Bob Gibson took a 4-hit shutout into the 9th, as the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals topped the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 to take Game 1 of the Elimination Bracket series. Johnny Podres pitched well for the Dodgers, but a couple of timely hits in the 1st inning led to a 2-out 2-run double by Mike Shannon that gave the Cardinals an early lead that they would never lose. A passed ball led to another run in the 3rd, and Roger Maris added a solo home run in the 6th. Podres only allowed 6 hits over 8 innings. Gibson took his shutout into the 9th, when Julián Javier rushed and made a poor throw to 1st to lead off the inning. Frank Howard followed with a 2-run homer. Gibson allowed just 6 hits in the complete game. The 1st three of those hits came off the bat of Ron Fairly.

’63 Dodgers @ ’68 Cardinals – 9/15/25

In a pitcher’s duel that was decided by an 8th-inning sacrifice fly, Joe Horlen turned in a performance that was giving everyone deja vu. Six days after shutting out the 1961 New York Yankees on 3 hits, Horlen matched the performance against the 1968 Detroit Tigers. Horlen retired the 1st 9 batters he faced before giving up a single to Dick McAuliffe. He also retired the last 11 batters. Joe Sparma was almost as good. Mike Hershberger walked and stole 2nd in the 8th inning. J.C. Martin grounded out to move him over to 3rd, and Tommy McCraw scored him with a sacrifice fly. It was the only run of the game. Sparma allowed just 4 hits in 8 innings. The Detroit Tigers hope to rebound in Game 2.

’64 White Sox @ ’68 Tigers – 9/15/25

On a day that Willie Mays went 0-5, the rest of the 1962 San Francisco Giants picked up the slack, scoring 9 runs against the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates to take Game 1 of the Winner’s Bracket series. After Dick Stuart and Willie McCovey traded solo home runs early, the Giants broke out against Bob Friend, taking advantage of Dick Groat’s error in the 5th inning to score 4 runs, thanks to a 2-run single by Orlando Cepeda and a 2-run double by Felipe Alou. Fred Green came in with two men on and walked the 1st two batters he faced in the 8th. McCovey added a 2-run single to put the Giants up 9-2. Jack Sanford scattered 9 hits in his complete game win, retiring the last 12 batters he faced. McCovey’s home run was his 5th of the Tournament, putting him in the lead. He finished the game 4 for 5. The Giants have now won 4 straight.

’60 Pirates @ ’62 Giants – 9/15/25

Whitey Ford issued a leadoff walk to Don Buford. After striking out Paul Blair, Frank Robinson set the tone with a 2-run home run. It was his 4th homer of the Tournament. Ford allowed a solo shot to Merv Rettenmund in the 2nd, and another to Blair in the 3rd. The Yankees loaded the bases with no outs against Tom Phoebus, but Moose Skowron grounded into a double play, and Clete Boyer was thrown out trying to score on a double to limit the damage to two runs. A Skowron sacrifice fly got New York to within a run, but that’s as close as they would get. Phoebus allowed 3 runs on 8 hits in 8 1/3 innings and earned the win as Baltimore took Game 1 of the series 5-3.

’69 Orioles @ ’61 Yankees – 9/15/25

The 1962 San Francisco Giants put an exclamation point on the deciding Game 5 of their series with the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting 5 home runs and winning 10-2 to advance in the Best of the 1960s Tournament. LA’s starter, Don Drysdale, never looked comfortable on the mound. He allowed a couple of hits in the 1st, but escaped without allowing a run. He allowed back-to-back 2-out singles in the 2nd to give the Giants a 1-0 lead. Willie McCovey connected with his 4th home run of the series in the next inning to make it 2-0. Tom Haller hit a leadoff homer in the 4th, and Kuenn added an RBI single later to run the lead to 4-0. But it was in the 5th that the Giants broke out. Orlando Cepeda led off the inning with a solo shot, and two batters later, Jim Davenport added another. Haller drew a walk, and José Pagán followed with a long home run to give the Giants an 8-0 lead. All told, Drysdale gave up 8 runs on 15 hits, including 5 home runs. Meanwhile, Billy O’Dell allowed just 2 runs on 8 hits to pick up the win. Pagán finished 3 for 4, and has the highest batting average on the team at .389. The Giants will face the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates next, while LA will face the top-seeded 1968 Cardinals in the Elimination Bracket.

’63 Dodgers @ ’62 Giants – 9/14/25

The 1969 Baltimore Orioles blew a 4-1 lead in the 8th, but Dave May walked it off with a 2-out home run in the 10th to take Game 5 and advance in the Best of the 1960s Winner’s Bracket. After Frank Robinson and Bill Freehan traded solo homers early, May hit a 2-run single to put Baltimore on top. Merv Rettenmund added an RBI double in the 7th to give the Orioles their 4-1 lead. Jim Northrup and Willie Horton led off the 8th with singles, ending Mike Cuellar’s day. Reliever Pete Richert promptly served up a game-tying homer to Freehan, his 2nd homer of the day. The game headed to extra innings, where Pat Dobson retired 5 straight batters until May stepped up. May took the 1st pitch deep to win it for Baltimore 5-4. Freehan drove in all 4 runs for Detroit. Brooks Robinson was injured in the 1st inning when he collided with the wall catching a foul ball.

’68 Tigers @ ’69 Orioles – 9/14/25

The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates continued their hot play, topping the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals 8-1 to advance in the National League winner’s bracket. Lou Brock led off the game with a double, and Vinegar Bend Mizell walked Julián Javier and Curt Flood, but a sacrifice fly and two groundouts limited the damage to just one run. It would be the only run the Cardinals would manage, as Mizell allowed just 4 more hits in his complete-game victory. Ray Washburn exited in the 2nd inning with a calf injury, and Dick Hughes gave up a single and a walk with 2 outs before Bill Virdon launched a grand slam to give the Pirates a 5-1 lead. Pittsburgh would add 3 more runs against St. Louis relief to continue their tournament domination. The Cardinals will have a few days to regroup before trying to make it out of the Elimination Bracket.

’68 Cardinals @ ’60 Pirates – 9/12/25

The 1961 New York Yankees became the 1st team in the Tournament to advance, topping the 1964 Chicago White Sox 4-2 to take the series 3 games to 1. The Yankees got on the board early when Roger Maris tripled with 2 outs in the 1st inning. Mickey Mantle followed with a 440′ home run off Juan Pizarro over the centerfield wall. Mantle singled off Pizarro in the 6th. It was the first of 4 straight hits that led to two more Yankees runs, giving them a 4-0 lead. Rollie Sheldon scattered 5 hits in 6 innings to earn the win in his 1st start of the Tournament. A walk and back-to-back base hits to start off the bottom of the 6th led to 2 runs for the White Sox. J.C. Martin led off the 9th with a double off Yankees closer Luis Arroyo. Arroyo then walked Tommy McCraw before getting three straight groundouts to end the game. With the loss, the White Sox will await their opponent in the Elimination Bracket. Meanwhile, the Yankees will face the winner of the 1969 Baltimore Orioles and the 1968 Detroit Tigers.

’61 Yankees @ ’64 White Sox – 9/12/25

Billy Pierce held the 1963 Los Angeles Dodgers to one run on 4 hits, and Willie McCovey provided just enough offense, overcoming Sandy Koufax and 13 strike outs, as the 1962 San Francisco Giants won it 2-1 to force a Game 5. McCovey led off the 2nd inning with a solo home run to give the Giants a 1-0 lead against Koufax, who was otherwise fooling hitters all day long. The Dodgers offense couldn’t get anything going against Pierce. In the 8th, Johnny Roseboro singled for just the 3rd Los Angeles hit. Dick Tracewski laid down a great bunt to get him to 2nd. After Willie Davis lined out, Jim Gilliam singled to tie the game. Leading off the 9th, it was McCovey, again, who took Koufax deep to put San Francisco back on top 2-1. Stu Miller allowed a single to Ken McMullen, but got Bill Skowron and Roseboro to ground out to end the game. Koufax allowed 7 hits, including the two homers by McCovey, but struck out 8 of the last 15 batters he faced. Reliever Bob Bolin retired the only batter he faced, but earned the win, after Pierce exited after walking Wally Moon with 2 outs in the 8th. Mays and McCovey have combined for 7 homers in the series so far. Game 5 will be played in San Francisco.

’62 Giants @ ’63 Dodgers – 9/12/25

The 1968 Detroit Tigers overcame 4 Baltimore Orioles home runs, winning the game 6-4 on a Norm Cash walk-off homerun in the 9th to even the series at two games a piece. In a back-and-forth game, Denny McLain scattered 10 hits, allowing 4 solo homers while striking out 7 to pick up his 2nd win of the Tournament. Orioles slugger Paul Blair hit two of those homers – one in the 1st, and another in the 8th to tie the game 4-4. Ellie Hendricks and Boog Powell hit the other home runs. Dave McNally carried a 3-2 lead into the 6th, but Bill Freehan hit a 2-run homer to put the Tigers on top. With the score tied in the 9th, Freehan reached on a Brooks Robinson error. Al Kaline struck out, bringing up Cash. Cash took a 2-2 pitch over the fence to send the series back to Baltimore for Game 5.

’69 Orioles @ ’68 Tigers – 9/12/25