Baseball is often a game of turnarounds, but such events don't usually cluster in the fashion that occurred in the July 5-8, 1962 series between the Giants and Dodgers. Then again, we've seen that the Dodgers had an unusual penchant for lopsided losses--fifteen in all during the '62 season.
July 6 proved to be another one of those. After taking a 2-0 lead against Juan Marichal, LA gave it back in the third when Stan Williams faltered: nine Giants batted in the inning as SF scored four times. After Frank Howard's first-pitch homer in the top of the fourth made it 4-3 Giants, Walt Alston batted for Williams and put Ed Roebuck on the mound, hoping for a more stable performance in a close game.
That lasted for one inning before Roebuck and the Dodgers went kablooey in the fifth and the sixth as the Giants scored eight unanswered runs. The emblematic play in this meltdown scenario came in the fifth when Al Dark surprised the Dodgers with a double steal attempt led by Willie McCovey (!)...which coincided with a wild pitch from Roebuck that allowed McCovey to score. More hits by the Giants and more errors by the Dodgers occurred in a bewilderingly fast and furious manner, including three RBI off the bat of Marichal (hitting a robust .260 on the season thus far). When Roebuck was finally carried out on his shield, the Giants had a nine-run lead.
Final score: Giants 12, Dodgers 3.
SEASON RECORDS: LAD 57-30, SFG 56-30.
