The Whirled League – Page 51 – Baseball The Way It Never Was

TWIWBL 7.1: Series VI Notes – Bill James Division

On June 5, 2021

{With the day off on April 25th, it was a time of roster moves and lineup and pitching adjustments. As such, there are a few more notes for each team than usual.}

#Detroit Wolverines

Bob Bailey had four hits including a HR and Hank Greenberg added a grand slam, powering the Wolverines over the New York Gothams.

To clear room for Hal Newhouser‘s return from a rehab stint in AAA, Long Tom Hughes was demoted. Justin Verlander was moved into the starting rotation as well, despite some recent struggles.

Ty Cobb‘s 397/453/655 line is demanding more playing time, despite a crowded Detroit lineup.

#Los Angeles Angels

RP Larry Anderson, highly effective in 6 appearances, will miss a couple months with a sprained ankle. Armando Benitez was recalled from AAA to take his roster spot.

Doug Rader had two HRs including a grand slam to lead Los Angeles to a 10-inning 11-6 win over Ottawa. Rader drove in 7 in the game on 3 hits.

The Angels left a dozen runners on base in the final game of their series with Ottawa, losing 5-1 despite 12 hits, 11 of which were singles.

The C platoon of Brian Downing and Jim Stephens is really not working out, but options aren’t terribly available. OF Rusty Staub‘s 151/252/237 start did earn him a trip to AAA Las Vegas with 3B Tim Wallach joining the Angels.

#Memphis Red Sox

The Red Sox turned five double-plays in the final game of their series with Homestead, en route to a 6-2 victory. 2B Dustin Pedroia was part of each one, 3B Wade Boggs had 4 hits, and Ted Williams and Bob Brenly both went deep in support of Dean Chance, who moved to 4-1 on the year.

Tim Wakefield‘s consistent bullpen performances have warranted his move into Memphis’ starting rotation.

OF Freddie Lynn and C Billy Bryan are destroying AAA pitching, but there is no room for them in Memphis as of yet.

#New York Gothams

Both C Buster Posey‘s 14-game and OF Willie Mays‘ 12-game hitting streaks came to an end in the same contest, but–perhaps surprisingly given that–it was a dramatic victory for the Gothams, 12-8 over Detroit in 10 innings. New York scored 4 runs in the top of the 9th to tie it and 4 more in the 10th to win. Johnny Callison had 3 hits, scored 4 times, and drove in 5 only to be outdone by Pinky Higgins who had 6 RBIs on his 3 hits.

RP Marcel Lachemann was sent to AAA to clear room for Carson Smith‘s return from a rehab assignment. SS Art Fletcher was released–he refused to go to AAA, despite hitting 224/250/318–setting up a platoon between Eugenio Suarez and the newly-recalled Brandon Crawford.

#Wandering House of David

When Jerry Mumphrey was sent up to pinch-hit for Sammy Sosa with the bases loaded, the House of David were hoping for a hit to get them back in the ballgame. Instead, Mumphrey wrapped Cory Gearrin‘s pitch around the right field foul pole for a grand slam, and a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the 9th against Cleveland. The lead held, and the House of David emerged victorious.

IF Frank Grant and C Gabby Hartnett are both struggling, but the House of David wants to wait before making any moves. 3B Jung Ho Kang was promoted to take the place of the recently injured George Gore.

TWIWBL 7.0: Notes from Series VI

By mknn

On June 4, 2021

In TWIWBL

April 24th

Series VI saw the Kansas City Monarchs slow down the runaway steam train of the New York Black Yankees (they split a four game series) and the Portland Sea Dogs streak into first place of the Marvin Miller Division by taking 4 straight from the San Francisco Sea Lions.

League Standings | League Stats

Leading SP: Walter Johnson (POR), 4-0, 2.23 ERA, 1.13 WHIP; Don Drysedale (BRK), 4-0, 1.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP; Ron Guidry (NYY), 4-1, 2.32 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 51 K.

Leading RP: Johan Santana (POR), 0-1, 4.00 ERA, 11 Sv; Tom Henke (OTT), 0.90 ERA, 7 Sv; Bob Howry (PHI) 7 Sv; Ron Reed (PHI) 0-0, 2 Sv, 6 H.

Leading Batters: Babe Ruth (NYY), 449/534/867, 11 HR, 34 R, 32 RBI, 44 H; Jake Stenzel (IND), 261/330/420, 11 2B; Eric Davis (NYY), 290/309/542, 34 RBI; Rickey Henderson 244/421/337, 25 BB, 16 SB.

Boldface indicates league leading mark.

Streaks

Babe Ruth’s hitting streak ended at 23 games, leaving the Wandering House of David‘s Ernie Banks (19 games) and Ruth’s teammate Albert Belle (14 games) as the longest active streaks. Belle has also driven in a run in his last 8 games.

Four players (Bob Bailey of the Detroit Wolverines, Banks, Willie Mays of the New York Gothams, and Frank McCormick of the Birmingham Black Barons) have active streaks of 10 games of reaching base safely.

The Miami Cuban Giants‘ Camilo Pascual hasn’t allowed a run in his last 15 innings.

Series VI Results

Three Game Series

Cleveland Spiders over House of David

Series Sweeps

Portland over San Francisco

Taking 3 out of 4 in Series VI

Birmingham over Indianapolis ABC’s
Chicago American Giants over Philadelphia Stars
Memphis Red Sox over Homestead Grays

Series Splits

Baltimore Black Sox @ Houston Colt 45’s
Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Miami
Detroit v New York Gothams
Kansas City v New York Black Yankees
Ottawa Mounties v Los Angeles Angels

Series VI Featured Game: Memphis Red Sox @ Homestead Grays, Game 1

By mknn

On June 3, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Two WBL debuts with vastly different results, and a turn on the mound from the Splendid Splinter.

The opening game of Memphis‘ visit to Homestead saw a WBL debut from the Red Sox’ Mel Parnell as he faced off against Homestead’s Carlos Zambrano.

Zambrano gave up a run in the top of the 2nd, but the wheels fell off the following inning when the Red Sox’ Reggie Smith hit a solo HR, Wade Boggs drove in 2 with a single, and Jim Pagliaroni hit a 499 foot, 3-run bomb to put Memphis ahead 7-0.

Parnell gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 3rd, on RBI’s by Pops Stargell and Josh Gibson, and a wild pitch that scored Stargell. And, when he couldn’t get out of the bottom of the 4th after an RBI double from Andrew McCutchen and a 2-run single from Gibson, Memphis gave in to Ted Williams‘ constant demand to be given a chance on the mound.

It did not go well.

Williams gave up a sacrifice fly and two singles before getting out of the inning, which ended with Homestead having grabbed the lead back, 8-7.

Zambrano couldn’t stand the good fortune, giving up 2 hits and a walk before being relieved by Hal Carlson. He gave up a 2-run single from Pagliaroni and a 2-run double by Dustin Pedroia, putting Memphis back on top, 11-8.

Williams wouldn’t survive the next inning, giving up four consecutive hits before giving way to another Memphis debutante, Joe Borowski. At the end of the inning, the game was tied at 11.

And suddenly, the pitchers remembered how to throw the ball, and the game stayed scoreless until the top of the 8th, when Eddie Rosario brought in Manny Ramirez on a sacrifice fly, giving Memphis a 1 run lead.

Jonathan Papelbon gave up a couple hits, but escaped the bottom of the 9th unscathed, allowing Memphis to escape with the victory despite having given up leads of 7 and 3 runs.

Gibson went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI’s for Homestead, but wasn’t around for the end, having been tossed from the game for arguing a strike call in the bottom of the 7th. Stargell and McCutcheon added 3 hits each for the Grays.

For Memphis, Pagliaroni had easily the best game of his career, going 4-for-5 with 6 RBIs.

Once Zambrano was gone, the Grays’ pitchers did alright, with Carlson, Daniel Hudson (who took the loss), and Michael Jackson combining to allow 2 runs (1 earned) over 5 innings. But they couldn’t overcome Zambrano’s 10 earned runs in his 4 innings of work.

Still, Zambrano’s game score of 8 was higher than Parnell’s of 6. Williams, who gave up 6 hits and 3 runs in 2/3 of an inning, may not see the mound again, but both Borowski and Papelbon were good, closing the game out with 5 innings of scoreless ball, and making Borowski a winner in his WBL debut.

MEM 12 (Borowski 1-0; Papelbon 2 Sv) @ HOM 11 (Hudson 1-3)
HRs: MEM: Pagliaroni (1); R. Smith (2)
Box Score

Rain, Rain Go Away …

By mknn

On June 2, 2021

In Game Recaps

April 23rd saw the first suspended game in WBL history (we’ve had a couple of rainouts). The skies began to empty in San Francisco in the 8th, with Portland ahead 3-2.

The game was finished on the 24th, with the scoreline unchanged. Bert Blyleven got the win, moving to 3-1 on the year, and Johan Santana picked up his 10th save of the season, while Jim Devlin–despite a solid showing–took the loss, falling to 0-2 on the young season.

Series VI Featured Matchup- Chicago American Giants @ Philadelphia Stars

By mknn

On June 1, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

The American Giants (12-10) head to Philadelphia to take on the Stars (13-9) in a four game series. Series preview here.

Game 1: Mark Buehrle v Robin Roberts

Mark Buehrle brings a 1-2 record and a 3.20 ERA into his matchup with Robin Roberts who is at 2-1 with an inflated ERA of 6.30. Roberts has pitched better than his ERA would indicate, for sure.

Still, the American Giants have a heckuva lineup. Roberts would give up three runs four innings, first on an RBI single by Dick Allen, then twice when Duffy Lewis scored without a hit (first on a Luke Appling double play, then, in the top of the fourth, on a wild pitch).

Buehrle sailed along for five innings, but the Stars broke through in a big way in the bottom of the sixth with George Hendrick, Sherry Magee, and Rico Carty all hitting doubles to cut the lead to 3 to 2. Ted Kluszewski–gaining some redemption on his return from AAA–then took Buehrle deep for a 3-run HR, putting Philadelphia on top, 5-3, and chasing Buehrle from the game, relieved by Koji Uehara.

The lead was short-lived: Roberts would walk Adrian Gonzalez and give up a single to pinch-hitter Kevin Mitchell before giving way to Rheal Cormier. Brought in to face three consecutive left-handed batters, Cormier was hit hard despite getting a few outs, with Dave Nilsson hitting a deep fly to score Gonzalez, Eddie Collins doubling, and Shoeless Joe Jackson plating Mitchell with a groundout. Jack Meyer relieved Cormier and got Frank Thomas to popout to 1B for the final out with the score tied at 5.

Philadelphia’s strategy in the top of the eighth was a bit of a surprise: when Meyer couldn’t come out due to injury, the Stars turned to Jaret Wright, just recalled from AAA. It was a mistake: Allen greeted him with a triple, Mike Fiore walked, and Wright was pulled midway through Duffy Lewis’ AB in favor of Pedro Feliciano, who had been fantastic so far this season. Feliciano gave up a single to Lewis, scoring Allen and then a 2-run double to light-hitting Damian Jackson. An RBI groundout from Eddie Collins pushed the score to 9-5.

Philadelphia would claw back one run, but that was it, and Chicago had the victory in hand.

Carty had three hits, all doubles, for Philadelphia. Lewis went four-for-four and scored 3 runs for Chicago.

CAG 9 (Uehara 1-0; Minter 3 Sv) @ PHI 6 (Wright 0-1; Cormier 1 BS)
HRs: Kluszewski (PHI, 5)
Box Score

Game 2: Joe Lake @ J.M. Ward

John Montgomery Ward gets a spot start for Chicago, his first of the year. Ward has pitched 7 times in relief, with a 1-0 record and 4.50 ERA. Joe Lake is just trying to get on track, coming in with an 0-1 record and an ERA approaching 8.

It was a rough day for everyone who took the mound …

Chicago roared out of the gate, taking a 7-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth, but Philadelphia would at least make a game of it, starting the frame off with five consecutive hits and a sacrifice fly, closing the gap to two runs at 7-5.

But Shoeless Joe Jackson would hit two homeruns in the later innings, and Herb Pennock would throw a perfect 2.2 IP to close it out. Pennock was the only successful hurler for either team: Ward was rocked for 7 runs in under 4 innings, and Rheal Cormier and Pedro Feliciano gave up 6 more in 4 innings in relief. Lake was hit hard as well, surrendering 5 runs and 9 hits in 5 innings, and Lee Meadows gave up 3 more in just over an inning of relief.

Meadows and Lake are unlikely to be in Chicago much longer, as today’s performances were no worse than they’ve shown all season.

Shoeless Joe went 3-for-6 with 4 RBIs, and Mike Fiore added 3 hits and scored 3 times as the American Giants pounded out seventeen hits, with only Dick Allen failing to get a hit on the day.

For Philadelphia, Buck Freeman, Rico Carty, Chase Utley, and Mickey Doolin each had two hits apiece.

CAG 14 (Lake 1-1; Pennock 1 Sv; Meadows 1 H) @ PHI 8 (Ward 1-1)
HRs: Jackson 2 (CAG, 8); Lewis (CAG, 3)
Box Score

Game 3: Tricky Nichols @ Ray Collins

Because of the surprise start of JM Ward last game, game three of the series features the first matchup of two 3-0 pitchers on the season, with Chicago’s Tricky Nichols facing Philadelphia’s Ray Collins. Both pitched well for a while, and then ran out of gas.

Nichols was cruising with a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th, but a 3-run HR by Chase Utley and a solo shot by Bill Dickey chased him from the game giving Philadelphia a 5-4 lead.

Collins left after 7 innings with the 1 run lead, but Ron Reed immediately gave it up, surrendering a 2-run blast to Mike Fiore to give the American Giants the edge, 6-5. But, an error by Dick Allen allowed a run to score in the bottom of the 8th, tying it up at 6.

Bob Howry–fantastic so far on the season–came in for Chicago and promptly gave away the farm: Allen atoned for the error with a leadoff shot, and after an RBI single from Duffy Lewis, Shoeless Joe Jackson capped off a 4-for-4 day with a 3-run shot to RF. Ken Sanders mowed through the Philadelphia lineup in the bottom of the 9th, giving Chicago the 12-6 victory and a 3-0 lead in the series.

CAG 12 (Sanders 2-0, 1 BSv) @ PHI 6 (Howry 0-1; Reed 2 BSv)
HRs: Dickey (PHI, 2); Utley (PHI, 1); Jackson (CAG, 9); Fiore (CAG, 3); Allen (CAG, 4)
Box Score

Game 4: Ben Sheets @ Steve Carlton

Despite similar numbers, Ben Sheets comes into the game with a 3-0 record while Steve Carlton sits at 1-3 on the season.

Each pitched a strong game. Sheets looked sharper, but he had one bad inning–with Chicago ahead 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 6th, the big righthander made three mistakes in the span of six pitches, with Buck Freeman, Gavvy Cravath, and Sherry Magee each blasting solo HRs, giving the Stars a 4-2 lead.

Carlton left after getting one out in the seventh, with the Stars having to bring in SP Pete Alexander because their bullpen was so depleted. It worked: Alexander pitched 2.2 perfect innings, and the game ended 4-2 with Carlton picking up the win and Alexander the save for Philadelphia’s first win in the series.

The three homeruns were half the hits Sheets surrendered, but he still went down to his first loss on the year.

CAG 2 (Sheets 3-1) @ PHI 4 (Carlton 2-3; Alexander 1 Sv)
HRs: Freeman (PHI, 4); Kluszewski (PHI, 6); Magee (PHI, 2); Cravath (PHI, 5).
Box Score

Series Notes

For Chicago, Shoeless Joe went 9-for-16 in the series with 3 HRs and 9 RBIs and Fiore went 6-for-13.

Despite going hitless at AAA, Kluszewski found his stroke immediately on his promotion, going 5-for-15 with 2 HRs and 5 RBI’s for Philadelphia.

Chicago looks to have a shot at being a real contender, something that will elude Philadelphia until they find some more consistency on offense.

Previewing Series VI – Chicago American Giants @ Philadelphia Stars

By mknn

On May 27, 2021

In Series Previews

The featured matchup of Series VI will see the Philadelphia Stars (13-9) hosting the Chicago American Giants (12-10). Having the misfortune to be in the same division as the New York Black Yankees, the Stars are more games behind their division leaders (5) than the American Giants (3), despite having the better record.

Chicago comes in to the game having taken 3 out of 4 from Detroit, and 7-1 over their last 8 games. Philadelphia lost 3 out of 4 to Portland, and is playing .500 ball over their last eight.

Series pitching matchups (Chicago SP listed first) are currently Mark Buehrle (1-2, 3.20) v. Robin Roberts (2-1, 6.30); Joe Lake (0-1, 7.71) v. Ray Collins (3-0, 3.66); Tricky Nichols (3-0, 2.97) v. Steve Carlton (1-3, 3.72); and Ben Sheets (3-0, 4.11) v. Pete Alexander (1-4, 6.00). It should be an interesting series for the starters: three of the games pit someone pitching well against someone struggling in the start of the year, while the third game–Nichols versus Carlton–may be the best matchup of them all.

Chicago’s bullpen has been strong up to the very end of games, where A.J. Minter has struggled, allowing 9 hits in only 3 IP. But the trio of Ken Sanders, Akinori Otsuka, and Koji Uehara have been excellent in getting the ball to Minter. LHP Lee Meadows has struggled mightily, including taking losses in his last 3 appearances, and is likely to be sent to AAA after this series.

Philadelphia’s bullpen has been fantastic, top to bottom, led by closer Bob Howry‘s 7 saves along with excellent work from Pedro Feliciano (5 holds), Ron Reed, and Rheal Cormier. Feliciano’s 1.12 ERA is the worst of that bunch.

Offensively, though, Chicago hold the clear edge; indeed, short of the Black Yankees, no team in the league can match the trio of OF Shoeless Joe Jackson (353/446/624), 1B Frank Thomas (325/419/588), and 2B Eddie Collins (320/469/507). Those three have combined for 14 HRs and 56 RBIs. There are concerns about the starts of both 1B Adrian Gonzalez (176/232/284) and Luke Appling (169/219/220; .114 BA over his last 12 games), however.

Overall, Philadelphia’s offense has sputtered. Rico Carty (338/380/592) has been fantastic, and both Willie Davis (294/351/574) and Scott Rolen (275/338/580) solid, but 4 starters have failed to raise their OPS to .600 (OFers Sherry Magee and Al Smith, C Bill Dickey, and SS Mickey Doolin).

Chicago’s Dick Allen comes into the series having driven in a run in 5 consecutive games, and Shoeless Joe has been successful on his last 4 SB attempts

TWIWBL 6.4: Series V Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By mknn

On May 26, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

John Clarkson fell to 1-2 with a miserable outing against the Cleveland Spiders, giving up 7 earned runs in under 3 IP and sending his ERA to 12.74. Jim Whitney was ineffective in relief, and Dick Rudolph‘s 2.2 scoreless IP may have been enough to slide him into the rotation. With only three rotation spots settled, look for those three, Greg Maddux, and Sam Streeter to get opportunities starting for Birmingham.

OF Al Schweitzer, who had a solid start to the season slashing 267/389/422 will be out over a month with a hamstring strain, with Curtis Granderson being promoted to Birmingham to take his roster spot.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Jackie Robinson‘s first HR of the year was a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 7th against Indianapolis, providing the winning margin in a 3-1 victory for the Royal Giants.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Rube Waddell, Eustaquio Pedroso, Ed Bauta, and Aroldis Chapman combined for a 6-hit shutout of the Baltimore Black Sox, with Waddell moving to 1-1 on the year with the 4-0 Cuban Giants victory.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Gil Hodges became the first player in the WBL to swat 3 HRs in a single game, sending 3 balls out of the park against Philadelphia‘s Pete Alexander in a 7-4 win for the Sea Dogs.

Walter Johnson threw 8 strong innings to become the league’s first four game winner, leading the Sea Dogs over Philadelphia 4-1.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Wally Moon may have defined Moonshot, sending a pitch from Kansas City‘s Luke Hamlin 502 feet into the night, helping San Francisco eke out a 7-6 victory.

Capping a 3-for-4 day, Reggie Jackson tagged Kansas City’s Frank DiPino with his first earned runs of the year with a 2-out, 2-run HR, 9th inning HR to give the Sea Lions a 3-2 lead. Rick Langford debuted with three innings of scoreless relief for the victory, and Rod Beck pitched a perfect bottom of the 9th for his 6th save of the season.

TWIWBL 6.3: Series V Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On May 25, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

John Ellis went 3-for-4 with 2 HRs and a double in the final game of the Spiders‘ series with Birmingham, leading Cleveland to a 4-2 win and a 3-1 edge in the series.

Rowland Office came off the DL for Cleveland, but with Peanuts Lowery hitting 333/353/424, the Spiders had to look elsewhere to free up space on the roster. They turned to 3B where both Evan Longoria (153/254/271) and Ken Keltner (182/182/303) have struggled and Sammy Strang has only gotten 3 plate appearances. Strang will be given a real shot in platoon with Longoria, meaning Keltner will head down to AAA.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Virgil Trucks was demoted to AAA after the ABC’s 3 game series with Brooklyn, with Willie Mitchell joining the big league club. Rumors are Indianapolis also wanted Bronson Arroyo to spend some time in AAA, but the 31 year old veteran refused to head to the minors.

Joe Morgan will be out for another week or so, giving Lonny Frey a few more games to show he can handle WBL pitching (so far, he can’t, as he’s hitting at a 143/231/143 clip). With Dennis Menke slashing 321/406/500, Frey looks likely to head down to AAA when Morgan returns.

#New York Black Yankees

Dave Righetti threw one of the finer games of the year so far, a 3-hit shutout against the Homestead Grays. Righetti walked 3 and struck out 11 on his way to an 89 Game Score, improving his numbers on the year to 2-0 with a 2.38 ERA.

Not to be outdone, Ron Guidry improved to 3-1 on the season with his own 3-hit shutout against the Grays, striking out 10 in a 3-0 win. Guidry’s effort yielded an 88 Game Score, and his ERA dropped to 2.39.

In sweeping the four games from Homestead, the Black Yankees outscored the Grays 42 – 6.

#Philadelphia Stars

3B Al Smith hit a pinch-hit HR in the ninth inning against Portland‘s Johan Santana, who had been virtually unhittable up to that point. Buck Freeman hit his 3rd of the season in the 10th–also off Santana–giving the Stars a 3-2 win.

Ken Forsch‘s time in Philadelphia was short: two outings, 2 earned runs in just over an inning, and then back to AAA with Ted Kluszewski returning.

TWIWBL 6.2: Series V Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On May 24, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Houston Colt 45’s

Bret Saberhagen was hit hard falling to 0-2 and seeing his ERA reach 10.45, but you have to feel for Scott Erickson, who gave up 12 hits and 10 runs in 3 IP in relief of Saberhagen as a sacrificial arm in a blowout loss.

The team bounced back with an extra-innings win, sparked when Tony Gwynn tripled with 1 out in the 10th against New York Gothams‘ closer Robb Nen. Gwynn scored on a single from George Brett; then Brett and Lance Berkman (who singled) scored on a hit from HR Johnson, giving the Colt 45’s a 6-3 victory.

Erickson was sent to AAA, both for the performance and to help get a fresh arm to the big leagues, with hard-throwing Billy Wagner coming back the other way.

#Ottawa Mounties

After a 15 inning marathon loss against Memphis, Ottawa needs pitching arms: C Kirk Manwaring was released and SP Terry Mulholland added to the 40-man roster and promoted to the big leagues.

They’ll need more, as the season finale against Memphis went 18 innings. Jim Clancy started his WBL career strong, with a scoreless inning in the first extra-inning game, and then 3 more in the 18 inning marathon where he combined with Ted Bowsfield, Gary Lavelle, and Old Hoss Radbourne for 12.1 scoreless innings in relief of Roy Halladay. Despite giving up a HR, Tom Henke picked up the save, while Radbourn got the victory.

A pitch from Tim Wakefield broke Larry Walker‘s nose in the top of the 13th, but it’s not clear if Walker will hit the DL or not.

Mulholland was sent right back down, along with Clark Griffith, with Gary Peters called back from his rehab assignment along with Greg Holland.

TWIWBL 6.1: Series V Notes – Bill James Division

By mknn

On May 23, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Detroit Wolverines

Bob Bailey hit 2 HRs and drove in 5 to lead the Wolverines to a 7-2 victory over Chicago. The win went to Johnny Marcum, who threw 4 hitless innings in relief of Hank Aguirre. Marcum moved to 2-1 on the season.

Hal Newhouser began his road back to Detroit with a rehab assignment at AAA.

#Memphis Red Sox

Trailing 6-2 after four innings, the Red Sox looked unlikely to end their 8 game losing streak. But, behind two HRs and 5 RBIs from Manny Ramirez and 4 hits from Mookie Betts, Memphis came back against Ottawa, scoring 9 unanswered runs en route to an 11-6 victory.

Ted Williams kept the streak going, leading off the bottom of the 15th inning with a HR to RF off Monk Dubiel, giving Memphis a 6-5 win likely to decimate both bullpens for a while.

The Red Sox will need more bullpen help before their next series, though, as the 15 inning game was followed by an even longer one as they were pushed to 18 innings in the season finale against Ottawa. Heath Bell, Eddie Cicotte, and Tim Wakefield combined for 9.1 scoreless innings, with Wakefield being particularly impressive. But Turk Farrell gave up 2 runs, and Memphis dropped the marathon game, 5-4.

Afterwards, Sadie McMahon and Cicotte were sent to AAA, with Mel Parnell and Joe Borowski joining the major league club.