Despite four homers by Montreal, the Pirates beat the Expos, 8 – 7, scoring three in the 8th and three in the 9th. The Pirates’ only homer comes in the 8th inning with Matty Alou on second base and Dan McGinn pitching, when Willie Stargell splashes a pitch over the RF fence into the municipal swimming pool at Jarry Park.
On July 15, 1969, Cincinnati Reds slugger Lee May hits four home runs in a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves. May hits two home runs and drives in five runs in each of the two games. The Reds lose the opener, 9-8, before winning the nightcap, 10-4.
1969 – Astros erase a five-run deficit en route to a 10-7 triumph over Los Angeles. Norm Miller drives in three. Doug Rader has two RBI singles. Jim Wynn walks during the five-run fourth, breaking a league mark with his 11th straight game with a base on balls. Ex-teammate Eddie Mathews set the record in 1954.
In the Braves’ first game after the All-Star break, Hank Aaron goes deep off Clay Carroll in the fifth inning of the team’s 9-8 comeback victory over Cincinnati at Crosley Field. The round-tripper, the 534th home run of his career, moves the ‘Hammer’ into fourth place on the all-time list, ahead of Jimmie Foxx and only two behind Mickey Mantle.
In a twin bill split with the Braves, Lee May hits two home runs in each contest as well as driving in five runs in both ends of the doubleheader. Despite the All-Star first baseman’s performance, the Reds drop the opener 9-8 but come back to win the nightcap, 10-4.
Reggie Smith collects five straight hits in the opener, stretching his hitting streak to 21, and leading the Boston Red Sox to a 7 – 6 win over the New York Yankees. He gets another hit in the nitecap, a 4 – 1 win by New York’s Stan Bahnsen (5-10), but his hit streak will stop tomorrow.
With President Richard Nixon attending his fifth game of the season, the Washington Senators beat the Detroit Tigers again, 7 – 3. The Tigers pull off the first triple play of the year when Ed Brinkman grounds to 3B Don Wert. Tim Cullen, hitting .206, drives in four runs with a single, double and home run.
The New York Mets rough up Fergie Jenkins for three home runs, including Al Weis’s second in two days, to beat the Chicago Cubs, 9 – 5. The Cubs now lead New York by 3 1/2 games. At the end of the game Tom Seaver jumps out of the dugout and clicks his heels several times, mocking Ron Santo’s gesture of the day before. The Mets will win tomorrow as well.
Joe Coleman posts his second straight shutout and drives in two runs to defeat the Detroit Tigers, 3 – 0, in Washington. A crowd of 23,831 pushes the Washington Senators’ attendance to 553,506, exceeding the club’s 1968 attendance of 542,042.
At Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs top the New York Mets, 1 – 0, to give Bill Hands (11-7) the win over Tom Seaver (14-4). Billy Williams singles home the winner, boosting the Cubs lead to 5 1/2 games. After the last out, Ron Santo jumps up and clicks his heels, igniting a roar from the crowd. The Mets think it’s bush.
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