IN THE NEWS: In the 5th against Washington, the Orioles become the first team in history to turn a triple play on Opening Day. Ed Fitzgerald lines out to Bob Boyd to start the tri-killing. Vice President Richard Nixon, a righthander, substitutes for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who's away golfing, and watches the Senators win, 9–2. It's the first time since FDR died just before the 1945 opener that a chief executive was not on hand. Ramos loses his shutout when Gus Triandos hits a 2-run, 2-out home run in the 9th.
IN THE NEWS: Chicago 2B Nellie Fox gets five hits in seven at bats on Opening Day in a 14-inning 9–7 win in Detroit. His 5th hit is a 2-run homer, off Don Mossi, to win the game: Nellie went homerless last season in 623 at bats. Nellie's five hits in an opener ties a record that won't be matched in the next 40 years.
In St. Louis, the Cards lose their opener 6–5 to the Giants. Jackie Brandt drives home the winner in the 9th for SF.
Phils 2B Sparky Anderson drives in the winning run in his first major league game, as Philadelphia beats the Reds, 2–1.
IN THE NEWS: After being snowed out yesterday, the Cubs open at home against the Dodgers, Don Drysdale hits his 1st Opening Day home run, but it is the only Dodger score against Bob Anderson. Drysdale goes five innings and the Dodgers lose to the Cubs, 6–1. Sammy Taylor has four RBIs for the Cubs.
The White Sox top the Tigers, 5–3, as Early Wynn racks up his 250th career victory. He retires the last 10 batters in tossing a complete game. Luis Aparicio hits a homer, and Sherm Lollar belts two.
Herbert E. Tucker, president of the Boston NAACP, seeks a probe of the Red Sox for alleged discrimination when the team farms out its only black ball player, Pumpsie Green. Tucker cites a 12-year history of discrimination toward blacks.
Sad Sam Jones strikes out seven in facing his former teammates the Cards as the Giants win 5–2. Orlando Cepeda has four RBIs for SF.
IN THE NEWS: After two rainouts, the Yankees and Red Sox open at Yankee Stadium before 22,559, as the 42 degree temperature threatens a third postponement. Bob Turley allows just two Sox hits and Norm Siebern's 8th inning homer provides a 3–2 New York victory. Siebern's hit is his 3rd of the game off Tom Brewer.
IN THE NEWS: Let's hit two! Ernie Banks clouts a pair of 2-run homers off Jack Sandford to give the Cubs a 5–2 win over the Giants. Bob Hillman pitches into the 9th inning for the win. Sanford won't forget and will hit Ernie three times this year with pitches,
The Dodgers set a new night-game attendance record when 61,552 fans watch their home opener against the Cards. Lindy McDaniel spoils the party with a 6-hitter and beats Johnny Podres, 6–2. Hal Smith hits a 2-run homer for St. Louis.
IN THE NEWS: William Shea confers with Phillies owner William Carpenter on the possibility of shifting the Phils franchise to New York City.
P Bob Grim of the Athletics hits a grand slam off Barry Latman, as the A's nip the White Sox 10–8.
Red Sox rookie Jerry Casale makes his ML debut, beating the Senators, 7–3. Casale helps his cause with a 3-run homer, off Russ Kemmerer, a shot that clears Fenway's right-center field wall and lands on the street.
Don Drysdale scatters eight hits in shutting out the Cardinals, 5–0. The loser is Jackson, who goes six innings before giving way to Bob Gibson, making his ML debut. It's a rude initiation as the first batter he faces, Jim Baxes, homers off him. For the 31-year-old Baxes, it is his first ML homer: he'll hit 17 in just 246 at bats, 16 more than his brother Mike, in this his only season.
IN THE NEWS: Phillie Dave Philley, who ended 1958 with eight consecutive pinch hits, starts 1959 with a pinch-hit double in his first pinch at bat to extend his ML record. Despite Philley's new mark, Lew Burdette and the Braves win 7–3. Burdette allows just six hits in beating Russ Meyer.
IN THE NEWS: Led by rookies Rudy Arias and Norm Cash, the White Sox top Detroit 6–5. Arias picks up his 1st win and Cash contributes a 3-run home run.
Boston's Tom Brewer shuts out the Yankees, 4–0, on two hits, besting Bob Turley who beat him last week. It is the 1st shut out by a Bosox pitcher since August 7, 1956—a 55 game stretch.
IN THE NEWS: Branch Rickey becomes president of the Continental League. He appoints a committee to study problems associated with acquiring players.
Jack Sanford of the Giants allows only a 7th-inning bloop single to pinch hitter Stan Musial in beating St. Louis 8–1 in San Francisco. The Cards score in the first on three walks, a hit batter, and a wild pitch. Cepeda hits his 5th home run in four games.
The Phils get 15 hits, including a grand slam by pinch hitter Gene Freese, to outslug the Reds, 14-9. Don Newcombe loses for the 2nd time to the Phils this year, with the win going to reliever Al Schroll. The Reds get homers from Frank Robinson, Roy McMillan and pinch hitter Jerry Lynch.
IN THE NEWS: OF Don Demeter of the Dodgers hits three home runs, including the game winner in the 11th in a 9–7 win against the Giants in the Los Angeles Coliseum. One of his home runs is an inside-the-park 4-bagger, as he drives in six runs.
Stan Musial breaks up another no-hitter. His 7th-inning double off Glen Hobbie is the Cards' only safety in a 1–0 loss to the Cubs.
IN THE NEWS: The White Sox, down 6-1 after two innings, storm back and score 11 runs in the 7th inning on one hit; there are three errors, a near-record 10 walks, a HBP, stolen base, and single in the frame. Kansas City Athletics relief P George Brunet gives up five bases-loaded walks and a bases-loaded HBP, as the White Sox garner just one hit, by John Callison. Jim Landis makes two outs, both grounders to the pitcher, in the strange inning. Nellie Fox drives in two runs in the inning, both times by walking. Fox does collect four hits in the game, while Aparicio has a 3-run homer. There are three other bases-loaded walks as Kansas City loses, 20–6.
Whitey Ford pitches 14 innings against the Senators striking out 15. The Yankees finally win it in the 14th on a Moose Skowron solo homer 1–0, the longest contest ending 1–0 on a four-bagger.
IN THE NEWS: The Senators tally only three hits off Bob Turley, but beat the Yankee righty, 3–2, snapping his 12-game winning streak over Washington. Russ Kemmerer is the winner, despite allowing a home run to Mickey Mantle.
After a conference with Fidel Castro, Havana club president Bobby Maduro says the team will stay in Cuba despite the political unrest.
IN THE NEWS: Was it something I said? Reds pitcher Willard Schmidt is twice hit by pitches in the 3rd inning in an 11–10 win over the Braves. Braves pitchers Bob Rush and Lew Burdette do the plunking. It is a first in the major leagues, but the ML mark will be tied in three years by Frank Thomas. While on the mound in the 4th inning, Schmidt is hit again when a Johnny Logan line drive strikes him on the right hand and he has to leave the game. The two teams use 14 pitchers between them to tie a National League record, with the eight pitchers by the Reds tying another NL record. Warren Spahn is tagged for the loss, his 2nd in two days to the Reds.
Surprising Baltimore sweeps a pair from the Yankees, coming from behind to score two in the 9th and win the opener, 5–4, and scoring in the final frame of the nitecap to win, 3–2. The O's use six pinch hitters in the opener, while New York uses four for a new ML mark. Hoyt Wilhelm goes the distance in the nitecap, but his knuckler proves elusive for Gus Triandos, who ties the major-league record with four passed balls. Ray Katt, who was the lone holder of the record, also caught Wilhelm.
Los Angeles move into first place ahead of the Braves with a 17–11 win over St. Louis. The Dodgers score four in the 8th and four more in the 9th. Charley Neal has five hits and Hodges five RBIs to lead the Dodgers.
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