May 1, 1964 - It was 50 degrees with a nippy wind and Whitey Ford must have been the most comfortable person in the Bronx — certainly the 10,967 who deserted their warm, comfortable homes to come out did not revel in the chill. But Ford, who loves pitching in cold weather, pitched a two-hitter for his second shutout of 1964 and Tom Tresh singled in the game’s only run in the fourth inning as the Yankees defeated the Washington Senators, 1-0, tonight at Yankee Stadium.
The game, the first played by the Bombers since last Sunday because of a week-long rain, proved costly to both teams. Mickey Mantle, the Yankees’ slugging outfielder, pulled a muscle in his right leg, and Senators’ starter Bennie Daniels left in the seventh with a stiff shoulder.
Ford, bringing his record to 2-1, did not allow a hit after the third inning and did not allow a runner past second base. He struck out eight and walked three.
The Yankees pushed across the only run in the fourth when Bobby Richardson led off with a walk, raced to third on a single by Hector Lopez — filling in for Roger Maris, who is out with a damaged left hamstring muscle — and scored on Tresh’s single to right. That ultimately handed the loss to Daniels, who had won his first two starts.
Mantle, the injury-plagued New York center fielder, hurt his leg when he had to race in quickly to grab Chuck Cottier’s short fly ball in the fifth. Mantle struck out for the final out in the bottom of the fifth then left the game.
Whitey got the job done quickly, requiring only an hour and 55 minutes. The only hits off Ford were Ken Hunt’s double in the second and Don Zimmer’s single with two out in the third.
The win lifted the Yanks over the .500 mark for the first time, 5-4, and was their fourth straight.
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