Tag: Houston Colt 45s Page 3 of 9

TWIWBL 46.0: Series XXXVIII Notes – September 9th (Day 1 of 4)

On August 24, 2023

We’re doing it a bit differently for the final series of the season–TWIWBL will come out each day, focusing on three things:

The battle between the Birmingham Black Sox and the New York Black Yankees for the final playoff spot.
Other games between playoff contenders that might determine final seedings for the postseason.
Any other games or performances of note.

#The Battle for the Final Spot

Philadelphia exploded for 6 runs in the 5th, then held on for dear life to defeat Birmingham, 8-5 for the Black Barons 4th consecutive loss (and the Stars’ first win in 11 games). Scott Rolen, Bobby Abreu, and Aaron Judge delivered RBI singles, then Buck Freeman put the icing on top with his 20th homerun of the year, a 3 run shot to put Philadelphia ahead, 7-0. Bob Nieman and Adrián González went deep late to make it close, but it wasn’t enough.

PHI 8 (Collins 9-12; Howry 25 Sv) @ BBB 5 (Baker 7-6)
HRs: PHI – Freeman (20); BBB – Nieman (15), González (10).
Box Score

The Black Yankees were unable to take advantage, however, as a pinch hit homerun from Tris Speaker gave the Spiders a lead they preserved with solid relief efforts from Stan Bahnsen and Cory Gearrin, including Terry Adams picking up his 37th save. This one hurt, as New York scored 4 in the opening inning, and held a 6-4 lead before Speaker’s shot.

NYY 7 (Citarella 4-8, 6 B Sv) @ CLE 8 (Bahnsen 1-0; Adams 37 Sv; Gearrin 14 H)
HRs: NYY – Belle 16; Gehrig 26; CLE – Stahl (26), Speaker (4).
Box Score

#Playoff Seeding

The New York Gothams sealed their wild card spot with a walk-off, 4-3 victory over Portland. Buster Posey delivered the run scoring single in the bottom of the 9th. Jimmy Sheckard (who led off the game with his 20th homerun), Pinky Higgins, and Brian Dozier each had 2 hits for New York. The game also marked Christy Mathewson‘s final start of the regular season–despite a solid 5 plus innings, Mathewson was not around for the decision, leaving him on 17 wins for the season.

Detroit scored 10 runs in the 7th and 8th inning on their way to an 11-6 victory over the House of David. Ty Cobb extended his lead in the batting average race with a 4 hit day, Ed Bailey and Olmedo Sáenz added 3 hits each, and Cecil Fielder hit the first homerun of his career and drove in 4 in the route.

#Other Games

San Francisco eked out a win in 10 innings over Indianapolis, who wasted a strong 7 innings from Dolf Luque (4 hits, only 1 unearned run). Despite giving up 2 runs in the bottom of the 10th, Rod Beck picked up his 33rd save. The Sea Lions’ Rickey Henderson stole his 96th base, keeping the chase for 100 alive.

Jimmy Wynn hit his 19th homerun of the year, a walk-off blast into the Crawford Boxes as Houston edged Ottawa, 2-1. But the real story of the game was the two starting pitchers, each of whom are coming back from injury. For Houston, Bones Ely pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing only 3 hits while Ottawa saw the long anticipated return of Roy Halladay, who allowed only 4 hits and 0 runs in 6 innings. Neither were around for the decision, with the win going to Jay Howell while Sean O’Sullivan took the loss for the Mounties.

Baltimore went back-to-back-to-back in the 3rd inning with homeruns from Bryce Harper, Frank Robinson, and Curt Blefary in their victory over Kansas City. No real impact on the playoff race, but notable nonetheless.

So we end the day with Baltimore’s magic number down to 1 to clinch the Cum Posey Division and Birmingham’s down to 2 for the final playoff spot.

TWIWBL 45.2: Series XXXVII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 21, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Houston Colt 45’s

Andrés Galarraga was shut down for the rest of the season with a back injury with Jim O’Rourke rejoining Houston for their final series of the season.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Jim Bottomley, Devin Mesoraco and Merv Rettenmund were all recalled for the final week of the season.

Bob Gibson finally got his first WBL victory, and what a performance it was: a complete game, 7 strikeout shutout of the Gothams. Ted Simmons had 3 hits and scored twice in support of Gibson, whose record improved to 1-6.

#Ottawa Mounties

Rick Monday and Bob Watson were recalled from AAA.

4 hits from Carlos Beltrán and 2 from Watson–giving him 5 in his first 6 WBL at bats–led the Mounties to a 5-2 win over Miami. Bob Moose got the win and Ryan Dempster picked up his 14th save–both of them have a good shot at key roles with Ottawa next season.

Watson’s debut, during which he went 7-14, was cut short with an oblique injury, prompting Ottawa to recall Roy Halladay, ostensibly for a single start to mark his return from significant injury.

Series XXXVII Best Games

By mknn

On August 15, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Playoffs, playoffs, playoffs. Every game here featured at least one team bound for the postseason or one desperately trying to force their way in.

#Birmingham Black Barons @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 1

The matchup between Birmingham’s Alejandro Peña and Detroit’s Hal Newhouser was supposed to be a pitching duel, and while it started that way, things got out of hand in the bottom of the 4th when Detroit rocked Peña for 6 runs on an RBI single from Hank Greenberg, a 3-run shot from Oscar Gamble, and a 2-run homer from Ed Bailey. But the Black Barons made a comeback, keyed by a 3-run dinger from Curtis Granderson and a 2-run double from Eddie Mathews. That gave Birmingham a 7-6 lead heading into the bottom of the 8th.

Bruce Chen has been quite reliable for Birmingham all season, but Detroit touched him for 2 runs on a single from Al Kaline to take the lead. But Mike Henneman, the league leader in saves, couldn’t hold the 8-7 advantage, giving up a 2-run shot to Mathews in the top of the 9th. Birmingham’s closer, Juan Rincón held it down in the bottom of the inning, keeping Birmingham’s postseason drive alive.

BBB 9 (Bedrosian 4-2; Rincón 26 Sv; Merkcer 3 H; Chen 1 B Sv) @ DET 8 (Henneman 2-7, 6 B Sv; Lolich H 7; Schmidt 1 B Sv)
HRs: BBB – Granderson (18), Mathews (25); DET – Gamble (28), E. Bailey (9).
Box Score

#Houston Colt 45’s @ Wandering House of David, Game 1

George Gore hit 2 homeruns, including a walk-off blast in the bottom of the 12th inning to secure a 10-8 victory for the House of David. Gore finished the day with 3 hits and 5 RBIs. Houston was unable to pull out the victory, despite out-hitting the House of David, 17-10, led by 3 hits each from Jimmy Wynn and George Brett.

Houston took the lead with 4 runs in the 8th, keyed by a 2-run triple from Pete Hill and RBI doubles from Andrés Galarraga and Brett, but Ernie Banks tied it up in the bottom of the inning with a 2-run single. Each team scored in the 11th (Houston on a double from Tony Gwynn, the House of David on Elrod Hendricks‘ 36th homerun of the season), setting the stage for Gore’s heroics in the 12th.

HOU 8 (Hartley 1-2; Howell H 4; Wagner 9 B Sv) @ HOD 10 (Jenkins 4-6) [12 Innings]
HRs: HOU – Brett (7); HOD – Rizzo (14), Edmonds (18), Gore 2 (5), Hendricks (36).
Box Score

#Memphis Red Sox @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 2

Brooklyn left it late, but preserved their slim post-season hopes by scoring 2 in the bottom of the 9th to beat Memphis, 4-3. The Red Sox tallied a run in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th to take a 3-0 lead, including the resurgent Sammy Sosa‘s 7th homerun for his new team. Memphis’ Len Barker was sailing along until the bottom of the 5th when Brooklyn’s Germany Smith–a surprising source of power for the Royal Giants–went deep with Al López on base to make it a 1-run game.

Both bullpens were solid into the 9th, with Tim Wakefield and Jon Lester for Memphis and Orel Hershiser and Fernando Valenzuela for Brooklyn each keeping the score 3-2 Memphis. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, Roy White greeted Memphis’ Heath Bell with a homerun to tie the game. White’s blast was followed by singles from Ron Cey, Frank Isbell, and pinch-hitting Matt Holliday, giving Brooklyn a walk-off victory.

MEM 3 (Bell 9-5, 3 B Sv; Wakefield 4 H; Lester 2 H) @ BRK 4 (Gagne 6-5)
HRs: MEM – Sosa (7); BRK – Smith (6), White (17).
Box Score

#Chicago American Giants @ Portland Sea Dogs, Game 4

This game featured 2 playoff teams, and held some storylines to keep a watch on as we move into the postseason.

For Portland, who scored 6 runs in their final 2 innings, Gavvy Cravath shows no sign of slowing down since his mid-season acquisition. In this game, Cravath had 3 hits and 3 RBIs. The key here is the efficiency of the Sea Dogs, who scored 7 times on 12 singles (a bit of an oddity for a team that is 3rd in the league in homeruns and top-half in extra base hits overall). For Chicago, the bullpen continues to be a bit of a worry, as neither Hoyt Wilhelm nor Ken Sanders were effective in this one after a decent start from David Price.

CAG 4 (Wilhelm 5-5, 2 B Sv) @ POR 7 (Miller 11-6; Porterfield 7 Sv)
HRs: none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 44.2: Series XXXVI Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 9, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Baltimore wanted to add another lefty to the pen, bringing up Scott McGregor and sending Lindy McDaniel down to AAA.

Curt Blefary‘s second homerun of the game (his 26th of the season) was a walk-off affair as the Black Sox edged Ottawa 7-5. Blefary had 4 hits and 4 RBIs in a game that saw Johnny Sain take back the #5 spot in the rotation from Jim Palmer.

The Black Sox pounded out 15 hits in a 14-1 pounding of the Mounties, getting 4 RBI’s from Blefary who, along with Frank Robinson, had 3 hits. Bill Byrd threw a strong 7 innings, improving to 14-3 on the year.

#Chicago American Giants

Perhaps in a preview of what the post-season holds, Chicago has moved Ed Walsh into the 4th spot of their rotation, and have not named a number five starter, although it is assumed that either Mark Buehrle or Ben Sheets will hold down the back of the staff.

Eddie Collins scored 3 times without an official AB (he walked 4 times), and Shoeless Joe Jackson had 3 hits and 6 RBIs (3 coming on his 29th homerun) to lead Chicago to a back and forth 8-7 win over Kansas City. Cristóbal Torriente had 3 hits as well with the victory going to Buehrle in his first relief appearance.

Duffy Lewis had 4 hits in an 8-5 victory over Kansas City, but the story of the game for the postseason might be the growing success of the American Giants bullpen. Here, Don Newcombe, Fernando Rodney, Ken Sanders, and A.J. Minter combined with over 4 innings of near-perfect relief, with Rodney getting the win and Minter his 28th save.

David Price has been magnificent since joining Chicago, but he saved his best performance for the series finale against Kansas City, spinning a complete game, 2-hit shutout. Price carried a no-hitter into the 8th, improving his record with the American Giants to 4-0. Dick Allen drove in all 4 runs on 2 hits, one his 25th homerun of the season.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Bones Ely‘s return from the DL meant Tom Sturdivant was returned to AAA.

Casey Stengel ripped his second pinch hit homerun of the year, this one a grand slam, but it wasn’t enough as the Colt 45’s fell to Birmingham, 10-6.

#Kansas City Monarchs

OF Max Flack retired at the end of the AA season.

The Monarchs needed a starter and recalled Joe Blong.

#Ottawa Mounties

Clayton Richard returned to the rotation for Ottawa, taking Johnny Podgajny‘s place.

RP Steve Reed announced his retirement from AA.

Randy Johnson left with an elbow injury after only an inning of work, but will likely only miss a few days. Podgajny did a good job in relief, perhaps earning another shot at starting before season’s end. Roberto Alomar tied the game with a homerun and Carlos Beltrán added 2 hits, but it wasn’t enough as Baltimore won the game in the bottom of the 9th, 7-5.

A potential bright spot for Ottawa: Roy Halladay joined AAA to get an outing or 2 after his long DL stint, with an outside shot at seeing action in the WBL before the end of the year.

Series XXXVI Best Games

By mknn

On August 2, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

We start with a couple good games, move into a demonstration of a team’s weakness that is directly impacting the playoff hunt, and close with two mid-season acquisitions going in different directions.

#Ottawa Mounties @ Baltimore Black Sox, Game 1

It’s a cliché, but despite being among the worst teams in the league, Ottawa continues to be a tough foe. Their weakness all year has been their pitching, but in their opening game against the best team in the league–the Baltimore Black Sox–an acceptable start from Bob Moose was followed by almost 5 innings of scoreless relief from Clark Griffith, Ted Bowsfield, Chris Leroux, and Ryan Dempster.

It almost wasn’t enough: Dan McGann and Baby Doll Jacobson went deep early, giving the Black Sox a 4-2 lead after 6 innings. But Bernie Allen–who to this point had shown little potential and less power–launched a 2 run shot to tie the game. Carlos Betlrán threw a runner out at home in the bottom of the 9th to preserve the tie, and in the top of the 10th, a Larry Walker homerun put Ottawa on top for good.

The Mounties seem to have found a closer, as Dempster closed it out for his 11th save.

OTT 5 (Leroux 2-1; Dempster 11 Sv) @ BAL 4 (Ryan 0-2; Betancourt 1 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: OTT – Stephens (3), Allen (1), Walker (20); BAL – Harper (13), Machado (9), McGann (15), Jacobson (10).
Box Score

#Philadelphia Stars @ Cleveland Spiders, Game 1

There is little positive to take from the season for Philadelphia, but the emergence of OF Aaron Judge and, to a lesser degree, IF Roger Peckinpaugh certainly count.

Cleveland took a 3-0 lead into the 7th, but Judge launched a 2-run shot and Ted Kluszewski added a solo homer to tie the game, and from there the bullpens took over until the 11th inning.

Peckinpaugh led off with a double and scored on a single from Judge. Juan Samuel–another possible late season gem for the Stars–doubled in Judge, and Philadelphia suddenly was on top, 5-3. It wasn’t enough: MVP candidate Ron Blomberg doubled home 2 to tie the game and then scored on a sacrifice fly from John Ellis for a walk-off win for the Spiders.

Judge drove in 3 and Buck Freeman had 3 hits for the Stars while Blomberg and Arky Vaughan each had 3 for Cleveland.

PHI 5 (Jackson 5-10, 1 B Sv) @ CLE 6 (Feller 8-4; Walker 1 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Judge (6), Kluszewski (25); CLE – none.
Box Score

#New York Black Yankees @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 1

Neither starter–New York’s Jack Scott or Memphis’ Bill Doak–did well. That was, of course, worse news for New York than Memphis, as the bullpen struggles of the Black Yankees have been well documented. A flurry of homeruns had given New York a 5-4 lead after 3 innings (Pee Wee Reese–his first for New York– and Lou Gehrig for the Black Yankees and Reggie Smith, Sammy Sosa, and Dave Justice for the Red Sox).

That lasted until the bottom of the 8th, when Bryan Hickerson was lucky to only allow the tying run: Memphis had 3 hits in the inning with a single from Sosa scoring Mookie Betts, but New York’s Eric Davis nailed Manny Ramírez at the plate. The Black Yankees brought in Ralph Citarella for the bottom of the 9th. Smith led off the frame with a single, stole second, and scored on a single from Claude Ritchey for the walk-off victory.

New York’s relievers gave up 5 hits and 2 runs in 2 innings; Memphis’ 1 hit and 0 runs in just over 4 innings. That was the difference.

NYY 5 (Citarella 4-7, 5 B Sv; Hickerson 2 H) @ MEM 6 (Farrell 4-4)
HRs: NYY – Reese (1), Gehrig (24); MEM – Smith (21), Sosa (6), Justice (3).
Box Score

#San Francisco Sea Lions @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 2

Just imagine if Tim Hudson had pitched like this since San Francisco acquired him. Hudson allowed 1 run in over 7 innings while striking out 7 and being generally dominant. He exited with a 2-0 lead, but San Francisco’s closer, Rod Beck, had a very rough appearance, allowing 4 hits and 3 runs in his 1 inning of work.

Mike Trout, who is really coming on as the year winds down and had 3 hits on the day, drove in 1 run in the 8th, then Elmer Valo tied the game with a 2-out single in the bottom of the 9th. John Stearns won it with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 10th.

SFS 3 (Beck 1-5, 6 B Sv; Shields 3 H) @ LAA 4 (Familia 2-1) [10 Innings]
HRs: None.
Box Score

#Houston Colt 45’s @ Birmingham Black Barons, Game 3

And then we have Andy Pettitte, whose move to Birmingham seems to have transformed him from a good starting pitcher for Kansas City to an absolute ace for the Black Barons. Here, Houston’s Stephen Strasbourg was nearly as good as Pettitte, allowing 1 run in 7 innings while Pettite allowed 2 (but only 1 earned) over 8.

Houston took a 2-1 lead on a homerun by Jeff Bagwell in the top of the 9th, but Jim Kern did Jim Kern things after an error on Lance Blankenship, giving up a 2-out walk and a 2-run double to Gene Tenace. Billy Wagner relieved Kern and gave up an RBI single to Adrián González to give Birmingham a 4-2 lead.

Casey Stengel–a surprising source of power for Houston–led off the bottom of the 9th with a solo shot, but Jorge Posada whiffed with 2 on to end the game.

HOU 3 (Kern 0-3, 1 B Sv) @ BBB 4 (Pettitte 6-0; Bedrosian 1 Sv)
HRs: HOU – Bagwell (15), Stengel (11); BBB – none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 43.2: Series XXXV Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On July 27, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Houston Colt 45’s

With Luke Gregerson out for the rest of the season, Houston brought Dock Ellis back to the big leagues.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Called in for a spot start, Adam Wainwright turned in 6 innings of 3-hit ball, earning his 2nd win of the year. Salvador Pérez had 3 hits and 3 RBI’s in the 6-1 victory over the Sea Dogs.

TWIWBL 42.3: Series XXXIV Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On July 13, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Chicago American Giants

In a game that saw Mike Fiore, Dick Allen, and Duffy Lewis (twice) all go deep, the American Giants pounded out 19 hits in a 12-5 victory over Ottawa. Allen eclipsed the 100 RBI mark, Fiore drew his 100th walk of the season, and 9 players had 2 hits each as Mark Buehrle improved to 11-9 despite being touched for 10 hits and 5 runs over 5 innings.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Kyle Kendrick was moved into the 5th spot of Houston’s rotation.

Shin-Soo Choo will miss the rest of the season with a fractured finger. 3B Carney Lansford was recalled from AAA in his place.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Where was this all year? José Rijo tossed a complete game 2-hitter, evening his record at 6-6. Rijo only allowed 2 singles and a walk while striking out 4 and was helped by Ducky Medwick‘s 16th homerun of the year in the 2-0 victory over Brooklyn. It was Rijo’s second shutout of the season, topping a 5-hitter earlier in the year.

TWIWBL 41.2: Series XXXIII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On June 19, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Houston Colt 45’s

A rare poor start by Stephen Strasburg and an all-too-common blown save from Billy Wagner usually mean a defeat for Houston. But over 8 innings of hitless relief (with multiple innings from Kyle Kendrick and Luke Gregerson) proved enough combined with 5 RBI’s from Jorge Posada, including a walk-off homerun into the Crawford Boxes in the bottom of the 13th. Pete Hill had 3 hits for Houston and Craig Biggio scored 3 times in the 10-8 victory.

Ice Box Chamberlain was returned to AAA as the Colt 45’s needed a starter. Bones Ely was called up and did OK, but had to leave injured–leading to Chamberlain’s recall immediately after the game. More problematically, Tug McGraw–who was about to be named Houston’s closer–had to leave the game in extra innings with a strained forearm. All in a day’s work … for more on this game–which wound up a 14 inning classic, see here.

After the game, Jim Kern was returned to AAA with Boots Poffenberger recalled for an emergency start. Poffenberger did all that was asked, allowing 1 run in 4 innings, and Kendrick combined with an ineffective Chamberlain to hold on for the 8-3 victory. George Brett had 4 hits and Casey Stengel had 3, including his 10th homerun of the season.

McGraw is done for the year with a strained triceps. What a debut, though, as he finished the year with a 0.67 ERA over 14 appearances, putting himself in the conversation for a closer role next season. The Colt 45’s recalled Kern in his place.

#Ottawa Mounties

Johnny Podgajny rejoins the Mounties’ rotation for the time being.

Series XXXIII Best Games

By mknn

On June 13, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

We have more good pitching than usual in the best games of Series XXXIII.

We’ll start with the opening and closing game from a series with potentially massive playoff implications.

#Birmingham Black Barons @ New York Gothams, Games 1 and 5

Birmingham’s Greg Maddux wasn’t bad: just over 6 innings and only 2 runs allowed. The problem was the Gothams’ Christy Mathewson was stellar, picking up his league-leading 16th win of the season by throwing a 3-hit shutout over 7 innings. Maddux left the game after allowing an RBI single to Will Clark, replaced by Kent Mercker who gave up a deep flyball to the pinch-hitting Carl Furillo, scoring another run.

Hank Aaron took Robb Nen deep in the 8th to cut the lead in half, but Mike Norris (pushed into service due to Brian Wilson‘s injury) picked up his 6th save of the year, allowing only a walk in the 9th.

BBB 1 (Maddux 4-5) @ NYG 2 (Mathewson 16-7; Norris 6 Sv; Nen 11 H)
HRs: BBB – Aaron (25); NYG – none.
Box Score

The Gothams turned to Don Sutton for a spot start, and the 24 year old was simply brilliant … but it wasn’t enough. Sutton gave up 1 run–a solo shot by Aaron–through 7 innings, and while New York’s bullpen beckoned, Sutton was still well under 90 pitches. But with 2 outs in the 8th, Cupid Childs took him deep and Aaron launched his second of the game, edging Birmingham in front, 3-2.

Birmingham’s closer, Juan Rincón, allowed only 1 hit in the 9th, closing out the victory for the Black Barons.

NYG 2 (Sutton 2-4) @ BBB 3 (Whitney 1-2; Rincón 22 Sv)
HRs: NYG – Higgins (13); BBB – Aaron 2 (27), Childs (4).
Box Score

Two more good games with good pitching!

#Memphis Red Sox @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 1

Through six innings, the only score was a solo shot from Memphis’ Manny Ramírez. That was one of only 2 hits allowed by Detroit’s Gene Conley over his 7 innings, further cementing Conley’s adaptation from reliever to starter over the season. Buddy Napier gave up an unearned run in the top of the 8th, putting the Red Sox in front, 2-0.

Memphis’ Stubby Overmire was nearly as good: a shutout through 6, a single run in the 7th on an RBI single from Chili Davis, and finally being chased in the 8th after giving up 2 hits and a walk. Overmire’s relief, Tim Wakefield, gave up a sacrifice fly to Hank Greenberg tying the game at 2.

It stayed that way until the top of the 10th, when Memphis’ Claude Ritchey took John Hiller deep. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a perfect inning in the bottom of the frame, fanning Greenberg to end the game.

MEM 3 (Wakefield 6-7, 2 B Sv; Papelbon 13 Sv) @ DET 2 (Hiller 3-3) [10 Innings]
HRs: MEM – Ramírez (15), Ritchey (8); DET – none.
Box Score

Baltimore Black Sox @ Indianapolis ABC’s, Game 3

Baltimore’s pitching is just hard to gain traction against: Connie Johnson, John Wetteland, and the suddenly resurgent Buddy Groom limited Indianapolis to 5 hits, 2 of which were solo homers by the ABC’s Danny Hoffman. Indianapolis got a good start from Willie Mitchell (2 runs in 6.2 innings), but in the end superstars gonna’ superstar: Frank Robinson took Rob Dibble deep in the top of the 9th with a 2-run shot, his 33rd of the year, to provide the winning margin for Baltimore.

BBB 4 (Wetteland 3-0, 2 B Sv; Groom 5 Sv) @ IND 2 (Mullane 1-1)
HRs: Robinson (33); Hoffman 2 (15).
Box Score

And now back to our usual see-saw slugfests.

#Portland Sea Dogs @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

The scoring started fairly innocuously: Ottawa’s Tim Raines led off the bottom of the first with a single, was bunted to second, then scored on a Roy Sievers single (helped along by an error).

Portland took the lead in the 3rd on a 2-run shot by Gavvy Cravath, then Ottawa took it back, scoring twice on back-to-back doubles from Rusty Staub and Sievers, giving the Mounties a 3-2 edge. A George Burns double drove in 2, extending it to 5-2 in the bottom of the 4th.

But, Portland roared back: a 2 run single from Jeff Burroughs chased Ottawa’s starter, Kirk Reuter, from the game, and Jim Fregosi drove in 2 more later in the inning, putting the Sea Dogs back on top, 6-5. The lead would reach 9-5 on Cravath’s 2nd homerun of the day and RBI’s from Buddy Bell (a bases loaded walk) and Gil Hodges (a sacrifice fly).

But Ottawa had also caught on to the utility of the long ball: Larry Parrish and Roberto Alomar both went deep in the bottom of the 6th, cutting the gap to 9-8.

Portland added 2 in the following inning via 2 hits and a walk, but Ottawa was unleashed: Sievers scored on an unlikely triple by Gary Carter and a 2-run shot from Carlos Beltrán. Suddenly, we were tied at 11.

Tired of running, Carter ended the game with a walkoff homerun leading off the bottom of the 9th.

Burroughs had 4 hits and he and Cravath drove in 3 each for Portland. Burns had 4 hits for Portland, and Sievers added 3.

POR 11 (Porterfield 3-1; Hammaker 2 B Sv) @ OTT 12 (Holland 6-2)
HRs: POR – Cravath 2 (6); OTT – Parrish (6), Alomar (3), Beltrán (10), Carter (17).
Box Score

#Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 2

With Harry Howell sailing along on the mound, the Angels had a 3-0 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th, with the key hit being a solo homerun by Mike Trout. Houston scored 1 in the inning, but Tom Seaver and Jonny Venters were excellent in relief of Howell, allowing Los Angeles to send out their closer, Joe Nathan, for the bottom of the 9th.

Nathan was rough: Casey Stengel walked as a pinch-hitter, Tony Gwynn singled, Jim Wynn doubled in a run, and Jeff Bagwell tied the game with a sacrifice fly, sending us to extra innings.

José Reyes drove in a run in the top of the 11th, but Pete Hill singled in Gwynn, who had doubled, in the bottom of the frame to keep the game going. Which it did, until the 14th, when Bagwell was hit by a pitch. HR Johnson pinch-ran, stole second, and scored on a walk-off single by George Brett.

Trout, Gwynn, and Wynn each had 3 hits in the game, which was rough for Houston’s staff, as both Bones Ely and Tug McGraw were forced to leave with injuries. McGraw’s was especially unfortunate, as the young lefthander was on the brink of being named the Colt 45’s closer for the rest of the season.

The game also saw Los Angeles’ Wally Backman get a hit in his first WBL at-bat.

LAA 4 (Vargas 1-2; Seaver 1 H; Venters 15 H; Nathan 8 B Sv; Anderson 2 B Sv) @ HOU 5 (Clemens 4-1) [14 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Trout (17); HOU – none.
Box Score

TWIWBL 40.2: Series XXXII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On June 5, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Don Bessent has lost his role as closer for the Black Sox, with that honor now being split between Joe Beggs and Buddy Groom.

Paul Blair threw out a runner at home and launched a grandslam for his 10th homerun of the season, leading the Black Sox to a 6-3 win over Cleveland. Larry Gardner had 3 hits and 2 RBIs and Connie Johnson pitched into the 9th for his first win with Baltimore and Groom got the final 2 outs to pick up his 3rd save of the season.

Dennis Martínez had a solid start, earning his 14th victory of the year in a game where Curt Blefary and Brooks Robinson went deep in a 7-2 win over Cleveland.

The Black Sox kept rolling, pounding out 19 hits in a 13-6 victory in the last game of the series with Cleveland. Bobby Wallace and Baby Doll Jacobson had 3 hits each and Dan McGann and Manny Machado each drove in 3 in a game that saw Bill Byrd improve to 13-3 despite giving up 5 runs in under 6 innings.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Holding onto a slim shot at the playoffs, the Colt 45’s made some changes, abandoning some of their flexibility for some more offensive pop. Jim O’Rourke heads to AAA as Pete Hill is activated from a short stint on the DL.

After another blown save by Brad Lidge–his 7th of the year–Houston decided enough is enough, returning Lidge to AAA and recalling Jay Howell.

Harry Stovey had 4 hits and scored 3 times, but it wasn’t enough as the Colt 45’s fell to Memphis in 12 innings.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Lou Brock‘s year keeps getting better: 3 hits lifted his average to .308, and 4 RBIs led the Monarchs to a 10-2 victory over Ottawa. Ted Simmons drove in 3 runs and a solid start from Luke Hamlin improved his record to 8-11. Brock’s OBP edged over .350, and his OPS is nearing .800, proving he is more than just a set of wheels (although his 45 steals ranks 6th in the league).

#Ottawa Mounties

Clayton Richard pitched 6 strong innings, but left injured after 6 innings of 1 run ball. Chris Leroux, Ryan Dempster, and Gary Peters combined for 5 innings of scoreless relief, and the Mounties eked out 1 2-1 win in 11 innings over Kansas City, with Ken Griffey, Jr. driving in the winning run. Richard hit the DL after the game, with Clark Griffith being recalled.

Sam Thompson will miss the next month–meaning perhaps the rest of the season. Young Julio Gotay was recalled to help out defensively.