The 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates got off to a great start in the matchup with the 1968 St. Louis Cardinals as Bob Friend outduelled Bob Gibson to a 4-1 win in Game 1 between the teams. Friend allowed just 5 hits and struck out 11 in a complete game to improve to 2-0 in the Tournament. Friend had left his prior start in the 3rd inning after getting hit in the face by a line drive, but seemed no worse for the wear today. Gibson struggled to find his rhythm, and it caught up to him in the 3rd inning, where the Pirates scored 3 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Gibson struck out 8, but allowed 4 runs on 10 hits. Dick Groat led the Pittsburgh offense, going 4 for 5 and driving in a run. Tim McCarver was 2 for 4 with a triple for the Cardinals. St. Louis entered the series as the top-seeded team in the National League.