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1969: Colbert, Slocum Lead Padres to Victory

Monday, October 1, 2007
by Geoff Young

October 1, 1969, San Francisco: Padres 9, Giants 4 (box score) The Padres provided a rare offensive display in the penultimate game of their inaugural season. For the first time since August 20 at Montreal, they scored more than eight runs. San Francisco started the scoring. Bobby Bonds led off the fourth inning to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Four singles later, they pushed it to 3-0 and knocked Joe Niekro out of the contest. The visitors, however, had ideas of their own. In the fifth, with two on and one out, Tommy Dean flied to right, but Bill Burda dropped the ball, allowing Jim Williams to ...

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1969: Braves Win Battle of Niekros

Wednesday, September 26, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 26, 1969, Atlanta: Braves 10, Padres 4 (box score) The Padres jumped to an early lead against knuckleballer Phil Niekro in this one. Jose Arcia reached first on an error by shortstop Gil Garrido to start the game. After the next two batters were retired (and Niekro should have been out of the inning), things got interesting. Al Ferrara and Nate Colbert both walked to load the bases. Ivan Murrell singled them home to put San Diego up, 2-0, with Colbert advancing only to second. A passed ball moved him and Ferrara into scoring position, but Cannizzaro popped to short for the final out. The Padres added a run ...

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1969: Padres Lose Another Laugher at Home

Friday, September 21, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 21, 1969, San Diego: Braves 8, Padres 2 (box score) The Braves scored twice in the third off Joe Niekro, and that was, effectively, the game. They added five more in the seventh -- the final run coming on Hank Aaron's 43rd home run of the season -- to pad their lead to 7-0. San Diego pushed across a run in the bottom of the seventh. Roberto Pena tripled to lead off the inning. One out later, an Al Ferrara ground out scored Ron Slocum, running for Pena. The Braves and Padres exchanged single runs in the eighth to make the final score 8-2. Three Atlanta batters finished with ...

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1969: Reds Beat Padres in Hit Parade

Monday, September 17, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 17, 1969, San Diego: Reds 10, Padres 5 (box score) Like offense? You'd have loved this one. Thirty-one hits. Six batters collected three base knocks -- five of them played, as you might have imagined, for the visiting Reds. Cincinnati scored early and often against starter Joe Niekro (and everyone else the Padres sent out there, come to think of it). They tallied single runs in the first and seventh innings, and two each in the third, fourth, fifth, and eighth. The Reds were, in a word, relentless. Midway through the game, the Padres trailed, 7-0, and were burning through their second pitcher. In the bottom of the fifth, they ...

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1969: Padres Lose 100th Game

Thursday, September 13, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 13, 1969, Los Angeles: Dodgers 7, Padres 2 (box score) The Padres struck first, but wasted an opportunity to do even more damage. Nate Colbert led off the second inning with a double to right. One out later, Jerry Morales hit an infield single that advanced Colbert to third; an error by catcher Tom Haller on the play allowed Colbert to score the game's first run. Chris Cannizzaro followed with a single to right, but pitcher Joe Niekro killed the rally by rapping into a 4-6-3 double play. Los Angeles responded in the bottom half of the inning. With two outs, Willie Crawford homered to left, tying ...

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1969: Wynn, Dierker Dominate Padres

Sunday, September 9, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 9, 1969, Houston: Astros 9, Padres 2 (box score) First, the good news: Ivan Murrell hit his third home run of the season with two out in the ninth to avoid the shutout. The bad news? Pretty much everything else. Joe Niekro started for San Diego and coughed up six runs in 4+ innings. The final batter he faced, Jimmy Wynn, launched a three-run homer to give the Astros a 6-0 lead. The Padres managed just two singles off Houston starter Larry Dierker through 8 2/3 innings. Then Jerry Morales knocked a single of his own (the first hit of what would become a 14-year career in the ...

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1969: Niekro, Colbert Outlast Dodgers

Wednesday, September 5, 2007
by Geoff Young

September 5, 1969, San Diego: Padres 4, Dodgers 1 (box score) For the second straight game, the Padres got the best of their neighbors from the north. Joe Niekro frustrated the Dodgers, scattering 10 hits but yielding just one run. Los Angeles left two runners on base in the first inning, two more in the second, and three in the fourth. The Padres, meanwhile, got to Jim Bunning in their half of the fourth. Ollie Brown led off with a single; one out later, Nate Colbert clubbed a two-run homer to left. Cito Gaston later singled home Van Kelly to make the score 3-0. The Dodgers scored their ...

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