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Cards Snap 8-Game Losing Streak

July 7, 1963 - Bob Gibson’s clutch pitching and Stan Musial's two-run homer helped the St. Louis Cardinals snap an eight-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory today over the San Francisco Giants in the second game of a doubleheader in San Francisco. The Giants won the opener, 4-3, when Ken Boyer of the Cards made an error with the bases filled in the 15th inning. A crowd of 42,787, the largest turnout for a league game in Candlestick Park, watched the 42-year-old Musial belt his ninth homer of the season. “The pitch was much too high,” said Giant catcher Ed Bailey. “Musial should have walked.” Gibson pitched a six-hitter and worked his way out of bases-loaded situations twice. “Bob fired his fastball right past McCovey, and you noticed Willie was swinging a lot differently with two strikes on him,” said Cardinal pitching coach Howard Pollet. “Gibson’s all the way back. This had to be his best game all year. He was up against a hard-hitting team and one of the best pitchers in the leauge.” Juan Marichal, seeking his 10th straight triumph, lost the game and $50. The fine became automatic when Umpire Al Barlick warned him after his pitch almost struck Gibson in the third. Gibson hit Jim Ray Hart in the shoulder with a second-inning pitch, and Hart was hospitalized with a fractured left shoulder blade. Ken Boyer’s error in the 15th inning of the opener came when a pinch-hitter, José Pagan, hit a grounder that skipped off the third baseman’s glove and into left field. Willie Mays scored on the play. “I could have dived for the ball,” said Ken afterward, “but I figured I wouldn’t have been able to throw Mays out at home if I had to get up off the ground before throwing.”


© 2024 by Joe Rubenstein

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