August 13, 1969, San Diego: Cubs 4, Padres 2 (box score)

The Padres scored first in this Wednesday evening affair, but they could have done even more damage. In the second inning, with Bill Hands on the mound for Chicago, Nate Colbert led off with a single to left. Al Ferrara walked and Ivan Murrell reached on an error by third baseman Ron Santo. After Walt Hriniak flied to right for the first out, Tommy Dean was intentionally walked to load the bases. Joe Niekro struck out and Jose Arcia grounded to second to end the inning. San Diego had a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth, the Cubs took control of the game. Don Kessinger and Glenn Beckert singled off Niekro to start the frame. Billy Williams doubled them home, and Santo followed with another double to plate Williams and make the score 3-1. Gary Ross replaced Niekro, and the Padres finally recorded an out when Ernie Banks laid down a sacrifice bunt (!), advancing Santo to third. The next batter, Jim Hickman, flied to center, scoring Santo. Ross walked Bill Heath and Don Young, but then struck out Hands to escape with a 4-1 defecit.

Hands, meanwhile, shut down the Padres. The homer he served up to Nate Colbert leading off the sixth was a blip on the radar. Hands went the distance, allowing just one unearned run on five hits en route to a 4-2 victory for the Cubs in front of a shade under 10,000 fans at San Diego Stadium.

Tagged as: Baseball, bill_hands, bill_heath, chicago_cubs, cubs, don_kessinger, don_young, ernie_banks, gary_ross, jim_hickman, joe_niekro, nate_colbert, padres, ron_santo, san_diego_padres, tommy_dean