American League Player of the Week – Martin Dihigo – New Westminster
Salmonbellies .609 avg (14/23), 4 doubles, 3 home runs, 14 Runs Batted In, & 8 runs scored.
National League Player of the Week – Stan Spence – Hoboken Zephyrs
.379 average (11/29), 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 11 Runs Batted In, & 4 runs
scored.
National League Pitcher of the Week – Carl Weilman – Fantomz Force
2-0 record, 0.00 ERA, 18 innings pitched, 9 hits allowed, & 4 strikeouts.
American League Pitcher of the Week – Josh Beckett – Lewisberry Country
Blumpkins 2-0 record, 0.56 ERA, 16 innings pitched, 5 hits allowed, & 10 strikeouts.
| Wainwright Wranglers @ Motown Yankees | |
| Series Preview: | A pair of ho-hum 6-8 teams, both off to sluggish starts, looking to have a statement series and get to the top of the league standings. |
| Game #1: | Lefty Grove gets the opening series game nod for Wainwright, surprisingly still in search of his first W of the season. Dutch Leonard starts for Motown, looking to end a 4 game skid. Grove was dominant, tossing a complete game with 9 punchouts. Brett was 2-4 with 2 runs and an RBI on 2 doubles to lead the way for Wainwright. Wainwright takes Game 1 5-1. |
| Game #2: | Motown puts ace Carl Hubbell on the mound against Vic Willis and his 2-2 record. 1-1 after 4, Wainwright put the game out of reach with a 4 run 5th highlighted by a 3R HR by RF Heiney Manush. Darren Daulton added a solo shot, Bip Roberts picked up his 4th hit of the series, Puckett contributed 2 2b’s, and Wainwright took advantage of a critical error by Motown 3b Stan Hack in hanging 3 unearned runs on Hubbell. Fred McGriff’s 3-5 performance, all 3 hits 2 baggers, was not enough, as Motown fell agaib to WWW by the score of 6-4. Power moved to 3-2, Duane Ward picks up his 3rd save, with Hubbell falling to 2-1 in his complete game effort. |
| Game #3: | Short story – Wainwright exploded for 9 earned runs, highlighted by edwin encarnacion’s 5th inning grand slam – Mark Grace added an HR with4 RBI’s as well, as WWW simply overpowered Dave Brown and Motown, with Brown and his 20 rating falling to 1-4 on the young season. White 2 hit the Yanks in a 90 blowout win for WWW, extending the Yanks losing streak to a season high 7 games. |
| Game #4: | Desperately seeking offense, Motown made some lineup changes hoping to wake up the bats against Wainwright’s Nap Rucker. Adam Wainwright started against his namesake. Stan Hack’s 3R HR in the 2nd gave Motown all they needed, with Lofton knocking in 2 runs as well, with Motown scoring 3 UE runs against Rucker. Wainwright went 8 strong scattering 3 hits and a single run, with Motown winning it’s 1st game of the series, 5-1. |
| Game #5: | Lefty Grove starts for WWW looking to take his 2nd W of the Series against Motown’s winless Addie Joss. Another one over early, with WWW plating 4 through 4 and Lefty Grove securing his 2nd CG victory. Bip Roberts had 2 more hits, Darren Daulton smashed 2 doubles, and WWW cruised to a 5-1 victory. |
| Game #6: | Needing a strong performance to avoid complete embarrassment, Motown sends Carl Hubbell to the hill and WWW’s 3-2 Willis. Both pitchers were brilliant, with the score tied 0-0 through 7. Biz Mackey took advantage of a rare start and launched a 3R HR in the bottom of the 8th, giving RP Uehara his 3rd W on the young season. WWW mustered only a Kirby Puckett single to avoid the NoNo. Motown wins, 3-0, but loses star CF Kenny Lofton for 8 days after he crashed into the OF making a spectacular catch. |
| Game #7: | Motown’s Dave Brown takes the mound looking to rebound from his disastrous Game 3 start against WWW’s White and his 3-2 record. Brown, the Yankee bullpen, and Lofton replacement Richie Ashburn proved to be the stars…..Brown scatted 2 hits over 7 IP’s to pick up his 2nd W of the season, Mingori and Uehara pitched single scoreless innings in relief, and Ashburn knocked in 2 in the 7th with a double to give the Yanks all they would need to shutout WWW 3-0 for the 2nd consecutive game. |
| Series Summary: | Neither team accomplished their goal, with WWW taking the series 4-3. Lefty Grove was the player of the Series, tossing 2 CG victories, scattering 14 hits and only 2ER’S. |
| 2Chicago Nine @ Jack Street Hustlers | |
| Series Preview: | The Chicago Nine and last week’s AL POTW John Mayberry travel down Interstate 57 to take on the Jack Street Hustlers in an AL East battle. |
| Game #1: | C 3/9/0 J 6/9/0WP – Hand 2-0 LP – Shields 0-1 Sv – Brantley 5 HR – C – Selkirk (1)Tied at 3 all going to the bottom of the 8th, where the Hustlers roughed up Scot Shields. Mayberry continues his good play going 1-4 with 2 rbi. Medwick, Justice and Kaline all pick up a pair of hits for the Hustlers. |
| Game #2: | C 7/10/2 J 9/7/2WP – Byrd 2-1 LP – Richard 1-2 Sv – Brantley 6 HR – C – Mayberry (7)Grounds crew admonished after the game for leaving too many stones on the field, which led to 4 total errors between the two teams. The Mayberry watch continues as he goes 3-4 with 2 runs and 2 rbi falling just a triple short of the cycle. Larry “no hassle” Hisle leads the way for Jack Street driving in 3 runs with a bases loaded triple in the 4th giving a lead they would never relinquish. |
| Game #3: | C 1/4/0 J 2/3/1WP – Haren 2-0 LP – Pennock 0-3 Sv – Hand 1 HR – NoneAll the runs scored in the 3rd as Mayberry (yeah that guy again) drives in Richardson with a single, but in the bottom half, the Hustlers pick up 2 of their 3 of their hits plus a walk and a sac fly to pick up 2 runs. Big news is Mike Trout of the Chicago 9 was injured for 15 days. |
| Game #4: | C 2/5/0 J 9/13/0WP – Glavine 4-0 LP – Sabathia 1-3 Sv – Young 1 HR – C – Bryant (1) J – McGwire (8), Hisle (3)After a mid-series day off, play resumed with the Hustlers taking their 4th in a row. Larry Hisle (3-4 w/ 3 R and 3 RBI) and Ted Simmons (2-4 w/ 4 RBI) lead the way. |
| Game #5: | 11 innings C 2/9/0 J 1/7/0WP – Hernandez 2-1 LP – Brantley 1-1 Sv – None HR – NoneIron Man King Felix Hernandez goes the distance . . . 11 innings giving up 7 hits, 3 walks and striking out 4. Vizquel led off the 11th by singling and stealing 2b. Richardson bunted him to third, but on a squeeze attempt, Jones didn’t get the job done and Vizquel was out at the plate for the 2nd out. It looked like it was going to the bottom half tied, but Jones stole second and was singled home by Selkirk. The King finished it out in the 11th. |
| Game #6: | 10 innings C 5/10/2 J 3/12/0WP – Nelson 1-0 LP – Jones 0-1 Sv – None HR – C – Mayberry 2 (9)A 3-2 lead was erased in the bottom half of the 9th on a Simmons triple and an EMart single. In the top half, the Chicago Nine push across two on a single by Richardson, a Jones hit batsman, a Pudge Rodriguez sac, and singles by Selkirk and Bryant. Mayberry once again lead the way with 3 rbi. |
| Game #7: | C 5/7/0 J 8/11/1WP – Veres 1-0 LP – Stottlemyre 0-1 Sv – None HR – C – Selkirk (2) J – Palmeiro 2 (3)The Nine welcomed Junior back from the DL, but it wasn’t enough. Tied going to the bottom of the 8th, the big blow was Rogers Hornsby’s 2 out, bases loaded single that drove in 2 runs. Palmeiro drives in 4 and Hornsby three in the victory. |
| Series Summary: | Hustlers take the series 5-2. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if Trout wouldn’t have gotten injured. |
| 2Fort Worth Cats @ Purry Cowpokes | |
| Series Preview: | Purry comes into the series hot after taking 6 of 7 from the KC Blues. Fort Worth comes in 7-7 and intent on moving above .500. |
| Game #1: | Javier Vazquez was dominant striking out 7 and only surrendering 3 hits and 2 walks over 7 1/3 innings. Purry got homers from Ted Strong, Willie McCovey, and Carlos Santana to put the Cowpokes up 6-0. Johnny Rigney came on in the 7th for Purry to give him some work and it almost backfired as he and Billy Wagner surrendered 5 runs in the 8th but Wagner was able to close out the game and cling to a 6-5 victory. Final score: Purry 6 Fort Worth 5 |
| Game #2: | Purry gets on the board in the 1st as Tris Speaker doubles and then scores on McCovey’s single. The lead was short-lived as Fort Worth got 2 in the 2nd. Ken Singleton, Pee Wee Butts, and Harry Danning hit consecutive singles to load the bases and Toby Harrah followed that up with a 2-run double. Frank Chance drives in Marquis Grissom in the 7th to give the Cats an insurance run. (3-1) Meanwhile, Justin Verlander settled down after the 1st and threw nothing but goose eggs. With Verlander still pitching in the 9th, Purry decided to make things interesting. Luke Easter was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. One out later, Sammy Strang walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Pinch-hitter Glenn Davis flew out to center for the 2nd out. Then surprisingly, lead-off man Rickey Henderson was lifted for ph Hank Sauer. Here’s the call. “The runners take their lead … the pitch to SAUER ’49 … this one could have wings … up … up!
and away! … it’s all over! … a three-run shot to left that pitch was right in his wheelhouse … Hank trots around the bases he loves a trip downtown … he claps his hands … he’s greeted at home plate congratulations all around” Final score: Purry 4 Forth Worth 3 |
| Game #3: | Greg Maddux was masterful, only giving up 2 hits over 7 shut-out innings while striking out 6. He improves to 3-0 with a 1.67 era. Final score: Fort Worth 4 Purry 0 |
| Game #4: | The Cats scored 6 times off of Steve Carlton in the 3rd and never looked back. Pee Wee Butt went 3-4 with 2 triples, a double, 3 rbi’s and 2 runs scored. Jim Kaat improves to 2-2 with a 2.25 era. Final score Fort Worth 15 Purry 5 |
| Game #5: | Dennis Eckersley improves to 2-0, 1.69 out of the pen as the Cats score in the 8th and 9th innings. I forgot to save scripts on this one. Final score Fort Worth 4 Purry 2 |
| Game #6: | The Cowpokes hit 3 triples (Willie Wells, Tris Speaker, and Willie McCovey) and Jake Weimer got back on the winning track, 3-1 3.27. Final score Purry 3 Forth Worth 2 |
| Game #7: | A true pitcher’s duel…Verlander vs Vazquez. Neither pitcher surrendered a run through 5 innings. In the bottom of the 6th, Tris Speaker follows Willie Wells single with an rbi double to break the scoreless tie. Neither team would score after that. Javier Vazquez improves to 4-1 1.63 Final score Purry 1 Forth Worth 0 |
| Series Summary: | A well fought series where runs were hard to get in the majority of the games. The Cowpokes take the series 4-3. Javier Vazquez was the star of the series pitching 15 2/3 scoreless innings, going 2-0 while striking out 12 and giving up only 10 hits and 6 walks. |
| Kansas City A’s @ Middle Channel Sturgeon | |
| Series Preview: | Unfortunately, as a result of technical problems this series had to be simmed despite a really good write-up by Jamie. KC A’s visit the Middle Channel Sturgeon. I’m not going to win any Pulitzer for this writeup. |
| Game #1: | The visitors got to Middle Channel starter Rube Foster early, scoring five times in the first couple of innings and that is all Sam McDowell and company needed as the A’s captured the opener 6-1. Bill White (2) homered for KC with McDowell (1-2) getting his first win after allowing just five hits over eight innings. The hard-thrower struck out six and walked just one. Bobby Bonds continued to go crazy at the plate for the A’s with three hits and two RBIs. |
| Game #2: | Kc’s Eddie Ciccotte and Mort Cooper pitched equally well … which is to say not at all … as each allowed seven runs in under four innings in a 14-3 Sturgeon romp. And when you see romping sturgeon – it ain’t pretty. Al Leiter (2-2) got the win for Middle Channel allowing just two unearned runs over seven innings. Meanwhile Cicotte and Cooper each allowed five earned runs on eight hits. Cooper wins I guess as the lesser evil cuz he struck out five compared to Cicotte’s goose egg. Miggy Cabrera had four hits and scored three times for the Sturgeon with catcher Salvador Perez chipping in with two hits, two ribbies and three runs scored. No homers in this one although there were three triples (Cobb of course had one of them) but it was a momentous occasion as so did Frank Thomas. |
| Game #3: | New topped old as Three-Finger Brown was outduelled by Chris Sale and the Sturgeon pen who blanked the visitors 2-0. Brown (1-3) went the distance for the A’s with two strikeouts, four walks and eight hits allowed. Miggy Cabrera had two hits including his 3rd homer of the season – a solo shot in the 6th inning. Luis Aparicio tried to make things happen for the A’s with his two hits and 7th steal on the young season (he was also caught once). |
| Game #4: | Ty Cobb’s muffed catch of a fly ball led to two Kansas City unearned runs in the top of the 10th to hand over a 7-5 extra inning win to the A’s. Hal Morris (1) accounted for the game’s only long ball – against Max Scherzer in the top of the 3rd. Even with a very much less than dazzling start for Scherzer (five runs – three earned – in six innings) his ERA still sits at a microscopic 1.22. Cobb and Matt Carpenter each had three hits for the Sturgeon. |
| Game #5: | Hal Morris homered for the second straight game and Rube Foster had his second consecutive rotten start for Middle Channel as they hospitably lost 8-4 to the A’s. Morris also doubled for the A’s while once again Tiberius Cobb led the Sturgeon hitters with a couple of hits. Phil Niekro got the win to even his record at 1-1 while Dick Hall earned his first save. |
| Game #6: | The pendulum swung back Middle Channel’s way as they beat around Sam McDowell and sadsack Mort Cooper in an easy 7-1 win. Salvador Perez (2) homered for Middle Channel and drove in three runs. For Senor Cobb another ho-hum day with another two hits. |
| Game #7: | A’s starter Eddie Cicotte was rock-solid in the early going but the Sturgeon jackhammered him in the late innings scoring four runs spread over the 6th through 8th innings in a come-from-behind 5-3 win. Victor Martinez had three hits including his 2nd homer of the campaign and drove in four runs for the winners.Travis Fryman (2) countered for the A’s. |
| Series Summary: | Middle Channel takes the series 4-3 in part of the strength of Miguel Cabrera and his crazy .413 batting average. |
| Clockwork Heroes @ San Tan Moonrakers | |
| Series Preview: | Two division mates face off in the desert |
| Game #1: | |
| Game #2: | |
| Game #3: | |
| Game #4: | |
| Game #5: | |
| Game #6: | |
| Game #7: | |
| Series Summary: | The Heroes take 5 of 7 from San Tan, who suffer three more significant injuries (That’s 6 in 21 games). Besides that, they cannot it – Vern Stephens and Charlie Keller hit 70 real life homers. They have 1 in 156 plate appearances so far. Not to mention that the Heroes have great pitching…… |
| Madison East Puregolders @ New Westminster Salmonbellies | |
| Series Preview: |
The 7 and 7 Puregolders vs the 6 and 8 Salmonbellies.
Should be a very interesting series.
|
| Game #1: |
Puregolders: Art Nehf 0 – 1 vs New Westminster: Andy Messersmith 0 – 0
Top of the 3rd with a Frank Snyder 2 bagger and a free ticket to Jose Reyes, Albert Belle comes up and rattles a ball of the wall for a 2 run triple. After a Roberto Alomar popout and Todd Helton flyout the score remains 2 – 0
In the bottom of the 4th down 2 runs Carlos Beltran smacks a double high off the wall.
Up comes the Cuban, Martin Dihigo and follows with another double over Belle’s head scoring Beltran. With 2 out Campanella drops in a single scoring the speedy Dihigo to tie the game.
After a Ray Durham walk, and a Jose Reyes single up steps the scary Belle. Ding dong, Messersmith walks him. With bases loaded it is Roberto Alomar time with a single scoring Durham and Reyes. Belle moves to third and Messersmith has a mess. It is over for Andy.
In come the strike out artist, Ralph Terry.
That works well as he holds Helton to a one run single. The Salmonbellies are starting to spew. Hank Bauer now has SF scoring Alomar for a 6 – 2 lead. After one more single from Roush there is a 3rd out from Pie Traynor.
Art Nehf is now cruising along.
Bottom of the 6th here comes Dihigo for his 3rd hit and two more from Fred Clarke and Bill Werber scoring Dihigo making it 6 – 3. With runners now on 1st and 3rd Weber attempts a SB but is caught. Runner on 3rd and Campanella gets an infield hit. Concepcion now smacks a double making it 6 – 4.
Ralph Terry is ready for another inning and goes 1 – 2 – 3.
Roger McDowell enters the game for the Puregolders. Bellies feeling pretty good now as Jack Clark smacks a single and Ron Hunt runs for him. Hunt steals 2nd. Willie Mays walks and Beltran knocks a single loading the bases. Dihigo doesn’t do any damage. Freddie Clarke is up and smacks into what could be a DP but Clarke beats it out, scoring Hunt. Werber grounds out keeping the score at 6 – 5.
In comes Eddie Watt in the top of the 8th walking Hank Bauer but manages to get out of trouble.
McDowell is still pitching and Campanella bruises one and Concepcion singles and Campy goes to 3rd. Junior Gilliam knocks a single and Concepcion goes to 3rd. Tie game. Willie Mays hits a SF to take the lead.
Stopper, Bill Caudill comes in and gets 3 out inning to save the game.
East Madison 6 New Westminster 7
LP: Roger McDowell 0 – 2 WP: Eddie Watt 1 – 0 S: Bill Caudill 2
|
| Game #2: |
Madison East: Hooks Wiltse 2 – 1 vs New Westminster: Sam Leever 2 – 0
1st inning, Belle does it again knocking in Alomar who had walked with a double. Ramirez who had walked is on 3rd scores on a Concepcion error. Belle then is thrown out in a rundown.
Bottom of the 3rd the Bellies start off with 5 straight hits and score 7 runs on Wiltse taking a 7 – 2 lead.
In the top of the 4th the Puregolders score 5 on a Belle homer knocking in 2.
Top of the 6th Belle takes the lead making the score 8 – 7. Another whacker.
Bottom of the 7th and Wynn ties it up with a double knocking in Beltran.
Game goes to the top of the 11th and Eddie Watt is on to pitch. One runner on and manager thinks of walking Belle, but why. It is now 10 -8. Belle does it, one man show.
WP: Roger McDowell 1 – 2 S: Urbina 2 LP: Eddie Watts 1 – 1
HR: Puregolders: Belle 3(4)
|
| Game #3: |
Madison East: Guy Bush 2 – 1 Salmonbellies: Dutch Leonard 2 – 1
Pitchers duel to the bottom of the 5th when the Bellies load the bases and Harvey Kuenn knocks a single scoring J. Bassler.
Bottom of the 8th with Leonard pitching a shutout and Bush giving up 1 run, Jimmie Wynn leads off with a double and Willie Mays moves Wynn to third on a fly ball error.
A sacrifice fly by Ferris Fain scores Wynn for a 2 – 0 lead which ends up being the final score with a Leonard CG, one hit shutout. Bush goes the distance for East Madison.
WP: Dutch Leonard 3 – 1 LP: Guy Bush 2 – 2
|
| Game #4: |
Madison East: Mark Buhrle 0 – 2 New Westminster: Jeff Tesreau 2 – 0
Game is scoreless to the bottom of the 4th. Dihigo gets on base with a single
and Carlos Beltran hits a 2 run homerun.
Top of the 6th and Tesreau runs into trouble giving up 3 runs. Belle gets on base with a FC as Alormar is thrown out at the plate
after a double. Durham and Bauer score making it 3 – 2
Bottom of the 6th and Dihigo ties up the game with a homer.
Top of the 7th and two walks to Snyder and Alomar and Belle hits a 3 run homer making it 6 – 3
Bottom of the 7th and Dhigio hits a 2 run double scoring pinch runner Ron Hunt and Concepcion who had singled.
Ed Roush leads off the 9th with a triple and scores on a DP making the score 7 – 5
Bottom of the ninth and Roger McDowell picks up the save with a 3 out inning after pitching 2 and 2/3 innings.
WP: Mark Buehrle 1 – 2 S: McDowell 2 LP: Tesreau 2 – 1
HR: Puregolders: Belle 5
HR: Salmonbellies: Dihigo 3 Beltran
|
| Game #5: |
Madison East: Dock Ellis 1 – 0 New Westminster: Doc Gooden 0 – 2
Bottom of the 3rd, with runners on 1st and 3rd Dihigo hits into a run scoring DP scoring Fred Clarke.
Top fo the 4th, Todd Helton scores Hanley Ramirez from 3rd to tie the game.
Top of the 5th and Puregolders take the lead on a Frank Snyder SF scoring Ed Roush who had tripled.
Bottom of the 5th, Ferris Fain hits a double Felipe Alou runs for him. Dihigo hits a 2 run homer making it 3-2 Bellies.
Top of the 8th and Albert Belle hits a game tieing home run.
Top of the 13th and Hanley Ramirez hits 2b.
Belle is walked so that he can score from 1st base and will get tired. Abernathy is pitching now and Bauer knocks in Ramirez and Helton knocks in Belle for a 2 run lead and a winning score of 5 – 3 .
Eric Plunk comes in and gets a 1 – 2 – 3 save.
WP: Urbina 1 – 0 S: Plunk 1 LP: Ralph Terry 0 – 1
HR: Madison East: Belle 6
HR: Salmonbellies: Dihigo 4
|
| Game #6: |
Purgolders: Art Neif 0 – 2 Salmonbellies: Messersmith 0 – 0
New Westminster ran away with this one early.
The Bellies were up 12 – 1 after six.
Willie Mays with his 1st HR, Beltran with 4 hits and Dihigo with 3 more hits bringing his season average to .460 did most of the damage.
Final was 12 – 3
WP: Messersmith 1 – 0 LP: Neihf 0 – 2
HR: Madison East: Traynor 1
HR: New Westminster: Mays 1
|
| Game #7: |
Madison East: Hooks Wiltse 2 – 1 New Westminster: Sam Leever 2 – 1
Another blowout with the Bellies winning 8 – 0
Shutout pitching from Leever and Dihigo bringing his average up to .472 on the season. He knocked in 5 for the Bellies.
WP: Leever 3 – 1 LP: Hooks Wiltse 2 – 2
HR: Bellies: Dihigo 5
|
| Series Summary: |
Summary: Albert Belle went 8 for 25 with 8 runs 14 RBI and 5 HR in the series
Martin Dihigo went 14 for 23 with 8 runs 14 RBI and 3 HR in the series. Dutch Leonard has a 1 hit shutout for the Bellies.
Salmonbellies win the series 4 – 3
|
| Fantomz Force @ Virginia Cavaliers | |
| Series Preview: | Two teams with good pitching staffs face off,…but with a team batting average under .200, Virginia is at a bit of a disadvantage. |
| Game #1: | FAN 2-0 W-C.Weilman (2-1) L-J.Guzman (1-1)
As advertised, pitching was the name of the game. Weilman threw a CG shutout and only allowed 5 hits. Guzman went 8 innings scattering 7 hits while striking out 10. The Force was able to secure the win by getting RBI’s from M.Andrew and H.Wagner in the 2nd and 6th innings. Unfortunately for Virginia, they never really mounted a threat. |
| Game #2: | VIR 4-3 W-R.Hernandez )2-0) L-F.Vazquez (0-1)
Another pitching match up. The FAN’s S.Coveleski and VIR’s P.Roe battled 9 innings to a 1-1 tie. The Fan’s got their run in the 4th on a L.Doby homer and VIR got theirs in the bottom of the 4th on a 2-out RBI single from A.Trammell. Things looked good for the Force in the 10th when S.Choo ripped a 2 out RBI single and scored as R.Langford roped a double into the RF corner. But VIR comes right back in the bottom of the inning. D.Murphy reached on an error with 1 out and A.Jones doubled putting runners at 2nd and 3rd. Losing his concentration, J.Russell then walks D.Mitchell to load the bases with 1 out. Al Rosen then slapped a single into RF, his 3rd hit of the game, scoring 2 and suddenly it was all tied up again. Goose eggs went up in the 11th and 12th. R.Hernandez got into trouble in the top of the 13th when he walked D.Wiley with 1 out and hit J.Donaldson with 2 out to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Now he faced H.Wagner. Wagner “flails the air but fails to make contact … that’s strike three … three down!” So, on to the bottom half. K.McReynolds lead off by sending one to the gap and pulls up at 2nd with a lead off double. A.Trammell receives the IBB to set up the double play. After getting B.Robertson on a called strike three, T.Pena lined a walk off RBI single into CF giving VIR the win. A win that was costly as they lost Frank Robinson for 7 days. |
| Game #3: | VIR 3-2 W-J.Guzman (2-1) L-S.Coveleski (0-4)
After the drubbing in game 5, back to a pitcher’s game. After A.Jones’ RBI double gave VIR a 1-0 lead, Guzman held FAN to just 3 hits over 8 innings. However, 2 of those hits turned into runs on SF’s from H.Wagner and J.Donaldson. Coveleski looked good with a 2-1 lead going into the 8th for the Force. Then A.Jones spoiled it for him,…”A. JONES ’03 facing S. COVELESKI ’23, B 8th, No Outs, Runner on 2nd, Behind 1-2…COVELESKI ’23 working on FRISCH ’28 to hold him close … he’s on with a lead-off double…COVELESKI ’23 fires it in … it’s deep … out to DOBY ’50 … it’s over his head…it’s long gone! … a two-run homer for JONES ’03 … Andruw trots around the bases…he loves a trip downtown … he claps his hands … he’s greeted at the plate…FORCE 2, CAVALIERS 3.” That was all VIR needed as they turned it over to their stopper, K.Foulke, who pitched a 1-2-3 9th to pick up his 7th save. |
| Game #4: | Tied at 3 games all, this is the tie breaker. This is short and sweet,…for the Fantomz anyway. This game is summoned up in two words,…Satchel Paige! The man is unreal. CG, 9 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 BB and 11 K’s. That added up to win number 6 for Ol’ Satch. VIR was not even in this game. Reminded me of the time Paige brought his fielders into the infield, told them to sit down and rest, “I got this” he said and proceeded to get each batter out. R.Lankford and L.Doby blasted homers to provide the offense and even Paige got into the fun by ripping a RBI single. An easy win for the Fantomz and a 4-3 series win. |
| Game #5: | FAN 13-0 W-C.Weilman (3-1) L-E,Reulbach (2-2)
What should have been a good matchup turned into a fiasco for VIR and a rout for the Force. Fan struck in the 1st with a R.Langford RBI triple, a run on a DP, and then back-to-back homers from G.McDougald and J.Donaldson which put FAN up 4-0. They added 2 more in the 5th on an error by LF’er R.Kiner and a RBI single off the bat of D.Mattingly. Things get worse for VIR in the 6th as J.Donaldson clears the bases with a 3-run double to run the score to 9-0. J.Stne added insult to injury by clubbing a grand slam in the top of the 9th and FAN glided to a 13-0 win. Oh, and by the way, on the mound, Weilman threw a complete game allowing but 4 hits and not one VIR runner to cross home plate. |
| Game #6: | VIR 3-2 W-J.Guzman (2-1) L-S.Coveleski (0-4)
After the drubbing in game 5, back to a pitcher’s game. After A.Jones’ RBI double gave VIR a 1-0 lead, Guzman held FAN to just 3 hits over 8 innings. However, 2 of those hits turned into runs on SF’s from H.Wagner and J.Donaldson. Coveleski looked good with a 2-1 lead going into the 8th for the Force. Then A.Jones spoiled it for him,…”A. JONES ’03 facing S. COVELESKI ’23, B 8th, No Outs, Runner on 2nd, Behind 1-2…COVELESKI ’23 working on FRISCH ’28 to hold him close … he’s on with a lead-off double…COVELESKI ’23 fires it in … it’s deep … out to DOBY ’50 … it’s over his head…it’s long gone! … a two-run homer for JONES ’03 … Andruw trots around the bases…he loves a trip downtown … he claps his hands … he’s greeted at the plate…FORCE 2, CAVALIERS 3.” That was all VIR needed as they turned it over to their stopper, K.Foulke, who pitched a 1-2-3 9th to pick up his 7th save. |
| Game #7: | Tied at 3 games all, this is the tie breaker. This is short and sweet,…for the Fantomz anyway. This game is summoned up in two words,…Satchel Paige! The man is unreal. CG, 9 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 1 BB and 11 K’s. That added up to win number 6 for Ol’ Satch. VIR was not even in this game. Reminded me of the time Paige brought his fielders in to the infield, told them to sit down and rest, “I got this” he said and proceeded to get each batter out. R.Lankford and L.Doby blasted homers to provide the offense and even Paige got into the fun by ripping a RBI single. An easy win for the Fantomz and a 4-3 series win. |
| Series Summary: | A good series with some close scores. Pitching was the major factor in this series as both teams rode the arms of their pithcing staff to garner wins. C.Weilman was outstanding for the Phantomz pitching two complete games allowing 9 hits, no runs, walking 4 and striking out 4 to register two wins. Add Satchel Paige to that with his 17 innings, 10 hits allowed, 5 runs, 3 BB and 16 K’s and two wins and you see how the Phantomz won the series 4-3. Mix in Doc Wiley’s 11-26, .423 BA and you have a tough team to beat,…which VIR did not do. The Phantomz return home to host West Michigan next week and Virginia travels north to face the Division leading Climax Cougars. Boy talk about going from the frying pan into the fire. |
| Detroit DeLoreans @ Pigtown Bombers | |
| Series Preview: | Detroit Deloreans (7-7) came to Pigtown (3-11) to see if they could continue to beat up on the cellar dwellers of the NL East. |
| Game #1: | Ripper Collins gets the scoring started quickly for the visiting Deloreans by hitting a 2-run HR in the top of the 1st inning. Not to be outdone, Hank Greenberg responds with a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 1st to give the home team the lead. The offense settled down and starting pitchers, String Bean Williams and Jim Abbott pitched into the late innings. Another 2-run Homer by Collins gave Detroit a 1 run lead in the 8th, but Pigtown clawed back to win the opening game 7-5. |
| Game #2: | Game 2 started the same as Game 1. Joe Cronin hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 1st, followed quickly by Chuck Klein’s 3-run Bomb giving Detroit a very early 5-0 lead. They would not relinquish it. Slim Sallee pitched 6 strong innings and Detroit won the game, 7-1. |
| Game #3: | Pigtown came out swinging in this one. A HR by Jim Edmunds and a Grand Slam by Mike Schmidt (first HR of the year) staked Pigtown to an early 7-1 lead. The fans were chanted in the stands in anticipation of a blow out…It was not to be. After starter, Luis Tiant went 5 middling innings (he still left with a 7-5 lead), the wonderful bullpen of the Bombers bombed and gave up 7 runs in the last 3 innings to lose the game 12-7. Heroes for Detroit included Ripper Collins (3-5) and Babe Herman (4-5, 2 HR, 1 2B and 5 RBIs). |
| Game #4: | A back and forth game which went into extra-innings. Detroit pulled it out 6-5 in 10 innings. Yogi Berra was the hero with two solo HRs, including the game winner. |
| Game #5: | Pigtown hoped to get another win in the series and relied upon Jim Abbott to do so. Abbott was magnificent. Through 8 innings, he scattered a few hits and had given up no runs. String Bean Williams was nearly as strong, going 8 IP and giving up 3 hits and only 1 run. In the top of the 9th, Abbott was still cruising and went out trying to get a CG and SHO. Instead, the porous defense from Pigtown committed 4 errors in the 9th inning, leading to 3 runs and a Detroit victory, 3-2 |
| Game #6: | Game 6 featured a beautiful pitching performance by Slim Sallee. He went the distance for the CG SHO winning 3-0. |
| Game #7: | Detroit started strong and built a commanding 5-0 lead. In the bottom of the 8th, Pigtown exploded for 5 runs to tie the game. This game went to extra innings and the teams battled each other hard with Detroit taking a lead in the top of the inning, only to watch Pigtown come back to tie it in the bottom of the inning (happened 4 times). In the top of the 15th, Detroit went ahead to stay and won the game 11-9. |
| Series Summary: | Detroit wins the series 6-1. |
| Climax Cougars @ West Michigan Retrogrades | |
| Series Preview: | Climax hopes to continue their nice start; West Michigan hopes to get on track after a horrendous start to the season. *This write-up is brief because I’m on vacation and have limited time. |
| Game #1: | CMC 5 – WMR 3 |
| Game #2: | CMC 6 – WMR 3 (10) WMR gave up 3 unearned runs in the top of the 10th. |
| Game #3: | CMC 6 – WMR 9 |
| Game #4: | CMC 3 – WMR 1 Heavy Johnson (the only player slightly producing offensively for WMR) is injured 13 games. |
| Game #5: | CMC 8 – WMR 9 (10) WMR scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th to tie the game. |
| Game #6: | CMC 7 – WMR 9 Jose Bautista injured for 5 games |
| Game #7: | CMC 3 – WMR 1 |
| Series Summary: | Climax takes the series 4 games to 3 over West Michigan to stay near the top of the division. Mel Ott terrorized WMR throughout the series, which is okay since he’s a Hall of Famer. However, John Kruk hitting like Ted Williams circa 1941 was hard to swallow.
West Michigan continues to underperform at every level. So far after 21 games, the Retrogrades are only hitting .234 as a team and have a 4.43 team ERA…to go along with 16 errors and plenty of unearned runs. Every single player on the Retrogrades is underperforming, paced by Duke Snider’s .181 average. |
| 1Hoboken Zephyrs @ Iowa Giants | |
| Series Preview: | Joel and his Zephyrs via team-viewer come to Knoxville Iowa to play a series versus two team leading their division. Zephyrs have a great rotation going against a team also having three great starters. |
| Game #1: | HBZ 2-5-1 LP Blackwell 0-1 IOW 5-10-0 WP Bonham 4-0 SV Goosage 4Tiny Bonham in his fourth start goes 5 innings giving up only one hit but also giving up his first er this year, Sammy Sosa provides the offense as he goes 2-3 with 2 doubles and 2 rbis, Yelich also goes 3-4 and a rbi.Final Iowa wins 5-2 |
| Game #2: | HBZ 4-6-0 WP Weaver 4-0 SV Harvey 3 IOW 3-9-0 LP Feller 1-3Giants jump on Weaver in first inning and score three runs thanks to a Joe Morgan 2b rbi and a two run homer by Sosa. But Jared Weaver throws shut out innings getting relief in the 9th from Harvey to get the win.Final HBZ 4-3 |
| Game #3: | HBZ 14-17-0 WP Seaver 3-1 IOW 4-9-1 LP D Dean 0-2Zephyrs jump on Dizzy Dean for five runs in the first two innings. Giants bring in Bob Lemon and they then get 8 runs off of Bob in 2 1/3 innings. That all Tom the terrific Seaver needed as he goes 6 innings 3 hits and 2 runs. Stan Spence was player of game going 5-5 2 doubles homer and 6 rbi’s Yost and Stanky also homered. |
| Game #4: | HBZ 3-6-0 LP Hahn 3-2 IOW 12-14-1 WP Reynolds 2-1Sammy Sosa another big game 2-4 homer 3 Rbi’s but hit the wall hard and goes out for five games. Chet Lemon a rare start comes through big offensively also with 2-4 3 rbi’s and homer. Allie Reynolds goes 7 innings 5 hits and 2 erFINAL IOW 12-4 |
| Game #5: | HBZ 3-7-0 WP Faber 3-1 IOW 1-3-0 LP Feller 1-4Stan Spence another great game his two run shot top of ninth gave the Zephyrs the win behind the great pitching of Red Faber complete game 3 hits and only 1 er and 8 K’FINAL HBZ 3-1 |
| Game #6: | HBZ 7-12-0 WP Blackwell 1-1 IOW 0-5-1 LP Lanier 2-1Ewell Blackwell complete game shutout 5 his 10 K’s and offense was Jim Bottomley 3 run homerFINAL HBZ 7-0 |
| Game #7: | HBZ 0-6-1 LP Weaver 4-1 IOW 5-9-0 WP D Dean 1-2After getting hammered in Game 3 Dizzy Dean comes back with a complete game 6 hit shutout with no walks to get Player of Game. Judy Johnson yes Judy goes 3-4 with homer.FINAL IOWA 5-0 |
| Series Summary: | There were a couple of blow outs but a great series, I couldnt see Joel face but a believe there was a smirk when Sammy got hurt for he was having a great series 5-15 7 rbi’s 3 homers in 4 games for HBZ Shane Spence 11-29 3 homers 11 rbi’s. |
| 1Coastline Bobcats @ Nags Head Surf Sox | |
| Series Preview: | The first place Coastline Bobcats make the trip down the coast to visit N.L. East rival Nags Head in a 7 game series played via TeamViewer. |
| Game #1: | Chuck Finley (2-0 1.50) vs. Jim Palmer (0-0 4.15)
Hack Wilson opens the scoring for the Bobcats, leading off the 2nd with his 6th home run of the season. Coastline leads 1-0 after 2. The Bobcats double their lead in the bottom of the 3rd when Geoff Jenkins triples with 2 outs and scores on a Cal Ripken Jr. RBI single. 2-0 Coastline after 3. The Sox bats are quiet, as Finley shuts out the home team through 8. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the 9th, Jimmie Fox finally gets Nags Head on the board with a lead off solo home run to cut the Bobcat lead to 2-1. Mike Marshall comes on to relieve Finley. Marshall promptly strikes out Giancarlo Stanton and Dave Kingman. Howard Johnson doubles putting the tying run on 2nd with 2 out. Dave Winfield comes on to pinch hit and is called out on a third strike, stranding the runner, and Coastline holds on for the series opener victory. Wilson and Ripken lead Coastline with 2 hits and 1 RBI each, HoJo had 3 hits for the Sox in a losing effort. Coastline 2 7 0 |
| Game #2: | Bill Swift (1-1 3.94) vs. Cole Hamels (1-0 0.00)
Coastline starts fast with an Ellis Burks 2 run home run in the first and add single runs in the 2nd and 4th for a 4-0 lead. Nags Head finally gets to Swift in the bottom of the 5th on a Gary Carter RBI double, but Coastline roars back in the 6th breaking the game open plating 4 runs for and 8-1 lead. Sox score 2 in the 6th and 2 more in the 8th to cut the Coastline lead to 8-5 heading to the 9th. Facing Bruce Sutter, the Sox try to rally – Derek Jeter opens the inning with a double, but that’s all they can manage. Bobcats take game 2. Ellis Burks led Coastline with 2 hits, 2 RBIs, and 2 runs scored, Sutter gets his 8th save of the season. Coastline 8 11 0 |
| Game #3: | Dave Stieb (3-0 2.48) vs. Mike Mussina (1-2 3.86)
Dave Kingman’s solo home run in the bottom of the 2nd gives the Sox their first lead in the series. The lead is short lived, however, as Elston Howard’s 2 out RBI double in the top of the 3rd scores Geoff Jenkins to tie the game at 1 a piece. Ryne Sandberg’s 1st home run of the season puts the Sox back in front in the bottom of the 3rd, but Matt Williams’ 5th home run of season ties the game at 2 in the 4th. The score remains knotted until the home half of the 9th. Santiago Casilla walks Foxx and Dawson to start the inning. Matt Albers is called on to relieve Casillla. Albers gets Kingman swinging for the 1st out, but he walks HoJo to load the bases for Tim McCarver. McCarver whacks a pitch to deep center that falls in to score Foxx and give Nags Head their first victory in the series. Coastline 2 8 2 |
| Game #4: | Kevin Brown vs. Joaquin Andujar (1-2 8.59)
Sox start fast on a lead off Juan Samuel solo HR in the 1st off Kevin Brown. A Larry Bowa single and back to back doubles by Von Hayes and Jimmie Foxx put Nags Head in front 3-0 after 3. The Sox add 2 in the 6th on a 2 run single by Hayes and 1 more in the 8th. In the meantime Andujar continues to stymie the Bobcat bats tossing 8 shutout innings. Coastline rallies for three in the 9th, thanks to a 3 run Lou Gehrig blast, but Francisco Cordero gets the final 2 outs to preserve the NH victory. Elston Howard had 3 hits and Gehrig knocked in 3 for Coastline, Von Hayes 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and Juan Samuel 2 for 4 with 2 RBI led the Sox. Coastline 3 7 1 |
| Game #5: | Chuck Finley (3-0 1.41) vs. Nolan Ryan (1-1 1.54)
Finley enters the game on a roll, he’s working on a 26 inning scoreless streak that he extends to 29 2/3 before Dave Winfield nails a 2 run homerun into left, ending the streak and putting Nags Head up 2-0 at the end of 4. Giancarlo Stanton’s 2 run homerun in the 6th provides Ryan with a 4-0 lead. Joe Gordon hits a solo homerun in the 7th, and Cal Ripken’s RBI single in the 8th chases Ryan and cuts the NH lead to 4-2 as we head to the 9th. Huston Street on the mound for the Sox He strikes out Gehrig to start the inning. Joe Gordon coaxes a walk to bring up Matt Williams … who socks a long ball to center and the game is tied 4-4. Street strikes out Kemp. Beals Becker walks to bring on Jenkins. Becker steals second and the go ahead run is now at 2nd with 1 out for Coastline, but Street gets Jenkins to fly out to Winfield to end the inning with the game tied 4-4. Tim McCarver is the improbable hero for the Sox, coming to the plate with one out he slams a Bruce Sutter pitch over the right field fence to win it for the Sox. Beals Becker was 3 for 4 and Joe Gordon scored a pair of runs for the visitors. Jimmie Fox had 3 hits and 2 runs scored for Nags Head. Coastline 4 7 0 |
| Game #6: | Bill Swift (2-1 3.43) vs. Jim Palmer (0-1 3.43)
Winning 3 straight, the Sox look to reach .500 for the first time. A Beals Becker 2 out RBI single scores Joe Gordon to put the Bobcats up 1-0 in the 3rd. Jimmie Foxx and Howard Johnson double to tie the game at 1 in the bottom of the 4th. The game stays that way until the top of the 7th. Hack Wilson opens the inning with a double. Palmer strikes out Elston Howard for the 1st out. Gehrig pops out bringing Joe Gordon to the plate. Gordon promptly plops Palmer’s pitch into the CF stands for a 3-1 Coastline lead. Gary Carter’s solo homerun off Casilla cuts the lead to 3-2. The Bobcats take the one run lead into the bottom of the 9th. Sutter on the mound, Andre Dawson leads off the inning with a single. Sutter gets Kingman to pop out and HoJo to ground into a fielders choice bringing pinch hitter Mike Marshall to the plate with 2 outs. Sutter plunks Marshall with the pitch … so the Sox have 2 on with 2 out. Dave Winfield is called on to pinch hit. Unfortunately for the hometown fans the rally falls short as Sutter gets Winfield to swing and miss, earning his 9th save, and preserving the Coastline victory. Coastline 3 5 0 |
| Game #7: | So it all comes down to a game 7 to decide the series …
Dave Stieb (3-0 2.57) vs. Cole Hamels (1-1 3.00) The game is scoreless until the Bobcats come to the plate in the 3rd. Matt Williams starts the inning with a solo homerun, his 7th of the season. Sammy White follows with a single. Stieb puts down a successful 2 strike bunt to move White to 2nd with 1 out. Kemp rips one to center that falls in, White rounds third and Dawson nails him at the plate for the inning’s second out. But Coastline isn’t finished as Ellis Burks socks a double that plates Kemp for a 2-0 lead. Ripken then follows with an RBI single. Wilson and Skowron also single before Hamels finally gets Gordon to ground out. When the dust clears the Bobcats hold a 4-0 lead. Stieb takes the 4-0 into the bottom of the 5th. Stieb gets Winfield to lead off the inning but walks McCarver and Bowa. Dave Kingman is called on to bat for Cole Hamels. Kingman delivers a single to load the bases with one out. Juan Samuel comes to plate and slams a bases clearing double to make the score 4-3. Von Hayes walks bringing up Foxx. Foxx lines out and Stanton grounds out and the runners are stranded. 4-3 Coastline at the end of 5. The score stays the same until the bottom of the 9th. Sutter on the mound for the Bobcats. Dave Winfield doubles with one out for NH. Sutter strikes out McCarver for the 2nd out. Down to their final out, pinch hitter Mike Marshall connects for the Sox with an RBI single to tie the game. Marshall ends up on second after the throw to the plate and it brings up Gary Carter to pinch hit, the last position player remaining on the Sox bench. Sutter gets Carter to fly out to left stranding the runner and we move to extra innings. Both teams trade zeroes in the 10th. Zane Smith is on the mound for the Sox in the 11th when Cal Ripken smashes a one out blast to put Coastline back in front 5-4. Albers is in for the Bobcats in the bottom of the 11th. Albers gets Stanton for the first out. Andre Dawson clubs a double to put the tying run at second with one down. Winfield walks and now the winning run is on board. Albers gets McCarver to fly out to left center. So it’s all up to Jeter with 2 out. Unfortunately for the home fans Jeter bounces weekly to Gordon, Sox retired and they drop the game and series. Coastline 5 9 1 |
| Series Summary: | Great series! Every game was hard fought with 5 of the 7 decided by 1 run … it seemed like every game had some 9th inning drama. |
| Fire Lake Segers @ Hollywood Zombies | |
| Series Preview: | Hollywood drops 4 of 7 at home. |
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| Boston Braves @ Las Vegas Pirates | |
| Series Preview: | This is one of the 2 series that I’ve been chomping at the bit for. I’ve know the owner of the Braves for 27 years. We were in a previous league together & Robyn made me feel so good about playing APBA ball that I even enjoyed losing. With that… |
| Game #1: | This started out as a pitcher’s duel, pitting Gene Conley vs. Bob Buhl. This duo went into the 7th before the Pirates broke the close game open when Joe DiMaggio hit his 2 run HR. Buhl threw a complete game 5 hitter, giving up only 5 singles. DiMaggio finished with a 3 for 4 night & Pedroia finished with 2 hits for the unfortunate Braves. FINAL Pirates 6, Braves 1. |
| Game #2: | The Pirates followed the Braves lead by scoring in the 2nd. Boston opened the scoring with a run before reserve catcher Hal Smith hit a 3 run HR after 2 Antonelli BB’s. The Braves climbed back in the game with solo HR’s by Jim Rice in the 4th, & Eddie Mathews in the 6th. The Braves climbed back again with another run in the 7th making the score 5-4 Pirates. The Pirates shut the door from here with a scoreless inning by Rollie Fingers in the 8th & Mariano Rivera in the 9th for his 2nd save. Rice & Mathews with 2 hits a piece, while Dick Groat & H. Smith each finished with 2 hits as well. Walks turned out to be the Braves downfall. FINAL Pirates 5, Braves 4. |
| Game #3: | Boston led off the game with 2 quick runs in the 1st off of 1st time starter John Candelaria. The Candyman settled down to go 8 & 2/3 before Bob Moose relieved & allowed all 3 batters he faced to get hits, before Brian Fuentes came in to get the final out. Not before Adrian Gonzalez & Jim Rice had RBI doubles. Don Newcombe pitched a great 8 innings & Jonathan Papelbon finished the 9th with his first save. FINAL Braves 4, Pirates 1. |
| Game #4: | Personally I was hoping for a tighter game, as this was a classic duel between Juan Marichal & Warren Spahn. Spahn kept his part & for the 1st time went against the Braves. Marichal struggled into the 4th before leaving the game injured. Papelbon, Shaw, & Veale. relieved & unfortunately got hit hard. The Pirates, behind the bats of Dave Cash, Prince Fielder, & father Cecil Fielder, finished with 14 hits; 7 by the above trio & an 8th inning 3 run HR by Prince Fielder. Spahn went the distance, giving up a single run on 6 hits while picking up 11 K’s. Quiet Don Kessinger went 3 for 4 as well with his 2nd 3B. FINAL Pirates 8, Braves 1. |
| Game #5: | In this game Dean Chance came back after being beat around in his 1st 3 starts. He went 8+ innings without giving up a run. The only 2 runs scored off of him came in the 9th inning with a solo HR by Eddie Mathews & an RBI double by Freddie Sanchez. The Pirates got all the runs they needed when they scored 3 in the 4th inning. King Cecil Fielder hit his 6th HR in the 4th with his son, Prince Fielder aboard. The only downside was when Dave Cash kicked the water cooler & had to leave the game because of foot concerns. He should be out a maximum of 5 games. FINAL Pirates 5, Braves 2 |
| Game #6: | This game was a great pitching match up of Gene Conley & Bob Buhl. Conley went the distance & Buhl almost did. King Cecil reigned supreme here. He hit 2 solo HR’s & drove in all 3 of the Pirate runs. Buhl, the “Wildman” finished his 8 innings giving up the 2 runs, with 7 K’s & ZERO walks!!! We might have to change his nickname to the “Tame man”! Buhl goes to 3-0. One sour note, !st baseman Prince Fielder ran over Catcher Craig Biggio, injuring him for 13 days. FINAL Pirates 3, Braves 2 |
| Game #7: | This game was like 2 others in this series, a I run game. Again a pitching clash. Antonelli pitched into the 9th, when he gave up a PH HR to Willie Stargell. Without the starting Catcher, 1st baseman, & 2nd baseman, this game was a challenge. Both the substitute catcher & 1st basemen got hits, but it just wasn’t enough. Gabby Hartnett hit a double & HR among his 3 for 4 showing while Tony Conigliaro had a 3B & drove in 3 runs for the Braves. Antonelli picked up his 2nd win & Cuellar picked up his 2nd loss. FINAL Braves 4, Pirates 3. |
| Series Summary: | Even though Las Vegas was out hit in 4 of the 7 games, they managed to pull out 5 wins to 2 for Boston. Very good pitching through most of the games made this an exciting series. The Highlight was King Cecil Fielder hitting 3 more HR’s, giving him 8 through the 1st 21 games. The lowlight was injuries to the Pirates catcher, 1st baseman, & 2nd baseman. Cash will be lost for 3 more games in the next series, & Prince will be back, while Biggio will be lost for 12 more games. The Pirates have been bitten by the injury bug. Indiana, here come the Pirates, limping in. |
| Cincinnati Knights @ Wrigleyville Whales | |
| Series Preview: | Cincinnati Knights (9-5, 1st) @ Wrigleyville Whales (5-9, 7th) |
| Game #1: | G-1- Wrigleyville opened series with a 5-2 win v Cincy Knights. Quinn (1-1, 4.58) scattered 7-hits over 8-Innings while allowing only 2-runs, 1-earned to pick up his 1st “W” of season. Melancon earned his 2nd save. Whales were down 1-0 in 6th when they exploded for 5-runs off of DazzyVance (2-2, 4.06). Yaz drove in 2-runs with a 2B and Ernie Banks launched his 1st home run, a 2-run blast, in his LEG career!
FINAL Whales 5 Knights 2 |
| Game #2: | G-2- Johan Santana (4-0, 0.77) blanked the Whales over 8-inning as Cincy won easily, 5-0. Sewell led off game with a 1B to LC and Ted Williams was HBP and would miss 3-days. Freehan moved runners up on ground out and Hafey followed with a 2-run-1B to CF. Cincy would score 4-runs in inning and Johan would take it from there.
Combs would pick up 4 of Whales 7-hits with 3 going for 2B’s! Koufax (0-4, 7.29) didn’t make it out of the 3rd. FINAL Knights 5 Whales 0 |
| Game #3: | G-3- Cincy’s Strasburg (4.40) would earn 1st “W”, allowing only 3-hits over 8.2-innings, though he did walk 4 and allow 4-runs. Game was in hand in 8th when Cincy tacked on 3-runs for a 6-0 lead. Whales woke up in 9th as they scored 5-runs, highlighted by Lefty O’Doul’s 3-run homer! But Wickman came on & retired Stan The Man for out # 3. Garvey drove in 2-runs as 8 different Knights had a hit. Ruether (3.45) fell to 0-3.
FINAL Knights 5 Whales 0 |
| Game #4: | G-4- Mike Scott (2.95) led Cincy to 5-1 victory but game was 1-1 going into 9th when Knights loaded bases with 2-outs and Lynn unloaded them with a GRAND SLAM to RF. It was his 2nd homer of LEG’s young season. Scott evened record @ 1-1 with his CG, 4-hitter. He didn’t walk a Whale and K’d 6. Fisk cracked his 3rd homer, a solo shot to give him 11-RBI in 18-games. Combs was 3-4 and raised his average to .324. Welch (2-1, 2.45) ran out of gas in 9th.
FINAL Knights 5 Whales 1 |
| Game #5: | G-5- Giambi smashed 2-HR’s as part of a 4-5 game with 6-RBI in 11-1 Cincy rout of Wrigleyville. Knights racked up 15-hits to go with 7-walks with 7 of their 15-hits going for extra-bases! Bando was 4-5 and hit the .300 mark, while Ted Williams scored 3-runs, going 2-3 with 3-walks. Kershaw (2-1, 1.88) cruised as Cincy held a 10-1 lead going into 4th. Carl Mays (2-2, 8.72) was rocked again, allowing 6-runs on 7-hits over 2.1-innings.
Lazzeri clubbed his 3rd homer for Wrigleyville. FINAL Knights 11 Whales 1 |
| Game #6: | G-6- Quinn (2-1, 3.75) won again, this time 3-2, as he allowed only 1-run on 4-hits over 6.1-Innings. Fisk drove in 2-runs for Whales with a 1B and his 4th home run! Cincy’s Vance (2-3, 3.92) hurled 8-innings of 3-run ball, giving up 7-hits while walking 4 and striking out 8.
FINAL Whales 3 Knights 2 |
| Game #7: | G-7- Santana (5-0, 1.07) gave up 2-runs on only 3-hits, two of the hits being HR’s by Horner (2) and Lollar (2). Hafey (2) and Irvin (2) swatted HR’s for Cincy. Knights broke game open with 5-run 8th as they won series finale 9-2. Williams was 3-5 and is now hitting .358.
FINAL Knights 9 Whales 2 |
| Series Summary: | Cincy outscores Wrigleyville 40-17 as they win 5 of 7. |
| Kansas City Blues @ Menomonee Minutemen | |
| Series Preview: | The 2-10 Kansas City Blues travel to Budweiser Feild to face the 9-5 Menomonee Minutemen and see if they can start to turn their luck around and finally take their first series win, if that doesn’t happen well there is always beer. For Kansas City, the first two series have left him in a rough place with the 2nd worst team ERA at 5.65, 25th in team Batting Avg, and the second-worst defense at .973, so let’s just say it basically cannot get any worse for the Blues. The Minutemen come into the series with a middle of the row ERA at 3.49, the leagues 2nd best offense with a .281 Batting average, .352 OBP, and.489 Slug, also their defense is middle of the row at .984. So there may be some regression in this series. However, we won’t know until the games are played. |
| Game #1: | Benton vs Hudson The blues start the scoring early as they score 3 in the first via Boog Powell smash to RF. The Minutemen would not trail for long as they dropped a nickel on the Blues as Altuve hit a lead-off HR and then Jundich hit another after a Bonds walk. Appling and Boone would also drive in runs giving the Minutemen a 5-3 lead after 1. in the bottom of the 2nd Menomonee would run Benton from the game after they scored 3 more runs of the starter making the score 8-3 after his 13th batter. Venezuela would come in after that and slow down the bats of the Minuteman but only for so long. At the top of the 3rd Hudson gave up another HR to Powell making the score 8-4. Menomonee did not lay off the throttle as they would score 3 more and allow 3 more by KC, but it did not matter by that point. Side note Burgess was eject from the game in the 8th when the MEN manager asked the home plate umpire what happened, the umpire said, Burgess asked what he had to do to get ejected, I said just cuss at me. That’s when Burgess called me a jackass, I told him he had to try harder. That’s when Burgess unleashed 41 profanities before saying, how about now, time to get drunk. Final Score: KC 7 MEN 11. W – Hudson L – Benton |
| Game #2: | Koosman vs. Grissom Game 2 started much like the first did when KC put 2 on the board early via a Schulte bomb. In the bottom of the 1st MEN would get one run back as Goldy drove in a run. Bith starters when then settle in until MEN tied the game up in the 5th when Appling drove in a run with his double. At the top of the 6th, KC would retake the lead as Schulte drove in another run and then score on a fielder’s choice. in the last of the 6th, the Minutemen would take the lead via Appling RBI single and a Burgess 2 run HR. MEN then brought in Rojas and Jansen to close out the game and take a 2-0 series lead. Final Score: KC 4 MEN 5 W – Grissom, L- Koosman S- Jansen |
| Game #3: | Degrom vs. John the game is 1-1 going into the 4th when KC broke out and put 4 on the board via HRs from Canseco and A-Rod. MEN would strike back as they would score 3 in the 7th and 2 in the 8th via Bonds and Boone HRs, however, KC would also score in the top of the 8th making it a 6-6 tie going into the 9th. In the 9th KC added 2 runs giving them the lead and the eventual game 3 win. Final Score: KC 8 MEN 6 W:Perranowski L: Bell S: Aguilera |
| Game #4: | Greinke vs. Scott Many Many runs were scored this game however most of them by 1 team. After the game 3 loss management was pissed and they took it out on the team and so MEN were fired up for game 4 and what happened was Greinke got lit up giving up 7 R 3 ER in 12 batters or 1.7 innings, then Venezuela came in and gave up 2 HRs and another 4 runs 3 ER. KC would get on the board in the 7th and 8th but the game was all but over at that point. Scott goes the distance for MEN giving up 2 R 1 ER. Bonds and Rizzo go yard in the game. Final Score KC 2 MEN 11 W: Scott L: Greinke |
| Game #5: | Bridges vs. Hoyt The pitching battle showed up in game 5 as one pitcher goes the distance and the other goes till he gives up the winning run… In the 9th….with 2 outs.. %$$%$$$%&^*(*%$%^$%^$%^*&. Bridges pitch’s a gem giving up 2 runs but only 1 earned. Hoyt goes 8.7 with 3 earned. KC wins its second game of the series in the top of the 9th. Final Score KC 3 MEN 2 W: Bridges L: Hoyt |
| Game #6: | Benton vs. Hudson Round 2 Well round 2 looked a lot like round 1, Benton gets chased again however he lasted a little longer… 1 more batter and .7 of an inning… 🙂 Beton gives up HR’s to Bonds, Jundich, and Goldy before being lifted. going in to the top of the 5th MEN had a 6-0 lead but Huddy would give up 3 as KC played small ball and just batted almost around the batting order. However, MEN would add more runs via 2 more HR’s from Goldy…again and Boone. Final Score KC 3 MEN 12 W: Hudson L: Benton |
| Game #7: | Koosman vs. Grissom Another pitcher battle takes place in Budweiser Field. MEN took the early lead ending the 1st with a 1-0 lead as Bonds hits another HR. KC tied it up in the 3rd via an unearned run by Creacy. MEN took the 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 3rd when Altuve scored on a goldy double. However, KC would not back down, they kept pushing and that helped them tie the game in the 7th as Durham scores on a Bescher double, Durham in the game after Creacy went down in the game. The game would stay tied until Boone hit a walk off dinger in the bottom of the 9th with 0 on and 0 out off Koosman. Final Score: KC 2 MEN 3 W: Jansen L: Koosman |
| Series Summary: | Menomonee takes the series 5-2 and continues to seemingly score at will. They have a team batting average now of 296 with an OBP of 358 and a 520 Slug. and a 5.9 R/G average. KC cannot seem to catch a break as they score runs just not in the right games or at the right time and what does not help them is that their starters are just getting drummed before they can even get settled on the bump. Hopefully, KC’s luck will turn however for the Minutemen they hope that this streak continues as they are chugging along and do not really care who is in their way, although next week they face on of the better team in the AL west on the road. |
| Indiana Indians @ Lewisberry Country Blumpkins | |
| Series Preview: | The last place Indiana Indians traveled to North Lewisberry to face the Country Blumpkins. The sweet sounds of “Dueling Banjos” wafted through the air during warm-ups… |
| Game #1: | Alexander vs Beckett A Boggs Sac Fly gets Lewisberry on the board in the 1st and a 3run 8th breaks it open. Beckett hurls a 2hitter as no Indian gets past 2nd base. Lewisberry 4 Indiana 0 |
| Game #2: | Pettitte vs Ruth Gil Hodges blasts a solo HR in the 2nd (his 1st of 2) as the Blumpkins take a 1-0 lead. A 3run 5th, capped off by a 2RBI 1B from Sweet Lou Brock breaks a 1-1 tie and puts LEW up for good. BJ Surhoff (you KNEW he had to be on my team…) crushes a 3run dinger in the 8th for insurance. Lewisberry 9 Indiana 3 |
| Game #3: | Drysdale vs Hershiser Larry Walker’s 2run HR in the 1st gives Indiana a 2-0 lead. Blumpkins come back with 1 in the 1st and 2 in the 2nd to lead 3-2Walker’s RBI 3B in the 6th, and eventual run scored on a WP ties the game at 4. Bottom 11th, Steve Sax’s RBI 1B scores Betts for the walk-off. Lewisberry 5 Indiana4 11inn |
| Game #4: | Price vs Morris Walker at it again in the 1st, this time with an RBI 2B. Betts ties it in the 2nd with an RBI 1B. Betts gives LCB the lead in the 6th with another RBI 1B, 2-1. Mark Teixeira ties it in the 8th with a solo shot. Bottom 8, Newt Allen drives Nellie Cruz home with an RBI 3B for the game winner. Lewisberry 3 Indiana 2 |
| Game #5: | Alexander vs Cooper Indians score 2 in the 3rd on a DP and an E4. HOdges solo Hr in the 8th was all the offense Lewisberry could generate. Indiana 2 Lewisberry 1 |
| Game #6: | Pettitte vs Beckett Walker does it again in the 1st, this time with a solo HR. Bottom 4, Gil Hodges annihilates a Pettitte changeup for a 2run homer. Lewisberry 2 Indiana 1 |
| Game #7: | Drysdale vs Ruth Freddie Freeman hits 2 solo HRs, the 2nd tying the game in the bottom of the 9th. But, dammit, Walker makes his presence known again with a Sac Fly in the top of the 10th for the GWRBI. Indiana 3 Lewisberry 2 |
| Series Summary: | Lewisberry wins series 5-2 (again). The 1st Base tandem of Freeman (5/12, 6 walks, 2HR, 2RBI, 2R, 2B, .417) and Hodges (6/10, 2 walks, 4HR, 5RBI, 6R, 6R) continue to tear it up. Josh Beckett (2-0, 0.56ERA, 5H, 4W, 10K) was lights out after taking last series off. |