June 20, 1969, Houston: Astros 6, Padres 1 (box score); Astros 3, Padres 1 (box score)
For the second time in four days, the Padres played two. For the second time, they found themselves overmatched.
The opener pitted Clay Kirby against Larry Dierker. The Padres struck first, with Nate Colbert homering to lead off the second inning. The Astros tied things up in the bottom half on doubles by Dennis Menke and Curt Blefary.
In the fourth, with the score still knotted at 1-1, Kirby’s control and defense faltered. Two walks, a passed ball, a triple, and an error by third baseman Ed Spiezio resulted in three runs. The Astros tacked on two more in the sixth courtesy of three singles, a hit batsman, and another passed ball. The Padres, meanwhile, offered little resistance to Dierker, managing just a walk after the fifth inning.
After losing 6-1 in the first game, the Padres sent Tommie Sisk to the mound against Houston’s Jim Ray. As they had in the opener, the Padres scored first. Jose Arcia led off the sixth inning with a triple, and one out later, Colbert drove him home.
Sisk held the 1-0 lead into the seventh. Then, with one out, Menke singled and Johnny Edwards walked. Blefary followed with a double to tie the game. After Sisk intentionally walked Gary Geiger to load the bases, Gary Ross came in to face Doug Rader. The result? An unintenional walk that gave Houston a 2-1 lead. The Astros added another run and, despite a minor rally in the eighth by the Padres, held on to complete the sweep in front of more than 19,000 fans.
Trivia: The Padres scored just two runs in the doubleheader; one hopes they savored those, as they were about to be shut out in three straight and five of their next seven games.
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