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Boston (May 2)
Coming into a doubleheader against the Boston Braves, Veeck realized the team needed more even more help on the bench and in the bullpen. At Saperstein’s suggestion, he looked to players who were possibly past their prime, and signed Cool Papa Bell, Martin Dihigo, and Luis Tiant (pictured below.) Rumors also reached the owner that other teams might soon dare to follow the course he had set.
In the first game at Shibe, Si Johnson took the mound against Boston’s Jim Tobin. The Phillies loaded the bases in the second, but came up with nothing. The game remained scoreless until the eight, when Boston scored five, including a grand slam by Phil Masi. That was the whole ballgame, as the Braves won 5-0.
Paige started game two that day, with Gibson moving to left to give Campanella a start behind the plate. Mahlon Duckett also started at shortstop for the first time. The Braves hit nothing hard in the first, but played station-to-station ball to roll up a three-run lead. It was Paige’s first bad game with the Phillies after two great ones, and after four, the Braves led 5-3. Tiant came entered in relief in the fifth and was effective, but the offense struggled. Smith gave up one in the eighth, but it did not matter: Boston won 6-3, and the Phillies dropped to 3-4.
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