On this day in 1958 the Milwaukee Braves beat the Dodgers 8-4 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was only their second win in their last eight contests, but they remained in first place in the National League at 41-34.
The story on this day, however, was pitcher Lew Burdette. He pitched a complete game and allowed four runs (three earned) on eleven hits, walking none and striking out just one. He also powered the Brave offense with a pair of home runs.
The carnage started in the fourth inning when the Dodgers walked Andy Pafko intentionally to load the bases for Burdette, who unloaded them with a grand slam to take a 4-0 lead. He struck again in the eighth, belting a solo shot to expand the lead to 6-3.
Burdette only hit 12 home runs in his 18 major league seasons, but this was his second two-homer game.
Today is also the third anniversary of a trade between the Mariners and Royals in 2009 that sent Yuniesky Betancourt to Kansas City. We covered that event in this space last year.