Damn Yankees by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Damn Yankees

Page 52

The Giants won. And won. And won again. It became a team possessed. Sixteen straight victories later, the Giants had knocked eight games off the Brooklyn lead. The Dodgers got the message and spent most of September keeping the Giants at arm’s length. But in the season’s final week, Brooklyn couldn’t hold onto a three game lead, thanks in part to a seven game New York win streak to end the schedule.

Tied for first place going into the season’s final day, the Giants won early at Boston and then waited out with incredulity as Brooklyn had to exert two comebacks and extra innings to

force a postseason tiebreaker with a 9-8 win in Philadelphia. Taking the loss for the Phillies was Robin Roberts, who beat the Dodgers in the historic 1950 season finale.

Ralph Branca started Game One of a best of three playoff against the Giants and lost it, 3-1, thanks solely to two New York homers; one a two run shot off the bat of Bobby Thomson. The Dodgers stormed back with a 10-0 thrashing in Game Two behind rookie pitcher Clem Labine. That set up the winner take all affair at The Polo Grounds. It was one of two career shutouts for Labine, who would spend the bulk of his career as a reliever.

On a gloomy October afternoon, Don Newcombe started for the Dodgers and, through eight innings, had brightened the spirits