| Team | W/L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wandering House of David | 16-10 | .615 | — |
| Houston Colt .45’s | 15-11 | .577 | 1 |
| Kansas City Monarchs | 14-12 | .538 | 2 |
| Birmingham Black Barons | 8-17 | .320 | 7.5 |
| Indianapolis ABC’s | 7-18 | .280 | 8.5 |
Birmingham Black Barons
Melky Cabrera was hit by a pitch 3 times in the same game, a 3-2 loss to Chicago, for a somewhat minor statistical oddity.
Jess Barbour is out about a week, not long after being recalled. Birmingham had already lost Asdrúbal Cabrera, the everyday shortstop, so the middle infield is down to Bobby Grich and Dick Groat with Tommy Davis as the spot cover. The once-prized Cupid Childs was recalled.
Bruce Chen has begun a rehab assignment.
Lefty Gomez struck out 12 in 6 innings at the House of David and lost 3-2. He is 2-4 with a 2.78 ERA, which is the shape of a man getting no run support.
Kerry Ligtenberg is quietly having about as good a start as any reliever in the league: 14.2 scoreless innings, 4 hits, 19 strikeouts, and a 0.61 WHIP. He came into the year with no WBL track at all, having only 24 rookie-ball innings under his belt, so this performance is quite a pleasant surprise for the Black Barons.
Eddie Mathews hit 2 homeruns the next day and Birmingham lost that one too, 9-6, with 3 errors behind a 12-hit attack. That is Mathews’ 2nd multi-homer game in a fortnight, but he still struggles in most of his at bats, with a batting average hovering around .200.
Indianapolis ABC’s
Luis Padrón struck out 11 and walked 1 against Homestead and lost anyway–marking just how much of a difference a year can make. Last year, that sentence would be followed by glory; in 2002, Padrón gives up only 6 hits, but 4 of them leave the yard, and the ABC’s lose the game, 5-4. The best pitcher in the league last year sits at 0-3 with a 6.75 ERA.
Kansas City Monarchs
Smokey Joe Wood struck out 10 and homered in the same game, a 3-2 win over Los Angeles in 10 innings — 8 innings of 4-hit ball and his 1st homerun of the year. Cool Papa Bell won the game with an RBI double in the 10th.
Bob Shawkey struck out 11 in 6 innings in another 1-run win over Los Angeles, this one 4-3.
Wandering House of David
Mark McGwire will get most of the DH role vacated by John Beckwith‘s injury. This will be the 3rd chance for McGwire to show that his legendary batting practice performances can transfer into everyday production at the WBL level. The House of David has 3 bodies for the 1B/DH group even with Beckwith out (McGwire, Anthony Rizzo, and Cap Anson), so we’ll see how long McGwire’s leash is.
He answered almost immediately: 2 homeruns and 5 RBI in a 12-3 rout of San Francisco, doubling his season total to 4. Could this be the year for Big Mac?
Beckwith has begun his rehab assignment, so the whole thing may become a roster construction question sooner than expected.