Today in 1960 - Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants

April 20, 1960 - Today in 1960, undefeated pitchers commenced a duel at the brand new Candlestick Park in this storied rivalry between 2-0 Don Drysdale of the Los Angeles Dodgers and 1-0 Mike McCormick of the San Francisco Giants.

   The only score in the game came in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Don Blasingame stood at the plate.  There were runners at the corner, with Willie Kirkland on third and McCormick on first from a bunt.  Kirkland hit a line drive RBI single to right field. 

   McCormick had a no-hitter going into the top of the sixth, but leadoff batter Maury got the first hit for the Dodgers.  He reached second on a sacrifice bunt by Drysdale, but that would be as far as the Dodgers would get to scoring for the rest of the game.

   The San Francisco Giants beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 1-0.   Both pitchers pitched a complete game and McCormick pitched a two hit shutout, going to 2-0.  Drysdale fell to 2-1.

   Both teams went to 5-2, tied for first in the National League.


Trivia

• There were 5 Hall of Famers playing or managing in this game:  Don Drysdale and manager Walter Alston for the Dodgers, and Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda for the Giants.
• This was Bill Rigney's fifth season managing the Giants.  He would get fired later in the season after going 33-25 and get replaced by Tom Sheehan.  Rigney would manage the LA/California Angels from 1961-69, the Minnesota Twins from 1970-72, and a final one year stint with the Giants in 1976.
• This was Alston's seventh season managing the Dodgers.  He managed the Dodgers from 1954-76.  Alston led the team to four World Series titles and seven NL Pennants.  The Dodgers were defending World Series Champions that season.
• Both managers were with their teams before their moves from Brooklyn and New York.
• Alston only had one official at bat in his only season in the majors with the St. Louis Cardinals.  He struck out.
• Rigney played for the New York Giants from 1946-53.
• The only two players who got hits off of McCormick in the game were Maury Wills and Gil Hodges.  Both players went on to become managers.
• Gil Hodges went on to manage the Washington Senators from 1963-67 and the New York Mets from 1968-71.  He led the Miracle Mets to its first World Series Championship in 1969 and died after the 1971 season.
• Maury Wills went on the manage the Seattle Mariners from the second half of the 1980 season to the first half of the 1981 season.  His career record is 26-56.
• Joey Amalfitano of the Giants went on to manage the Chicago Cubs from 1979-81.
• This was Giants catcher Neil Wilson's only season in the majors.  He only played in six games and never got a hit.  Wilson was in for starting catcher Bob Schmidt.

Game stats can be found at Baseball-Reference.com on the box score page Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants - April 20, 1960.