On This Date in Sports October 9, 1958: Yankees Avenge 57.
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The New York Yankees beat the Milwaukee Braves 6-2 in Game 7 of the World Series at County Stadium. A year after losing to the Braves in seven games, the Yankees turn the tables, winning the last three games of the series, after Milwaukee held a 3-1 series lead. Leading the way in the Yankees comeback as Bob Turley who has two wins and a save to win the MVP.
After the Braves behind Lew Burdette stunned the Yankees in the 1957 World Series, Milwaukee returned to the Fall Classic, posting a record of 92-62 under Manager Fred Haney to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates by eight games. The New York Yankees led by Casey Stengel, meanwhile won their tenth pennant in a dozen years, with the same 92-62 beat out the Chicago White Sox by ten games.
In the opener at County Stadium, the Braves had Warren Spahn on the mound, while Casey Stengel called upon Whitey Ford. Moose Skowron gave the Yankees a lead in the fourth inning with a home run, while Milwaukee answered with RBI singles by Del Crandall and Spahn. In the fifth, the Yankees again took the lead on a home run by Hank Bauer. The Braves would rally again in the eighth inning as Hank Aaron who had hit a double scored on a sac fly by Was Covington. The Braves would go on to win the game in ten innings as Joe Adcock scored on an RBI single by Bill Bruton against Ryne Duren, as Spahn went the full ten innings for the win.
Bob Turley started Game 2, against 1957 World Series hero Lew Burdette. The Yankees scratched out an unearned run in the first. In the bottom of the inning, the Braves exploded for seven runs, as Bill Brunton led off with a home run, and Burdette hit a three-run bomb to chase Turley to an early shower. Covington added a tack-on run in the second. The Braves added in the seventh and eighth, while the Yankees got a home run from Bauer and two from Mickey Mantle. The final score was 13-2 in favor of Milwaukee.
Don Larsen got the start for the Yankees as the series shifted to New York for Game 3. With Bob Rush on the mound for the Braves, the Yankees took the lead a with a two-run single by Hank Bauer. Two innings later, Bauer struck again with a two-run home run, as Larsen and Ryne Duren combined to hold Milwaukee to six hits, winning the game for New York 4-0.
In Game 4, the starters for Game 1 returned to the mound, with Warren Spahn pitching a masterpiece, allowing just two hits with seven strikeouts as the Braves took a commanding 3-1 series lead with a 3-0 win.
Looking to win their second straight World Series, the Braves sent Lew Burdette to the mound in Game 5. Burdette in four appearances in two years had a record of 4-0 against the Yankees, who had Bob Turley on the mound looking for redemption from a terrible outing in Game 2. The Yankees drew first blood with a home run by Gil McDougald in the third inning. In the sixth inning, the Yankees would blow the game open, scoring six runs as McDougald drove in a pair with a double. Turley meanwhile went the distance, allowing five hits with ten strikeouts as New York stayed alive with a 7-0 win.
Back at County Stadium, the Braves sent Warren Spahn to the mound, seeking his third win of the series. Whitey Ford once again opposed him for the Yankees. Hank Bauer continuing a big series for New York homered in the first to give the Yankees a brief 1-0 lead. The lead was brief because Milwaukee answered right away as Hank Aaron singled home Red Schoendienst. In the second, Spahn aided his own cause with an RBI single, as Ford left the game with the bases loaded and one out. With the Braves leading 2-1 and the bases loaded, Art Ditmer through the biggest pitch of the series educing a fly ball off the bat of Johnny Logan to Elston Howard in left field, who threw Andy Pafko out at the plate with a perfect throw to Yogi Berra. Yogi would drive in Mickey Mantle with a sac fly to tie the game, as the Yankees bullpen kept the Braves bats under wraps. In the tenth inning, McDougald led off with a home, with Moose Skowron singling home Howard to make it a 4-2 lead. The Braves would not go down quietly as Aaron drove home Logan, as a tiring Ryne Duren allowed three hits in the tenth and left with the tying run on third and two outs. Coming into get the final out was Bob Turley who got Frank Torre to line out to McDougald at second to end the game with the Yankees forcing Game 7, with a 4-3 win.
Don Larsen started Game 7 for the Yankees, as Lew Burdette who won Game 7 at Yankee Stadium one year earlier got the start for Milwaukee. In the first inning the Braves scratched out a run to take a 1-0 lead, only to give away with two costly errors leading to a pair of New York runs in the second. The Braves looked to rally in the third, as they got two men on base to chase Larsen to an early shower. Coming in was Bob Turley who shut the door, keeping the Yankees in front with a 2-1 lead. The lead would hold up until the sixth when Del Crandall hit a home run to tie the game. With the game tied 2-2 in the eighth inning, the Yankees took command with two outs as Yogi Berra started the rally with a double. Berra would come into score on an RBI single by Elston Howard. After a single by Andy Carrey, Moose Skowron provided the series-deciding win with a three-run homer to give the Yankees a 6-2 lead. The Braves managed to get two runners on base in the ninth, but Turley was able to close the game out as Schoendienst flied out Mantle to end the game and the series, giving the Yankees their 18th World Championship.
It was just the second time in a best-of-seven series, that a team came back from a 3-1 deficit to win the World Series, the first time had been the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Washington Senators in 1925. Eddie Matthews meanwhile had series to forget with a record 11 strikeouts, as the Yankees set a new record, striking out 56 batters.