| Team | W/L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Monarchs | 62-62 | .500 | — |
| Indianapolis ABC’s | 62-63 | .496 | 0.5 |
| Houston Colt 45s | 61-62 | .496 | 0.5 |
| Wandering House of David | 59-65 | .476 | 3 |
| Birmingham Black Barons | 59-66 | .472 | 3.5 |
#Birmingham Black Barons
Bobby Grich had started his time with Birmingham in an 0-17 slump, but hit an early homerun and a late double in a 9-7 win over the ABC’s. Jim Pagliaroni was the hero, as his walk off grand slam in the 13th, his 36th dinger of the year, was the difference.
#Houston Colt 45’s
Tug McGraw and Casey Stengel were recalled from their rehab assignments.
Thanks to a game shortened by rain to 5 innings, Toad Ramsey got credit for his 3rd shutout and 7th complete game of the season, allowing 1 hit to Kansas City on a 1-0 win for Houston.
#Indianapolis ABC’s
Indianapolis recalled pitchers Eddie Watt and Paul Derringer from AAA, along with position players Dan Driessen, Dave Henderson, Ross Youngs, Ed Swartwood, and Hal Morris.
Luis Padrón won his league-leading 18th game, carrying a 3 hit shutout into the 9th inning. He tired rapidly, and eventually needed help from the bullpen in the 7-3 win over Birmingham, but still fanned 11 batters in the effort.
Johnny Bench hit 2 out, including a 3 run shot in the top of the 13th, but it wasn’t enough as the ABC’s fell to Birmingham, 9-7.
#Kansas City Monarchs
Where has this been all year? Luke Hamlin needed help at the end, but still combined with Craig Kimbrel on a 2 hit shutout as the Monarchs topped the Gothams, 4-0.
Dale Murphy‘s 25th homer of the year helped support (another) great effort from A. Rube Foster as the Monarchs topped Houston, 2-1. Foster reached double-digits in wins, improving his record to 10-5.
#Wandering House of David
The House of David hit 7 homeruns, 3 by Mark McGwire, in a 9-2 win over Birmingham. As importantly, it was another solid outing from Jack Taylor, who may have emerged from the horrors of the first half of his season. McGwire now has 14 homers in about 100 PA’s, arguing for a WBL role despite struggling to move his average over .200.
Pete Browning was recalled from his latest rehab assignment, along with Tony Conigliaro, Billy Williams, and Billy Herman. Pitchers Scott Downs, Kerry Wood, and Frank Sullivan also joined the big league club.
We’ve been waiting for a long time for someone, anyone, in the WBL to hit 4 homeruns in a game. What we didn’t expect was that a rookie would do it, let alone in his first game. But that’s what Tony Conigliaro did: 3 homeruns, followed by being hit by a pitch, followed by a 9th inning shot for his 4th of the day. Mark McGwire hit 2, and between the 2 of them, Conigliaro and McGwire drove in 9 runs in the 11-9 win over Philadelphia.
Ernie Banks had 5 hits and 2 homeruns in a 13 inning, 11-10 victory over Philadelphia and then Banks did it again, with another 2 homers in an extra-inning affair, this one a 15 inning marathon win over the Stars by a score of 5-3. Banks now has 50 homeruns on the season.