June 16, 1984 - Golden State Warriors

Game #819 - Chicago White Sox, 9 @  Oakland A's, 10

As evidenced by the score, this game was wacky.

The score was knotted at zero apiece when the A's sent nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the third, scoring four times.  Rickey Henderson, Davey Lopes, Carney Lansford, and Dwayne Murphy all came in to score.  Oakland tagged on their fifth run of the game in the fourth, this time on a double from Lopes that plated Rickey Henderson, who was standing on second with his third steal of the game.

Tim Conroy, the Oakland starter, was cruising through the Chicago lineup until the top of the fifth.  That's when he allowed four runs before getting yanked, including a two-run bomb to Greg Luzinski.  Chris Codiroli, the relief pitcher, didn't fair much better as he allowed another three in the inning thanks to a three-run homer from Marc Hill. 

That meant Chicago was now on top, 7-5, going into the bottom of the fifth.  Oakland put up another four-spot to retake the lead.  The Pale Hose drew within a run after a Greg Walker solo shot in the seventh, but the A's held on to the win.

Winning Pitcher - Chris Codiroli
Losing Pitcher - Salome Barojas
Save - Tom Burgmeier
Player of the Game - Rickey Henderson, 3-5, BB, 3SBs, 3Rs
Hall of Famers in the Game - Harold Baines, Rickey Henderson

Game #820 - San Francisco Giants, 4 @ San Diego Padres, 1

The cellar dwellers of the NL West teed off for the third straight game, and started well for the Giants.  Jeff Leonard led the game off with solo homer and one flap down as he rounded the bases.  Eric Show surrendered another run in the second when Johnny LeMaster doubled home Joel Youngblood. 

San Fran was up 3-0 when Mark Davis balked home the first Padre run, allowing Luis Salazar to score.  Davis would last seven innings total, truly spreading nine hits and a walk around and avoiding any serious damage along with his seven K's.  Show pitched eight frames before Craig Lefferts took over in the ninth and let Jack Clark go deep for the fourth and final run of the game.

Winning Pitcher - Mark Davis
Losing Pitcher - Eric Show
Save - Greg Minton
Player of the Game - Jeff Leonard, 2-5, HR, 2RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Gwynn

June 16, 1984 - Take It to the House

Game #817 -  Pittsburgh Pirates, 1 @ Montreal Expos, 5

The Pirates got on the board first in the top of the first inning when David Palmer loaded the bases and then Tony Pena walked, scoring Lee Lacy.

The Expos clawed back in the bottom of the third.  RBI singles by Tim Wallach and Andre Dawson put them up, 2-1.  Montreal plated another run in the fourth when pitcher Larry McWilliams made a fielding gaff allowing Wallace Johnson to score (more on him below...).

Montreal's narrow lead was still in place in the bottom of the eighth.  That's when Mike Stenhouse stepped in for Palmer and cranked a two-run blast off Kent Tekulve to seal the deal for the 'spos!

Winning Pitcher - David Palmer
Losing Pitcher - Larry McWilliams
Player of the Game - Mike Stenhouse, 1-1, HR, 2RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tim Raines, Gary Carter, Andre Dawson

Happy Trails...Wallace Johnson

With the rash of injuries for Montreal this season, Wallace Johnson got a lot of early playing time instead of a September call-up.  Let's see how Statis Pro Wallace compared to the real 1984:

Statis Pro Wallace:  .333AVG  .407OBP  .333SLG  .741OPS  2Rs  3RBI
The Real Wallace:  .208AVG  .345OBP  .208SLG  ..553OPS  3Rs  5RBI

Clearly the Statis Pro season for Johnson was more prosperous, but in both cases, it was with fewer than thirty plate appearances. 


Game #818 - Baltimore Orioles, 4 @ New York Yankees, 3

This game featured a battle of dueling lefty pitchers - Mike Flanagan and Ron Guidry.  Flanagan got tagged first in the bottom of the second.  Eight Yankees came to the plate and New York scored three runs off RBI hits from Ken Griffey, Tim Foli, and Andre Robertson. 

It was still 3-0 in the top of the fifth when Gary Roenicke plated the first run for the O's with a solo blast.  Baltimore tagged on another after an Eddie Murray triple and a Floyd Rayford single. 

Guidry was still on the mound in the top of the seventh when, after striking out two hitters, he surrendered back to back homers to Roenicke and Mike Young!  Sammy Stewart pitched three scoreless innings in relief and the Orioles finished the come from behind win.

Winning Pitcher - Mike Flanagan
Losing Pitcher - Ron Guidry
Save - Sammy Stewart
Player of the Game - Gary Roenicke, 2-4, 2HRs, 2RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, Dave Winfield