Phillies Take Opener in 12 on Gonzalez Homer, Drop Nightcap 4–3
Smith’s Ninth‑Inning Drive Gives Cardinals Split at Connie Mack Stadium
PHILADELPHIA, June 26 — For 20 innings Sunday afternoon, nearly everything went right for the Phillies. But the final frame of the long doubleheader turned the day into a split, as the St. Louis Cardinals rallied in the ninth inning of the second game to win, 4–3, after Philadelphia had taken the opener, 3–2, in 12 innings.
Rookie Tony Gonzalez decided the first game with a drive over the right‑field wall in the 12th, breaking a 2–2 tie and ending a three‑hour, 19‑minute contest. In the nightcap, the Phillies carried a 3–1 lead into the ninth behind strong pitching from Chris Short, only to see Hal Smith deliver a three‑run homer to the left‑field roof for the Cardinals’ victory.
Phillies Win Opener Behind Buzhardt’s Strong Effort
Johnny Buzhardt went the distance in the opener, allowing only five hits and at one point retiring hitters for nine and two‑thirds innings without surrendering a hit. Curt Flood’s first‑inning homer and Joe Cunningham’s second‑inning drive gave St. Louis a 2–1 lead, but the Phillies tied the game in the seventh.
Dalrymple singled, Buzhardt bunted into a force, Gonzalez singled to left, and Tony Taylor singled to right to score Buzhardt. With runners at the corners and one out, Tony Curry grounded to first, and Bill White started a double play that cut down Gonzalez at the plate.
The Phillies missed another chance in the 11th when Frank Herrera tripled off the scoreboard. Bobby Del Greco ran for him, and after an intentional walk to Joe Morgan, Jim Coker struck out. Bobby Gene Smith twice fouled off squeeze attempts before missing a third‑strike bunt, and Del Greco was trapped between third and home.
Gonzalez settled matters in the 12th with his fifth home run of the season.
Cardinals Rally Late to Take Nightcap
Short walked three in the first inning but escaped without damage. The Phillies struck in the third when Gonzalez singled and, after Curry left with a leg spasm, Smith homered off Bob Gibson. Morgan, Neeman, and Amaro combined for another run in the fourth.
St. Louis scored in the fifth on Glenn’s triple and Smith’s double. The Phillies missed chances in both the fifth and sixth innings, stranding runners at third base with fewer than two outs.
Those missed opportunities loomed large in the ninth. White beat out a bunt, Glenn singled, and after a brief mound visit from manager Gene Mauch, Smith drove Short’s second pitch onto the left‑field roof. Smith drove in all four St. Louis runs.
Ernie Broglio, who had surrendered Gonzalez’s game‑winning homer in the opener, retired the Phillies in order in the ninth to earn the split.
Notes
- Herrera extended his hitting streak to 19 games, the longest in the majors at the moment.
- Walters’ 14‑game streak ended in the nightcap.
- Curry’s injury was diagnosed as a muscle spasm; he is expected to return Tuesday.
- Buzhardt pitched longer than any Phillies hurler since Robin Roberts’ 12‑inning effort in 1957.
- The Cardinals scored five of their six runs on home runs.
Courtesy of The Philadelphia Inquirer June 27, 1960 via Newspapers.com