May 25, 1984 - Supreme Facial Hair

Game #557 - Los Angeles Dodgers, 6 @ New York Mets, 7

It's unusual for a team that hits four home runs in a game to lose, but that's just what L.A. managed to do.  Pedro Guerrero hit a two run bomb in the first, R.J. Reynolds a solo homer in the third, and two more solo shots by Dave Anderson and Greg Brock in the fifth.  The Brock homer was a first in this Statis Pro season - an INSIDE THE PARK home run!  Mookie Wilson crashed into the center field wall and hurt himself for five games while Brock scampered home for the unconventional run.

But by the ninth inning the game was tied, thanks in large part to Mr. George Foster.  He had his own two-run homer in the second, and RBI single in the third, and another RBI, this time a double that plated Darryl Strawberry, in the seventh.

So how did the Mets win in the bottom of the ninth inning?  It was the curse of Tom Niedenfuer once again!  Long time readers of this blog know that Niedenfuer's tendencies for clutch meltdowns are just as true in Statis Pro as they were in real life.  He walked Darryl Strawberry and Hubie Brooks to start the inning.  Foster grounded out but moved the runners up a base.  Niedenfuer intentionally walked Mike Fitzgerald to bring up Jose Oquendo with the bases loaded.  Oquendo laid down the SUICIDE SQUEEZE to score the winning run!

Winning Pitcher - Jesse Orosco
Losing Pitcher - Tom Niedenfuer
Player of the Game - George Foster, 3-5, HR, 2B, 4RBI, R, killer sideburns

Game #558 - San Diego Padres, 8 @ Philadelphia Phillies, 11

Padres starter Tim Lollar got himself into a jam early in the game.  In the bottom of the first he had the bases loaded with Ivan DeJesus up.  He smoked a line drive to the left field corner, where Carmelo Martinez injured himself trying to make the play.  The end result?  A bases clearing double.  San Diego had the game tied back up by the fourth inning, thanks in part to a two-run homer by Luis Salazar.  But the Phillies sent eleven batters to the plate in the fifth inning, scoring six runs.  Four of those came courtesy of an Ozzie Virgil GRAND SLAM, his second on the season.  That was enough to outlast the pesky San Diego offense on the day.

Winning Pitcher - Jerry Koosman
Losing Pitcher - Tim Lollar
Save - Larry Andersen
Player of the Game - Ozzie Virgil, 1-4, Grand Slam, 4RBI, HBP, killer beard
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn, Mike Schmidt

This was the last game on May 25 - the standings and stats are updated on the right side of the page.  There's a new poll too!