May 7, 1984 - Squeeze

Game #355 - Detroit Tigers, 5 @ Kansas City Royals, 6

Kansas City is starting a long stretch without their all-star third sacker, George Brett, who is out with an injury.  The Royals got things started the right way in the first, though, because Daryl Motley hit a solo homer and Frank White singled home Steve Balboni to give KC a 2-0 lead.

They had extended that lead to 4-1 in the top of the sixth when Royals starter Frank Wills ran into some trouble.  Alan Trammell doubled and then Kirk Gibson launched yet another home run to chase Wills out of the game.  Joe Beckwith entered but he surrendered a two run shot of his own, this time to Lance Parrish.  That gave the Tigers a 5-4 lead.  Pat Sheridan hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning that plated Greg Pryor, and that had the game knotted at 5-5.

That was still the score heading into the bottom of the tenth.  Willie Hernandez was starting his third inning of relief work when pinch-hitter John Wathan doubled.  Wathan advanced to third on an infield single by Pryor.  Don Slaught was next up but grounded out to Darrell Evans.  With one out, Buddy Biancalana came to the plate.  He's a terrible hitter, and Hernandez is a strong pitcher, so I opted for the suicide squeeze.  Sure enough, Biancalana laid it down and Wathan scored on the walk-off squeeze!

Winning Pitcher - Dan Quisenberry
Losing Pitcher - Willie Hernandez
Player of the Game - Lil' Buddy

Game #356 - Cleveland Indians, 3 @ New York Yankees, 4

Let's fast forward to the bottom of the sixth.  Toby Harrah tripled off Neal Heaton.  That brought up Bobby Meacham.  I was feeling it.  SQUEEZE TIME.  Meacham pulled it off, New York now had a 2-0 lead.

Tim Foli knocked in two more for New York to give them a 4-0 lead going into the top of the eighth.  Ray Fontenot, still in the game, gave up three straight hits, including an RBI double by Chris Bando.  Reliever Jay Howell took over but gave up a two-run double to pinch hitter George Vukovich.  That made it a 4-3 game.  Howell got back on track, though, and closed them out in the ninth for the save.

Winning Pitcher - Ray Fontenot
Losing Pitcher - Neal Heaton
Save - Jay Howell
Player of the Game - Tim Foli, 2RBI double
Hall of Famers in the Game - Dave Winfield

Minnesota and Milwaukee Prove Midwest Dominance

Game #353 - Minnesota Twins, 4 @ California Angels, 2

Gary Gaetti singled home Kent Hrbek in the third inning to start the scoring for the game.  The Angels responded in the bottom half of the inning when Brian Downing and Fred Lynn hit back-to-back doubles to give California a 2-1 lead.  Mickey Hatcher tied the game in the fourth when an RBI that scored Randy Bush.  It was Dave Engle's RBI hits in the seventh and ninth, though, the secured the win for Minnesota.

Winning Pitcher - John Butcher
Losing Pitcher - Ron Romanick
Save - Rick Lysander
Player of the Game - Engle, 2-5, 2RBI's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson

Game #354 - Milwaukee Brewers, 10 @ Chicago White Sox, 2

I don't think there's been a worse offense in Statis Pro this season than the Milwaukee Brewers, but they busted out the whipping sticks against the White Sox.  Eight of their nine starters recorded two hits, with a grand total of 17 for the game.  Only three of those went for extra bases, but they added five walks on the way to the victory.  Not only did Chicago suffer a terrible loss, they will also be without the services of Hall of Fame catcher Carlton Fisk for the next 20 games.  Fisk took a foul ball off the hand from the bat of Cecil Cooper and had to exit the game.  Joel Skinner will replace Fisk on the roster, but the South Side is now missing one of their biggest offensive threats.

Winning Pitcher - Don Sutton
Losing Pitcher - Richard Dotson
Player of the Game - Dion James, 2-5, bases clearing double in the fourth inning that started the route
Hall of Famers in the Game - Robin Yount, Don Sutton, Carlton Fisk

May 6, 1984 - Make that EIGHT in a Row for the Cardinals

Game #352 - San Francisco Giants, 0 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 5

It wasn't until I started typing this post that I realized this 1984 series reflected the 2014 NLCS!  The 2014 Giants got the best of St. Louis, but the 1984 Statis Pro Cardinals swept San Fran to run their win streak to a staggering eight games.

The Red Birds started the scoring in the bottom of the first inning, as back to back doubles by Willie McGee and David Green - with two outs - eventually led to a 2-0 lead.  That would be all Danny Cox would even need.  Though he walked seven Giants, he only gave up four hits and went the distance for a complete game victory. 

Winning Pitcher - Danny Cox
Losing Pitcher - Mark Grant
Player of the Game - Cox, CG SHO
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith

That was the last May 6th game, I hope to have the standings and statistics updated later today.  As always, thanks again for following the blog!

May 6, 1984 - Pirates Plunder Dodgers for Two Wins

Game #350 - Los Angeles Dodgers, 0 @ Pittsburgh Pirates, 2

There was a major pitcher's duel in this one!  Rick Honeycutt faced Rick Rhoden and both brought their best stuff.

The score was 0-0 into the top of the sixth when L.A. finally got their first hit, a Terry Whitfield single.  In the bottom of the same inning Lee Lacy got a hit with one out and stole second base.  Johnny Ray was up next, and he also singled.  The third base coach sent Lacy home, where he was safe despite the throw.  Ray moved to second on the play at the plate, and then to third on a Tony Pena ground out.  Honeycutt uncorked a wild pitch, and Ray scampered home to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.  That's all they would need because Rhoden was absolutely dominant.  He only gave up two hits in the complete game shutout.

Winning Pitcher - Rick Rhoden
Losing Pitcher - Rick Honeycutt
Player of the Game - Rhoden, CG SHO, 2H's, 3BB's, 6K's

Game #351 - Los Angeles Dodgers, 4 @ Pittsburgh Pirates, 12

This game was brutal.  The Pirates scored two runs in the first, third, fourth, and sixth innings, and added four more in the eighth because why not.  Fernando Valenzuela didn't escape the fourth.  Every Pirates starter had at least one hit, and four had as many as three.  Even starting pitcher John Tudor was 2 for 3!

Winning Pitcher - John Tudor
Losing Pitcher - Fernando Valenzuela
Player of the Game - Lee Mazzilli, 3-5, 2B, R, 6RBI's

May 6, 1984 - Chicki-Chicki Boom Boom

Game #349 - Cincinnati Reds, 5 @ Philadelphia Phillies, 4

The Phillies jumped out to an early lead in the bottom of the second inning.  Ozzie Virgil and Joe Lefebvre hit back to back solo shots to give Philadelphia a 2-0 advantage.  They tacked on a third run in the third when Juan Samuel doubled home Von Hayes.

But the Reds came storming back in the fifth.  They tagged Shane Rawley for three runs to tie the game, including a triple for Nick Esasky.  Philadelphia answered back in the bottom of the inning when Jeff Russell surrendered his fourth run of the game on an RBI single by Glenn Wilson.  Unfortunately, Wilson got caught going to far past first base on the hit and was thrown out by Dave "Cobra" Parker.

The score was still 4-3 in the eighth when Cesar Cedeno jacked a solo blast to tie the game up off of reliever Bill Campbell.  Then, in the top of the ninth, the Reds took the lead when Wayne Krenchicki laced a triple to plate Parker.  Juan Samuel made it as far as third base in the bottom of the ninth, but was ultimately stranded when Virgil struck out to end the game.

Winning Pitcher - John Franco
Losing Pitcher - Larry Andersen
Player of the Game - Krenchicki, game-winning triple
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Perez

May 6, 1984 - Joe Niekro Nearly Throws No-Hitter

Game #348 - Houston Astros, 4 @ New York Mets, 0

I continue to hope and pray that this season of Statis Pro will deliver a no-hitter.  I almost got my wish today!

In the top of the second inning, Walt Terrell of the Mets gave up a two-out single to Craig Reynolds.  Ray Knight then launched a hard double that scored Reynolds to give Houston a one run lead.   

Joe Niekro retired the side in the bottom of the fifth, including strike outs of Mike Fitzgerald and Jose Oquendo.  It was about this point in the game I realized Niekro had yet to surrender a hit.  He had issued three walks, including two to Darryl Strawberry, but no hits.  In the bottom of the sixth it was once again three up, three down.

In the top of the seventh Houston extended their lead.  Terrell was lifted for a pinch hitter the previous inning so Brent Gaff was on the hill.  He ended up allowing three runs to score, including a Terry Puhl solo shot.  That brought up the Mets in the bottom of the seventh.  Two Mets starters, Hubie Brooks and George Foster, were missing from the line up because of injuries, but this inning would feature Keith Hernandez and Strawberry, New York's two best hitters.  Once again, though, Niekro retired the Mets three in a row, including a Strawberry whiff.

At this point I was very nervous.  We were six outs away from the no-no.  Mike Fitzgerald led off the eighth.  The Fast Action Card indicated the play would be off the pitcher card.  The next FAC was flipped:  18.  Single off the pitcher card.  No-hitter eliminated.  Niekro actually gave up two more hits but the Mets didn't score, and the knuckler finished the game for a shutout.

Winning Pitcher - Joe Niekro
Losing Pitcher - Walt Terrell
Player of the Game - Niekro, CG SHO, 4H's, 3BB's, 8K's

May 6, 1984 - Blue Royster Cult

Game #346 - Atlanta Braves, 5 @ Montreal Expos, 2

This was game one in a double header for the Braves and Expos.  Claudell Washington started the scoring when he lined a triple that plated Dale Murphy in the second inning.  Montreal tied things up in the third when Tim Raines stole second base after a single and was knocked home by Bryan Little.  Two innings later Raines would score again on a Terry Francona sacrifice fly.

The score was still 2-1 in favor of Montreal when Bob Horner walked and Chris Chambliss singled in the top of the eighth.  Expos starter Charlie Lea was lifted for ace reliever Andy McGaffigan.  McGaffigan gave up a double to Dale Murphy, walks to Washington and Glen Hubbard, and a single to Rafael Ramirez.  When the dust settled the Braves were leading 4-2.  Pinch hitter Jerry Royster added a homer in the top of the ninth to seal the victory.

Winning Pitcher - Steve Bedrosian
Losing Pitcher - Charlie Lea
Save - Donnie Moore
Player of the Game - Bedrosian, 2IP, 0R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Gary Carter, Andre Dawson

Game #347 - Atlanta Braves, 2 @ Montreal Expos, 1

In game two there were a lot of bench players in the game, spelling the starters who played earlier in the day.  Paul Runge doubled home Chris Chambliss in the top of the first to give Atlanta an early lead.  That was the only run that scored until the seventh inning.  That's when Jerry Royster, yes, the Jerry Royster who pinch hit for a homer in game one, went deep again!  Homers in both halves of the double header!  He only hit one deep the entire season in the real 1984, but cranked two in one day in Statis Pro.

That gave the Braves a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.  Pascual Perez was tossing a shutout when Gary Carter led off with a double.  Tim Wallach grounded out but Carter went to third on a soft single by Doug Flynn.  Gene Garber relieved Perez while Pete Rose came into the game as a pinch hitter and punched one into the outfield to score Carter.  Garber settled down, though, and retired the next two Expos for Atlanta's second win of the day.

Winning Pitcher - Pascual Perez
Losing Pitcher - Bryn Smith
Save - Gene Garber
Player of the Game - Jerry Royster, home run machine
Hall of Famers in the Game - Gary Carter

May 6, 1984 - Ain't No Lollar Back Girl

Game #345 - San Diego Padres, 9 @ Chicago Cubs, 3

This game was really all San Diego.  Five straight hitters made contact in the fifth to lead to four runs and a 6-0 lead, including a solo homer by Carmelo Martinez.  As a matter of fact the first eight hitters in the lineup had at least two hits.  And the ninth place batter, pitcher Tim Lollar, recorded an RBI double.

Winning Pitcher - Tim Lollar
Losing Pitcher - Steve Trout
Player of the Game - Lollar, 6IP, 3ER's, 7K's, 1-3, 2B, 2RBI's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn, Ryne Sandberg