This day in baseball history

On Saturday, September 29, 1962, the Los Angeles Dodgers squandered an opportunity to clinch the National League pennant when they lost 2-0 to the St. Louis Cardinals. 25-game winner Don Drysdale pitched brilliantly for the Dodgers, limiting St. Louis to 5 hits and no earned runs. But the Cards scored 2 in the second inning thanks to an error by lumbering Frank Howard on a Dal Maxvill fly ball.

Ernie Broglio made the runs stand up by pitching a two hit shut-out. Broglio also contributed an RBI single. It was perhaps his finest single moment as a Cardinal, unless you count being traded a few years later for future Hall of Famer Lou Brock.

Even with the loss, the Dodgers saw their “magic number” drop to 1, with 1 game remaining in the regular season, as the Giants split a doubleheader with Houston. The Giants took the opener, 11-5. Despite a rocky outing, Jack Sanford won his 24th game of the year with the help of strong relief pitching by Stu Miller. But in the nightcap, the Colt 45s chased Juan Marichal in the 5th inning on the way to a 4-2 victory.

The Dodgers, losers now of 3 straight, and 9 of their last 12, could still clinch the pennant by winning on Sunday. And, regardless of the outcome of the Dodgers game, the Giants would need to win to preserve any hope of forcing a playoff series.

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