In a must-win Game 5, the Los Angeles Dodgers turned to ace Sandy Koufax. Dick Stuart and the Pittsburgh Pirates had other plans. Koufax got two quick outs in the 1st before Bob Skinner singled. Then, Dick Stuart hit a 2-run home run that barely cleared the wall to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. The Dodgers responded with 3 hits in the bottom of the inning, with Tommy Davis hitting an RBI single. A throwing error by Johnny Roseboro on a steal attempt, and another bobble by Jim Gilliam led to two unearned Pirate runs in the 2nd. Just two innings later, the Pirates put any hopes of a Dodger comeback away. Pittsburgh led off with three straight singles to load the bases, but Koufax struck out Dick Groat, giving the Dodgers hope. Skinner followed with a 2-run single. That brought up Stuart again, and the slugger took the 1st pitch nearly 500 feet for a 3-run homer and a 9-1 lead. Tommy Davis and Hal Smith traded homers before Wally Moon hit a 2-run double in the 5th to cut the Pirate lead to 10-4. After an early exit for Koufax, Stuart came up again with one on and one out and crushed his 3rd homer of the game. He’d finish 3 for 5 with 3 homers and 7 RBI. Once again, the Dodger offense was spotty. Bob Friend held them to 4 runs on 7 hits in a complete game win. The Dodgers went down 1-2-3 in 6 of 9 innings. The sole bright spot for Dodgers pitching was the 15 combined strikeouts. Koufax allowed 8 runs on 12 hits in 5 innings, but struck out 9. Now the Pirates move on to face the 1962 San Francisco Giants, while the Dodgers wonder what-if?

’60 Pirates @ ’63 Dodgers – 9/28/25

For three innings, it looked like the Los Angeles Dodgers would go down quietly in their elimination game against the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates. With one swing, Wally Moon gave them hope. LA starter Bob Miller allowed back-to-back singles in the 3rd inning to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, Vinegar Bend Mizell retired the 1st nine batters he faced. Maury Wills led off the 4th with a triple. After Jim Gilliam walked, Moon took his shot, hitting a 3-run home run. It’s only the 5th home run the Dodgers have hit in the Tournament. Wills hit another triple in the 5th, driving in another run to give LA a 4-1 lead. An RBI double by Bill Mazeroski in the 7th cut the lead to 4-2, but LA got the run right back in the 8th when Moon doubled and scored on a base-hit by Tommy Davis. Dick Stuart made things interesting in the 8th when he hit a 2-run shot to make it a one-run game, but Ron Perranoski came in early and shut the door on any comeback hopes, picking up his 4th save. With the 5-4 win, the Dodgers have new life, and will have Sandy Koufax taking the mound in Game 5, with everything on the line.

’63 Dodgers @ ’60 Pirates – 9/26/25

The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates built an early lead and held off a late Dodgers comeback to top LA 5-3 and take a 2-1 series lead. Roberto Clemente stayed hot, hitting a solo home run in the 2nd off Johnny Podres to give Pittsburgh an early lead. Clemente drove in another run in the 5th with an RBI single. Two batters later, Don Hoak took Podres deep to give the Pirates a 4-0 lead. The Dodgers’ offense finally woke up against Harvey Haddix in the 6th. Wally Moon and Tommy Davis hit back-to-back triples, and Frank Howard followed with a single to cut Pittsburgh’s lead in half. An RBI single by Maury Wills in the 7th made it a one-run game. Hal Smith hit a solo shot in the bottom of the inning to give the Pirates an insurance run. Clem Labine and Roy Face retired the final 6 LA batters to close the door on any comeback, putting LA one loss away from elimination. Hoak and Clemente both finished 2 for 3 with 2 RBI.

’63 Dodgers @ ’60 Pirates – 9/25/25

With elimination on the line, Baltimore skipped ace Dave McNally (0-3, 6.21 ERA) and turned to Jim Palmer. Palmer delivered, taking a one-hit shutout into the 9th. Chicago White Sox hurler Joe Horlen kept pace, keeping the Orioles scoreless into the 8th. That’s when Don Buford led off with a double, his 4th hit of the game. Paul Blair followed with another double to drive in the game’s 1st run. Frank Robinson came next with his Tournament-leading 7th homer to put Baltimore up 3-0. Palmer retired Tommy McCraw to lead off the 9th. Don Buford singled for Chicago’s 2nd hit of the game. Floyd Robinson popped out, but Pete Ward kept the game alive with a single. Then Palmer, visibly flustered, gave up a bases-clearing double to Moose Skowron, leading to his exit. Eddie Watt got Gene Stephens to ground out to end the game, giving Baltimore a 3-2 win. Palmer is now 3-0 with a 1.73 ERA. Baltimore will need to win the next two games to give him another chance to start.

’69 Orioles @ ’64 White Sox – 9/25/25

Frank Robinson gave the 1969 Baltimore Orioles early hope, but Gene Stephens powered the White Sox to a 6-3 win, putting the Orioles one game away from elimination in the Best of the 1960s Tournament. Don Buford led off with a double off Juan Pizarro in the 1st inning, and Robinson followed two batters later with a 2-run home run. In the 3rd inning, facing Tom Phoebus, Moose Skowron singled with 2 outs, and Stephens followed with a 3-run homer, his 1st of the Tournament. In the 7th, a Boog Powell error eventually led to two more runs for the Sox, capped by an RBI single by Stephens. After Paul Blair hit a solo shot in the bottom of the 8th, Stephens added a sacrifice fly in the top of the 9th to give Chicago a 6-3 lead. Hoyt Wilhelm picked up his 3rd save with a scoreless 9th. After dropping two home games in Baltimore, the Orioles have a rough road, needing to win 3 straight, including two in Chicago. Pizarro is now 3-1 with a 3.06 ERA in the Tournament. Stephens finished 2 for 4 with 5 RBI.

’64 White Sox @ ’69 Orioles – 9/23/25

Bob Friend overcame a rough start, and the Pirates came through against Los Angeles starter Don Drysdale, twice with two-out rallies, as Pittsburgh evened the series with a 4-2 win. Jim Gilliam and Wally Moon had back-to-back singles in the 1st, but Friend struck out Tommy Davis and Frank Howard to strand Gilliam on 3rd. Friend allowed four more hits over the next 3 innings, but LA couldn’t capitalize. Dick Stuart hit a solo home run off Drysdale to score 1st in the 4th inning. Bill Mazeroski and Bill Virdon singled with 2 outs in the 5th to plate another run. While Friend retired 15 straight to get to the 9th, Drysdale allowed 7 more hits over the next 3 innings as the Pirates, once again, had multiple hits with 2 outs, scoring another run in the 8th to make it 3-0. A sacrifice fly in the 9th off reliever Pete Richert gave Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead. An error by Don Hoak with one out and one on in the 9th nearly derailed things. Ken McMullen hit an RBI single to ruin the shutout, and Johnny Roseboro followed with a sac fly, but Willie Davis grounded out back to Friend to end the game. The series will now head to Pittsburgh. Friend improved to 3-2, allowing 2 runs on 8 hits and striking out 8.

’60 Pirates @ ’63 Dodgers – 9/23/25

Vern Law held the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers to just one hit through 7 innings, but it was in the 8th that LA bats did just enough to steal a 2-1 win in Game 1 of the Elimination Series with the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates had a hit in each of the 1st three innings against Sandy Koufax. In the 4th, Hal Smith took Koufax deep to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead. Wally Moon gave the Dodgers their 1st baserunner with a single in the bottom of the inning, but that was the only baserunner for LA until the 8th. Frank Howard and Ron Fairly had back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, but Law was able to get Ken McMillan to ground into a double-play. Johnny Roseboro came through with a big base-hit to tie the game. Willie Davis and Maury Wills followed with two more singles to give the Dodgers the lead. Koufax allowed two singles in the 9th, but got Roberto Clemente and Smith to pop out to end the game. Koufax improved to 3-1 in the Tournament, allowing a run on 7 hits and striking out 10.

’60 Pirates @ ’63 Dodgers – 9/22/25

Baltimore’s Mike Cuellar held the 1964 Chicago White Sox to 5 hits, striking out 8 in a complete game. Unfortunately for the Orioles, that was enough for the Sox, who held on to win the 1st game of the Elimination Series 5-4. An RBI double in the 3rd by Jerry McNertney was the 1st run for the White Sox. The next inning, Pete Ward hit a 2-run home run after Floyd Robinson walked earlier in the inning. Chicago starter Gary Peters loaded the bases with no outs in the 5th, and walked in a run before a 2-run single by Frank Robinson tied the game. Floyd Robinson responded in the 6th with a 2-run homer. A solo shot by Frank Robinson got Baltimore within a run, but Hoyt Wilhelm held them scoreless in the 9th. It was the 4th straight win for Chicago. Frank Robinson finished 3 for 4 with 3 RBI.

’64 White Sox @ ’69 Orioles – 9/22/25

Even without Mickey Mantle, the New York Yankees offense unloaded on the 1969 Baltimore Orioles, topping them 7-2 to advance in the Winner’s Bracket of the Best of the 1960s Tournament. Mantle was injured colliding with the wall in the last game between the teams. Roger Maris entered the game in a slump, but that quickly changed as he connected for a solo home run off Dave McNally in the 1st inning. Boog Powell evened things up with a solo homer of his own off Ralph Terry in the 3rd. Things got interesting in the bottom of the inning. Tony Kubek hit one into the corner that bounced away from Frank Robinson. Kubek was called safe on a very close play at the plate for an inside-the-park homer. Maris followed that with another solo shot to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead. McNally loaded the bases in the 4th, but a couple of strikeouts and a popout got him out of it. He wasn’t so lucky the next inning when Yogi Berra hit a 3-run homer to put New York up 6-1. Terry allowed just 5 hits heading into the 9th before tiring. After 3 Baltimore base hits, Bud Daley was brought in to get the final out, sealing a 7-2 win for New York. Baltimore will face off against the 1964 Chicago White Sox in an Elimination Series tomorrow. Maris finished 3 for 4 with a walk.

’69 Orioles @ ’61 Yankees – 9/21/25

With Sandy Koufax waiting in the wings for a potential Game 5, the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers turned to Bob Miller for their Game 4 starter against the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis took advantage of Miller’s nerves to jump out to an early lead when Roger Maris doubled in the 1st and Orlando Cepeda singled him home. But Miller allowed just 4 hits the rest of the way. LA struck back in the 3rd against Ray Washburn when Maury Wills tripled in Willie Davis and scored on Jim Gilliam’s single. Washburn would balk later in the inning to allow another run. A sacrifice fly in the 6th extended the Dodger lead to 4-1. Lou Brock tripled with 2 outs in the 7th, and scored when Tommy Davis misplayed a flyball, but Davis made up for it with a key RBI single to get the run back in the bottom of the inning. Things did get interesting in the 9th when Ron Perranoski walked Dick Schofield with 2 outs. Brock doubled, and Curt Flood singled to put runners on the corners with Maris up in a 5-3 game. But Maris popped out to end the game, sending the #1 seed Cardinals home with an embarrassing 2-6 record. Miller picked up the win, allowing just one earned run on 6 hits in 8 innings. The Dodgers face the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates in the next Elimination series.

’68 Cardinals @ ’63 Dodgers – 9/19/25