#Chicago American Giants

Despite committing 4 errors, Chicago blew out the House of David 14-5 behind 4 hits from Dick Allen and 3 hits and 5 RBIs from Mike Fiore. The win went to Tricky Nichols, who improves to 5-2 in an outing that should also help rest the tired American Giants’ bullpen.

Dave Nilsson hit 2 homeruns and the Chicago bullpen survived some shaky moments–most notably a 3-run homerun by Dan Ford in the top of the 9th–as the American Giants beat the House of David 8-7. Shoeless Joe Jackson had 3 hits, and Frank Smith won his 2nd game of the year with a decent start.

Eddie Collins went 4-for-4 with 2 homeruns and Carlton Fisk and Fiore drove in 3 each as the American Giants put up 15 hits and 12 runs. The bad news was their pitchers gave up 18 hits–but only 9 runs, so Chicago beat the House of David once again, this time 12-9.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Stubby Overmire finally got his first victory of the year with another strong performance, delivering 8 innings of 5-hit, 2-run ball against Los Angeles. Gentleman Jim O’Rourke had 3 hits including his 3rd homerun of the year and 5 RBIs for Houston and Carlos Correa drove in 3 runs as well.

With Leon Day on the DL for 10 days with a shoulder injury, Houston brought Bones Ely back from AAA. The Colt 45’s also activated Casey Stengel from the DL, sending DJ LeMahieu to AAA.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Andy Pettite allowed 2 hits in 6 innings and Connie Johnson followed it with 3 perfect innings of relief as the Monarchs beat the Grays, 9-1. Rogers Hornsby and Gene Freese had 2 hits each and Hornsby hit a 3-run homerun (his 6th) and Albert Pujols a solo shot (his 9th). Pettite improved to 5-3 and Johnson picked up his first save.

Lou Brock had 3 hits and 4 stolen bases, scoring twice and helping the Monarchs ease to a 7-3 win over the Grays. Frank Castillo evened his record at 4-4 with 6 solid innings and Jose Rijo gave up 1 hit in 3 innings for his first save, although it may not be enough to keep Rijo in the WBL.

Robinson Cano led the way in a 15-5 demolition of Homestead, going 5-for-5 with 4 runs scored, 4 RBIs, and 2 homeruns. Ted Simmons and Boog Powell added 3 hits each with Powell and Brock driving in 3 each.

#Ottawa Mounties

Over 13 innings, the difference between Ottawa and Portland was … a wild pitch. In the top of the 13th, Anthony Rendon, who hit his 3rd homerun in the first inning to give the Mounties an early lead, singled off Elmer Brown. He moved to second on a walk to Carlos Delgado and to third when Brown induced a double play from Freddy Parent. Then Brown uncorked a wild pitch, giving the Mounties the 3-2 lead, which Johnny Podgajny was able to preserve in the bottom of the frame. Rendon went 3-for-6 in the game, with 2 runs and 2 RBIs. The victory went to Gary Lavelle, who moved to 3-1.

The injury news on Tom Henke was not good: he tore a ligament in his elbow, and will miss close to a year. Jimmy Key was recalled from AAA, with Lavelle the logical candidate to move into the closer role for the Mounties.