June 2, 1969, Philadelphia: Padres 6, Expos Phillies 4 (box score)
The Padres and Phillies met Monday night in front of just over 3,000 fans at Shibe Park. Al Santorini, off to a great start for San Diego, faced sophomore right-hander Jerry Johnson.
The Phillies were led by the brilliant but bristly Dick Allen and a quartet of talented outfielders — Johnny Briggs, Johnny Callison, Deron Johnson, and rookie Larry Hisle. Due primarily to poor pitching, the Phillies entered Monday’s contest with an 18-25 record, good enough for fifth place in the National League East, 12 games back of the Cubs.
On this night, their pitchers would falter again. After the Phillies scored an unearned run in the second, the Padres notched two of their own on a Jerry John Sipin single and Nate Colbert two-out homer to left.
Then, in the sixth, San Diego parlayed two walks, two singles, and a double into four runs. Sipin capped the outburst with a sac fly to left that plated Santorini (who had singled home the inning’s first run).
The Phillies scored two runs in the home half of the sixth. But right-hander Gary Ross came in and stopped the bleeding, fanning Hisle and pinch-hitter Gene Stone to end the threat. The home team tacked on another run in the ninth, but Ross retired Cookie Rojas to preserve the Padres’ 6-3 victory and run their winning streak to four.
Trivia: Allen, Johnson, and Rojas all were involved in the trade that led Curt Flood to challenge baseball’s reserve clause.