June 17, 1984 - Evans Pounds Blue Jays into 2nd Place

Game #836 - Boston Red Sox, 8 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 1

With the Detroit Tigers winning earlier in the day for a virtual tie with Toronto, the Blue Jays needed to handle business against the Red Sox to keep a half game lead in the AL East.

Dwight Evans made that immediately difficult.

Luis Leal surrendered a lead-off single to Wade Boggs and Dewey then blasted a pitch out of the park to give Boston a quick 2-0 lead.  Toronto got half of that back in the bottom of the second when George Bell went yard with the bases empty.

Jackie Gutierrez singled home Rich Gedman in the top of the fourth to put Boston out front by two again.  But it was Dwight Evans' second two-run bomb of the game in the seventh that really broke the Blue Jays back.

Oil Can Boyd, meanwhile cruised through eight innings of work with only the Bell homer counting on the scoreboard.  As a 2-6 starter in Statis Pro, he is surprisingly 9-0 on the year. 

The Toronto loss means the Roar of 84 has been restored - the Tigers are back in first!

Winning Pitcher - Dennis Boyd
Losing Pitcher - Luis Leal
Player of the Game - Dwight Evans, 2-3, 2 HR's, Sac Fly, 5 RBI, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

June 16, 1984 - Rice is Nice

Game #823 - Boston Red Sox, 8 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 5

This match-up was over once it started.  The Red Sox hit for the cylce in the first inning with back to back singles from Dwight Evans and Mike Easler, a double from Jim Rice, a triple from Tony Armas, and then a homer by Rich Gedman.  That made it 5-0 off Jim Gott with only one out in the game.  Gott got got!

Rice added an RBI double in the fourth and Wade Boggs an RBI single in the fifth to make it 7-0.  Toronto managed to add five runs between the sixth and seventh innings but the normally shaky Bob Stanley held things down for 2.1 innings of relief work to earn the save.  

Winning Pitcher - Roger Clemens

Losing Pitcher - Jim Gott

Save - Bob Stanley

Player of the Game - Jim Rice, 4-5, 2 2b's, 2R's, 2RBI

Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

June 15, 1984 - Shutty

We've got ourselves three straight games of shutouts to end the day!  Somewhat unusual...

Game #809 - New York Mets, 9 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 0

Ron Darling had the Cardinals on lock-down for the entire game.  St. Louis only managed to put more than one runner on base at a time twice in nine frames, and both times Darling escaped the jam.

Kurt Kepshire, meanwhile, had his worst game of the year.  A surprise top performer this season, he only completed four innings before being chased off in the top of the fifth.  Mookie Wilson was a big nemesis on the day, falling short of the cycle without a double but with a two-run homer and a triple to pair with a single and walk.  Darryl Strawberry added two doubles himself as every non-pitching Mets starter recorded at least one hit.

Winning Pitcher - Ron Darling
Losing Pitcher - Kurt Kepshire
Player of the Game - Darling, CG SHO, 6H's, BB, 4K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith

Game #810 - Boston Red Sox, 0 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 13

There were four - FOUR - bean balls in this affair.  I know one of you faithful readers pointed out a way to simulate a benches clearing brawl a couple of years back, I need to go and find that.  Could be fun to spice it up.

Cliff Johnson had himself a day.  He homered in the bottom of the first to give Toronto the only lead they'd need on the day.  Then he singled home a run the third to make it 3-0.  He made it to the plate twice in the sixth, walking the first time and then clearing loaded bases with a double in his second at-bat.  He was a triple shy of the cycle.  Scroll to the bottom of this entry to see a hilarious video I saw a few years back and have been waiting patiently to include if/when Johnson was ever Player of the Game again.

Jim Clancy was worth of praise two.  He tossed the shutout and only gave up four hits and walk to go along with his five K's.

Winning Pitcher - Jim Clancy
Losing Pitcher - Bob Ojeda
Player of the Game - Cliff Johnson, 3-4, 2B, HR, 3R's, 6RBI, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice


This was the last game for June 15th - the stats on the sidebars have been updated!

June 13, 1984 - Tigers Clawing Towards First

Game #785 - Detroit Tigers, 14 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 11

You read that right - 14 to 11.  I think the pitchers were throwing underhand like a softball game...

The game was scoreless until the top of the second.  The Blue Jays had Doyle Alexander on the mound and he might be having the best season in Statis Pro.  But lil' Tom Brookens ripped a triple to plate Lance Parrish and Howard Johnson.  Whitaker then knocked in Brookens.

Alexander gave up solo homers to Chet Lemon and Lance Parrish in the third but the Blue Jays scored four in the fourth to cut the lead to one for Detroit.  Dave Collins hit a triple to plate two in that sequence.  Alexander gave up another home run, this time for two runs to Larry Herndon in the top of the fifth and finally got lifted.  His replacement, Jim Acker, gave up a solo job to Brookens and the Tigers were back up 8-4.

But the Blue Jays wouldn't give up!  After Willie Hernandez pitched three scoreless innings in relief of a short start by Dan Petry, Doug Bair took the mound and got rocked.  Toronto sent ten batters to the plate in the sixth and by the end of it the game was tied at eight apiece.

An RBI single by Lou Whitaker and a bases loaded walk to Darrell Evans in the seventh gave Detroit the lead again, but Ernie Whitt hit a solo homer in the bottom half of the frame and the Tigers were clinging to a one run lead.  But in the bottom of the eighth Roger Mason had a runner on base with two outs when Jorge Bell came to the plate.  HOME.  RUN.  Toronto finally had a one run lead!

The top of the ninth saw Jimmy Key take the mound hoping to preserve the lead.  He hasn't been good this Statis Pro season and his bad luck continued.  He gave up back to back doubles to Barbaro Garbey and Whitaker and the game was tied.  Alan Trammell singled to push Sweet Lou to third and bring up Evans.  Evans sent a ball deep into the right field bleachers and Detroit retook the lead by three runs!  Mason retired the side in the bottom of the ninth to go from the losing pitcher to the winner.

With that win the Tigers are now just a game and a half behind Toronto for first in the AL East!

Winning Pitcher - Roger Mason
Losing Pitcher - Jimmy Key
Player of the Game - Darrell Evans, 2-4, HR, 4RBI, 2 BB's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell

June 12, 1984 - Call an Ambulance!

Game #773 - Detroit Tigers, 10 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 7

You would think with Jack Morris and Dave Stieb on the mound we'd get a pitcher's duel but both starters got hammered.

Stieb lasted just five innings, giving up three homers (including an inside the park job - more on that later).  One of those taters was a grand slam from Alan Trammell.

Morris got two outs in the seventh before finally getting yanked in favor of Willie Hernandez.  It was enough for the win, though he allowed five runs.

The real story of the game was the "Z" injuries - there were three different incidents!

#1 - In the top of the second Rupert Jones lined out to Damaso Garcia, but Garcia injured his hand on the play and will be out for 4 games.

#2 - In the bottom of the third, Kirk Gibson and Jones banged into each other trying to catch a Willie Aikens liner.  Gibson will be out for five games while Jones was lucky to only be gone for 15 (he has an injury rating of 8, which means whatever random number you pull next.)

#3 - In the top of the fourth Chet Lemon hit a deep shot that caused Lloyd Moseby to crash into the wall and allowed Lemon to make it an insider the park home run!  That's just the second one of those in 773 games played, so it was pretty cool.

Winning Pitcher - Jack Morris
Losing Pitcher - Dave Stieb
Player of the Game - Alan Trammell, 2-5, 2B, GS, 6RBI, R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell, Jack Morris

June 11, 1984 - T'n'T

Game #759 - Oakland A's, 2 @ Texas Rangers, 5

Carney Lansford roped a two-out double in the top of the first inning off Charlie Hough, and then Dwayne Murphy singled  him home to give Oakland and early 1-0 lead.  It didn't last!  In the bottom half of the inning Curt Young faced Larry Parrish with runners on second and third.  Parrish dropped a single to plate both Buddy Bell and Gary Ward and take the lead, 2-1.

From there Texas put on a solo home run derby.  George Wright went deep in the fourth, Billy Sample in the fifth, and Parrish in the sixth.  Curt Young lasted through the seventh despite the barrage.  Hough, meanwhile, pitched eight innings while only giving up two runs, despite nine hits allowed and five walks.  He managed to get out of all the danger he got himself into.  That included two outfield assists from Ward and Wright.

Winning Pitcher - Charlie Hough
Losing Pitcher - Curt Young
Save - Tom Henke
Player of the Game - Larry Parrish, 2-4, HR, R, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan

Game #760 - Detroit Tigers, 6 @ Toronto Blue Jays 8

This was the start of another pivotal series between the top two teams in the AL East.  Despite their enormous lead in the real 1984 season, the Statis Pro Tigers have been trailing the Blue Jays by about three games for awhile now.

The Tigers scored a run in the first on consecutive errors in center field by the usually stellar Lloyd Moseby. Toronto tied it up in the bottom of the third when George Bell grounded into a bases loaded fielder's choice. 

In the bottom of the sixth Juan Berenguer fell off a cliff as he allowed four straight singles to the Blue Jays.  Auerelio Lopez came in for relief but allowed all three inherited runners to score as the Toronto lineup batted around in the inning and scored five runs.

Detroit started clawing back in the seventh, though.  Ruppert Jones took Luis Leal deep for a solo homer to start the inning and, a few batters later, Sweet Lou Whitaker blasted his own two-run bomb.  Lopez was still pitching in the bottom of the seventh and he allowed two more Toronto runs, including a solo homer from Willie Upshaw.  The Tigers scored twice more in the eighth to get within two runs of a tie game but Jim Acker kept the ninth inning scoreless despite four Tigers reaching base.

Winning Pitcher - Luis Leal
Losing Pitcher - Juan Berenguer
Save - Jim Acker
Player of the Game - Damaso Garcia, 2-3, BB, RBI, 2Rs
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell

June 10, 1984 - Colonial Contests

Game #745 - Toronto Blue Jays, 5 @ New York Yankees, 8

Within the first four batters in the bottom of the first, the Yankees scored three runs.  Don Mattingly ripped a homer off Jim Gott with Willie Randolph already on base.  Two batters later Steve Kemp launched a solo home run with just one out.  Butch Wynegar would later score in the same inning off a Bobby Meacham single to give New York a commanding 4-0 lead.

The Blue Jays stayed within striking distance, though.  They picked up a run in the second and another in the third thanks to a George Bell moonshot.  In the top of the fifth Damaso Garcia tripled home Alfredo Griffin but the Yankees manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-3.  And by the way, Jim Gott was still on the mound.  In fact, to give the Toronto bullpen a breather, he went the distance!

An Ernie Whitt two-run homer in the sixth off Phil Niekro brought Toronto to within a run of a tie game, but Steve Kemp sealed Toronto's fate in the bottom of the eighth with his second homer of the game, this time with a runner on.  The Yankees win.  Thhhhhheeeee Yankees win.

Winning Pitcher - Phil Niekro
Losing Pitcher - Jim Gott
Save - Dave Righetti
Player of the Game - Steve Kemp, 2-4, 2HRs, 3RBI, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Phil Niekro

Game #746 - Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 @ Philadelphia Phillies, 3

The Pirates opened the scoring in the top of the second inning on a solo poke from Jason Thompson.  The Phillies answered back in the bottom of the frame.  Ozzie Virgil was standing on third after a Juan Samuel double when a Dale Berra fielding error allowed Virgil to score and tie things up.

Bad defense haunted Pittsburgh later in the game as well.  Glenn Wilson scored from second on an RBI single by Tim Corcoran and a bobble in the outfield by Doug Frobel.  Corcoran later scored on an RBI single by Gross.

Frobel atoned for his error with a solo homer in the sixth but that's all the Pirates could muster on offense. 

Winning Pitcher - Charles Hudson
Losing Pitcher - Jose DeLeon
Save - Larry Andersen
Player of the Game - Greg Gross, 1-3, RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Mike Schmidt

June 9, 1984 - Fireworks

Game #727 - Atlanta Braves, 6 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 3

Back to back RBI singles by Claudell Washington and Brad Komminsk in the top of the first gave Atlanta a quick 2-0 lead against the Dodgers.  But in the bottom of the second the L.A. offense would respond in the exact same way.  Steve Sax and starting pitcher Rick Honeycutt were the culprits this time, tying the game at two apiece.

And that was all the offense there was until the eighth inning!  Still tied at two, reliever Gene Garber was in his second inning of work when Ken Landreaux zapped a solo homer to give the Dodgers a lead heading into the top of the ninth!  Pat Zachry was trying to record the final three outs but lead-off hitter Komminsk jacked his own homer to tie the game!  The Braves would record another three runs, including a 2-RBI double by Gerald Perry.  It was a stunning loss for the Dodgers.

Winning Pitcher - Gene Garber
Losing Pitcher - Pat Zachry
Save - Donnie Moore
Player of the Game - Brad Komminsk, 3-4, HR, 2RBI.

Game #728 - Toronto Blue Jays, 5 @ New York Yankees, 9

It looked like the first place Blue Jays were going to run away with the game when they plated four in the top of the second inning.  They batted around with RBI singles from Garth Iorg, Dave Collins, Jorge Bell, and Jesse Barfield.

But the Yankees came charging back in the bottom of the third.  Donnie Baseball blasted a three-run job to bring the Bronx within a run of the lead.  Barfield responded in the fourth with his second RBI of the game, extending the Toronto lead to 5-3.  But the Yankees tagged starter Jim Clancy with five straight singles in the bottom of the fifth, and then Ken Griffey ripped a double off reliever Jimmy Key to help the Yankees post five runs in the inning.  Mattingly added a solo homer in the eighth for a bit of insurance.

Winning Pitcher - Ray Fontenot
Losing Pitcher - Jim Clancy
Save - Bob Shirley
Player of the Game - Don Mattingly, 3-5, 2HRs, 4RBI, 3Rs

June 8, 1984 - Memorial Day

Game #715 - Toronto Blue Jays, 0 @ New York Yankees, 5

Doyle Alexander, one of the best starting pitchers in the American League this season, had an uncharacteristic rough day on the mound.  In the bottom of the second inning he had Ken Griffey and Bobby Meacham on third and second base when Oscar Gamble reached on an error by Jorge Bell that scored Griffey.  Willie Randolph followed up with an RBI single to plate Meacham.

In the third inning Roy Smalley launched a solo homer and Butch Wynegar later scored on a Mike Pagliarulo double to give the Bronx a 4-0 lead.  Meanwhile, Yankees starter Dennis Rasmussen continued his strong start to the season by blanking the Blue Jays over seven innings of work.

Winning Pitcher - Dennis Rasmussen
Losing Pitcher - Doyle Alexander
Player of the Game - Rasmussen, 7IP, 0R, 5H's, 7K's, 4BB

Game #716 - Cincinnati Reds, 12 @ San Diego Padres, 7

There were seven total home runs in this game - let's take a look at each one!

1. Dave Parker hit a two-run job in the top of the first to give Cincy the early lead.
2. Dan Driessen hit a three-run homer in the third to give the Reds a 6-1 lead.
3. Gary Redus hit a solo shot in the top of the fourth to extend the Reds lead to 7-1.
4. Eddie Milner hit a two-run bomb in the top of the eighth, making it 11-1 for Cincinnati.
5. Dave Concepcion went back to back after Milner, and the Reds carried an eleven-run lead.
6. Kevin McReynolds went big-fly for the Padres in the bottom of the eighth with two other runners on board.
7. In the bottom of the ninth Luis Salazar ripped a solo shot, bringing the Padres within six runs of tying the game.

That's a lot of homers!

Winning Pitcher - Jay Tibbs

Losing Pitcher - Tim Lollar

Player of the Game - Dan Driessen, 3-5, 2B, HR, 4RBI, 2Rs

Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn

June 7, 1984 - Out of Leftfield

Game #701 - California Angels, 4 @ Chicago White Sox, 2 (10 innings)

Mike Witt and Floyd Bannister were the dueling starters in this match-up and both looked good.  The first run of the game didn't cross home plate until the top of the fourth.  Brian Downing reached  on a fielding error by Vance Law.  Downing moved to third on a two-out double by Juan Beniquez, and then scored on a Rob Wilfong single.  Beniquez also tried to score but got gunned down at home by Ron Kittle.

And that was the only run of the game until the bottom of the ninth!  Witt was still on the mound, trying to complete the shutout.  But he walked Greg Luzinski with one out.  Mike Squires came on to pinch-run and then Rudy Law hit an RBI double to tie the game!  Witt left the game after that and Luis Sanchez got the final two outs to send the game into extra innings. 

The White Sox bullpen was a bit depleted, so Salome Barojas was charged to keep the game tied.  He immediately walked Bob Boone but induced a double play from pinch-hitter Rod Carew.  But then Ron Jackson walked, Gary Pettis singled and Brian Downing...HOMERED!  Three-run blast!  Greg Walker launched his own solo shot in the bottom of the tenth but it wasn't enough to overcome the Angels' left fielder.

Winning Pitcher - Luis Sanchez
Losing Pitcher - Salome Barojas
Player of the Game - Brian Downing, 2-5, HR, 2Rs, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Reggie Jackson, Rod Carew, Carlton Fisk

Game #702 - Toronto Blue Jays, 3 @ Detroit Tigers, 4

This was the last of a four game series against the two best teams in Statis Pro.  The Blue Jays had a 2-1 series lead, so Detroit was desperate to dismiss Toronto with a loss.

Both teams had studs on the mound; Dave Stieb and Jack Morris.  Morris was the stronger pitcher through the first three innings as Stieb had to work out of several jams.  The wheels finally fell off in the bottom of the fourth.  Dave Bergman singled and scored on a Howard Johnson double.  HoJo crossed home plate on a Marty Castillo triple, his fourth of the season.  Whitaker then knocked Castillo in on an RBI single.  Stieb would load the bases before getting Chet Lemon to ground into a double play but that's as far as Stieb would pitch on the day.

Detroit held a 3-1 lead in the top of the seventh before Ernie Whitt launched a ball into the rightfield bleachers to tie the game at 3-3.  It stayed tied heading into the bottom of the ninth.  Alan Trammell was first up, and ended up on second after a disastrous error by Garth Iorg.  That brought up Kirk Gibson, facing fellow lefty Bryan Clark.  Gibby ripped a walk-off double, though, to win the game!!!  The Tiger leftfielder was the hero!!!

Winning Pitcher - Willie Hernandez
Losing Pitcher - Bryan Clark
Player of the Game - Kirk Gibson, 3-4, BB, 2B, GWRBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell, Jack Morris

June 6, 1984 - Human Rain Delay, Bell, Come Up Big

Game #689 - Oakland A's, 4 @ Cleveland Indians, 5

The Cleveland squad jumped all over Larry Sorensen, tagging him for four runs in the first.  Sorensen was lifted without escaping the inning, but his replacement, Tim Conroy, was dominant.  He lasted five and 2/3 innings without giving up a run.

The A's battled back.  A Brooks Jacoby error in the fifth allowed Jim Essian to score.  Then Oakland tagged Neal Heaton for three more runs in the sixth.  Bill Almon and Donnie Hill both had big RBI singles to tie things up.

In the bottom of the eighth ace reliever Bill Caudill was on the mound for Oakland.  But with one out he gave up a single to Pat Tabler.  Tabler moved to third on a hit and run single from Mike Hargrove.  Jacoby grounded out, but Tabler scored on the play and that wound up being the winning run.

Winning Pitcher - Tom Waddell
Losing Pitcher - Bill Caudill
Player of the Game - Mike Hargrove, 2-4, RBI, R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan

Game #690 - Toronto Blue Jays, 8 @ Detroit Tigers, 3

The two best teams in Statis Pro squared off for the third straight game.  Each team had a win and were looking to gain a game in the standings.  Lou Whitaker started the party off right for Detroit when he launched a lead-off homer in the first. 

It was still 1-0 in the top of the fifth when the wheels fell off for Juan Berenguer.  He gave up four runs, including a two-run jack to Jorge Bell.  That was nice revenge for Bell after he got plunked by Berenguer the inning before. 

The Tigers got within a run of the lead by the top of the ninth, but Willie Hernandez was unusually easy to hit.  He gave up four runs, including another homer to Bell.  Toronto won game three of the series.

Winning Pitcher - Luis Leal
Losing Pitcher - Juan Berenguer
Save - Roy Lee Jackson
Player of the Game - Jorge Bell, 2-4, 2HRs, 5RBI, HBP
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell 

June 5, 1984 - The Hateful Eight

Game #677 - Toronto Blue Jays, 1 @ Detroit Tigers, 8

Milt Wilcox has sucked eggs this Statis Pro season but, in his biggest start of the year, he rose to the task as the Tigers faced off against the first place Toronto Blue Jays.

Wilcox only allowed two hits through the first seven innings of the game.  In the top of the eighth Alfredo Griffin of all people doubled with one out.  Two batters later Lloyd Moseby singled him home.  Wilcox then plunked Jorge Bell and was lifted for Willie Hernandez as the imaginary Toronto bench got cranky.

On the offensive side it was all Detroit.  Alan Trammell and Lou Whitaker both scored in the first, and then the Tigers plated four in the second inning.  Barnabo Garbey and Tom Brookens each homered during that outbreak.  Whitaker added a solo shot in the eighth as well.

Winning Picther - Milt Wilcox
Losing Pitcher - Bryan Clark
Player of the Game - Wilcox, 7 2/3IP, 4Hs, 5Ks, R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell

Game #678 - Seattle Mariners, 7 @ Kansas City Royals, 8 (10 innings)

The red-hot Royals fell behind early.  In the top of the second Dave Henderson hit his 14th homer of the season, this one for 2RBI, to give the Mariners the lead.  Hendu hit 14 total in all of the real 1984 so he's getting super lucky on the homers in Statis Pro.

The Royals tied things up in the bottom of the second when Don Slaught brought the thunder with his own home run.  Mark Gubicza settled down for KC until the top of the fifth.  Seattle scored four runs, three from a Ken Phelps blast that hit the water fountains in center field.  But one inning later the Royals again tied the game!  They sent eight batters to the plate and chased Matt Young into the showers. 

Mike Jones was on the mound for the Royals in the top of seventh when Alvin Davis homered to once again put the M's back in front, 7-6.  The lead didn't last, though.  Jorge Orta went big-fly to knot things up at seven apiece.  Neither team scored in the ninth so it was time for FREE BASEBALL!

Dan Quisenberry worked his third inning of scoreless relief in the top of the tenth, so Seattle sent out lefty Dan Geisel to face the top of the Royals lineup.  Willie Wilson grounded out to Jack Perconte for the first out.  Then George Brett dug in.  It was his sixth plate appearance and he'd yet to record a hit.

Until he homered.

WALK-OFF WIN FOR KANSAS CITY!!!

Winning Pitcher - Dan Quisenberry
Losing Pitcher - Dan Geisel
Player of the Game - George Brett
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett

June 4, 1984 - The Mark of the Devil

Happy holidays!  I hope you get this week off of work like I do.  I haven't got a lot of games in of late due to family in town and more still to come.  I also don't like playing game #666 the day after Christmas, but it is what it is...to the recaps!

Game #665 - Toronto Blue Jays, 14 @ Detroit Tigers, 5

I haven't been this pumped for a game in a long while, and this first game of the series between the top two teams in the AL East started off quite compelling but descended into madness soon after.

In the top of the first eight Blue Jays came to the plate against a laboring Dan Petry.  RBI hits by Willie Upshaw, Jesse Barfield, and Rance Mulliniks had Toronto up 3-0.  But in the bottom half of the inning Lou Whitaker and newly announced Hall of Famer Alan Trammell rapped a single apiece to put two on for Kirk Gibson...who went big-fly to tie the game up for Detroit!

And then the Blue Jays scored ELEVEN runs across the second and third innings.  So much for a back and forth nail-biter between the two best teams in the American League...

Winning Pitcher - Jim Clancy
Losing Pitcher - Dan Petry
Player of the Game - Rance Mulliniks, 4-6, 3B, 3RBI, 2R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell!!!

Game #666 - Seattle Mariners, 16 @ Kansas City Royals, 8

The Mariners played the role of the devil against poor Kansas City.  Charlie Leibrandt faced ELEVEN batters in the top of the first, getting shelled for five runs.  Three of those scored thanks to back-to-back doubles from Alvin Davis and Al Cowens.

The Royals put up a two-spot in the bottom half of the first in an honest attempt to stay in the game.  But Leibrandt didn't make it out of the third and the KC bullpen was taxed throughout the rest of the game.  Joe Beckwith was solid through three-plus innings until Alvin Davis crushed a two-run bomb in the sixth.  Paul Splittorff, making his final appearance of the season (and career) came on in the seventh and got destroyed.  Jim Presley, Ken Phelps, and then Alvin Davis again all homered off him and Splittorff had to split without recording his third out of the game.

The Royals staged a minor rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring five runs off struggling Mariners reliever Roy Thomas, but it wasn't nearly enough to overcome the deficit.

Winning Pitcher - Mike Moore
Losing Pitcher - Charlie Liebrandt
Player of the Game - Alvin Davis, 3-4, 2B, 2HR's, 2BB's, 4RBI, 3R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett

Happy Trails...Paul Splittorff

As I mentioned above, this marked the last appearance of Kansas City legend Paul Splittorff.  The late, great Splittorff struggled mightily in the real 1984, his last season in the big leagues.  He pitched all 15 of his seasons for the Royals, and it was a rough way for the talented lefty to leave the game.  Before giving up six runs in this contest he was actually doing better than his real 1984 stats, but that got ruined by the Mariners bats.  Let's compare the stats:

Real 1984:  1-3, 7.71ERA, 28IP, 4K's, 10BB's, 2.04WHIP
Statis Pro:  1-2, 8.23 ERA, 35IP, 19K's, 15BB's, 2.17WHIP

The innings pitched differential was thanks to a successful long relief appearance a few games back.  Otherwise, these stats are pretty similar minus the surplus of strikeouts in this Statis Pro season.

With Splittorff gone rookie Danny Jackson has been added to the bullpen... 

June 3, 1984 - Six Sigma

Game #661 - New  York Yankees, 3 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 6

Ray Fontenot has been unlucky when you compare his performance in Statis Pro to his true talent in the real 1984.  That luck didn't change in this game.

In the bottom of the first the Blue Jays took the early lead with a lead off homer by Dave Collins.  Five more Blue Jays recorded hits before Willie Upshaw finally grounded out.  They plated two more runs to jump out 3-0.

In the top of the third the Yankees charged back.  Doyle Alexander walked Bobby Meacham and then, two batters later, gave up a two-run home run to Don Mattingly.  Donnie Baseball had four hits on the day and suddenly the Bronx Bombers were within one.

Fontenot was still pitching on fumes to save the New York bullpen in the fourth when, with two runners on, Lloyd Moseby cranked a three-run bomb to extend the Toronto lead to four.  The Yankees threatened in the top of the ninth.  Mike Pagliarulo homered off Jim Gott, and then Gott gave up a hit to Ken Griffey and a walk to Willie Randolph.  Gott got yanked for Jimmy Key with fellow lefty Don Mattingly coming up.  Mattingly singled off Key to load the bases but Don Baylor lined out to George Bell, who was playing third base, to end the game.

Winning Pitcher - Doyle Alexander
Losing Pitcher - Ray Fontenot
Save - Jimmy Key
Player of the Game - Lloyd Moseby, 2-4, 2B, HR, 3RBI

June 2, 1984 - Blue Jays End the Week on a Win

Game #647 - New York Yankees, 2 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 6

The Yankees staged a two-out rally in the top of the first when Steve Kemp singled and later scored on a Don Baylor hit.  Butch Wynegar walked after that to load the bases for Mike Pagliarulo.  Pags lined out to Tony Fernandez to end the inning, but he tagged the ball so hard that Fernandez injured his hand and will be out for the next 30 games!  It's a good thing Alfredo Griffin is almost off the DL...

The Blue Jays came roaring back in the bottom of the second.  Willie Upshaw and Rance Mulliniks (in for the injured Fernandez) smoked back to back triples as the Blue Jays plated three in the inning.  They picked up three more in the third, including a two-run bomb from Jesse Barfield who is playing his first game since coming off the disabled list.  After a rocky first inning Dave Stieb lasted eight innings, scattering ten hits and two walks (and a Don Baylor hit by pitch).

Winning Pitcher - Dave Stieb
Losing Pitcher - Dennis Rasmussen
Player of the Game - Stieb

June 1, 1984 - Wrapping Up the First of the Month

Game #633 - Seattle Mariners, 7 @ Texas Rangers, 4

The Rangers were holding onto a 4-2 lead going into the top of the fifth when Charlie Hough's knuckler got destroyed by the Mariners.  Back to back doubles by Jack Perconte and Spike Owen and an eventual bases-clearing triple by Larry Milbourne gave Seattle a five-run inning.

Jim Beattie didn't have his best day but Mike Stanton and Ed Nunez contributed three scoreless innings of relief to seal the deal.

Winning Pitcher - Jim Beattie
Losing Pitcher - Charlie Hough
Save - Edwin Nunez
Player of the Game - Jack Perconte, 3-5, 2 2b's, 2R's, SB

Game #634 - New York Yankees, 0 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 6

This game proved to be a disaster for the Yankees outfield.  Omar Moreno and Dave Winfield collided on a Tony Fernandez double.  Winfield is out for the next 12 games and Moreno will be out for 20.  Luis Leal took advantage of the catastrophe and scattered six hits and four walks for a complete game shutout. 

Winning Pitcher - Luis Leal
Losing Pitcher - Joe Cowley
Player of the Game - Leal, CG SHO, K
Hall of Famers in the Game - Dave Winfield

May 30, 1984 - Trust Your Veterans

Game #605 - New York Yankees, 6 @ California Angels, 7

I love awesome, back and forth games!  Let's jump into the recap...

The Angels went up 2-0 in the bottom of the third when light-hitting Bob Boone smacked a double with the bases loaded off Ron Guidry.  The Yankees answered in the top half of the fourth, though, when Don Baylor and Butch Wynegar each ripped an RBI single to tie things back up.

In the bottom of the fifth Doug DeCinces legged out a triple with no outs, and trotted home after an RBI hit from Fred Lynn.  But the Yankees came roaring back, once again, the very next inning.  Don Mattingly chased Tommy John out of the game with an RBI double that scored Ken Griffey.  Luis Sanchez took John's place, but a booted grounder by DeCinces led to two more RBI on a pinch hit double from Steve Kemp, giving New York a two run lead.

They maintained that lead in the bottom of the eighth.  Reliever Clay Christianse induced a ground out from Dick Schofield...but Roy Smalley made an error!  Schofield advanced to second on a sacrifice fly by Rod Carew that very nearly left the ballpark.  Gary Pettis came up next, and smoked a triple to score Schofield.  But he wasn't done!  Ken Griffey bobbled the ball in center and allowed Pettis to score - tie game!  That brought up Reggie Jackson, pinch hitting in the DH slot of the order.  What did Mr. October do?  H O M E  R U N!!!!  Don Aase worked a scoreless ninth and the Angels escaped with the come from behind victory!

Winning Pitcher - Bruce Kison
Losing Pitcher - Clay Christianse
Save - Don Aase
Player of the Game - Reggie Jackson, 1-1, HR, huge ego
Hall of Famers in the Game - Dave Winfield, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson

Game #606 - Toronto Blue Jays, 2 @ Chicago White Sox, 3

At the start of the game LaMarr Hoyt was pegged as having "bad stuff," meaning his normal 2-6 pitcher rating dropped to 2-4...against the best offense in Statis Pro!  But what did the steely veteran do?  He pitched seven innings of one-run ball, only giving up a solo homer to George Bell!  The White Sox scored three in the third off Jim Clancy and held on the rest of the way to put one in the win column!

Winning Pitcher - LaMarr Hoyt
Losing Pitcher - Jim Clancy
Save - Ron Reed
Player of the Game - Hoyt, 7IP, 7H's, 4K's, R

May 29, 1984 - First Place Bullpens

Game #597 - New York Yankees, 5 @ California Angels, 6

Ray Fontenot and Ron Romanick were posting goose eggs through the first three and a half innings when the Angels finally got on the board.  Rob Wilfong doubled to score Fred Lynn and then Doug DeCinces scored too when Omar Moreno overran the ball.

The Yankees came roaring back in the top of the sixth with big RBI hits from Willie Randolph and Ken Griffey, making it 5-2 in favor of New York.  But the Angels kept chipping away.  Lynn and Bob Boone drove in two in the bottom of the sixth, and Lynn hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh to plate Juan Beniquez and tie the game.

In the bottom of the eighth Boone reached on a Tim Foli error.  He moved to third on a single by Ron Jackson, which brought up Dick Schofield.  Schofield was non-existent on offense in the real 1984, and is doing even worse in the Statis Pro season, hovering around a .160 batting average.  So what was the call?  SUICIDE SQUEEZE  And it worked!  Schofield layed down a perfect bunt and Boone crossed home plate for the winning run.  Doug Corbett worked two innings of relief against the heart of the Yankees order to tally the win.

Winning Pitcher - Doug Corbett
Losing Pitcher - Bob Shirley
Player of the Game - Corbett, 2IP, six up six down, W
Hall of Famers in the Game - Dave Winfield, Reggie Jackson

Game #598 - Toronto Blue Jays, 6 @ Chicago White Sox, 3

Richard Dotson surrendered three runs in the first, and then another in the second to put the Pale Hose in the early deficit.  Dotson actually really settled down after that, pitching into the ninth.  But Bryan Clark, making a spot start, dodged danger through 5 and 2/3 innings.  Jim Gott came in after that to record the long save.

Winning Pitcher - Bryan Clark
Losing Pitcher - Ron Romanick
Save - Jim Gott
Player of the Game - Gott, 3 1/3IP, H, K, R

May 27, 1984 - Doubleheader Madness

We had a twin bill between Cleveland and Toronto, and they were two highly entertaining affairs!

Game #583 - Cleveland Indians, 6 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 5

The Blue Jays jumped to a quick two-run lead in the bottom of the first when Damaso Garcia launched his first homer of the season, plating Lloyd Moseby in the process.  They scored two more in the fourth when Tony Fernandez tripled home Rance Mulliniks and Willie Aikens singled Fernandez home two batters later.

The score was 4-1 after seven, which was when Dave Stieb got lifted.  So began the Cleveland comeback!  Jimmy Key gave up three runs in the eighth, including a two-RBI double by George Vukovich.  In the top of the ninth, with the score now tied, Dennis Lamp gave up three straight singles but it was a Jorge Bell outfield error that allowed Pat Tabler and Mike Hargrove to score on the third hit.

With a two-run lead Mike Jeffcoat came in to face the lefty heavy top of the Toronto lineup.  But he too permitted three singles, the third scoring Garcia.  Ernie Camacho had to come in and induce a double play from the bat of Garth Iorg to end the game.

Winning Pitcher - Luis Aponte
Losing Pitcher - Dennis Lamp
Save - Ernie Camacho
Player of the Game - George Vukovich, 2-5, 2B, 2RBI

Game #584 - Cleveland Indians, 9 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 10 (12 innings!!!)

A Cliff Johnson solo homer in the second and two more Toronto runs in the third gave the Blue Jays a 3-0 lead to start off game two of the doubleheader.  But Cleveland literally walked back into the game when Doyle Alexander surrendered an uncharacteristic four walks in a four-run fourth.

Toronto tied the game in the seventh when Cliff Johnson drove home Damaso Garcia, who was one of two Blue Jays hitters to get plunked by Neal Heaton in the inning.  The game stayed knotted 4-4 after nine, so it was on to extra innings - free baseball!!!

After two games and extra frames, Jim Gott was the last arm left in the Toronto bullpen.  He promptly got TORCHED in the top of the tenth.  Clevenad put five runs on the board, including home runs from Andre Thornton and Carmelo Castillo.  With a five run lead, surely the Indians had secured victory, right....?

...WRONG!  Cleveland gave up five runs in the bottom of the tenth!  Everything went wrong.  Roy Smith, appearing in his first game on the season, gave up five hits, a balk, and suffered a Julio Franco error that put the Blue Jays right back into the game.  Pat Tabler had another error, allowing Rick Leach to score and tie things up.  Unbelievable!!!

Jim Gott got out of both jams he created in the top of the eleventh and twelfth to bring Toronto up in the bottom half of inning number twelve.  That's when George Frazier came in, also the last arm left for Cleveland.  With one out, Dave Collins and late-inning replacement Fred Manrique both singled to bring up Lloyd Moseby with two on.  And Moseby...DOUBLED!  WALK OFF WIN AFTER COMING BACK FROM A FIVE RUN DEFICIT IN THE TENTH!!!

Winning Pitcher - Jim Gott (!)
Losing Pitcher - George Frazier
Player of the Game - Lloyd Moseby, 2-6, SAC, 2 2Bs, 2RBI, R

May 26, 1984 - Last Game of the Week

Game #571 - Cleveland Indians, 4 @ Toronto Blue Jays, 10

Rick Sutcliffe and Luis Leal were in a race for worst pitching performance in the last game of the week.  In the bottom of the first Cliff Johnson launched a three run homer as the Blue Jays totaled four in the inning.  In the top of the second Indians catcher Jerry Willard deposited a Leal pitch over the right field wall for three RBI of his own, bringing the Indians within a run of tying it up.

In the third, though, Willie Upshaw took the game over.  With Jorge Bell and Cliff Johnson on base, he ripped a bases-clearing triple.  In the seventh he added a three-run homer off George Frazier and Toronto ended the game with one in the win column.

Winning Pitcher - Luis Leal
Losing Pitcher - Rick Sutcliffe
Player of the Game - Willie Upshaw, 2-3, BB, 3B, HR, 5RBI