1959 NL Opening Day!

 April 9, 1959

  It was Opening Day for the 1959 MLB season and the Cincinnati Reds had the honor of hosting the first game of the year. The visiting Pittsburgh Pirates struck first, scoring a run in the top of the 1st inning. With both teams battling for the win, the game stood tied 3-3 in the 8th inning when Cincinnati's Frank Robinson connected for a 3-run homer. 

 The final score was 7-3. Orlando Pena got the Win for Cincinnati with 1 2/3 of solid relief pitching. Fred Green took the loss for Pittsburgh allowing 4 runs in 2 innings pitched. 

BOXSCORE: 1959 Pittsburgh Pirates At 1959 Cincinnati Reds            4/9/1959
 
  Pirates            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Reds               AB  R  H RBI AVG
  B.Virdon CF         4  1  0  0 .000     J.Temple 2B         2  1  0  0 .000  
  R.Clemente RF       3  0  1  0 .333     V.Pinson CF         3  1  1  0 .333  
  B.Skinner LF        3  1  2  1 .667     G.Bell RF           4  1  1  1 .250  
  D.Stuart 1B         4  1  2  2 .500     F.Robinson 1B       4  2  3  3 .750  
  D.Hoak 3B           4  0  1  0 .250     F.Thomas 3B         4  0  0  0 .000  
  B.Mazeroski 2B      4  0  0  0 .000     J.Lynch LF          4  0  0  0 .000  
  D.Groat SS          4  0  1  0 .250     E.Bailey C          4  1  2  2 .500  
  H.Foiles C          4  0  1  0 .250     R.McMillan SS       3  1  1  0 .333  
  R.Kline P           2  0  0  0 .000     B.Purkey P          3  0  1  1 .333  
A-R.Nelson PH         1  0  1  01.000     O.Pena P            0  0  0  0 ----  
  F.Green P           0  0  0  0 ----                                          
B-S.Burgess PH        1  0  0  0 .000                                          
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      34  3  9  3                 Totals      31  7  9  7
 
A-Pinch Hit For Kline In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Green In 9th Inning
 
Pirates......... 1 0 0  0 0 0  0 2 0  -  3  9  1
Reds............ 0 2 0  0 1 0  0 4    -  7  9  0
 
Pirates (0-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
R.Kline                   6       6   3   3   2   5   1   4.50
F.Green LOSS(0-1)         2       3   4   4   2   1   1  18.00
Totals                    8       9   7   7   4   6   2
 
Reds (1-0)               IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA
B.Purkey                  7 1/3   8   3   3   2   4   1   3.68
O.Pena WIN(1-0)           1 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00
Totals                    9       9   3   3   2   5   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 8,590 DATE- Thursday, April 9th 1959 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good
UMPIRES- Frank Secory, Hal Dixon, Vinnie Smith, Frank Dascoli
T- 2:24
LEFT ON BASE- Pirates: 7  Reds: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Pirates: 2  Reds: 1
ERRORS- B.Skinner
DOUBLES- E.Bailey(1st), B.Purkey
HOME RUNS- D.Stuart(1st), F.Robinson(1st), E.Bailey(1st)
RBIs- B.Skinner(1st), D.Stuart-2(2nd), G.Bell(1st), F.Robinson-3(3rd),
      E.Bailey-2(2nd), B.Purkey
SACRIFICE HITS- R.Clemente
WALKS- B.Virdon, B.Skinner, J.Temple-2, V.Pinson, R.McMillan
STRIKE OUTS- B.Virdon, D.Stuart, H.Foiles-2, R.Kline, V.Pinson, F.Thomas-2,
             E.Bailey, B.Purkey-2
GIDP- S.Burgess, G.Bell, F.Thomas
2-out RBI- E.Bailey-2
RLISP 2-out- D.Hoak-2, B.Virdon, R.McMillan
TEAM RISP- Pirates: 1 for 6  Reds: 5 for 7
 
Frank Robinson slammed a homerun and had 3 RBI at Crosley Field where the
Cincinnati Reds beat the Pittsburgh Pirates by the score of 7 to
3.
 
Cincinnati had the winning rally in the 8th inning scoring 4 runners on 3
hits.  The highlight belonged to Robinson who electrified Crosley Field when
he launched a three-run homer.  Both teams ended up with 9 hits on the
afternoon.  
 
Orlando Pena(1-0) was the winner allowing no runs in 1 and 2/3 innings. Fred
Green(0-1) was the loser in relief.  He was knocked around pretty good,
giving up 4 runs in 2 innings.