Three days earlier, the 1958 Milwaukee Braves looked like a near lock to win the World Series. They shut out the Yankees 3-0 in New York to take a 3-1 series lead, and needed to win just one of the following three contests (including two at home) to secure their second straight championship. What seemed like a sure thing went up in smoke, however, and on this day in 1958 the Braves lost Game 7 6-2 and lost the series four games to three.
The Braves scored in the first on Wes Covington's RBI groundout, but gave up two runs in the top of the second and never led again. The game was decided in the eighth when an Elston Howard single and Bill Skowron home run off Lew Burdette gave the Bronx Bomers a 6-2 lead. The game ended with the same score.
All told, the Braves were outscored 17-5 over the series' final three games as their lead crumbled and evaporated.
This was the Braves' final playoff appearance in Milwaukee: They missed postseason play by two games in 1959 and seven games in 1960 before falling off the pace in the 1960's. Seven years after this Fall Classic appearance, the team packed up and moved to Atlanta.
With help from the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- 1982-83 Brewer Bob Skube, who turns 54.
- 1977 Brewer Ed Kirkpatrick, who would have turned 67.