July 18, 1969, Atlanta: Braves 6, Padres 2 (box score); Braves 6, Padres 3 (box score)
The Padres traded outfielder Tony Gonzalez to Atlanta on June 13, 1969. This day, however, Gonzalez made the expansion club from San Diego regret its decision.
In the first game, Al Santorini hooked up with Ron Reed. The game remained scoreless through the first three innings.
In the fourth, home runs by Al Ferrara and Larry Stahl gave the Padres a 2-0 lead. The Braves, though, didn’t stay down for long. In the bottom half of the inning, a Bob Didier single scored two to tie the game. After singles by Reed and Felipe Alou, Gonzalez stepped up to the plate and swatted a grand slam against his former team.
Neither club scored again. The Braves won, 6-2.
In the second game, San Diego again jumped out to an early lead. Nate Colbert led off the fourth with a homer to put the Padres up, 1-0.
Again, the Braves came storming back that same inning. A hit batsman, walk, and error netted Atlanta a run and tied the game. Then, with two on and one out, Gonzalez drilled another homer to put his club up, 3-1.
The Padres re-tied the contest in the sixth. With one out, Ferrara drew a walk and Stahl pounded his second home run of the day.
Atlanta broke the game open two innings later. Three singles and two walks resulted in three runs, and gave the Braves an insurmountable 6-3 lead. The Padres had dropped a doubleheader in front of more than 23,000 fans — the team’s largest crowd since May 21 at home against Pittsburgh.
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