Baltimore’s Al Pilarcik drove in two runs as the Orioles defeated the Chicago White Sox 4-2 in the semifinals of the Strat-O-Matic 1959 Tournament presented by Press Room Pass.
With the victory, the Orioles will travel to the winner of the top-seeded Los Angeles Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs game for the title contest.
Pilarcik knocked in the go-ahead run in the top of the second inning to give the Orioles a 2-1 advantage.
Nellie Fox put the White Sox in front with a run-scoring single in the first before Billy Gardner tied it for Baltimore in the second with a single to set the stage for Pilarcik.
In the fourth, Pilarcik added a RBI single. Later in the frame Gene Woodling‘s sacrifice fly made it 4-1.
Luis Aparicio‘s double in the sixth knocked in the final tally of the contest.
Pilarcik and Brooks Robinson led the Orioles with three hits apiece, while Aparicio and Jim McAnany had two hits each for the White Sox.
Both pitchers tossed complete games. Brown was the winner for the Orioles as he allowed seven hits with three strikeouts. Billy Pierce worked out of several jams, but survived as he gave up 10 hits and fanned four.
1959 TOURNAMENT RESULTS AND SCHEDULE
Championship Game
(A6) Baltimore Orioles at
(N6) Chicago Cubs/(N1) Los Angeles Dodgers winner
(Top Bracket Opening Round)
(A1) Chicago White Sox 7, (N8) Philadelphia Phillies 1
(N5) Cincinnati Reds 5, (A4) Detroit Tigers 3
(A6) Baltimore Orioles 2, (N3) San Francisco Giants 1
(N2) Milwaukee Braves 4, (A7) Kansas City A’s 1
(Top Bracket Second Round)
(A1) Chicago White Sox 10, (N5) Cincinnati Reds 4
(A6) Baltimore Orioles 3, (N2) Milwaukee Braves 0
(Top Bracket Final)
(A6) Baltimore Orioles 4, (A1) Chicago White Sox 2
(Bottom Bracket Opening Round)
(N1) Los Angeles Dodgers 4, (A8) Washington Senators 3
(A5) Boston Red Sox 16, (N4) Pittsburgh Pirates 3
(N6) Chicago Cubs 4, (A3) New York Yankees 0
(A2) Cleveland Indians 3, (N7) St. Louis Cardinals 0
(Bottom Bracket Second Round)
(N1) Los Angeles Dodgers 11, (A5) Boston Red Sox 3
(N6) Chicago Cubs 9, (A2) Cleveland Indians 2
(Bottom Bracket Final)
(N6) Chicago Cubs at (N1) Los Angeles Dodgers
IN REAL LIFE:
In 1959, Al Pilarcik had four three-hit games as the Orioles won all of them. He batted .282 with three homers and 16 RBI. He also led the American League with 13 sacrifice bunts.
Pilarcik began his six-year big league career with the Kansas City A’s in 1956. He joined the Orioles in 1957.
Before his final season in 1961, he was traded back to the A’s. In June, the A’s sent him to the White Sox.
The outfielder finished his career with 22 homers and 143 RBI, while batting .256.