April 27, 1969, San Diego: Padres 5, Reds 2 (box score); Padres 10, Reds 9 (box score)
The Padres swept the first ever doubleheader at San Diego Stadium. In the opener, right-hander Clay Kirby hooked up against right-hander George Culver.
The Padres didn’t waste any time in this one. Tommy Dean led off the bottom of the first with a homer to left, the first of his big-league career.
After adding single runs in the third and the fifth, the Padres finished their scoring in the sixth inning. With two outs, Roberto Pena and Tony Gonzalez were hit by pitches. A balk moved the runners up 90 feet, and then Ollie Brown drove them both home with a double to right.
Kirby, meanwhile, had his good stuff working. He allowed just two hits and a walk over six innings while striking out nine. The Reds scored a couple runs off Gary Ross before he gave way to Frank Reberger, who retired three of four batters he faced to nail down the win.
The second game featured Johnny Podres and Jack Fisher. Neither pitcher lasted long, and it’s probably just as well. Seven errors were committed in the game, with eight of the 19 runs scored being unearned.
The Reds jumped on Podres for three runs in the first. The Padres got one of those back in the second. Cito Gaston drew a one-out walk. Ed Spiezio followed with a double to left. Chris Cannizzaro then drove home Gaston with a grounder to second.
The Padres added another run in the fourth and then exploded for five more in the sixth. They sent 10 batters to the plate that inning. It wasn’t pretty — three hits, five walks, an error, and three strikeouts — but whatever works.
Reberger, who saved the first game, came on in the eighth inning to try and close the second. The Reds, however, had other ideas. With one out, Pete Rose knocked a three-run homer to right to tie the game. After walking Bobby Tolan, Reberger served up a two-run shot to Alex Johnson. The Reds had reclaimed the lead, 9-7. The Padres tied it up again in the bottom half on a Jerry DaVanon double to right that plated Jose Arcia and Ivan Murrell.
The score remained 9-9 until the bottom of the 13th. Then, with right-hander Wayne Granger beginning his sixth inning of relief, Gonzalez led off with a grounder that first baseman Tony Perez couldn’t handle. After Ross sacrficed Gonzalez to second, Nate Colbert was intentionally walked. Granger struck out Gaston for the second out, but Spiezio followed with a single to left that scored Gonzalez and gave the Padres a 10-9 victory.
Trivia: In Chicago, Harmon Killebrew hit his 400th career home run off White Sox left-hander Gary Peters.
Elsewhere in the world: Led Zeppelin played at Fillmore West in San Francisco; Jimi Hendrix played at the Oakland Coliseum across the bay.
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