Facing a 0-2 deficit for the 1st game in front of their home crowd, the Pittsburgh Pirates turned to Vern Law, who has dominated the San Francisco Giants in the Tournament. Law came through again, holding the Giants to one run on just 3 hits in a complete game 6-1 victory. Willie Mays hit a solo home run in the 1st that made Pittsburgh fans fear a rerun of the prior slugfest. But Law only allowed two more baserunners the rest of the game. The Pirates took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 1st on a Juan Marichal wild pitch. In the 5th, Marichal got two quick outs before losing control. He hit Dick Groat and walked three of the next four batters, sandwiching a Dick Stuart RBI single. Smoky Burgess drove in 2 runs on a single of his own to give the Pirates a 6-1 lead. Stuart finished 2 for 5, driving in his Tournament-leading 30th RBI. Law is now 3-0 against San Francisco in 4 starts, including 3 complete games. He hasn’t allowed more than 2 runs in any of those starts. The Pirates hope to even the series when the teams meet tomorrow.

’62 Giants @ ’60 Pirates – 10/9/25

For the 2nd straight start, the 1962 San Francisco Giants destroyed Pittsburgh Pirates ace Bob Friend. After Friend lasted 2 2/3 innings in his last start, he barely did better, being chased after 3 1/3 innings, allowing 10 runs on 10 hits. The Giants batted around in two different innings. Friend allowed 5 straight hits, capped by Cedepa’s 2-run shot in the 3rd. In the 4th, Friend yielded 3 straight hits before his exit. Jim Umbricht made a mistake pitch to Cepeda for a 3-run homer a few batters later. Billy O’Dell carried an 11-1 lead into the 7th before Dick Stuart’s tournament-leading 13th homer ended his night. Reliever Mike McCormick gave up a solo shot in the 8th to Don Hoak, and back-to-back homers in the 9th to Rocky Nelson and Roberto Clemente, as the Pirates scored 8 runs in the final 3 innings to cut the lead to 11-9 before Stu Miller shut them down, picking up his 4th save. Cepeda now has 5 home runs in the past 5 games against the Pirates. Despite two blowouts that turned into close games, San Francisco heads to Pittsburgh with a 2-0 series lead.

’60 Pirates @ ’62 Giants – 10/7/25

In a game that saw them commit 4 errors, the San Francisco Giants let the bats do the talking, slugging three home runs off Harvey Haddix to take Game 1 of the NL Championship Series 7-6. The Pittsburgh Pirates jumped out to an early lead in the 1st off Jack Sanford when Bill Virdon walked to lead off the game. Bob Skinner doubled and advanced to 3rd on Felipe Alou’s wild throw to the plate. Skinner scored on a groundout by Dick Stuart to make it 2-0. Harvey Kuenn singled off Haddix to lead things off for the Giants. Dick Groat’s error extended the inning, and Orlando Cepeda made them pay with a 3-run home run to put San Francisco on top 3-2. After Groat’s RBI single tied the game in the 3rd, Tom Haller hit a solo homer in the 4th to give the Giants a 4-3 lead. Haller and José Pagán led off the 6th with singles, and Chuck Hiller hit his 1st homer of the Tournament. His 3-run shot gave the Giants a 7-3 lead. A tiring Sanford bobbled a come-backer leading off the 8th. Stuart followed with a single, and Rocky Nelson hit a 3-run blast to make it a one-run game, ending Sanford’s day. Jim Duffalo maintained the lead through the 8th. Skinner hit a 2-out double in the 9th off Stu Miller, but Miller got Stuart to ground out to end the game, picking up his 3rd save. Kuenn went 3 for 5, improving his Tournament-best average to .429.

’60 Pirates @ ’62 Giants – 10/6/25

Chicago’s Juan Pizarro pitched well, holding the 1961 New York Yankees to 5 hits, but it wasn’t enough. One mistake in the 2nd inning led to an Elston Howard solo home run. Roger Maris took advantage of a weird bounce, leading off the 4th with a triple. Mickey Mantle followed with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly to account for the 3 Yankee runs. Meanwhile, Ralph Terry stepped up when the Yankees needed him. The lone Chicago run came with the help of a passed ball and an error. Ron Hansen tripled with 2 outs in the 9th, but it was too little too late, as the Yankees won it 3-1, sending the White Sox home. This is the 1st Best of the Decades Tournament that saw a New York Yankees team with the top overall seed, but this is the 1st time that the team has made it to the World Series. They’ll face the winner of the series between the 1962 San Francisco Giants and the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates. Elston Howard was a terror to White Sox pitching. Howard was 11 for 20 with 4 HR and 9 RBI.

’64 White Sox @ ’61 Yankees – 10/5/25

The New York Yankees didn’t get their 1st hit off John Buzhardt until the 6th inning. In fact, Buzhardt and Whitey Ford held the Yankees and the Chicago White Sox to just 3 hits combined through 6. Mickey Mantle finally broke through with a triple in the 7th. Yogi Berra followed with a double, and two batters later, Elston Howard took Buzhardt deep to center for a 2-run home run to give New York a 3-0 lead. A couple of singles and a sacrifice fly in the 8th broke up Ford’s shutout. Berra led off the 9th with a single off Ray Herbert, and Johnny Blanchard followed with his 1st homer of the Tournament, a 2-run shot that gave the Yankees a 5-1 lead. A tiring Ford retired Pete Ward, but Ron Hansen and Dave Nicholson followed with back-to-back homers to end his day. Hal Reniff retired the next two batters to give the Yankees a 5-3 win. Chicago will need to win Game 5 in New York to avoid elimination and force a Best-of-7 series.

’61 Yankees @ ’64 White Sox – 10/3/25

Vern Law and Billy O’Dell battled to a stalemate through 9 innings when the San Francisco Giants faced the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. An RBI double by Dick Groat in the 3rd gave Pittsburgh an early lead, but Tom Haller doubled and scored in the 8th, and Willie McCovey hit a solo home run in the 9th to give the Giants a lead. Don Hoak took O’Dell deep in the bottom of the 9th to tie things back up. After Bill Mazeroski tripled, O’Dell put Bill Virdon and Groat on to load the bases. With everyone in, Bob Skinner struck out, and Dick Stuart grounded out to send the game to extra innings. Two double plays erased Giants baserunners in extra innings. Skinner singled to lead off the 12th against Bobby Bolin. Stuart singled to put runners on the corners, and Rocky Nelson hit a deep fly ball to win it for the Pirates. After a few days off, the teams will meet in a winner-take-all best-of-7 series to determine the National League champion.

’62 Giants @ ’60 Pirates – 10/3/25

One loss away from being swept by the 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates in their initial best-of-five series, the 1962 San Francisco Giants offense exploded. After just 3 innings, the Giants had scored 11 runs on 14 hits against Pittsburgh ace Bob Friend. Orlando Cepeda alone was 3 for 3 with a double, a home run, and 6 RBI. The Pirates chipped away, scoring runs in the 4th, 5th, and 6th against Juan Marichal, to cut the lead to 11-6, but no closer. Willie Mays hit a 2-run homer off reliever Joe Gibbon in the 7th to expand the lead. Meanwhile, Dick Stuart and Roberto Clemente hit solo homers in the 9th to finish the game 13-8. Mays and Willie McCovey each finished 4 for 6. Stuart was 3 for 5, with his 12th homer of the Tournament. Marichal allowed his 8 runs on 11 hits, but went the distance. San Francisco’s Jim Davenport pulled his hamstring running to 1st base in the 6th inning. The Pirates are 0-3 against the Giants at home at Forbes Field.

’62 Giants @ ’60 Pirates – 10/2/25

Down by a run late, the 1961 New York Yankees tied the game in the 8th, only to strand the bases loaded with no outs in extra innings, and watch the 1964 Chicago White Sox walk it off in the 11th inning. The Yankees got in front early against Joe Horlen when Elston Howard singled in Mickey Mantle in the 2nd inning. In the bottom of the inning, Pete Ward hit a solo home run off Bill Stafford to tie things up. Gene Stephens tripled in another run and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ron Hansen, giving Chicago a 3-1 lead. Floyd Robinson singled in another run in the 5th. The Yankees’ Bill Skowron hit a 2-run double with 2 outs to cut the lead to 4-3. In the 8th, Yogi Berra hit a solo homer to tie things up and give New York some hope of a comeback. In the 10th, the Yankees loaded the bases with no outs against Hoyt Wilhelm, but Johnny Blanchard struck out, and Howard popped out before Skowron grounded out to end the threat. They wouldn’t get another chance. In the bottom of the 11th, facing Hal Reniff, J.C. Martin drew a one-out walk, and Tommy McCraw singled, before Don Buford hit a walk-off single to give Chicago a 5-4 win and a 2-1 series lead. If Chicago can win the series, they’ll force a best-of-7 against New York.

’61 Yankees @ ’64 White Sox – 10/2/25

Juan Pizarro held the New York Yankees to 2 runs on 6 hits, striking out 8 to tie the series at a game a piece. J.C. Martin got the White Sox on the board with his 1st home run of the Tournament. Tommy McCraw singled, and Don Buford hit a double in the gap to put Chicago up 2-0. Buford scored on Pete Ward’s single to give the Sox a 3-0 lead. That inning was all they’d need, which was good, since Ralph Terry held Chicago to just two baserunners the rest of the game. Pizarro allowed an RBI single to Elston Howard in the 4th, and a solo homer to Roger Maris in the 9th, but was able to close out a complete game. Pizarro is now 4-1 in the Tournament with a 2.84 ERA. The series heads to Chicago for Game 3.

’64 White Sox @ ’61 Yankees – 9/30/25

Harvey Haddix kept the San Francisco offense in check, allowing just an Orlando Cepeda solo home run, and scattering 11 hits for a 10-1 Pittsburgh win. The Pirate defense helped, turning 4 double-plays to keep the Giants off the basepaths. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh offense was merciless. Dick Stuart capped a 3-run 1st inning with a 2-run homer off Jack Sanford. In the 7th, Bill Virdon added a 2-run shot to make it 5-1. Don Hoak added another in the 8th off reliever Mike McCormick. Finally, in the 9th, Pittsburgh piled on with three straight 2-out RBI singles off Jim Duffalo. Every Pirate had a hit, as Pittsburgh took a 2-0 series lead. As the series moves to Pittsburgh, the Pirates need just one more win to force a 7-game series to determine the National League champion.

’60 Pirates @ ’62 Giants – 9/30/25