1969: Jenkins, Cubs Blank Padres

May 12, 1969, Chicago: Cubs 2, Padres 0 (box score)

Fresh off their first ever road series win, the Padres headed to Chicago for their first series at Wrigley Field. San Diego sent Gary Ross to the hill in the Monday afternoon opener. The Cubs countered with Canadian right-hander Ferguson Jenkins.

The Cubs featured names such as Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and an aging Billy Williams. Early in the season, though, shortstop Don Kessinger, catcher Randy Hundley, and left fielder Al Spangler were leading the charge, helping the Cubs to a fine 21-11 start under manager Leo Durocher.

Originally signed by the Phillies, Jenkins had won exactly 20 games in 1967 and again the following season. Coming into Monday’s game, Jenkins owned a 4-2 record on the season, with a 2.77 ERA over eight starts. In a sign of the times, the 26-year-old already had thrown five complete games. In his previous start, against the Dodgers, Jenkins worked 12 innings and took the tough-luck loss.

Today, Jenkins would need only nine frames. He dominated from the start, retiring the Padres in order in the first and striking out the side in the second. The Padres managed to load the bases in the third before Tony Gonzalez grounded into a 1-2-3 double play to end the threat, but beyond that, they never got a runner past second base.

The Cubs, meanwhile, broke the ice in the second on a Jenkins groundout that scored Hundley. In the fifth, Williams singled home Nate Oliver to give the hometown club an insurance run should they need it.

Ross allowed five hits, walked five, and hit a batter in 5 2/3 innings of work. He was lucky to escape with just the two runs. The way Jenkins pitched, those two runs were more than enough for the Cubs. Jenkins finished with a five-hit shutout, including 10 strikeouts.

Trivia: Cubs second baseman Glen Beckert later finished his career in San Diego, playing nine games for the Padres in 1975 before calling it quits.

Elsewhere in the world: Kim Fields, who played Tootie on The Facts of Life, was born in New York; Boston Celtics star John Havlicek graced the cover of Sports Illustrated.

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