby Wine blasted a 380-ft 2-run walk off HR to win the game for the Phillies

Final Score Philadelphia 10 Los Angeles 8.

WP Bobby Shantz LP Jim Brewer

--submitted by Frank Selders--

1964 Round 1 – Halos get Chance to outlast Tigers

This series breaks down like this:  Angels - 1 game, Tigers - 2 games, Dean Chance - 2 games.  Chance opted to allocate all his delegates to the Angles.  And so Los Angeles is awarded the series win 3-2.
Game 1 - LAA 13, Det 3; WP: Chance, LP: Wickersham; Save: none; HRs: LAA - Adcock, Fregosi, Det: none
Game 2 - LAA 4, Det 2; WP: Newman, LP: Lolich, Save: B.Lee; HRs: LAA - Green, Det: none
Game 3 - Det 5, LAA 2; WP: Sparma, LP: Belinsky, Save: Egan; HRs: LAA - Clinton, Det - Thomas
Game 4 - Det 7, LAA 1; WP: McLain, LP: Osinski; Save: none; HRs: none
Game 5 - LAA 4, Det 0; WP: Chance, LP: Wickersham; Save: none; HRs: none
In game 5, Dean Chance pitched 7.1 inning of no-hit ball.  Norm Cash singled with 1-out in the bottom of the 8th, and Chance finished with a 1-hitter.   

--submitted by Douglas Zaner--