Standings Entering Week #4

Bosox take 2 of 3 vs Tribe in Fenway slugfest

Fenway Park - 8/11-8/13
Early Wynn vs Luis Tiant
Red Sox 10, Indians 9
Boston had this smug look about them after knocking Wynn out of the box by scoring 7 runs in 2 innings.  Tiant looked good until the floodgates opened in the 7th as Cleveland rallied back for 5 runs off of Tiant and reliever Bob Stanley to tie the game a 9-9.  Rocky Colavito's 2 run shot got the party started.  A suicide squeeze by Jim Hegan scored Tito Francona.  Back to back RBI singles by Bobby Avila and Larry Doby tied it up, but all was for naught as a walk off homer by Vern "Junior" Stephens gave Boston the final laugh.  After striking out Jim Rice to lead off the 9th, reliever Ray Narleski gave one up to Stephens and the Green Monstah’ in this wild high scoring event.

Red Sox 12, Indians 11 (11 inn)
Mike Garcia vs Roger Clemens
Pretty much a replay of the series opener… On the back of a 4 run 8th the Indians victimized Ellis Kinder to rally all the way back from an early 7-2 deficit.  Once again it was proven that no lead is safe in Fenway.  Al Rosen's 3 run shot proved to be the big blow.  Andre Thornton's solo shot in the 9th gave Cleveland a 10-8 lead.  Jim Kern gave up a 2 out 2 run double to Carlton Fisk who hit one so hard it almost went through the Monstah !  Nobody scored in the 10th. Cleveland took broke the deadlock when Colavito doubled to lead off the 11 off Dick Radatz and Thornton knocked him in with a line shot single.  Gary "Ding Dong" Bell was given the ball and the assignment to protect the 1 run lead he was just handed.  Bell just couldn't get it done.  Wade Boggs led off the inning with an opposite field double courtesy of his patented inside out Fenway swing.  Yaz worked out a walk and after Jim Rice singled the bases  were loaded with nobody out.  Bell was now in HUGE trouble.  The Splendid Splinter, Ted Williams hit a line shot single to right to score Boggs, but nobody else, because he hit the ball so hard.  Carlton Fisk would once again come up in a big spot.  This time he would not need a hit.  Fisk lifted a medium fly to right that Colavito was able to corral.  It now came down to the Rock's great arm and Yaz's legs.  Score one for Yaz and the Bosox, with their second blown lead/comeback win in a row.

Indians 11, Red Sox 3
Bob Lemon vs Mel Parnell
Once again the Bosox jumped out to a lead.  Jackie Jensen's lead off homer in the bottom of the first and Bobby Doerr's RBI double in the second gave Parnell a 2-0 lead and put Bob Lemon on the ropes.  The turning point of the game would come in teh 4th when Cleveland rallied for 4 runs thanks to back to back to back singles by Dale Mitchell, Toby Harrah and Larry Doby.  A wild pitch by Parnell, who lost it real fast and some ground ball outs and just like that Boston's 2-0 lead was now a 4-2 deficit.  Yaz would hit a solo shot to lead off the 6th to cut the Tribe's lead to 1, but a 5 run outburst in the 8th and 2 more in the 9th would give Lemon more than enough runs to cruise to victory as Cleveland salvaged one game from this 3 game set.  Hitting star of the game had to be Andre Thornton, who was 2 for 4 with 4 RBI and a 3 run homer.  Lemon recovered nicely after his early game hiccups to go the distance and get his first victory of the season.

Dodgers sweep Friars…pay respect to the late Duke Snider

The Duke of Flatbush	Sandy the Dandy	Fernando-Valley

Game 1 at Ebbets Field

Tony Gwyn hit a homerun and San Diego got out to an early 3-0 lead but a homerun by Reggie Smith and a three run bomb by Duke Snider gave LA the lead as they never looked back. Drysdale went the distance to improve to 2-0 on the season. Dodgers 8....Padres 4

Game 2

This game was much closer as a pair of veteran southpaws went toe to toe. Bruce Hurst and Sandy Koufax went the distance for both clubs as they kept the hitters off balance all game.  The Friars got on the board first with an RBI single by Garry Templeton in the 5th inning. However, the resilient and powerful Dodgers plated two in the seventh to win it.  The winning run scored when Hurst lost control of home plate and threw 4 straight balls to Ron Cey with the bases loaded to force in the eventual winning run...Dodgers 2...Padres 1.

Game 3

Fernando Valenzuela went the distance and only surrendered 3 hits as the Dodgers took the third and final game and complete the sweep of their young southern neighbors.  Duke Snider, Reggie Smith, and Gil Hodges all slammed homeruns in support of the Mexican lefty.  Duke Snider also collected 3 hits in the win....Dodgers 4....Padres 1.

--submitted by Joey Scigliano--

EDITOR’S NOTE:  Today marked the passing of the great Duke Snider at the age of 84.  The Duke meant so many things to so many people.  He still holds the record for most lifetime home runs by a Dodger and is 3rd in home runs in World Series play.  He is an icon on both coasts and will surely be missed.  It was fitting that he still lives on in our league and in all the world of sport sims.  Fittingly he had a banner series with 2 game winning hits.  One again, Duke Snider, dead at the age of 84 (2/27/2010).

Rangers take first series ever by taking 2 of 3 from 1st place Halos

8/11-8/13 - Arlington Stadium
Rangers 3, Angels 0
Bobby Witt vs Dick Bosman
The recipe for the Rangers is real simple:  Get some decent pitching and let the bats do all the heavy lifting.  When the Rangers can get a 4 hit shutout performance from a guy like Dick Bosman they become very hard to beat.  Sadly, performances like this, have become few and far between, but when the do come the Rangers look like world beaters.  Juan "Gone" Gonzalez  hit two solo shots and third baseman Ken McMullen added a solo shot of his own in the 7th to give Bosman all the run support he would need.

Angels 8, Rangers 5
Andy Messersmith vs Charlie Hough
Simply put, Hough's knuckler didn't knuckle much.  When that happens the offense has a field day, which it did.  The Halos jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first, but had to continue to score more runs thanks to their starter, Andy Messersmith, being ineffective (5 runs in 6 2/3 IP) as well.  Mr. October, Reggie Jackson's, grand slam in the first was truly the knock out punch it was intended to be.  Texas got two more solo shots, which has become the focal point of their offense all season.  Frank Howard and Toby Harrah chipped in with those.  Texas did suffer a big loss to their bullpen when Danny "the origin of the bullpen" Darwin went down with an arm injury in the 7th.  Texas is hoping to see Darwin back in about 2 weeks.

Rangers 7, Angels 6
Nolan Ryan vs Jon Matlack
The "Express" left this contest after 7 innings with a solid 5-3 lead.  Ryan fanned 8, so you know his fastball was humming.  Kirk McCaskill did a wonderful job with a perfect 8th inning to hand the ball off to closer Bryan Harvey.  Ranger fans to their credit stayed in their seats and did not leave early.  Pete O'Brien led off the bottom of the 9th vs Harvey and worked out a walk.  back to back singles by pinch hitter Bump Wills and Buddy Bell loaded the bases.  Rafael Palmeiro lofted a fly to Devon White in right field to score "OB" to make it 6-4.  The "Capital Punisher", Frank Howard struck out swinging for the second out.  That set the stage for Juan "Gone" Gonzalez, who already had 2 homers in the series.  Gonzo, who was 1 for 3 to this point got the pitch that he liked and sent Harvey's 2-0 offering deep into the 9th for a walk off 3 run shot.  Jeff Russell, who pitched a perfect 9th in relief got the win.

Braves take 2 of 3 from Jints

Game 1 - Braves 6 Giants 2

On paper a great pitching match up. Warren Spahn gave up a lead-off homer to Bobby Bonds and another home run to Willie Mays in the 7th but that is all the damage the Giants could do. Spahn pitched a 3 hit complete game to make up for his last start. Marichal was victimized by a 2 run homer from Jeff Blauser in the 3rd and 2 run double by Bill Bruton in the 4th. Marichal, who looked sharp at times, couldn't make it past the 4th.

Game 2 - Giants 3 Braves 2 (12 Innings)

The Braves raced out to 2-0 lead after 6 and John Smoltz was cruising. But the Giants rally late scoring single runs in the 8th and 9th to send the game to extra innings. Pitchers will still dominating the 'free baseball' until the bottom of the 12th. With Tom Haller on 1st with a 2 out single, up stepped pinch hitter Dick Dietz. Dietz blasted a deep drive into the corner allowing Haller to score the winning run. A breathless Haller leaped into Dietz's arms after the play where they both promptly collapsed. A close tight game all the way.

Game 3 - Braves 4 Giants 1

Another pitchers duel as Lew Burdette faced Johnny Antonelli. It was tied at 1 going into the top of the 6th. Then Felipe Alou took matters into his own hands. He blasted a 2-run home run of Antonelli in the 6th and then added a solo shot of Scott Garrelts in the 8th to give the Braves the series. Burdette gave up one run over 8 before yielding to Gene Garber who picked up his first save.

--submitted by Ron Burnette--

Cubbies sweep Redbirds

In the post series news conference, Cubs Manager, Jim Walden," I think our magic number is 37," said Walden with a grin. "I was pleasantly surprised to sweep Mike and his Cardinals. I was hoping to take maybe two outta three, but a sweep...wow....it's early,but we're getting good pitching, Bob Rush had a good outing filling in for Kenny (Holtzman)  in game 3...Kenny's arm is still sore...but he's scheduled to throw tomorrow....and our guys are hitting the long ball....6 more in this series gives us 17 so far on the year, but like I said there's lots of baseball top play."

Game 1
The Cubs traveled down I-55 to Busch Stadium to take on their old time rivals. The Cubs lit up Cards starter,Larry Jackson in the 1st, highlighter by home runs by Ernie Banks and Billy Williams. It would be 4-0 after one.Chicago would add 2 more runs in the 6th as Billy Williams hit his second of the game. The two run shot put Chicago up, 6-0. Cubs starter,Greg Maddux, would completely fall apart in the bottom of the 7th. St.Louis would send 10 men to the plate and collect 6 hits, one being a long shot by Bill White, and they would score 7 runs and knock Maddux out of the game. Chicago would answer in the top of the 8th as Rick Monday planted his second HR of the year in the right field bleachers. Lee Smith would shut the door on the Cardinals in the 8th and 9th to get the win.

Game 2
Bill Hands, for Chicago, would face off against Bob Forsch for St.Louis in game 2. St.Louis would strike first in the 3rd as Forsch would stroke a single to center and then be doubled home by Curt Flood. The lead didn't hold up long as Chicago would put up a 4 spot on Forsch in the 4th. I guess having to run the bases the previous inning proved to much for him. Rick Monday's 3rd HR of the year would cap the Cub 4th. Hands would go the distance for Chicago and grab his second win of the year as the Cubs took over first in the East with the 4-1 win.

Game 3
Bob Rush would scatter 6 hits over 7 innings of work to collect a game 3 win for the Cubs. Cardinals starter would Joaquin Andujar would surrender a lead off single to Ryne Sandberg. The first pitch to Ernie Banks would go to the backstop as Ted Simmons let it go under his mitt. Sandberg would take second. Hank Sauer would wallop a double to left center, scoring Sandberg and Chicago would never trail. Sauer would later hit his 3rd dinger of the year and Randy Hundley would hit his first for Chicago. Rush would give way to Scott Sanderson and Sanderson would turn the ball over to Bruce Sutter for the last inning and a third to collect his first save of the year. Chicago would have a 5-1 win and a series sweep.
--submitted by Jim Walden--

Tigers take 2 of 3 from Brew Crew

8/11-8/13 - Tiger Stadium
Tigers 9, Brewers 1
Teddy Higuera vs Jack Morris
The only shock in this blow out was that Jack Morris only gave up 1 run (a Gorman Thomas solo shot) and didn't give up 8.  Legend has it that Morris would pitch just good enough to win.  If his team scored 11 he'd give up 10.  If his team scored 1 he'd shut the opponent out.  How this man keeps getting snubbed for the HOF is beyond me.  No knock on Bert Blyleven, who just got in, but I'd take Jack in a big game or big series ahead of Bert.  Ok...I'm off the soap box.  The score here was 2-1 until Detroit went off with a 4 run third inning.  Five Tigers had 2 hits.  Lance Parrish and Willie Horton both hit 2 run shots.

Brewers 7, Tigers 1
Jim Colborn vs Jim Bunning
Milwaukee extended their 4-0 lead to a 7-0 lead after scoring 3  runs in the 9th off of Tiger reliever Hank Aguire.  Robin Yount hit a big 3 run homer in the top of the first, but the day truly belonged to the unheralded Jim Colburn, who went the distance and allowed just one run.  Sixto Lezcano had two RBI's for the victors and Cecil Cooper joined Yount with 2 hits.

Tigers 9, Brewers 5
Mike Caldwell vs Denny McLain
Milwaukee's tenuous 5-3 lead evaporated in the home half of the 7th as starter Mike Caldwell and reliever Bill Castro conspired to allow Detroit to score 5 unanswered runs.  Ten men would come to the plate, but none would contribute more than Norm Cash who's grand slam homer gave the Tigers the lead for good.  Chuck Hiller, who pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief of the ineffective McLain got the win.  McLain gave up 4 round trippers on the day including 2 to former Tiger Ben Oglivie.  The Tigers would victimize Milwaukee pitchers for 17 hits.  Harvey Kuenn and Lance Parrish both had 3 hit days.

Reds outlast ‘Stros to hang on and take 2 of 3

Game 1
Cincinnati's Tom Seaver goes 8 innings while allowing 8 hits for his second win of the season. Houston was trailing 3-2 in the 8th behind a solid Mike Scott start, but reliever Danny Darwin gave up pinch hitter George Foster's a 2-run double, followed by a run scoring double by Larkin. That put the game on ice for Clay Carroll to close out easily. Tom Terrific nailed a solo home run to help his own cause. Glenn Davis and Jose Cruz had the Houston ribbies. Final Score Reds 6, Astros 2.

Game 2
An Astronomical power surge was felt on the Cincinnati electrical grid when four Houston home runs shocked the city. Long balls by SS Dickie Thon,  Glenn Davis (a pinch hit grand slam), Jose Cruz and Cesar Cedeno had Houston up 8-3 after 4 innings. Mario Soto (0-1, 7.00) takes the loss, Larry Dierker (2-0, 3.60) gets the win. Bob Watson (.533 Avg.) knocked in a final run in the 8th inning to blemish Norm Charlton's relief effort. Reds catcher Ed Bailey was the only bright spot on the losing side going 2-2 with a run and a RBI. Final Astros 9, Reds 3.

Game 3
Gary Nolan of Cincinnati faced of with Nolan Ryan of Houston for a game played as if it were the 7th game of a playoff series. Astros Manager Mike Johnson was proud and yet disappointed, losing 3-2 to Steve Tate of Cincinnati on a walk off RBI by Reds first basemen Ted Kluszewski. An a error by relief pitcher Ken Forsch allowed the speedy Vada Pinson on to lead off the 9th inning who later scored on Big Klu's big hit.
"We played so well, we really deserved that victory," said Johnson. "Tate and his boys will win most of their 3-game series' with the talent they have over there, but we sure had 'em on the ropes in this one."
Vada Pinson joined his teammates in stealing a combined 7 bases off the Astros catcher Cliff Johnson. Johnson (2-20 on the season, .100 AVG.)  isn't hitting or fielding his position very well and Johnson has named Craig Biggio the starting backstop for the remainder of the season. The Reds Nolan, John Franco and Rob Dibble didn't allow an earned run all game, while Ryan, Joe Sambito and Forsch nearly matched them, allowing only 1. Nolan and Ryan both struck out 6 batters. Final Reds 3, Astros 2.

--submitted by Mike Johnson--

‘Spos take 2 of 3 from Amazin’s

8/11-8/13 - Olympic Stadium
Mets 3, Expos 1
Dwight Gooden vs Dennis Martinez
Let's just call this one "Vintage Doc", which was a terminology used early and often during the mid 80's in NYC.  When Doc Gooden was on a roll he was virtually unhittable, which the Expos could attest to today.  Montreal would get just 3 hits on the day with one being a second inning solo shot by Larry Walker.  For 5 innings it looked like "El Presidente", Dennis Martinez, would milk that 1 run for all it was worth.  Then in the top of the 6th Doc would get all the runs he would need in the form of a 3 run blast by HoJo.  Giving Gooden a 2 run lead when he's mowing down hitters is what's called a "sure thing" in the business.  Doc would go on to strike out 9 enroute to his second win of the season.  El Presidente would give up just 3 unearned runs on the day and be the hard luck loser.  For those keeping score at home an error by Chris Speier prolonged the inning and allowed HoJo to get his time at bat.

Expos 11, Mets 3
Jon Matlack vs Bill Gullickson
Poor Bill Gullickson.  He was cruising with a 1 hitter after 4 innings  then he pulled a muscle in his calf and was removed from the game for precautionary reasons.  Charlie Lea would be mediocre in relief (3 runs in 4 1/3 IP), but the Expo bats were more than mediocre.  A 3-0 lead became a 7-0 lead by the end of 6 innings of play.  Montreal just piled it on as Met lefties:  Matlack & Fernandez couldn't get it done.  Gary Carter (who would do double duty in the series) had himself a field day at the plate going 3 for 4 with 4 RBI and a homer.  The "Hawk", Andre Dawson had himself a 3 for 5 day with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI.  Montreal recorded 16 hits in all in this one sided affair.

Expos 4, Mets 1
Jerry Koosman vs Scott Sanderson
Keith Hernandez' RBI single in the first would be all the runs the Mets would score on the day thanks to Scott Sanderson's dominating performance over 7 strong innings.  Montreal would tie the game in the bottom of the 2nd when Ellis Valentine singled home "the Hawk" with a clutch 2 out hit off of Jerry Koozman.  "Kooz" was none to happy with the strike zone he was being afforded.  Grumbling in the first led to him showing up the home plate ump in the 4th when Gary Carter worked out a walk on a pitch that definitely looked like it cut the inside corner.  After a few seconds of chirping Kooz was given the thumb quite to the surprise of his teammates.  By this point the Expos had a 3-1 lead after tacking on 2 runs in the 3rd on RBI singles by Tim Raines and "El Ghatto" Andres Galarraga.  During both AB's Kooz thought he had strike 3 thrown by them only to be rewarded with a ball 3 call.  Ray Sadecki was summoned with short notice to replace the ejected Koozman.  It took a few batters for Ray to settle down, but a walk to Raines forced in the Expos 4th run of the game.   Joe Hesketh would pitch a perfect 8th inning in relief of Sanderson and Jeff Reardon would do the same in the 9th to log his first save of the season.

Bombers take 2 of 3 from O’s @ the Stadium

Yankee Stadium
Game 1: McNally vs. Ford
Dave McNally and Whitey Ford settled in to stage a true pitcher's duel in the first game in New York. For six and a half innings nobody crossed the plate. Bobby Richardson's two-out RBI single cashed in Yogi Berra to make it 1-0 Yanks after seven. But then after cruising through the eighth the wheels came off for Ford in the ninth, giving up a walk and two singles to tie the score. Ford was replaced by Sparky Lyle onto to have Doug DeCinces hit an RBI single. The Yanks went out meekly in the ninth to hand Baltimore a 2-1 win.

Game 2: Cuellar vs. Raschi
Vic Raschi was on fire for most of this game. The Orioles were continually frustrated at the plate. Meanwhile the Yankees bats exploded in the fifth, with a home run from Phil Rizzuto highlighting the  inning. After the fifth the Yanks wre up 5-0. Graig Nettles added a homer in the sixth to make it 7-0 and Joe DiMaggio drove in Mickey Mantle in the seventh to give New York an 8-0 lead. Raschi did the rest, letting nothing across and giving up only three total hits in nine innings. In the young season Raschi has yet to give up an earned run. Yanks take the game 8-0.

Game 3: Pappas vs. Reynolds
The O's scored first on a solo home run by DeCinces in the second. The game was tied in the fifth when Yogi Berra hit his first home run. Reynolds gave way in the seventh to Ed Lopat. In the bottom of the second Berra struck again, plating Joe DImaggio on an RBI double after a daring call to send the Yankee Clipper home. Lopat shut Baltimore down the rest of the way and got the victory as the Yanks prevail 2-1.

--submitted by Michael Hopcroft--

Royals take 2 of 3 from Pale Hose in Comiskey

8/11-8/13 - Comiskey Park
Royals 2, White Sox 0
Paul Splittorff vs Juan Pizarro
Pizarro had a really good outing going 7 2/3 innings and only allowing 2 runs.  On most days very good is good enough, but not on a day when Paul Splittorff baffled the Chisox hitters and allowed only 4 hits en route to a complete game shutout.  Frank White would supply all the offense going 4 for 4 and knocking in both runs.  White would bag himself 2 doubles while his season average moved to an even .400.

White Sox 3, Royals 2
Charlie Leibrandt vs Billy Pierce
Minnie Minoso's RBI single in the bottom of the first scored Nellie Fox with 2 outs.  Lamar Johnson's 2 run homer would make it 3-0.  Chicago would not score another run the rest of the day, but they would not need to as Billy Pierce and Hoyt Wilhelm combined to keep KC's offense at bay and more importantly get themselves out of manager Dan Holm's dog house.  Clint Hurdle's solo shot with one out in the second made it 3-1 and UL Washington's RBI suicide squeeze bunt in the 5th made it a tight 1 run game.  The Royals threatened to tie it up in the 8th when Willie Wilson led the inning off with a single and stole both 2nd and 3rd.  Frank White, who was yesterday's hitting star, was today's hitting dud.  White fanned on 4 pitches for the first out of the inning.  Amos Otis came up next and hit a bullet to Sherm Lollar at first.  With the infield drawn in Wilson was forced to hold at third as Lollar  flipped the ball over to Wilhelm who was covering.  Hal McRae would be up next and his pop out to shallow left ended KC's chances in the 8th.  Al Cowens would lead off the 9th with a single and steal second to put pressure once again on Hoyt Wilhelm and he Chisox.  Tartabull popped out to short and Macfarlane was punched out looking.  The slumping George Brett was given an intentional pass.  John Mayberry was called on to pinch hit for Freddie Patek.  Mayberry swung through a 3-2 floater for the final out of the game.  Pierce got the win and Wilhelm his first save.

Royals 9, White Sox 2
Larry Gura vs Joe Horlen
KC's bats made quick work of Horlen, who was knocked out of the box before registering an out in the second.  KOD's very own "Dr. Hook" (Dan Holm) blew through 8 pitchers on the day.  The score was actually very close (3-2) until the final two innings when the Royals scored 6 runs to put it out of reach.  A 2 run homerun by Spanky Macfarlane in the 9th ended all hopes for the Chisox.  Larry Gura went the distance allowing just 1 unearned run and striking out 4.  George Brett got 2 hits to put his average over the Mendoza line for the first time this season.

Phightin’s take 2 of 3 from Buc-os

8/11-8/13 - Veterans Stadium
Phillies 3, Pirates 2
John Candelaria vs Steve Carlton
This matchup of premier lefties did not disappoint.  Roberto Clemente's solo shot with one out in the 5th broke the ice of a scoreless deadlock.  The "Candyman" was posting goose eggs for 6 innings, but hit a bump in the road in the 7th when one Michael Jack Schmidt went yard to tie it up.  Dave Giusti relieved for the Bucs and looked good, but Philly rallied for a solo run on a Greg Luzinski pinch hit RBI single to take a 2-1 lead.  Tug McGraw couldn't hold the Bucs down in the 9th thanks to an error by Richie Allen in left and back to back singles by Jay Bell and pinch hitter Donn Clendenon.  With the game tied at 2-2 Jim Rooker toed the rubber for the bottom of the 9th.  Rooker struck out Schmidt to start the inning, then got Granny Hamner to ground out to third, but Bill Madlock rushed his throw and pulled Stargell off the base to allow Hamner to reach safely.  Larry Bowa was  immediately inserted to pinch run for Hamner.  Pete Rose singled to put runners on 1st and second.  It looked like everyone would be stranded when Richie Ashburn flew out to his counterpart (Clemente) in center for out number 2.  With Cookie Rojas due up the "secretary of defense", Garry Maddox, was called on to pinch hit.  Rookers 2-1 offering to Maddox was lined right back through the box to score Bowa with the winning run.

Phillies 5, Pirates 4
Terry Mulholland vs Bob Friend
Pittsburgh nibbled their way to a 3-0 lead by scoring solo runs in each of the first 3 innings off of Mulholland.  The Phightin's answered back with solo runs in the 4th, 6th and 8th innings, but still faced a 1 run deficit.  Two runs in the bottom of the 8th off of Bob Veale and Dave Giusti put Philly ahead for good.  Veale started the 8th and walked Pete Rose.  Giusti relieved him to face a righty, Mike Schmidt.  It doesn't matter what arm you pitch with when it comes to Schmitty, who tagged Giusi's 2-0 offering and sent it deep into the second deck at the Vet.  Tug McGraw would get his second save of the season with a perfect 9th.  Woodie Fryman would get the win by pitching a scoreless 8th.  Giusti took the loss and blown save.

Pirates 7, Phillies 0
Vern Law vs Chris Short
Three runs in the first and 3 in the 7th led to Short's demise and a blowout win for the Buc'os.  The "Deacon", Vern Law was in such a groove it didn't matter how many runs his teammates gave him.  Law would throw a tidy 4 hit shutout despite walking 3 and not striking out a batter.  The "Cobra", Dave Parker, would fire the opening salvo with a 3 run shot in the first.  Clemente would add a 2 run shot in the 7th, which ultimately knocked Short out of the game.

Those swingin’ A’s take 2 of 3 from Twins

8/11-8/13 - Metropolitan Stadium
Twins 5, A's 4
Dave Stewart vs Jim Perry
Oakland scratched and clawed to a 3-0 lead after 4 1/2 innings only to see Minnesota erase it with one swing of the bat by pinch hitter Tom Brunansky.  Bruno was called on to bat for Zoilo Versalles with 2 out in the bottom of the 5th.  One might swing turned a 3-0 Oakland lead into a 3-3 tie.  Up until that point "Smoke", Dave Stewart, was cruising.  Minny touched him for two more runs in the bottom of the 6th.  Amazingly Stewart only allowed 2 runs after the Twins loaded the bases with nobody out.  Both runs scored on ground outs to make it 5-3.  Oakland threatened in the 8th thanks to a fielding error by Versalles at short on a slice job by Feris Fain.  Back to back walks by reliever Al Worthington forced in Billy North to make it a 1 run game.  Worthington rescued himself by striking out Bert Campaneris to end the inning.  Rick "Aggie" Aguilera notched his 4th save of the campaign by fanning two to close out a perfect 9th inning.

A's 6, Twins 5
Vida Blue vs Jim Kaat
The early going was not going well for the lefties.  Oakland hammered Kaat for 5 runs in the top of the 1st as 10 men came to the plate.  The big blow was a bases clearing double by catcher Gene Tenace, which made it 3-0.  Eddie Joosts RBI double scored Tenace to make it 4-0 and Vic Power's RBI single ended the scoring.  One would think 5 runs would be enough offense for a pitcher of Vida Blue's caliber to protect.  Unfortunately for Oakland their fire throwing lefty began leaking oil right out of the garage.  A solo shot by Kirby Puckett with one out in the first made it 5-1.  An RBI double by Earl Battey in the bottom of the second made it 5-2.  Back to back RBI singles by Rod Carew and Puckett made it a 1 run game and a solo shot by Roy Sievers in the 5th tied it up at 5-5.  By the 7th inning both starters were gone with the game still tied.  Neither posted a quality start.  Kaat deserves kudos for recovering from a horrific 1st inning to toss 6 shutout innings in a row until he tired after 123 pitches.  Blue just never really had it going all day and struggled with his control as evidenced by the 4 walks and 5 k's he posted.  Rollie Fingers would come on to sta the 8th and he would be just the tonic the A's needed.  The man with the handlebar mustache allowed just one hit in 2 1/3 innings of relief.  Jack Karlick would take over for the Twins and do the same for the 8th and 9th innings.  The 10th inning however would see Kralick give up a lead off double to Tenace.  After getting Joost and Power to fly out Kralick looked to escape the 10th without  any damage.  Tony Phillips, who entered the game as a replacement for the injured Dick Green, lined a single to right to score Tenace and give the A's the lead.  Fingers would start the 10th and easily get Mickey Vernon to pop out to the catcher on a jam job.  Fingers would leave the game on the winning side of the ledger as it was now time for "the Eck", which was bad news for Twin batters.  Both Bobby Allison and Eddie Yost went down swinging as the man with the mullet gave them nothing to hit en route to his 4th save of the season.

A's 3, Twins 2
Blue Moon Odom vs Camilo Pascual
The rubber match of the series followed the perfect Oakland formula.  Get an early lead.  Have your starter go 7 innings.  Have Fingers setup in the 8th and Eckersley close it out in the 9th.  All went according to plan, well almost.  The's A's did have an early 3-1 lead thanks to a solo shot by a pair of unlikely sources:  Bill North & Rickey Henderson, and a likely source:  Reggie Jackson.  The unplanned part was the trouble Eck got into in the bottom of the 9th.  Harmon Killebrew led off the inning with a tape measure shot to make it 3-2.  Mickey Vernon then shocked the world by walking vs Eckersley, a man who NEVER walks anyone.  Bobby Allison swung for the fences looking for the game winner and crapped out by fanning on 3 pitches.  Brunansky was called upon to pinch hit once again, but could not replicate his heroics of the previous day.  With 2 out Earl Battey singled to right to put runners on the corners.  A hit ties the game up, but Versalles line shot wound up in Carney Lansford's glove and not left field.  Dennis Eckersley did not have his best stuff, but still managed to survive and get his 5th save.
On a side note:  A's slugger Jose Canseco recoreded the less than coveted golden sombrero by fanning 4 consecutive times in a pittiful 0-4 effort.  Reggie, who went 2 for 4 with a homer barely missed having a 4 homer day.  His first 2 shots were caught against the wall and his double hit off the top of the wall in the 8th.

Standings After Week #2

Dodgers take 2 of 3 at Launching Pad

8/7-8/9 - Atlanta Fulton County Stadium
Dodgers 19, Braves 9
Fernando Valenzuela vs Tom Glavine
Neither lefty had much to offer in this slugfest where the "Launching Pad" shone through as the day's true star.  The Dodgers posted a 12 run 6th inning to more than overcome the 3 run deficit that they faced.  37 hits in total were posted on the day.  Maury Wills had a unique 4 hit / 3 error day.  Steve Garvey posted 5 RBI's, three of which came on a huge homer off Rick Camp in that fateful 6th.  Don Newcombe bailed out Fernando with 3 2/3 quality innings of work.  Rick Camp was victimized for 7 runs in 2/3 innings.  Gene Garber gave up 5 in 1/3.  Roy Campanella had 4 hits himself with 3 RBI's.

Dodgers 9, Braves 5
Orel Hershiser vs Lew Burdette
Kudos to the "bulldog", Orel Hershiser for gutting his way through almost 7 innings vs a tough lineup in a ballpark that was playing smaller than Wrigley with the wind blowing out.  The Dodgers needed a 4 run 8th to put the game away.  Pee Wee Reese started at short and continued the Dodgers tradition of shortstops making errors and getting hits.  Reese banged out 3 hits and knocked in 2 runs to go along with just 1 error.  Gil Hodges and Duke Snider each hit homers to show the Boys of Summer have muscle.

Braves 6, Dodgers 4
Preacher Roe vs Phil Niekro
Without Niekro these Braves just don't seem to win much.  Thankfully the knuckleball ace was on the mound and was able to ride the coat tails of a grand slam by Del Crandall in the 4th.  A pinch hit 2 out 2 run double by Eddie Mathews in the bottom of the 8th provided the much needed insurance to keep those high scoring Dodgers at bay.  Jackie Robinson's pinch hit homer in the 9th off of Cecil Upshaw threw a scare into the crowd, but Upshaw was able to cut the Dodger rally down after Steve Sax and Duke Snider reached base with 2 out.  A grounder to third by Gil Hodges ended it.  Sax had 3 hits in a rare start at second for the blue and white.

Redbirds sweep Amazin’s at Shea

8/7-8/9 - Shea Stadium
Cardinals 2, Mets 1
Curt Simmons vs Jerry Koosman
Both starters dueled to a 1-1 stalemate until the top of the 9th when the Cards got the key go ahead run off of Met reliever Tug McGraw.  After Ted Simmons singled and Ozzie Smith walked with 1 out Tug made a key error on Willie McGee's bouncer back to the box.  That allowed Simmons to score on Vince Coleman's grounder to short that would have been a DP if Coleman wasn't so lighting fast.  The "Mad Hungarian", Al Hrabosky came on in the 9th to finish of the Mets and notch the save for Ernie Broglio who threw 2 scoreless innings of relief.

Cardinals 6, Mets 2
Bob Forsch vs David Cone
The Coneheads were out in force at Shea and their boy looked good for 6 2/3 innings until the Cards erupted for 4 unanswered runs with 2 out.  Enos "Country" Slaughter came up to pinch hit for Forsch and singled to center.  Lou Brock single to right to put runners on the corners.  A wild pitch scored Slaughter to break the 2-2 tie.  A single by McGee put runners on the corners again.  A triple by Stan "the man" Musial and a RBI single by Bill White finished off Coney and the Mets.

Cardinals 8, Mets 0
Bob Gibson vs Tom Seaver
Tom Terrific looked like Tom "the terrible" as the much hyped battle of the aces never materialized.  Bob Gibson did his part by tossing a tidy 3 hit shutout.  Seaver gave up 7 in 7 innings in a must win for the Flushing 9.  El Sid came on to finish out the game, which turned into a blowout as the fans headed for the 7 train early.  Curt Flood had a 4 for 5 game with 3 runs scored and Bill White had himself a 3 for 5 day with 4 RBI.  White was a HR short of the illusive cycle.