| Team | W/L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Mounties | 16-8 | .667 | — |
| Philadelphia Stars | 16-10 | .615 | 1 |
| Homestead Grays | 13-11 | .542 | 3 |
| New York Gothams | 13-11 | .542 | 3 |
| Brooklyn Royal Giants | 13-12 | .520 | 3.5 |
Brooklyn Royal Giants
A 12-run fifth inning carried Brooklyn past Baltimore 18-6. The game was tied 4-4 when the inning started and it was 16-4 when it ended: Brooklyn scored 12 runs on 11 hits in the frame. In that game, Dan Brouthers went 5-for-6 with a homerun and 2 doubles and Roy White reached 5 times and scored 4 runs.
Ron Cey hit 2 homeruns and drove in 5 in the second game of a doubleheader, an 8-6 win over Philadelphia. Smokey Joe Williams struck out 12 in the game, but gave up all 6 runs (3 of them on homeruns, which are plaguing the young right-hander). Williams was 2-for-4 with a double as the DH, and did manage to get the victory, thanks to Cey’s heroics.
Homestead Grays
Andrew McCutchen hit 2 homeruns and drove in 3 against San Francisco in a game the Grays took 10 innings to win, 5-3.
New York Gothams
Christy Mathewson struck out 10 in 6 innings to beat Detroit 3-2 at the Polo Grounds, which was (foreshadowing here) his 4th win without a loss. The next day, HR Johnson hit 2 homeruns and drove in 5 in a 9-8 win over the Wolverines.
Don Buford hit 2 homeruns and a double the next afternoon in a 6-2 win over Baltimore. Mathewson took that one too, moving to 5-0.
Dave Righetti is out about 2 weeks. This may hurt, as Righetti posted a 2.84 ERA over his 4 starts, making an argument that he was more than a throw-in in the Gaylord Perry for HR Johnson trade. Vic Raschi was recalled to cover it.
Ottawa Mounties
Charles Radbourn threw a 2-hit shutout of Cleveland, for a game score of 87. The 2-0 win improved Radbourn’s record to 2-0 with a microscopic 1.38 ERA.
Dupee Shaw has begun a rehab assignment.
Philadelphia Stars
The injuries keep being the news in Philadelphia, with a couple big ones.
Charles Rogan is out about 2 weeks–a massive loss, but it is only 2 weeks. Obviously, nobody replaces both halves of Rogan, with the Stars opting to recall an arm in the form of John Burkett.
Closer Bob Howry is being shut down for about a month after a rocky start. Mark Melancon becomes the Stars’ closer, although expect Philadelphia to use Ryan Madson in that role as well.
But wait, there’s more: Ted Kennedy, recalled only a few days prior, hits the DL for a week and Bill Gatewood is out for a little more than that. All of this results in, in addition to Burkett, John Clarkson and Tommy Hunter being recalled.
On the other side of the seesaw, Jack Kralick has begun a rehab assignment.
Steve Carlton threw a complete game against the Black Yankees, holding them to a single run and striking out 11 for a game score of 84. With the 6-1 victory, Carlton improves to 4-1 with a 2.01 ERA.