May 21, 1964 - Sandy Koufax struck out 11 Mets tonight to glide to a 6-1 victory for the Dodgers, who now have beaten the New Yorkers 11 straight times dating to last July. It was the 53rd time in his career that Sandy had whiffed 10 or more men, and the next time he does it he will tie with Bob Feller and Rube Wadell. Whereas Waddell and Feller achieved this monumental figure over long spans of pitching, Koufax has only been a regular with the Dodgers for eight of his 10 seasons as a pro.
The Dodgers batted around against loser Jack Fisher and Larry Bearnarth to score four times in the fifth and give Koufax a commanding lead.
When singles by Charlie Smith, Chris Cannizzaro, and Fisher gave New York its lone tally in the second, it was the first and only run the Mets have scored against Koufax in four Dodger Stadium contests.
Koufax didn’t trail for long though.
Singles by Ron Fairly and Frank Howard, a bloop double by John Roseboro, and Willie Davis’ sacrifice fly gave L.A. a 2-1 edge in the bottom of the second.
An unusual play occurred in the next inning and temporarily staved off further embarrassment for the Mets.
With the bases loaded and only one away, Howard topped Fisher’s serve right in front of home plate. Cannizzaro grabbed the ball, stepped on the plate, and then tagged Howard to complete a super-swift double play.
But Fisher didn’t get off so easily in the fifth, when nine Dodgers came to bat.
Koufax scratched a single to start the big inning and was bunted along by Maury Wills.
The second of Tommy Davis’ three hits plated Sandy, and successive walks to Fairly and Howard forced in another run and finished Fisher.
Bearnarth forced in another marker by walking Roseboro, and Ron Hunt’s error on an easy bouncer by Willie Davis cost the Mets a fourth run.
Mercifully, Roy McMillan took Dick Tracewski’s line drive and started a double play.
Tomorrow night, the Phillies will be at the Stadium, and things figure to get a bit tougher for the world champs.
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