60 YEARS AGO/17: OBSCURE & FORGOTTEN MOUND OPPONENTS...

Saturday, April 28 was another dual-win day for the Giants and Dodgers--a day that featured two obscure starting pitchers for the opposition. At Candlestick Park, the Cubs started Al Lary, the older brother of famed "Yankee Killer" Frank Lary (who was coming off a 23-9 season as the ace of the Detroit Tigers).

Al Lary had toiled in the Cubs' system for nearly a decade at this point, and had become a perennial AAA pitcher. His perseverance finally paid off at the age of 33 when the Cubs kept him as one of the three extra roster slots in '62. After a poor showing in relief vs. the fledgling Colt .45s (later the Astros), Lary was given a start on this day--but it did not go well.

Willie Mays, batting in the #2 slot (post-modern batting order theory alert...), hit a grand slam against Lary to cap a six-run second inning. That was more than enough for Juan Marichal, but the Giants cuffed around two more relievers quickly lost in the mists of time (Dave Gerard, Jack Warner) and built an 11-0 lead after five. Marichal lost his shutout in the eighth when he surrendered a homer to Billy Williams, but escaped further damage. The Giants' primary batting star that day: Jim Davenport (3-for-3, with three runs scored).

Lary would be sent down shortly after this game, but he'd return in July, getting two more starts. He wound up with a 103-100 record at AAA, but this was his only decision in the majors. Final score: Giants 11, Cubs 2.

AT Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax and the Pirates' Earl Francis hooked up in their second faceoff. Francis, a highly prized right-hander, had beaten Koufax at the Coliseum the year before when Sandy lost a 2-0 lead in the eighth inning. Today's game would be similarly tight, with the decisive action again occurring late in the game.

Koufax helped Francis out in the third when, after singling and moving to second on another single by Maury Wills, he was picked off second, defusing a potential rally. The Pirates picked up a run in the fifth when catcher Don Leppert guided a grounder past Wills, allowing Donn Clendenon to score.

Francis' control had always been spotty, and he walked eight in this game, but half of those walks were intentional, as he continually found ways to pitch out of jams. And the Pirates didn't help him much, either: the first run the Dodgers managed to score came as a result of an errant throw by third baseman Johnny Logan--a throw so wild that it allowed Johnny Roseboro to score all the way from second base. The game remained tied 1-1 into the ninth, when Tommy Davis, 0-for-4 on the day to that point, singled home Wally Moon for a walk-off win. Final score: Dodgers 2, Pirates 1.

Francis had a promising year in '62, going 9-8 with a 3.07 ERA, but arm problems would soon scuttle his career. He's one more "might have been" in the vast pantheon of such players in baseball history. 

SEASON RECORDS: STL 10-3, PIT 11-4, SFG 12-5, LAD 12-6, MIL 8-9, HOU 6-8, PHI 6-8, CIN 7-10, CHC 4-13, NYM 2-12