60 YEARS AGO/145: GIANTS REGROUP...DODGERS TREAD WATER BEFORE THE FLOOD

On 9/18/62, the Dodgers' Johnny Podres was (temporarily) let off the hook when Tommy Davis hit a two-run homer off the Milwaukee Braves' lefty Denny Lemaster in the sixth inning to tie the game at 4-4. 

He then proceeded to walk Frank Bolling, the first batter he faced in the bottom of the sixth. And was summarily removed from the game by Walt Alston.

It was an escalating pattern of quick hooks by the Dodger manager, who had become increasingly reliant on three mainstays in his bullpen (Ed Roebuck, Ron Perranoski, Larry Sherry) to ride shotgun on the erratic starters behind Don Drysdale in the LA rotation.

On this night, the quick hook caused the Dodgers to walk the plank. Roebuck quickly poured gasoline on the modest threat he inherited. After striking out Joe Torre, he allowed a triple to future Dodger Lou Johnson (then at the bottom end of the Braves' depth chart in the outfield), walked pinch-hitter Lee Maye, and surrendered a second run when Doug Camilli decided to make a throw to second when Maye ran on a 3-2 pitch to Roy McMillan. McMillan struck out, but Camilli's throw sailed into center field, and Johnson trotted home from third to make it 6-4 Braves.

Ron Perranoski replaced Roebuck in the seventh and gave up another run, escaping further damage when Johnson lined into an inning-ending double play. Minor league scrum Jack Smith completed the Dodgers' shabby relief work in the eighth by allowing three more runs, including a two-run double to the "lesser Aaron," Hank's brother Tommie, who had a career night (3-for-4, 3 RBI). Hank had hit his 40th homer earlier in the game off Podres, who was saddled with the loss thanks to that ill-timed walk to Bolling. Final score: Braves 10, Dodgers 5.

On the next night (9/19), Don Drysdale won his 25th game by shutting out the Braves on five hits, striking out nine. Frank Howard hit his 30th home run; Tommy Davis drove in two more runs, bringing his season total to 143. (He would hit .462 from this point to the end of the 162-game season, but the rest of the Dodger hitters would decay around him and LA would lose five games by a margin of 1-2 runs down the stretch to wind up in a tie and be forced into that fateful playoff series.) Final score: Dodgers 4, Braves 0.

AFTER a day off for travel, Willie Mays was feeling much better when the Giants took the field in St. Louis. He and Tom Haller revived the SF long-ball attack, knocking out Larry Jackson in the third inning with a five runs, fueled mostly by Mays' three-run shot, his 45th of the year. Haller went Mays one better on this night, homering off Jackson in consecutive innings. Billy O'Dell (18-13) survived a rocky first inning (four runs, two on a homer by Ken Boyer) to go the distance, scattering ten hits. The turnaround win was, of course, crucial to the Giants' survival in the pennant race. Final score: Giants 7, Cardinals 4.

SEASON RECORDS: LAD 99-54, SFG 95-57