On This Date in Sports August 5, 1973
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The San Diego Padres knuckle under to the Atlanta Braves, losing 9-0 the same score as a forfeit at Fulton County Stadium as they are no-hit by Phil Niekro. It is the third time the Padres have been on the wrong end of a No-Hitter, since 1970. Ralph Garr playing in place of Hank Aaron sparks the Braves offense scoring three runs.
Born on April 1, 1939, in Blaine, Ohio Phil Niekro was no fool, but with his knuckleball he often made opposing hitters look foolish. After toiling in the minors for several years, Niekro made his debut with the Milwaukee Braves in 1964. After spending most of his first three seasons in the bullpen, Phil Niekro got his chance to start in 1967, after the team moved to Atlanta. That season he had the lowest ERA in the National League while posting a record of 11-9.
Heading into a Sunday Afternoon game in Atlanta, neither the San Diego Padres managed by Don Zimmer or the Atlanta Braves managed by Eddie Matthews were in the pennant chase. The Padres had the worst record in baseball at 37-72 on the way to a 100-loss season while the Braves were stuck at 51-64. The game was a day off for Hank Aaron who was closing in on Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record. After Phil Niekro retired the Padres in order in the first, Ralph Garr led off with a double against Steve Arlin and scored the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly by Darrell Evans. The Padres got the first base runner in the third when Rich Morales reached on an error by Braves shortstop Marty Perez, but Niekro quickly worked around the mistake as Atlanta’s bats went to work in the bottom of the inning. As Garr led off with a single stole second, and scored his second run ahead of Mike Lum, on a two-run single by Dusty Baker. In the fourth inning, Dave Roberts reached base on an error by Evans, but Knucksie quickly worked around it again as Ralph Garr scored his fourth run in the bottom of the inning after a two-out double and an RBI single by Lum. Unfortunately. Garr was injured while scoring and replaced by Sonny Jackson in right field. While Phil Niekro continued to make the Padres feel like they were eating Jell-O with chopsticks, the Braves put the game out of reach with four runs in the sixth, as Paul Cassanova led off with an inside the park home run. They added another run on Dave Roberts error, and two more runs on a hit by Frank Tepedino. The Braves capped the scoring in the eighth when Darrell Evans scored on a sac-fly by Chuck Goggin. In the ninth with history on the line, Phil Niekro struck out Roberts, got Nate Colbert to bounce out to first, while Cito Gaston ended the game with a grounder to third.
It would be the only No-Hitter of Phil Niekro’s Hall of Fame career. It was the third time the Padres have been no-hit in their short history. To date San Diego has been on the wrong end of history ten times, they have yet to throw a No-Hitter, in their fifty-year history, some 7,926 games, and counting.