The 1962 San Francisco Giants offense was finally held in check, as the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates got their revenge, winning 11-2 to even the series 1-1. Vern Law held the Giants to 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 5 in a complete game victory. Meanwhile, the Pirates unloaded on every pitcher they faced. Rocky Nelson got things started with a solo home run in the 2nd inning. After a sacrifice fly in the 3rd, Pittsburgh scored 3 more runs in the 4th thanks to a pair of walks and 3 base hits. Bill Mazeroski led off the 6th with a solo homer, and Bill Virdon followed with a single, ending Juan Marichal’s night. A few batters later, Dick Stuart took Bobby Bolin deep for a 3-run homer. A pair of RBI singles off Gaylord Perry in the 8th and 9th finished the Giants off. Marichal allowed 7 runs on 10 hits in just 5 innings. Mazeroski finished 5 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. As the series heads to Pittsburgh, the Pirates have some hope against a San Francisco offense that has been relentless in the Tournament.

’60 Pirates @ ’62 Giants – 9/16/25

The 1961 New York Yankees took a 3-2 lead into the 9th, before nearly blowing it. It would take until the 14th inning for them to get it back, topping the 1969 Baltimore Orioles 5-3 to even the series between the teams. Starter Ralph Terry allowed a 2-run home run to Paul Blair, but the Yankees scraped together a run in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings to get on top. In the 6th, they had the bases loaded and no outs, but Dave McNally forced two groundouts and struck out another to limit them to one run. Terry allowed just 4 hits heading into the 9th. Davey Johnson singled. Then, with two outs, Dave May hit a double in the gap. Johnson beat the throw from Roger Maris in a close play at the plate to tie the game. Each team was forced to use multiple relievers in extra innings. In the bottom of the 14th, Johnson bobbled a sharp grounder from Maris. Jim Hardin struck out Mickey Mantle and got Elston Howard to fly out. That’s when Moose Skowron took one over the left field wall for a 2-run walk-off homer. It was Skowron’s 3rd homer of the Tournament. He leads the Yankees with a .348 average. The series heads to Baltimore, tied 1-1.

’69 Orioles @ ’61 Yankees – 9/16/25

Sandy Koufax took the ball and gave one of the best pitching performances of the Tournament. The Los Angeles Dodgers ace held the St. Louis Cardinals to 4 hits, striking out 7 in his 1st shutout. Koufax allowed 3 hits in the 1st two innings before retiring 21 straight batters. Lou Brock broke the streak with a leadoff double in the 9th. He then retired the final three hitters of the game. Only 4 of the 27 outs even left the infield. Nelson Briles scattered 5 hits, holding the Dodgers scoreless in the 1st five innings. Dal Maxvill bobbled a grounder to lead off the 6th, and LA followed with back-to-back singles for their 1st run. A pair of singles in the 7th scored when Maury Wills tripled. Jim Gilliam followed with an RBI single to put the Dodgers up 4-0. With the victory, the Dodgers even the series as it heads back to Los Angeles.

’63 Dodgers @ ’68 Cardinals – 9/16/25

The 1968 Detroit Tigers offense has not shown up for the 1st two games against the 1964 Chicago White Sox. A day after getting shut out, they managed just one run on 4 hits in a 3-1 loss. Jim Northrup hit a solo home run in the 1st inning off Gary Peters, but that was it. Denny McLain picked up his 1st loss of the Tournament, allowing 3 runs on 9 hits. Tommy McCraw tripled to lead off the 3rd. A sacrifice fly and an RBI double by Moose Skowron gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead. Skowron added another RBI double in the 8th. As the series heads to Chicago, the Tigers must win the next 3 games to avoid becoming the 3rd team to be eliminated.

’64 White Sox @ ’68 Tigers – 9/16/25

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