| Team | W/L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detroit Wolverines | 6-1 | .857 | — |
| Baltimore Black Sox | 3-4 | .429 | 3 |
| Cleveland Spiders | 3-4 | .429 | 3 |
| Memphis Red Sox | 3-4 | .429 | 3 |
| New York Black Yankees | 2-5 | .286 | 4 |
Baltimore Black Sox
Ned Garvin deserved better. Finishing the suspended opener, he gave up one hit in five innings and struck out 10 — and lost. The hit was a Carlton Fisk home run leading off the second, Chino Smith got to John Tudor for a 3-run shot in the sixth, and Chicago took it 6-2. Still, an encouraging start to the season for Garvin.
The nightcap went the other way. Gavy Cravath hit a two-run shot off Waite Hoyt, Miller Huggins drove in three, and Dennis Martínez was good enough for a 5-3 win.
Tudor was injured later in the week, with Mike Mussina recalled from AAA Washington to take over Tudor’s swing role for the short-term.
Cleveland Spiders
Cy Young opened Cleveland’s season — a day late — with 6.2 innings, three hits, no runs and ten strikeouts, and Ryan Reed and Cody Gearrin finished off a five-hit shutout, 8-0 over Los Angeles. Lance Berkman hit a two-run homer.
Despite 14 hits, Cleveland fell 5-4 to San Francisco in 11 innings. Evan Longoria struck out 5 times, tying the American League record.
Another combined shutout came later in the week against Miami, as 5 arms combined on a 4-hit shutout with 17 (!) strikeouts: Mel Harder started, Whit Wyatt took over after a rain delay, and Reed, Aroldis Chapman and Terry Adams closed it out. Longoria — a better day this time — hit a two-run homer and Tris Speaker had three hits in the 4-0 win.
Adams was hurt in the series finale, but it’s not clear what the diagnosis is yet — a potentially impactful bit of news for the Spiders, although if he does go down, the recently-acquired Chapman would, assumedly, take over at closer.
Detroit Wolverines
The Wolverines are off to a WBL best 6-1 start to the season.
J. D. Martinez continues to impress, hitting a HR and 3 doubles in a 20 hit barrage against Chicago. The last was vital, as it scored Bobby Wallace with the winning run in the 9-8 victory over the American Giants.
Oscar Gamble closed the week with two home runs in a 5-2 win that saw Hal Newhouser improve to 2-0.
Wander Franco was hurt, with Damion Easley being recalled in his place.
Memphis Red Sox
FA Herman Long has been signed, presumably to take over at SS (Xander Bogaerts stays on the roster, but glove-man Adam Everett heads to AAA). Long was a platoon option for Birmingham, with Memphis hoping he can step into a larger role for them.
Ted Williams tied the franchise single-game record for runs, scoring 4 times, adding 4 hits (including a 2-run homer) as the Red Sox put fifteen hits on Los Angeles in a 10-5 win. David Ortiz had three hits and five RBIs, and Red Ruffing got the win despite giving up 5 earned in 5 innings.
Manny Ramírez hit 2 out in a 5-4 win over Baltimore. John Briggs also went deep, and, after blowing a lead, Armando Benitez claimed the victory.
Williams also launched the longest homer of the young season, a 480 ft. shot off Los Angeles’ Pud Galvin.
New York Black Yankees
The Black Yankees exploded in a 15-3 demolition of Detroit: 19 hits, 2 grand slams — Don Mattingly in the first, Mickey Rivers in the eighth — and home runs from Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig in between. Rivers finished with 3 hits, 3 runs and 5 driven in, Manny Sanguillén had 3 hits and Ed Charles 4, with promising rookie Whitey Ford getting the win.
Eric Davis hit one of the hardest balls of the opening week: a 472 ft. bomb that left the bat at 115 mph off Miami’s Phenomenal Smith.