June 6, 1984 - Big Time Drama

Game #687 - Milwaukee Brewers, 4 @ Baltimore Orioles, 5

Another day has passed in the Statis Pro season, making this the first game for June 6th.  Unfortunately, I forgot to update the stats after June 5th, so you'll have to wait a few weeks before I get around to that.  D'oh!

Mike Flanagan got off to a rough start when Jim Sundberg hit a solo homer to lead off the first.  You might be wondering what in the heck Sundberg was doing leading off.  Dion James was getting the game off and, outside of Robin Yount, the 1984 Brewers weren't real OBP kind of guys, so cue Sundberg.

Funny enough, Al Bumbry did the exact same thing leading off for the O's in the bottom of the first!  Rick Dempsey added another solo homer off Chuck Porter and by the end of two innings the Orioles were up 3-1.  It was the same score in the top of the eighth.  Flanagan was still in the game but running on fumes.  Two quick hits by Yount and Cecil Cooper got Flanny yanked for closer Sammy Stewart.  But Sammy got slaughtered, allowing three runs to score in the inning, which gave the Brewers a 4-3 lead. 

Tom Tellman was working his second inning of relief in the bottom of the ninth and got two quick outs before Bumbry poked a single to keep the game alive.  Up stepped Mike Young, who loyal readers of the blog know, has been the hottest hitting Oriole on the team.  He dug into the batter's box, squared up a pitch, and...BOOM.

WALK-OFF HOMER FOR THE WIN!!!

Winning Pitcher - Sammy Stewart
Losing Pitcher - Tom Tellman
Player of the Game - Mike  Young, 2-5, 2B, walk-off homer
Hall of Famers in the Game - Robin Yount, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray

Game #688 - California Angels, 9 @ Chicago White Sox, 8

Tom Seaver toed the rubber for the White Sox, but he got whooped in the top of the first.  The Angels sent all nine hitters in their lineup to the plate and scored four runs, including a 2RBI double by Rob Wilfong.

In the bottom of the second, though, it was Chicago's turn to retaliate.  The White Sox plated six runs off starter Geoff Zahn.  That included two separate RBI triples by Tom Paciorek and Harold Baines.  In the bottom of the fifth Vance Law added a two-run homer to give the Pale Hose a 8-4 lead.  It wouldn't last!

California scored three in the sixth to come clawing back to within one run of the lead.  Two of those runs came courtesy of a two-out single by Brian Downing.  The Angels tied in the eighth on an RBI double by Rod Carew.

The game was still tied in the bottom of the ninth when ace reliever Don Aase got into trouble.  He gave up back to back singles and then intentionally walked Harold Baines to fill a vacancy at first with one out.  The strategy worked, though, because Greg Luzinski grounded into a double play to send the game to extra frames.  FREE BASEBALL!

In the top of the 12th reliever Bert Roberge was working his third inning of relief.  But Gary Pettis singled, stole second, and moved to third on a Rob Wilfong sacrifice fly.  That's when Juan Beniquez singled him home to brake the tie!  Despite Chicago getting runners on the corners in the bottom half of the inning, Bruce Kison struck out Ron Kittle to end the game!

Winning Pitcher - Don Aase
Losing Pitcher - Bert Roberge
Save - Bruce Kison
Player of the Game - Doug Corbett, I didn't mention it in the recap, but he retired all nine batters he faced across three innings of tough relief
Hall of Famers in the Fame - Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Carlton Fisk

June 5, 1984 - Murph and McGraw Lead the Way

Game #685 - Atlanta Braves, 11 @ San Francisco Giants, 7

Giants pitcher Mark Grant was brutalized in the top of the first.  He only managed one out before finally getting yanked after Atlanta put up six runs, three of those courtesy of a Dale Murphy homer.  But in the bottom of the first the Giants scored five!  Al Oliver, making his first start off the disabled list (meaning it's been YEARS since I've played with him last) hit a double that plated Jeff Leonard.  Johnnie LeMaster busted a single that was good for two RBIs.

By the top of the eighth Atlanta was still up, 9-6.  That's when Murphy recorded his fifth and sixth RBI with a double off of Gary LaVelle, the last bullpen arm left for the Giants.  Pete Falcone pitched the final three innings, only giving up one run and earning the save.

Winning Pitcher - Gene Garber
Losing Pitcher - Mark Grant
Save - Pete Falcone
Player of the Game - Dale Murphy, 3-4, 2B, HR, 6RBI, BB

Game #686 - Philadelphia Phillies, 12 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 5

The Cardinals were riding a four game win streak headed into this match.  But it would be the Phillies who struck first in the top of the first.  Mike Schmidt walked with the bases loaded thanks to Dave LaPoint, and then Ozzie Virgil hit a sacrifice fly that scored John Wockenfuss.

By the bottom of the second the score was 3-0 in favor of the Phillies when starter Charles Hudson fell off a cliff.  With the bases loaded and no outs, backup catcher Tom Nieto jacked a GRAND SALAMI!  Lonnie Smith later tripled and scored on a Ken Oberkfell double.  In fact, the Cardinals hit for the cycle in the inning.  That was enough for Hudson to get pulled in favor of a long relief effort by Tug McGraw.  He was up to the task!

With runners on first and third in the top of the fourth, McGraw was due up.  Because Philadelphia needed him to pitch deeper, he was forced to bat.  No worries though...he lined an RBI single!  Mike Schmidt followed with another RBI and all of a sudden it was a tie game!

Fast forward to the top of the eighth, game still tied.  The Phillies put up four big runs, including a three-run dong from Ozzie Virgil, who is now tied with Schmidt for the team home run lead with eleven.  Philadelphia scored three more in the ninth, thanks in large part to a Von Hayes triple that scored Ivan DeJesus and Gary Maddox.  The Cards had nothing left in their offensive tank and lost the game.

Winning Pitcher - Bill Campbell
Losing Pitcher - Jeff Lahti
Player of the Game - Tug McGraw, 3 1/3IP, 0R's, 2K's, RBI single
Hall of Famers in the Game - Mike Schmidt, Ozzie Smith

June 5, 1984 - Walk On

Game #683 - New York Mets, 5 @ Pittsburgh Pirates, 7

In the bottom of the first the Pirates had Lee Lacy at third and Johnny Ray at second with two outs and Tony Pena at the dish.  He roped a single off Ron Darling to give the Pirates an early 2-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth the lead was down to one run but the Pirates offense pushed three across the plate.  Lacy doubled home Marvell Wynne, Jason Thompson singled home Lacy, and then Pena doubled for his third RBI of the game.

The Mets mounted their retaliation in the seventh.  Pirates starter Jose DeLeon walked eight (!) batters in the first six innings but had only allowed two runs.  But Rod Scurry gave up a solo blast to Darryl Strawberry to bring New York to within three.  In the top of the eighth the Mets scored again, this time on a Denny Gonzalez error that scored Danny Heep.  But Pittsburgh picked up two more runs in the bottom of the eighth which was enough to keep them ahead of New York's two runs in the top of the ninth.  The Pirates walked 14 total batters but the Mets left most of them stranded.

Winning Pitcher - Jose DeLeon
Losing Pitcher - Ron Darling
Save - Kent Tekulve
Player of the Game - Tony Pena, 2-4, 2B, 3RBI

Game #684 - Houston Astros, 5 @ San Diego Padres, 2

Tony Gwynn and Steve Garvey had to sit this one out due to a minor injury each sustained when they collided into each other the game before.  Garvey has now missed more games due to injuries in Statis Pro than he did the real 1984.  The big story of the game, though, was Nolan Ryan.  He pitched a complete game while striking out ten Padres.

Winning Pitcher -  Nolan Ryan
Losing Pitcher - Eric Show
Player of the Game - Nolan Ryan, CG, 10K's, 6H's, 3BB's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Nolan Ryan

June 5, 1984 - ...11, 12, 13...

Game #681 - Chicago Cubs, 7 @ Montreal Expos, 11

Leon "Bull" Durham put the Cubs on the board first in the top of the second with a solo homer off Bryn Smith.  That lead didn't last long.  In the bottom of the second Miguel Dilone ripped a 2-RBI double with two outs to plate Bryan Little and Mike Ramsey.  Little had his own RBI double in the third.  By the end of the fifth inning the Expos were up 6-1.

The Cubs tried to fight back.  In the top of the sixth Jody Davis grounded into a double play but Gary Matthews scored in the process.  But in the bottom half of the inning pinch-hitter Mike Stenhouse blasted his first home run of the season, good for three RBI off reliever Dickie Noles.

The Cubs would not go quietly, though.  In the top of the seventh they tagged reliever Dan Schatzeder for five runs, including a bases clearing double by Keith Moreland.  Suddenly, Montreal only had a two run lead.  But in the bottom half of the inning Tim Raines tripled Dilone home, and later scored himself on a sacrifice fly from Gary Carter.  That was good enough to keep the Expos on top.

Winning Pitcher - Bryn Smith
Losing Pitcher - Chuck Rainey
Player of the Game - Tim Raines, 3-4, 2 2Bs, 3B, 2Rs, 3RBI, 2BBs
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

Game #682 - Boston Red Sox, 12 @ New York Yankees, 13

I finally thought it was going to happen.  We haven't had someone hit for the cycle yet in this Statis Pro season, and I thought it was finally going to happen.  Dwight Evans launched a 2-run homer in the first and a 3-run homer in the second.  In the fourth inning he doubled.  Then, in the fifth, he tripled home Jackie Gutierrez!  He was only a single short!  But he went 0 for 2 the rest of the way.  I was so bummed.

Meanwhile, New York was on a seven game losing streak and managed to stage one of the best comebacks of the season.  By the bottom of the sixth they were down 9-2.  But they pasted Boston with six runs in their half of the inning, including a three-run bomb from Don Baylor.  Boston responded by tagging reliever Bob Shirley with three runs in the seventh.  It would have been four but Ken Griffey threw out Rich Gedman at the plate.

By the bottom of the eighth Boston was up 12-9.  With one out Victor Mata was standing on third when Baylor singled him home.  Roy Smalley flied out but Steve Kemp walked for the second time on the day.  So with two outs, up stepped Ken Griffey.  He gazed out at Bob Stanley and gave him a little wink.  One pitch later the ball was flying into the right field stands and the Yankees were in the lead for the first time on the day!  Dave Righetti got the last three outs and New York won the game.

Winning Pitcher - Dave Righetti
Losing Pitcher - Bob Stanley
Player of the Game - Ken Griffey, 3-5, 2 2B's, HR, 4RBI, 2Rs, Asst.
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice