June 16, 1969, Los Angeles: Padres 3, Dodgers 2 (box score)
After a miserable 1-8 homestand, the Padres trekked north to Los Angeles for a four-game set with the Dodgers. Southpaws Dick Kelley and Claude Osteen locked horns in the opener.
San Diego wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. With two down in the first, Ollie Brown knocked his 10th homer of the year to give the Padres an early 1-0 lead.
The Dodgers answered with a run of their own in the fourth. A single, walk, and Jose Arcia error tied the game at 1-1.
The score remained knotted until the ninth. The Dodgers had gotten runners into scoring position in the sixth and eighth but failed to capitalize. Osteen, meanwhile, completely shut down the Padres through the middle innings.
Then, in the top of the ninth, Ed Spiezio knocked a one-out solo homer to give San Diego the lead. In the bottom half, with Willie Davis on second and two out, Dodgers manager Walter Alston sent Len Gabrielson up to bat for Bill Russell against reliever Frank Reberger. Padres skipper Preston Gomez countered by bringing in left-hander Billy McCool. The right-handed hitting Ken Boyer, on his last legs as a big leaguer, came to bat for Gabrielson and singled home Davis to tie the game and send it into extra innings.
In the top of the 13th, the Padres finally broke through against former teammate Al McBean. With Arcia on first base and one out, Roberto Pena singled. Recently acquired Van Kelly then doubled to right. Arcia came home to score the go-ahead run, but Pena was thrown out at the plate to end the frame. Tommie Sisk worked the bottom half to nail down the victory for the Padres in front of 11,588 at Dodger Stadium.
Trivia: Kelly had come to the Padres on June 13, along with future hitting guru Walt Hriniak, in a deal that sent Tony Gonzalez to the Atlanta Braves. Ironically, Hriniak, one of the great hitting coaches, collected a grand total of 25 base hits in his brief big-league career. All were singles.
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