June 5, 1968

By Keith Thursby

Times staff writer

This time, no ninth-inning escapes were needed for Don Drysdale to continue his remarkable season.

The Dodgers defeated the
Pirates, 5-0, as Drysdale passed Carl Hubbell’s record for scoreless
innings en route to his sixth consecutive shutout.

Drysdale faced little of the
drama he survived in his last start, when he hit the Giants’ Dick Dietz
with the bases loaded in the ninth inning only to see the umpire rule
the batter didn’t try to avoid the pitch.  Drysdale eventually got out
of the inning without giving up a run.

Against the Pirates, he broke
Hubbell’s mark of 46 1/3 scoreless innings in the second when he struck
out Bill Mazeroski. It was apparently all downhill from there, although
stories in The Times credited second baseman Paul Popovich with making
three outstanding plays to help protect the shutout.

Some of the Pirates praised
Drysdale but at least one spoke openly about suggestions that he was
using something extra on the baseball.

"He had the best sinker in
baseball, no rotation, just like a knuckleball," Don Clendenon told The
Times’ Dwight Chapin. "He was great. His Vaseline ball worked real
good. Was it a Vaseline ball? I don’t think. I know it was.

"But more power to him. Great, tremendous. I hope he gets 200 innings in a row."

Former teammate Maury Wills
started at third base for the Pirates that night. "Give him credit, he
pitched a good game," Wills said. "There’s no use trying to pick apart
what he was throwing or what he was doing."

keith.thursby@latimes.com