Astrodome Plays Host to '68 All Stars

Willie Horton was the top vote getter  in the
majors for the upcoming all-star game.

The Houston Astrodome will play host to the best players in major league baseball as the National and American league square off on July 9th.  The National League, lead by leading vote getter Ernie Banks, will be host to Willie Horton and the American League.  This game will be coached by the 1967 World Series managers, Erick Nelson (Philadelphia) and Larry Reeves (Detroit).

NL ROSTER
AL ROSTER

ACTUAL GAME BOXSCORE FROM 1968 AS Game

Cubs Take Five-Gamer from Pirates

Overcoming some middling pitching in this series with a hard-hitting offense, the Cubs takes the Pirates 3-2 in a five-game series before the All Star break. The Cubs go into the break at 44-40, while the Pirates sit squarely at .500 with a 41-41 record.

Game 1: Cubs 7, Pirates 6
W: Regan (4-1)
L: Veale (9-4)

Phil Regan saves the Cubs , as "The Vulture" pitches four innings of relief for ineffective starter Rich Nye. Chicago rallies from an early 3-0, first-inning hole by scoring five in the fifth off Bob Veale. Ernie Banks hits two homers, including a solo eight-inning shot that breaks the tie. "Mr. Cub" now has 16 home runs this year in another great season for the ageless veteran.

Game 2: Cubs 5, Pirates 3
W: Jenkins (10-6)
L: Walker (2-2)

Cubs great Fergie Jenkins gets to double-digit wins in a complete game victory. A three-run fourth inning off Luke Walker does the trick, and doubles by Santo, Beckert, and Gene Oliver help support Jenkins.

Game 3: Pirates 5, Cubs 3
W: McBean (6-6)
L: Lamabe (2-1)
S: Face (6)

The Pirates, losers of five straight, pull out this game after it is tied 3-3 in the eighth. Freddie Patek goes three-for-five and Willie Stargell hits a monstrous ninth-inning shot (17) to put the Bucs ahead, as reliever Al McBean pitches four innings of shutdown relief.

Roberto Clemente heads into the All Star break hitting .333

Game 4: Pirates 12, Cubs 10
W: Blass (8-4)
L: Holtzman (9-4)
S: Face (7)

Steve Blass and Ken Holtzman both start on three-days rest, and the fatigue shows as both offenses erupt, with the Pirates scotching 23 hits and 12 runs and holding 12-3 lead in the sixth. The Cubs try to make a game of it with 19 hits of their own but fall a bit short, as Elroy Face again shuts them down in the ninth. The Pirates blast four homers tossed back onto the field from the Wrigley faithful,  two by Roberto Clemente (9, 10), while Manny Mota goes four-for-five and hits his first roundtripper of 1968.

Game 5: Cubs 5, Pirates 1
W: Hands (5-8)
L: McBean (6-7)

Cubs starter Bill Hands saves the series with a complete game. The Cubs are in control the entire game, led by two homers (16, 17) from Chicago's great 3B Ron Santo.

Braves and Astros Battle to a split in Hotlanta!

Atlanta,
Game 1,


Both teams had trouble generating any offense as Mike Cuellar and Ron Reed were able to wiggle out of jams for most of the game.  Neither team was able to touch home plate until the 11th inning when the Houston ball club got to lefty Dick Kelley for four runs.  Norm Miller smacked a run scoring double off the right field fence to crack the tie.  Miller came around to score when Red Staub found right field with ground ball single to right. The Toy Cannon--Jimmy Wynn walked and a free pass to Dennis Menke plated another run. Tom Dukes earned his 4th win and John Buzhardt got his second save. Dick Kelley falls to 3-7. Astros 3.....Braves 0 (11 innings)

Game 2,

Phil Niekro went the distance and all he got to show for it was his 8th loss( 6-8).  The nifty knuckler had trouble locating his pet pitch. It was either feast or famine as he struck out 9 Astro batters but most of the time the slow pitch just rolled up to the plate and Houston tagged it to the tune of seven runs on thirteen hits.  John Bateman and Doug Rader each had 3 hits. Dick Simpson connected for a pinch homerun.  Dave Giusti earned the win to improve to 3-8. The save went to Danny Coombs.  Astros 7.....Braves 4.

Game 3,

Right hander Pat Jarvis threw a dominant game as he pitched a complete shut out allowing only three singles, no walks, and six punch outs.  The offense in the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning when the Braves struck quickly off lefty starter and former Brave, Denny LeMaster.  Tommie Aaron drove in the first run with a single and then run scoring singles by Tillman and Sonny Jackson sealed the victory.  Jarvis moves to 6-7 while LeMaster sinks to a horrible 2-9. Braves 3...Astros 3.

Game 4,

It appeared that Houston was on their way to taking 3 of 4 in Atlanta but the Braves put on a little magic in the ninth inning.  Tommy Dukes was on the mound for the Astros when Joe Torre lead off the inning. The score was 6-4 in favor of Houston but Torre made it closer with his 4th homerun of the year.  Then with two outs, Deron Johnson hit a clutch homerun to tie the game and send it into extras.  The game was decided in the bottom of the tenth of a sacrifice fly to deep center field off the bat of Hank Aaron to plate Felipe Alou for the winning tally.  Jim Britton evens his record to 4-4 and Tommy Dukes falls to 4-6. Braves 7...Astros 6 (10 innings).

SF surprises St.Louis taking 2 of 3.

Game 1: San Francisco 6 St.Louis 2
W: McCormick (6-9)  L: Carlton (7-6)
 Willie Mays drove in 3 runs and scored 1 run.

Game 2: St.Louis 7 San Francisco 1
W: Gibson (9-6)  L: Marichal (4-14)
SF scored an early run off of Gibson, but then he shut the door.  Bobby Tolan's 2 run homer in the 8th sealed the win.

Game 3: San Francisco 6 St.Louis 1
W: Perry (10-5)  L: Jaster (7-5)
Gaylord Perry notches his 10 win as SF takes the rubber game of the series.

SF and Atlanta split a 4 game series

Game 1: Atlanta 6 San Francisco 5 (11 innings)
W: Raymond (4-2)  L: Herbel (3-2)
Giant's bullpen gives up go-ahead runs in 9th, 10th, and 11th.

Game 2: San Francisco 3 Atlanta 1
W: Marichal (4-13)  L: Jarvis (5-7)
Marichal was sharp, striking out 10 for just his 4th win of the season.

Game 3: Atlanta 7 San Francisco 0
W: Pappas (2-0)  L: Perry (9-5)
Milt Pappas had a no hitter through 8-1/3 innings before PH Jesus Alou grounded a single to right to break it up, and save the Giants from further embarrassment.

Game 4: San Francisco 1 Atlanta 0 (12 innings)
W: Gibbon (3-4)  L: Stone (0-1)
Ray Sadecki pitched 10 shutout innings allowing just 4 hits, but SF could not push a run across until the 12th when Jack Hiatt lined a single to center scoring Davenport.

Dodgers take 2 of 3 from Braves

GAME 1 - Dodger Stadium

Pappas vs Kekich

Dodgers 2, Braves 1

A Willie Davis sac fly in the top of the 8th finally got the Dodgers on the board and tied the game at 1 apiece.  A 1 out Ron Fairly single in the bottom of the 9th scored Len Gabrielson in walk off fashion.  John Purdin (3-0) got the win in relief.  Milt Pappas looked to be the winner until the Dodgers tied it on an unearned run in the 8th.

GAME 2

K.Johnson vs Osteen

Braves 3, Dodgers 2 (11).

LA managed to rally back from a 2-0 deficit only to see the Braves in it in 11.  Hank Aaron (3-5, RBI) and Joe Torre (3-4, 2 RBI) were the offensive show.  Jim Britton (3-4, 2.21) had 3 scoreless innings out of the pen to nab the win.

GAME 3

R.Reed vs M.Grant

Dodgers 6, Braves 2

A two run blast by Dodger starter Jim "Mudcat" Grant was one of 3 long balls hit out of Chavez Ravine today.  Jim Lefebvre and Ken Boyer also his monster shots off of Brave starter Ron Reed

SF wins 2 of 3 against Cincinnati

Game 1: San Francisco 6 Cincinnati 2
W: Perry (9-4)  L: Cloninger (1-1)
A 3 run home run by 'Stretch' McCovey in the 1st and a solo shot by Ron Hunt in the 2nd turned out to be all the runs Gaylord Perry would need to post his 9th win.

Game 2: San Francisco 5 Cincinnati 1
W: Sadecki (7-8)  L: Nolan (2-3)
Ray Sadecki held the Reds scoreless until the 8th, then Frank Linzy came on in the 9th with the bases loaded and got a double play to end the game.

Game 3: Cincinnati 8 San Francisco 2
W: Culver (7-5)  L: McCormick (5-9)
Pete Rose went 5-5 to extend his hitting streak to 30 games and Don Pavletich hit 2 homeruns to give the Reds an easy win in the series finale.

Braves drop two to Phils!

                                                             Atlanta,
                                                             Game 1,

Ron Reed and Grant Jackson battled in a classic pitchers' duel on a hot, humid southern night.  Veterans Cookie Rojas and Bill White drove in runs to lead Philly past the host Braves.  Jackson went the distance to win his 5th game of the year.  Hard luck Ron Reed got the loss to move to 7-5 despite pitching very well. Phillies 2...Braves 1.


Game 2,

Rick Wise has had a difficult year for the Phillies but he was on his "A" game tonight with a complete game, five hit, shutout to earn his 2nd win of the year.  Johnny Callison homered off Phil Niekro for his 14th bomb of the season.  Outfielder Tony Gonzalez banged out 3 hits to lead an 11 hit Phillie attack.  Niekro (6-7) got the loss. Phillies 4....Braves 0.

                                   

Game 3,

Philadelphia went for the sweep in the third game and for the first seven innings it looked like it was going to happen.  Southpaw, Chris Short was throwing a strong game and had a narrow 1-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning.   Felipe Alou led off the inning and crushed a game tying homerun to center to ignite a four run inning for the Braves.  One out later, Hank Aaron narrowly missed a homerun when he hit the ball off the right center field fence for a double.  Tommie Aaron added a 2-run single to make the score 3-1 in favor of Atlanta.  Sonny Jackson concluded the scoring with an RBI single of his own.  Dick Kelley got the win in relief to improve to 3-6 while the loss went to Short (7-4). Braves 4....Phillies 1.

Los Angeles takes 2 of 3 from San Francisco

Game 1: Los Angeles 5 San Francisco 0
W: Osteen (4-9)  L: Sadecki (6-8)
Osteen was too much for SF bats.

Game 2: San Francisco 4 Los Angeles 2
W: McCormick (5-8)  L: Drysdale (9-5)
Giants spoil Drysdale's chance for 10th win.

Game 3: Los Angeles 8 San Francisco 2
W: Singer (7-7)  L: Marichal (3-13)
Dodgers blow open a 2-2 game with 4 runs in the 8th.

Reds Pounce on Braves!

Atlanta,

Game 1,
Jim Maloney earned his 6th victory of the year as the Reds took the first game of a 4 game set in Atlanta.  Maloney also helped his cause with a homerun with a runner on base off Pat Jarvis.  Heavy hitter Lee May also added a homerun-his 9th of the year. Johnny Bench collected 3 hits including two RBI for the day. Reds 5...Braves 2.
                                   

Game 2,
Felipe Alou and Hammrin Hank hit homeruns but it was not enough as Pete Rose went 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored
. Johnny Bench added his 8th dinger of the year.  Ted Abernathy pitched a scoreless inning in relief of starter Tony Cloninger. Abernathy earned the win to improve his record at 5-0.  The loser was Ken Johnson, who was tagged for six runs through 6 and 2/3 innings pitched. Reds 6....Braves 5.


Game 3,
Ron Reed was on his game with an 8 inning- 2 hit performance to improve to 7-4.  Fred Whitfield hit a two-run homerun to aid the Braves in the win.  Marty Martinez and Felipe Alou added 3 safeties a piece as Atlanta banged out 15 hits. Braves 6....Reds 3.


                                                             Game 4,
The finale was a test in endurance! Both teams had not plated a run through 15 innings. 5 hours and 22 minutes later we had a winner.  In the top half of the 16th frame, Johnny Bench lined a low laser over the right field fence off reliever Claude Raymond to break the tie.  Bill Kelso (2-1)  pitched two innings of relief for Cincinnati to earn the victory while Raymond (3-2) got the loss.  Reds 3...Braves 0 (16 innings)

SF comes to life and wins 3 of 4 vs. Pirates

Game 1: Pittsburgh 4 San Francisco 2
W: Veale (6-3)  L: Marichal (2-10)
Pirates scored all of their runs in the 1st inning and Veale limited SF to just 3 hits to pick up his 6th win of the season.

Game 2: San Francisco 5 Pittsburgh 1
W: Sadecki (4-7)  L: Blass (4-4)
Ray Sadecki scattered 6 hits and Jim Ray Hart hit his 2nd homer in two days as the Giants picked up only their second win in 10 games.

Game 3: San Francisco 6 Pittsburgh 3
W: Bolin (3-0)  L: Bunning (2-5)
A 1st inning homerun by Willie Mays got the Giants started and a 3 run shot by Hart gave Bolin a 5 run cushion to work with.  Pittsburgh scored 3 in the 6th and had the bases loaded in the 9th, but Willie Stargell popped out to end the game.

Game 4: San Francisco 6 Pittsburgh 1
W: Perry (7-4)  L: McBean (4-4)
Willie Mays jump started SF again with a 2 run blast in the 1st inning.  A four run 4th gave Gaylord Perry all the runs he needed to nail down his 7th win.

The Hard-Hitting Reds Continue Hold on First Place

Cincinnati continues to show off its power against the Cubs, pounding 10 long balls on the way to a 3-1 series win. The Reds are 8-2 in their last 10 games and have surged past St. Louis to lead the National League. The Cubbies suddenly are moving the other direction, going 4-6 in the past 10.

Pete Rose now has a 13-game hitting streak and is batting .342, while Vada Pinson has a big series and a 12-game hit streak of his own.

Game 1: CIN 7, CUBS 1
W: Nolan (1-1)
L: Holtzman (7-3)
MVP: Nolan

20-year-old Gary Nolan wins his first game of the year by coming of age in dramatic fashion, piecing together a complete game with nine Ks. Four homers, including two from Pete Rose (6, 7) finish off Ken Holtzman and the Cubs.

Game 2:  CUBS 7, CIN 4
W: J. Niekro (6-3)
L: Culver (5-4)
MVP: Phillips

The Cubs storm back behind a three-run first-inning home run from Adolfo Phillips and seven runs off Reds starter George Culver.

Game 3: CIN 5, CUBS 4
W: Maloney (5-3)
L: Jenkins (7-4)
S: Carroll (1)
MVP: Pinson

The best game of the series. Cincinnati takes an early lead off Fergie Jenkins behind a two-run shot from Tony Perez (8) but the Cubs start hitting Jim Maloney to tie it at three in the fifth, with Billy Williams blasting his 13th big fly. But with Chicago leading 4-3 in the top of eighth and a man on for the Reds with one down, Vada Pinson hits a heart-breaking two-run homer (2) that is the eventual game winner. The Cubs put Al Spangler on second with one out in the ninth off Clay Carroll, but Glenn Beckert hits it back to the pitcher on a hit and run. Carroll proceeds to double off Spangler, who was running on the play.

Game 4: CIN 7, CUBS 4
W: Cloninger (1-0)
L: Reberger (0-1)
MVP: Bench

After a quiet series, Johnny Bench breaks out with a two-run homer off spot starter Frank Reberger, as the Reds take an early 6-2 lead. The Cubs try to make a comeback off a wild Tony Cloninger but a shaky Bill Lee closes it out fpr the Reds.

Phillies Sweep 'Stros in Short Series

June 11, 1968
Dierker vs Wise
Philadelphia 5  Houston 3
The Phillies jumped out to a quick 2-0 in the first on the power of a Richie Allen 2 run homerun to left center field.  Houston tied the game in the 4th on singles by Bob Aspromonte and Julio Gotay along with doubles by Jim Wynn and Larry Dierker.  Rick Wise was lifted in the 6th inning in favor of Grant Jackson after giving up one out hits to Dierker and Ron Davis, however, Jackson gave up a SF to Dennis Menke and the Astros had the lead at 3-2.  Dierker was gone an inning later after not being able to hold the lead.  With one out, Richie Allen tied the game at 3 with his second HR of the game this time depositing it into the left field bleachers.  Johnny Callison followed with a single and Bill White worked a walk to put men on first and second.  Tony Taylor than followed with a single to left field but with one out the third base coach decided not to test Jim Wynn's arm in left.  Gary Sutherland came to the plate to PH for light hitting catcher Clay Dalrymple and delivered a double to left center field that plated the final two runs of the game.  Gary Wagner pitched a scoreless 9th inning to earn the save and a Philadelphia win.

June 13, 1968
Giusti vs Short
Philadelphia 6  Houston 5
For baseball fans who like the longball they got what they wanted today as the warm air carried 7 balls through the night air into the stands. Houston got on the board first when Bob Watson lauched the first HR of the evening down the left field line in the top of the second.  Bill White returned the favor in the bottom of the evening when his HR went down the right field line.  In the bottom of the 3rd Cookie Rojas gave the Phillies the lead with his solo HR down the left field line to the bleachers.  Then in the top of the 4th Rusty Staub got in the act and tied the game again with a solo homerun down the right field line making the score 2-2 with all runs coming on solo homeruns.  The string was finally broken when Philadelphia regained the lead in the bottom of the forth on a SF by Clay Dalrymple. Things settled down for 2 innings until the top of the 7th when the fireworks began again with a John Bateman solo HR into the left field bleachers to knot the score at 3 but Philadelphia took the lead in the bottom of the inning on a Johnny Briggs single.  The see-saw battle continued when Dennis Menke hit Houston 4th solo HR of the evening to tie the score at 4.  When Rusty Staub followed with a double Chris Short was lifted and John Boozer came on.  After a Boozer error Julio Gotay got a 2 out single to score Staub and give the Astros a 5-4 lead in the 8th.  Giusti came on to pitch the bottom of the inning and after getting the first man out he allowed a single to Bill White.  Giusti got the second out and that brought PH Johnny Callison to the plate as the potential winning run and he didn't disappoint the fans.  Callison drove a 1-0 pitch to the left center field stands.  His HR was the 7th of the evening and the first that was not a solo shot.  It gave Philadelphia a 6-5 lead and Turk Farrell came on to get the save.