April 18, 1963 - The Chicago Cubs took another giant stride away from their disastrous 1962 campaign by beating the great Don Drysdale (pictured) and the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1, tonight at Dodger Stadium. The five runs represented the Cubbies’ highest production of the season. They scored twice in the eighth off Ed Roebuck after building up a 3-1 lead for Glen Hobbie in 7 innings. The victory gave last year’s 103-game losers the edge in the 3-game series. The Cubs won only twice in nine games in Los Angeles last year. Drysdale, last year’s Cy Young winner, had whipped the Cubs 6 times since last losing to them — and Hobbie — on Aug. 17, 1960. Hobbie couldn’t quite make it this chilly evening. He was lifted in the Dodger ninth, and right-hander Don Elston knocked off three Dodgers in a row to preserve the Cubs’ spectacular pitching record. Opponents have scored only 13 runs in 8 games off Cub pitching — and 3 of those runs were unearned. The Cubs accepted a gift run in the second tonight when Ken Aspromonte doubled to left, took third on Dick Bertell’s single, and then scored when Ron Fairly made the first of his two outfield fumbles. Ernie Banks launched the two-run seventh against Roebuck with a double to right. Banks then scored on Lou Brock’s single. Lou took an extra base when Fairly, now playing center, fumbled again. Brock scored on Bertell’s sacrifice fly. Hobbie tottered in the seventh but escaped with the bases loaded by striking out Willie Davis on three pitches.
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