DODGERS' LONG BALLS, PALICA TOP ROBERTS
Phils' Ace Falls for Second Time This Year
BROOKLYN, N.Y., June 29 (AP) - On paper the Phillies appeared to have the
edge. The best pitcher in baseball was on the mound, facing a spot
starting right-hander with an ERA in excess of six. But the Dodgers had
other ideas. This, as the saying goes, is why they play the games.
Cal Abrams, Gil Hodges and Pee Wee Reese all belted home runs off Philadelphia
ace Robin Roberts (14-2) and Erv Palica (2-1) provided Brooklyn with seven solid
innings as the Dodgers whipped the Phillies 7-2 before 26,819 at Ebbets
Field. The victory upped the Dodgers' National League lead over the second
place Phils to nine full games.
The Phillies threatened to take the lead in the top of the first when Eddie
Waitkus walked and Richie Ashburn singled but Palica wiggled out of trouble by
retiring Dick Sisler on a fly ball to center and inducing Willie Jones to ground
into an inning ending double play.
The Dodgers then seized control in the bottom half of the frame. With one
out Reese singled to right. After Duke Snider lined out to second, Reese
stole second base and scored on Jackie Robinson's single through the box.
Robinson then swiped second himself and came home on Hodges' single to center,
putting Brooklyn ahead 2-0.
The Dodgers essentially broke the contest open in the fourth. Abrams led
off the inning with a drive down the right field line that cleared the screen
and landed on Bedford Avenue. One out later Snider reached on second
baseman Tommy Brown's two-base throwing error. Robinson flied to Ennis in
left but Gil Hodges hammered a Roberts fastball just inside the left field foul
pole for his seventeenth home run of the year. The two-run shot gave the
Dodgers a 5-0 lead, and it would be than they'd need.
Reese's one-out solo home run into the left field seats in the fifth made it 6-0
Brooklyn.
Palica's shutout ended in the sixth when Bill Nicholson, pinch hitting for
Roberts, homered over the scoreboard in right. The Dodgers got the run
back in the bottom of the inning when Palica helped his own cause with a two-out
RBI-single to center, scoring Roy Campanella who had singled.
Palica ran into trouble with consecutive walks to Jones and Granny Hamner in the
seventh, but limited the damage to Del Wilber's run-scoring single. Palica
finished the inning but was replaced by Bill Podbielan who mopped up with a pair
of scoreless innings.
The loss by Roberts--just his second of the year--was his first in more than six
weeks. He last dropped a game on May 17 to the Cardinals at Sportsman's
Park in St. Louis.
6/29/1951, PhN51-Brk51, Ebbets Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1951 Phillies 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 6 2 5 1 1951 Dodgers 2 0 3 0 1 1 0 0 x 7 10 0 5 2 Phillies AB R H BI AVG Dodgers AB R H BI AVG Waitkus 1b 3 0 1 0 .255 Abrams lf 3 1 1 1 .333 Ashburn cf 4 0 2 0 .318 Reese ss 4 2 2 1 .255 Sisler lf 4 0 0 0 .264 Snider cf 4 1 0 0 .297 Ennis rf 4 0 1 0 .343 Robinson,J 2b 4 1 1 1 .358 Jones,W 3b 3 1 0 0 .281 Hodges 1b 4 1 2 3 .234 Hamner ss 3 0 0 0 .235 Furillo rf 4 0 0 0 .300 Brown,T 2b 4 0 0 0 .254 Campanella c 4 1 1 0 .350 Wilber c 3 0 1 1 .261 Bridges 3b 3 0 1 0 .273 Roberts p 1 0 0 0 .222 Cox ph 1 0 1 0 .263 Nicholson ph 1 1 1 1 .275 Palica p 3 0 1 1 .273 Miller p 0 0 0 0 .400 Podbielan p 1 0 0 0 .000 Whitman ph 1 0 0 0 .000 35 7 10 7 Thompson,J p 0 0 0 0 .111 31 2 6 2 Phillies INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Roberts L 14-2 5.0 6 6 4 0 5 87 58 1.66 Miller 1.0 3 1 1 1 0 19 10 5.30 Thompson,J 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 22 12 5.51 8.0 10 7 5 1 6 128 80 Dodgers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Palica W 2-1 7.0 5 2 2 3 0 94 51 5.35 Podbielan 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 35 20 4.71 9.0 6 2 2 3 1 129 71 PhN: Nicholson batted for Roberts in the 6th Whitman batted for Miller in the 7th Brk: Cox batted for Bridges in the 8th Cox moved to 3b in the 9th E-Brown,T 2. 2B-Cox(10). HR-Nicholson(4), Abrams(4), Reese(3), Hodges(17). RBI-Wilber(10), Nicholson(12), Abrams(6), Reese(23), Robinson,J(37), Hodges 3(54), Palica(3). SB-Reese(8), Robinson,J(12). K-Hamner, Abrams, Snider 2, Furillo, Bridges, Palica. BB-Waitkus, Jones,W, Hamner, Abrams. GWRBI: Robinson,J Temperature: 89, Field: wet, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: in from right at 1 MPH. Attendance: 26,819 Game Time: 2:02