June 22, 1969, Houston: Astros 2, Padres 0 (box score)

Day two of the Padres’ jaunt to Shutout City saw Joe Niekro lock horns against left-hander Denny Lemaster. For six innings, the two hurlers put on quite a show.

The Padres had runners at the corners with one out in the first but failed to score. After that, nobody got into scoring position for either team until the seventh.

In the bottom half of the frame, Ed Spiezio booted a one-out grounder to third off the bat of Jimmy Wynn. Dennis Menke and Johnny Edwards followed with singles to give the Astros an unearned run.

Houston added an insurance run in the eighth. With two out and nobody on, Niekro walked Bob Watson. Joe Morgan and Wynn then singled, putting the Astros up, 2-0.

The Padres had one final shot in the ninth. But after Al Ferrara reached on an error and Spiezio drew a walk, Cito Gaston struck out to end the game.

Trivia: Lemaster was born in Corona, Calif., hometown of future Padre Mike Darr.

Elsewhere in the world: Oscar-nominated actress Judy Garland died in London at age 47; jazz vocalist Ella Fitzgerald delivered a stunning performance at Montreux.

Tagged as: astros, Baseball, bob_watson, cito_gaston, ella_fitzgerald, houston_astros, joe_morgan, joe_niekro, johnny_edwards, judy_garland, mike_darr, padres, san_diego_padres