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Cards Win Second Straight Over Giants, Tighten Grip on First Place

June 26, 1963 - Tim Harkness and five hardworking pitchers turned in one of the Mets’ more heroic efforts today at the Polo Grounds. It looked like another tough defeat for Casey Stengel’s forces. But Harkness was having none of that. The slim former Dodger belted a grand-slam home run in the 14th inning that beat the Chicago Cubs, 8-6. There were two out. The bases were filled. The count was 3 and 2. Then Harkness connected. It was a long, hard shot to right off the Cubs’ seventh pitcher, Jim Brewer, that landed in the lower seats above the 405 marker in right-center, and it sent 18,072 fans home happy. “I always knew I could hit Brewer,” said Harkness later. “I used to hit him good in the minors. His fastball doesn’t do much, and I knew he was scared because he wasn’t getting his curves over.” “It was one of those good ones,” said Stengel. “We just about had to end it there because I’d run out of men. We just wore them down.” The Mets had used 20 players and only 4 pitchers were still available. The Cubs employed 19.

© 2024 by Joe Rubenstein

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