60 YEARS AGO/117: A LONE RBI FOR WILLIE'S LOOKALIKE

"It's...WILLIE!" (Not in a Kintetsu uniform, folks!) 

Carl Boles replaced Manny Mota on the Giants roster on August 2. The 27-year-old rookie bore a striking resemblance to Willie Mays, which led to a series of amusing misidentifications once he was part of the team. (We'll relate several of those stories as they occur during the final seven weeks of the 1962 season.)

August 18, 1962 was a very special day for Boles, however. For one thing, it was one of four games in his brief major league career where his name appeared in the starting lineup. More precious than that, however, was the fact that Carl's RBI single in the fourth inning was the only one of his career.

It should have been two RBIs as the Giants rallied from a 2-0 deficit, but Felipe Alou stumbled coming around third base and Lee Maye's throw beat him to home plate. Carl took second base on the throw, however, and then made it to third when Tom Haller slapped a one-hopper to first. He then scored when Jose Pagan sliced a triple just over Hank Aaron's glove in right, putting the Giants in front, 3-2, and knocking the Milwaukee Braves' starter, lefty Bob Hendley, from the game.

Sanford had to be relieved in the bottom of the sixth, but the Giants never relinquished the lead, so Jack picked up another "cheap win" (as they are defined at Forman et fils) when the Braves' ninth-inning rally against Bobby Bolin fizzled. Final score: Giants 6, Braves 4.

IN Cincinnati, more joy from the return of prodigal son Joe Nuxhall burst forth for the Reds: the lanky lefty, who'd been dealt away after an abysmal year in 1960, returned to the team he'd first pitched for as a 15-year-old in 1944 on July 22, and continued his skein of brilliant pitching, striking out 11 Dodgers and limiting them to just four hits. (After this game, Nuxhall's ERA since returning to the Reds dropped to 0.88.)

Phil Ortega was roughed up in relief for the Dodgers, continuing his "year of suffering" as LA's mopup man (3 IP, 6 R, 5 BB). The Reds had already scored twice in the first and three times in the third, but Ortega's sixth inning (four hits, three walks) was one he and the Dodgers certainly wanted to forget. Final score: Reds 12, Dodgers 1.

SEASON RECORDS: LAD 81-43, SFG 78-45, CIN 75-48