April 15, 1969, Los Angeles: Dodgers 14, Padres 0 (box score)
Southpaws Claude Osteen and Johnny Podres matched scoreless frames through four innings. Then, in the bottom of the fifth, the proverbial wheels fell off for Podres.
With one out, Tom Haller drew a walk. Ted Sizemore, Osteen, and Willie Crawford followed with singles to put the Dodgers ahead, 2-0. After a walk to rookie right fielder Bill Russell and a ground out by Wes Parker, left fielder Andy Kosco stepped to the plate and hit a grand slam to left to break the game wide open.
The Dodgers added a run in the sixth, five in the seventh, and two more in the eighth. The final runs came on a Kosco double to left that plated Russell and Parker.
After winning their first three games as a franchise, the Padres now had fallen below .500 for the first time. Unfortunately, this was a place they would become intimately familiar with over the next several years.
Trivia: Padres center fielder Cito Gaston and Dodgers second baseman Jim Lefebvre both finished the game 0-for-4. Both also managed American League teams from 1989 to 1991. Gaston’s Blue Jays enjoyed a .564 record during that stretch, while Lefebvre’s Mariners came in at .479. Gaston also led Toronto to back-to-back World Series titles in 1992 and 1993.
Suggestion: Many significant things happened in 1969. Walking on moon, Woodstock, off the top of my head.
What if you included some of those on the appropiate days?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1969#Events
Nothing to do with the 1969 Padres, but I just found this tidbit while perusing the writeup of today’s game.
“Saturday marked exactly 21 years since incoming Hall of Famer Tony Gwynn struck out three times in a game for the only time in his 20 seasons with the Padres.”
Wow.
1: I certainly hope that the list of significant days includes a very significant day in 1969….May 9th…the day i was born
#1: Kevin, that’s a great idea. Thanks for the suggestion!
#4: Mark, I arrived to “the party” four days earlier.
Sorry, off the historical Padres roll, but last night felt a lot like this game:
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=260916119
We open a big lead at LA and then have Hendrickson come in and just shut us down, but still win easily.
I am about 3 years older than Mark O and GY, so am trying to think of old Padres’ memories as a kid.
I remember seeing willie McCovey playing for us, late in his career. Mike Ivie, Johnny Grubb, Bob Shirley: I watched all these guys. I was there for this game for Gaylord Perry:
Milestones
On October 1, 1978, when Perry recorded his 3,000th strikeout (the victim was Joe Simpson of the Dodgers), he pitched 10 innings in a game the Padres won, 4-3. Also appearing in that game were future Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers (who relieved Perry and won the game), and Dodger starting pitcher Don Sutton.
Some context, the Dodgers had locked up the divisions and were playing their expanded roster. After K 2,999, every time Gaylord got two strikes, the place was standing and clapping. To a 12 year old kid, it seemed like it took 45 batters to finally get the 3,000 strike out.
Funny, this memory feels like I was 7 years old. I have memories of the Chargers 1979 season (when they beat both SB participants by over 25 points; Steelers, 35-7, Rams 40-16 but lost in the first round at home to Campbell-less Oilers), and I remember it through the eyes of a young teenager. This game I remember through the eyes of a little kid, but it was only a year apart. Odd thing, memory.
#5 GY….i always knew you were “much” older than me