We have our first calendar occurrence that ESPN producers must dread - travel day. Only three games happened on April 9, so here they are! (Stats and standings are updated too...) Game #66 - Toronto Blue Jays, 4 @ Oakland A's, 0
This might have been the fastest game I've played so far. Dave Stieb was doing his usual unheralded awesomeness. He threw a complete game shutout, striking out seven and only allowing four hits, two by Joe Morgan. Rickey Henderson struck out three times in four at bats, which didn't help the A's offense. DH Willie Aikens had a nice 2-RBI double, and Willie Upshaw and Damaso Garcia continued their hot starts with five hits between them.
Winning Pitcher - Dave Stieb
Losing Pitcher - Steve McCatty
Player of the Game - Stieb
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan
Game #67 - Montreal Expos, 7 @ Cincinnati Reds, 4
The Expos came into this game still winless on the season, and things didn't start well for them. In the bottom of the first the bases were loaded thanks to an error by Tim Wallach on a Dave Concepcion bunt. Wayne Krenchicki delivered a single that scored two runs off Bill Gullickson. Gullickson gave up a solo homer to Krenchicki in the fourth to make it 3-0 Reds, and then Krenchicki recorded his fourth RBI when he doubled in Duane Walker.
The Expos struck back in the seventh with back to back doubles by Tim Wallach and SS Derrell Thomas, making it 4-1 Reds. In the eighth the Expos exploded. Terry Francona pinch hit for Gullickson and led of with a double. Mario Soto walked Tim Raines and Pete Rose to load the bases, ending his day. With Gary Carter up next against reliever Ted Power, he hit a weak grounder to Krenchicki, but Krenchicki bobbled it! The hero of the game committed an error, scoring Francona and keeping the bases loaded. Andre Dawson was up next and cranked a double to score two more and tie the game! Wallach popped out and Thomas tried to squeeze home Carter, but they threw him out. With two outs and runners on the corner, little Bryan Little poked an RBI single to give the Expos the lead, and pinch hitter Jim Wohlford added another RBI. Reliever Gary Lucas threw two scoreless for the save. Expos finally win!
Winning Pitcher - Bill Gullickson
Losing Pitcher - Ted Power
Save - Gary Lucas
Player of the Game - hard to choose, but I'll go with the big double by Andre Dawson
Hall of Famers in the Game - Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tony Perez
Game #68 - Chicago Cubs, 6 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 8
This was a fun back and forth battle. The Dodgers jumped to a 2-0 lead after two innings, which could have been even larger had Bill Russell and Fernando Valenzuela not been thrown out at home on separate hits. Jody Davis, who is absolutely on fire right now, hit his second double of the game in the fourth to score the Cubs first run. In the fifth the Cubs took the lead on a two run homer from Ryne Sandberg. But in the bottom of the inning errors by starter Steve Trout and Jody Davis allowed the Dodgers to score four runs on five singles and the errors. Leading 6-3, the Dodgers gave up two more runs in the sixth thanks to a double by OF Henry Cotto. But LA answered back with two more runs on back to back RBI doubles from RJ Reynolds and Pedro Guerrero. The only other run scored by the Cubs was a solo homer from Davis (who was 3-3 on the day with the homer and two doubles).
Winning Pitcher - Fernando Valenzuela
Losing Pitcher - Lee Smith
Save - Tom Niedenfuer
Player of the Game - Pedro Guerrero, 2-5, 3RBI's, 1R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg
***This blog is now over a 1,000 page views - thanks for checking in and reading these recaps! As always, let me know in the comments below if you have any suggestions for improvements, etc. I'd love to build up the number of official followers, too. I might run a contest where I'll let a randomly selected follower pick the lineup for the next game of their favorite team. Stay tuned!
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