2020 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #5

 

National League Pitcher of the Week – George Uhle – Clockwork Heros
2-0 record, 1st No-hitter in LEG History vs Hoboken (5-0, May 1), 16.2 innings pitched, 0.00 ERA, 2 hits allowed, 14 strikeouts & 6 walks.

 

 

 

 

American League Pitcher of the Week – Charlie Root – Fort Worth Cats
2-0 record, 13 innings pitched, 0.69 ERA, 8 hits allowed, 13 strikeouts & 5 walks.

 

 

 

National League Player of the Week – Hal Trosky – San Tan Valley Moonrakers
.355 avg / .903 slg, 11 for 31, 2 doubles, 5 home runs, 7 runs, 9 RBIs & 1 walk

 

 

 

 

American League Player of the Week – Dave Parker – Middle Channel Sturgeon
.500 avg / 1.192 slg, 13 for 26, 2 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 7 runs & 9 RBIs.

 

 

Kansas City A’s @ Chicago Nine
Series Preview: The A”s come into the Windy City for a 7 game series.
Game #1: Luis Aparicio is 3 for 5 & Ken Boyer has a Homerun & 2 RBI’s. Phil Niekro goes 6.2 & turns it over to the pen.

Final Score: Kansas City 5 – Chicago 2

Win: Phil Niekro 2-1 (4.94)
Loss: Felix Hernandez 3-2 (2.42)
Save: Babe Adams #4

Game #2: Chicago turns the tide as Roger Clemens goes 7 solid before Jeff Nelson shuts the door. J.D. Martinez is 3 for 4 with a Homerun, 3 RBI’s & 2 Runs scored.

Final Score: Chicago 5 – Kansas City 3

Win: Roger Clemens 1-2 (5.79)
Loss: Sam McDowell 1-4 (4.20)
Save: Jeff Nelson #5

Game #3: Chicago’s bats were thumping, but unfortunately Chicago list it’s big thumper, in Big John Mayberry for the rest of the series. 8 Runs were scored for Chicago, with 2 RBI’s each from Mike Trout, Aaron Robinson, & Joe Cunningham. J.R. Richard goes the distance for the Nine.

Final Score: Chicago 5 – Kansas City 3

Win: J.R. Richard 3-2 (4.33)
Loss: Three Finger Brown 3-2 (4.33)

Game #4: Hank Aaron, Bill White & Ken Boyer have 3 RBI’s games (Aaron Homerun). Ferguson Jenkins pitches OK enough for the win.

Final Score: Kansas City 10 – Chicago 5

Win: Ferguson Jenkins 4-2 (4.50)
Loss: Herb Pennock 1-5 (3.38)
Save: Babe Adams #5

Game #5: Eddie Cicotte goes 8 strong before Babe Adams shuts the door on the Nine. Rocky Colavito has 2 Hits in 4 Trips & 2 RBI’s for the A’s.

Final Score: Kansas City 4 – Chicago 2

Win: Eddie Cicotte 2-4 (3.81)
Loss: C.C. Sabathia 2-5 (6.65)
Save: Babe Adams #6

Game #6: Chicago scored 1 in the bottom of the 7th & the A’s tied it in the top of the 8th. Kris Bryant knocked a go-ahead single in the bottom of the 12th scoring Mike Trout who had tripled to lead off the inning giving Chicago the victory.

Final Score: Chicago 2 – Kansas City 1

Win: Scot Shields 1-1 (4.58)
Loss: Dick Hall 1-2 (1.05)

Game #7: Walker Cooper had a Homerun & 3 RBI’s for the A’s. Roger Clemens was a bulldog & faced 40 Batters going the distance. 2 RBI’s each by J.D. Martinez, Ivan Rodriguez & Omar Vizquel leads Chicago to win the final game of the series.

Final Score: Chicago 8 – Kansas City 3

Win: Roger Clemens 2-2 (5.18)
Loss: Sam McDowell 1-5 (4.98)

Series Summary: Chicago takes the series 4 games to 3 over the A’s of Kansas City, but on all accounts, these two teams are going nowhere fast come October, except to the golf course.
Jack Street @ Middle Channel Sturgeon
Series Preview: The Best team in the League Jack Street visits the Middle Channel
Game #1: Hustlers hit 4 home runs in a 14-1 victory
Game #2: Meusel’s Grand Slam is the difference in a 7-4 Jack Street win
Game #3: Meusel and Drew collide and get injured in a 7-6 Sturgeon win
Game #4: 18 Hustler hits fuel a 14-2 Jack Street ass whoopin
Game #5: It take 10 innings for the Hustle to earn a 3-2 win
Game #6: Dave Parker goes yard twice in a 9-7 Sturgeon win
Game #7: Dave Parker goes yard twice in a 9-7 Sturgeon loss
Series Summary: Jack Street takes 5 of 7.
Nags Head Surf Sox @ Pigtown Bombers
Series Preview: The cellar-dwelling Bombers (6-22) welcome Nags Head Surf Sox (12-16) to Pigtown for a 7-game series.
Game #1: Nolan Ryan (1-2) faced off against Roy Halladay (0-0). The Surf Sox got two very big hits to drive in 7 runs in an easy 10-2 win. Ryne Sandberg hit a grand slam and Jimmie Fox had a bases clearing, 3-run double. Ryan gives up 4 hits in 7 innings to get the win. NAG 10: PIG 2
Game #2: Game 2 was a repeat of Game 1. Nags Head gets two big hits (3-run HR by Foxx and 2-run HR by Stanton) and win the game 5-2. Jim Palmer gives up 3 hits in 7 IP to get the win. Mike Schmidt hit a 2-run HR for the Bombers, but that was their only offense. NAG 5: PIG 2
Game #3: Nags Head bangs out 14 hits and scores 7 runs in the first 2 innings. Despite a rally in the 9th by the home team, Nags Head holds on for a 7-6 win. Another HR for Stanton and save #8 for Cordero. Pigtown’s Mike Greenwell suffers a major injury and is out for 35 games. NAG 7: PIG 6.
Game #4: Luis Tiant (2-1) took the bump to try and turn the series around for Pigtown. He pretended like he was an ace, going 7 IP, giving up 5 hits and 1 run in route to to 5-1 win. PIG 5: NAP 1
Game #5: Pigtown’s Jim “Slot Machine” Abbott (0-4) out duels Mike Mussina (2-2) in a close game. PIG 4: NAP 3
Game #6: In a miracle, Pigtown wins its third straight game on a pitching gem by Joe McGinnity, 2-0. McGinnity gets the complete game SHO, giving up only 3 hits, 0 BB and retiring one batter over the minimum to move to 2-5 on the year. Nolan Ryan was the tough luck loser. PIG 2: NAG 0
Game #7: The rubber match was all Nags Head. Foxx and Dawson hit HRs and Gary Carter hit a 3-run double to lead the Surf Sox to an easy 9-3 win. Jim Palmer got the win to move to 3-2. NAGS 9: PIG 3
Series Summary: Nags Head wins the series 4-3. No really remarkable performances by either team. Jim Palmer (NAG) went 2-0, pitching 14 IP, giving up 6 hits and 5 runs.
Hoboken Zephyrs @ Clockwork Heros
Series Preview: A battle for first in the toughest division in the league the NL West. Clockwork as a deeper pitching staff and better hitting but Hoboken has 20 plus starters vs the solid 18’s across the board. Clockwork is healthy while Hoboken has a few injuries,
Game #1: Terry hits two homer and Vaughn another for Clockworks 3 runs that was all Donovan(3-0) and Tekulve(save 9) need to win 3-1 as Spence hit the lone Hoboken homer. Blackwell falls to 1-2
Game #2: Uhle was a disappointment and was 2-4 with a 4+ era and he went to the pen for a series to head his head on right for CLockwork. wow it worked a NO HITTER facing 30 batters striking out 6 and walking 4. Vaughn tripled and homered and drove in 3 in the 5-1 Hero win,.
Game #3: Hoboken batters woke up Bottingly, Heath Spence and Heionrich all homer as Blyleven and Valverde allowed 6 runs in 6 innings. But Clockwork hitters came through Foster homered and drove in four and Terry homered. But in 13 innings CLockwork wins it 7-6 as Kluber gets the win.
Game #4: It looked like another Clockwork win up 3-1 int he 9th with the ace Matheson pitching. But a big rally and Tekulve BS and lose as Clockwork allowed 3 runs to score in the 9th. Spence had a big 2 run hit, and Arky Vaughns homer was wasted by Clockwork. Seaver improves to 6-1 and Harvey gets his 5th save,
Game #5: Injuries hit Hoboken as Spencer gets hurt as does Stanky. But its Donovan with the get pitching for Clockwork going 8.2 innings before Gromek came in for the save. 2-0 Clockwork Foster had a two RBIs on a double and a homer.
Game #6: UHLE back after his NOHITTER goes 7.1 NO HIT innings before Heinrich and Duncan singled and Tekulve came in for the final 4 outs and got his 10th save. 2-0 clockwork
Game #7: Sternwiese and Dahlen homer for Hoboken but it was a blowout as Foster and Terry homered in the 10-4 Clockwork blowout
Series Summary: Wow Clockwork put everything together and almost swept 7 games vs a very good team winning 6. UHLE was amazing as he went 16.1 NO HIT innings before allowing two singles for a strong bid as pitcher of the week line of 2-0 16.2 innings no runs 2 hits 6 walks 14 strikeouts.
SS Arky Vaughn puts his hat in as hitter of the week going 9 for 24 with 7 runs 8 RBIs and 3 homers.
Purry Cowpokes @ New Westminster Salmonbellies
Series Preview: Division battle in Week 5
Game #1: Steve Carlton 4 – 2 vs Jeff Tesreau 2 – 2

Cowpokes scored in the first. Speaker scores on a rbi by Wells.
Campanella ties the game up in the 5th inning on a Lord single.
Tesreau walks the bases full in the 6th. Cowpokes score a couple of runs as Dihigo slams into the wall as Luke Easter knocks in 2.
Doesn’t look good for the Bellies with Carlton pitching well.
In the 7th Mays hits a triple and a SF scores Mays.
8th inning and in comes the stoppers with the score 3 -2.
Bob Howry gets an easy out and then Concepcion whacks a double.
Pinch hitter, Chick Stahl comes in to bat and strikes out, but the ball gets away
moving Concepcion to third and Stahl safe at first. Jimmie Wynn comes up and bangs one through second base tieing the game.
Soria now comes in. Pinch-runner, Junior Gilliam is on third and Felipe Alou launches a sacrifice fly for the winning run.
Ralph Terry finishes off the game in the ninth for a 4 – 3 victory.

WP: Jeff Tesreau 2 – 2   S: Ralph Terry 1     LP: Bobby Howry 0 – 1

Game #2: Vida Blue 1 – 0  vs  Dwight Gooden 1 – 2

Quiet first inning in this pitchers duel. Second inning Luke Easter hits a home run for Purry  . End of the pitchers duel. Bottom of the inning, Beltran singles and Campanella smacks his 2nd of the year. Other half of the pitchers duel over. Bottom of the 4th with 2 quick outs,  Mays and Campanella single .   Bozo Concepcion doubles home both runners making the score 4 – 1 for the Bellies. Bottom of the 5th and the dreaded walk starts the inning.
Gilliam on first moves up on a wild pitch and Felipe Alou knocks him home. Wynn singles, 

Beltran knocks in Alou then Campanella knocks in Wynn and it is now a laugher at 7 – 1.
All is quiet to the top of the 8th. Gooden is licking his chops with a 7 – 1 lead. One out and Tris Speaker singles, Ted Strong walks and that is the end of Gooden. In come Eddie Watts. As the announcer says time to bring in Watts to give him some work, on his 10.80 ERA.

Sure enough, PB, 2nd and 3rd with Willie McCovey to face. Eddie gets the K. It is all easy now. Another Willie coming up. BANG, it is gone for a 3 run shot making it 7 – 4.

Top of the ninth with a nice 3 run lead. Surprisingly Watts walks a PH for Easter, Carlos Santana. Time for Joe Nathan to mop up this mess. Utley is up and for some reason licking his fingers. There is an explosion for 7 – 6 ball game. Ralph Terry has to face Nettles, Henderson and Tris Speaker, and gets them all for the save. Final score Cowpokes 6, Salmonbellies 7. Salmon barbecue tonight.

WP: Dwight Gooden 2 – 2   S: Ralph Terry 2    LP: Vida Blue 1 – 1

Game #3: Cliff Lee 0 – 0   Sam Leever 3 – 2

Purry started off the 1st with a home run from Tris Speaker. In the 3rd Tris Speaker led off with a single and Ted Strong knocks Speaker home with a long double.
Junior Gilliam gets on in the 3rd and is knocked home with a double by Concepcion for New West.
Ed Bailey now knocks one out for the Cowpokes for a 3 – 1 lead.
in the 6th Willie Wells knocks a triple and Ed Bailey sends a SF to make the score 4 – 1
Another walk to Speaker and another double and run from Ted Strong to end the scoring at 5 -1.
In the game, Ted Strong had the cyle with 3 runs batted in.

 

WP: Cliff Lee 1 – 0 LP: Sam Leever 3 – 3

Game #4: Javier Vazquez 5 – 1 Frank Lary 0 – 0

Bellies took a 1 run lead in the third but the game was over from there on.
Cowpokes had 11 hits and 11 walks and 10 runs. Greg Nettles hit a home run and drove
in 4 runs with Speaker driving in another 2.

WP: Javier Vazquez 6 – 1   LP: Frank Lary 0 – 1

Game #5: Ted Radcliffe 3 – 2     Dutch Leonard 3 – 1

Ricky Henderson went two for four with 2 runs. Beltran had gone 2 for 4 with a run.
The score was tied 2 – 2 after six innings when Martin Dihigo hit his 9th home run
for the winning score. Bellies win 3 – 2

WP: Dutch Leonard 4 – 1     LP: Ted Radcliffe 3 – 3

Game #6: Steve Carlton 4 – 2   Jeff Tesreau 3 – 2

In the first Cowpokes Ed Bailey knocks in Spoke Speaker and Ted Strong with bases full of little cowpokes.
With the score 2 – 0 and 2 runners on Luke Easter hit a 3 run job to make it 5 – 0.

Bottom of the first and Martin Dihigo hits his 10th making Salmonbellies fans jump for joy.
Top of the 4th and Ted Strong shows his strength with his 3rd of the season.
With the score 6 -1 Martin Dihigo comes up with the bases loaded and slams his Cuban bat down after a nice foul popup.
But Alou gets his first walk of the season to bring home a run making it 6 – 2
Now Steve Carlton has come up with a wrist injury. Could be gone for a few days.
Top of the 6th and Graig Nettles hits his fourth for another run making it 7 – 2. Purry adds another run in the 7th to take a commanding 8 -2 lead.
In the 8th pinch hitter Harry Bassler knocks in a couple of runs to try and make it interesting but the fish mongers fall 8 – 4

WP: Steve Hamilton 1 – 0    LP Jeff Tesreau 3 – 3

Game #7: Vida Blue 1 – 1 Dwight Gooden 2 – 2

Bottom of the 3rd and Concepcion scored off of a Harry Lord single. Top of the 4th McCovey knocks his 4th homer to tie the game.
Bottom of the 5th and the Bellies score 2 runs off of Vida Blue to make the score 3 – 1 but the Cowpokes come back with another home run in the top of the 6th from Tris Speaker.
Top of the 7th and Luke Easter ties up the game with a blast.
Bottom of the 7th the Bellies put the game away with a single from Concepcion and a pinch hit single from Dihigo. Fred Clarke then knocks a 2 run double to give New West a two run lead. New West adds one more in the eighth for a 3 run lead. Ralph Terry comes in for a 3 run save but it was not easy. Walks McCovey, Willie Wells strikes out. Ron Hunt boots the ball for Ed Bailey and McCovey uses his blazing speed to get to third. Here come Easter and he walks. Utley flies out and Glen Davis batting for Nettles grounds out to third.

Tough 6 – 3 ball game

WP: Dwight Gooden 3 – 2    S: Ralph Terry 3    LP: Vida Blue 1 – 2

Series Summary: New Westminster wins the series 4 – 3 so the salmon barbecue is on complete with Moosehead Beer. New Westminster will go on the road now for 18 games and will excite
a lot of crowds.
Madison East Puregolders @ Fort Worth Cats
Series Preview: Coming into this series the Cats are 10-4 at home and in 4th place in the AL West 3 games back. Ft. Worth has gone 6-4 in the last ten games. On the league leader boards they’re 9th in batting at .245 and 4th in steals with 21. For the Purgolders they enter the series in 5th place in the AL West 6 games behind the leader, Menomonee. Their road record is 7 and 7. Madison East is on a 4 game losing streak.
Game #1: The Cats scored their first two runs in an unconventional way on a wild pitch and scoring on a double play, but they got the insurance the needed from Moises Alou leading off the 7th with his 4th homer of the year. Shoeless Joe Jackson made it close for Madison East with a solo blast of his own – his third, but it wouldn’t be enough as Ft. Worth hangs on to win.

Cats win 3 to 2.

Game #2: Shoeless Joe got the scoring started for Madison East in the top of the first by hitting a two run homer. Jason Bay also homered for the 2nd straight game in the third and a single by Roberto Alomar gave Purgolders a 4 to 1 lead heading into the bottom of the 4th, but the Cats scored twice in the 4th on sac fly and an RBI single by Hunter Pence. Ft. Worth would tie the game with two outs in the bottom of the 5th when catcher Harry Danning came to the plate, ”The pitch … it’s hit deep to BAY ’04 … over his head … say good-bye to this one…it’s gone! home run for DANNING ’38 … Harry has tied it up” Ft. Worth takes the lead for good with two outs and runners on 2nd and third in the 6th when Willie Keeler came to the dish, “Here comes the pitch … KEELER ’04 strokes a low liner into center … BAY ’04 races in he dives for it … but he won’t get it … it bounces off his chest … MILLER ’17 scores CATS lead! … PENCE ’11 is well around third …they’re waving PENCE ’11 in and he scores … KEELER ’04 holds at first with a single … as the throw comes in to second … the CATS break the tie and now lead 6-4”

Cats win 7 to 4

Game #3: Hunter Pence and Gene Alley singled home runs in the 5th for the Cats, but the story of the game was starting pitcher Justin Verlander who nearly pitched a no-hitter. Shoeless Joe spoiled it for Verlander by squirting a hit just out of the reach of first baseman Keith Hernandez with two outs in the 9th.

Cats win 2 to 0

Game #4: The Cats used 4 doubles and a couple of singles for a five run second and it was more than enough for starter Greg Maddux, who went 7 plus. Ft. Worth relievers gave up a couple runs late, but the Cats still held on to win.
Cats win 5 to 3
Game #5: A single by Keeler and a double by Hernandez break a 2-2 tie in the 5th for Ft. Worth and a trio of Cats relievers shut the door on Madison East the last three and a third.

Cats win 4 to 2

Game #6: Willie Keeler singles home two of the 3 runs in the second and the Cats allow only two hits by the Purgolders as they shut them out for the 2nd time in the series.

Cats win 3 to 0

Game #7: Ahead 2-1 going into the top of the 9th Madison East gets the insurance they needed when Ryan Braun smacks a two-run homer – his first of the year. Mark Buehrle pitches his 2nd complete game of the series and third of the year as the Purgolders salvage the final game of the series.

Purgolders win 4 to 2

Series Summary: Ft. Worth takes the series 6 games to 1. After getting 10 hits in the first game Madison East would not get double digit game hit totals in the next six games including two games where they only got 1 and 2 hits. Meanwhile the Cats would have three double digit hit games after only getting 4 hits in the first game.
Motown Yankees @ Hollywood Zombies
Series Preview:  
Game #1:  
Game #2:  
Game #3:  
Game #4:  
Game #5:  
Game #6:  
Game #7:  
Series Summary: Hollywood wins the first 2 games and all is looking good. Then they drop the next 5, scoring a total of 2 runs. Games 3-4-5 were shutouts. Motown takes 5 of 7
Kansas City Blues @ Cincinnati Knights
Series Preview: The Kansas City Blues make their first-ever visit to Glenn Sample Field. Cincinnati is in third place in the A.L. West, while Kansas City is currently in the basement of the division.
Game #1: KBC 4-8-1, CIN 9-13-0
Monte Irvin goes 3-for-5 with a triple, two runs scored and an RBI
Game #2: KCB 6-9-0, CIN 8-9-0
Sal Bando 2-for-4, two homers and five RBI
Game #3: KCB 3-8-1, CIN 4-3-2
Johan Santana CG, 1 ER, three strikeouts
Game #4: KCB 5-13-4, CIN 11-12-0
Monte Irvin 3-for-4, two RBI
Game #5: KCB 7-13-2, CIN 4-10-0
Bog Powell 2-for-3, homer, 3 RBI
Game #6: KCB 1-5-0, CIN 4-7-1
Mike Scott tosses CG, 1 ER, nine strikeouts
Game #7: KCB 1-5-0, CIN 5-6-0
Sal Bando 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Series Summary: Cincinnati wins six out of seven to move back into second spot in the A.L. West. Sal Bando hit .333 (8-24) with four runs scored, eight RBI, a double and three homers with a walk. .360 OBP, .667 SLG and 1.027 OPS
West Michigan Retrogrades @  Virginia Cavaliers
Series Preview: West Michigan travels to Virginia with one of the better hitting teams in the NL East. Virginia counters with one of the better pitching staffs in the NL East. Something has to give,…maybe.
Game #1: WMR 4-4 W-U.Shocker (2-5) L-E.Reulbach (2-3) SV-B.Stanley (4)

The Retrogrades turned the tables on the Cavaliers as their pitching led the way to victory. West Michigan’s Shocker pitched like the ace he is, 8 innings, 7 hits and 1 run. He then turned it over to Stanley who struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced in the 9th. Now, that’s not to say Virginia’s E.Reulbach pitched poorly,…he didn’t. 7innings of 5 hit ball should have been good enough. But it wasn’t. Those 5 hits produced 3 runs. R.Sievers plated the first of the runs with a 2nd inning single. H.Johnson added the other 2 runs in the 4th,…”JOHNSON ’23 drives one down the left field line…it’s deep enough if it’s fair … and it’s … long gone! … home run for JOHNSON ’23…and two runs score.” That was enough for the Retrogrades to win the game, but Sievers added one more run in the 9th with his 3rd hit and 2nd RBI double of the game. For the game, all Virginia could muster was a 6th inning RBI double from H.Heilmann.

Game #2: VIR 9-4 W-P.Roe (1-1) L-W.Foster (2-4)

After West Michigan used pitching rather than hitting to win game one, Virginia thought, why not? and won this game with hitting rather than pitching. West Michigan struck first in the 1st on a D.Sisler SF and a D.Snider RBI double. Virginia got one run back in the bottom of the 1st on an A.Rosen RBI single and it stayed that way until the 6th. With F.Frisch on 2nd, K.McReynolds hit a tapper back to the mound and Foster threw the ball into LF allowing Frisch to round 3rd and score the tying run. Then, A.Rosen struck again,…”FOSTER ’33 comes home … it’s deep….out to SNIDER ’50 … it’s over his head … it’s long gone! … a two-run homer for ROSEN ’54. RETROGRADES 2, CAVALIERS 4.” The runs kept coming for Virginia in the 7th,…G.Templeton tripled and T.Pena singled him in, H.Heilmann smashed a triple bringing Pena home, Frisch was given the IBB and A.Jones brought in Heilmann as he bounced a ball past short into LF, McReynolds walked to load the bases and after Rosen popped out Frisch scored on a R.Kiner SF. 8-2 Virginia. West Michigan would add 2 more on a 2-run single by D.Snider in the 8th but it would not be enough as Virginia claimed the victory.

Game #3: WMR 1-0 W-C.Davis (3-2) L-B.Turley (1-4)

Once again West Michigan turned to it’s suddenly stingy pitching staff to get another win. Davis went the distance for the Retrogrades and held Virginia to just 2 hits. That’s why Virginia had no runs. Can’t score when you don’t hit. Virginia’s B.Turley didn’t do bad either. He went 8 innings giving up 4 hits. But he did give up 1 run,…”G. SISLER ’17 facing B. TURLEY ’55, T 7th, 2 Outs, Runner on 3rd, Tied 0-0…Looks at third … TURLEY ’55 now … way outside … and it gets by PARRISH ’89!…CAREY ’13’s headed home … he’ll score…RETROGRADES 1, CAVALIERS 0.” Hard way to lose a game, but lose they did.

Game #4: VIR 2-1 W-R.Hernandez (5-0) L-F.Linzy (1-2) SV-K.Foulke (11)

The Retrogrades out hit the Cavaliers 8-6 but Virginia scored one more where it counts,…in runs. West Michigan’s S.Miller and Virginia’s J.Key did their job only allowing 1 run each and the two teams were tied at 1-all going into the 8th. Virginia tallied their run on a SF in the 1st and West Michigan on an infield single in the 7th. But it was A.Rosen’s blast in the 8th that gave Virginia the win, “A. ROSEN ’54 facing F. LINZY ’67, B 8th, 2 Outs, Bases Empty, Tied 1-1…LINZY ’67 with the offering … and a long one … into left field … CAREY ’13 looks up … adios!…good-bye! … arrividerci!…RETROGRADES 1, CAVALIERS 2.”

Game #5: VIR 2-1 W-L.Gomez (3-4) L-U.Shocker (2-6) SV-K.Foulke (12)

Another game where the Retrogrades out hit the Cavaliers, this time 5-3. But once again Virginia scored one more run than West Michigan. West Michigan got it’s only run in the 1st. After opening the game with 2 hits, West Michigan scored on a double play ball. From then on, Gomez kept West Michigan off balance and scattered 3 hits the remainder of the game. An RBI double from F.Frisch put Virginia on the board in the 3rd and A.Trammell drove him in with the go ahead run one batter later. And that was it. From there on, it was a pitcher’s game and Virginia held on for the win.

Game #6: WMR 9-1 W-W.Foster (3-4) L-J.Guzman (3-2)

The Retrograde bats woke up! 14 hits and 9 runs later the series was tied at 3 games each and Guzman saw his ERA balloon to 3.11. Where do you start? The whole team got into the fun. W.Foster even went 2-3. Let’s see,…R.Cano 3-4 with a homer and 4 runs scored, D.Snider 3-4, a homer, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored, B.Dickey 2-5, a homer and 3 RBI and A.Beltre 2-4. It was a fiasco for Virginia as West Michigan displayed why they are one of the better hitting clubs in the NL. The only bright spot was R.Kiner’s first homer of the year (about time).

Game #7: VIR 5-3 W-E.Reulbach (3-3) L-C.Davis (3-3) SV-K.Foulke (13)

With the series tied at 3 games each, Virginia turned to its strength – pitching – and let their bullpen take command. After trading runs in the 1st, Virginia took the lead when Reulbach helped himself with an RBI single and A.Trammell hit a bases loaded gapper to RF that scored 2 more giving the Cavaliers a 4-1 lead. West Michigan would add 2 more on a H.Johnson RBI single in the 3rd and M.Carey’s solo shot in the 5th. But it was not enough as the Cav’s bullpen shut down the Retrogrades over the last 3 innings allowing Foulke to pick up his 13th save of the season.

Series Summary: Well, Virginia was able to squeak out the series win 4-3. And both teams took advantage of their weaknesses (pitching/hitting) to win games they normally wouldn’t.
R.Cano led West Michigan in the hitting department going 7-23 .304 and C.Davis turned in the pitching highlight of the series with a CG 2-hit shutout for the Retrogrades.
For Virginia H.Heilmann was 7-17 .412 2 doubles a triple and a homer.
West Michigan next goes back home to host the Pigtown Bombers and Virginia travels to Nags Head (just got back from there yesterday) to take on the Surf Sox.
San Tan Valley Moonrakers @ Iowa Giants
Series Preview: San Tan Valley comes to Iowa at 14-14 with Iowa being 13-15 Iowa hoping for a good series to get back over 500.
Game #1: San 8-9-2 WP R Johnson 2-3 Lyle SV 1
Iow 4-9-0 LP Hawkins 1-1
Game goes to 7th inning tied 3-3 and the Moonrakes take charge scoring 5 runs in the next three innings. Trosky goes 2-5 2b homer and 2 rbi’s
Game #2: SAN 4-9-0 WP Hadley 1-3
IOW 1-5-1 LP Dean 2-3
Trosky another good game 3-4 homer, Hadley complete game 5 hits 1 er 7 K
Game #3: SAN 4-7-1 WP Stratton 3-0 Lyle SV 2
IOW 1-5-0 LP Feller 1-7Game goes to the 11th inning Elliot homers and then Trosky again another homer this time a two run shot as Moonrakers win three in a row. Stratton 10 innings 5 hits 1 run.
Game #4: SAN 2-7-1 LP Trucks 2-2
IOW 3-5-0 WP Bonham 5-0 Goosage SV 5
Yelich 2b 3b 2-4 2 rbi Bryce Harpers pitch hit homer in 8th give the Giants first win of series. Bonham another strong performance gets his 5th win.
Game #5: SAN 2-7-0 LP W Clark 3-3
IOW 8=12=2 WP A REYNOLDS 3-3
Allie Reynolds gets complete game with 8 k. York 2-4 homer 3 rbi Harper 3-4 2b 3b 3 rbi
Game #6: SAN 7-11-1 WP J Barnes 1-0 Walsh SV 1
IOW 5-11-0 LP Lanier 2-3
The game goes 13 innings and Jim Hickman baseloaded 2b knocks in three runs to give the Moonrakers another win in extra innings.
Game #7: SAN 6-8-0 WP Hadley 2-3
IOW 3-6-1 LP Feller 1-7
Hadley throws another complete game and who else but Trosky 2 -4 2 homers and 4 rbi
Series Summary: Good series two extra innings game which Moonrakers take, Moonrakers two players of the series Hadley 2 complete games, and Trosky 11-25 11 RBI and hits 6 home runs. Good luck to the Moonrakers a nice team should challenge other contenders.
Fire Lake Segers @ Wainwright Wranglers
Series Preview: A battle of a couple teams battling for 2nd place in the division between Wainwright and Fire Lake
Game #1: This game was over early as Wainwright got to smoltz and than soto early and cruised to a 15-3 victory
WP WHITE 4-4
LP Smoltz 1-1
Game #2: Game 2 was a pitching battle where Mark Grace drove in both runs in a 2-1 victory for Wainwright
WP Jones 1-0
LP Gullett 0-1
Game #3: Matt Morris throws seven strong leading Fire Lake to a 6-4 win and beating Wainwright ace Lefty Grove
WP Morris 3-2
LP Grove 4-2
Game #4: To much Vic Willis in this one as he goes 8 strong for Wainwright in a 4-1 victory. Encarcions two run bomb was the big blow
WP Willis 4-5
Lp Cone 2-3
Game #5: One of my childhood idols Johnny Bench goes 4-5 in this game including hitting a bomb to lead Red Lake to a 7-5 victory
WP Soto 1-0
LP Bradford 0-1
Game #6: Nate Rucker was dominate with a complete game victory and my favorite 80’s hitter tony Gwynn went 2 for 3 driving in 4 leading Wainwright to a 7-3 victory
WO Rucker 2-3
LP Mclaine 3-3
Game #7: Lefty Grove does what a staff ace should do to close out a series and throws a complete game leading Wainwright to a 6-2 victory. He also went 3-3 with 3 rbi
Series Summary: Wainwright wins series 5-2 and was lead by bench players being forced to play as starters needed some rest.
Jimmy Rollins and Edwin Encarcion bailed us out big time this series
 Detroit De Loreans @ Coastline Bobcats
Series Preview: Detroit (17-11) in 2nd place in the NL East travels into Coastline (19-9) in 1st place for an early season key series.
Game #1: DET opens the scoring in the T1 when Rendon reaches on Stieb’s error, Lajoie H&R 1b puts runners at the corners, Collins Sac Fly scores Rendon as Lajoie is cut down at 2nd. DET B.Herman hits a solo-HR in the T2 fora 2-0 DET lead. CLB gets a run back in the B2 on Skowron’s solo-HR, his 1st of the year. CLB ties it in the B6 on a C.Ripken solo-HR. DET retakes the lead in the T7 when B.Herman 2bs and S.Rice plates him with an rbi-2b. In the CLB B8 Wilson bbs, moves up on a groundout, and then scores on a M.Williams rbi-2b. The bullpens take over from here until the B15 as Wilson bbs, steals 2nd, Skowron is IW, Gordon bounced into a FC, and Dykes follows with a game winning rbi-1b. CLB Orosco gets the win and DET Romero takes the loss.

CLB 4, DET 3

Game #2: DET jumps all over CLB’s K.Brown in the T2 as Klein 2bs, Rice bbs, Haller rbi-2b, C.Morgan rbi-1b and another run scores on Wilson’s error, a Rendon 1b, and Lajoie sac fly make it 4-0 DET. CLB gets a run in the B2 on a Cronin throwing error. DET gets the run right back in the T3 on Klein sac fly. CLB continues to hang around on a Howard 2-run 2b in the B3. DET Klein rbi-1b makes it 6-3 in the T5. But in the B5 Gordon’s 2-run 2b and M.Williams rbi-1b ties the game at 6-6! In the T6 DET Haller 3bs and eventually scores on a Lajoie rbi-1b. CLB C.Ripken hits a solo-HR in the B8 to tie the game at 7-7. In the B9 CLB Gehrig bbs, and then with 2 out Gordon’s rbi-2b win the game for CLB. The ‘Cats second walk off win in a row. CLB F.Marberry picks up the win and DET Overall is handed the loss.

CLB 8, DET 7

Game #3: DET again gets out early with 3 runs in the T2 on a Pafko rbi-1b and a Berra 2-run 1b. In the T3 DET gets back-to-back solo-HRs from Collins and Cronin for a 5-0 lead. CLB gets a Gehrig 2-run 2b in the B4, but unlike in the previous game DET S.Williams bears down and shuts down the ‘Cats the rest of the way. DET S.Williams gets the CG win and CLB Finley picks up his 1st loss of the season.

DET 5, CLB 2

Game #4: CLB opens the scoring in the B1 on Kemp’s solo-HR, his 1st of the season. In the CLB B2 M.Williams rbi-2b and Maglie rbi-1b make it 3-0 CLB. In the B4 M.Williams strikes again with a solo-HR. DET breaks onto the scoreboard in the T6 on a bases loaded GIDP by Rice and a Berra rbi-1b. CLB puts the game away in the B7 on a C.Ripken sac fly and Skowron rbi-1b. CLB S.Maglie gets his 1st start of the season and does not disappoint as he goes 7IP giving up only 2 runs while giving up 9 hits for the win. Sallee takes the loss.

CLB 6, DET 2

Game #5: DET opens the scoring in the T1 on rbi-1bs by Cronin and Herman. In the B1 a C.Ripken rbi-2b and a bases loaded Skowron 3-run 3b give CLB the 4-2 lead. CLB C.Ripken plates another run with an rbi-3b in the B2 and in the B4 M.Williams hits a solo-HR to add to the ‘Cats lead. CLB Stieb settled in after the 1st and holds DET scoreless until the T7. In the T7 Herman 1bs, Klein 2bs, Rice rbi-1b, and a Berra rbi-1b cut the CLB lead to 6-4. The ‘Cats go to the pen and Marshall and Sutter close out the game. Stieb goes to 5-0, Sutter picks up his 12th save. DET Vaughn takes the loss.

CLB 6, DET 4

Game #6: DET starts quick in the T1 Lajoie 1bs, Collins 2bs, Cronin rbi-1b, and Herman rips a 2-run 2b for a 3-0 lead. CLB gets 1 back in the B3 on a M.Williams solo-HR. In the B6 Jenkins 2bs and C.Ripken 1bs him home to pull the ‘Cats within one. DET gets 2 big insurance runs in the T9 on a Berra 2-run HR. But they didn’t really need it as C.Morgan goes 6IP giving up 2 runs on 4 hits with 9Ks, Romero comes on for 2IP of scoreless ball, and Schmitz closes it out for his 1st save. The bad news for DET is that they lose both Aker (wrist injury) and Rendon for 6 days. Morgan gets the win, Schmitz the save, and K.Brown loses another game for CLB.

DET 5, CLB 2

Game #7: In the CLB B1 Jenkins bbs, C.Ripken 1bs, H.Wilson bbs to load the bases, and Howard rips a 2-run 1b to open the scoring. In the DET T4 Lajoie 1bs, Collins 2bs, Cronin rbi-1b, a wild pitch scores Collins, and a Fothergill sac fly gives DET the 3-2 lead. CLB ties it in the B5 on a Becker 1b and Jenkins H&R rbi-2b. In the DET T7 Berra 2bs, Fothergill 1bs, and Pafko hits a sac fly to regain the lead. In the CLB B8 H.Wilson hits a solo-HR to tie the game. DET still has S.Williams on the mound in the B9 and after he gets Gehrig on a deep fly out to LF, Gordon strides to the plate and hits a walk-off solo-HR for the CLB win! M.Marshall gets the win and S.Williams takes the loss.

CLB 5, DET 4

Series Summary: Coastline wins the series 5-2 over Detroit. It was a close series and could’ve easily gone the other way.
Wrigleyville Whales @ Menomenee Minutemen
Series Preview: Wrigleyville Whales (13-22) rolls north on I-94 to meet up with the Menomonee Minutemen (23-12) for a little rumble on the shores of Lake Michigan. Wrigleyville has had a rough start to their season but are looking to turn it around against the division leader.
Game #1: Mays vs Hoyt
2 run blasts from Burgess and Jundich give the Minutemen the win in game 1 of this 7 game set. FINAL SCORE WRG 3 MEN 4
Game #2: Quinn vs Hudson
The Minutemen tied the game up in the bottom of the ninth to force extra baseball. The whales never backed down scoring a run in the 11th, 12th, and 13th. The Minutemen did everything they could to keep the Whales off their backs but they proved to be too heavy when MEN could not score in the 13th. Bates, Loller, and Lazzeri all go yard for the Whales, however, the biggest hurt from the game for the Minutemen is that Bonds goes down in extras for 5 games. FINAL SCORE WRG 6 MEN 5
Game #3: Koufax vs Grissom
Koufax gets routed in this game and gets run after only 2 innings pitched. WRG stays strong and puts up a 2 spot in the 9th but it is not enough. FINAL SCORE WRG 5 MEN 8.
Game #4: Reuther vs John
WRG takes a 4-0 commanding lead after 3 innings via the bats of Yaz, Smith, and Horner. However, WRG opens the door in the 7th and MEN puts up a 4 spot and takes the lead and never looks back. FINAL SCORE WRG 4 MEN 5
Game #5: Welch vs Scott
Scott throws a 4 hit shutout and MEN score 7, 4 of those coming on a grand slam by Jundich. FINAL SCORE WRG 0 MEN 7
Game #6: Mays vs Hoyt
Game 6 looks much like game 5. MEN pitching continues to roll and Jundich hits another homer. although this time the whales scored 2.
Game #7: Quinn vs Hudson
In one of the most interesting games of the series, both teams score in the first inning and never score again. WRG drives in 3, 2 via Horner long ball in the first and MEN only 2, and that is the way the game ended. FINAL SCORE WRG 3 MEN 2
Series Summary: Wrigleyville rolls into Menomonee toting an actual distant relative of mine and another member of this league (Horner) and tries to slow the surging Minutemen. Although their attempt was good the outcome looked more like the early 2000’s northside team. Menomonee take the series 5 to 2 and get their oversized chrome-domed RF back for a pivotal series against the furry-Purry Cowpokers.
Fantomz Force @ Climax Cougars
Series Preview: The Fantomz (16-12) and Climax Cougars (16-12) collide for seven games, trying to create breathing space in the middle of the NL East as both teams chase division-leading Coastline Bobcats.
Game #1: Game One was a matchup of Negro League Hall of Famers Satchel Paige (Force) and Dick Redding (Cougars).
You couldn’t shake a stick without hitting a Hall of Famer in this game, but Buck Leonard was the first to do the shaking when in the bottom of the first with one on and none out he laced a long fly ball into the right field alley that carried right over the wall and gave Climax an early 2-0 lead.
A couple of innings later, Force right fielder John Stone hit a ball in exactly the same spot as did Leonard with the same results to make it 2-1. The next batter, Gil McDougald, singled and then Larry Doby continued the Old Negro League Home Week celebration with a tape measure shot into the second deck in right field to make it 3-2.
Scooting ahead to the top of the 6th with two out and Doby on first and Josh Donaldson at the bat, Redding makes a booboo and hangs one and Donaldson made no mistake putting it into the stands in left field for a 5-2 Fantomz lead.
In the bottom of the 7th, Redding got yanked for pinch hitter Johnny Mize who hopes to be making a case for 1st base duties next season and helped out his cause with a single up the middle. Mize never got to enjoy his time on base as he was yanked for Hall of Famer Pop Lloyd. Lloyd scrambled to second on a wild pitch by Paige and then scored when Leonard lined a two-out pitch over second base making it 5-3 and bringing an end to Mr. Paige’s day. Paige finished the day less than stellar (3 runs on six hits with 3 walks and 4 strikeouts) but stood to pick up the win. Steve Cishek replaced Satch and ended the 7th without incident.
The Force looked to extend their lead in the 8th when Doby picked up his third hit of the game but the threat ended when they ran themselves into their third time caught stealing on the day (Doby, Ray Lankford, Joe Judge) at the hands … er, arm of Climax catcher Chief Meyers. Meyers was never known for having a great arm so we can only assume the industrial fan we have running behind home plate when he throws is doing the trick.
Move to the bottom of the 9th with Jeff Russell in to nail down the save with 4 saves already under his belt and a 0.00 ERA. Russell was a tad jittery walking the first batter he faced, George Grantham, and then the jitters turned into trembling after Jim Fregosi and his fearsome .171 average sliced a ball over first baseman Judge and into the right field corner allowing Grantham to score and make it 5-4 with the tying run at 3rd base. Pinch hitter John Kruk wasted no time, hitting a line drive between first and second base to tie it 5-5. And that was it for Russell. In comes another clown with a 0.00 ERA, Brad Ziegler to try to keep the tie where it was and send it into extra innings. Ziegler got Meyers to ground out to second, the runner advanced to second base with the potential winning run and just one out. Ziegler didn’t want to face the suddenly hot bat of Leonard and intentionally walked him to face some bozo named Mel Ott. He aught not to have done that. The dreamed of double play grounder never materialized and the only place the ball did touch ground was in the bullpen beyond the right field wall as Ott’s 3-run shot gave Climax a walk-off 8-5 win.
FINAL – FORCE 5, COUGARS 8
W-Washburn (1-1) L-Russell (0-1)
HR-FAN: Stone (3), Donaldson (2), Doby (7)
CMC: Leonard (1), Ott (4)
Game #2: Far less suspense in this one as Gaylord Perry dominated throwing 5 no-hit innings before finally allowing a hit, but the Force was too much for the Cougars and took it 4-2.
Mell Ott spoiled the no-hitter with a bloop single in the 6th and then Jose Bautista erased the shutout with a blast to centre field but that’s all that the Cougars would get on this day against Perry and Company.
Perry went 8.1 allowing five hits with four walks and three Ks. His line looked deceptively mundane but virtually all of the offense that the Cougars mustered came in the 6th and the 9th innings. In the 9th, Perry looked poised to finish off the game but ran into problems after getting leadoff hitter Josh Gibson to ground out. The next hitter, Sam Crawford, smacked a line drive high off the wall in right field. The Force manager was not taking any chances and called in hard throwing lefty Felipe Vazquez. Vazquez didn’t give the Cougars the chance for any dramatic moment as in Game 1 as he got George Grantham to ground out back to the mound and then caught Jim Fregosi’s line drive up the middle to end it.
The Force got their runs like this …
… in the 1st inning John Stone singled and then advanced on Doc Wiley’s sacrifice bunt and then scored when Ray Lankford ripped a grounder over the first base bag for a double.
… in the 3rd inning, Stone again singled and advanced on a Wiley bunt and scored on Larry Doby’s grounder down the 3rd base line that eluded Bautista.
… in the 6th, Doby picked up his second double of the game when he lined Van Lingle Mungo’s offering into the right field alley. Doby then scored when Lankford hit his second double with a blast that one-hopped the wall in left centre. Gil McDouglad’s line drive single into left field brought home Lankford and that was all she wrote.
FINAL – FORCE 4, COUGARS 2
W-Perry (3-2) Sv-Vazquez (2) L-Mungo (1-2)
HR-FAN: none
CMC: Bautista (9)
Game #3: Wow.
Stan Coveleski versus the Cougars’ Rube Waddell in what was one of the best games I’ve played in the past 25 years.
This certainly was not a game that was kind to pitchers though as the starters quickly discovered.
That pesky John Stone guy led things off with a grounder that fooled shortstop Jim Fregosi and then moved to second when Doc Wiley’s sacrifice bunt was so good that catcher Josh Gibson couldn’t field it in time to get Wiley as he ran to first. Waddell was able to get usual suspects Larry Doby and Ray Lankford without incident but then Gil McDougald drove another ground ball past suddenly pylon-like Fregosi and into left field scoring Stone. The next hitter Joe Judge did as much damage as he could without hitting the ball out of the park and in retrospect it would have been better had he homered. Judge tagged the ball to deep right field sending centerfielder Sam Crawford and Mel Ott sprinting after it. With Crawford waiting to make the catch Ott ran back and discovered first-hand the physics principle that two bodies of mass cannot occupy the same physical space. Bonk. Both outfielders dropped to the field, the ball dropped to the ground and rolled to the wall. Somehow, Crawford managed to get the ball in but just like that the Force were up 3-0 and 2/3 of the Cougars’ outfield was hobbled for the rest of the series.
The Cougars’ 1st inning was far less “busy” then the Force’s. Buck Leonard doubled and then scored on Jose Bautista’s big homer to left field to make it 3-2.
After the noisy beginning, things for both starting pitchers settled down nicely until the bottom of the 5th when the Cougars once again made a bit of noise. Buck Leonard must have found his mojo as he crushed a Coveleski pitch way out of the park for his second home run of the series and then John Kruk thought it looked so cool he decided to do the same giving the home team a 4-3 lead heading into the 6th.
The Force did nothing in their half of the 6th but the Cougars loaded the bases only to have pinch hitter Johnny Mize ground out to shortstop to end the threat.
Struggling Greg Harris opened things up in the top of the 7th for Climax and John Stone greeted him with a warning shot fly ball that Chaney White caught against the wall in centre. Warning having been issued, Wiley continued to be a pest with a line drive single over 3rd base. Doby moved Wiley to 2nd on a single to right field and that was it for Harris. Enter Sid (Finch) Fernandez. Fernandez’s first opponent was lefty Ray Lankford and he did his job driving a grounder under Leonard’s glove at 1st base and into the right field corner – Wiley scored, Doby to 3rd, tie 4-4. Gil McDougald ground out to shortstop Fregosi but the hit was enough to score Doby and make it 5-4. Fernandez then got Joe Judge to line one back to the mound for the 3rd out and preserve his 0.00 ERA while pissing away the Climax lead.
Honus Wagner’s triple off Ellis Kinder in the 8th scored Josh Donaldson to make it 6-4 and the home team could feel their chances of staying in this game floating away.
In keeping with the theme of floating, Jose Bautista opened the bottom of the 8th by floating a ball just over and past the glove of shortstop McDougald. Bautista moved to 2nd base on Gibson’s ground out and then moved on to 3rd base on Chaney White’s single into left field. In there for his glove and not his bat, anything we get from the late-inning defensive sub is a plus. White was the last batter Coveleski would face and in came Steve Cishek to face Harlond Clift. Clift earned his first mention in this series by hitting the ball over Doby’s head for a double that drove home both runners and turned what felt hopeless into a 6-6 tie game. Fregosi then singled over short and voila 7-6 Climax.
The Climax field boss brought in fan favorite and future full-time closer John Wetteland to try and nail things down in the 9th. Wetteland got it done and got it done quickly. Fastball to Doc Wiley and bang … tie game 7-7. Ugh. Wetteland was able to escape without any more harm but the damage was done and we were going to extra innings unless the Climax could pull it out in their half of the 9th.
Nope. Cishek shook off whatever rust was on him the previous inning and it was three-up, three-down.
Wetteland was a tad off starting the 10th and walked Judge and Donaldson leaving a steaming pile of crap for Clay Carroll to deal with. Carroll’s first task was to deal with Honus Wagner and Wagner did what he likely won’t do too often in the future and laid down a sacrifice bunt to move the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Adam Eaton was inserted as the pinch hitter and the squeeze was on. Carroll’s way of dealing with the squeeze play is to eliminate the bunter with a pitch square on the hands. Bases loaded now with the leadoff hitter John Stone coming up and after only three games already proving to be a pain. And the pain didn’t abate. Stone hit a fly ball deep enough to allow Judge to score easily from 3rd base and give them the 8-7 lead. Carroll got Wiley out to end the inning, but you could hear the fat lady starting to hum really loudly.
Jeff Russell was brought in to try and make amends for his game 1 meltdown and the Cougars hoped for a repeat. Not even a whimper as Russell set them down in order and the Cougars suffered death by small ball in falling 8-7 to the Force. A great game though with standout performances by Stone and Wiley from the Force with each getting three hits.
While it was kind of cool to use spare parts to try and fill the outfield void after the injuries to Ott and Crawford I can see it won’t be too long that it’ll start getting annoying that the replacements just don’t have it.
FINAL-FORCE 8, COUGARS 7 (10)
W-Cishek (3-0) Sv-Russell (5) L-Wetteland (0-1)
HR-FAN: Wiley (2)
CMC: Leonard (2), Kruk (3), Bautista (10)
Game #4: Fully expecting a big dip in the Cougars’ offense with the loss of Mel Ott and Sam Crawford in the previous game, you can imagine how pleasantly surprised the Climax fans were when the team opened the 4th game of the series by scoring three times off Fantomz tough starter Carl Weilman.
Jim Fregosi brought in the first couple of runs of the game with a double into the left field gap that scored Buck Leonard and Jose Bautista and then scored himself on Chaney White’s line drive single to right field. The damage could have been worse as Harlond Clift followed White’s hit with one of his own, but a great throw by Ray Lankford gunned down the speedy White at home plate.
With Smoky Joe Wood throwing a perfect game through four innings, Chino Smith rewarded him with some extra run support in the form of his first home run of the season to make it 4-0.
Wood’s perfect game turned ugly in the 5th inning. Lankford picked up the Force’s first hit on a single and then was pushed to 2nd base after Gil Mcdougald was nailed in the leg by a pitch. Joe Judge dropped a fly ball into the gap in right and speedy Lankford came around to score and make it 4-1. Josh Donaldson continued the rally with a ball high off the wall in centre field and both runners came in to score narrowing the lead to 4-3.
The Force would get runners as far as 2nd base in the 6th, 7th and 8th but no closer. John Kruk singled in a run in the bottom of the 8th to pad the lead a bit and John Wetteland came in and closed things out with a perfect 9th to even the series with a 5-3 Climax win.
FINAL-FORCE 3, CLIMAX 5
W-Wood (3-2) Sv-Wetteland (3) L-Weilman (3-4)
HR-FAN: none
CMC: C.Smith (1)
Game #5: The expected lack of offense due to the Cougars’ outfield injuries reared its ugly head in Game 5, but a standout pitching performance by Spud Chandler and three relievers held the Force to just three hits as they edged the visitors 2-1.
The injuries sparked some rarely displayed power from Harlond Clift and Josh Gibson who both bopped solo home runs off Satchel Paige as the great one finally lost his first game of the season.
Paige pitched well other than the two gaffes, allowing just four hits and three walks over seven innings and he fanned 11.
Chandler did not factor into the decision for the Cougars as he was pulled for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the 5th despite allowing just one run on one hit (RBI double by Ron Santo).
FINAL-FORCE 1, COUGARS 2
W-Harris (1-2) Sv-Kinder (2) L-Paige (6-1)
HR-FAN: none
CMC: Gibson (1), Clift (2)
Game #6: A loud sucking noise was heard coming from Cimax Comiskey in Game 6 in the form of the Cougars’ offense as the home team could only muster four hits against Gaylord Perry and a couple of relievers in a 1-0 loss to Fantomz.
Ray Lankford got the offense out of the way early in this one with a double off the wall in right field that scored John (Arggg) Stone and spoiling an otherwise excellent outing by Dick Redding.
The Cougars looked poised to tie it when John Kruk hit a one-out triple in the 7th and then Perry walked Jose Bautista and Josh Gibson, but Harlond Clift hit a hard grounder to Gil McDougald that he easily converted into a double play.
The Cougars managed a single off Jeff Russell in the bottom of the 9th but that was it as he closed it out for his second save of the series.
FINAL-FORCE 1, COUGARS 0
W-Perry (4-2) Sv-Russell (6) L-Redding (1-1)
HR-none
Game #7: With a couple of already excellent games in this series … what the heck – save the best for last.
Stan Coveleski gets the start for Fantomz against Greg Harris in his first start of the year for Climax.
Chino Smith may be a defensive liability at second base, but there is no denying the clutch hitting of this Cougars hitter as he proved once again, hammering Coveleski’s fastball on a line out of the park to right field to make it 1-0 with one out in the 1st. Coveleski then had Buck Leonard come within a few feet of duplicating Smith’s feat, but Ray Lankford caught the ball with a leaping catch at the wall. Chief Meyers then singled for Climax and came around with the hopes of scoring on Jose Bautista’s double to left field, but Meyers was tagged out after missing the plate to end the inning.
With two out in the 3rd inning, the Cougars increased their lead to 2-0 on Buck Leonard’s third home run of the series.
Doc Wiley opened the 4th for Fantomz with a single which was their first hit of the game off Harris. Then BANG, no-hitter gone Larry Doby cracked one over the fence to eliminate the shutout and tie the game 2-2.
In the bottom of the 6th, Leonard picked up his second hit of the game and then second steal of the season to put the go-ahead run on 2nd base with none out and Chief Meyers up. Meyers smacked a line drive down the first baseline straight into the glove of Joe Judge. Judge fired the ball to Honus Wagner at 2nd base and he laid the tag on Leonard to double him off. As bad as a double play is, it’s nothing compared to a sprained thumb which is what Leonard ended up with as he dove back in. Expected out fo the next week or so, Leonard and his nice big cast automatically becomes the team’s DH (designated hitchhiker).
Judge was again in the thick of things in the 7th inning. With Larry Doby on 2nd base and two outs, Judge lined a ball past Fregosi at short and into left field. Doby outran Jose Mendez’s throw to give Fantomz a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the 8th, Coveleski started off by walking John Kruk and then gave up a one-out single to Mendez that moved Kruk to 3rd base. Brad Ziegler replaced Coveleski to face hot-hitting Chief Meyers and got the catcher to ground hard to Wagner who stepped on second base and then nailed him at 1st to end the threat with a double play.
Reliever Clay Carroll got into trouble in the top of the 9th when he put runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs on a single and a walk, but Ellis Kinder bailed him out by getting McDougald to ground out to 3rd base.
Cue Felipe Vazquez to nail down his 2nd save of the series … He got Bautista without problem on an easy grounder to shortstop, but then distracted by the mysterious clanging of trash cans from the Cougars’ dugout he walked Fregosi who represented the tying run. Vazquez became a little unhinged at this point and threw one well over catcher Al Lopez’s head advancing Fregosi easily to 2nd base. Clift walked on four pitches (if you can call them that) to make it runners on 1st and 2nd. Somewhat questionably, Chaney White was yanked in favor of lefty pinch hitter George Grantham who, of course, struck out in support of the manager who displayed the intuitive powers of a roadkill squirrel. In a return to sanity, Josh Gibson was brought in to pinch hit for Kinder and with two outs got jammed on a pitch and blooped it over 2nd base allowing Fregosi to score the tying run and moving Clift to 3rd. At this point, the Fantomz opened the trap door on the mound and Vazquez was gone and replaced by Steve Cishek. Cishek’s inaugural batter to be faced was Kruk who did what Kruk often does and just sat at the plate and watched as the pitcher tried to tease him to swing at a bad pitch but instead wound up walking him to load the bases. Chino Smith ended the drama with a dribbler to Wagner that he flipped to McDougald to send it into extra innings for the second time in the series.
Nothing doing in the 10th as both teams were set down in order.
In the 11th, Sid Fernandez walked pinch hitter Johnny Mostil of the Force but that was all the Force could do. With Justin Frasor now on the mound for Fantomz in the bottom of the inning, he was greeted by a fly ball to the wall by Fregosi for the first out. Clift laced a double into the right field gap which brought up George Grantham who he walked intentionally to face 9th inning hero Josh Gibson. No heroism here as Gibson though as he flew out to left. Kruk then fouled out to 3rd to end that threat.
Chief Meyers opened the 12th inning with a gimme when he dropped Ray Lankford’s dribbler in front of the plate and then barely managed to throw out Gil McDougald as he bunted Lankford over to 2nd. Lankford moved to 3rd on a ball hit back to Fernandez on the mound, but was stranded there as Jose Mendez made a nice catch on a line drive by Donaldson.
Frasor walked a couple of batters – one intentionally – but emerged unscathed in his half of the 12th to send it to the 13th.
John Wetteland was into the action again for Climax and nailed down the Force in order in the top of the 13th. Frasor gave up an opening single to Clift but then got out Grantham and Gibson, but they were able to move the runner along to 3rd base with Kruk coming to the plate and Wetteland on deck. An easy choice given Wetteland not having a hit since U2 was still good and no hitters left on the Cougars’ bench, Kruk was given the free pass. Van Lingle Mungo was handed the bat and the surprised pitcher went in and struck out. Oh well.
Mungo stayed in the game for Climax for the 14th. Doby opened things up with a single and the small ball attack by the Force was on. Fortunately, Mungo didn’t let Doby advance beyond 2nd base before ending it. Mel Harder came in for the Force struck out two hitters and gave up a two-out single to Bautista, but that was all the Cougars would get.
So we moved into the 15th … feeling drowsy now. Grantham was probably using that as his excuse when he dropped Honus Wagner’s grounder to put the go-ahead run at 1st base, but was wide awake and staring open-mouthed when the next hitter (Birdie Tebbets) clobbered a line drive into the gap in left centre that Josh Gibson was able to track down. Harder’s 15th was 3-up, 3-down ho hum stuff.
Mungo walked John Stone to start the 16th. With the Force also out of batters on the bench reliever Mel Harder was left in to hit. Rather than deal with the likely sacrifice bunt Harder would attempt, Mungo tried to pick off Stone. By pick off, I can only assume he meant knock unconscious as the throw sailed past Stone’s head past slow to react 1st baseman John Kruk and into right field. By the time the ball was back in the infield, Stone was at 3rd. And then the squeeze was on … and Stone was easily out as Harder couldn’t get the bat on the ball and allowed Meyers to tag the helpless runner as he tried to score. Harder and Doby grounded out to 2nd base and that was the end of that. Phew.
Kruk opened the bottom of the 16th with a ground out to 3rd, but Mungo did his best to make up for the near game-ending error in the top of the inning by hitting a line drive single into right field. Jose Mendez flied out to centre to make it two outs. That 3rd out was hard to come by though as fatigue and tension took their toll on the fielders. Chief Meyers lined the ball back to the mound but Harder could not hang on and then couldn’t reach the ball in time to get Meyers at 1st. That brought up team home run leader Jose Bautista. Harder decided that menu item was about as appetizing as a bowl of earwigs and gave the slugger nothing to hit and walked him to load the bases. That brought up Jim Fregosi who has twice as many walks as hits this season so far. No walk on his mind though a he slapped one over the infield and into left field to bring home Mungo and end the marathon.
Credit to the Cougars pitching staff on this one as through 16 innings they allowed only four hits (we’ll forget about the seven walks and the shitty defense that resulted in three errors). Larry Doby had half of his teams hits with a single and a home run. Kruk had four walks while Fregosi and Bautista each had three hits for the Cougars.
FINAL-FORCE 3, COUGARS 4 (16)
W-Mungo (2-2) L-Harder (0-2)
HR-FAN: Doby (8)
CMC: C.Smith (2), Leonard (3)
Series Summary: A great series. Period. Cougars barely take 4 of 7 against the Force. The top four of the Fantomz order were a constant threat and a real pain in the ass to pitch against while Gaylord Perry was really good on the mound. For Climax, Buck Leonard’s week-long injury will be keenly felt after he finally seemed to get the bat going with three homers in the series, but we have to be happy with winning this without two of our better players in Ott and Crawford for most of the series.
Next week’s matchups should be a treat as Climax (20-15) heads to Detroit (19-16) and Fantomz (19-16) host division leading Coastline (24-11). Go get ’em, Force!
Indianapolis Indians @ Boston Braves
Series Preview: No writeups this week
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Las Vegas Pirates @ Lewisberry Country Blumpkins
Series Preview: The Lewisberry Country Blumpkins, who hit a pothole big enough to poop in last week, hosted the standings-climbing Las Vegas Pirates. First 4 games were played via TeamViewer.
Game #1: Hershiser hurls a shutout and a 4run 4th provided a cushion for Lewisberry as they win 7-0.
Game #2: Zach Britton eats piles of dog excrement as he serves meatballs in the 9th to Cecil Fielder and Bill Madlock, who both hit 2run homers, to steal the game 7-6 for Las Vegas.
Game #3: Justin Turner’s 2 Sac Flys help the Blumpkins win 5-2.
Game #4: Pirates score 4 in the 1st and never look back en route to a 6-1 victory. A Fielder crushed a 2run bomb.
Game #5: Blumpkins battle back from down 4-0 with 3 in the 8th and a Freeman game tying solo shot in the 9th. Freeman finishes it off in the 11th with another as Blumpkins win 5-4.
Game #6: Bernie Williams 2run HR in the 1st gets Lewisberry on the board first. Pirates score 3 in the 3rd and get a solo HR from Madlock in the 4th to lead 4-2. Nellie Cruz solo HR in the 4th makes it 4-3. Biggio launches a 2run scud in the 6th to give Las Veags a 6-3 lead they wouldn’t relinquish as they win 9-5.
Game #7: A 4run 2nd for Lewisberry allows Jack Morris to cruise to victory as Lewisberry wins 6-3. The ‘BippMeister” Falk, who was constantly on base the entire series, hits 2 HRs for the Pirates.
Series Summary: Lewisberry Country Blumpkins eke out a 4-3 series win between 2 evenly matched teams. Peter Falk was on base alot for the Pirates. Blumpkins in need of some Power Hitters….