For the first time in five Great Teams of the Past seasons, a player hit three home runs in a game. It wasn’t who you’d expect, considering the number of sluggers from the 1960s playing in season 5. Tom Haller of the 1962 San Francisco Giants recorded the feat as the Giants managed a series split with the 1969 Minnesota Twins.
The Twins are still tied for first place because the 1961 New York Yankees lost again and could only earn a split with the 1969 New York Mets. Plus, the 1967 St. Louis Cardinals finished off a sweep of the 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers, giving them six wins in a row and moving them into a tie for first place at 8-4.
The other series between the 1967 Boston Red Sox and 1961 Detroit Tigers also ended in a split as the Red Sox won the finale.
San Francisco 8, Minnesota 2
The Giants (5-7) hit four home runs, three by Tom Haller. Haller had a two-run shot in the fifth inning to get the scoring started, then had solo shots in the seventh and eighth innings. The homer in the eighth followed a three-run blast by Jim Davenport. The Twins (8-4) only managed a two-run single by Johnny Roseboro. Billy O’Dell pitched a complete-game win. Haller now has six home runs on the season.
1962 SAN FRANCISCO G AB R H BI 1969 MINNESOTA TWINS AB R H BI
Harvey Kuenn 5 0 1 0 Ted Uhlaender 4 0 0 0
Chuck Hiller 5 0 0 0 Rod Carew 4 0 0 0
Willie Mays 3 1 0 0 Tony Oliva 2 0 0 0
Orlando Cepeda 5 1 2 0 Harmon Killebrew 4 0 0 0
Felipe Alou 5 0 0 0 Rich Reese 3 0 2 0
Jim Davenport 3 2 1 3 Leo Cardenas 4 1 1 0
Tom Haller 4 3 3 4 Cesar Tovar 4 1 1 0
Jose Pagan 3 1 2 0 Johnny Roseboro 3 0 1 2
Billy ODell YZ 3 0 1 1 Jim Perry YZ 3 0 0 0
TOTALS 36 8 10 8 TOTALS 31 2 5 2
1962 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 000 020 240 -- 8
1969 MINNESOTA TWINS 000 020 000 -- 2
LOB--1962 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS 6, 1969 MINNESOTA TWINS 5.
2B--Harvey Kuenn, Rich Reese, Cesar Tovar. HR--Tom Haller
(3), Jim Davenport. SACB--Billy ODell YZ. SB--Orlando
Cepeda, Jose Pagan (2).
1962 SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Billy ODell YZ [W] 9.00 5 2 2 3 6 0
1969 MINNESOTA TWINS
Jim Perry YZ [L] 7.67 9 8 8 3 4 4
Dick Woodson Y 1.33 1 0 0 1 1 0
Boston 7, Detroit 5
The Tigers (4-8) led 2-0 on Dick Brown’s two-run homer in the fourth inning (his sixth of the season), and 5-2 after five innings thanks to a bases-loaded walk to Rocky Colavito and a two-run single by Norm Cash. The first two Red Sox runs came in the fifth inning on a triple by Mike Ryan, an RBI single by Mike Andrews and a solo homer by Joe Foy. Then, the Red Sox (6-6) pulled off a late-inning comeback win. Rico Petrocelli had a two-run single in the top of the eighth to pull Boston within one run at 5-4. In the top of the ninth, Petrocelli hit a two-out, three-run homer to put the Red Sox ahead.
1967 BOSTON RED SOX AB R H BI 1961 DETROIT TIGERS AB R H BI
Mike Andrews 3 0 1 1 Jake Wood 3 1 2 0
Joe Foy 4 1 3 1 Bill Bruton 5 1 1 0
Carl Yastrzemski 5 0 0 0 Al Kaline 4 1 0 0
George Scott 5 2 1 0 Rocky Colavito 2 0 0 1
Tony Conigliaro 4 0 1 0 Norm Cash 3 0 1 2
Reggie Smith 3 2 2 0 Steve Boros 4 1 0 0
Rico Petrocelli 4 1 2 5 Dick Brown 4 1 1 2
Mike Ryan 5 1 1 0 Chico Fernandez 4 0 1 0
Darrell Brandon 2 0 0 0 Paul Foytack Y 3 0 0 0
Jerry Adair 1 0 1 0 Vic Wertz 0 0 0 0
Ken Harrelson 0 0 0 0
TOTALS 36 7 12 7 TOTALS 32 5 6 5
1967 BOSTON RED SOX 000 020 023 -- 7
1961 DETROIT TIGERS 000 230 000 -- 5
LOB--1967 BOSTON RED SOX 10, 1961 DETROIT TIGERS 7.
ERR--Jake Wood (2). 3B--Mike Ryan. HR--Joe Foy, Rico
Petrocelli, Dick Brown. SB--Reggie Smith.
1967 BOSTON RED SOX IP H R ER BB SO HR
Darrell Brandon 6.00 6 5 5 6 2 1
Jose Santiago Y 1.00 0 0 0 0 1 0
Dan Osinski Z [W] 1.00 0 0 0 0 0 0
John Wyatt Y [S] 1.00 0 0 0 1 2 0
1961 DETROIT TIGERS
Paul Foytack Y 7.00 8 2 2 5 4 1
Hank Aguirre YW 1.00 3 2 2 2 0 0
Terry Fox YZ [L] 1.00 1 3 0 1 1 1
New York Mets 6, New York Yankees 2
The Mets went up 1-0 in the first on an RBI single by Ed Kranepool. It was 3-0 after the fourth as Jerry Grote provided a two-run single. Mets starter Jerry Koosman only made two bad pitches in the game, as he gave up back-to-back solo homers to Elston Howard and Clete Boyer in the fifth as the Yankees (8-4) made it 3-2. But, the Mets (4-8) came right back with three runs in the top of the sixth as Grote drove in another two runs with a double, and an error helped plate the sixth run.
1969 NY METS AB R H BI 1961 NY YANKEES AB R H BI
Tommie Agee 5 1 2 0 Bobby Richardson 4 0 0 0
Ken Boswell 5 0 0 0 Tony Kubek 4 0 0 0
Cleon Jones 5 0 0 0 Roger Maris 4 0 0 0
Ed Kranepool 5 0 1 1 Mickey Mantle 4 0 1 0
Art Shamsky 3 2 2 0 Yogi Berra 4 0 0 0
Wayne Garrett 5 2 2 0 Bill Skowron 3 0 0 0
Jerry Grote 4 1 2 4 Elston Howard 3 1 1 1
Bud Harrelson 4 0 2 0 Clete Boyer 2 1 2 1
Jerry Koosman XZ 2 0 0 1 Ralph Terry Z 2 0 0 0
Billy Gardner 1 0 0 0
TOTALS 38 6 11 6 TOTALS 31 2 4 2
1969 NY METS 100 203 000 -- 6
1961 NY YANKEES 000 020 000 -- 2
LOB--1969 NY METS 9, 1961 NY YANKEES 3. ERR--Ralph Terry Z.
2B--Jerry Grote, Tommie Agee, Bud Harrelson, Art Shamsky,
Wayne Garrett, Clete Boyer. HR--Elston Howard, Clete Boyer.
SACB--Jerry Koosman XZ.
1969 NY METS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Jerry Koosman XZ [W] 8.00 4 2 2 1 10 2
Tug McGraw X 1.00 0 0 0 0 1 0
1961 NY YANKEES
Ralph Terry Z [L] 7.00 10 6 6 1 2 0
Tex Clevenger W 1.00 1 0 0 1 1 0
Jim Coates Y 1.00 0 0 0 1 0 0
St. Louis 5, Los Angeles 4
The Dodgers (5-7) scored early and late, but the Cardinals (8-4) put up just enough runs in the middle innings to pull off the sweep. Willie Davis had an RBI single in the first and Maury Wills drove in a run on a groundout to put Los Angeles up 2-0 after two innings. St. Louis took the lead after a three-run fourth inning that included an RBI double from Steve Carlton and a two-run homer by Lou Brock. Brock had an RBI double and Curt Flood followed with an RBI single to make it 5-2 in the sixth inning. The Dodgers scored once in the eighth on Frank Howard’s RBI triple, then put runners on second and third with no one out in the ninth. One run scored on another Wills groundout, but two popups ended the game with the tying run on third base.
1962 LOS ANGELES DOD AB R H BI 1967 ST. LOUIS CARDI AB R H BI
Maury Wills 5 1 1 2 Lou Brock 5 2 3 3
Jim Gilliam 4 0 0 0 Curt Flood 4 0 2 1
Willie Davis 4 0 1 1 Roger Maris 4 0 1 0
Tommy Davis 4 0 1 0 Orlando Cepeda 4 0 0 0
Ron Fairly 4 1 1 0 Tim McCarver 4 0 1 0
Frank Howard 4 0 1 1 Mike Shannon 3 0 1 0
Johnny Roseboro 4 1 1 0 Julian Javier 4 0 0 0
Daryl Spencer 4 1 1 0 Dal Maxvill 3 2 2 0
Sandy Koufax K 2 0 1 0 Steve Carlton X 2 1 1 1
Duke Snider 1 0 1 0 Phil Gagliano 1 0 1 0
TOTALS 36 4 9 4 TOTALS 34 5 12 5
1962 LOS ANGELES DODGERS 110 000 011 -- 4
1967 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS 000 302 00x -- 5
LOB--1962 LOS ANGELES DODGERS 8, 1967 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
10. ERR--Tim McCarver. 2B--Duke Snider, Steve Carlton X, Lou
Brock. 3B--Frank Howard. HR--Lou Brock. SACB--Sandy Koufax
K, Steve Carlton X. SB--Johnny Roseboro, Maury Wills, Tommy
Davis, Lou Brock.
1962 LOS ANGELES DODGERS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Sandy Koufax K [L] 7.00 10 5 5 4 1 1
Ron Perranoski YZ 1.00 2 0 0 0 1 0
1967 ST. LOUIS CARDINALS
Steve Carlton X [W] 8.00 7 3 3 2 5 0
Nelson Briles YZ [S] 1.00 2 1 1 0 0 0
ROGER SPORTS & GAMES 