July 15, 1964 - The old reliables of the American League are once again in power.
Their southpaw whip, Whitey Ford, came through again and the 2-0 verdict over the Orioles today was as methodical as any Yankee bandwagon. The Bombers’ half-game lead over Baltimore is their first visit to first place since June 22. They could lose it against Baltimore tomorrow night, but the Yankees have made their point. They got first place when they wanted it — in the big series, again.
Ford’s three-hitter wasn’t his most brilliant, but it was neat. “It very easily could have been an eight-hitter,” Ford said. “They hit some pretty sharp stuff, but our guys sure gobbled them up, didn’t they?”
Shortstop Tony Kubek and third baseman Clete Boyer were “our guys.” Kubek made the game’s slickest play in the ninth, going into the hole to rob Bob Johnson of his seventh consecutive pinch hit, a grounder through the box.
Kubek will tell you it’s much easier to be on your toes when Ford is throwing.
“It’s just plain physical,” Tony explained. “Look, Whitey throws only about 90 pitches in a game [98 today]. Say another guy throws 140. That means you’re on your toes 40 or 45 times less a game. Sure, it’s easier to make the good moves — you’re not tired.
“Another thing, I don’t think those plays I made today were so hot. I only looked good because Whitey was throwing. When he’s throwing, you know where to play. He’s gonna make those hitters hit to a certain spot. We know it, so we can be leaning in that direction. It’s as simple as that.”
Ford’s three-hitter was all his own — and he was hurting too.
“My hip started bothering me around the fifth and sixth. From the seventh on, I threw nothing but fastballs until Boog Powell came up in the ninth,” Ford explained.
That’s when Whitey called manager Yogi Berra to the mound.
“I knew I couldn’t get by Powell with just fastballs,” Ford said. “There were two outs, and I asked Yogi if he wanted to put in [Steve] Hamilton. I didn’t want to hang a slider. But he said go ahead and throw sliders.”
Ford did, and Powell grounded to second to end the game.
All the Orioles could do afterward was sit in front of their lockers, stare into space, eat bologna sandwiches, and drink beer.
“Our morale’s okay,” manager Hank Bauer said. “Hell, we beat them three straight down in Baltimore, and it didn’t mean nothing. We expected Ford to be good, but not that good. He pitched a hell of a ballgame. My guy did too, though.”
Baltimore’s Dave McNally pitched a six-hitter, his downfall coming in the second inning when Mickey Mantle singled, Tom Tresh walked, and then the two teamed for a double steal. Joe Pepitone’s grounder to right field gave Ford all the padding he needed.
Mantle called the shot on the steal, which was his third attempt and second success of the season.
“There were several reasons I did it,” Mantle explained. “Elly [Howard] was up at the time, and he hits a lot of grounders, so I didn’t want a double play. If I’m out, Tom’s in scoring position anyway. And they wouldn’t be expecting me to go.”
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