Aug. 30, 1963 - Dodger Stadium prolonged its magic spell tonight as the Dodgers took another game from the hated Giants and dropped them into third place behind St. Louis. With Don Drysdale providing the finesse and Jim Gilliam the muscle, Los Angeles scored a 3-1 victory before 54,849 fans. The critical victory gave the Dodgers a 7-game lead over St. Louis and a 7½-game bulge over the Giants. The way things shape up now, manager Walter Alston’s club is sitting pretty. If the Dodgers win but 14 of their remaining 29 games, the Cardinals would have to win 21 of 29 just to tie — and nobody believes the Dodgers will win just 14. The near-capacity crowd that boosted home attendance over the 2 million mark for the fourth time in six years was treated to a whale of a game. Juan Marichal, twice a conqueror of Drysdale this year, was seeking his 20th victory. But it was Drysdale’s night. Don walked none while whiffing nine, including pinch hitter Ed Bailey with a man on and two out in the ninth. Marichal left after working six innings and giving up two runs. Don Larsen finished up. Gilliam and Drysdale drove in all three runs for the victors. In the third inning, the Dodgers, down 1-0, tied it up when Willie Davis (left) singled, stole his 19th base, and roared home on Gilliam’s double inches inside the left-field line. Drysdale personally drove in the deciding run in the fifth, his single scoring Johnny Roseboro from second. “It was a mighty lucky hit,” Drysdale said afterward. “When Marichal got a 3-1 count on me, I figured he’d come in with a slider. But it was a fastball and I took it. Now I didn’t know what he’d do, so I just decided to swing. It was a slider — and how it ever got through the infield I’ll never know.” Gilliam gave Drysdale an insurance run in the eighth when he tripled off Larsen to score Dick Tracewski.
