June 19, 1984 - Hershiser Shines in Relief

 

Game #844 - Los Angeles Dodgers, 7 @ Cincinnati Reds, 5 (10 innings)

Jay Tibbs, one of the better pitchers for Cincy in 1984, got rocked right out of the gate in this contest.  In the top of the first the Dodgers bruised him for four runs, including a two-run homer from Greg Brock.  Tibbs lasted through the fifth, where he gave up another run on a Mike Marshall single that plated Mike Scioscia from second base.

The L.A. 5-0 lead, however, evaporated in the bottom of the fifth.  Alejandro Pena, a major Cy Young Award contender, had runners on first and second with one out.  Tom Lawless stroked a double to score Wayne Krenchicki.  Pinch-hitter Eric Davis came up next, hit a ground ball to Dave Anderson at short, but Anderson booted, leading to two more runs.  Nine Reds batters would eventually come to the plate against Pena, and by the time the dust settled it was a tie game.

Orel Hershiser, currently working out of the pen, took over in the sixth and held Cincinnati in check through the bottom of the ninth.  Meanwhile, in the top of the tenth, ace reliever John Franco started his third inning of work.  He walked two of the first three batters, and both runners advanced on a groundout from Mike Marshall.  There were two outs with both runners in scoring position when Steve Yeager subbed in for Greg Brock.  Yeager came through with a huge single that scored Dave Anderson and Pedro Guerrero.  Hershiser worked his fifth inning of scoreless relief in the bottom of tenth to secure the win!

Winning Pitcher - Orel Hershiser

Losing Pitcher - John Franco

Player of the Game - Hershiser, 5IP, 0H's, 2BB's, K

June 19, 1984 - Zahn Chucked Two Outs Short of a Shutout

 

Game #843 - Texas Rangers, 0 @ California Angels, 6

Your eyes don't deceive you...this is a new Statis Pro post!  I've had an amazing personal update that should clear the way for some slightly more normal posting of replays.

I graduated with my doctorate in education!  

Finishing and defending my dissertation was tough sledding, but perseverance and a TON of edits got me through.  Woot woot!

I hope this will clear my weekends for more hobbies and fun.  It's the first time in 3+ years I haven't had homework and papers hanging over my head!

This was a fun game to come back to for Statis Pro.  Geoff Zahn was scattering hits all over the place, but the Rangers couldn't convert them into runs.  The Angels, though, were doing the exact opposite to Texas starter Danny Darwin.  Bob Boone poked an RBI single against him in the bottom of the second, scoring Reggie Jackson.  Fred Lynn parked a solo bomb in the third to make it 2-0 Halos.  Rod Carew plated Gary Pettis in the fourth.  

By the bottom of the ninth the Angels were up 4-0 and facing rookie reliever Tom Henke.  Henke gave up four straight hits, and a walk two batters later, to surrender the last two runs of the game.  Zahn was holding onto a shutout with one out in the top of the ninth when he vehemently disagreed with a called ball from the home plate umpire.  Zahn got tossed!  California got the final two outs, though, and the win.

Winning Pitcher - Geoff Zahn

Losing Pitcher - Danny Darwin

Player of the Game - Zahn, 8.1 IP, 3K's, BB

Hall of Famers in the Game - Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson