May 10. Gm# 23 Dodger Stadium Los Angeles 5 Pittsburgh 4
PIRATES SUFFER STUNNING LOSS IN BOTTOM OF 9TH FOR THE FOURTH TIME
Vernon Law seemed poised to collect his fourth win, having toiled six and a third innings, before turning the ball over to Jim Umbricht, with a 5-3 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, an error by Dick Stuart, the second of the day by the player the fans call, “Dr. Strangeglove”, extended the inning by putting two runners on base for pinch hitter, Joe Pignatano. The backup catcher came through in a big way, slamming a three run homerun, to cut Pittsburgh’s lead to just two runs.
Law turned the ball over to Jim Umbricht, who came in with one out and promptly walked the first man he faced, then hit the next one. But he settled down to get the final two outs and also put the Dodgers away in the eighth.
The Bucs were confident when ace reliever, Elroy Face, took the mound for the Dodger ninth. But L.A. had other ideas. Face retired Norm Sherry, for the first out, but Frank Howard came off the bench to pinch hit for Stan Williams and banged out a double. Jim Gilliam popped out, but Charlie Neal sent the ball over the fence for a two run, homerun and the walkoff win.
In tomorrow’s rubber match, Pirate lefty, Joe Gibbon will face flamethrower, Sandy Koufax, before the team flies east to play the first place Milwaukee Braves.
Other National League scores: San Francisco 4 Philadelphia 2; Cincinnati- Chicago-ppd. Only game scheduled.
National League Standings
Milwaukee/16/11/5/.688/—
San Francisco/22/13/9/.591/1
Pittsburgh/23/13/10/.565/1.5
Cincinnati/22/12/10/.545/2
St. Louis/20/9/11/.450/4
Los Angeles/24/10/14/.417/5
Chicago/18/7/11/.389/5
Philadelphia/23/8/15/.348/6.5
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