Motown and Beantown Split

Game 1 Oil Can Boyd (3-1) vs Dutch Leonard (3-0)
This game was all Boston. Dwight Evans (4) and Steve Lyons (1) hit homers and Dennis "Oil Can" Boyd scattered 4 hits in a 7-0 win over the Tigers

Game 2 Bruce Hurst (0-2) vs Red Oldham (3-1)
Dwight Evans (6) hit two more homers andTony Armas (2) and Bill Buckner (1) each added another as the BoSox leaped out in front 7-2 going into the bottom of the third. The Tigers scrambled back with 4 in the bottom of the 6th and added another in the 7th to take a 9-7 lead into the ninth. But the Sahx rallied for 2 in the top of the ninth and won the game in the tenth on Buckner's grand slam. Red Sox 13-9

Game 3 Hooks Dauss (2-2) vs Al Nipper (2-1)
The second extra inning game of the series saw both starters pitch at least 9 innings and yet neither received a decision. Harry Heilman hit his 12th homer of the season and the Tigers won the game in the 12th, scoring a run without the benefit of a hit, taking advantage of 4 Boston walks. Tigers 3-2

Game 4 Howard Emhke (1-2) vs Roger Clemens (0-0)
The Tigers took advantage of weak armed Sox catcher Dave Sax and stole 7 bases in the contest. Each team had trouble fielding the ball, the Tigers two errors allowed three unearned runs while the three BoSox errors also allowed three unearned runs. The Tigers scored two in the top of the 7th to take a lead which they would not relinquish and won the game 5-4.

Each team was the perfect host, allowing the visitors to leave with a win. Wade Boggs went 11-19 during the series raising his average to 477. --submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

Pale hose take 3 of 4 from the A's

GAME 1 Wood vs Ontiveros:
A's come up with 3 in 1st as Carney Lansford and Mark McGuire homer. McG a 2- run shot. Sox fought back with 2 in the 4th on a Rick Reichardt 2- run homer and tied game in 6th on a Jay Johnstone SF. Sox score 2 in 9th on 3 doubles, Meltons and Walter "no neck" Williams being run scoring. ..... Wilbur Wood shuts down A's after 1st.... 5-3 Sox ....Eckersley loss (0-2) Wood win (4-0)

GAME 2 Bradley vs Young:
Tom Bradley pitches a masterpiece throwing only 78 pitches in a 4-1 Sox win. Rich McKinney a homer. Bradley had 5 K's and 0 walks with his 5-hitter. Young pitches well in the loss (1-3) ..Bradley win (2-2)

GAME 3 Stewart vs B Johnson:
A's had a 1-0 lead until Sox get 3 off A's ace in 4th with homers from Mike Andrews and a Johnstone 2 -run dinger. The A's come up big with 5 in their top half of inning number 5. Mickey Tettleton a 3-run shot and McGuire a 2-run triple. Pale Hose then chase Stewart in their half on the inning with 4 runs to take a 7-6 lead they never relinquished. Walt Williams a 2-run double. Sox then put it away with 3 more in the 6th. 2 big Tony Bernazard errors in game were costly for A's. Romo the win (2-1) pitching 4.2 in relief letting up only 1 run. Stewart his first loss (3-1)... 10-7 Chisox.

GAME 4 Rijo vs Horlen:
When Mike Andrews hits a 2-run homer in 1st off Rijo and his close to 6 era it looked like a WSox sweep was coming. But Jose did not let another run throwing only 85 pitches as the A's avoid the sweep and win 5-2. Rijo LOWERED his era to 6.63 with his CG. He is now (1-2). Joel Horlen the loss (2-1) Tony Phillips homer, 4 RBI.
Mark McGwire 6 for 16 2 2b's, 1 triple, homer for A'sJay Johnstone 7 for 15 , 4 runs, 6 rbi, homerMike Andrews 7 for 16 4 runs, 4 rbi, 2 hr's


--submitted by Dan Holm--

Nats sweep Bombers to move over .500 for 1st time all season

GAME 1 (Griffith Stadium) - '53-WAS 3, '73-NYY 1

A classic matchup between respective aces, with similar styles. Neither guy is overpowering, but the both have great location and make great clutch pitches. For 6 innings Bob Porterfield blanked the Bronx Bombers. Mel Stottlemyre gave up only 1 run over the first 7 himself. With the score tied at 1 the Nats decided to do some damage in the 8th. Porterfield has pitched in hard luck this season. Anyone who is 3-2 with a 2.25 ERA must not be getting any run support. Because of this scenario Porterfield has to make the runs that he gets count. Sometimes he even has to drive them in himself. The bottom of the 8th started with Stottlemyre walking Mickey Vernon on four careful pitches. Vernon is Washington's only lethal bat, so one can't blame Mel for being careful. Jackie Jensen came up next and swung wildly at 3 pitches without making contact. Clyde Vollmer followed that up with a single to put runners at the corners for "the Twig", Wayne Terwilliger who slammed an opposite field double to score both runners and give the Nats a 3-1 lead that they would never relinquish.

GAME 2 (Griffith Stadium) - '53-WAS 3, '73-NYY 2

Doc Medich and Johnny Schmitz hooked up in another fine pitching classic. Medich was the victim of 3 unearned runs in the 3rd thanks to his own lack of fielding prowess. With 2 outs and a man on first Medich mishandled a Jim Busby squibber back to the mound, which put runners safely on 1st and 2nd. Pete Runnels doubled home Fitz Gerald and back to back singles by Eddie Yost and Mickey Vernon plated 2 more. This quickly erased NY's 2-0 lead. Both pitchers settled down after that and posted goose eggs the rest of the way. Medich went the distance to take a tough loss and Schmitz gave way to Sonny Dixon who came on and notched his 2nd save of the season by tossing a perfect 9th.

GAME 3 (Yankee Stadium) - '53-WAS 10, '73-NYY 9

This was one heck of a wild one up in the Bronx. The Nats carried a 10-3 lead into the 8th and almost threw it all away. Washington spot starter Tommy Byrne went 7 1/3 and gave up only 3 and looked to have notched an easy win, until his manager got a bit cute and put in scrub pitchers Pearce and Lane, who yielded 6 unanswered tallies. The outcome was totally in doubt until Artie Moreno came on to get pinch hitter Johnny Callison on a line shot back to the box. Washington's near collapse detracted from Eddie Yost fine day at the plate. The "walking man" went 3 for 5 with a huge homer and 4 RBI's. Yankee backstop, Thurman Munson had a 3 for 4 day and hit hit two homers himself.

GAME 4 (Yankee Stadium) - '53-WAS 8, '73-NYY 3

Sudden Sam McDowell was hoping to recapture his youth, his fastball and Yankee pride all in one start. He accomplished none of those tasks and in the process looked more like "Sad" Sam. McDowell gave up 8 runs and was battered around by one of the most anemic offenses in the AL. The Yanks jumped out to a quick 1 run lead in the first, when Roy White hit a line shot into the right field porch. McDowell looked good for the first 3 innings as Washington was unable to score. Then the floodgates opened in both the 4th and 5th innings as the Nats scored 4 runs in each and never looked back. Mickey Vernon went 2 for 3 with a big triple as Washington featured a well balanced attack. Masterson went the distance for his second win of the season.

Clemens Fans 19, but gets No Decision

Clemens fanned 19 Mariners over 8 innings of work, but gave up 1 un-earned run to the Mariners in the 4th thanks to a throwing error by backstop Rich Gedman. The Sawx won the game on a walk off single by Marty Barrett in the bottom of the 9th. Glenn Hoffman, who doubled to lead off the inning scored the winning. An interesting footnote to Clemens fine performance was Randy Johnson striking out 12 Red Sox batters. Steve Crawford recorded one K in the 9th for Boston to combine with Clemens to strike out 20 Mariners. Raul Ibanez earned the "Golden Sombrero", when he struck out for the 4th time in the top of the 8th. The law firm of Monahan, Davis and Buhner each K'd 3 times. Curiously the local sports writers voted Mike Greenwell the game MVP, even though he didn't play... Boxscore is below:

85 Boston Edges 98 Seattle 2-1, Clemens Fans 19

Redbirds take 2 of 3 from Friars

1982 Padres(Joey Scigliano) vs 1965 Cardinals(Mike Roberts)

Game 1...Cardinals 8 Padres 5 (At Jack Murphy Std, San Diego, CA)

A pair of lefties matched up as Tim Lollar was on the mound for the hometown Padres and Ray Sadecki on the hill for the Redbirds. The game was scoreless until the fourth inning as Curt Flood touched Lollar for a solo homerun. St. Louis added another run in the inning to make the score 2-0 in favor of the visitors. San Diego cut the lead in half in the bottom half of the inning with Terry Kennedy's 3rd homerun of the year. The Padres plated 3 runs in the sixth on run scoring singles by Salazar and Ramirez as well as being aided by a Dick Groat error. St. Louis answered back with 4 runs in the 7th to take the lead for good. Woodeshick came on to nail the victory for the Cardinals and earn his 2nd save of the season. Ray Sadecki(2-1) earned the win and Danny Boone(0-1) got the loss.

Game 2...Padres 3 Cardinals 2 (At Busch Stadium, St.Louis, MO)

Bob Gibson and Juan Eichelberger started the second game in St. Louis. Gibson was spoted to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Lou Brock singled, stole second and then later scored on a Curt Flood sacrifice fly. The Padres tied the score in the 3rd when Gene Richards walked, stole second and scored on a Ruppert Jones basehit. The Friars took the lead in the sixth inning as Sixto Lezcano popped a solo homerun off a frustrated Bob Gibson. Terry Kennedy, the next batter, paid the price for Lezcano's success as Gibson buzzed a high hard one by TK's head. Kennedy was visibly upset and would exact his revenge later. The Cardinals tied the game in the bottom half of the inning. Kennedy led off the 9th inning in a 2-2 tie. Terry got hold of a hanging Gibson slider and crushed it deep into the right field bleachers to untie the game. As Kennedy ran around the bases, he wore a smile on his face and was mobbed in the dugout with his heroics. Gary Lucas came in the ninth to shutdown the Cardinals and earn his 2nd save of the season. Juan Eichelberger (1-2) achieved his first victory and Gibson (2-2) evens his record dispite a solid 2.91 ERA.

Game 3...Cardianls 9 Padres 3 (At Busch Stadium, St.Louis, MO)

This game was close until for most of the game as Simmons and Montefusco were dueling each other through 5 1/2 innings. The score was tied at 2 until the bottom of the 5th when the redbirds tallied 2 runs. St. Louis put the game out of reach in the 8th inning on a Bill White grandslam homerun to right off stellar reliever, Luis DeLeon. DeLeon had not surrendered a run all season until the slam. Simmons improved to 3-1 with 6 innings of 5 hit ball. He surrendered two unearned runs. Nellie Briles and Woodeshick pitched the final 3 innings to secure the victory. St. Louis took 2 of 3 games in the short series.

TURNING POINT IN SERIES: Bill White's 8th inning grandslam off reliever Luis Deleon in game 3

SERIES MVP: Bill White drove in 5 runs in the series, including a grandslam

--submitted by Joey Scigliano--

Expos take 2 of 3 from Dodgers and move to 15-2

GAME 1 (Dodger Stadium) LA 3, MON 2: The mighty 'Spos jumped out to a 2-0 lead and starter Dennis Martinez looked to be cruising. Montreal manager, Georges Bseraini, let his aprhension show as he didn't have a lot of faith in his squads ability to comeback. During his on camera interview in the middle of the 4th he said, "Some staff...how do you beat them. No wonder they only have 1 loss". Well his team must have heard him, especially his starter, Rick Sutcliffe. The tall bearded right shut the Expos down for the final 6 frames, which allowed his offense to chip away slowly. To lead off the bottom of the 4th Steve Garvey doubled to left and with 2 outs Bill Russell delivered a clutch RBI single to make it 2-1. In the 5th Sutcliffe helped his own cause with a long homer into the left center field pavilion just under the Union 76 sign. With the score knotted at 2 "General" Dusty Baker led off the the 6th with a double down the left field line. Cey hit one that Tim Raines tracked down in the power alley to advance Baker to third with 1 out. Bill Russell delivered again by chasing Raines to the warning track for a great sac fly out. Montreal threatened in the 8th, but Sutcliffe closed the door on them as the Dodgers win the opener.

GAME 2 (Olympic Stadium) MON 3, LA 1: Bryn Smith tossed 8 innings of 1 run ball and handed it off to Tim Burke and Joe Hesketh to close it out. LA's Jerry Reuss went the distance, but yielded 2 more runs than Smith did to earn the loss. Montreal scored first in the 3rd, when "the Rock" Tim Raines hit a solo shot to dead center. LA evened it up in the 4th when Dusty Baker led the inning off with a solo shot. The bottom of the 6th would be Reuss' undoing as the Expos plated 2 with only 1 hit, a Tim Wallach RBI double.

GAME 3 (Olympic Stadium) MON 6, LA 2: Pascual Perez won his 4th game of the season as he went the distance and yielded only 2 runs. LA's Don Sutton was victimized for 6 runs over 8 innings of work. Montreal scored 3 big runs in the 3rd to jump out to a 4-0 lead that they would never relinquish. Nixon led that inning off with a single and then promptly stole second. With 2 out "El Ghatto" Andres Galarraga singled him home. Sutton looked to be a bit rattled at this point and third baseman Tim Wallach locked in on his first offering and crushed a hanging curve ball that never broke deep into the left field bleachers. With the score 4-2 the Expos tacked on 2 insurance runs in the 7th and 8th innings to win this one going away. Montreal improved to a league best 15-2. LA dropped below .500 (8-9) for the first time this season.

Nats get Royal Flush

1953 Washington Marc Weiss vs 1972 Kansa City Milo Miller

GAME 1: Wash 6 KC 4

Washington came into Kansas City and sent Spec Shea to the mound against the Royals Mark Montgomery. The Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the 4th, highlighted by a John Mayberry double and an Ed Kirkpatrick sac fly. Washington mad it 3-2 in the 6th on a Eddie Yost 2 run homer. Kansas City made it 4-2 in the bottom of the inning as Fred Patek picked up the RBI with a grounder. Royals manager decide to go to the pin in the 8th, calling on Al Fitzmorris to protect the lead. Ed Fitz Gerald doubled to start the inning and pinch hitter Frank Sacka singled to put runners at the corners, Fitzmorris was gone. Royals reliever Ken Wright was summoned and was hurt when Patek booted a routine grounder to allow a run to score. Wright retired the next 2 hitters on strikes. Tom Burmeier was summoned and proceded to walk Mickey Vernon to load the bases and Jackie Jensen to force in a run. Clyde Vollmer singled to plate 2 more. Johnny Schmidt came on to get the save in the 9th. Wayne Terwilliger was the star of the game going 2-4, with a homer and 2 RBI's.  

GAME 2: KC 11 Wash 4

The series shifted to Washington for game 2 with the Royals sending

Tom Murphy to the mound to face Washington's Al Sima. Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the 2nd, only to have the Senators come back with single tallies in the 4th and 5th , with Pete Runnels and Jackie Jensen driving in runs. The Royals took control in the 6th scoring 6 times with John Mayberry homering to right and Bob Oliver hitting a pinch hit 3 run shot to left. The Royals added 4 more in the 9th with Paul Schaal homering. The Senators scored 2 in the bottom of the ninth as Mickey Vernon launched a shot to right. Mayberry paced the Royals attack, going 

4-5 with a homer.  

GAME 3: KC 12 Wash 1

The series finale seen Steve Busby take the mound against the Senator's Walt Masterson. Kansas City pounded Masterson, who gave the Senators 5 innings, for 10 runs on 12 hits. The Royals added single tallies in the 7th and 8th, en route to a 12-1 victory. Busby worked 7 innings, striking out 4. Amos Otis, Ed Kirkpatrick, and Lou Pinella all chipped in 3 hits, with Pinella driving in 4 runs for the Royals.

The turning point of the series was the Royals 6th in game 2. They scored 6 times and the offense broke loose to score 22 runs over the final 13 innings. John Mayberry was the series MVp as he went 6-11 with a homer, double, and 3 RBI's. --submitted by Milo Miller--