Tag: Ralph Citarella Page 1 of 3

Season Review: New York Black Yankees

On December 21, 2023

81 - 73, .525 pct.
2nd in Effa Manley Division, 5 games behind.

Overall

From pre season championship favorite to missing the playoffs: it was a massively disappointing year in the Bronx, and while most of the blame has been focused on the bullpen, there are other concenrs.

Long term, this is an old franchise; but it is also built to win now, so it has conflicting incentives in terms of getting WBL level help immediately and building depth throughout the organization.

Also, Babe Ruth.

What Went Right

Babe Ruth did Babe Ruth things.

Perhaps no other team offers as dangerous a series of 7 hitters as the Black Yankees, with Ruth, Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig, Albert Belle, Thurman Munson, Eric Davis, and Don Mattingly. It is very hard to work more than 6 of them into the lineup at the same time, but still.

Waite Hoyt, Jack Scott, and Red Ruffing were all excellent (Ruffing will miss much of next season through injury, however).

After being blasted for much of the season, the bullpen finally turned the corner with the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman. Once Chapman arrived, he, Rheal Cormier, and Goose Gossage began to consistently close out games.

The stats wonks insist that Ron Guidry was a top 5 starter this year, so he has that going for him.

ALL STARS
OF Eric Davis; 1B Lou Gehrig; SS Derek Jeter; OF Mickey Mantle; C Thurman Munson; P Red Ruffing; OF Babe Ruth.

What Went Wrong

The Black Yankees came out of the break with all-stars at both 2B (Tom Herr, acquired from Birmingham) and SS (Derek Jeter). Both struggled the rest of the season. Nothing worked in the middle infield all year: Willie Randolph was replaced by Herr, neither Hardy Richardson nor Red Rolfe did anything of note, and New York even turned to Pee Wee Reese, released earlier by Brooklyn. 2B/SS remains several notches below the level of the rest of the team.

So much ink has been spilled about their bullpen struggles, but it has to be mentioned. Suffice to say that Sparky Lyle and Dave Righetti pitched themselves right down to AAA, Ralph Citarella was pretty poor all season, and Gossage struggled until Chapman’s arrival.

The naked eye would insist that Guidry–their #1 starter going into the season–struggled. Plenty of strikeouts, but an 8-12 record and a 4.35 ERA are not what was expected.

Transactions

March

C Bill Dickey, OF Aaron Judge & 1B Prince Fielder to Philadelphia for 3B Mike Schmdit & P Cole Hamels

Right now, looks like a steal for New York, but the jury is still very much out.

June

IF Reddy Mack, OF Bill Buckner, P Heathcliff Slocumb, OF Charlie Keller, 1B Moose Skowron & 10th Round Pick to Birmingham for 2B Tom Herr

Birmingham got as much as they could from the deal and, given Herr’s struggles in New York, probably got the best of it.

IF Dick Bartell, OF Sam Thompson & 4th Round Pick to Ottawa for P Gary Lavelle and P Jamie Moyer

Meh. Given that both Lavelle and Moyer are in the twilights of their careers, you have to give Ottawa the edge here if any of the players turn into anything.

July

C Smoky Burgess & P Cole Hamels to Miami for P Aroldis Chapman & 3rd Round Pick {Brett Gardner}

A win for New York, even if Hamels develops as expected.

P Jim Clinton, 3B Chris Brown & 2nd Round Pick to House of David for P Dick Tidrow & 8th Round Pick {Elliott Maddox}

Tidrow was wildly inconsistent, so who knows.

P LaTroy Hawkins, P Fritz Coumbe, IF Mike Bordick & 3rd Round Pick to Philadelphia for P Rheal Cormier & 4th Round Pick {Mark Grudzielanek}

Meh. All of these deals were made to win now, and since that didn’t happen, have to be judged somewhat harshly.

Looking Forward

SP

Should be strong. Ron Guidry, Waite Hoyt, Whitey Ford, and Lefty Gomez will be supported by Vic Raschi, Frank Viola, and Dave Righetti long term. That’s a solid bunch.

RP

There is depth here, but not a lot of confidence. For now, Aroldis Chapman and Goose Gossage will close out games, but Sparky Lyle and David Robertson are both available as reinforcements.

C

Thurman Munson had a magnificent season.

1B

Lou Gehrig and Don Mattingly should have this–and DH–locked down for quite some time.

2B

The Black Yankees still hope that Willie Randolph comes around. But there’s a decent chance they are in the market for a 2B.

3B

Mike Schmidt should have a lot of good years left, although there is very little talent behind him.

SS

There is a lot of optimism about Derek Jeter, but so far it seems to have been misplaced.

LF

Ruth forever, some Albert Belle sprinkled in for now.

CF

A mixture of Mickey Mantle and Eric Davis.

RF

Ruth, Mantle, and Belle–essentially the Black Yankees have 4 starting OFers to go along with their 2 starting 1Bs.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

What the Black Yankees need most–immediate help in the bullpen and depth at the big league level–won’t come through the rookie draft. As such, they are guided here by a desire to grab the best, youngest talent available. In the first round, that meant 19 year old David Cone, who has the advantage of being a franchise player as well.

With the 2nd pick of the 3rd round, they added another franchise selection in CF Brett Gardner and with the first choice of the 4th round, tried to fill in some MI depth with Mark Grudzielanek.

Rounds 5-8

The Black Yankees took a high risk/high reward flyer on P Noah Syndergaard, who could contribute in the next year or so, but also looks unlikely to stay healthy for very long, and then picked U player Jess Barbour in the 6th. Carlos Rodón is a bit of a project, but he becomes the final exception for the Black Yankees in round 7.

From here on out, it’s best talent with a slight preference for young position players, as their A level is pretty empty. That starts with young SS Anthony Volpe followed by IF/OF Elliott Maddox.

Rounds 9-12

OF Aaron Hicks; P Scott Kamieniecki; IF Charlie Irwin.

They were unable to come to terms with their first round pick, P David Cone.

Series XXXVII Preview: Los Angeles Angels @ New York Black Yankees

By mknn

On August 14, 2023

In Featured Series, Series Previews

The Los Angeles Angels have only featured in 3 series (Series V, VIII, XXIII), but they head into the penultimate series of the season with a chance to play spoiler. We’ve seen the New York Black Yankees more often (Series XI, XV, XIX, XXIX), but after early season dominance, and despite an offense that is probably the best in the league, they are fighting for their playoff life.

#Los Angeles Angels

The Angels have some interesting pieces. For a while, Gerrit Cole (15-9, 4.30) was in the argument for the best starter in the league, and he still is an unquestioned ace. 3B Doug Rader (333/395/535, a league leading 128 RBI) will finish in the top 4 or 5 in the MVP race, and CF Mike Trout (315/383/492) is coming into his own. Trout leads the team in HR with 20 (Carlos Delgado has 21, but only 10 with LA), and while 6 other players are in double figures, there is an overall lack of power in the lineup. But they hit for average and they get on base, and especially with Delgado, Kal Daniels, and Elmer Valo, they are very strong against righties.

As the season winds down, the Angels are looking to get Wally Backman (a 1.244 OPS in his first dozen games) and Ps Mike Smith and Harry Howell some time in the field as well as they look to next year.

Brett Anderson has pitched almost as well as Cole, and his return from the DL is a welcome site. But beyond that, the pitching staff is a whole lot of potential, but little else: Chuck Finley, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Doc Gooden, and Pud Galvin have each had moments of promise, but on the whole, have been somewhere between mediocre and downright bad.

Francisco Rodríguez has done well in the bullpen, and an argument could be made that he should replace Joe Nathan as closer.

#New York Black Yankees

Let’s start with the new good news: the Black Yankees have run through something like 4 closers this season, but the position has finally been solidified with the acquisition of Aroldis Chapman. Chapman has a dozen saves and a 1.50 ERA for the Black Yankees, and 31 saves overall, and is the clear bright spot in the bullpen.

And then there is the old good news. This team can flat-out rake. We’ve spilled plenty of ink on Babe Ruth, but he deserves it, leading the league in OPS (1.095), HR (44), BB (104), and a few other things as well. Then there’s Mickey Mantle, who has taken over from Eric Davis as the second best hitter on the team. Mantle is slashing 323/424/555, and has only escaped being hailed as a superstar due to Ruth’s presence. 5 other regulars, plus 4th OF Albert Belle, all have OPS’ over .800. A mark of how deep the lineup is can be seen by Lou Gehrig (24 HR, .883 OPS) being criticized for an off year. Davis has 32 HR, and Mantle, Gehrig, Don Mattingly, and Mike Schmidt all have more than 20.

Even the backup catcher, Manny Sanguillén, has an OPS over .800.

And then the old meh news. The rotation is … fine? I mean, it’s fine, right? The quartet of Waite Hoyt (10-6, 3.95), Ron Guidry (7-12, 4.51), Jack Scott (14-5, 4.46), and Red Ruffing (13-9, 4.15) are … OK? Guidry’s secondary numbers (a 3.91 FIP, a 1.24 WHIP) are good, Scott’s aren’t. So … fine?

And then there is the Achilles’ heel of this club: the bullpen. Another midseason acquisition, Rheal Cormier, has been decent. But the rest–Dick Tidrow, Goose Gossage, Ralph Citarella–have fallen short again and again and again throughout the season. Gossage has shown signs of turning it around, even replacing Citarella as the primary RH setup man, but still … for a team that may need to win 6 of their final 8 games to make the postseason, the bullpen must be solid.

#Projected Starters

Los Angeles pitcher listed first.

Gerrit Cole (15-9, 4.30) @ Waite Hoyt (10-6, 3.95)
Pud Galvin (6-7, 4.75) @ Jack Scott (14-5, 4.46)
Jason Vargas (1-2, 3.03) @ Jamie Moyer (6-8, 5.05)
Brett Anderson (7-7, 3.75) @ Ron Guidry (7-12, 4.51)

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

Series XXXIV Best Games

By mknn

On July 3, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

A good collection of games overall … a few pitching duels, a few intriguing games.

We’ll start with two games from the series between San Francisco and the New York Black Yankees–first a great pitching matchup, then a bit of a see-saw.

#San Francisco Sea Lions @ New York Black Yankees, Games 2 and 4

The opening game of the series saw a great pitching matchup where, honestly, the better performance lost. Ron Guidry continued a bit of a hard-luck season, falling to 7-11 on the year despite allowing only 2 hits in 7 innings while striking out 9. But an error by Eric Davis (1 of 2 on the day by the Black Yankees’ CF) led to a run in the 6th and a solo shot by Sal Bando in the 7th put the Sea Lions up, 2-0. That was all San Francisco’s starter, Eddie Plank, needed, as San Francisco’s starter allowed 4 hits and 0 runs in his time. Plank improved to 11-6 on the season with Rod Beck picking up his 29th save.

SFS 2 (Plank 11-6; Beck 29 Sv) @ NYY 0 (Guidry 7-11)
HRs: None.
Box Score

San Francisco, powered by key hits from Bob Cerv and Pedro Guerrero, held a 5-3 edge going into the bottom of the 7th inning (Babe Ruth‘s 43rd and 44th homeruns of the year, both off Lefty Grove, had kept the Black Yankees in the game). Late season call-up Roger Maris started New York off with a pinch hit single. Maris was replaced at first by Tommy Herr, who, along with Thurman Munson, scored on a single by Mickey Mantle to tie the game. Mike Schmidt followed with a 2-run shot to put New York up, 8-5.

The Black Yankees bullpen continues to be weak, with Ralph Citarella giving up 2 runs (one one on a solo shot by Gene Oliver, the other on an RBI from Jack Clark) in the 8th. Aroldis Chapman had a rough 9th, but did survive to earn his 10th save with the Black Yankees and 30th overall.

Mantle had 3 hits on the day, Ruth scored 3 times, and Schmidt drove in 3.

After the game, San Francisco’s Mickey Cochrane hit the DL, with the Sea Lions recalling Brian Downing.

SFS 8 (Howell 4-5, 4 B Sv; Shields 2 H) @ NYY 9 (Lavelle 1-3; Chapman 10 Sv; Citarella 11 H; Cormier 3 H)
HRs: SFS – Oliver (2); NYY – Ruth 2 (44), Mantle (24), Schmidt (21).
Box Score

Let’s look at a few other games with fantastic efforts by the starting pitchers, starting with Miami‘s visit to Indianapolis then heading to Kansas City, where the Monarchs, and one of the most mercurial arms in the league, hosted Brooklyn.

#Miami Cuban Giants @ Indianapolis ABC’s, Game 2

Johnny Cueto and José Méndez each delivered their best start of the year, with Cueto’s 7 scoreless innings topped by Méndez’ 8 innings of 3-hit, shutout ball. Neither would figure in the decision. Cookie Rojas put Miami ahead with a solo shot in the top of the 9th, but Indianapolis tied it on an Ed Charles single in the bottom of the frame. The ABC’s walked off in the bottom of the 10th on a Jake Stenzel single, with Octavio Dotel earning the victory with an inning of scoreless relief.

MCG 1 (López 3-2; Looper 2 B Sv) @ IND 2 (Dotel 2-1) [10 Innings]
HRs: MCG – Rojas (2); IND – none.
Box Score

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Kansas City Monarchs, Game 4

Kansas City’s Luke Hamlin is one of the more frustrating pitchers in the league. He turned in his 3rd start with a Game Score over 80 in this one, allowing only 3 hits over 9 innings. But he also has four starts this year with a Game Score below 30. And it’s hard to build a rotation around someone that mercurial: the 87 pitch gem he threw today merely improved his record to 9-12 with an above-league-average 4.80 ERA.

Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss was the hard-luck loser here, giving up a single to Stan Musial to lead off the bottom of the 9th. Knauss was replaced by Trevor Hildenberger, who surrendered a deep fly to Ducky Medwick, scoring Jack Rowe, who had pinch-run for Musial.

BRK 0 (Knauss 11-5) @ KCM 1 (Hamlin 9-12)
HRs: none.
Box Score

Two more season finales of note.

#Philadelphia Stars @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 4

Memphis‘ Bill Doak turned in a strong start, but Philadelphia used a late comeback to force extra innings in this one. The game entered the 9th inning tied at 2, but a homerun by one of the few bright spots for Philadelphia, young RF Aaron Judge, gave the Stars a 1 run lead.

It wouldn’t last, as Memphis’ Claude Ritchey followed up a Vern Stephens sacrifice fly with a 2-run triple, putting the Red Sox up, 5-3 with their closer, Jonathan Papelbon taking the mound in the top of the 9th. Papelbon was hit hard: a single by Juan Samuel was followed by a triple from Willie Davis and a double from Bobby Abreu, tying the contest at 5.

Sammy Sosa–who is playing fantastically for Memphis after being brought over from the House of David–singled to lead off the bottom of the 10th and eventually scored the winning run on a Manny Ramírez double.

PHI 5 (Howry 3-7; Rojas 2 B Sv) @ MEM 6 (Farrell 3-4; Papelbon 5 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: PHI – Freeman (17), Judge (4); MEM – none.
Box Score

#Detroit Wolverines @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 4

Homeruns by Mike Trout and Steve Garvey helped the Angels to a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the 5th, but a 2-out rally fueled by 2 walks, a wild pitch, and a 2 run single by Ty Cobb pulled Detroit back into the lead, 5-4. A sacrifice fly from Los Angeles’ Elmer Valo tied the game in the 8th, and the bullpens took over from there.

The 11th was eventful, as Oscar Gamble touched Francisco Rodríguez for a solo shot, giving Detroit a 1 run lead. The Wolverines turned to the league leader in saves, Mike Henneman, who promptly blew the game, allowing a single and 2 walks to load the bases, followed by a sharp single from Trout that allowed the winning run to score when Chili Davis‘ throw was wildly errant.

Gamble and Cobb had 3 hits each for Detroit; Trout and John Stearns had 3 hits for the Angels, with Trout driving in 4.

DET 6 (Henneman 1-6, 5 B Sv; Anderson 2 B Sv) @ LAA 7 (Venters 5-3; Smith 2 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: DET – Gamble (26); LAA – Trout (18), Garvey (3).
Box Score

Series XXXI Best Games

By mknn

On May 2, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

This time, we have two see-saw games and two series that deserve a little focus.

Let’s do the one-offs first.

#Homestead Grays @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 1

This one got wild. Ottawa took the lead on Larry Walker‘s 18th homerun of the year, a 2-run shot in the bottom of the first. Hits from Davey Johnson and Roberto Clemente got a run back for Homestead, but Ottawa scored 2 on a single from Roberto Alomar to increase their lead to 4-1. Homestead’s Rick Reichardt sent a pitch from Clayton Richard into the stands to tie the game in the top of the 3rd, so, we’re back to all square at 4-4.

The game continued to swing back and forth: a sacrifice fly from Johnson offset a solo shot from Roy Sievers, but an RBI double from Andy Van Slyke put Homestead back on top momentarily: a 2-run double from Sievers and a single from Bernie Allen gave Ottawa a 2-run lead, 8-6.

And then the 9th. Ted Bowsfield started the inning for Ottawa, walking Mike Epstein and giving up a single to Van Slyke. Bowsfield grabbed his elbow after the hit, and the Mounties brought in their closer, Ryan Dempster. Dempster retired 2 and walked one, loading the bases with Johnson at the plate. He singled to right, driving in 2. Perhaps more importantly for Ottawa, their star RF, Walker, was forced out of the game after the throw. But, the game was tied.

Tied, that is, until a single from Rusty Staub scored Carlos Beltrán to give the Mounties a walk off victory.

Nobody pitched particularly well, but Ottawa’s Monk Dubiel and Dempster did manage to escape without being scored on.

Both Bowsfield and Walker were sent to the DL after the game, with Chris Leroux and Sam Thompson being recalled from AAA.

HOM 8 (Ownbey 1-3; Brown 1 B Sv) @ OTT 9 (Dempster 4-1, 2 B Sv; Bowsfield 7 H)
HRs: HOM – Reichardt (21); OTT – Walker (18), Sievers (7).
Box Score

#San Francisco Sea Lions @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 2

This one had everything except good pitching (Mickey Lolich‘s 2 innings of clean relief for Detroit notwithstanding).

San Francisco kicked off the game with a bang: a leadoff homerun from Rickey Henderson, a 2 run shot from Reggie Jackson, and an RBI groundout from Phil Garner made it 4-0 Sea Lions before Diego Seguí threw his first pitch.

But the Bailey Boys got to him the following inning: Ed Bailey launched a 3 run shot and Bob Bailey added an RBI groundout to score Sparky Adams, who had doubled, tying the game at 4. Momentarily: Garner went deep and another run scored on a Sal Bando single, putting San Francisco back on top, 7-4. A solo shot from Hank Greenberg clawed one back, but a 2-run single from San Francisco’s Pedro Guerrero made it 9-5 heading into the 6th, when Detroit chased Seguí and hammered his replacement, James Shields, who only lasted 4 batters. Al Kaline singled home one run and Tony Phillips brought in another with a double. By the time it was all done, San Francisco’s lead was slashed to a single run, 9-8. Kaline would put the Wolverines in front with a 3-run shot in the 7th, and a Bob Bailey triple scored Phillips, who was hit by a pitch. Suddenly, Detroit was up, 12-9.

Their closer (and the WBL leader in saves), Mike Henneman, struggled in the 9th, facing 8 batters and giving up 2 runs (one on a solo shot by Jimmie Foxx, the other on a single by Guerrero). But he got Jack Clark to ground out with 2 batters on to preserve the victory.

SFS 11 (LaRoche 1-1, 1 B Sv; Hadley 2 H) @ DET 13 (Bradford 2-0)
HRs: SFS – Jackson (25), Henderson (6), Foxx (2); DET – E. Bailey (6), Greenberg 2 (24), Kaline (5).
Box Score

#Memphis Red Sox @ Miami Cuban Giants, Games 1 & 3

This series is a battle of basement teams, but that doesn’t keep the games from being entertaining.

The Red Sox scored 4 runs early with the RBIs coming on a sacrifice fly, a fielder’s choice, a bases-loaded walk, and an error by Miami’s shortstop, Robin Yount. Miami took a more conventional route back: a walk and 4 singles scored 3 runs in the 4th. But they followed Memphis’ lead to tie the game, as a sacrifice fly from José Cardenal plated Ryan Braun. The Cuban Giants then took the lead on a solo shot from their best player, José Canseco.

Wade Boggs finally brought home a conventional run for Memphis in the 8th with a single, but the Red Sox immediately reverted to form, with a bases-loaded walk and another sacrifice fly giving them a 7-5 lead. Three perfect relief innings from Turk Farrell, Heath Bell, and Jonathan Papelbon, closed the game out.

Ted Williams and Bill White finished the game with 3 hits each for Memphis; Cookie Rojas had 3 for Miami.

MEM 7 (Farrell 2-3; Papelbon 11 Sv; Bell 5 H; Callahan 4 B Sv) @ MCG 5 (Consuegra 0-4)
HRs: MEM – none; MCG – Canseco (30).
Box Score

In Game 3, Memphis was up 6-0, and then 8-5, powered by a grandslam from David Justice and 2 homers from Billy Bryan. It wasn’t enough: Minnie Miñoso broke out of his funk with 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Cookie Rojas, Gary Sheffield, and Chris Hoiles each drove in 2. As importantly for Miami, Eustaquio Pedroso, Sandy Consuegra, Ricky Nolasco, and Braden Looper combined for 4 innings of 1-hit relief of an ineffective Ramón Martínez.

MEM 8 (Callahan 5-10) @ MCG 11 (Pedroso 7-6; Looper 3 Sv; Consuegra 2 H; Nolasco 2 H)
HRs: none.
Box Score

New York Black Yankees @ Houston Colt 45’s, Games 2 and 4

In Game 2, Houston had a 6-3 lead heading to the 9th inning. The Colt 45’s got 2-run shots from Jim O’Rourke and Tony Gwynn and a solo dinger from Jorge Posada to take the lead.

The problem was their closer, Billy Wagner, was tired, leaving them turning to Brad Lidge, who had been solid since his recall, but here reverted to his old form: an RBI groundout from Tom Herr and a 3-run shot from Don Mattingly put the Black Yankees up 7-6.

Andrés Galarraga singled home a run in the bottom of the 9th, sending us to extra innings. Mattingly and Eric Davis homered in the 10th to put New York up 11-7, which seemed safe until you remembered the fragility of the Black Yankees’ bullpen. Here, Ralph Citarella and Rheal Cormier gave up RBI’s to Jim Wynn and Craig Biggio, but Cormier fanned Galarraga with the tying run on third base to close it out.

NYY 11 (Chapman 1-0, 1 B Sv; Cormier 1 Sv) @ HOU 10 (Kern 0-2; Chamberlain 1 H; McGraw 7 H; Lidge 4 B Sv) [10 Innings]
HRs: Mattingly 2 (26), Davis (31); HOU – O’Rourke (6), Gwynn (8), Posada (7).
Box Score

Game 4 of the series was a similar story: a Houston comeback that just fell short. Mattingly had 3 hits and 3 RBIs and Mike Schmidt hit his 17th homerun for the Black Yankees, who also got 3 brilliant innings from Goose Gossage. They did have to withstand a horrible outing from the heretofore solid Dick Tidrow, who surrendered 4 hits (2 to pinch hitters Jim O’Rourke and Harry Stovey) and 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

Andrés Galarraga had 4 hits and Casey Stengel and Jorge Posada had 3 each for Houston. Tug McGraw closed the game for the Colt 45’s, and has yet to surrender a run in his first 10 innings at the WBL level.

NYY 8 (Gossage 5-4; Chapman 5 Sv; Citarella 10 H) @ HOU 7 (Strasburg 7-7)
HRs: NYY – Schmidt (17); HOU – Stengel (9), Biggio (7).
Box Score

Series XXV Best Games

By mknn

On January 25, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Some very nice see-saw rides in series XXV.

San Francisco Sea Lions @ Portland Sea Dogs, Game 4

The conclusion of the clash of the sea creatures did not disappoint …

The Sea Lions scored in the first in typical fashion: Rickey Henderson bunted for a base hit, stole 2nd, moved to 3rd on a single by Bobby Bonds, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Pedro Guerrero. The 1-0 lead held until the bottom of the fifth, when Rogers Hornsby scored Kent Hrbek with a double into the gap.

Guerrero scored Bonds for a 2-1 lead, but it was short-lived, as a Bobby Murcer triple scored Harry Hooper and Iván Rodríguez, putting Portland up, 3-2. Portland looked in good shape at that point, good enough that Gary Pettis replaced Murcer in CF for better defense. Well, perhaps not only defense: after a horrid start to the year, Pettis has pushed his average well over .300.

San Francisco would tie the game in the top of the 9th in a decidedly unexpected way. With one out, John Beckwith, who is barely retaining his spot on the roster, pinch hit for Jimmy Bloodworth and singled. Phil Garner pinch ran for Beckwith and, after a walk to Sal Bando, light-hitting Miguel Cairo, forced to remain in the game for defensive purposes, doubled home the tying run off Portland’s Elmer Brown.

And there it stayed, until the 15th inning. San Francisco had turned the game over to Charlie Root, Portland to José Muñoz, and each were excellent. Mickey Cochrane–much maligned and in danger of losing his job–singled to lead off the 15th. Portland had nobody on the bench to pinch-run–or catch in the bottom of the frame–so Cochrane stayed in the game, moving to 2nd on a wild pitch by Muñoz and to third on a groundout. He scored on a single from Garner, and Root closed it out.

SFS 4 (Root 5-4) @ POR 3 (Muñoz 3-5; Brown 1 BSv; Cuellar 8 H) [15 Innings]
HRs: none.
Box Score

Homestead Grays @ Memphis Red Sox, Game 1

Willie Stargell led off the top of the 2nd with a solo homerun to kick off the scoring and while a 2-RBI double from Billy Bryan put Memphis ahead briefly, Stargell would do the same in the 4th, leading off with a homerun which, combined with an RBI groundout from Arky Vaughan that scored Chief Wilson, tied the game at 3. The teams would trade runs until, in th ebottom of the 5th, Ted Williams sent one deep to put Memphis up by 2, 6-4.

And then the Grays exploded, with a bases-clearing double from Stargell and a 2-run shot from Wilson putting Homestead up, 10-6. Each team would add a run, and Homestead would head to the bottom of the 9th, up 11-7. Should be safe, right? Especially with their closer, Michael Jackson, on the mound.

Wade Boggs doubled to start the inning, Williams walked, and Bill White doubled, scoring Boggs. Josh Lindblom promptly uncorked a wild pitch, scoring Williams and, when David Justice reached on an error from Homestead’s CF, Andrew McCutcheon, scoring White, the score was 11-10 with no outs. Manny Ramírez singled, but a fantastic throw from Rick Reichardt nailed Justice at the plate. Lindblom retired Bryan and Reggie Smith on flyouts, and the Grays squeaked through with a game that looked well in hand.

Boggs, Stargell, and Wilson each had 4 hits, with Pops driving in 5 and scoring 4.

HOM 11 (Pierce 1-2; Giusti 1 H) @ MEM 10 (Gibson 0-1; Callahan 1 BSv)
HRs: HOM – Stargell 2 (18), Wilson (8); MEM – Williams (19)
Box Score

Kansas City Monarchs @ New York Black Yankees, Game 2

New York’s Ron Guidry keeps putting in good performances to little results: in this one, he went 7 innings, giving up only 1 run. He was matched by a trio of Monarchs’ arms as Smokey Joe Wood (injured in the 4th), Joe Blong, and Trevor Rosenthal combined to also allow 1 run through 7.

And then the bullpens collapsed–expected for the Black Yankees, but a surprise for Kansas City. First, New York’s Goose Gossage and Gary Lavelle combine to give up 3 runs in the top of the 8th, with the key hits being 2-out RBI’s from Stan Musial and Ducky Medwick. But Craig Kimbrel was equally weak for the Monarchs, giving up back-to-back doubles to Eric Davis and Thurman Munson to start the frame, and a 2-run homerun to Don Mattingly to give the Black Yankees a 5-4 lead.

But no lead is safe for New York: Lavelle gave up a single, a walk, and an error to tie the game, and Ralph Citarella gave up a go-ahead single to Albert Pujols. Kansas City’s Jeff Pfeffer had no such struggles, picking up his 12th save in closing the game out.

KCM 6 (Kimbrel 3-2, 2 BSv; Pfeffer 12 Sv) @ NYY 5 (Lavelle 0-3)
HRs: KCM – none; NYY – Mattingly (20).
Box Score

Ottawa Mounties @ Los Angeles Angels, Game 3

A successful suicide squeeze from Jim Stephens scored Anthony Rendon for Ottawa, tying the game at 1 in the top of the 4th. In the next inning, Rendon would single in a run before Larry Parrish went deep with a 3-run blast to put the Mounties up, 5-1. The Angels would roar back, taking a 7-5 lead behind RBI hits from Don Buford, Bobby Grich, Mike Trout, and Carlos Delgado.

But Ottawa doesn’t fold as easily as they did earlier in the season, with George Van Haltren sending Francisco Rodríguez‘ 4th pitch of the ballgame into the bleachers for a 3-run homerun, putting the Mounties back on top, 8-7. Ted Bowsfield, Steve Howe, and Ryan Dempster closed the game out with 3.1 hitless innings.

OTT 8 (Bowsfield 5-2; Dempster 4 Sv; Dubiel 2 BSv; Howe 4 H) @ LAA 7 (Rodríguez 3-2, 1 BSv)
HRs: OTT – Parrish (2), Van Haltren (2); LAA – none.
Box Score

Miami Cuban Giants @ Brooklyn Royal Giants, Game 4

Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss has been great all year. Miami’s Roenis Eliás less so. But they matched frame for frame in this one, each tossing 7.1 IP while allowing only 3 hits and 1 run. The game remained tied at 1 into the 10th, when Miami’s closer Aroldis Chapman was left in to pitch a second inning. He gave up a walk to Art Griggs, a single to Duke Farrell, and a walk to Al López. That brought José Méndez in from the pen for the Cuban Giants … who promptly gave up a walkoff, grand slam shot to Beals Becker.

MCG 1 (Chapman 4-3) @ BRG 5 (Gagne 4-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: MCG – Canseco (24); BRG – Becker (16).
Box Score

Series XXIV Best Games

By mknn

On January 11, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

The theme this time out is surprising bullpen collapses, as a range of usually dependable closers struggled to hold on to victories.

New York Black Yankees @ Homestead Grays, Game 2.

As the game began, the Black Yankees were encouraged by Ron Guidry‘s return to form, allowing only 3 hits–although 2 runs–in 5 innings of work. But Homestead‘s Stan Bahnsen was almost as good, settling down after giving up Mickey Mantle‘s 16th homerun of the year in the first inning. Bahnsen was chased from the game in the 6th, as consecutive singles from Mantle, Lou Gehrig, and Eric Davis put the Black Yankees up by 1. An inning later, a sacrifice fly by Don Mattingly made it 4-2, with the Black Yankees looking safe to take their expected victory … but then New York’s weakness showed up big time, as Sparky Lyle imploded in the 8th, giving up 2 run single to Pops Stargell (his 3rd hit of the day) to tie the game. Ralph Citarella pitched OK, but was saddled with the loss when midseason acquisition Gary Lavelle–sporting a gaudy 9.39 ERA since joining New York–gave up the game-winning single to Mike Epstein for a 5-4 win for the Grays.

NYY 4 (Citarella 2-5; Moyer 2 H; Lyle 4 B Sv) @ HOM 5 (Lindblom 2-4) [10 Innings]
HRs: NYY – Mantle (16).
Box Score

Los Angeles Angels @ Wandering House of David, Game 3

Tom Seaver had been rocked in his first few appearances, but here the 22 year old showed some of his promise, allowing 2 runs in the first and nothing thereafter over 5-plus innings. Doug Rader drove in 2 with a homerun in the 3rd and another with a single in the 5th as the Angels held a 4-2 lead. Solid relief work from Jonny Venters and Pud Galvin took the game to Los Angeles’ closer, Joe Nathan, who got 2 quick outs before a single from Richie Hebner setup a 2 run, game-tying homerun from Jim Edmonds. Hebner would win the game for the House of David in the bottom of the 11th with a solo shot, his 9th of the season. Mike Trout had 3 hits in the Angels’ losing effort.

LAA 4 (Rodríguez 3-1; Nathan 7 B Sv; Galvin 2 H; Venters 13 H) @ HOD 5 (Rommel 2-0) [11 Innings]
HRs: LAA – Rader (14); HOD – Edmonds (3), Hebner (9).
Box Score

New York Gothams @ Houston Colt 45’s, Game 4

This one was a great pitching duel with the Gotham‘s Christy Mathewson and Houston‘s Stephen Strasburg matching arms through 6 innings. Before leaving with an injury, Strasburg’s only blemish was a solo homerun by Willie Mays in the 1st inning while Matty sailed along until the bottom of the 5th when Houston picked up 2 runs, one on a Craig Biggio double, the other an RBI groundout from HR Johnson. The Colt 45’s 2-1 lead held until the top of the 9th, when their closer, Billy Wagner, came in the game. Wagner gave up a 2-out double to Eugenio Suárez, scoring Yasiel Puig and tying the game. New York’s Mike Norris–fantastic all season–was asked to stretch beyond his usual single inning, allowing a leadoff triple to Johnson in the bottom of the 10th. After 2 intentional walks to load the bases, Norris gave up a single to George Brett (his 3rd hit of the day), winning the game for Houston. Jimmy Sheckard had 4 hits for New York in the contest.

NYG 2 (Norris 3-2) @ HOU 3 (Ely 1-0; Wagner 5 B Sv; Hoffman 5 H) [10 Innings]
HRs: NYG – Mays (16).
Box Score

Chicago American Giants @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 3

Eddie Collins and Shoeless Joe Jackson each had 3 hits for Chicago, with Jackson hitting his 21st long ball of the year, but it wasn’t enough as Detroit used Oscar Gamble‘s 21st dinger to stay in the game, winning it in the bottom of the 9th on a wild pitch from the usually reliable Hoyt Wilhelm.

CAG 4 (Wilhelm 2-2) @ DET 5 (Hart 3-3; Hiller 1 B Sv)
HRs: CAG – Jackson (21); DET – Gamble (21).
Box Score

TWIWBL 30.3: Series XXIII Notes – Effa Manley Division

By mknn

On December 15, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Cleveland Spiders

Stan Coveleski moved to 9-2 with over 6 innings of scoreless ball as the Grays beat the ABC’s 6-1. Ron Blomberg homered twice, giving him 26 for the season and Jake Stahl added 3 hits.

#Homestead Grays

Hal Carlson, Ray Brown, and Frank Linzy allowed 1 hit each, and Michael Jackson pitched a perfect 9th to earn his 6th save. Carlson moved to 5-3 in the 4-3 victory over San Francisco in which Andy Van Slyke had 3 hits.

Where has this pitching been all year? The Grays lost Earl Hamilton for 6 weeks, but he, Carlos Zambrano, Josh Lindblom, and Jackson combined to allow only 3 hits in a 2-1 win over the Sea Lions. The win went to Lindblom, now 1-4, and Jackson picked up save number 7. Chief Wilson broke a 1-1 deadlock with his 6th homerun of the year, a solo shot in the top of the 9th.

Van Slyke had 5 hits to fuel an impressive comeback by the Grays that fell just short, as they fell to the Sea Lions 10-9 in the series closer, despite trailing 9-1 heading into the 7th inning. Mike Epstein drove in 5, and Bob Friend put in nearly 5 innings of solid relief after Francisco Liriano was rocked as the starter. Liriano didn’t make it out of the 2nd inning, falling to 5-4 on the season.

#Indianapolis ABC’s

Joe Morgan is back on the DL, pulling a hamstring while legging out a triple in a 6-1 loss to Cleveland. Doc Hoblitzell was called up from AAA.

#New York Black Yankees

Ron Guidry put in his best work in a while, allowing 1 earned run in 7 innings against Ottawa. Guidry wasn’t part of the decision, as Ralph Citarella surrendered the lead before the Black Yankees came back for the victory. Gary Lavelle, elevated to closer earlier in the day, picked up his first save for New York.

Series XXII Best Games

By mknn

On July 22, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

New York Black Yankees @ House of David, Game 3

This was just your classic see-saw slugfest. Looking only at the score at the end of half-innings, the lead changed hands 8 times in the game–2-0; 3-2; 7-2; 8-7; 10-8; 12-8; 13-12; and finally 15-13 (and it was tied at 7, 8, and 12).

Things started well for New York, as Eric Davis singled, stole 2 bases, and scored on a sac fly before a solo shot from Lou Gehrig made it 2-0 in their favor. Cole Hamels took the mound for the Black Yankees, trying to earn his spot in the starting rotation. Didn’t go so well: Hamels didn’t get out of the 4th inning, leaving the game with the House of David leading, 7-2. He gave up homeruns to Pete Browning and Gabby Hartnett, and two to Anthony Rizzo.

The House of David’s Frank Sullivan was sailing at that point, but the top of the 5th would be his undoing as New York put together 3 hits and 2 walks to start the inning, then greeted Sullivan’s replacement, Phil Regan, with RBI doubles from Mickey Mantle and Derek Jeter. By the end of the frame, New York was ahead, 8-7.

Browning’s second homerun of the game tied it up in the 5th, with the Black Yankees’ taking the lead back on a solo shot from Babe Ruth and an RBI single from Jeter. At this point, it looked like New York’s game, especially once they doubled their lead on a 2-run double from Ruth in the top of the 7th. It was now 12-8 in favor of the Black Yankees.

But the New York bullpen has been their Achilles’ heel all year, and today proved no exception. Ralph Citarella came in and loaded the bases twice (a great throw by Ruth nailed Browning at the plate, preventing a run from scoring) before giving up a grand slam to Hartnett, tying the game at 12.

Thurman Munson immediately restored New York’s lead with his 10th homerun of the season. Sparky Lyle had a rare effective outing, and gave way in the bottom of the 9th to Gary Lavelle, newly appointed as the Black Yankees’ closer. Singles by Dan Ford and Hartnett brought up George Stone with 2 outs … and Stone neatly deposited Lavelle’s first pitch into the leftfield stands, for a walk-off 3 run homer.

Jack Taylor, forced into the game as a reliever, got the victory. Rizzo and Hartnett combined for 6 hits in 6 at bats with 9 RBIs and 6 runs scored, and Ford had 4 hits and 4 runs scored for the House of David. Ruth drove in 5 for New York.

NYY 13 (Lavelle 0-2, 2 B SV) @ HOD 15 (Taylor 7-8)
HRs: NYY – Gehrig (17), Ruth (28), Munson (10); Browning 2 (13), Rizzo 2 (5), Hartnett 2 (4), Stone (21).
Box Score

Other Games of Note

In pretty much the exact opposite game, Houston’s Stephen Strasburg and Portland’s Joseito Muñoz faced off in one of the best-pitched games of the year. Muñoz gave up only 3 hits over 8 innings, with a Jorge Posada double accounting for Houston’s only run. But Strasburg was even better, taking a 1-hitter into the 9th inning. He needed help at the end from Billy Wagner, but the two Colt 45 pitchers combined for a 3-hit shutout in the 1-0 win.

POR 0 (Muñoz 3-3) 0 @ HOU 1 (Strasburg 5-5; Wagner 9 Sv) 1
HRs: None.
Box Score

This was a fun one that went down to the wire. If you look at the box score, you might think that LA’s Doc Gooden and Indianapolis’ Willie Mitchell (making his first start of the year after spectacular performances in relief) were hit hard, but the real story was the inability of either Pud Galvin or Clay Carroll to help them get out of a jam. LA took an early lead on an RBI double from Derrek Lee, but the real drama was in the late innings as the lead changed hands 3 times. An RBI single from Jake Stenzel off the Angels’ closer, Joe Nathan, tied the game, and Ed Charles‘ fly deep to CF was snagged by a great catch from Mike Trout, but allowed Danny Hoffman to stroll home from third with the winning run. Carlos Delgado (slashing 375/423/562 since arriving in LA) had 2 hits, and Stenzel and Dave Henderson had 4 each for Indianapolis, with Henderson driving in 4.

LAA 6 (Nathan 3-5, 5 B Sv; Venters 10 H) @ IND 7 (Faber 6-5, 2 B Sv; Carroll 1 B Sv)
HRs: LA – Grich (7).
Box Score

When Álex Rodríguez took San Francisco closer Rod Beck deep in the bottom of the 9th for a walkoff homerun, it consigned the Sea Lions to their 7th straight loss. Ottawa’s Rusty Staub, hitting .346 since coming to the Mounties in a trade, had 2 hits, as did Anthony Rendon, helping the team overcome 3 errors in the victory. In perhaps his best outing of the year, Randy Johnson gave Ottawa 3+ innings of hitless relief, fanning 6.

SFS 4 (Beck 1-3, 4 B Sv; Howell 5 H; Robinson 10 H) @ OTT 5 (Holland 3-1)
HRs: Ott – Walker (9), Alomar (1), Rodríguez (8).
Box Score

Series XXI Best Games

By mknn

On June 29, 2022

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Five games made the list for Series XXI. We’ll give the detailed treatment to a great comeback, but the others all have some noteworthy moments.

#Indianapolis @ Memphis, Game 2

Just another see-saw …

A solo homerun by Mookie Betts and a 2 run shot by Ted Williams were the key hits as the Red Sox jumped out to a 7-0 lead. A 2-run homerun by Danny Hoffman and a triple from Oscar Charleston made it 7-3, and then, in the 7th inning, another homerun from Hoffman and a key, 2-0ut, 2-run shot from Johnny Bench brought the ABC’s within 1 run at 7-6. Reggie Smith added a solo shot off Lefty James, making it 8-6 heading to the top of the 9th.

Memphis brought in Jonathan Papelbon to close it out, which was certainly a reasonable choice. Tommy Helms led off the inning with a single, but a groundout by Hoffman seemed to set Memphis on the road to victory.

And then, Edd Roush and Charleston singled to load the bases and Bench cleared them with a double. A single by Dave Henderson scored Bench, and another by Denis Menke chased Papelbon from the game with Indianapolis having come all the way back to take the lead 10-8. Rob Dibble dominated the bottom of the frame, and the ABC’s had a great comeback win under their belt.

IND 10 (James 5-1, Dibble 16 Sv) @ MEM 8 (Papelbon 0-4, 2 BSv; Cicotte 1 H; Farrell 3 H)
HRs: IND – Hoffman 2 (11), Bench (17); MEM – Betts (6), Williams (18), Smith (11).
Box Score

#Ottawa @ Philadelphia, Game 2

A mismatch on paper as a tough Philadelphia lineup faces Joe Mays in his WBL debut. Tim Raines opened the game with homerun for Ottawa, but after that it went pretty much according to form, with Mays surrendering back-to-back-to-back homeruns in the 1st (José Ramírez, Rico Carty, and Scott Rolen) and then being chased from the game by back-to-back doubles in the 4th. Ottawa turned to Randy Johnson in relief, and the Big Unit delivered with a couple effective innings. Ottawa scored 7 runs in 2 innings to take the lead in a game with decimated bullpens. It was dicey throughout–Greg Holland, just recalled from AAA, had been hammered at the WBL level earlier in the year. But he gave the Mounties a good inning, and was followed by Ryan Dempster, asked to close the game. Dempster did so, but only when Raines threw out J.M. Ward at home for the final out. Larry Walker finished with 3 hits including his 8th homerun for the Mounties.

OTT 8 (Johnson 2-4; Dempster 2 Sv; Holland 3 H) @ PHI 7 (Cormier 4-1, 3 BSv; Laskey 1 H)
HRs: OTT – Raines (10), Walker (8); Ramírez (4), Carty (9), Kluszewski (14), Davis (14).
Box Score

#New York Gothams @ Brooklyn, Game 2

A tight pitching duel: Brooklyn’s Dick Redding was as good as the Gotham’s Christy Mathewson, but New York managed a sacrifice fly and a well-timed single by Eugenio Suárez to lead, 2-0. It was enough: Mathewson allowed 7 hits through 7 innings, but was dominant, fanning 11 and allowing only a solo shot from Duke Snider. Robb Nen and Brian Wilson slammed the door in relief to preserve the narrow victory.

NYG 2 (Mathewson 9-6; Wilson 13 Sv; Nen 4 H) @ BRK 1 (Redding 0-3)
HRs: BRK – Snider (19).
Box Score

#Miami @ Portland, Game 2

Portland only managed 2 hits, but leveraged 3 Miami errors and 10 walks by Cuban Giant hurlers to score 5 runs. Four of the runs scored off a chain of 2 walks, a double by Rogers Hornsby, and then 2 more walks and a wild pitch. The winning run in the bottom of the 9th was scored on a sacrifice fly from Joe Mauer after Adrián Beltré delivered a pinch-hit single. Eustaquio Pedroso‘ pitching line wasn’t pretty, but he was really let down by Phenomenal Smith‘s wildness, and Pedroso’s start was actually a source of some encouragement for Miami.

MCG 4 (Bauta 1-4; Smith 1 BSv) @ POR 5 (Williams 2-1)
HRs: MCG – Braun (11), Sheffield (3).
Box Score

#Birmingham @ New York Black Yankees, Game 4

We had to put something in here for the shocking performance of the Black Yankees in this series, who came into the final game desperately trying to avoid a sweep by the Black Barons having only scored 3 runs total over the first 3 games.

New York took the lead in the bottom of the 1st on a 2-run shot by Don Mattingly and extended it to 3-0 on a solo shot by Manny Sanguillén in the 5th. And that seemed plenty as Ron Guidry was dominant in his best start since early in the season, allowing only 3 hits and 1 walk through 7 innings while striking out 7.

But then came the 8th. Guidry gave up back to back walks and a single to load the bases and was clearly out of gas, relieved by Ralph Citarella, who let the wheels fall of: an error and a wild pitch scored runs, and then RBI singles from Curtis Granderson, Bob Nieman, and Pie Traynor chased Citarella with Birmingham holding a 6-3 lead.

Granderson added a 2-run inside-the-park-homerun in the 9th, giving plenty of cushion even when Albert Belle got 2 runs back in the final frame with his 10th homerun of the year. Vic Willis continued the strong start to his career, striking out 9 in 6 innings despite not factoring in the decision and Bruce Chen was nearly perfect over 2 innings in relief for the win, sealing the most surprising series sweep of the season.

BBB 8 (Chen 1-0) @ NYY 5 (Citarella 1-4; 3 BSv)
HRs: BBB – Granderson (10); NYY – Mattingly (17), Sanguillén (2), Belle (10).
Box Score