May 8, 2012

April 18, 1984 - Middle Infielders FTW!

Game #145 - Oakland A's, 7 @ Seattle Mariners, 2

I'm running out of adjectives to describe how well Joe Morgan is playing right now.  If you look at the Statis Pro stats, he's simply the best player in either league, and he continued his scorching start of the season in this game too.

Things started off well for the Mariners.  Starter Jim Beattie struck out four of the first six A's hitters, including Morgan.  Meanwhile, a Carney Lansford throwing error allowed Phil Bradley to score from first.  But in the top of the second Morgan lined a double that scored two to give the A's the lead, and they never looked back after that.

Winning Pitcher - Lary Sorensen
Losing Pitcher - Jim Beattie
Player of the Game - Morgan, 3-5, 2B, HR, 3RBI, 2R's.  This is Morgan's third POG honor.
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan

Game #146 - Baltimore Orioles, 4 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 9

Jim Palmer was on the mound for Baltimore, and he got into trouble right away.  Willie Upshaw rocked a triple to plate Damaso Garcia, and three batters later Rance Mulliniks singled home Upshaw to give the Blue Jays a 2-0 lead.  Palmer, though, struck out the side in the first to escape further damage.

Baltimore tied things up in the second with back to back solo homers from Wayne Gross and Ken Singleton.  Gross added an RBI single off Jim Clancy in the third to give the O's a 3-2 lead.  Palmer gave up quite a few hits and walks from the second inning through the sixth, but none of the Toronto base runners managed to score.

John Pacella relieved Palmer in the seventh to disastrous results.  George Bell led off with a solo homer, and three batters later Tony Fernandez added a two run shot of his own.  The flood gates opened after that and Toronto won their second straight against Baltimore.

Winning Pitcher - Jim Clancy
Losing Pitcher - John Pacella
Save - Ron Musselman
Player of the Game - Tony Fernandez, 3-4, HR, 3RBI's, 1BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer

1 comment:

  1. The Eighties was the most competitive decade in MLB ever and a good balance of power, speed, hitting and pitching. This brings back a lot of memories. In '84, my home team was the Rangers and I remember that not-ready-for-prime-time lineup. Great replay!

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