Tag: Fred Dunlap

#Birmingham Black Barons

The trio of Larry Benton, Greg Maddux, and Warren Spahn have been simply miserable. Benton has only pitched 4 innings, so he may get a pass, but Maddux and Spahn are both on the edge of being sent back down to AAA.

Tim Hudson, on the other hand, has done well enough to, at least for the time being, move into the rotation as the 5th starter.

The Black Barons have finally lost patience with Dale Murphy, whose 137/254/157 line has just refused to improve. Murphy will head to AAA Atlanta, with Del Crandall–who hasn’t hit particularly well, but does offer better defense–moving to the WBL.

#Miami Cuban Giants

Two homeruns from Manny Machado and Alexei Ramirez‘ first longball of the year powered Miami to a 8-4 win over Philadelphia. Tommy Bridges improved to 3-0, reducing his ERA to 2.87.

Bill Landrum was demoted to AAA, with Clay Condrey, who had dominated AAA so far, being recalled to Miami’s bullpen. To make room for Condrey, Tony Fossas was released.

The mix of Charlie Bennett and John Munyan behind the plate has been miserable for the Cuban Giants. Bennett stays in Miami due to his defense, with Munyan and OF Tony Gonzalez both being shipped out to AAA. Alan Ashby was recalled at C and Gary Sheffield–slashing 358/450/621 in Orlando–was recalled as well.

#Portland Sea Dogs

Jeff Burroughs and Fred Dunlap hit their first homeruns of the year, and Buddy Bell added his 8th to support a strong start from Bert Blyleven in a 14-2 blowout win for the Sea Dogs over Los Angeles. Harry Hooper scored 3 times, Bobby Murcer had 3 hits, and Kent Hrbek and Dunlap drove in 3 with Bell driving in 4.

Not only did the Sea Dogs lose 7-5 to the Angels by giving up 3 runs in the bottom of the eighth, they lost both Smokey Joe Wood and Frank Williams to injuries. Both pitchers were put on the 10 day DL, with Pascual Perez and Bob Porterfield coming up to Portland (the moves also cleared the way for impressive 18-year old Rick Wise to move from AA to AAA).

Walter Johnson became the first 6-game winner in the WBL, besting Gerrit Cole in a greatly anticipated pitching matchup. Johnson threw 8 strong innings and Joe Mauer scored 4 runs as the Sea Dogs won, 9-2. Mauer and Hrbek went deep and Murcer had 4 RBI.

The Sea Dogs may have uncovered a gem: Joseito Munoz had sparkled in a few relief appearances, and given his first start, the young Cuban responded with over 6 innings of 1-run ball, winning his first game. Murcer had 3 hits and scored 3 times , and Burroughs homered again to lead Portland to a 6-1 victory.

Even with Munoz’ performance, the Sea Dogs anointed Wade Miller as their 5th starter. Harmon Killebrew was demoted to AAA, with Adrian Beltre joining Portland. Greg Litton‘s ability to cover a half-dozen positions is the only thing keeping him in the WBL, and Burroughs’ recent hot streak has moved him away from the demotion line as well.

#San Francisco Sea Lions

Bobby Bonds pulled up lame, and will spend 10 days on the DL. Veteran Bob Cerv–slashing 339/382/711 at AAA–will be recalled, with the Sea Lions releasing 35-year old Jason Giambi to clear space on the roster.

Unsurprisingly given the quality of his 5 appearances to date, Diego Segui was named to the starting rotation.

Series IV Featured Matchup – Portland Sea Dogs @ Detroit Wolverines

By mknn

On May 10, 2021

In Featured Series, Game Recaps, TWIWBL

The Detroit Wolverines (6-8) host the Portland Sea Dogs (8-6) for four games (series preview here).

Game One: Bert Blyleven v Si Johnson

Game one pitted Portland’s Bert Blyleven against Detroit’s Si Johnson. The game was a blowout for a while, with the Sea Dogs leading 8-1 through 7 innings, led by HR’s from Kent Hrbek, Bobby Murcer, and Joe Mauer. Blyleven had easily his best start of the year, with Bob Bailey‘s double in the bottom of the 8th only the 4th hit he allowed. Johnson, on the other hand, was chased after 6 IP, replaced by Gene Conley, who was pretty miserable, giving up 3 runs in 1.2 IP.

In the 8th, Blyleven retired Jimmy Collins, and was then relieved by Frank Williams, who came in to face Chili Davis … who took him deep for a 2 run HR.

Detroit would add 2 more in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn’t enough, and Portland opened the series with a win. Mauer ended the day 3-4 with 2 runs and 3 RBIs, with Harry Hooper, Hrbek, Murcer, and Jeff Burroughs each chipping in with 2 hits apiece. Detroit’s Geoff Jenkins had 2 hits and 2 runs scored.

Blyleven finished with a Game Score of 71 (7.2 IP, 4 hits, 10 strikeouts), upping his record to 2-1 and Johan Santana got the final out for his 7th save.

Game Two: Smokey Joe Wood v Whitey Wilshire

Detroit would look to Whitey Wilshire to even up the series against Smokey Joe Wood. Oscar Gamble would put the Wolverines in front in the bottom of the first, ripping a double that scored Jim Fregosi and Gil Hodges. They would double their lead in the bottom of the 4th when Hank Greenberg took Wood deep for a 2-run HR.

Portland would finally break through in the top of the 5th on back to back singles from Kiki Cuyler and Fregosi. They pulled off a double steal, allowing Cuyler to score on a groundout by Hodges. But Jimmy Collins and Chili Davis would hit back-to-back HR’s in the bottom of the inning, pushing Detroit’s lead to 6-1.

Wilshire was replaced by John Hiller and Kevin Hart, who were pretty rough, giving up 3 runs in the 9th. But it was enough to close out the game with Detroit winning 6-4.

Hodges was the offensive star, finishing the game 2-3 with 4 RBIs. Ivan Rodriguez and Fred Dunlap added 2 hits each. For Detroit, Collins continued his strong start with a 2-3 day, 2 runs, and 1 RBI.

Wilshere did well for the win, allowing only 1 run in 6.2 IP, improving his record to 2-1 while Wood fell to 1-2. Mike Cuellar and Jim Kern were good for Portland in relief of Wood, combining for over 3 IP of scoreless relief.

Game Three: Walter Johnson v Long Tom Hughes

With the series tied 1-1, Portland turned to Walter Johnson, who came into the game with a 2-0 record, against Long Tom Hughes for Detroit. This was an old-fashioned blowout with Portland scoring 13 times on 17 hits. Buddy Bell went 5-6 with 2 runs scored, Bobby Murcer went 2-4 with 4 RBIs, Jeff Burroughs scored 3 times, and Smokey Joe Wood atoned some for his pitching performance the previous day, walloping a 3 run HR as a pinch hitter.

Hughes gave up 6 runs in 3 IP, and while Gene Conley bounced back with a scoreless 3 IP, Justin Verlander–who had been fantastic so far this season–gave up 7 runs (3 earned) in 1.1 IP.

Johnson improved his record to 3-0 with 7.2 dominant IP, allowing only 3 hits while fanning 7.

Game Four: Jerry Koosman v Hank Aguirre

In the final game, Detroit will look to Hank Aguirre (1-2) to even the series against Portland’s Jerry Koosman (1-1). Both starters struggled over 4 innings, but Aguirre managed to skate through, allowing a single run in 4 IP despite walking 4. Koosman was far less effective, given up 10 hits and 6 runs in his time.

Frank Williams and Elmer Brown followed Koosman, with each of them giving up runs as well, while Johnny Marcum and John Hiller combined for 5 innings of 3 hit, shutout ball for Detroit. Marcum got the win, giving the Wolverines the series split.

Bob Bailey and Chili Davis had 3 hits and 3 RBIs each, with Bailey and Ty Cobb hitting HRs. Ivan Rodriguez had 2 hits for Portland.

Baseball The Way It Never Was