Oct. 3, 1963 - Johnny Podres, who can frustrate his followers by pitching lousy ball and then amaze them with a gem, today reasserted his reputation as a money pitcher by subduing the Yankees, 4-1, as the Dodgers made it two in a row in the World Series. Willie Davis drilled a two-run double in the first inning off loser Al Downing, Moose Skowron homered in the fourth, and Ron Perranoski got another save by working two-thirds of an inning in the ninth. The Yankees, who have beaten the Dodgers six times in seven World Series, are in some kind of trouble at this point. They’ll face the formidable Don Drysdale when Series action resumes Saturday at Dodger Stadium, and then they’ve got a date with Mr. Sanford Koufax on Sunday. No team ever has recovered from two first-and-second game defeats in its home park in World Series play. Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle went hitless for the second day in a row. “Podres looked just the way he did last time I face him in the Series,” Mantle said. “We thought he would tire about the sixth inning, but he didn’t. He knows how to pitch. He is not as fast as Koufax, but he’s just as good.” In the meantime, Tommy Davis is 5-for-8 and Moose Skowron has hurt his ex-pals at a 4-for-7 clip while knocking in three runs. “The Yankees hit a lot of balls real good,” said Podres afterward. “Mantle probably would have had three home runs today if we had been playing in Dodger Stadium. Mickey hit me real good. The fellows made some outstanding plays behind me.” Podres had not faced the Yankees in a World Series since 1955, when he beat them twice, pitching a 2-0 victory in the seventh game. Dodger skipper Walter Alston was asked how he felt about going home with a two-game lead. “It don’t mean a damn thing,” he said, “if we don’t win two more.” Maury Wills said the Yankees “are not invincible.” “They apparently haven’t discovered that yet in the American League,” a newsman said. “Maybe they haven’t got the proper thinking,” said Wills. “But don’t make me sound like a popoff.”
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