Celebrate '68: The Birds Pummel The 'Stros At Busch

                On July 12, 1968, Bob Gibson hurled his 15^th complete game, won his ninth in a row, and celebrated an 8-1 victory over the Astros at Busch behind a 15-hit attack. Gibson had come into the game having not allowed a run in 17 innings. Sportswriters around the nation were enthralled by his dominance. Eleven days earlier his 47-inning streak had come to an end, and it seemed like he simply picked up right where he left off. However, the club from Houston did grab a run against him in the seventh, ending that streak at 23, but that did not mean it was not Bob Gibson’s day. He owned the Astros that day and so did the rest of the men who wore the Birds on the Bat.

            The only man who did not pick up a hit against the Astros was Gibson. One through eight enjoyed a hit parade. The parade started early with Lou Brock leading off the bottom half of the first with a triple. Julian Javier knocked him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 1-0 good guys.

            Houston’s starter Denny Lemaster did toss some clean innings. He worked through a scoreless second but ran into some two-out trouble in the third, which came in the form of three singles in a row by Curt Flood, Orlando Cepeda, and Mike Shannon who picked an RBI to make it 2-0.

            Lemaster worked through scoreless fourth, but he could not do the same in the fifth. Brock opened the inning with a single, stole second, moved to third on an error, then scored on a one out single by Curt Flood to make it 3-0. The 3-0 lead held steady until the seventh. Gibson gave up a one out single to Rusty Staub, then struck out Jim Wynn before watching his scoreless innings streak end when Denis Menke doubled in Staub to make it 3-1. The streak may have ended, but Bob Gibson went right back to work and retired Doug Rader to end the inning.

            Lemaster’s day ended in the top of the eighth after being lifted for a pinch hitter, and in the bottom of the eighth his replacement Tom Dukes imploded. He watched the entire Cardinals bat around in the inning and watched five runs cross the dish in the process. The true hit parade started with a single by Cepeda who moved to second on a bunt groundout by Shannon. The Cardinals catcher Johnny Edwards singled to left to bring Cepeda in, which was followed by a big blast by Bobby Tolan to make it 6-1. Dal Maxvill reached with a one out single, Gibson moved him over with a sac bunt, he then scored on a single by Javier. Flood topped things off with his fourth hit of the day, scoring Brock to make it 8-1. Dukes was finally able to get out the inning after facing Cepeda for the second time in the frame.

            Bob Gibson came back to the mound in the top of the ninth with the more than comfortable lead. Granted, a one or two run lead may have felt comfortable to Gibson. He set the last three men down in a row with successive groundouts. I’m sure it had to feel good for Bob Gibson that day to not only get the victory, but to also have the bats come alive around him. His final line was nine innings pitched, three hits allowed, one earned run, no walks, and eight strikeouts. The one run allowed kept his ERA at 1.06.  His dominance was far from over, as the Summer of ’68 continued...

Check out the box score here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196807120.shtml

Sources included: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Victoria Advocate, The Southeast Missourian, and Baseballreference.com 

Celebrate '68: Gibson Blanks Marichal And The Giants In San Fran

                On July 6, 1968, just days after facing Don Drysdale in Los Angeles, Bob Gibson went head-to-head with Juan Marichal in San Francisco. More than 28,000 souls packed the stands at Candlestick Park to witness this one. Marichal was a 15-game winner at that point, and Bob Gibson was coming into the City by the Bay on fire, having won seven in a row. During that seven game winning streak Gibby had sprinkled in the impressive 47 consecutive innings thrown without allowing a run. That streak had come to an end against Drysdale five days earlier. However, Gibson was not done shutting down and shutting out his opponents. He would win his eighth in a row in what proved to be a 3-0 win for the Redbirds. It was Gibson's 14th complete game of the campaign.

            The biggest hit of the day came in the first inning. It was a two-run blast by Gibson’s batterymate Johnny Edwards. It was only Edwards’ second home run of that season and boy was it a big one. The Cardinals put another run on the board in the second when Dick Schofield reached base on an error, which was followed by a double by Gibson that pushed him to third. Moments later, Schofield came into score on another error. The score was 3-0 and it was all Bob Gibson from there.

            Gibby did run into some trouble in the sixth. Willie McCovey singled to start the inning, Jim Ray Hart doubled, which moved McCovey to third, before Gibby issued a walk to Dick Dietz. The bases were loaded and there were no outs. If the Giants were going to have a shot in this one, it was then. They would not have a shot in this one though because Gibson struck out the next three batters in a haste. It took him just 11 pitches to set down Bobby Bonds, pinch-hitter Dave Marshall, and Marichal who had to know that his boys just missed a huge opportunity. Opportunities like that were a rarity when Bob Gibson was on the bump.  

            Only one more batter reached base against Gibson the rest of the day, which came when Dietz walked in the eighth. Gibson sailed the rest of the way. As did Marichal. The final line for the Giants All Star was 10 hits allowed, three earned runs, while striking out five. Gibson allowed just six hits and struck out nine. It was his 14th complete game of the season. Gibson's record moved to 11-5, his ERA dropped from 1.13 to 1.06, as the Summer of ’68 continued. It would be a Summer in baseball that will never be forgotten.

Check out the box score here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196807060.shtml

Sources included: The St. Petersburg Times, The Victoria Advocate, The Pittsburgh Press, and Baseballreference.com  

Celebrate '68: Gibson's Scoreless Streak Ends, But He Still Wins The War In L.A.

            On July 1, 1968, the eyes were in Los Angeles as Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale went head-to-head at Dodger Stadium. Newspapers across the country reported that nearly 55,000 fans packed into the stands to watch this matchup. Gibson came in looking to match Drysdale’s streak of six shutouts in a row that had been set in early June. Drysdale had also set the mark of 58 consecutive scoreless innings thrown during what was an unforgettable run in baseball history earlier that season. Coming into this game, Gibson had thrown 47 innings without allowing a run, so all eyes were on these records. Drysdale’s records would remain intact, though, as Gibson surrendered a run in the first inning of the contest against the Dodgers. However, Gibson may have lost that battle, but the war against Don Drysdale was won, as Gibson recorded his 10^th win of the season, and his 13^th complete game, defeating the Dodgers 5-1.

            Gibson began the game with back-to-back outs before allowing Len Gabrielson and Tom Haller to reach on back-to-back singles. Haller’s single moved Gabrielson over to third, just 90 feet from home plate, and he dashed those 90 feet when Gibby threw a wild one by his batterymate Johnny Edwards, which gave the Dodgers a 1-0 lead. When Gabrielson got to home plate, he jumped on the dish knowing that he had ended Gibson’s streaks. Little did he know that Gibson would simply handle his business from there, while Drysdale would only go six and a third before being lifted while trailing.

            It did not take long for the Cardinals to give Gibson that run back. In fact, the boys that wore the birds on the bat scored a run in the top of the second on a sacrifice fly by Julian Javier, which scored Bobby Tolan. The score was 1-1 until the sixth when Orlando Cepeda recorded an RBI by knocking in Curt Flood with a sac fly.

            A three-run seventh was the beginning of the end for Drysdale. He surrendered back-to-back singles to Javier and Dal Maxvill to begin the inning, then watched the Redbird lead jump to 3-0 when Gibson himself knocked in Javier on a groundout. Lou Brock knocked Maxvill in with a single, then Flood brought Brock into score with an RBI single. Drysdale’s day was over. The Cardinals lineup and Bob Gibson had gotten the best of him. It was all the Dodgers manager Walter Alston would need to see from Drysdale, as he called on Jim Brewer to take the ball from his starter. The Dodgers bullpen held their ground, but it did not matter with the Cardinals leading by a score of 5-1 with Bob Gibson on the mound.

            Gibby did allow two men to reach in the ninth, walking Ken Boyer, then allowing a single Jim Lefebvre all with one out. He then retired Wes Parker on a foul ball that landed in Mike Shannon’s glove. That was followed by a strikeout of pinch hitter Bob Bailey. The day belonged to Bob Gibson.

            When asked about the wild pitch that ended his streak, Gibson was accountable. He understood it was his fault. He lost control and the run scored. With that said, as mentioned in the last edition of this Celebrate ’68 series, Bob Gibson was not focused on the record book. He was focused on winning, and that is what he did. He was a guiding force for the club that was destined to own the National League flag.

Check out the box score here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/LAN/LAN196807010.shtml

Sources included: Beatrice Daily Sun, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Southeast Missourian,  BaseballReference.com, as well as https://www.mlb.com/news/longest-scoreless-inning-streaks-in-history/c-137976112

Side notes: Gibson’s final line was one earned run, nine hits allowed, four strikeouts, and his ERA dropped, from 1.14 to 1.13. What mattered the most was the win because that is what Bob Gibson came to the ballpark to do. Currently, Bob Gibson’s 47 consecutive innings thrown without allowing a run is third on the all-time list. Drysdale is second on the list with 58. Orel Hershiser broke the record in 1988 when he eclipsed the mark by going 59 innings in a row without allowing a run.

Celebrate '68: Five Shutouts In A Row For Gibson

                On June 26, 1968, Bob Gibson fired his fifth shutout in a row, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 during the first game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The shutout extended Gibson’s scoreless innings streak to 47. Earlier that season, Don Drysdale had set the mark for scoreless innings thrown with 58 and 2/3, as well as the record for shutouts in a row with six. This left sportswriters across America clamoring as they looked to report that Gibson had surpassed the mark. When Gibson’s fifth shutout was in the books he was asked about possibly breaking records and he answered “Macht nichts” which is German for “it does not matter.” You see, Bob Gibson’s focus was not on a record book. Bob Gibson was focused on winning.

            Gibson had to feel good early on about winning this ballgame, as an Orlando Cepeda sac fly off Bucs starter Al McBean plated Curt Flood in the first. In the fourth inning, Gibson picked up a two-out double, then scored when Lou Brock followed him with a double. McBean gave his club seven innings before being lifted for a pinch hitter in the top of the eighth. His replacement Ron Kline served up a longball to Mike Shannon in the bottom of that same inning, which capped off the Cardinals scoring for the day.

            The way Bob Gibson yearned for run support that season a 3-0 lead was a big one. With the way he was throwing though all he needed was a run. Nobody could solve the puzzle that wore the 45 on the back of his St. Louis Cardinals jersey. Gibson allowed just four hits in this game. He struck out seven, including the great Roberto Clemente, who ended that game with a K. Pitching shutout after shutout meant that Gibson’s ERA would continue to fall. It sat at 1.21 coming into the day and at 1.14 once the game was in the books.

            This would be Bob Gibson’s last start of June in 1968. Not one run had scored on him during that month of domination. He would begin the month of July in Los Angeles going head-to-head with none other than Don Drysdale. It may have been the game of the Summer as fans, writers, and all of baseball would have eyes on it to see what would come next during what was coined the year of the pitcher.

Check out the box score here: https://www.baseballP-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196806261.shtml

Sources included: The Pittsburgh Press, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Joplin News Herald, The Havre Daily News, and Baseballreference.com

Celebrate '68: Gibby Shuts Out Jenkins And The Cubs

                On June 20, 1968, Bob Gibson extended his scoreless innings streak to 38, pitched  his eleventh complete game, as well as his fourth shutout in a row with a 1-0 win over the Cubs in St. Louis. Gibson allowed just five hits in the contest, while his counter part Ferguson Jenkins allowed just four. A triple by Lou Brock in the third would haunt Jenkins after Curt Flood made the most of it with an RBI single that gave Gibby the lead that he would not let go of.

Not only did Gibson run his scoreless innings streak up to 38, the Cubs set a National League record for not scoring in 46 consecutive innings. The previous record had been set in 1931 by the Cincinnati Reds. The Cubs tied a still standing major league record of 48 consecutive innings without a run scored against the Reds in their next contest but avoided breaking the record by putting one on the board in the third inning of that contest. The Philadelphia Athletics set the record in 1906.

The June 20^th contest was a rematch between Jenkins and Gibson. The two went head-to-head on the April 20^th in what was Gibson’s third start of the campaign. Jenkins got the win that day, winning 5-1 over the Redbirds in St. Louis. However, as we know that was not the case on this day in June. With that said, it was not because of  a bad effort by Jenkins. He struck out 11 Redbirds, and as mentioned before he allowed just four hits. However, that triple by Lou, and the following single by Flood were the hits that mattered. You toss in the splendid pitching by Bob Gibson and the day belonged to St. Louis.

Gibson wrapped up that day by bringing his record up to 8-5. On the flip side, he lowered his ERA from 1.30 to 1.21. The main story of the day in newspapers across America regarding Gibson was the scoreless innings streak and that story would continue. Stay tuned...

Check out the box score here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196806200.shtml

Sources included: The Post-Tribune, The Pittsburgh Press, The Marysville Appeal Democrat, The Boone News County Republican, The Woodland Daily Democrat, St. Joseph Gazette, USA Today, and Baseballreference.com 

Celebrate '68: Gibby Strikes Out 13

                On June 15, 1968, it took Bob Gibson just one hour and 42 minutes to beat the Cincinnati Reds by the score of 2-0 in front of more than 35,000 fans at Busch Stadium. Facing just 31 men, Gibson struck out a season high 13, extended his scoreless innings streak to 29 innings, and allowed only four hits in the contest. It was his fourth win in a row and his third shutout in a row.

            Cincinnati’s pitcher Gary Nolan had a decent day himself. He matched Gibson’s total hits given up with just four allowed, but he only went seven in the contest. Nolan surrendered his first run in the sixth. It came after Dal Maxvill opened the inning with a single, then moved to second on a sac bunt by Gibson. The line kept moving when Lou Brock singled, which put Maxvill on third before he scored on a flyball that came off of Curt Flood’s bat.

            The second Redbird run came in the seventh with Nolan still on the mound. He struck out the first two men he faced, only to walk Mike Shannon. Moments later, Julian Javier doubled, and Shannon came into score the insurance run. Not that Bob Gibson needed insurance. He was mowing them down.

            Gibby rolled into the ninth having only given up three hits. His fourth of the day came after he retired the first man in the inning. I imagine he wiped his brow, looked into the box at Vada Pinson and went back to work. Pinson grounded out, which brought Alex Johnson to the dish. He was the last hope for the Reds. Their hope was dashed when Johnson got caught looking for what proved to be the 13^th K of the day for Gibson.

Gibson’s ERA dropped from 1.40 to 1.30 over the course of those nine innings. It would continue to fall in the weeks to come. Batters would continue to have their hopes dashed on the days that Gibson stood on the mound, as the year of the pitcher continued with him dominating one team after another.  

Check out the box score here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SLN/SLN196806150.shtml

Sources included: The Pittsburgh Press, The Oxnard Press Courier, The Columbian Missourian, and Baseballreference.com

Celebrate '68: Gibson Shuts'em Down In Atlanta

            On June 11, 1968, Bob Gibson recorded his ninth complete game of the season with a 6-0 shutout over the Braves in Atlanta. The victory was the first for Gibson over the Braves in two seasons. The shutout was his second in a row. Gibson had not allowed a run in 20 innings and his ERA dropped from 1.52 to 1.40. A dominant stretch of baseball was on the horizon.

The hurler who turned the lights out on the Atlanta lineup received all the runs he would need in the first inning after the Braves starter Dick Kelley walked Lou Brock to start the game.  Kelley followed the walk with an RBI double to Julian Javier. Leftfielder Mike Lum threw wildly into home plate and Javier kept running until he crossed the plate for the second run of the inning.

Kelley was knocked out of the box in the third.  He surrendered a leadoff single to Brock to open the inning. However, Lou was picked off, and Javier was retired on a fly out, before it all unraveled. Curt Flood singled, back-to-back walks were given to Orlando Cepeda and Mike Shannon. Moments later, Tim McCarver cleared the bases with a single to left. One of those runs was not charged to Kelley because Lum committed another error on the play. However, the hurler’s day ended after just two and a third innings of work. The Redbirds were up 5-0.

Meanwhile, Gibson had the Braves lineup under his thumb.  They scattered just five hits against him, all of them being singles. Only three Braves players picked up those singles, who were Felix Milan, Joe Torre, and Felipe Alou. Torre and Milan had two hits apiece. It hardly mattered since nobody else could get past the mighty Bob Gibson.

The Cardinals capped their scoring off in the eighth, with Cecil Upshaw on the bump for the Braves. He surrendered a leadoff double to Flood who moved to third on a ground out by Cepeda, and then he scored when Mike Shannon came through with a single. The score was 6-0 and Gibson would keep it that way. He walked a man in the eighth and surrendered a leadoff single in the ninth, but that was all she wrote for the Atlanta Braves. Gibson was on fire.

The featured article has a quote from the late Red Schoendienst, saying “Gibson looked great. It was the best he’s pitched. He was throwing with a nice and easy motion, no strain. I think he’s over the little arm trouble he had.” Red was a great player, a great manager, and a great man. I dedicate this entry to the memory of the man who donned the number 2 on his back for over six decades with the St. Louis Cardinals. We will never forget you, Red. Generations to come will know the name Schoendienst because legends live forever.

Check out the box score here: https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ATL/ATL196806110.shtml

Sources included: The Southeast Missourian, The St. Joseph Gazette, The Mount Vernon Register News, and BaseballReference.com