Celebrate '68: Gibson Shuts Down The Braves

                On August 9, 1968, Bob Gibson recorded his ninth shutout and 19^th complete game of the season, allowing just four hits during a 1-0 win over the Braves in Atlanta. Lou Brock scored the lone run in the contest on an RBI by Roger Maris. 

            A matchup of future Hall of Famers, Gibson would have to bring his best, as the Cardinals were set to face Phil Niekro. The knuckleballer went eight innings for the Braves and allowed eight hits along the way. The two hits that mattered most came in the third as Brock picked up a one out single, swiped second, then watched Curt Flood strike out, just before Maris singled him in with hit right. Brock came flying around to score and Gibson had what he would need for the day.

            Only one runner would even get to second against Gibson.  It came in the bottom of the third after shortstop Marty Martinez singled and was moved over to second on a sac bunt by Niekro. Moments later, Gibby retired Felipe Alou, then trotted to the dugout.

            A crowd of 41,267 packed into the stadium in Atlanta that night. They witnessed greatness, as Gibson sailed into the ninth, then into the win column, after Joe Torre flied out to right. The victory was Gibson’s 16^th of the season. His ERA dropped from 1.08 to 1.04.

The writers of the day credited him with his 13^th consecutive victory. However, he had not gotten a win, nor did he figure into the decision during his last time out. They also credited him with breaking the Cardinals franchise record for shutouts with 34. He had actually broken the record set by Bill Doak when he reached his 31^st shutout as a Cardinal. Doak’s mark of 34 was for his entire career and four of those were recorded when he was a member of the Brooklyn Robins. Regardless of those facts, Bob Gibson was rolling. Batters would fear the man who wore the Birds on the Bat on front and the 45 on his back. He was on fire and the blaze would continue to roar.

Check out the box score here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL196808090.shtml

Sources included: The Schnectady Gazette, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Victoria Advocate, The St. Petersburg Times, as well as http://stlouis.cardinals.mlb.com/stats/sortable.jsp?c_id=stl#sortColumn=sho&extended=1&sectionType=sp&playerType=ALL&statType=pitching&season=2018&season_type=ALL&game_type='R'&elem=%5Bobject+Object%5D&tab_level=child&click_text=Sortable+Player+pitching&league_code='MLB'&page=1&ts=1533688007375