On August 9, 1968, Bob Gibson recorded his
ninth shutout and 19th 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 16th
of the season. His ERA dropped from 1.08 to 1.04.
The
writers of the day credited him with his 13th 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 31st 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§ionType=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
No comments:
Post a Comment