1969: Santorini, Padres Survive Mets at Shea
Sun, May 27, 2007
by Geoff Young
May 27, 1969, New York: Padres 3, Mets 2 (box score)
The Mets outhit the Padres in this one, 12-9. The home team also left 11 men on base, while the guests left only 6.
New York scored almost immediately against Padres starter Al Santorini. With runners at the corners and two out in the first inning, Ed Kranepool dropped down a bunt single to drive home the game’s first run. Santorini and the Padres escaped without further damage.
Ollie Brown then led off the top of the second with a home run to tie the score. The bottom half saw the Mets break that tie, although they could have done much more.
After allowing singles to the first three batters, Santorini induced Tommie Agee to fly out to center. Jerry Grote tagged and scored from third, but Bud Harrelson, who had been on second, was thrown out at the plate behind him. The next batter flied out to end the inning.
In each of the next three frames, New York managed to get a runner into scoring position. All three times, however, the home team came away empty.
Clinging to a 2-1 lead in the sixth, Mets starter Jim McAndrew allowed a one-out double to Jerry John Sipin. After Tony Gonzalez flied out to center and Nate Colbert walked, McAndrew uncorked a wild pitch, putting runners at second and third with two out.
Brown then delivered a single to center, scoring Sipin and tying the game. Right-hander Don Cardwell came in from the bullpen to face Roberto Pena, who whacked a single to right that scored Colbert and gave the Padres their first lead of the day.
The Mets put a runner on base in each of the final four innings — including a one-out triple by Ron Swoboda in the eighth — but couldn’t push another run across against The Great Santorini. The Padres hung on for the win and improved to 18-29 in front of nearly 12,000 fans at Shea Stadium.
Trivia: McAndrew’s son, Jamie McAndrew, pitched briefly for the Milwaukee Brewers in the mid-’90s.
Picking up where last year's version left off, the Ducksnorts 2008 Baseball Annual provides in-depth analysis of and commentary on the San Diego Padres. Get your copy today.
