Cards Beat Dodgers on 9th-Inning Home Run by Joe Torre

Aug. 29, 1970: Joe Torre made the difference in the Dodgers' 1-0 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. This wasn't the case of a managerial goof. This was Torre the Cardinals' power-hitting third baseman, whose ninth-inning home run against Don Sutton provided the game's only run. The winning pitcher was Cardinal rookie and future Dodger Jerry Reuss. "It has been five seasons since I hit a home run here," Torre told The Times' John Wiebusch, "and the only two I got here were hit off Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax in games we lost." The home runs were hit for the Braves, the team Torre started with in 1960. He came to the Cardinals in 1969 in a trade for Orlando Cepeda. Wiebusch noted that Torre had lost 20 pounds and was mostly playing third and only occasionally catching. "The weight-loss thing was mostly inspired by the fact that this is my 30th year," Torre said. "I do not want to be known as a fat man." -- Keith Thursby

Comments

[Mike Friedman]

That guy wrote the best game stories in the history of the Times.