June 10, 1984 - 750 Down, Many More to Go...

Game #749 - Chicago Cubs, 4 @ St. Louis Cardinals, 11

The Cubs jumped out to an early lead in this one.  In the top of the first Bob Dernier got walked by Kurt Kepshire and then stole second base off Tom Nieto.  Ryne Sandberg was up next and ripped a triple to score the first run of the game.  Gary Matthews batted third, and his single plated Sandberg.  Leon Durham struck out and Matthews got thrown out at home on a Keith Moreland single.  A "Z" play happened after that, allowing Moreland to score but Ron Cey getting caught in a run down as he rounded too far past first base.

That was a major lead to post before the Cardinals even batted, but they gave it away immediately.  Rick Resuchel gave up a grand salami to David Green with one out in the inning.  St. Louis picked up another three runs in the bottom of the second and the route was on.  Green added a second homer, this time a solo shot, in the fifth and the Cards scored three more in sixth inning off reliever Dickie Noles.

Winning Pitcher - Kurt Kepshire
Losing Pitcher - Rick Reuschel
Player of the Game - David Green, 2-4, 2HRs, 5RBI, GS
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg, Ozzie Smith

Happy Trails...Ken Oberkfell

This was the last game in a Cardinals uniform for Ken "Obi-Wan" Oberkfell.  Don't worry, though.  He'll pop back up on the Braves.  He went to Atlanta in the real 1984 after Bob Horner's season-ending injury.  I haven't added him to their active roster yet but probably will in the next game or two.

So how did Oberkfell do for St. Louis?  Quite well!  Check it out:

Statis Pro 1984:  27R, 66H, 18 2B, 2 3B, 30RBI, .379/.432/.506/.938 15.1 wRAA

The Real 1984:  17R, 47H, 11 2B, 1 3B, 11RBI, .309/.379/.395/.773  8 wRAA

Ken was no slouch in the real 1984, but he's been hitting out of his gourd in Statis Pro.  I don't foresee that continuing in Atlanta...  Terry Pendleton will get a bunch more starts now for St. Louis.

Game #750 - Oakland A's, 7 @ Texas Rangers, 8

That's right, game #750 - another big round number crossed off the list of the Statis Pro season.  It was a good one, too!

In the bottom of the first Larry Parrish went big-fly for a three run bomb to give Texas an early lead.  But in the top of the second Frank Tanana coughed up a triple, double, and single to Tony Phillips, Donnie Hill, and Bill Almon, cutting the score to 3-2.  In the top of the fifth the A's tied the game.  Rickey Henderson stole second, went to third base on a wild pitch, and then scored on a Davey Lopes single.

Oakland pushed ahead in the top of the sixth.  Dwayne Murphy blasted a Tanana pitch into the right field bleachers to score himself and Dave Kingman.  They took that 5-3 lead into the bottom of the sixth.  That's when a Phillips fielding error allowed Wayne Tolleson to scamper to third base and score on a subsequent Pete O'Brien single. 

It was still 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh.  With two outs and George Wright on second base Marv Foley came in to pinch hit for Tolleson.  He promptly took Keith Atherton deep to give the Rangers a one run lead!  Consecutive errors by Atherton and Rickey Henderson led to two more runs, giving Texas a three run lead.

In the top of the ninth, with Dave Tobik trying to close it out, Oakland came roaring back.  Joe Morgan reached on a fielding error by Curtis Wilkerson and then Tobik walked Bruce Bochte.  Henderson dug in next and lined a double to score Morgan.  Two batters later Bochte scored on a sacrifice fly by Carney Lansford.  But with Henderson still on second, Kingman lined out to Buddy Bell to end the game.

Winning Pitcher - Dave Schmidt
Losing Pitcher - Keith Atherton
Save - Dave Tobik
Player of the Game - Marv Foley, 1-1, HR, 2RBI, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan

Rest in Peace - Wayne Krenchicki

Sad news to report - Wayne Krenchicki passed away earlier this month at the age of 64.  His 1984 season was quite good in limited action and he's been a rock star in this Statis Pro season.  Thoughts and prayers to his friends, family, and teammates. 

June 10, 1984 - Battles in the NL West

Game #747 - Cincinnati Reds, 2 @ San Diego Padres, 1

Eric Show got into trouble right away in the top of the first inning.  He walked Eddie Milner, who stole second base.  He then proceeded to walk Gary Redus.  Dan Driessen was up next and he singled to load the bases.  From there Dave "the Cobra" Parker doubled home Milner and Redus for a quick two run lead.  Show eventually got Ron Oester to ground into a double play to minimize the damage.

The Padres got their first (and what ended up only) run of the game in the bottom of the second when, with two outs, Steve Garvey blasted a solo homer to get San Diego within a run.  As it turns out, that's all they'd manage.  Frank Pastore had his second consecutive strong start by going six innings and only allowing two hits and three walks.  John Franco and Ted Power pitched the final three frames to save the game.  Eric Show lasted seven total innings but the only two runs he permitted proved to be costly.

Winning Pitcher - Frank Pastore
Losing Pitcher - Eric Show
Save - Ted Power
Player of the Game - Pastore
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn

Game #748 - Houston Astros, 3 @ San Francisco Giants, 0

On paper this looked like it would be a lopsided affair but it was anything but.  Mark Grant, the Giants pitcher, was making just his third start of the season and still hadn't pitched more than five total innings all year.  But he scattered six hits and two walks across seven scoreless frames to give San Fran a legitimate shot.

Houston, meanwhile, had a strong game going from Nolan Ryan.  He logged eight innings of shutout ball to go along with his eight whiffs.  He squeaked out credit for the win when, in the top of the eighth, Jerry Mumphrey scored from first base on a double by Jose Cruz and a fielding error Jeff Leonard.

The Astros added two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth thanks to a two-RBI double from fourth outfielder Kevin Bass.

Winning Pitcher - Nolan Ryan
Losing Pitcher - Mark Grant
Save - Dave Smith
Player of the Game - Ryan
Hall of Famers in the Game - Nolan Ryan

June 10, 1984 - Colonial Contests

Game #745 - Toronto Blue Jays, 5 @ New York Yankees, 8

Within the first four batters in the bottom of the first, the Yankees scored three runs.  Don Mattingly ripped a homer off Jim Gott with Willie Randolph already on base.  Two batters later Steve Kemp launched a solo home run with just one out.  Butch Wynegar would later score in the same inning off a Bobby Meacham single to give New York a commanding 4-0 lead.

The Blue Jays stayed within striking distance, though.  They picked up a run in the second and another in the third thanks to a George Bell moonshot.  In the top of the fifth Damaso Garcia tripled home Alfredo Griffin but the Yankees manufactured a run in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-3.  And by the way, Jim Gott was still on the mound.  In fact, to give the Toronto bullpen a breather, he went the distance!

An Ernie Whitt two-run homer in the sixth off Phil Niekro brought Toronto to within a run of a tie game, but Steve Kemp sealed Toronto's fate in the bottom of the eighth with his second homer of the game, this time with a runner on.  The Yankees win.  Thhhhhheeeee Yankees win.

Winning Pitcher - Phil Niekro
Losing Pitcher - Jim Gott
Save - Dave Righetti
Player of the Game - Steve Kemp, 2-4, 2HRs, 3RBI, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Phil Niekro

Game #746 - Pittsburgh Pirates, 2 @ Philadelphia Phillies, 3

The Pirates opened the scoring in the top of the second inning on a solo poke from Jason Thompson.  The Phillies answered back in the bottom of the frame.  Ozzie Virgil was standing on third after a Juan Samuel double when a Dale Berra fielding error allowed Virgil to score and tie things up.

Bad defense haunted Pittsburgh later in the game as well.  Glenn Wilson scored from second on an RBI single by Tim Corcoran and a bobble in the outfield by Doug Frobel.  Corcoran later scored on an RBI single by Gross.

Frobel atoned for his error with a solo homer in the sixth but that's all the Pirates could muster on offense. 

Winning Pitcher - Charles Hudson
Losing Pitcher - Jose DeLeon
Save - Larry Andersen
Player of the Game - Greg Gross, 1-3, RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Mike Schmidt

June 10, 1984 - Blowouts and Nail Biters

Game #743 - Atlanta Braves, 16 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 1

You want to know something funny?  The Dodgers actually led this game 1-0 after the first.  Mike Marshall doubled home Pedro Guerrero but Pascual Perez settled down after that.

Randy Johnson was the big star on offense for the Braves.  In the third inning he hit a double that scored Albert Hall and later crossed home himself thanks to a Brad Komminsk hit. 

In the fourth inning he tattooed a homer for three RBI.

In the fifth, for the third consecutive inning, he had yet another RBI base knock. 

He added his sixth and final RBI of the day in the seventh, one of seven runs that scored in the inning.

Winning Pitcher - Pascual Perez
Losing Pitcher - Jerry Reuss
Player of the Game - Randy Johnson, 5-6, 2B, HR, 6RBI, 3Rs

Game #744 - New York Mets, 3 @ Montreal Exops, 2

Ron Darling and Bryn Smith were posting goose eggs through the first three frames of this game.  But in the top of the fourth Darryl Strawberry led off with a double, and scored two batters later when Mookie Wilson ripped a triple.  In the top of the sixth the Mets got two more runs.  George Foster hit a solo shot to start the inning.  Strawberry came up next and walked.  From there he stole second base, but moved to third on a throwing error by Gary Carter.  He then scored on a Hubie Brooks sacrifice fly.

Darling, meanwhile, continued to cruise until the eighth.  With two outs he walked Derrell Thomas.  Gary Carter made up for his gaff by blasting Darling's next pitch into the bleachers to close the lead to a run.  But Doug Sisk recorded the last four outs to save the win for the Metropolitans. 

Winning Pitcher - Ron Darling
Losing Pitcher - Bryn Smith
Save - Doug Sisk
Player of the Game - Darryl Strawberry, 1-3, 2B, BB, SB, 2Rs
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tim Raines, Gary Carter, Andre Dawson