June 4, 1984 - Identical Scores

Game #667 - Cincinnati Reds, 6 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 5

Gary Redus stood on second base with one out in the top of the first when Cesar Cedeno dug in against Rick Honeycutt.  He must have ate his Wheaties because he jacked it over the fence for a quick 2-0 lead for the Reds.

Cincy was up 3-0 by the bottom of the second, but back to back RBI hits by Steve Sax and Dave Anderson closed the lead to one.  The Reds responded in the top of the fourth.  This time it was Cedeno standing on second when Dave Parker went big-fly for the second two-run homer of the game.

The Dodgers kept chipping back, especially in the bottom of the seventh when Ken Landreaux launched his own two-run bomb but John Franco recorded the last four outs to save the game for the Reds.

Winning Pitcher - Joe Price
Losing Pitcher - Rick Honeycutt
Save - John Franco
Player of the Game - Cesar Cedeno, 2-4, HR, 2RBI, 2R's, SB

Game #668 - Texas Rangers, 6 @ Minnesota Twins, 5

It was a scoreless game until the top of the second, when the Rangers sent nine batters to the plate against Minnesota starter John Butcher.  Gary Ward walked to start that inning and then stole his first base of the year.  But Dave Engle air-mailed the throw allowing Ward to score on the error.  Marv Foley followed later with a two-RBI single.

By the bottom of the ninth the Rangers had a 6-1 lead.  Danny Darwin was masterful, and the only run he allowed was unearned thanks to a Buddy Bell throwing error.  With the five run cushion Tom Henke trotted to the mound to close things out.  His real 1984 was atrocious and his Statis Pro form is even worse.  He maintained that rep by allowing a double to Dave Engle and then a hit plus a fielding error on a Jim Eisenreich single.  Pinch-hitter Randy Bush walked and that brought up Kirby Puckett.  He was 0 for 4 up to that point but jumped all over a Henke fastball to zap a triple that plated two.  All of a sudden the Twins were only down two!  Henke got yanked for closer Dave Schmidt.  With Puckett on third Mickey Hatcher flew out deep enough in right field to score Puckett.  That made it a one-run lead with two outs and Kent Hrbek at the plate.  But Schmidt dug deep and K-ed Hrbek for the ballgame. 

There were eight total errors in the game, which I'm pretty sure was a record for the season.

Winning Pitcher - Danny Darwin
Losing Pitcher - John Butcher
Save - Dave Schmidt
Player of the Game - Darwin, 8IP, 1R, 7K's, 6H's, 0BB's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett

Happy Trails...Jim Eisenreich

This was Eisenreich's last game of the Statis Pro season.  In the real 1984 he left baseball for three years to overcome his case of Tourettes.  He was quite the inspiration for others who suffer from the symptom when he came back to baseball in 1987 and found success with the Phillies and Marlins among other teams.

Let's see how he did in the real 1984 compared to this Statis Pro season:

Real 1984:  1R, 7H, 2B, 3RBI, 2S, 2BB, .219/.250/.250
Statis Pro:  3R, 9H, 0B, 1RBI, 2S, 5BB, .391/.500/.391

Yikes - that's a huge difference.  In a very small sample size (28 plate appearances on the Statis Pro season) Eisenreich got very lucky.  In the real 1984 his departure from the team cleared the way for future Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett.  I've been playing Puckett since day one, though.  I'm bringing in Pat Putnam to replace Eisenreich's spot on the roster.

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 4, 1984 - Lefty Sluggers Deliver

Game #663 - California Angels, 7 @ Chicago White Sox, 5

The Angels got an unexpected power boost in the top of the second inning.  With Reggie Jackson on first with two outs, Rob Wilfong gripped it and ripped it for a two-run homer.  The White Sox answered back with a run in the bottom of the second.  Greg Walker tripled and later came home on a Vance Law single.

Each team got three runs in the third.  Brian Downing doubled home Dick Schofield and later scored on a two-run single from Jackson.  Carlton Fisk doubled home Julio Cruz and Scott Fletcher and scored on a Ron Kittle ground out.  After the dust of the first three innings settled the Angels were up 5-4.

California starter Ron Romanick settled down after that, but White Sox hurler LaMarr Hoyt didn't follow suit.  Fred Lynn tagged him for a two-run bomb in the top of the fifth.  The White Sox scored a run in the bottom of the ninth but still fell short, losing 7-5.

Winning Pitcher - Ron Romanick
Losing Pitcher - Lamarr hoyt
Save - Doug Corbett
Player of the Game - Fred Lynn, 2-5, 2B, HR, 2RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Carlton Fisk

Game #664 - Oakland A's, 11 @ Cleveland Indians, 9

This game was nuts.

In the top of the first Rickey Henderson walked and proceeded to steal second and third base.  Two batters later Dwayne Murphy negated Henderson's effort by depositing the ball over the right field fence, giving Oakland a 2-0 lead.  But in the bottom of the first Cleveland tied things up with an RBI double from Andre Thornton, who then scored on a Mike Hargrove single.

Steve Farr was still pitching in the top of the second but pulled a feat I'm pretty sure hasn't happened this season - he walked five straight A's!  That gave Oakland a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the second...where Cleveland sent up ten hitters who tagged Mike Warren for six runs, four of which were unearned due to a Joe Morgan fielding error.

Oakland wouldn't quit, though.  In the top of the fourth Murphy connected for his second homer of the day, this also a 2-RBI job, and then they scored four runs off Jamie Easterly in the fifth.  It wasn't all Easterly's fault, though.  Brook Jacoby had TWO fielding errors during the inning.   Murphy capped off the insanity with a THIRD homer, this time solo, in the top of the eighth as the Athletics won a wild one...

Winning Pitcher - Chuck Rainey
Losing Pitcher - Jamie Easterly
Save - Tom Burgmeier
Player of the Game - Dwayne Murphy, 3-6, 3HR's, 5RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan

June 4, 1984 - Oglivie Delivers

Game #662 - Milwaukee Brewers, 4 @ Baltimore Orioles, 2

Don Sutton and Mike Boddicker faced off and were doing pretty well until the bottom of the second.  A Jim Ganter error allowed Eddie Murray to reach base.  Wayne Gross walked after that.  Then Rick Dempsey singled to load the bases.  Rich Dauer flew out to center and then Ken Singleton popped out to Sutton.  But John Shelby roped a single that plated Murray and Gross.

Sutton must have been irked from that inning, because in the bottom of the fourth he got tossed for arguing with the umpire.  Pete Ladd and Ray Searage rose to the occasion, though, tossing five innings of scoreless relief.

In the top of the seventh Cecil Cooper singled off Boddicker, which was just the third hit of the game for the Brewers.  Then Robin  Yount singled as well.  That brought up Ben Oglivie.  He sent a shot soaring to Lake Michigan and all of a sudden Milwaukee was up 3-2.  They picked up an insurance run in the eighth and Rollie Fingers pitched a perfect ninth to secure the win.

Winning Pitcher - Ray Searage
Losing Pitcher - Mike Boddicker
Save - Rollie Fingers
Player of the Game - Ben Oglivie, 1-4, HR, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Robin Yount, Don Sutton, Rollie Fingers, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray

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 3, 1984 - Sans Victory

Game #659 - San Diego Padres, 2 @ San Francisco Giants, 3

The Padres and Giants faced off in a twin bill, and San Fran jumped out early in the bottom of the first.  Jeff Leonard jacked a two-run homer and rounded the bases with one flap down to give the Giants an early 2-0 lead.

The Padres tied things up in the top of the third, however.  Gary Templeton singled and then pitcher Tim Lollar drew a walk from Jeff Robinson.  Two batters later Tony Gwynn caught the gap with a line drive triple to knot it at two runs apiece.

In the bottom of the fifth Brad Wellman led off the inning with a double.  Two batters later Robinson helped his own cause by singling him home.  Unfortunately for Robinson, he got caught rounding first too wide and Tony Gwynn threw him out as he tried to get back to the bag.  But that would prove to be enough as Robinson went seven innings for his second win on the year while Gary LaVelle closed out the final two innings.

Winning Pitcher - Jeff Robinson
Losing Pitcher - Tim Lollar
Save - Gary LaVelle
Player of the Game - Robinson, 7IP, 2R's, 4K's, 1-2, RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn, Goose Gossage

Game #660 - San Diego Padres, 4 @ San Francisco Giants, 5

Game two started as a pitcher's duel.  Emergency starters Dave Dravecky and Mark Calvert cruised through the first three innings, with both only allowing one runner in that time.  Calvert actually had a no-hitter going with one out in the fourth when Tony Gwynn hit his first triple of the game but second on the day.  Kevin McReynolds plated him with a double immediately after and the Padres were up, 1-0.

The Giants tied it up in the bottom of the third when Joel Youngblood singled home Jeff Leonard.  And in the bottom of the fourth the Giants tagged Dravecky for three more runs, including a two-run homer from Chili Davis.

The Giants were up 4-2 in the top of the seventh when reliever Randy Lerch allowed three straight hits, including an RBI double by Bruce Bochy.  Frank Williams subbed in but immediately recorded a fielding error that tied things up.

Williams settled down after that, keeping the game tied through the top of the ninth.  In the bottom half of the inning Craig Lefferts was working his third inning of relief when  he walked weak-hitting Duane Kuiper.  Kuiper moved to second on a single by weak-hitting Johnnie LeMaster and Lefferts was in trouble.  Pinch-hitter John Rabb grounded into a double play but that moved Kuiper to third.  Up stepped Chili Davis...who ripped a double to win the game!  Walk-off win for the Giants!!!  They won both games of the doubleheader!

Winning Pitcher - Frank Williams
Losing Pitcher - Craig Lefferts
Player of the Game - Chili Davis, 2-5, 2B, HR, 3RBI, R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn

June 3, 1984 - Five-Run Leads

Game #657 - Montreal Expos, 7 @ Pittsburgh Pirates, 2

On paper this looked like a tight pitcher's duel, but it didn't quite play out that way.  Charlie Lea was strong but John Tudor stumbled...

In the top of the third inning Mike Ramsey led off with a single and eventually scored on a Tim Raines single.  The bases were juiced for Ramsey in the third and he came through with a 2-RBI base knock to plate Gary Carter and Pete Rose.  Then in the sixth he doubled home Derrell Thomas.  Ramsey only had 3 RBI for the Expos in the real 1984 and equalled that many in just this game.

Winning Pitcher - Charlie Lea
Losing Pitcher - John Tudor
Player of the Game - Mike Ramsey, 3-4, 2B, 3RBI, R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

Game #658 - Seattle Mariners, 1 @ Texas Rangers, 6

Dave Stewart escaped a couple of jams in the first two innings but got tagged in the top of the third.  Jack Perconte led off the inning with a double and two batters later scored when Alvin Davis did the same.  But after the third inning Stewart was lights-out.  Only two more Mariners reached base the rest of the way!

Meanwhile, the Rangers bats were uncharacteristically hot.  Six different hitters recorded an RBI.  Billy Sample led the way with three hits, including a triple while Marv Foley homered.

Winning Pitcher - Dave Stewart
Losing Pitcher - Mark Langston
Player of the Game - Stewart, CG, 9K's, R, 5H's

June 3, 1984 - Hot Corner Heroics

Game #655 - St Louis Cardinals, 9 @ New York Mets, 4

Ken Oberkfell was a fine player in the 80's, a good third sacker who put up consistent stats.  But in this Statis Pro season he's been absolutely bonkers.  He continued his torrid hitting in this game.

In the top of the second Obi-Wan led off the inning with a double and then scored on a George Foster error.  In the top of the fifth he recorded his third hit of the game and scored on an Ozzie Smith single.  He plated Andy VanSlyke in the top of the sixth with his fourth hit of the game.

Like I said, bonkers.

He only has a few games left with the Cardinals, though, before he goes to the Braves.  In the real 1984 he was Bob Horner's replacement in Atlanta.

Winning Pitcher - Kurt Kepshire
Losing Pitcher - Bruce Berenyi
Player of the Game - Oberkfell
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith

Game #656 - Chicago Cubs, 4 @ Philadelphia Phillies, 1

This game featured two fine pitching performances from opposing starters Dennis Eckersley and John Denny.

The first run of the game came in the top of the fourth with two outs.  Denny had only allowed one hit up to that point when Gary Matthews took him deep for a solo homer.  Denny would pitch through the seventh but that was his only charged run.

Eckersley, meanwhile, was doing well too.  He pitched seven innings of shutout ball but got lifted for a pinch-hitter in the top of the eighth.  The Phillies jumped all over reliever Warren Brusstar.  In the bottom of the eighth he walked Mike Schmidt and Ozzie Virgil but got Juan Samuel to ground into a double play.  Schmidt moved to third on that play and then scored on an Ivan DeJesus single, which tied the game.

In the top of the ninth Phillies reliever Al Holland got into a big pickle.  With one out Gary Matthews and Keith Moreland drew back to back walks.  That brought Ron Cey to the plate.  And the Penguin wasn't playing any games.  I mean, he was, he was playing the game of baseball, but you know what I mean.  Al Holland certainly did - because Cey went yard for a three-run bomb!

Winning Pitcher - Warren Brusstar
Losing Pitcher - Al Holland
Save - Lee Smith
Player of the Game - Ron Cey
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg, Dennis Eckersley, Mike Schmidt