Juan Marichal allows just one hit through eight innings, but the Reds score three in the bottom of the 9th to win, 3 – 2. Tony Perez hits a two-run single to win it.
Dock Ellis wins his 13th straight as Pittsburgh whips the Padres, 9 – 2.
Roberto Clemente, just a double shy of the cycle, scores the tying run, drives in the go-ahead run and keeps his team ahead with a crucial 9th-inning outfield assist, leading the Piratesto a 4 – 3 win over Cincinnati in a preview of the National League Championship Series. Clemente’s 150th career triple leads to the tying run in the 6th and his 400-foot first-pitch bomb over the right-centerfield fence off rookie Wayne Simpson unties it in the 8th. To keep it untied, Clemente puts down his bat and lets his arm do the talking as he guns down Tommy Helms at the plate in the 9th to seal the victory.
With the score tied at 5 – 5 and the bases loaded in the 10th inning, and no outs, Brewers manager Dave Bristol inaugurates the “Bristol Shift,” bringing OF Tommy Harper in between SS and 3B. Unperturbed, George Scott hits a sacrifice fly to win the game. Earlier in his career, as manager of the Reds, Bristol used a similar shift, called the Bristol Barricade, against Willie McCovey.
Gold Glove pitcher Jim Kaat commits three errors but still beats the Twins, 8 – 5.
Sal Bando is 5 for 5 and drives in the first four runs in the A’s 8 – 2 win over Seattle. Don Mincher drives in both runs off Catfish Hunter.
During a 6 – 2 defeat, concluding a dismal 2-and-4 road trip for the Pirates, the rarely disappointing Roberto Clemente does what he does so well – break the other team’s heart in their own house and have their fans thank him for it. As Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press reports: “Clemente robbed Joe Torre with a lunging catch of his pop fly in the 3rd inning with two on and the hometown Atlanta fans applauded him en route to the bench. They even applauded him when he went to bat in the 4th inning.”
At Forbes Field, Pittsburgh regains the National League lead by beating San Francisco twice, 7 – 4 and 7 – 1. In each game, the Giants take an early 1 – 0 lead. In the opener, that dream dies quickly: 1st-inning singles by Matty Alou, Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell, plus a sacrifice fly from Jose Pagan, transfer the one-run margin from West to East and the Bucs never look back. In the nightcap, however, Pittsburgh’s narrow deficit persists until a 4th-inning RBI triple off the right-field wall from Clemente, who then proceeds to untie the game — in the words of Giants beat writer Bob Stevens — “with an audacious piece of baserunning against a Giant defense that had the infield pulled in” (its particulars roughly presaging those of Eric Hosmer’s pivotal 2015 World Series Game Five dash). Stevens continues: “Pagan grounded to Jim Ray Hart at third. Jim Ray feinted Roberto back toward the base, then let loose with the cross-diamond throw. In the meantime, Clemente streaked home, scoring standing up as Willie McCovey’s frantic throw to catcher Tom Haller crashed against the stands.” Pittsburgh’s first bit of breathing room is provided the following inning by future New York Yankees GM Gene Michael (in for injured starting SS Gene Alley), who gets an RBI double in his first major league at-bat.
The Cubs clip the Cardinals, 7 – 2, behind the pitching of Ken Holtzman and the slugging of Billy Williams, who hits for the cycle.
Los Angeles returns to first place, as Claude Osteen beats the Cubs, 7 – 2.
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