As noted previously, however, a 10-team schedule is problematic even before one deals with the fact that there are only two teams in the NL on the West Coast. The result: a series of long road trips, particularly for the two West Coast teams, with the Dodgers getting the worst of it.
40,000+ fans in San Francisco saw the Dodgers jump all over Billy O'Dell (four hits and two runs) in the first inning--not an encouraging sign for the Giants, who came into the game trailing by 5 1/2 games and needing to "make a statement."
SF got the runs back quickly, though, thanks to Willie Mays' 35th homer in the first and an unearned run in the second set up by a wild throw by Dodgers' third baseman Daryl Spencer.
O'Dell just as quickly turned things around, mowing down the Dodgers over the next five innings; Johnny Podres matched him through five, but the sixth inning proved to be his complete undoing. The Giants sent ten men to the plate in that inning, scoring six of them (two on a single by O'Dell himself) as they drove Podres to the showers and slapped around Ed Roebuck to boot. Phil Ortega was roughed up for three more runs in the seventh, making the rout complete. Tom Haller drove in four runs, and the Giants' 7-8-9 hitters combined for eight RBI. O'Dell wound up with a nifty five hitter, and the Giants had indeed "made a statement." Final score: Giants 11, Dodgers 2.
SEASONAL RECORDS: LAD 79-38, SFG 74-42
