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With his Dodgers trailing the Milwaukee Braves 6-2 in the 6th inning of the first game of a Sunday doubleheader, rookie pitcher Don Bessent is facing one of the most dangerous bats in the National League in the form of Eddie Mathews, however Bessent won this head-to-head as Mathews would ground out meekly to the second baseman Don Zimmer.
Bessent came into the game in the 3rd inning after the Dodgers ace Don Newcombe had one of the worst starts of his career in giving up 11 hits and six earned runs and two home runs. The reliever would cool off the hot Braves bats and even at one juncture retired eleven straight batters. This gave the resilient Dodgers time to get back in the swing of things and that’s just what they did in the sixth inning, timely hitting and Braves pitchers hitting all spots but the strike zone, Brooklyn rallied for seven runs to turn a 6-2 deficit to a 9-6 lead. And while it was Gil Hodges three-run home run that cut the lead to 6-5 and was the turning point, the Braves two pitchers in that inning (Lew Burdette and David Jolly) didn’t help matters for Milwaukee by walking five batters, four of them would come home to score.
From that inning on the Dodgers didn’t look back and held on to that lead for a 9-7 win, Bessent would get the well-deserved victory improving his record to 3-0. In the nightcap, the Braves got some revenge by splitting the twin bill with a 9-2 win, Hank Aaron had the big bat hitting a home run and triple and knocking in four runs.
NOTE – Stumbling on this photo and only knowing it was from 1955, I was able to timestamp this game with the help of the scoreboard and some sleuthing. As blurry as the scoreboard was I could make out a couple things, the most notable being that the New York Giants were host to the Cincinnati Reds the same day of the Dodgers game. So I went to every series between the Reds and the Giants that season at the Polo Grounds, then checked to see if the Dodgers were home at the same time, once I found games matched that, I took the other item I could make out on the scoreboard in that the team playing the Dodgers had 12 hits before the sixth inning, and was able to pinpoint it to this game.
Gil Hodges for the Hall of Fame. Not only did he get a big hit here but he knocked in the winning run in the Bums 1955 World Series win. Also 1 of the few to hit 4 homers in a game. Then he also managed the Senators to respectability & finally he managed the Miracle Mets to a stunning World Series victory in 1969.
This ex-marine was also an excellent fielder at 1st base & always exemplified the highest standards of personal conduct.
Thanks…great points!