June 20, 1963 - Missing a chance to make a double play has cost many a ballgame, but the Mets always manage to add a touch to baseball’s common mishaps. They blew a triple play in the fourth inning last night, and a few moments later a grand slam home run sent them to their fifth straight defeat. Bill White, the fine first baseman of the St. Louis Cardinals, hit the bases-clearing blast off Tracy Stallard. It turned a 3-2 New York lead into a 6-3 deficit, and there was no further struggle. The final score was 9-4. As usual, the National League leaders gorged themselves on Met pitching, making 14 hits. The Cardinal team average against the Mets is .332. With Cardinals on first and second base with nobody out in the fourth inning, Leo Burke bounced sharply to Charley Neal, who touched third base as he fielded the ball and fired to second. All Rod Kanehl had to do to complete a triple play was make an ordinary double-play-type relay to first. Instead, Rod dropped the ball as he reached second. So, instead of being retired, the Cards had two on with one out. Stallard walked Curt Flood then grooved a meatball which White promptly put on the pavilion roof in right for a grand slam. That was No. 12 for Bill, his second grand slam of the year, and sixth of his career, which is getting brighter all the time. White has 50 RBIs and 91 hits so far this year. Now, however, the Cards must face reality. They have only 5 games remaining against the Mets, whom they have beaten 10 or 13. Coming into St. Louis next are the Dodgers for three and the Giants for three.
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