Tag: Ryan Dempster Page 2 of 3

Series XXXVI Best Games

On August 2, 2023

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 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.

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 XXX Best Games

By mknn

On April 18, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

No real theme this time, just three close contests and checking in on the New York Black Yankees’ revamped bullpen.

Miami Cuban Giants @ New York Black Yankees, Game #2

Down 2-0 and 4-2, the New York Black Yankees scored the last 5 runs of the game in a 7-4 victory over Miami. Most importantly, the reconstructed New York bullpen provided 3.2 innings of scoreless, 2-hit relief to close out the game, with Aroldis Chapman picking up his 3rd save since being acquired. As is often the case, Miami was nearly totally reliant on José Canseco, who had 3 hits and 3 RBIs, including his 29th homerun of the year. Ryan Braun also had 3 hits for Miami.

MCG 4 (Pedroso 6-6; López 1 B Sv) @ NYY 7 (Burnett 3-2; Chapman 3 Sv; Cormier 1 H)
HRs: MCG – Canseco (29); NYY – Mattingly (24).
Box Score

Baltimore Black Sox @ Memphis Red Sox, Game #2

Baltimore held an early 4-2 lead, but Memphis exploded in the 5th inning, with Ted Williams‘ 3-run shot being the key hit. That put the Red Sox in front, 6-4.

It wouldn’t last very long: RBI hits from Bryce Harper and Manny Machado gave the lead back to the Black Sox, but another 3 run homerun, this one from Vern Stephens, put Memphis back ahead by 1 run at 9-8.

The Red Sox’s closer, Jonathan Papelbon, took the mound in the top of the 9th. He pitched decently, but a single by Paul Blair, an error by Memphis’3B, Wade Boggs, and a sacrifice fly from Larry Gardner tied the game. Papelbon and Baltimore’s Joe Beggs traded scoreless frames through the 11th, but in the 12th, Frank Robinson hit a long homerun off Bill Doak, his 29th of the season, to put the Black Sox ahead, 10-9.

Baltimore’s bullpen was pretty stretched, but Johnny Sain and Buddy Groom combined to successfully close out the game.

BAL 10 (Sain 9-7; Groom 2 Sv; Wetteland 1 B Sv) @ MEM 9 (Doak 1-3; Callahan 1 H; Bell 4 H; Wakefield 1 B Sv; Papelbon 3 B Sv) [12 Innings]
HRs: BAL – Wallace (5), Robinson (29); MEM – Williams (23), Stephens (6).
Box Score

Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Ottawa Mounties, Game #3

Pitching lines can be deceptive, right? Brooklyn’s Tommy Hanson looks to have been thoroughly average, giving up 4 runs in 5 innings. But he turned in an solid start, fanning 9 but suffering from giving up 2 homeruns (to Carlos Beltrán and Gary Carter) and an ineffective outing from Dave Von Ohlen, who allowed both inherited runners to score.

Brooklyn used a 3 run shot from Ron Cey to keep the game tied at 5 after 7 innings, but were unable to manage anything late, as Monk Dubiel, Randy Johnson, and Ryan Dempster combined to allow only 1 hit over the final 3 innings.

Ottawa’s Larry Parrish hit a walkoff homerun to give the Mounties the victory.

BRK 5 (Gagne 4-5; Von Holen 4 H; Hildenberger 2 B Sv) @ OTT 6 (Dempster 3-1)
HRs: BRK – Cey (18); OTT – Carter (15), Beltrán (8), Parrish (4).
Box Score

Wandering House of David @ Homestead Grays, Game #4

Homestead got off to a great start as Mike Epstein hit a grand slam in the bottom of the first. But the House of David clawed back, scoring in 3 different innings to tie the game at 4. The Grays again responded with the long ball, with Davey Johnson hitting a 2-run homerun in the bottom of the frame, but again we were quickly tied with Ron Santo going deep in the 7th.

And there we stayed for 4 more innings, until the House of David’s Bruce Sutter–asked to stretch into a second inning–gave up a triple to Chief Wilson and a 2-run shot to Rick Reichardt for a walk-off victory for the Grays. Homestead’s duo of Cliff Lee and Dave Giusti combined for 4 innings of 2-hit relief.

The standout performance of the game–by far–came from the House of David’s Pete Browning, who had 5 hits in 6 at-bats, raising his average to .361 in the process. If he stays healthy, Browning should take over the WBL lead in batting within the month.

HOD 6 (Sutter 2-3) @ HOM 8 (Giusti 2-0; Zambrano 2 B Sv) [11 Innings]
HRs: HOD – Santo (13); HOM – Epstein (20), Johnson (13), Reichardt (20).
Box Score

Series XXVIII Best Games

By mknn

On March 9, 2023

In Featured Games, Game Recaps

Four games this time out, without a clear theme, so we’ll just take them in the order they happened.

#Brooklyn Royal Giants @ Wandering House of David, Game 1

Brooklyn’s Frank Knauss and the House of David’s Bob Rush came into this one as two of the hottest arms in the league … so naturally, they lasted under 5 innings combined, giving up 7 runs each. Brooklyn got a 2-run homerun from Beals Becker and a 2-run hit from Pete Browning en route to its touchdown while the House of David benefitted from a 3-run shot from Elrod Hendricks and a 2-run blast from Duke Snider.

Brooklyn’s John Briggs homered in the top of the 5th for an 8-7 lead for Brooklyn, but the House of David came back with 5 in the bottom of the 8th, keyed by Ernie Banks‘ 3-run shot and a solo shot from Joe Harris in his first WBL start. That made it 12-8 and set the stage for an entertaining 9th inning.

2 singles and a walk loaded the bases and brought in the House of David’s closer, Bruce Sutter. Sutter was off, giving up hits to Becker and Roy White, but escaped by getting the final 2 outs with the bases loaded.

Ed Bauta got rocked in his debut for the House of David and Trevor Hildenberger‘s collapse overshadowed good work by Brooklyn’s Ralph Branca and Orel Hershiser, who combined for 6 innings of 1-hit relief.

Briggs had 4 hits and scored 4 times while Ray Dandridge and Becker had 3 hits each, with Becker driving in 4. For the House of David, Banks had 3 hits and everybody else had at least one in a balanced onslaught.

BRK 11 (Hildenberger 3-1, 1 B Sv) @ HOD 12 (Downs 2-1, Sutter 16 Sv)
HRs: BRK – Becker (17), Snider (25), Briggs (3); HOD – Hendricks (27), Harris (1), Banks (19).
Box Score

#Indianapolis ABC’s @ Homestead Grays, Game 1

Indianapolis’ Doc White has wobbled a little since being inserted into the rotation, but here he was brilliant, with a 4-hit shutout through 8 innings. Surprisingly, though, Homestead’s pitching was nearly matching them: Bob Friend gave up only a single unearned run through 6 innings–a solo homerun by Joey Votto after a dropped foul ball–and the duo of Dave Giusti and Rick Ownbey–fantastic since their joint recall from AAA–chipped in with 5 innings of 2-hit relief.

Which, for those of you paying attention, means we went into extra innings.

A walk to Josh Gibson in the top of the 9th chased White from the game. Rob Dibble came in, walked Davey Johnson, and gave up a game-tying double to Roberto Clemente to tie the game.

And that’s where we stayed until the top of the 12th, when Ownbey gave up a single to Danny Hoffman and a pinch-hit, inside-the-park-homerun to Bob Bescher. Clay Carroll was perfect through 2 1/3, picking up the victory for the ABC’s.

Andy Van Slyke went 2-for-5, keeping his average above the .400 mark.

IND 3 (Carroll 2-3; Dibble 4 B Sv) @ HOM 1 (Lindblom 2-5)
HRs: IND – Votto (4), Bescher (13); HOM – none.
Box Score

#Houston Colt 45’s @ Detroit Wolverines, Game 3

Detroit’s Hal Newhouser and Houston’s Bones Ely were both strong. Ely had a 1-hit shutout through 6, but 6 walks drove his pitch count way up, chasing him from the game while Newhouser allowed 2 runs over the same span on RBI singles by Tony Gwynn and Jeff Bagwell before exiting.

2 homeruns in the 8th put Detroit in front: a 3-run shot from Oscar Gamble and a 2-run dinger from Ernie Lombardi. Both came against Houston’s Brad Lidge who had, until this outing, looked better in his return to the WBL.

The Colt 45’s made it close: with 2 outs, Craig Biggio singled and Bagwell walked, bringing Pete Hill–recently and somewhat controversially installed as the cleanup hitter–to the plate. Hill promptly tripled, making it a 1 run game at 5-4, but John Hiller was able to get Gwynn to ground out weakly to end the game.

HOU 4 (Lidge 1-5, 3 B Sv; McGraw 3 H; Qualls 1 H) @ DET 5 (Bradford 1-0; Hiller 2 Sv; Napier 7 H)
HRs: HOU – none; Gamble (22), Lombardi (3).
Box Score

#Birmingham Black Barons @ Ottawa Mounties, Game 4

Birmingham just keeps rolling. This game is illustrative of their sweep of Ottawa: here, the Mounties’ Bob Moose was excellent in his first start for the team, allowing only 1 earned run through 7 innings. Birmingham’s Vic Willis was solid, and each team had fielding miscues that contributed to runs, but we ended the 7th with Ottawa leading, 5-3, with Ottawa’s Roy Sievers and Birmingham’s Jim Pagliaroni going deep.

The Black Barons tied the game in the top of the 8th on a 2 run homerun by Curtis Granderson. And it stayed that way for another 5 innings, until Troy Tulowitzki doubled home 2 runs in the top of the 13th.

Scott Baker, Larry Benton, Steve Bedrosian, and Kent Mercker combined for 7 innings of 2-hit relief and the two staffs combined to whiff 27 batters combined, with Ottawa’s Ryan Dempter fanning 5 of the 7 batters he faced.

The Mounties’ Larry Parrish had 3 hits in the losing cause.

BBB 7 (Bedrosian 3-1; Mercker 2 Sv) @ OTT 5 (Clancy 5-6; Affeldt 1 B Sv; Dubiel 1 H) [13 Innings]
HRs: BBB – Pagliaroni (1), Granderson (14); OTT – Sievers (6).
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

TWIWBL 31.2: Series XXIV Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On January 17, 2023

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Bill Byrd improved to 10-2 on the year, allowing 1 run in 6 innings in a 6-5 win over Miami. Bryce Harper had 3 hits for Baltimore, and the bullpen did barely enough to hold onto the victory.

Dennis Martínez joined Byrd as a 10 game winner, carrying a no-hitter through 6 innings in an 8-2 victory. Bobby Wallace had 3 hits and Frank Robinson drove in 3 runs for the Black Sox.

Looking to strengthen their bench, the Black Sox recalled Brooks Robinson from AAA, where he seems to have found his stroke, sending Cal Ripken, Jr. down.

#Chicago American Giants

Chicago pounded out 20 hits and 15 runs in demolishing Detroit, 15-1. Dick Allen, Duffy Lewis, Magglio Ordóñez, and Cristóbal Torriente each had 3 hits, with Ordóñez scoring 3 times and Allen driving in 5 (4 coming on a grandslam). Mike Fiore had 2 homeruns, and Jack Doyle went deep as well. Dick Rudolph went to 3-1 on the year with a strong 6 innings before exiting the game after a short rain delay.

Hoyt Wilhelm hurt his thumb and will be out for at least 10 days, with Scott Radinsky recalled to take his place.

#Houston Colt 45’s

With Bret Saberhagen out for the year, Bones Ely moves into the starting rotation for Houston.

#Kansas City Monarchs

With their season plummeting, the Monarchs sent Rube Marquard to AAA. Bob Gibson–11 years Marquard’s junior–comes up from St. Louis and replaces him in the rotation.

#Ottawa Mounties

The struggle continues … Greg Holland and Clark Griffith head to AAA, with Clayton Richard coming back from a rehab assignment and Steve Howe returning from Montréal. Richard rejoins the rotation, which remains a bit of a mess overall. Ryan Dempster has been officially named the Mounties’ closer.

Series XXIV Preview: Memphis Red Sox @ Ottawa Mounties

By mknn

On December 19, 2022

In Series Previews

Two teams struggling to impress … we last saw Memphis in Series XIII and Series III while Ottawa was featured in Series XII and Series VII.

#Memphis Red Sox

Memphis is 20 games below .500, languishing in last place in the Bill James Division, 15 games behind the leaders. So, yeah, this year is pretty much done.

As a team, Memphis does nothing well. Well, other than run the bases. They do that well. For all it matters. Individually, however, there are at least some signs of life.

The class of the team is clearly Reggie Smith, who is slashing 310/379/537 and playing strong defense in CF. Ted Williams (259/345/500) has slumped over the past few months, but leads the team in HR (18) and RBI (65). And … that’s it. Claude Ritchey and Wade Boggs get on base a bit, Bill White has some power … but, yeah. If there are some disappointments here, they are OFs Mookie Betts and Manny Ramírez, both of whom are stuck with OPS’ in the low 700s.

Jon Lester (8-8, 4.04) has been their best starter, although Len Barker‘s return from injury is encouraging. Barker has a 3.31 ERA, but is still looking to establish himself as a starter. The bullpen is suspect, with closer Jonathan Papelbon struggling of late although he still leads the team in saves with 7.

#Ottawa Mounties

The Mounties are 14 games behind in the Cum Posey Division, so while they have a better record than Memphis (43 wins to 37), they are really in similar positions. But, somehow, Ottawa is just a little more intriguing–perhaps due to a near constant player churn that is generating some interesting questions. First, though, an overview.

The Mounties’ best players, by some distance, are Tim Raines (298/373/454 with a league-leading 66 SB) and Larry Walker (287/373/581). Walker has struggled to stay healthy, playing in only 34 games so far, but he is still tied for the team league in homeruns with 10 (along with Raines and Gary Carter, who also leads in RBIs with 40).

Carter has been on a tear recently, validating the Mounties’ choice to make him their everyday catcher. The team has a challenge with what to do with Roberto Alomar, who has started his WBL career at a 308/357/442 clip, and may push Raines into LF fulltime. Finally, while not as impressive as Carter’s run, SS Álex Rodriguez has raised his OPS about 100 points over the last few weeks.

The Mounties’ pitching corps seems to be in continual disarray, but one constant has been Old Hoss Radbourn, who is 7.7 with a 3.99 ERA. Jim Clancy and Monk Dubiel have been solid as well, and Clayton Richard‘s return from the DL could even give them an adequate top 4 hurlers. The challenge is, and then what? Ryan Dempster seems to be moving into the role of closer, but getting to him is a challenge. Greg Holland was absolutely torched earlier in the season, but is doing better having been recalled.

And then there is Randy Johnson, whose overall numbers are still pretty ugly, but has dropped his ERA by 2 1/2 runs since returning to the WBL in late June.

#Pitching Matchups (Memphis starter listed first)

Tim Wakefield (3-6, 5.44) @ Jim Clancy (5-4, 4.52)
Jon Lester (8-8, 4.04) @ Johnny Podgajny (1-2, 4.68)
Stubby Overmire (3-5, 3.79) @ Old Hoss Radbourn (7-7, 3.99)
Dean Chance (6-7, 4.24) @ Joe Mays (1-1, 5.52)

#Series Predictions

A split. I would root for Ottawa, but there’s so little to choose from between these two, gotta’ go for the split. The Overmire – Radbourn matchup is the most interesting.

TWIWBL 29.2: Series XXII Notes – Cum Posey Division

By mknn

On August 29, 2022

In TWIWBL

#Baltimore Black Sox

Mike Mussina was dominant, striking out 10 in almost 8 innings of 5 hit work, but it wasn’t enough as Baltimore fell to the Gothams 3-1 in 10 innings.

#Houston Colt 45’s

Bret Saberhagen had to leave injured in the 3rd inning, but Roger Clemens gave his best performance as a Colt 45–if not his best on the season–tossing over 5 innings of shutout ball in relief. Billy Wagner picked up his 10th save, and Jimmie Wynn added 3 hits and 2 RBIs in the 6-3 win over Portland.

The Colt 45’s won the season finale in dramatic fashion, as Carlos Correa singled home Casey Stengel, who tripled to lead off the bottom of the 9th. The win went to–who else–Mark Melancon, who improved to 8-1 from the bullpen.

#Kansas City Monarchs

Stan Musial hit 2 homeruns, but it wasn’t enough as Detroit beat the Monarchs, 5-2.

#Ottawa Mounties

The good news for Ottawa is that they only allowed 6 hits in beating San Francisco 3-1. The bad news is starter Roy Halladay lasted only 3 innings before leaving with a a strained hamstring that will cause him to miss most of the rest of the season. Joe Mays relieved Halladay and through 5 shutout innings and Ryan Dempster closed it out for his 3rd save. Monk Dubiel was recalled from AAA, although Ottawa made no comment as to who would take Halladay’s next turn in the rotation.

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