60 YEARS AGO/14: TAG, YOU'RE IT

Tuesday, April 24, 1962 saw the Dodgers and Giants briefly slip into a tie for second place (despite the fact that the Dodgers had given up the most runs of any team in the National League thus far). Following their loss in Pittsburgh on this day, the Giants would win sixteen of their next nineteen games while the Dodgers would work hard just to stay in San Francisco's rear-view mirror.

On this day in Pittsburgh, however, Juan Marichal did not have it. Catcher Don Leppert's two-out, two-run homer got the Pirates in front in the bottom of the second, and they would KO Marichal with a five-run fourth, including a key single from Pirates' starter Al McBean. Three of the runs were unearned due to an error by shortstop Jose Pagan, but it was more than enough to seal the Giants' fate, despite another homer from Ed Bailey. Final score: Pirates 7, Giants 3.

The silver lining for San Francisco was that it appeared that Willie Mays was coming out of an early-season funk; it would not be long before Willie would have a ten-game stretch (in which the Giants went 9-1) where he hit six HRs, drove in sixteen, and posted a SLG of 1.081.

Earlier that day in Chicago, Sandy Koufax tied the then-existing single-game strikeout record by fanning 18 Cubs. It was the second time that Sandy had struck out 18 in a game; he'd done it previously on August 31, 1959 against the Giants. Veterans Duke Snider and Wally Moon, whose playing time was about to be seriously curtailed, both had good days in the Wrigley Field sunshine (for these were the days when there were no lights in the ballpark). Tommy Davis drove in four runs in the game: his three-run homer in the fifth broke things wide open. Final score: Dodgers 10, Cubs 2.

SEASON RECORDS: LAD 9-5, SFG 9-5.