2020 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #20

 

National League Pitchers of the Week – Chuck Finley – Coastline

1-0 record, 9.0  innings pitched, 0.00 ERA, 1 hit, 3 strikeouts, & 3 walks

 

 

 

American League Pitcher of the Week – Bob Gibson  – KC Blues

1-0 record, 8 innings pitched, 0.00 ERA, 2 hits, 8 strikeouts, & 3 walks

 

 

 

National League Player of the Week – Cal Ripken Jr.  – Coastline

.571 avg  / 1.071 slg, 8 for 14, 1 double, 2 home runs, 7  runs, 4 RBIs, & 1 walk

 

 

 

American League Player of the Week – Carlos Gonzalez  – Madison East

.533 avg / 1.467 slg, 8  for 15, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 homers, 5 runs, 8 RBIs & 2 walks

 

 

Feature: Around the League …

An interesting look at LEG stats as a whole rather than at individual leagues.

Let’s start with pitching. When it comes to the top ten in wins, the AL has 5 pitchers with 14 wins or more and the NL 4. Each league has one pitcher each with 18 wins (G.Maddux FWC-AL and C.Mathewson CWH-NL) and 16 wins (J.Verlander FWC-AL and N.Hahn HBZ-NL.), In ERA the NL dominates with 7 of the top 10. C.Mathewson CWH-NL leads the way at 1.62 followed by J.Verlander FWC-AL at 1.76. The NL having 7 pitchers with a 2.33 or lower ERA is not surprising considering the league ERA in the AL is 4.03 and the NL 3.42. (Is it really better pitching or the roll of the die?) Most innings pitched is an interesting one to me. The NL has all 10 of the top 10. In a league known for pulling pitchers for a pinch hitter one would think that IP’s would be in the low numbers. But that’s not the case for some reason. All I can determine is that the starting pitchers are so good (High grades) that mangers are leaving them in longer and relying on them rather than any relief pitchers they may have. And I know of several NL teams that did not draft with an eye toward a deep, strong bullpen so that would make sense, especially if they use starters as relievers ( A bit of a difference from the heavy use of relievers in today’s MLB games). When it comes to Games Started the NL once again has all top 10. Again interesting. But maybe the NL has more 4 man rotations, or even 3 man. Or maybe the NL is not worried about getting the minimum BF’s for many of their pitchers and the AL is? Or maybe the AL has better bullpens? Supporting the idea that the NL has many high grade starting pitchers or weaker (?) bullpens is the fact that the NL has 9 of the top 10 Complete Game leaders. The interesting thing about those pitchers is that they all are pitchers from before the 1940’s. Hmmm. Just as a side note, the NL also has 8 of the top 9 strikeout leaders. I guess that means The NL either has a lot of strikeout type pitchers or really poor contact batters. 6 of the top 10 batters in strikeouts do come from thr NL.

Now, in the batting department. The AL appears to dominate here like the NL did in pitching. First, batting leaders. The AL has 7 of the top 10. Considering the AL league average is .248 compared to the NL’s .226, that is not surprising. M.Dihigo’s (NWS-AL) .344 leads the way with two other AL batters right behind him, T.Williams (CIN) .341 and W.Keeler (FWC) .327. C.Ripken’s (CLB) .319 at #4 gives the NL it’s top representative. The interesting stat is that the two leagues each have five leaders in the most hits category (even though the AL has 13,655 hits to the NL’s 12,215) . One would think with each league having 5 hit leaders that would put them fairly even in the batting average category,…but it didn’t. In the slugging arena, the AL again has 7 of the top 10 with T.Williams (CIN), J.Mayberry (CHI) and S.Seybold (MEN) all over .600. R.Collins (DET) at .597 leads the NL contingent. With the AL having an advantage in slugging it would make sense that the AL would have more hitters in the HR top ten. And of course, they do. 5 of the top 8 HR leaders come from the AL even though 2 NL players have the top two spots, R.Collins (DET) with 34 and H.Wilson (CLB) 29. (and no one named Ruth is in the top HR leaders) The AL also has the advantage in RBI claiming 7 of the top 10.

So what does all this mean? Who knows? Do the AL pitchers stink?  Do the NL hitters stink? Does the computer dice rolls stink? It just makes for interesting stats and that is one of the things this game is about.

“Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.” – Yogi Berra

“There are three types of baseball players: Those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those who wonder what happens.” – Tommy Lasorda

Lewisberry Country Blumpkins @ Wrigleyville Whales
Series Preview: 1st place Lewisberry Country Blumpins (52-45, AL East) v 8th place Wrigleyville Whales (33-64, AL West)

Spoiler – Carlton Fisk roughs up The Babe!

Game #1: W.Cooper v B.Welch. Whales Fisk tied game @ 2-2 when he slugged a 7th inning, 2-run-HR, his 9th. But Big Papi hammered a solo homer, his 6th, in 10th for a 3-2 Blumpkins lead and Wade Boggs singled in an insurance run for a 4-2 victory! Cooper (6-5, 3.36) earned win and Britton his 23rd save. Welch fell to 6-10, 4.39-ERA.
Game #2: Hershiser v Quinn. Hershiser was injured early and Blumpkins pen bled runs, allowing 5-runs over 8-innings, but Whales pen was even worse, allowing 6-runs in only 3-innings and blowing a 4-2 9th inning lead to send game to extras. Whales completely imploded in 10th, as they gave up 5-runs for a 9-6 Blumpkins win! Freddie Freeman was 4-6, including his 14th home run and drove in 4-runs! Brock was 3-5, 2B, 3B, BB< 2-runs scored, 2-RBI and 2-SB’s.

Whales smashed 4-HR’s with Thome crushing two, #’s 3 and 4, while Lollar (10) and Musial (6) added solo homers.

Game #3: Ruth v H.Coveleski. Fisk had a 5-5 day, hitting 2-HR’s (10,11) and drove in 3-runs. Darrell Evans (6) slugged his 6th and also had 3-RBI. Coveleski won his 1st game of the season, allowing 3-run, 2-earned while hurling a CG.
Game #4: J.Morris v Hunter. Jack gave up only 1-run on 5-hits over 6-IP and Country Blumpkins win series with 4-1 winner! Surhoff (4) ripped lone Lewisberry homer, while Thome (5) connected for Whales. Britton picked up his 24th save.
Series Summary: Highlight for Lewisberry was a 3-1 series win and Wrigleyville’s had to be 10-3 win over Babe Ruth. Whales scored 8-runs on 12-hits, including 2-HR’s.
Jack Street Hustlers @ Cincinnati 
Series Preview: The second place teams in the American League meet up as Jack Street travels to Cincinnati for a four game set.
Game #1: CIN 6-9-1, JSH 3-10-1
Game #2: JSH 7-7-0, CIN 4-8-0
Game #3: CIN 8-22-2, JSH 7-17-1 (19 innings): Lou Whitaker’s two-out bases loaded single drives in the game winner. That ended a marathon session for both bullpens, as neither team scored in the previous ten inning prior to that.
Game #4: CIN 14-17-1, JSH 5-7-0: Tight game was blown open as the Knights scored four in the sixth, seventh and eighth to secure the win.
Series Summary: Cincinnati escapes the showdown with three wins and a very exhausted bullpen.
Chicago Nine @ East Madison Puregolders
Series Summary: Chicago and Madison East split.
Kansas City Blues @ Las Vegas Pirates
Series Preview: This is a battle between 2 teams that have great players at not great years.
Game #1: Jerry Koosman pitched a stellar 7 innings here allowing only 1 unearned run. The only problem the Blues had was themselves on the field All runs scored were unearned. Hitting stars were Rico Carty, with 2 hits, & Boog Powell who hit a 3 run HR in the 8th off little used Bob Moose. Craig Biggio had 2 doubles for the losing Pirates.
BLUES 10 PIRATES 3
Game #2: This game was mostly good pitching. No team scored more than 1run per inning. Bridges pitched 7 innings giving up the only run on a HR by Prince Fielder. Powell again was the hitting star going 3 for 3, while Schulte drove in a pair.
BLUES 3 PIRATES 1
Game #3: John Candelaria was the pitching star here going 7 & 2/3 & giving up only 2 ER on 2 hits while striking out 9. Hitting stars were the Fielder boys & Biggio again. Valenzula took his 4th loss.
PIRATES 5 BLUES 3
Game #4: Bob Gibson pitched great, shutting out the Bucs thru 8 innings giving up only 2 hits & 0 runs. Aguilera pitched the 9th & gave up a solo HR to Willie Stargell. KC again was led by a Boog Powell HR. Arrieta took the hard luck loss & went the distance.
BLUES 3 PIRATES 1
Series Summary: Pitching was prevalent on both sides, but the Blues dominated,. The hitting star was Boog Powell
the Blues took the series 3 games to 1.
Purry Cowpokes @ Kansas City A’s
Series Preview: Purry ( 54-43) at Kansas City A’s ( 42-55 ).
Game #1: Weimer vs. Phil Niekro: Purry spanks the A’s 13- 6 as Strong hits 2 triples and drives in 4. Shane Victorino homers and singles and drives in 3 and Tris Speaker goes 3 for 4 with a homer and scores 3 and drives in 2. Hank Aaron homers and goes 3 for 4 and Rocky Colavito chips in 3 hits for the A’s.
Game #2: Vasquez vs. Cicotte: The A’s win 2 -1 behind Cicotte’s strong 7 innings of 2 hit 1 run ball and Wade Davis gets his 2nd save of the season. Roger Maris hit 2 triples and drove in a run and Walker Copper got the other RBI for the A’s. Vasquez pitched good, 7 innings and 2 runs allowed but saw his record slip to 15-4 for the Cowpokes.
Game #3: Cueto vs. Sam McDowell: Purry takes it 5-4 behind Tris Speaker’s 3 RBI’s and Billy Wagner gets his 11th save. Dale Murphy hit a 2 run homer for the A’s.
Game #4: Sullivan vs. Joe Horlen: The A’s squander a 4-1 lead after 5 as the Cowpokes explode for 6 runs in the 6th and 2 in the top of the 9th for a 10-8 victory. Tris Speaker goes 3 for 4 and drives in 2 and Willie McCovey goes 3 for 5 with a double, homer and 2 RBI. Hale had a 2 run homer for the A’s.
Series Summary: Purry wins the Series 3 games to 1.
Menomonee Minutemen @ Boston Braves
Series Preview: The Menomonee Minutemen traveled to Braves field in hopes of a repeat of their first meeting of the season with the Braves. They swept the series limiting the Braves to a sole run in all four of their losses.
Game #1: Mike Scott won his second game four to two vs. the Braves with a 5 hit 7 strikeout performance. Joe Adcock, Richie Hebner, and Ike Boone all had 2 hits for the Minutemen. Both of Hebner hits were doubles. Eddie Mathews banged out 3 hits two of them doubles for the Braves.
Game #2: The Braves won their first game of the year vs. Menomonee as Gene Conley beat Tom “Blade” Gordon five to two. Jimmy Hall’s three run homer was the difference maker for the Braves. Barry Bonds had 2 hits for the Minutemen.
Game #3: Menomonee crushed the Braves 10-2 in game three. The Minutemen’s driving forces were. Harold Baines had two hits one a homer and four RBI’s and Jose Altuve collected four hits, a home run, and three RBI’s.
Game #4: The Braves 10-9 win, in an exciting final game in which the lead changed twice in the last inning. Buster Posey smacked three hits and Barry Bond two for the Minutemen. Adrian Gonzalez and Jeff Cirillo had 2 hits each for the Braves. Nomar Garciaparra doubled in the tying and winning runs in the ninth inning for the Braves.
Series Summary: A split in an exciting series in which the Braves snached victory from the jaws of defeat to tie the series in game four.
Indiana Indians @ New Westminster Salmonbellies
Series Preview: Indianapolis Indians and the great Mickey Mantle come to town
to face the Salmonbellies.
Game #1: In the first Mickey starts things off with a 2 run homer.
Jimmy Wynn comes back with a 2 run homer in the first.
The Bellies put 4 on the board in the 4th for a nice 4 run
lead. But in the 5th Mark Teixeira and Larry Walker hit 3
run homers each for a 6 run inning.
Indiana picks up another run in the top of 6th and New West
manages another run in the bottom of the 7th for an Indiana
9 – 7 victory.
Game #2: Johnny Sain for the Indians and Dutch Leonard for the Salmonbellies.
Mantle comes through again scoring Indiana’s only run. Leonard pitched a 3 hitter striking out 6 in a 6 – 1 victory. New West had
13 hits in the game.
Game #3: Don Drysdale for the Indians vs Jeff Tesreau of the Salmonbellies

Bellies score in the top of the 1st on a single by Jimmy Wynn. Indians get a run in the 3rd on a Larry Walker double. New West comes back with 3 more runs in a 12 hit attack and goes on to win 4 – 1.

Game #4: Kerry Wood vs Sam Leever

Mantle scores in the first again after hitting a double and a Jose Abreu 2 run home run. That is all the runs the Indians will need as they go on to a 4 – 1 victory.

Series Summary: The Series is split.
Hollywood Zombies @ Coastline Bobcats
Series Preview: Hollywood travels to Coastline for a 4 game series.
Game #1: HOL S.Rogers vs. CLB C.Finley
CLB opens the scoring in the B2 when Gordon 2bs and scores on M.Williams rbi-1b. In the B3 Ripken reaches on Tejeda’s throwing error and H.Wilson follows with a 2-run HR. CLB adds to their lead in the B5 on a Ripken 2-run HR. CLB gets an Gehrig rbi-1b in the B7 and M.Williams scores on a Owen WP in the B8 to close out the scoring.CLB C.Finley gives up a Guerrero 2b in the T2 for HOL only hit in game. Finley fans 3, walks 3, and gets the 1-hit CG Shutout to run his record to (13-4). HOL S.Rogers (7-13) takes the loss.CLB 7, HOL 0
Game #2: HOL J.Zimmerman vs. CLB D.Stieb
Zimmerman and Stieb trade shutout innings through 5. In the B6 CLB Jenkins 1bs, Ripken’s H&R 1b puts runners at the corners, Howard rips a 2-rbi 2b, and A.Simmons follows with a rbi-2b for a 3-0 CLB lead. In the B8 CLB Simmons and Gehrig hit back-to-back 2bs, Williams bbs, Stieb sac, and a Goslin 2-run 1b runs the score to 6-0 CLB. That would be all the scoring in the game.Stieb tosses another gem for the CLB as he only gives up 2 hits while fanning 4 and walking 2 for the CG Shutout. HOL two hits were a single from E.Collins in the T6 and a H&R 1b by LeFlore in the T8. CLB Stieb (12-5) with the win and HOL Zimmerman (1-4) gets the loss.CLB 6, HOL 0
Game #3: HOL W.Johnson vs. CLB K.Brown
After 2-1/2 scoreless innings CLB opens the scoring in the B3. CLB M.Williams leads off with a 3b and then scores on S.White rbi-1b thru a drawn in infield, a Brown sac, then rbi-2bs by Becker, Jenkins, and Ripken followed by a Gehrig 2-run HR run the score to 6-0 CLB.CLB coasts from there adding 6 more runs off HOL reliever F.Owen. HOL finally got on the scoreboard in the T5 when Ventura 2bs and scores on a Coillins rbi-2b. CLB K.Brown (12-8) gets the win, Sutton gets the 3 inning save, and HOL W.Johnson (10-10) takes the loss.CLB 12, HOL 1
Game #4: HOL E.Plank vs. CLB S.Maglie
In the T1 HOL LeFlore 1bs, Collins H&R 1b puts runners at the corners, and then LeFlore tries to steal home on an attempted double steal and is cut down at home by Ripken. CLB Ripken then hits a solo-HR in the B1. In the B2 M.Williams bbs and scores on White’s rbi-2b. In the CLB B6 Kemp hits a solo-HR and in the CLB B7 a Gordon rbi-1b and S.White rbi-2b closes out the scoring.On the mound CLB Maglie scatters 7 hits and 2 walks, pitching in and out of trouble, but manages to get the CG shutout for the win. CLB Maglie goes to (5-0) on the season and HOL E.Plank falls to (3-15).CLB 5, HOL 0
Series Summary: Coastline sweeps the series 4-0 over Hollywood. I can’t recall a series in a long time where almost nothing went right for 1 team. Coastline gets 3 shutouts in the 4 games and Hollywood scores only 1 run. Nothing else can be said but that the series was an aberration. Coastline’s pitching is normally not that dominate and Hollywood is definitely a better hitting team then what was shown in this series.

CLB Finley has a Pitcher of the Week performance with his 1 hit shutout and CLB Ripken breaks out of his slump by going 8-14, with 6 runs scored, 4-rbi, 1-2b, and 2 HRs improving his BAve to .319.

West Michigan Retrogrades @ Wainwright Wranglers
Series Preview: A contender in West Mich vs a pretender in Wainwright
Game #1: Nap Rucker gets beat up on early and Sisler goes 3/5 in a a 5-3 west Michigan victory
Game #2: Encaricion drives in the willing run in the 11th as Wainwright wins a game 4-3
Game #3: Sisler and Snider drive in a run each in West Michigan 2-1 victory. Vic Willis pitches a complete game in taking the loss
Game #4: Duke Snider drives in three more in a game with no pitching as West Michigan cruises to a 10-8 victory
Series Summary: Wainwright continues to struggle losing another 3/4 when we pitch we dont hit and when we hit we dont pitch
Detroit DeLoreans @ Iowa Giants
Series Preview: Detroit Deloreans comes to Knoxville with a 58=39 record just one game back from second place in the National East as Iowa Giants are 35-62 in the west and 35 games out.
Game #1: DET 4-8-1 WP J Romero 5-4 Save Aker 10
IOW 3-8-0 LP M. Lanier 2-11
Things started out tough for Detroit as Allie Reynolds their ace suffers a arm injury after just 2/3 of a inning pitched and is lost for 8 games. Giants thanks to a strong performance from Bob Feller 6 innings 2 hits 1 run have the lead through 7 innings and lose in the game in the 9th inning. Giants have lost a lot of games that way unfortunately this season
Game #2: DET 3-7-1 LP LP Akers 2-3
IOW 4-7-2 WP Rincon 2-0
This game was totally opposite of game 1 where Iowa was on the right side this time. Salle pitches 7 2/3 innings 4 hits 1 er but Giants win scoring two in ninth one coming on the tie breaking homer by Josh Hamilton
Game #3: DET 3-6-0 WP Morgan 9-6 SV Romero 9
IOW 2-4-0 LP Rincon 2-1
A great pitching duel between Morgan and Bonham, but Detroit comes through with Sam Rice RBI single in 9th to win it.
Game #4: DET 11-18-2 WP Vaugh 13-5
IOW 1-5-1 LP Lemon 2-4
Detroit jumps on Bob Lemon for 7 runs in second inning and coast to victory, Vaugh goes 7 innings allowing only 2 hits and no runs, and Ripper Collins slugs his 33 and 34 homers of the season and also have 4 rbi’s in game
Series Summary: Detroit has a very strong club pitching and relief were to much for the Giants Vaugh deserves pitcher of series with 7 innings of 2 hit ball and no runs. Series was very close in three games and could easily been a sweep for either team in those three games.
Climax Cougars @ Hoboken Zephyrs
Series Preview: Series needed replayed because Hoboken manager lost track of which c-files he had downloaded.
Game #1: Climax jumped all over Jered Weaver and Steve Blass during their 11-run onslaught. Jose Bautisata and Harlond Clift combined for 5 rbis and Chaney White pitched in 4 hits. Van Lingle Mungo was brilliant allowing just 4 hits and zero earned for the complete game victory.
Climax 11 Hoboken 1
Game #2: Harlond Clift and Mel Ott both hit two-run blasts off Tom Seaver as Sid Fernandez completely shut out the Hoboken offense.
Climax 6 Hoboken 0
Game #3: Noodles Hahn got tons of runs support as he improved to 16-7, 1.98era. Stan Spence and Jim Bottomley combined for 5 rbis.
Hoboken 8 Climax 1
Game #4: Rube Waddell outdueled Red Faber in a classic 1-0 pitchers’ battle. Johnny Mize provided the only offense with a 6th inning solo blast.
Climax 1 Hoboken 0
Series Summary: Climax takes 3 of 4 in Hoboken as they push for a playoff spot. The Cougars pitching shined with two shutouts and allowed one unearned in Game 1.
Clockwork Heros @ Virginia
Series Preview: The powerhouse Clockwork Heros (69-28) come to Virginia hoping to get at least three wins over the hapless Cavaliers (46-51).
Game #1: Gm.1 VIR 5-4 W-R.Hernandez (6-1) L-J.Valverde (1-3)

This started out well for Clockwork. L.Dykstra led off the game with a double. L.Santop singled putting runners at 1st and 3rd. A.Vaughn then bounced one off the CF wall scoring both runners for a 2-0 CWH lead. A.Vaughn added another run to the lead in the 3rd by chasing home L.Dykstra again but this time on a groundout. R,Schoendienst’s SF in the 4th gave CWH their 4th and final run and the game looked good for Clockwork with G.Uhle on the mound. Uhle put up goose eggs through 5 innings but got into a little trouble in the 6th. With one out G.Templeton singled and with two outs he gave up back to back walks loading the bases. A.Jones then drove one down the LF line for a 2-run single and the Cavaliers were on the board, CWH-4 VIR-2. With K.Tekulve in to handle the 8th things went south for Clockworth. G.Templeton led off with a single to RF and K.McReynolds lined a H&R double into the LF corner making it a one run game CWH-4 VIR-3. Tekulve got out of the 8th and came out for the start of the 9th and promptly gave up a PH single to J.Harris. D.Donavan replaced Tekulve and struck out PH’er A.Trammell. But PH’er H.Heilmann then banged one to the gap in left-center and Harris never stopped as he raced in to score the tying run. With both bullpens putting up zero’s through the 10th and 11th innings, it went to the bottom of the 12th. A.Rosen belted a double to right center to lead off the home half of the 12th but J.Valverde picked him off 2nd and then struck out R.Hernandez for the 2nd out of the inning. Then A.Jones stepped to the plate,…”A. JONES ’03 facing J. VALVERDE ’10, B 12th, 2 Outs, Bases Empty, Tied 4-4…He lets one go … a blast to center … FOSTER ’77 runs straight back … turns … he’ll look…but he won’t touch it … it’s all over! … it’s long gone! … home run for JONES ’03
HEROS 4, CAVALIERS 5” Virginia wins a game with their big gun (F.Robinson) injured and their 2nd baseman beaned as a pinch hitter and lost for 8 games. Go figure! A.Vaughn 2-5 with a double and 3 RBI for Clockwork, A.Jones 2-6 with a walk off homer and 3 RBI for Virginia.

Game #2: Gm.2 CWH 6-2 W-B.Blyleven (15-5) L-J.Key (5-7)

B.Blyleven was on his game! A CG five hitter made it difficult for Virginia to push many runs across the plate and Clockwork didn’t have any trouble at all as they banged out 11 hits en route to a 6-2 victory. Blyleven even went 2-4 with a run to help his own cause. Virginia scored first with a SF from A.Rosen in the first but Clockwork pretty much sealed the win with a 4 run 3rd.. In the 3rd, Blyleven and L.Dykstra led off with back to back singles and B.Watson sliced one past a diving G.Templeton driving in Blyleven and sending Dykstra to third. A SF from A.Vaughn brought Dykstra home and after singles from G.Foster and B.Terry loaded the bases S.Lopata lined one into RF scoring two and putting Clockwork up 4-1. A lead they would not relinquish. They added 2 more in the 8th as “LOPES ’79 drives one down the left field line…it’s deep enough if it’s fair … and it’s … long gone! … home run for LOPES ’79…and two runs score.” An error from Clockwork’s B.Bradley earlier in the 6th accounted for Virginia’s lame attempt at a comeback. S.Lopata’s 2-4 2 RBI game led CWH and 2 hits from B.Watson and D.Lopes’ 2-run homer added to a nice showing by Clockwork hitters. G.Templeton and T.Taylor had 2 hits apiece for Virginia.

Game #3: Gm.3 CWH 2-1 W-C.Mathewson (18-3) L- J.Guzman (3-6) SV-K.Tekulve (25)

C.Mathewson pitched a great game and almost lost it. Almost. But not quite. Mathewson kept Virginia off the board through 6 innings while allowing no hits. The only problem was, J.Guzman, while allowing hits, did the same for Virginia by keeping Clockwork scoreless for 7 innings. In the bottom of the 7th Virginia broke through when G.Templeton led off with a double, the first hit off Mathewson in the game. Two batters later A.Rosen lined a shot to RF for the 2nd Virginia hit off Mathewson and driving in Templeton for a 1-0 Virginia lead. However, Cockwork was not going to let Mathewson lose. In the top of the 8th, L.Dykstra smoked one off the CF wall and motored all the way to third with a lead off triple. Three batters later, Dykstra raced home on a slow ground out from G.Foster and the game was knotted at 1 all. It stayed that way after 9 and the game went to the 10th inning tied. In the top of the 10th B.Watson led off with a single. Guzman was relieved by R.Betancourt and P.Rizzuto was put in to run for Watson. He promptly steals 2nd putting the go-ahead run at 2nd. After getting Dykstra on a grounder to SS, L.Santop lined a shot into right and Rizzuto just barely sled under the strong throw from K.McReynolds. CWH-2 VIR-1. Virginia threatened in the bottom half putting two runners on with 1 out but K.Tekulve got A.Pujols on a pop up and D.Lopes made a leaping grab of an H.Heilman line drive to end the game. L.Santop was 2-5 with an RBI for Clockwork and A.Vaughn and B.Bradley had 2 hits as well.

Game #4: Gm.4 CWH 4-3 W-H.Newhouser (4-3) L-K.Foulke (3-5) SV- D.Donovan (1)

The third game in the series to go to extra innings. The game was scoreless for the first 4 innings for Clockwork and the first 6 for Virginia as C.Kluber and P.Roe hooked up in a pitching duel. Clockwork opened up the scoring in the 5th as B.Bradley and S.Lopata scorched P.Roe for back-to-back homers and a 2-0 lead. Clockwork added a 3rd run in the 7th on a D.Lopes’ RBI single. But Virginia began it’s comeback in the bottom half of the 7th. F.Robinson singled and stole 2nd. A.Rosen singled him to 3rd and K.McReynolds chased him home with a base hit to RF. With Rosen going to 3rd. A.Pujols followed with a grounder through short into LF scoring Rosen and a greedy McReynolds was nailed on a close play at 3rd leaving Virginia at the wrong end of a 3-2 score. McReynolds made up for his running gaff in the bottom of the 9th. A.Rosen led off with a walk and scored on a McReynolds H&R double into the RF corner. When the 9th ended the score was tied at 3. But the bats of the Heros refused to go away. L.Dykstra started the 10th with a single and stole 2nd. With L.Santop up, L.Parrish let a pitch go by and Dykstra went to 3rd. After Santop flew out Parrish let a 2nd pitch get away “Infield drawn in … DYKSTRA ’90 at third with his arms out, crouched … the pitch…and it gets by PARRISH’89 …DYKSTRA ’90 is headed home … he’ll score…HEROS 4, CAVALIERS 3” Once again Virginia gets 2 men on with 1 out in the bottom of the 10th only to fail to get a run across as they drop their 3rd game of the series.

Series Summary: A great series to play as unheralded Virginia gives Clockwork a tough time. However, Clockwork prevails 3-1. A key hit here and there and Virginia takes the series 3-1. Alas, but were it so.
Fire Lake Segers @ Nags Head Surf Sox
Series Preview: Fire Lake (50-46) at Nags Head (46-51)

Fire Lake enters the series with a solid hold on an N.L. playoff spot. Nags Head has battled back into the race, but still sits on the outside of a crowded field of contenders.

The series was played via TeamViewer; thanks Terry for a fun series.

Game #1: Denny MClain (7-7 3.48) vs. Joaquin Andujar (4-13 5.44)

Top 3 – Pete Rose doubles with one out. Barry Larkin follows with a single, Rose scores on a wild throw by Von Hayes to put the visitors up 1-0. Vada Pinson’s RBI double plates Larkin for the 2-0 lead, but Fire Lake isn’t done. Jose Cardenal doubles, Pinson scores and it’s 3-0 F.L.

Bottom 4 – Sox get a run back on a Derek Jeter RBI triple that scores HOJO. 3-1 Segers after 4.

Top 6 – Pete Rose doubles again, scoring Walters and McClain. F.L. 5-1

Top 8 – Jose Cardenal solo homerun, his 5th of the season, puts F.L. up 6-1.

Nags Head gets it chances against McClain, collecting 8 hits and 4 walks, but they can only manage the 1 run. Dave Stewart comes in to pitch a perfect 9th, F.L. takes the series opener 6-1. Pete Rose had 3 hits, including 2 doubles, and knocked in 2. Larkin, Pinson, and Cardenal each had a pair of hits for F.L. HOJO had 3 hits to lead the Sox.

F.L. 6 10 0
SOX 1 8 1
WP – Mclain (8-7)
LP – Andujar (4-14)

Game #2: Eppa Rixey (5-2 2.83) vs. Mike Mussina (9-6 3.44)

Top 4 – Back to back doubles by Larkin and Pinson give F.L. a 1-0 lead

Bottom 4 – Dave Kingman leads off the inning with a walk. A Dave Winfield single puts runners at 1st and 2nd with no out. Tim McCarver follows with an RBI double scoring Kingman to tie the game. Derek Jeter singles to score Winfield, but McCarver gets thrown out at the plate to limit the damage. Sox 2-1

Top 5 – Nags Head didn’t lead for long … 3 consecutive, 2 out, singles by Rose, Larkin, and Pinson ties the game at 2.

Top 7 – Pete Rose delivers again for F.L., clubbing a one out triple to right. Rose scores on a Larkin RBI single, putting F.L. back in front. Tony Perez smacks a 2 run homerun, #6 for him, to give the Segers a 5-2 advantage.

Bottom 7 – John Smoltz quickly retires the 1st 2 Sox batters before walking Jimmie Foxx. Giancarlo Stanton makes him pay, driving a pitch just inside the left field foul pole, his 12th homerun of the season, cutting the F.L. lead to 5-4.

The Sox would get no closer. Soto and Gullett finish off the Sox to preserve the F.L. win. Larkin and Pinson each get 3 hits for F.L., Rose goes 2 for 5 with 2 runs scored. Jeter had 3 hits for N.H., Stanton, Winfield, and McCarver each get 2. Mussina strikes out 10 F.L. batters in his 6 innings of work.

F.L. 5 10 1
SOX 4 10 0
WP – Smoltz (5-2)
LP – Giusti (4-4)
S – Gullett (7)

Game #3: Matt Morris (4-4 3.71) vs. Jim Palmer (3-5 3.47)

Top 1 – Pete Rose reaches on a HOJO error to start the game. Rose comes around to score on a Larkin RBI double. 1-0 F.L. early

Bottom 1 – Von Hayes’ 7th homerun of the season, a solo shot, ties the game at 1. Foxx follows with a walk. He moves to second on a Stanton ground out, and scores on a Dawson single. 2-1 Sox

Top 2 – Once again the Sox lead is short lived. HOJO’s 2nd error of the game sets the Segers up with Roseboro and Menke on 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Matt Morris helps himself with a SAC fly scoring Roseboro with the unearned run, tying the game 2-2.

At that point the pitchers take over with neither team able to score until the home half of the 9th. Ryne Sandberg doubles with one out. Gullett gets Hayes to fly to left for the second out, bringing Foxx to the plate. Foxx smashes a Gullett pitch to deep center to score Sandberg with the winning run.

Roseboro led F.L. with a pair of hits. Foxx and Dawson each had 2 hits for N.H. Jim Palmer was the pitching star of the game, going 9 innings, working around 4 hits and 6 walks, to allow only the 2 unearned F.L. runs.

F.L. 2 4 0
SOX 3 9 2
WP – Palmer (4-5)
LP – Gullett (3-5)

Game #4: David Cone (7-8 2.72) vs. Nolan Ryan (3-8 4.48)

Bottom 1- Nags Head gets on the board early in this one. Sandberg opens the inning drawing a walk. Von Hayes reaches on a Larkin throwing error to put Sox on the corners with no outs. Jimmie Foxx’s RBI double scores Sandberg for the 1-0 lead. Cone gets HOJO and Kingman before Dave Winfield’s infield single scores Hayes. Sox up 2-0

Top 4 – Vada Pinson scores on a fielder’s choice ground out to cut the N.H. lead in half, 2-1

Top 5 – Back to back Rose and Larkin doubles tie the game 2-2

Bottom 5 – A Hayes walk and Foxx double put runners on 2nd and 3rd with 1 out. Kingman comes to the plate and bounces one to Larkin who juggles it for the error, Hayes scores to put NH back in front, 3-2

Top 6 – Once more, the Sox lead is short-live. Roseboro walks and scores on a Menke double, tying the game 3-3. Bucky Walters follows with an RBI double. David Cone singles to put runners on 1st and 3rd for Rose, and Rose delivers AGAIN, singling in Walters and it’s 5-3 F.L.

The Segers take the 2 run lead into the 9th. Stanton leads off the bottom of the 9th driving a Cone fastball over the leftfield wall for his 2nd homerun of the series, and cutting the F.L. lead to 5-4. Smoltz comes in to relieve Cone. Smoltz strikes out Sandberg for the inning’s first out, but a Hayes double and Foxx walk, sends F.L. to the pen again. Gary Lavelle comes in to face HOJO. Johnson hits one into the gap to score Hayes, tying the game. Lavelle retires Kingman and Winfield and we go to extra innings.

Bottom 11 – A Hayes single and Foxx walk starts the Sox 11th against Mario Soto. A rare HOJO SAC bunt puts Sox at 2nd and 3rd with one out. Kingman bounces back to Soto who throws Hayes out at the plate for the inning’s second out. With runners at 1st and 2nd, the Sox call on pinch-hitter Mike Marshall. Marshall hasn’t done much for N.H. this season, but he drops a single out of the reach of Rose in left, scoring Foxx with the winning run, the 2nd straight Sox walk off victory, allowing them to earn the series split.

Pete Rose had 3 more hits for F.L. Cone pitched well, only allowing 2 earned runs over 8 innings. Foxx singled twice and walked 4 times, and Hayes scored 3 runs to lead the Sox offense. Dave Kingman had a rough day going 0 for 6. The star of the game was the Sox bullpen, allowing no runs, no hits, and only 1 walk over the game’s final 5 2/3 innings.

F.L. 5 10 2
SOX 6 10 0
WP – Cordero (3-2)
LP – Soto (5-3)

Series Summary: Evenly matched series, featuring 3 one-run games, ends in a 2-2 series split. Pete Rose seemed to always be on base, collecting 8 hits, scoring 5 runs, clubbing 3 doubles and a triple, knocking in 3 and stealing a base, raising his batting average 9 points over the 4 game series.
San Tan Valley Moonrakers @ Fantomz Force
Series Preview: Two struggling teams faced off in Force Field this weekend … and are weighing their prospects for this season and next …
Game #1: Game 98 – Bump Hadley ‘30 (8-6) v. Satchel Paige ‘41 (11-8)

San Tan Valley 4-3 (10): The Force struck first on Larry Doby’s 1st-inning two-run double, a welcome offensive start after the Force scored only five runs during the previous series. The Moonrakers’ Bob Elliott, who entered the game itchy, tied the game on the 3rd inning. Sant Tan Valley added another single run during the next two frames and held on for the win, with Hal Trosky homering and doubling.

W – Hadley (9-6) L – Paige (11-8)

Game #2: Game 99 – Eric Gagne ‘01 (1-6) v. Gaylord Perry ’74 (10-8)

Fantomz 12-0: The most lopsided by Fantomz this season was led by Doc Wiley (4-for-4 2rbi) and Mike Andrews (4-for-5 5rbi), with Larry Doby adding two rbi. The Force had 20 base hits – 17 singles and 3 doubles. Perry fired a three-hit shutout, striking out four, and hitting 3-for-5 to raise his batting average to .067.

W – Perry (10-8) L – Gagne (11-7)

Game #3: Game 100 – Randy Johnson ’04 (11-6) v. Carl Weilman ’14 (7-12)

Fantomz 2-1: Fantomz pitcher Carl Weilman was 1-7 with four no-decisions over his last 12 starts, receiving little offensive support. In the 2nd inning, Andrews doubled home Wiley for an early 1-0 lead. San Tan Valley tied the game in the 5th inning on Elliott’s solo shot. In the 8th inning, Doby scampered home after an error to score the winning run. Jeff Russell pitched two scoreless innings for the win.

W – Russell (3-4) L – Garrelts (3-5)

Game #4: Game 101 – Virgil Trucks ’43 (4-9) v. Mel Harder ’32 (3-3)

Fantomz 2-0: The Moonrakers’ pitchers allowed only three hits, but one was a Doby longball and the other a Mickey Cochrane pinch-hit run-scoring double. Meanwhile, Mel Harder pitched seven shutout innings, his best outing this season, and five relievers combined with him to throw a four-hitter.

W – Harder (4-3) L – Trucks (4-10)

Series Summary: Interesting tidbit for this series: in the final game, the Moonrakers committed four errors: one each by the 1b, 2b, ss, and 3b. I don’t recall seeing that one before! Close series except for the second game.

Player of the Week nominee: Fantomz’ Mike Andrews, for hitting 6-for-16 with 6 rbi.

Pitcher of the Week nominee: Fantomz’ Gaylord Perry for firing a three-hit shutout with four strikeouts for an 78 Game Score, his second shutout in last four starts.

Pigtown Bombers @ Motown Yankees
Series Preview: Pigtown visits Motown to finish off the season series after splitting the first 4 game set in Pigtown. Pigtown is loikely looking to regroup with a high pick for 2021, while Motown is scratching and clawing for a low playoff seed.
Game #1: Joe McGinnity and Adam Wainwright both pitched brilliantly, each allowing only 2 runs on 3 hits, with Hank Greenberg tripling and scoring the tying run in the top of the 9th. Motown plated the winning run in the bottom of the 11th to secure the 3-2 extra inning affair, with Wainwright getting the CG victory, upping his season record to 11-6. Darren O’Day took the loss, dropping his overall record to 0-7. Stan Hack led Motown with 2 hits, including a 2B. Motown added injury to insult, injuring cleanup hitter and third baseman Mike Schmidt and keeping him out of the next 7 games.
Game #2: Larry Jansen tossed 6 scoreless, scattering 4 hits, to lead Motown to the 6-0 victory. J. Taylor took the loss, giving up 5 ER through only 1.2 innings. Stan Hack was the Motown hitting star, with 3 hits including a 2B and HR, scoring 3 and knocking in 3.
Game #3: Dave Brown continued Pigtown’s scoreless streak, going all 9 for the CG SO and winning his 12th game, 7-0. Jim Abbott took the loss to drop to 2-14. Every Motown player recorded at least 1 hit, with Cristobal Torriente leading the way with 3 hits, including a 2b and HR and totaling 7 bags.
Game #4: Luis Tiant stood tall for Pigtown in avoiding the sweep, winning game 4 2-1 over Carl Hubbell. Tiant upped his record to 8-6 scattering 6 hits and allowing a single ER. Pigtown only had 3 hits, but they count more when they leave the yard, as Jim Edmonds proved with his solo shot. Darren O’Day picked up his 12th save of the season.
Series Summary: Motown was able to take 3 of 4, coming to within a game of .500 and tightening the playoff race, while Pigtown’s offense continued to struggle, and will face an even more difficult uphill climb with the loss of Schmidt for the next series.