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4/22

Drysdale pitches beautifully for 7+ innings, giving up a run on four hits and no walks while striking out six, as the Robins take game 1 from the Redlegs, 3-1. Frank Howard cranks out a double and a triple to drive in two and score one, leading the team to victory.

4/23

The Robins come out of the box swinging, but despite eleven hits, they are only able to score twice. The first inning, which should have been big, includes two failed steal attempts. Koufax lasts just over four innings, giving up three runs on five hits, including a homerun, and five walks. The final score is 6-2. Brooklyn fans are beginning to wonder where the team they fought so hard to keep is. With only eight games played, there are plenty of games left to reverse the pattern, but it has not been a promising start.

4/24

It is a hard battle, but Brooklyn takes the win in the third game with the Redlegs, securing their first series of the year. While they are never behind after scoring twice in the first, Cincinnati ties the game twice and looks like they will surely come back for good, but Brooklyn manages to keep focused and keep scoring, eventually winning it 7-6. While not as sharp as his dominant first outing, Podres doesn’t lose his poise on the mound until the eighth inning, when he loads the bases. Williams walks in the tying run, but gets out of it without further damage. Brooklyn comes back in the top of the ninth and goes ahead for good. Howard stars again, going 2 for 2 with three walks, three runs scored, and two RBI. Gil Hodges, playing against his old team, is 0 for 5 with three strikeouts.

4/25

Friday’s game is a showdown between the team that left and the team that didn’t, the Giants against the Robins, and the deserters win, 7-5. Newcombe looks uncomfortable on the mound for six innings, in which time he gives up seven runs on ten hits. Despite 15 hits, the Robins fall and drop to 3-6 on the year. Seals Stadium, the Giants’ new home, is not a major league ballpark, and it is odd to see major leaguers running around in it. The Giants will soon have a new home, though, and in time will become as synonymous with San Francisco as they were with New York.

4/26

Drysdale does not have his best stuff in the second game against the Giants. In 6.1 innings, he gives up four runs on six hits and walks three. By the same token, the Robins touch San Francisco’s starter, Johnny Antonelli, for seven runs on nine hits. The Brooklyn bull pen cannot hold the game, though. Roebuck gives up two hits in a third of an inning, and Labine gives up three runs in two thirds of an inning for the loss. Brooklyn is now 3-7 on the year.