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Series XVII Featured Game: Birmingham Black Barons @ Houston Colt 45’s

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On December 8, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

We’re going to focus on the usual see-saw affair, this one between the Birmingham Black Barons and Houston’s Colt 45‘s, pitting Birmingham’s Tim Hudson against Houston’s Stephen Strasburg.

It’s an interesting matchup: Hudson was seen as pretty washed-up, but the 36-year old has posted a 5-0 record with an ERA in the mid 2.00’s, and could begin appearing on league leaderboards within a few starts. Strasburg, on the other hand, has shown great promise at only 23, but has yet to harness his potential, posting a 2-4 record with an ERA in the low 4.00’s.

The two hurlers were at the top of their game, and we saw a scoreless contest into the bottom of the 5th when a solo homerun from Jim O’Rourke gave Houston a 1-0 lead. Houston missed a chance to double their lead when HR Johnson missed on a suicide squeeze attempt, leaving Craig Biggio to be easy pickings at home.

The Black Barons would finally touch Strasburg in the top of the 7th, when Hank Aaron launched a 2 run homerun, scoring Curtis Granderson to put Birmingham in front. They would add another run in the 8th, scoring against Mark Melancon when an RBI single from Tom Herr plated Omar Infante for a 3-1 lead, and then another in the 9th when Eddie Mathews took Melancon deep.

So. 4-1 Birmingham. But Hudson was gassed at this point after a marvelous effort: 8 innings, 5 hits, and only the single run allowed. But, Birmingham’s closer, Carlos Díaz, wasn’t an option. So the Black Barons turned to Harley Young to close the door.

It went OK at first: Jim Wynn led off the bottom of the 9th with a single, but Johnson grounded out, and after consecutive singles loaded the bases, Lance Berkman struck out. So, bases loaded, 2 outs.

Young gave up an RBI single to Jorge Posada, prompting Birmingham to bring in hard-throwing Steve Bedrosian … who promptly surrendered a walk-off, grand-slam, homerun to Casey Stengel.

Melancon, who did not pitch very well, improved his record to a stunning 7-1 out of the bullpen, while Birmingham ended up with nothing to show for Hudson’s great effort.

Granderson had 2 hits for Birmingham, while Jeff Bagwell and Tony Gwynn had 2 each for Houston.

BBB 4 (Young 0-4; Bedrosian 2 BSv) @ HOU 6 (Melancon 7-1)
HRs: BBB – Aaron (11), Mathews (11); HOU – O’Rourke (5), Stengel (6).
Box Score

Other Noteworthy Games

The Ottawa Mounties turned to Gary Peters, freshly back from AAA, to take on Ned Garvin of the Baltimore Black Sox, who is making an argument for the best pitcher in the WBL at the moment: this certainly seemed like a mismatch. But it was Ottawa, perhaps enlivened by the return of Larry Walker from the DL, who held the lead, 4-3, heading into the 9th. Curt Blefary turned it around with a 2-run shot, Brian Roberts added another RBI, and while they gave up a run in the bottom of the frame, Baltimore’s bullpen held on.

BBB 6 (Miller 2-0, 1 BSv; Bessent 8 Sv) @ OTT 5 (Bowsfield 2-1, 1 BSv; Dempster 2 H; Leroux 1 H)
HRs: BBB – Blefary (19).
Box Score

A 6-run Homestead comeback in the bottom of the 8th, keyed by homeruns from Tom Brown and Rick Reichardt, went for naught as Yasiel Puig hit his third homerun of the day in the 9th inning to give the New York Gothams the win. Puig tied the league record for homeruns in a game and picked up 6 RBIs, while Mike Epstein and Reichardt each had 3 hits for the Grays. While note involved in the decision, the Gothams’ Gaylord Perry was fantastic through 5 innings, allowing only 1 unearned run.

NYG 8 (Wilson 1-0) @ HOM 7 (Jackson 2-2, 1 BSv)
HRs: NYG – Puig 3 (6), Rojas (1); HOM – Brown (1), Reichardt (9).
Box Score

When the Los Angeles Angels closed out their series against the San Francisco Sea Lions, they were looking to salvage a series split and, perhaps as importantly, to find out more about what they have in young Nolan Ryan, who has been a bit erratic since moving into the starting rotation. Ryan delivered a typical “good” performance for him: 5 innings, 2 hits (but 7 walks), and no runs. San Francisco’s Eddie Plank turned in another strong start, going 7.2 innings allowing only 2 runs. So the Angels took a 2-1 lead into the 9th. And then the wheels fell off for both teams: Los Angeles rocked Ron Robinson for four runs, the key hit being a 2-out, bases loaded triple from Doug Rader. But two of the Angels better bullpen arms–Jonny Venters and closer Joe Nathan–couldn’t hold it, with Mickey Cochrane, who seems perpetually on the verge of being sent to AAA, ending the contest with a walk-off 3 run homerun.

LAA 6 (Nathan 3-4, 4 BSv; Galvin 1 H; Rodríguez 6 H; Venters 8 H) @ SFS 7 (Robinson 4-1)
HRs: SFS – Cochrane (5).
Box Score

TWIWBL 18.4: Series XV Notes – Marvin Miller Division

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On November 10, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

With a pitching staff decimated by use, the Black Barons went ahead and placed Scott Baker on the 10-day DL, even as they await details on the extent of his injury. John Malarkey was recalled from AAA to help out in the meantime.

Hank Aaron went deep twice and Tom Herr and Frank Isbell hit back-to-back triples leading Birmingham to a 10-4 win over Baltimore. Dick Rudolph got the win and Vic Willis picked up his first save.

Willis has allowed only 2 hits in 11 innings, earning the 5th spot in Birmingham’s rotation from here on out. The pairing of Del Crandall and Dale Murphy behind the plate hasn’t really worked out, but it still seems like the best option. Frank McCormick‘s struggles have reduced his playing time going forward, and Pie Traynor‘s incredible start is demanding some more starts at 3B.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Ray Dandridge continued his torrid start in the big leagues, scoring twice and adding 3 hits and Duke Snider drove in 2 with 3 hits of his own as the Royal Giants topped Kansas City, 9-4.

The highly-touted pitching matchup between Brooklyn’s Don Drysedale and Kansas City’s Andy Petitte delivered, with both starters turning in solid performances. But the game was won in the bottom of the 9th on a walk-off homerun just over the left field wall from Raul Mondesi, his 7th blast of the season. Trevor Hildenberger moved to 2-0 with 2 innings of perfect relief.

The Royal Giants shook up their lineup a bit, sending Steve Yeager, Mike Piazza, and Mondesi to AAA–none of them with an OPS over .615. Coming the other way are C Al Lopez, and OFs Jermaine Dye and Michael Brantley. Hobe Ferris was released.

#Miami Cuban Giants

The Cuban Giants’ 2-1 win over Indianapolis was pretty costly. The win was fueled by 4 innings of one-hit relief by Marcelino Lopez after Rube Waddell had to leave the game complaining of a wrist injury. Roenis Elias got the win and Clay Condrey the save, with Alejandro Oms driving in the winning run. Waddell will miss a couple weeks; the news on Carlos Moran is worse, with the speedy outfielder out for 7 or 8 weeks with plantar fasciitis. P Dontrelle Willis and OF Sandy Amoros were recalled after the game to fill the roster spots.

It got a bit worse, even: Alex Colome will miss the rest of the season with a shoulder injury, prompting Miami to recall Sandy Consuegra.

Willis was returned to AAA right after his first start, with Jose Mendez being recalled from his rehab assignment.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Rick Langford was returned to AAA, with Bump Hadley taking his spot in the Sea Lions’ bullpen.

Series XV Featured Game: Baltimore Black Sox @ Birmingham Black Barons

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On October 29, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

The opening and closing matches between the Baltimore Black Sox and the Birmingham Black Barons were both worthy of consideration as the Game of the Series.

The first game started with Birmingham taking it to the best team in the league, with the legend that is Tom Herr and Dale Murphy both going deep. Earlier in the season, Murphy was sent to AAA after an absolutely horrific start to the season, and while he’s not exactly setting the world on fire, he has been doing better since his recall.

A Frank Isbell homerun extended Birmingham’s lead to 4-3, but the Black Sox tied it up in the top of the 5th when Ken Singleton drove in 2 with a single.

And there it stayed until the bottom of the 7th, when there goes that man again as Herr doubled and scored on a single by Bob Nieman. But Bobby Wallace took Hoyt Wilhelm deep for a 2-run shot and for a brief moment, the world was normal once more, with Baltimore on top, 6-5.

I did say briefly. Hank Aaron led off the bottom of the inning against Mike Mussina with a solo shot of his own, knotting the contest at 6.

And there we stayed, until the top of the 13th, when Bryce Harper singled home Curt Blefary for a 7-6 lead for Baltimore. And with Don Bessent heading out for the bottom of the frame, Black Sox fans began to pack up … but Aaron would lead off with a single, moving to 3rd on a base-hit from Pie Traynor. He would score on a groundout by Del Crandall, which moved Traynor to third … and Curtis Granderson would deliver the walk-off base-hit for an improbable victory for The Black Barons.

But the series wasn’t done delivering the goods. Baltimore’s Bill Byrd threw a 3-hit shutout in game 2, and Birmingham rode big days from Aaron and Isbell to win game 3.

That brought us to what could be a great pitching matchup, with Baltimore’s Ned Garvin taking on Birmingham’s Tim Hudson. Neither pitcher were in their team’s rotations at the start of the year (Hudson was in AAA), and both were doing fantastically well.

Garvin came into the game at 5-2 with a 2.47 ERA and Hudson at 5-0 with a 2.70 ERA.

And, for once, the matchup held! Hudson had a shutout through 6 innings while Garvin’s line was only marred by a 2-run homerun from Granderson.

The 7th was definitive for the game: Hudson gave up a homerun to Blefary and an RBI single to tie the game in the top of the frame, but Garvin was touched for an RBI double from Murphy and a run-scoring single from Frank McCormick, extending the lead to 4-2.

Neither starter would make it out of the 8th, as a solo shot from Frank Robinson chased Hudson. His replacement, Steve Bedrosian, was greeted by Blefary’s second homerun of the game, with the back-to-back jacks tying the game at 4.

Buddy Groom came in for Baltimore to start the bottom of the 8th, and gave up an RBI double to Aaron and a 2-run shot to Troy Tulowitzki, putting the Black Barons back in front, and their closer, Juan Rincon came on to shut the door on the 7-4 victory.

So, a great series with an especially thrilling two games.

BAL 7 (Bessent 1-2, 1 B Sv) @ BBB 8 (Benton 1-1; Wilhelm 1 B Sv) [13 Innings]
HRs: BAL – Wallace (4); BBB – Murphy (1), Herr (2), Aaron (8), Isbell (1)
Box Score

BAL 4 (Groom 1-1) @ BBB 7 (Bedrosian 1-0, 1 BSv)
HRs: BAL – Blefary 2 (18), Robinson (14); BBB – Granderson (7), Tulowitzki (7)
Box Score

Other Games of Note

That’s more like it. After struggling in his first start, Sandy Koufax delivered perhaps the finest start in the league so far, a 1-hit shutout of Kansas City. Koufax walked 2 and struck out 8 in the 3-0 victory. Brooklyn took the lead on a solo homerun from Roy White, and was helped out by2 hits from Duke Snider. Luke Hamlin pitched quite well, but still took the loss and Kansas City’s only hit was a double by Stan Musial in the top of the first.

KCM 0 (Hamlin 3-5) @ BRK 3 (Koufax 2-2)
HRs: BRK – White (7)
Box Score

The opening game of the Cleveland Spiders’ visit to Houston was an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel. For the Colt 45’s, Roy Oswalt‘s only error in 8 innings was a first inning homerun by Ron Blomberg as the Houston starter only allowed 5 hits and 2 walks in that span. But Cleveland’s Bob Feller was even better, throwing a 6-hit shutout with 9 whiffs over 7.2 innings. Trevor Hoffman came on in the top of the 9th, and Blomberg took him deep for his 2nd of the day, and the Spiders’ closer, Terry Adams, made it stand up.

CLE 3 (Feller 5-4; Gearrin 4 H; Adams 14 Sv) @ HOU 0 (Oswalt 5-4)
HRs: CLE – Blomberg 2 (15)
Box Score

The series closer between Indianapolis and Miami was notable for a few reasons. First, Miami’s Dontrelle Willis was making his first career start. It did not go well, as Willis was touched for 5 runs (4 earned) in 4 innings. But Indianapolis’ Red Faber fared little better, surrendering 7 runs in only 5 innings of work. The Cuban Giants’ Eustaquio Pedroso delivered 3 solid innings of relief en route to the victory for Miami, which also saw Alejandro Oms hit for the first cycle in WBL history. Jim Thome added 3 hits and 2 homeruns for Miami, and Oscar Charleston and Ed Charles had strong days at the plate for the ABC’s. Finally, Aroldis Chapman did indeed record his 11th save, but he did it in Chapman style, giving up 2 walks while walking his tightrope.

IND 6 (Faber 4-4) @ MCG 9 (Pedroso 3-4; Condrey 2 H; Bauta 8 H; Chapman 11 Sv)
HRs: MCG – Oms (2), Thome 2 (9)
Box Score

Series XIV Featured Matchup: Birmingham Black Barons @ New York Gothams

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On September 12, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps

Preview here

#Game One: Scott Baker @ Sad Sam Jones

Win-Loss records can be so deceiving. Birmingham’s Scott Baker sits at 5-3, despite an ERA over 5.00 while the Gothams’ Sad Sam Jones is pushing for consideration as an all-star, despite a 3-3 record.

Bob Nieman took Jones deep in the top of the first for a 1-0 lead for Birmingham, and Omar Infante doubled home Billy Southworth in the second to double it. Jones wouldn’t get out of the 5th: Nieman led off with a double, went to third on a single from Eddie Mathews, and scored on a base hit from Hank Aaron. Del Crandall would plate another run with a sacrifice fly, and Carson Smith would relieve Jones. So much for the all star argument …

Baker, meanwhile, had allowed only 1 hit through 5 innings, and nothing else until Willie Mays doubled with 1 out in the bottom of the 7th. By that point, Birmingham had added 2 more runs, and led 6-0.

Yasiel Puig drove the ball deep to left field with 2 outs, where it took an odd bounce, eluding Southworth’s pursuit. Puig ended up with an inside-the-park homerun, and hits from Willie McCovey and Brandon Crawford chased Baker from the game.

Harley Young relieved him, and gave up RBI hits to Cookie Rojas and Jimmy Sheckard, closing the score to 6-5.

That was as close as it got, however, as Juan Rincon was able to close the door in the 9th, and the Black Barons opened the four game series with a victory.

Matthews and Aaron had 3 hits each for Birmingham, who outhit New York 14-9. Baker, who ended up allowing 4 runs in his 6.2 innings did in fact earn his 6th victory of the year.

After the game, Birmingham learned that Gene Tenace‘s injury will sideline him for 5 to 6 weeks. That was better news than the Gothams received, as they learned that Carl Hubbell would miss 2-3 months with his current DL stint.

BBB 6 (Baker 6-3; Young 5 H; Bedrosian 1 H; Rincon 3 Sv) @ NYG 5 (Jones 3-4)
HRs: BBB – Nieman (3); NYG – Puig (2)
Box Score

#Game Two: Dick Rudolph @ Christy Mathewson

While Birmingham has, in Tom Herr, undoubtedly the surprise performance by an infielder so far in the WBL, the Gothams’ Eugenio Suarez comes close with an OPS over .900. Suarez continued his strong season with a 2-run homerun off Dick Rudolph in the bottom of th 2nd.

Meanwhile, Christy Mathewson had a no-hitter going until Hank Aaron led off the top of the 5th with a triple to centerfield over Willie Mays‘ head. Del Crandall followed with a fly to right field, but Carl Furillo‘s throw nailed Aaron trying to score from third.

Mathewson gave up 3 consecutive hits to start the 6th, with Bob Nieman driving in 2 with a double. That tied the game, and when Nieman scored on a sacrifice fly by Eddie Mathews, Birmingham took the lead, 3-2.

Yasiel Puig would tie the game in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double, placing the game firmly in the hands of the bullpens. Pete Donohue relieved Mathewson, and Larry Benton came on to pitch for Birmingham in the top of the 7th.

Furillo and Puig singled off Benton in the 8th, bringing in Steve Bedrosian for Birmingham in relief of Harley Young. Mark Loretta greeted Bedrosian with a 2-run double, and Suarez–there’s that man again–brought him home with a single to right. That gave the Gothams a 6-3 lead, with their closer, Brian Wilson, on the mound.

It was enough, as Wilson only allowed a walk in picking up his 7th save, with the win going to Donohue and Benton taking the loss. Puig had 3 hits and Suarez 3 RBIs for the Gothams as they evened up the series.

BBB 3 (Benton 0-1) @ NYG 6 (Donohue 1-0; Wilson 7 Sv)
HRs: NYG – Suarez (4)
Box Score

#Game Three: Tim Hudson @ Mickey Welch

Birmingham scored 2 in the top of the 2nd off Mickey Welch off an RBI single from Omar Infante, who later scored on an error by the Gotham’s shortstop, Eugenio Suarez. A Welch wild pitch would score Hank Aaron in the 3rd, and a Curtis Granderson homerun in the 6th would extend the lead to 4-0, chasing Welch from the game.

In the meantime, Birmingham’s Tim Hudson only allowed 1 hit through 5 innings. New York would break through in the 6th when a Jimmy Sheckard single plated Suarez, who had walked to leadoff the frame. Willie Mays would lead off the 7th with his 10th homerun of the year, cutting the lead in half to 4-2.

Hudson gave up another homerun, this one to Jimmy Sheckard, to leadoff the 9th, chasing Hudson and bringing in Juan Rincon. Rincon got one out, and then Willie Mays was injured beating a threw to first for the infield hit. Rincon got another out before giving up a single to Yasiel Puig, who took second when John Kerins–who replaced Mays as a pinch-runner–went first-to-third on the hit.

Willie McCovey grounded out to first to end the game, but all attention for New York was on the health of their young centerfielder.

Hudson moved to 5-0, keeping his ERA under 3.00, and Rincon picked up his 4th save.

BBB 4 (Hudson 5-0; Rincon 4 Sv) @ NYG 3 (Welch 5-3)
HRs: BBB – Granderson (5); NYG – Mays (10); Sheckard (6)
Box Score

#Game 4: Rain, Rain, Rain

The 4th game of the series was rained out, to be made up in mid-August. Which means the Black Barons come out with a 2-1 series win, quite an unexpected result.

#Series Notes

Omar Infante, Hank Aaron, Curtis Granderson, and Bob Nieman each had 4 hits for Birmingham, with Nieman adding 3 RBIs.

For the Gothams, Willie Mays went 5-for-11 and, more importantly, was declared healthy enough to play in New York’s next game. Yasiel Puig also had 5 hits in the three games.

Series XIV Preview: Birmingham Black Barons @ New York Gothams

By

On September 10, 2021

In Featured Series, Series Previews

We last focused on the Birmingham Black Barons in Series III and on the New York Gothams in Series II.

Since then, their fortunes have diverged significantly, with Birmingham 12 games back in the Marvin Miller Division at 22-32 and the Gothams only 1/2 game behind Los Angeles in the Bill James Division at 28-25.

So we go into this series expecting a dominant performance from the Gothams.

#Birmingham Black Barons

The bright spots are, as you may guess from their record, few and far between.

Offensively, the story of the year has to be 2B Tom Herr, who has come out of nowhere to lead the team regulars in all 3 categories of his 348/384/464 slash line. Other than Herr, there are some reasons for optimism, as Pie Traynor, Bob Nieman, Del Crandall, and Al Schweitzer have all hit well in very limited opportunities (Crandall and Traynor are recent recalls from AAA, Schweitzer has just returned from the DL).

Eddie Mathews has 9 homeruns to lead the team, while Hank Aaron has 28 RBIs.

Herr has a parallel on the mound, where Tim Hudson has moved from AAA into the rotation, going 4-0 with a 2.51 ERA, although in under 30 innings (3 relief appearances and 3 starts). Scott Baker leads the team in wins at 5-3, but has an ERA over 5. Alejandro Pena, with a 4-4 record and a 3.76 ERA, has probably been Birmingham’s most dependable starter.

#New York Gothams

The Gothams’ offense revolves around Buster Posey (347/433/568) and Willie Mays (354/408/561), but the surprise of the season is probably SS Eugenio Suarez, who continues to hit for power, at 304/349/506 on the season. Posey and Mays have 9 homeruns each, with Mays leading the team with 46 RBIs.

Two minor league callups have been impactful, with Wes Westrum (318/375/727) taking over the backup C role behind Posey and Yasiel Puig becoming a nearly everyday player, with an OPS just under .800.

The starting pitching has been a little uneven: while Juan Marichal (6-1), Mickey Welch (5-2), and Christy Mathewson (5-5) have a lot of victories, they all have pretty high ERA’s. New York’s best starter has probably been Sad Sam Jones, who is 3-3, but has an ERA of 3.49.

The bullpen has been excellent, with Mike Norris (2-1, 1 Sv, 3 H, 1.91 ERA) and Robb Nen (4 Sv) setting up Brian Wilson, who has 6 saves and a 2.40 ERA.

#Series Matchups

Birmingham’s projected starter first: Scott Baker (5-3, 5.08 ERA) @ Sad Sam Jones (3-3, 3.49 ERA); Dick Rudolph (3-4, 4.52 ERA) @ Christy Mathewson (5-5, 4.96 ERA); Tim Hudson (4-0, 2.51 ERA) @ Mickey Welch (5-2, 6.04 ERA); Sam Streeter (2-3, 5.00 ERA) @ Gaylord Perry (2-4, 3.56 ERA).

You have to think the Gothams will take this series, with a sweep a distinct possibility.

Series XII Featured Game: Cleveland Spiders @ New York Gothams

By

On September 9, 2021

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

{ Whoops. This never got published from about 10 game days ago. }

The second game between the Cleveland Spiders and the New York Gothams saw the Spiders’ Bob Feller (4-4, 5.09 ERA) facing off against the Gothams’ Sad Sam Jones (3-3, 3.28). Feller’s peripheral numbers aren’t great, although his strikeout rate is impressive, while Jones has been one of the hottest starting pitchers in the league.

Feller struggled more, but neither pitcher did very well.

Cleveland opened the scoring in the top of the first, with Johnny Bates (who reached to lead off the game on an error by New York’s Pinky Higgins at 3B) coming home on an RBI double from John Ellis.

But the bottom of the first saw New York provide a strong response. Feller sandwiched strikeouts of Jimmy Sheckard and Buster Posey around a double by Higgins, but, after Willie Mays walked, Johnny Callison ripped a double scoring two and–after another walk–RBI singles by Joe Adcock and Brandon Crawford gave the Gothams a 4-1 advantage.

Cleveland would claw one back in the top of the 4th, when Jake Stahl led off the inning with a solo homerun. But again Feller would struggle in the bottom of an inning where his team scored in the top of the frame, and New York would add 2 more runs on two hits and two walks, with RBIs from Higgins and Mays extending the lead to 6-2.

That would be it for Feller, as Mel Harder replaced him in the bottom of the 5th. It wasn’t much better, as Adcock, Cookie Rojas, and Sheckard each hit doubles, making the score 8-2 and seeming to send the Gothams on their way to a comfortable victory.

The Spiders finally got to Jones again in the top of the 7th, with an RBI from Louis Santop and Stahl’s second homerun of the game (moving him into double digits on the year) chasing him from the game in favor of Al Mays. That made the score 8-5, and New York added another run in the bottom of the frame, extending it to a four run lead heading to the 8th inning.

Mays retired Rowland Office to start the inning, but then gave up 3 walks and 2 singles, exiting with the bases loaded and the score 9-7. New York turned to Mike Norris, one of their more reliable bullpen arms so far this season. Norris had one of his worst outings of the year, giving up an RBI single to Ellis, walking Stahl to drive in another run, and hitting Evan Longoria to give Cleveland a 10-9 lead in an inning where the Spiders sent 10 batters to the plate.

We weren’t done, though: Cleveland turned to Cory Gearrin in relief of Stan Coveleski with Gearrin entering the contest with one out and a runner on first. He struck out McCovey for the second out, but then walked two batters to load the bases. Rojas sent a ball to center that Office seemed to lose sight of, turning to see it sail over his head for a bases-clearing double. Higgins would add an RBI single, and we headed to the 9th with the Gothams back in front, 13-10.

Despite surrendering a double to Santop, New York’s closer, Brian Wilson, was able to slam the door, earning his fifth save of the year. Norris picked up both his third blown save and his second win and Mays–despite giving up 5 runs, 3 walks, and 2 hits in under an inning–picked up a hold.

Gearrin took the loss, but in the end, the poor outings from Feller and Harder just dug too deep of a hole.

Santop went 3-for-6 with 2 RBI’s, and Stahl had 3 hits and 4 RBIs for Cleveland. If there was any offensive blame for the Spiders, it went to shortstop Bill Dahlen, who stranded seven runners.

For New York, the offensive star was Rojas, who scored 3 times and drove in 4 with his 3 hits. Higgins also had 3 hits and 3 RBIs. Perhaps most surprisingly, the Gothams’ best player, Buster Posey, went 0-for-5 on the day.

The pitching staffs combined to allow 28 hits and 17 walks. Ouch.

CLE 10 (Gearrin 0-4, 3 BSv) @ NYG 13 (Norris 2-1, 3 BSv; Wilson 5 Sv; Mays 1 H)
HRs: CLE – Stahl 2 (10)
Box Score

#Other Games of Note

Birmingham and Portland combined for 7 homeruns in an 8-7 victory for the Black Barons. For Birmingham, Eddie Mathews, Curtis Granderson, and Frank McCormick all went deep; for the Sea Dogs, Bobby Murcer, Buddy Bell, Fred Dunlap, and Ivan Rodriguez all found the seats.

BBB 7 (Spahn 2-5) @ POR 8 (Munoz 2-1, 1 BSv; Myers 1 H; Santana 16 Sv)
HRs: BBB – Mathews (9), McCormick (5), Granderson (4); POR – Murcer (8), Bell (9), Dunlap (2), Rodriguez (2)
Box Score

Philadelphia edged Brooklyn with a walk-off single by Gavvy Cravath scoring Chase Utley in the bottom of the 11th inning. The game was notable for the very strong starts by both the Stars’ Steve Carlton (6.1 IP, 1 run) and the Royal Giants’ Don Sutton (8 IP, 2 runs). Brooklyn’s Dick Redding took the loss, despite pitching well enough in relief while Bob Howry–Philadelphia’s usual closer–got the win with 2 scoreless innings to close out the game.

BRK 2 (Redding 0-1) @ PHI 3 (Howry 1-2; Reed 4 BSv) [11 Innings]
HRs: none
Box Score

Indianapolis carried a 4-1 lead into the 9th, with closer Rob Dibble on the mound against Chicago. They got there largely on a key double by Davey Concepcion and 6 stolen bases in support of just shy of 8 innings of 1-run pitching from a commanding David Price. But Dibble imploded after Luke Appling reach on an error by Ed Charles (who was in the game as a defensive replacement) to start the inning. After getting an out, Dibble hit a batter and gave up 2 hits, including an RBI single by Eddie Collins that left the bases loaded. Joe Jackson walked, forcing in another run, Frank Thomas hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game, and Duffy Lewis singled to right, scoring Collins for the Chicago win.

IND 4 (Dibble 2-2, 3 BSv; Carroll 2 H) @ CHI 5 (Dixon 2-1)
HRs: none
Box Score

TWIWBL 16.4: Series XIII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

By

On September 7, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

In a blowout loss to Chicago, 3B Pie Traynor hit a homerun in his first WBL at-bat.

Tim Hudson cemented his spot in the rotation, moving to 4-0 with over 7 strong innings in a 4-3 win over Chicago. Recently moved into the closer role, Juan Rincon picked up his 2nd save and Tom Herr, Bob Nieman, and Eddie Mathews had 2 hits each.

The American Giants were sailing along until, in the bottom of the 4th, Birmingham suddenly exploded for 5 runs behind a grand slam from Troy Tulowitzki. The Black Barons kept pouring it on, ending up with a 14-3 win. Billy Southworth has 3 hits including 2 triples, Del Crandall–replacing an injured Gene Tenace–went 3-for-3 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs and Herr added 3 hits in pushing his average back towards .350. Traynor continued his torrid start, going 2-for-5 with another homerun, and is now hitting .600 in his first few games for the club.

With Tenace’s injury still being diagnosed, the Black Barons went ahead and sent him to the DL, recalling Dale Murphy–who hasn’t done any better at AAA than he did before being sent down–and reinstating Al Schweitzer from the DL (Fred Fussell was sent back to AAA).

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Don Drysedale put in another strong start, but wasn’t around to see Ron Cey stroke a walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 10th, lifting Brooklyn to a 6-5 victory over Homestead. The win went to Watty Clark, who moved to 3-1 with 2 innings of scoreless relief. Roy White had 3 hits, and he and Dan Brouthers both went deep.

In a game that saw Dutch Leonard become the WBL’s first 7 game loser, Tommy Hanson made his WBL debut by striking out the first 4 batters he faced.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Miami destroyed Los Angeles 18-3, with Will Clark going 4-for-4 with 4 runs and 4 RBIs. Both Clark (his 11th) and Charlie Bennett (his 3rd) went deep, and Bennett drove in 5. The news wasn’t all good: Ramon Martinez was sailing along, allowing only 2 hits and no runs into the 6th inning when he had to be removed from the game with tricep pain. It was enough to get his 3rd win of the year, but he’ll miss about six weeks. Dalier Hinojosa was waived to make room for Dontrelle Willis on the roster.

Steve Brown was returned to AAA as Rube Waddell came off the DL.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Dizzy Trout allowed only 2 hits through 8 innings (1 a 2-run homerun by Ernie Banks) in an 11-3 blowout win for Portland. Five Sea Dogs hit homeruns (Jeff Burroughs, Kent Hrbek, Gil Hodges, Harry Hooper, and Adrian Beltre), and Hodges and Ivan Rodriguez had 3 RBIs each.

Bert Blyleven threw a complete game, 4 hit, 132 pitch shutout as the Sea Dogs blew out the House of David, 11-0. Buddy Bell hit a 3-run homerun, and Rodriguez and Fred Dunlap had 3 hits each. Rodriguez and Hrbek also went deep for Portland.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lefty Grove had a no-hitter through 6 innings as the Sea Lions defeated Philadelphia, 9-1. Jack Clark had 3 hits and 3 RBIs for San Francisco and Cy Perkins hit his first homerun of the year, a 3 run shot to seal the victory for Grove, who improved to 5-2 on the year. Rickey Henderson was caught stealing after 28 consecutive thefts when the Stars’ Sherm Lollar gunned him down.

TWIWBL 15.4: Series XII Notes – Marvin Miller Division

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On August 27, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

The Black Barons may have found something with Tim Hudson. The recent callup improved to 3-0 with 8 strong innings against Portland, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs. Birmingham scored 5 runs against Walter Johnson in the 3rd inning in the 6-2 victory, preventing Johnson from notching his 7th win of the year. Tommy Herr–he of the .354 average–hit his first homerun of the season.

Not all the news was great for Birmingham, as Hoyt Wilhelm had to leave the game injured in the 9th inning. It looks like Wilhelm will miss about 5 days, leaving it up in the air whether the Black Barons will put him on the DL.

Playing .400 ball, the Black Barons made some major changes. Greg Maddux and Warren Spahn were both sent to AAA, as was closer Carlos Diaz, with Fred Fussell returning to Birmingham after injury rehab and Steve Bedrosian being recalled all the way from AA, where he had allowed only 8 hits in 22 innings. Juan Rincon will take over as closer from Diaz. Additionally, Chipper Jones and Emil Frisk were both waived, and 3B Pie Traynor was recalled into a platoon with struggling Eddie Matthews.

They would shake it up more, but the minor league talent that is performing well largely duplicates the only bright spots at the big league level–OFs Bob Nieman and Billy Southworth and IFs Frank McCormick, Frank Isbell, and Herr are playing too well to be replaced at the moment.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Brickyard Kennedy and Smokey Joe Williams were both sent to AAA, with Dave Von Ohlen completing his rehab assignment and Tommy Hanson being recalled. Sandy Koufax moves into the starting rotation, taking Kennedy’s slot. Additionally, Pee Wee Reese was released and Hobe Ferris demoted to AAA, with Ray Dandridge and Hi Myers coming to Brooklyn. Mike Piazza lost his starting role, and is on the verge of demotion as well.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Alejandro Oms and Will Clark each hit homeruns (Oms’ first of the year) and Charlie Bennett added a key long ball to blow the game open as Miami beat Memphis, 8-4. Don Newcombe got his 2nd win on the year. Not all the news was good for the Cuban Giants, as Carlos Moran had to leave the game with an apparent elbow injury.

Sandy Consuegra was sent to AAA with Steve Brown receiving the call to Miami, a move that necessitated Yonder Alonso‘s being waived. 17 year old Martin Dihigo has struggled since returning from the DL, but his defensive versatility keeps him in Miami for the time being.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Kent Hrbek had 4 hits and Jim Fregosi–who had stranded 6 runners on base earlier in the game–delivered a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th inning to lead the Sea Dogs over the Black Barons 3-2. Portland pitchers only allowed 4 hits in the game (all from starter Jerry Koosman, who gave up 2 earned runs in 8 innings of work). Johan Santana picked up the win to even his record at 1-1.

The Sea Dogs have some good decisions to make on the mound. Wade Miller‘s fantastic turns in the starting rotation mean that Smokey Joe Wood returns from injury to the bullpen instead of his starting spot. Bob Porterfield and Randy Myers both did well in Portland, but Wood and Jim Kern‘s return send them back to AAA, along with Frank Williams.

On the bench, the Greg Litton question persists: Litton serves as a reserve at a ton of positions, but is struggling to reach a .400 OPS. He remains for now, but the team is considering a bench shake up, returning Litton, Jeff Burroughs, and Gary Pettis to AAA due to their offensive struggles.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

The Sea Lions overcame a 5 run deficit, winning the game against Detroit 8-7 with a walk-off homerun from Jack Clark in the bottom of the 10th. Jimmy Bloodworth homered and had 4 RBIs and Reggie Jackson continued his torrid season going 3-for-5. The win went to Ron Robinson, who is now 3-1.

Dennis Eckersley was returned to AAA to try to find his rhythm on the mound again, with Huston Street being recalled to shore up the middle of the bullpen. Charlie Root will replace Eckersley in the rotation.

In a somewhat surprising move, Charlie Reilly was sent to AAA, while Eddie Joost and Mickey Cochrane remain on the roster. Bob Cerv, who had impressed in a brief stint with the Sea Lions, was recalled into a very crowded OF.

TWIWBL 13.4: Series XI Notes – Marvin Miller Division

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On August 11, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Where did that come from? Sam Streeter threw a complete game, 5-hit shutout, blanking Kansas City 1-0, with a homerun from Bob Nieman plating the game’s only run. Streeter leveled his record at 2-2 and Rube Marquard was the hard-luck loser for the Monarchs, falling to 2-3 despite only giving up 3 hits in 7 innings.

Dick Rudolph was cruising along with his best outing of the year, allowing no runs and 2 hits through 8 innings. Consecutive hits in the top of the 9th chased Rudolph, but Carlos Diaz did just enough to preserve the win, despite giving up a homerun to the Monarchs’ Albert Pujols. Rudolph improved to 3-3, and Diaz notched his 7th save.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants

Trailing 3-2 in the bottom of the 9th against Ottawa’s closer Tom Henke, Brooklyn pulled victory from the edge of defeat in the first game of a doubleheader as Beals Becker sent a pitch just over the right field wall for the 5-3 win. They couldn’t come back against Henke in the second game, as Ottawa split the twin bill with a 5-2 victory.

Terry Forster has scuffled recently, earning himself a trip back to AAA, with Brooklyn recalling Trevor Hildenberger from his rehab assignment.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Wade Miller continues to sparkle for the Sea Dogs, turning in another great performance in his second start of the year, allowing 4 hits and 2 runs over 7+ innings in a 4-3 victory for Portland over Indianapolis. Johan Santana picked up his 15th save despite giving up a run in the 9th.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Eddie Plank evened his record at 3-3 with 7 shutout innings, allowing only 5 hits in a 2-0 victory over Houston. Rod Beck pitched a scoreless 9th for his 11th save, and Pedro Guerrero provided the offense with his 4th homerun of the season.

Bob Cerv hit really well in his week in the big leagues, slashing 286/286/714 with 2 homeruns. But Bobby Bonds‘ return from the DL saw Cerv returned to AAA.

TWIWBL 12.4: Series X Notes – Marvin Miller Division

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On July 25, 2021

In TWIWBL

#Birmingham Black Barons

Tim Hudson‘s first start was a good one: five innings, five hits, and 2 earned runs. Hudson improved to 2-0, and the Black Barons used good days from Eddie Mathews (2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and 4 runs scored) and Bob Nieman (3-for-4 with 2 RBI’s) to beat the Grays, 7-3.

#Miami Cuban Giants

With 17-year old Martin Dihigo healthy again, the Cuban Giants were faced with a difficult roster choice, given Alexei Ramirez‘ strong performance (333/385/542 in 9 games). Wanting to give Gary Sheffield, who has only played in 1 game, a longer look, Miami sent Paul Molitor, who had been scuffling along at 254/289/338, to AAA to make room for Dihigo.

#Portland Sea Dogs

In a highly anticipated matchup with Cleveland’s Cy Young, Walter Johnson was denied in his attempt to become the WBL’s first 7-game winner. Johnson gave up 5 runs–3 earned–in 6 innings. The win went to Elmer Brown, now 2-2, who pitched 3.2 innings of hitless relief as, in the bottom of the 11th, Jeff Burroughs, who has raised his OPS about 100 points since being recalled from AAA, sent a pitch from Cory Gearrin over the right-centerfield wall for the walk-off 7-6 victory.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Lefty Grove was delivering one of the better stars of the season–a 3 hit shutout through 7 innings. Then a double from Alejandro Oms and a 2-run homerun from Jose Canseco tied the game against Miami at 3. But Jack Clark hit his second homerun of the game in the bottom of the 9th for a walk-off, 4-3 victory for the Sea Lions. The win went to Ken Howell, who allowed 1 hit in 1.1 innings in relief of Grove.

It’s very hard to win a game when you commit 5 errors. But that’s what the Sea Lions did, topping Miami 6-3 behind homeruns by Bob Cerv (his first since his recent recall) and Pedro Guerrero. Cerv was 2-for-4 on the day with 3 RBIs. Diego Segui continued his stellar string of performances, allowing only 4 hits and 1 run in 6 innings. Rick Langford and Howell each earned their 2nd holds of the season, giving up 1 unearned run each, and Rod Beck picked up his 9th save.

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