June 7, 1963 - The Los Angeles Dodgers, aided by consecutive home runs by Frank Howard and John Roseboro and the effective pitching of Don Drysdale (left with Johnny Podres and Sandy Koufax), beat the Chicago Cubs, 4-1, today at Wrigley Field. The loss snapped Chicago’s winning streak at five and knocked the Cubs out of a tie for first place in the National League. The Dodgers now lead the league by .002 points. The Cubs had won 11 of their previous 13 games. Drysdale struck out 9 batters and increased his league-leading total in that department to 99. He yielded seven hits and did not issue a walk. The victory was his seventh against six defeats. Back-to-back home runs by Frank Howard and John Roseboro were smacked off reliever Barney Schultz in the eighth inning to break up what had been a tense tussle between Drysdale and Paul Toth, making his first start ever against Los Angeles. Besides his home run, Howard slugged a 400-foot triple in the sixth. Tommy Davis, Roseboro, and Maury Wills also had two hits apiece, and Maury swiped his 13th base after being nailed on a prior attempt. Paid attendance was a disappointing 12,741. The management expected a much larger turnout, what with the Cubs fresh off a series sweep against the Giants, reigning National League champions. Tomorrow, it’s Johnny Podres of the Dodgers vs. Bob Buhl at Wrigley. Sandy Koufax’s Sunday opponent, Dick Ellsworth, already has notched eight victories.
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