June 2, 1984 - Cornerstones

Game #637 - California Angels, 2 @ Cleveland Indians, 1

Rod Carew, leading off for the visiting Angels, surprised everybody in the stadium when he went yard in his first at-bat of the game.  But Rick Sutcliffe settled down after that, tossing one of his best games of the season for Cleveland (I'm chomping at the bit to get him pitching in Chicago...).  He allowed only four more hits until the top of the eighth.  After back to back singles by Dick Schofield and Carew he was replaced by Ernie Camacho.  Camacho got Brian Downing to line out to Julio Franco, who quickly stepped on second to double off Schofield.  But Fred Lynn plated Carew on a scorching double to center field. 

With a 2-0 lead Mike Witt pitched into the ninth but was replaced by Doug Corbett after Chris Bando zapped a pinch-hit homer over the fence.  Corbett retired the last two outs to record the save.

Winning Pitcher - Mike Witt
Losing Pitcher - Rick Sutcliffe
Save - Doug Corbett
Player of the Game - Rod Carew, 3-4, HR, 2Rs
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson

Game #638 - Baltimore Orioles, 2 @ Detroit Tigers, 4

Mike Young, the most improbable star of this Statis Pro season, continued his torrid production by blasting a solo homer in the first.  Tom Brookens answered back in the bottom of the third with one of his own to knot the game at one apiece.

The teams traded runs again in the seventh.  Al Bumbry doubled home Gary Roenicke in the top half but Brookens singled home Larry Herndon to tie things  up once again.

Storm Davis, who pitched the whole game for Baltimore, got into a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the eighth.  With one out up stepped...you guessed it.  TOM BROOKENS.  He punched a single that plated two, giving him all four RBI on the day for a Detroit win.

Winning Pitcher - Aurelio Lopez
Losing Pitcher - Storm Davis
Player of the Game - Tom Brookens, 3-3, HR, BB, 4RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray

June 2, 1984 - Burris, Driessen Lead the Way

Game #635 - Oakland A's, 3 @ Chicago White Sox, 0

Floyd Bannister of the White Sox somehow allowed three singles to start the game against the A's, but no Oakland players scored.  Rickey Henderson was thrown out at home on a Tony Phillips single and Dave Kingman grounded into a double play. 

Bannister finally allowed a run in the fifth when Bill Almon was driven home by a Phillips double.  Kingman singled home Henderson in the tenth just after Bannister was lifted for Ron Reed and that gave the A's a 2-0 lead.  Bruce Bochte crossed home in the ninth on a sacrifice fly by Henderson.

That's all Ray Burris needed.  He pitched into the ninth but gave up a single to Greg Walker and a walk to Ron Kittle when the manager pulled him for their ace reliever Bill Caudill.  Caudill induced a double play grounder from Mike Squires and Rudy Law was retired for the final out of the game.  This was Carlton Fisk's first game back from injury but he had a quiet day.

Winning Pitcher - Ray Burris
Losing Pitcher - Floyd Bannister
Save - Bill Caudill
Player of the Game - Burris, 8IP, 0R's, 4K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Carlton Fisk

Game #636 - Atlanta Braves, 6 @ Cincinnati Reds, 7

After a scoreless first inning Brad Komminsk and Tim Foley exchanged solo homers in the second to make it a 1-1 game.  The Reds added a second run in the bottom of the second when Dave Parker walked with two outs.  He attempted to steal second and would have been out but Glen Hubbard dropped the throw.  Dave Concepcion then singled home Parker to give the Reds the lead.

The Braves came roaring back in the top of the fifth.  With starter Jeff Russell due up in the bottom half of the inning, the manager left him in too long as Atlanta scored three runs, generated in part by doubles from Chris Chambliss, Randy Johnson, and Rafael Ramirez.  But the Reds scrambled back! 

In the bottom half of the inning Craig McMurtry got shelled.  With the bases loaded he walked Duane Walker to plate the first run.  Then Dan Driessen stepped up.  The smooth hitting lefy went BIG FLY...GRAND SALAMI!!!  The Braves tacked on runs in the sixth and ninth innings but it wasn't enough to overcome Cincy.  The Reds are 3-1 against the Braves over the last four days.

Winning Pitcher - Jeff Russell
Losing Pitcher - Craig McMurtry
Save - John Franco
Player of the Game - Dan Driessen, 2-4, GS, 4RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Perez

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

June 1, 1984 - More NL Action

Game #631 - Montreal Expos, 3 @ Pittsburgh Pirates, 4

Talk about a fun game - both starters went eight strong innings and neither got the decision!

In the top of the second inning Gary Carter ripped a ball over the fence to give Montreal a 1-0 lead.  That was good all the way until the bottom of the sixth, when Expos starter David Palmer gave up a triple to Lee Lacy and then a double to Johnny Ray. 

It was still a tie game in the top of the eighth when, with two runners on, Pirates starter Larry McWilliams collided with third sacker Jim Morrison.  Morrison got the worst of it and is now on the 30 game DL.  McWilliams worked out of the jam to hand the ball to Don Robinson.  Robinson, one of the unluckiest pitchers in Statis Pro, once again imploded.  He gave up two runs in to the top of the ninth and it could have been worse but Lacy gunned down Tim Raines at the plate.

In the bottom of the ninth Jeff Reardon came in to save the game.  With two outs Denny Gonzalez, in the game for the injured Jim Morrison, zipped a double down the line and then scored when Miguel Dilone bobbled Tony Pena's single.  Pena was on first with two down and still trailing Montreal by one run.  Marvelle Wynne was up next and he legged out an infield single to put two Pirates on!  Lee Mazzilli came in to pinch hit for Dale Berra but hit weakly to shortstop Derrick Thomas.  But Thomas air-mailed the ball to first and both runners scored on the error!  A walk-off E6 for the Pirates!!!

Winning Pitcher - Don Robinson
Losing Pitcher - Jeff Reardon
Player of the Game - Larry McWilliams, 8IP, 1R, 6K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

Game #632 - San Diego Padres, 5 @ San Francisco Giants, 1

Giants starter Mark Davis was well on his way to the best start of his frustrating season, pitching five scoreless innings heading into the top of the sixth with a slim 1-0 lead.  But with one down Tony Gwynn doubled, though he was thrown out at home on a subsequent single by Carmelo Martinez.  But McReynolds came up next and blasted a homer to make it 2-1 in favor of the Padres.  McReynolds struck again in the eighth, this time with a 2-RBI triple.  McReynolds was only a double short of the cycle.  We still haven't seen a cycle on the season and it's driving me crazy.

Winning Pitcher - Eddie Whitson
Losing Pitcher - Mark Davis
Player of the Game - Kevin McReynolds, 3-4, 3B, HR, 4RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn, Goose Gossage

June 1, 1984 - A Reckoning Is Coming

I can't help but think, many years from now, when we're in the home stretch of the regular season, the Cardinals will be fading, struggling to hold onto first place, while the surging Cubs will be beating down the door right at the wire.  I look forward to it...

Game #629 - St. Louis Cardinals, 9 @ New York Mets, 3

Walt Terrell had a decent enough season in the real 1984, but so far in Statis Pro he's been fairly awful.  That was the case again in this game.  Already trailing 1-0 in the top of the third, Terrell got destroyed by the Cardinals offense.  Tom Herr ripped his first home run of the season for 3 RBI and the Red Birds plated four more in the inning.

Danny Cox toed the rubber for St. Louis and had a solid six innings of work, only allowing one run to score.  Reliever Ricky Horton gave up a two-run homer to Keith Hernandez but still got a save since he went three innings after Cox.

Winning Pitcher - Danny Cox
Losing Pitcher - Walt Terrell
Save - Ricky Horton
Player of the Game - Tom Herr, 3-5, 2B, HR, 3RBI, R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith

Game #630 - Chicago Cubs, 6 @ Philadelphia Phillies, 5

It sure looked like Chicago's five game win streak was coming to an end early in the contest.  Von Hayes led off the bottom of the first with a single, stolen base, and then a run on the RBI knock by Tim Corcoran.  Corcoran plated another run in the fourth to give the Phillies a 5-0 lead.

And that's when the Cubs turned into Bears.

In the top of the fifth Ryne Sandberg homered to cut the lead to four.  Steve Carlton was still cruising until the top of the seventh.  Four straight Cubs recorded hits, including an RBI single by Gary Mattews.  Carlton got lifted and in came the late Tug McGraw.  With two runners on, Steve Lake came in as a pinch hitter for reliever Dickie Noles.  What did Lake do?  HOME RUN!!!  The Cubs came out of nowhere and  then somehow had a one run lead, their first of the game.  Tim Stoddard ad Warren Brusstar pitched a scoreless final three innings to give Chicago the improbable win!

Winning Pitcher - Dickie Noles
Losing Pitcher - Tug McGraw
Save - Warren Brusstar
Player of the Game - Steve Lake, GW 3-Run Homer
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg, Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton

June 1, 1984 - Rocket Launch

Game #627 - Boston Red Sox, 9 @ Milwaukee Brewers, 6

Well, this was one of the most anticipated games of the Statis Pro season - the debut of rookie Roger Clemens!

Clemens is a "2-5" ranked pitcher in Statis Pro thanks to his +4 ERA, but his strikeout range is enormous, so it should make for some interesting stat lines the rest of the way.

The Rocket got into trouble in the bottom of the second.  With two outs and runners on second and third, Rick Manning ripped a double to but the Brew Crew up by two.  But the Red Sox tied the game by plating runs in the third and fourth inning.  The score stayed knotted until the top of the sixth.  With one run already in, Dwight Evans took spot starter Chuck Porter over the outfield fence for three more RBI!

Meanwhile, Clemens pitched out of a jam in the bottom half of the inning but finally got tagged again in the seventh when a Ben Oglivie single brought Cecil Cooper and Robin Yount home.  Ganter came up next and got a hit but Oglivie was thrown  out at third base for the second time of the game by Dewey.  Bob Stanley gave up two unearned runs off his own error in the eighth but Boston held on to give Clemens a win for his first career start.

Winning Pitcher - Roger Clemens
Losing Pitcher - Chuck Porter
Player of the Game - Dwight Evans, 2-4, HR, 3RBI, 2R's, BB, HBP, 2Asst.'s
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers

Game #628 - Kansas City Royals, 3 @ Minnesota Twins, 2

Dave Engle led off the bottom of the second with a double and scored three batters later when Kirby Puckett knocked him home.  That was the only run of the game until the bottom of the sixth when Tim Teufel took Royals starter Larry Gura deep for a solo homer.

Frank Viola, meanwhile, was mowing down the Royals...until the eighth inning.  With two outs Hal McRae singled and Willie Wilson scored to make it a 2-1 game still in favor of the Twins.  But a Houston Jimenez error kept the inning alive and Viola was replaced by Ron Davis.  Davis gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Dane Iorg and all of a sudden Viola had a no-decision and the game was tied.

In the top of the ninth pinch-hitter Jorge Orta doubled with one out.  Wilson popped out and it looked like George Brett grounded out to Gary Gaetti but Gaetti overthrew Kent Hrbek and Orta scored the go-ahead run on the error!  Quisenberry worked his second inning of relief in the bottom of the ninth and got the Twins retired without incident to cap a comeback victory for the Royals.

Winning Pitcher - Dan Quisenberry
Losing Pitcher - Ron Davis
Player of the Game - Quisenberry
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Kirby Puckett