June 17, 1984 - Leon: The Professional

Game #828 - Minnesota Twins, 5 @ Kansas City Royals, 6 (10 innings)

The Royals struck first in the bottom of the first when Frank White doubled home George Brett for a quick 1-0 lead.  But Dan Meier of the Twins tripled home Dave Engle in the top of the second to tie things up.

Minnesota tagged Bud Black for two runs in both the third and fourth inning.  Black didn't have his best stuff but he did hang in through seven innings. 

The score was 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth after eight sturdy innings from Twins starter Mike Smithson.  But Ron Davis got into a heap of trouble after a Houston Jimenez error, a walk to U.L. Washington.  Willie Wilson grounded to Tim Teufel, but a throwing error allowed Washington to score with runners on second and third and no outs.  Brett came to the plate next, but grounded out weakly to Davis.  With one out and both runners still in scoring position, Daryl Motley singled to right field!  Washington scored to tie the game and Wilson got waved to home...where Tom Brunansky threw out his second runner of the game!!!  Jorge Orta struck out next and we were on to extra innings.

Mike Jones got out of a pickle in the top of the tenth to keep the game tied at five apiece.  In the bottom half of the inning Davis was still on the mound and struck out Frank White.  But Pat Sheridan tripled to establish the winning run 90 feet from home plate.  Pinch-hitter Leon Roberts replaced John Wathan, and Roberts...blasted the ball into the gap in center field!  Walk-off win for Kansas City!!!

Winning Pitcher - Mike Jones
Losing Pitcher - Ron Davis
Player of the Game - Leon Roberts, game-winning pinch-hit
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett

June 16, 1984 - Slim Margins of Victory

Game #815 - Minnesota Twins, 7 @ Kansas City Royals, 6

The Twins posted two runs in the top of the first inning thanks in part to a U.L. Washington error.  Darrell Brown was able to knock in both of those runs on a bases-loaded single.  Minnesota got a third run of starter Mark Gubicza in the third thanks to a rare hit from DH Pat Putnam.

Kansas City even things in the bottom of the fifth, though, when Hall of Famer George Brett blasted a three-run bomb off John Butcher.  The score stayed tied 3-3 until the bottom of the seventh.  That's when Willie Wilson doubled home Washington and Brett launched his second homer of the day!

With a three run lead the Royals looked like they had won...BUT THAT'S WHY YOU PLAY THE GAME!!!  The Twinkies erupted for a four-run inning off reliever Joe Beckwith, sending eight hitters to the plate who dinked and doinked him for the damage and the win.

Winning Pitcher - Rick Lysander
Losing Pitcher - Joe Beckwith
Save - Len Whitehouse
Player of the Game - Darrell Brown, 2-5, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett

Game #816 - Detroit Tigers, 1 @ Milwaukee Brewers, 0

Pitcher's duel alert!!!

In the top of the second inning Chet Lemon lead off with a solo homer off Chuck Porter...and that would be the only run of the game.  Porter would pitch into the eighth, where Tom Tellmann took over, while recording 7 punch-outs.

Milt Wilcox was just as good, if not better.  He scattered five hits and two walks across seven innings and the Brew Crew only ever had one runner reach third base.  Willie Hernandez came on for the last two innings to preserve the shutout and victory.

Winning Pitcher - Milt Wilcox
Losing Pitcher - Chuck Porter
Save - Willie Hernandez
Player of the Game - Wilcox, 7IP, 5H's, 5K's, 2BB's, 0R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Alan Trammell, Robin  Yount

June 15, 1984 - ...and I'm back!

Game #801 - Los Angeles Dodgers, 6 @ Houston Astros, 9

Sorry for the two months off, everyone!  During that time we had a major kitchen renovation to repair a slab leak and the table and area of the house I use to play my Statis Pro games became swamped with kitchen appliances during the upheaval. 

Let's catch up with this game in the top of the fourth.  The Dodgers had a 3-2 lead when Steve Yeager went yard with Greg Brock on base ahead of him, giving L.A. a three-run lead.  But Houston came roaring back in the bottom of the fifth.  Dodgers starter Jerry Reuss allowed four straight batters to reach base, including an RBI double by Jim Pankovits and an RBI triple by Bill Doran. 

The Dodgers managed to tie the game in the seventh after Terry Whitfield doubled home Pedro Guerrero.  But reliever Pat Zachry allowed two unearned runs in the seventh after a Mike Marshall fielding gaff.  Frank DiPino pitched two scoreless innings to notch the save.

Winning Pitcher - Bill Dawley
Losing Pitcher - Pat Zachry
Save - Frank DiPino
Player of the Game - Bill Doran, 4-4, 3B, BB, RBI, 2Rs

Game #802 - Minnesota Twins, 2 @ Kansas City Royals, 7

The Royals continued their climb towards first place in the AL West after a drubbing of the Twins.  Minnesota actually scored first, though, in the top of the fifth.  Consecutive fielding errors by George Brett resulted in two unearned runs.  But in the bottom half of the inning U.L. Washington singled home Pat Sheridan before back to back triples by Willie Wilson and George Brett gave K.C. the lead.  The Royals would tack on four more runs over the last third of the game to give them an easy win.

The Twins saw Kirby Puckett go down for 14 games after he dove for a ball and couldn't come up with it.

Winning Pitcher - Bret Saberhagen
Losing Pitcher - John Butcher
Player of the Game - Saberhagen, 7IP, 0ER, 2K's, 7H's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett, George Brett

June 14th, 1984 - Ward of the State

Game #797 - Minnesota Twins, 3 @ Texas Rangers, 13

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before (I probably have) but I once saw Gary Ward at the Detroit Airport.  This was in the early 90's, when he was on the Tigers.  He was in a track suit deboarding a plane.  My eyes got big as saucers, he walked right past me, and that was it. 

But I've had a soft spot for him ever since.

This was game was all Ward and Mickey Rivers.  The two combined to go 9-9 with two homers, a double, six RBI and six runs.  It was quite remarkable.  Danny Darwin took a shutout into the ninth before the Twinkies finally put some runs on the board.

Winning Pitcher - Danny Darwin
Losing Pitcher - Al Williams
Player of the Game - Gary Ward
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett

This was the last game of June 14th - I'll work on updating the stats between now and when this posts!

June 13, 1984 - AL West End Boys

Game #783 - Kansas City Royals, 7 @ Seattle Mariners, 11

Seattle jumped to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first thanks to a two-run homer from red-hot rookie Alvin Davis.  They added another two runs in the second thanks to consecutive RBI hits from the Henderson boys (Dave and Steve).  Frank White managed to score after a triple in the top of the third, but another Seattle run in the fourth had them at a 5-1 lead.

Kansas City came roaring back in the fourth.  A Larry Milbourne error allowed Don Slaught to score and then, with two runners on, Darryl Motley crushed a homer to tie the game!

White hit a solo shot in the sixth to give the Royals their first lead but reliever Joe Beckwith surrendered that lead in the seventh.  It was still tied until the eighth when Steve "Bye-Bye" Balboni blasted a solo homer to give the Royals the lead yet again.

In the bottom of the ninth Beckwith walked the first to batters and then George Brett booted an easy grounder to load the bases with nobody out.  Al Cowens walked to tie the game but KC got two outs while keeping the bases loaded to bring up Bob Kearney for the Mariners.  All he did was HIT A WALK-OFF GRAND SLAM FOR THE WIN!!!!

Winning Pitcher - Don Geisel
Losing Pitcher - Joe Beckwith
Player of the Game - Bob Freakin' Kearney
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett

Game #784 - Minnesota Twins, 7 @ Texas Rangers, 4

The Twins hit three straight doubles off Mike Moore to give themselves a quick 2-0 lead in the top of the first.  Kent Hrbek hit his second RBI double of the game in the third to push that lead to 3-0.  Tom Brunansky added a two-run homer in the sixth to go up by five.

The Rangers attempted a comeback in the bottom of the sixth.  Ed Hodge gave up back to back solo homers to Pete O'Brien and Larry Parrish.  They also scored twice in the eighth but that was as close as they could get with the Minnesota offense scoring once in the eighth and ninth.

Winning Pitcher - Ed Hodge
Losing Pitcher - Dave Stewart
Save - Rick Lysander
Player of the Game - Kent Hrbek, 3-3, 2 2B's, 2RBI, 2BB's, 2R's

June 12, 1984 - Give Me All The Homers!

Game #771 - Kansas City Royals, 6 @ Seattle Mariners, 4

This game started as a lefty vs. lefty match-up with Bud Black and Mark Langston pitching against each other.

The scoring started in the third inning.  Langston allowed two runners to reach and a Lynn Jones ground out pushed John Wathan across home plate.  In the bottom half of the inning Jim Presley reached third due in part to a Steve Balboni fielding error.  Presley then scored on a sacrifice fly from Phil Bradley.

Balboni made up for his fielding gaff in the fourth with a solo homer.  But the Mariners busted the scoring open by scoring three in the bottom of the inning.  Jim Presley roped a two-RBI double and then scored on a hit from Bob Kearney of all people.

The Royals chipped back when they scored a run in the fifth and eighth inning, making it all tied up in the top of the ninth.  Edwin Nunez gave up a single to Dane Iorg and up stepped Balboni.  And then Balboni hit the ball a very, very long distance.  And then he slowly trotted around the bases, having given the Royals a two-run lead.  Dan Quisenberry pitched two innings for the win and KC is now two games above .500!  The only bad news came via a collision between Onix Concepcion and Lynn Jones, you won't be seeing their names in the box scores anytime soon.

Winning Pitcher - Dan Quisenberry
Losing Pitcher - Edwin Nunez
Player of the Game - Steve Balboni - 2-5, 2HRs, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett

Game #772 - Minnesota Twins, 9 @ Texas Rangers, 0

Statis Pro is a funny game because weird things can happen.  For instance, Frank Viola was deemed "bad" at the start of the game, reducing his pitcher card to a 2-5 (which isn't good if you're unfamiliar with how Statis Pro works).  All he did moving forward was pitch a complete game shutout. 

And the Twins offense?  They hit homers.  Four of them.

#1 - Tom Brunansky in the top of the fifth with two men on.

#2 - Kent Hrbek immediately after Brunansky did.

#3 - Tim Laudner in the top of the sixth with one on.

#4 - Tim Teufel in the top of the eighth with a runner on too.

It wasn't a good day for the last place Rangers.

Winning Pitcher - Frank Viola
Losing Pitcher - Mike Mason
Player of the Game - Viola, CG SHO, 6K's, 7H's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett

June 10, 1984 - And Now Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Program...

Hey friends!  It's been over a month since I posted last.  This is the longest stretch of not playing a game I can remember since starting the blog.  Nothing crazy on my end, just got bogged down with work and then vacation time.  Hopefully we'll get back to normal here in Statis Pro land.  On to the games...

Game #739 - Minnesota Twins, 8 @ Chicago White Sox, 0

Richard Dotson had a strange game.  He gave up a three-run homer to Ron Washington in the top of the first.  He gave up an RBI double to Tim Teufel, plating Darrell Brown, in the second.  Brown tripled home Dave Engle in the fourth, but then Dotson cruised through the next four innings with barely a runner reaching base.

But in the top of the ninth he walked the first two batters he faced and was finally lifted.  Those two runners scored on a Mickey Hatcher triple of Ron Reed.  Hatcher scored too when Washington recorded his fourth RBI on the day with a single to left.

Mike Smithson had a much better game.  He only allowed five batters to reach base and retired the last seventeen hitters he faced for a complete game shutout!

Winning Pitcher - Mike Smithson
Losing Pitcher - Richard Dotson
Player of the Game - Smithson, CG SHO, 3H's, 5K's, BB

Game #740 - Seattle Mariners, 3 @ Cleveland Indians, 7

The Mariners struck first in this game.  Dave Henderson led off the top of the second with a solo home run, and Spike Own later singled home Larry Milbourne.  Cleveland got a run back in the third when Pat Tabler punched a ball through the infield to plate Ton Bernazard.

In the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, though, the Cleveland offense exploded.  They got two runs in each of those frames.  Five different members of the Tribe scored during that onslaught.  Steve Farr, meanwhile, navigated seven strong innings to record the win.

Winning Pitcher - Steve Farr
Losing Pitcher - Matt  Young
Player of the Game - Farr, 7IP, 2Rs, 4K's

June 9, 1984 - Boston, Minnesota Victorious

Game #723 - Milwaukee Brewers, 3 @ Boston Red Sox, 6

The Red Sox busted out with a big second inning against the Brewers.  Don Sutton was forced to face eight different hitters while giving up four runs on five hits and a walk.  Sutton settled down after that until a Robin Yount error led to two unearned runs in the seventh, knocked in on a Tony Armas single.

Bruce Hurst, meanwhile, gutted out seven innings of work while allowing twelve hits, so Milwaukee had their chances.  It was Steve Crawford, though, that recorded the final six outs to ensure Boston would carry the day.

Winning Pitcher - Bruce Hurst
Losing Pitcher - Don Sutton
Save - Steve Crawford
Player of the Game - Crawford, 2IP, K
Hall of Famers in the Game - Robin Yount, Don Sutton, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

Game #724 - Minnesota Twins, 15 @ Chicago White Sox, 5

The Twins completely dismantled the Chicago White Sox in this one.  In the top of the first Kent Hrbek doubled with one out and scored on a Mickey Hatcher triple.  Hatcher would later score on a Vance Law error.

In the top of the third Hrbek and Tom Brunansky both homered, and then Tim Teufel tripled.  Ron Washington doubled to plate Teufel and the Twins were up 5-1. 

Tim Laudner led off the top of the fourth with a solo homer, and four batters later Brunansky jacked a three-run blast to give the Twinkies nine runs up to that point.  Hrbek and Brunansky both went yard again in the seventh, giving Hrbek two homers for the day and Brunansky three.  Chicago required five different pitchers to go nine innings.

Winning Pitcher - John Butcher
Losing Pitcher - LaMarr Hoyt
Player of the Game - Tom Brunansky, 3-6, 3HRs, 6RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett, Carlton Fisk

June 8, 1984 - I Spit My Last Breath At Thee

Game #711 - Minnesota Twins, 7 @ Chicago White Sox, 6

In the top of the first inning a Scooter Fletcher error on a sharp grounder by Mickey Hatcher allowed Kirby Puckett to score the first run of the game.  The Twins added two more runs in the top of the second on a Tim Teufel sacrifice fly and a Tom Brunansky single.  Greg Luzinski knocked home Greg Walker in the bottom half of the inning to leave Minnesota up 3-1 after two.

The Twins scored once again in the third.  Teufel plated Dave Engle and Dan Meier on a two-out single to extend their lead to 5-1.  In the bottom of the fifth Vance Law took Ken Schrom deep to give Chicago their second run on the day.

By the bottom of the ninth the Twins were up 7-4 with Rick Lysander trying to end it.  But Jerry Dybzinski, in the game as a defensive replacement, hit an unexpected homer to bring the White Sox within a run of tying the game.  Alas, Ron Davis replaced Lysander to record the final out.

Winning Pitcher - Ken Schrom
Losing Pitcher - Britt Burns
Save - Ron Davis
Player of the Game - Time Teufel, 3-4, SF, 4RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett, Carlton Fisk

Game #712 - Seattle Mariners, 9 @ Cleveland Indians, 11

Mark Langston was cruising through his first two innings of work, but with two outs in the third, Brett Butler hit a solo homer that just cleared the fence.  Julio Franco then walked and scored two batters later on an Andre Thornton single.

By the bottom of the fifth Cleveland was up 3-0 when their offense erupted.  They scored eight runs in the inning, including triples by Carmen Castillo (with the bases loaded) and George Vukovich (with one on).  After that the team formerly known as the Spiders had one seemed to be an insurmountable 11-0 lead...

...but Seattle started chipping back!  Al Cowens had one of his three double of the game in the sixth, scoring Alvin Davis.  In the seventh Bob Kearney launched a solo homer for Seattle's second run.  In the eighth Ken Phelps blasted a three-run job and suddenly it was just 11-5.  In the top of the ninth reliever Roy Smith got abused by the Mariners.  Alvin Davis ripped his third double of the game to plate Jack Perconte.  Steve Henderson followed that with a 2-RBI triple to make it 11-8.  Smith got yanked and one out later Mike Jeffcoat gave up an RBI double to Al Cowens.  But Larry Milbourne and Barry Bonnell made the last two outs of the game, as Cleveland nearly squandered their eleven run lead.

Winning Pitcher - Rick Sutcliffe
Losing Pitcher - Mark Langston
Save - Mike Jeffcoat
Player of the Game - Carmen Castillo, 2-5, 3B, 3RBI, R

June 7, 1984 - Midwest Maestros

Game #705 - Texas Rangers, 0 @ Minnesota Twins, 2

It had been a few games since two pitchers managed to go the distance in the same game, but that's exactly what happened here.  Mike Mason of the Rangers and Ed Hodge of the Twins were the unlikely dueling pitcher heroes of the game.  Tim Laudner and Kirby Puckett managed RBI singles in the second and that would account for all the runs in the game.  Mason scattered eleven hits (four of those in the second inning) and added six strikeouts.  But it wasn't enough to overcome Hodge, who was making his first start of the season after exhausting all of his relief appearances.  He only permitted four hits and three walks while he blanked Texas over nine innings.

Winning Pitcher - Ed Hodge
Losing Pitcher - Mike Mason
Player of the Game - Hodge, CG SHO
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett

Game #706 - Chicago Cubs, 7 @ Montreal Expos, 2

It was a scoreless game until the top of the third when Ryne Sandberg cranked a one-out double to plate Bob Dernier.  Leon "Bull" Durham was the next batter and took a David Palmer fastball all the way into the right field bleachers.

Montreal chipped away at that 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth.  With Tim Raines standing on second and two outs, Tim Wallach found the gap to triple Raines home.  Wallach trotted home when the next batter, Mike Stenhouse, singled off Dennis Eckersley.  Eck calmed down after that and actually pitched through the eighth inning as the Cubs pulled away later in the game.

Winning Pitcher - Dennis Eckersley
Losing Pitcher - David Palmer
Player of the Game - Leon Durham, 2-4, 2B, HR, 3RBI, 2Rs, BB
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg, Dennis Eckersley, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

June 6, 1984 - Red, White, and Blue

Game #693 - Texas Rangers, 3 @ Minnesota Twins, 2

Tim Teufel doubled to lead off the bottom of the first and then two batters later Mickey Hatcher doubled him home for the first run of the game.  Charlie Hough settled down after that, though, and pitched seven more innings without a run.

In the top of the sixth Larry Parrish hit a double (he's leading Statis Pro in that category) to plate Buddy Bell.  That was the first run of the game Frank Viola allowed.  It wouldn't be the last, because in the top of the seventh, with two outs, Jeff Kunkel tripled and then Ned Yost homered to break the tie.

Hough was still on the mound in the bottom of the ninth but Randy Bush led off with a solo homer to cut the Rangers' lead to one run.  Dave Schmidt came on for Texas.  Tim Teufel managed a single but Kent Hrbek grounded into a double play to end the game.

Winning Pitcher - Charlie Hough
Losing Pitcher - Frank Viola
Save - Dave Schmidt
Player of the Game - Ned Yost, 1-3, HR, 2RBI

Game #694 - Chicago Cubs, 2 @ Montreal Expos, 5 (14 innings!!!)

Starters Dick Ruthven and Steve Rogers were hanging goose eggs through the first four innings.  But in the top of the fifth Rogers was betrayed by his defense.  Left fielder Roy Johnson misplayed a Bob Dernier single that allowed Larry Bowa to score for the first run of the game.

Fast forward to the bottom of the ninth and it was still a 1-0 game.  Rich Bordi was on for the Cubs to wrap things up but he got into trouble immediately.  Three consecutive singles by Pete Rose, Miguel Dilone, and Wallace Johnson loaded the bases for Derrick Thomas.  Thomas singled to center field!  Rose scored but a super-clutch throw from Dernier nabbed the fleet-footed Dilone at the plate to keep the game tied.  Bordi then walked Bryan Little to reload the bases and that's when George Frazier replaced Bordi.  He had his work cut out for  him, because Tim Raines was standing in the batter's box.  But Frazier managed to whiff him - on to extra innings!

The game stayed tied until the top of the eleventh.  Keith Moreland doubled off Andy McGaffigan and, two outs later, scored on a pinch-hit by Richie Hebner.  That gave Chicago a 2-1 run lead heading into the bottom of the eleventh.  Hebner hit for SS Larry Bowa, so utility infielder Dave Owen came in to play shortstop for the last three outs.  I'm sure you know what happens next.  Angel Salazar hit a ground ball right to him but he misplayed it and Salazar ended up on second base.  He moved to third on a ground out and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Little to tie the game again.  More extra innings!!

In the top of the fourteenth George Frazier was due to hit - he had logged 4+ innings of relief at that point, but with a depleted bench, pitcher Rick Reuschel came in to hit.  He grounded into a double play.  In the bottom half of the inning Reuschel got into immediate trouble.  Tim Raines singled and then stole second.  Andre Dawson grounded out to third, leaving Raines on second with one out.  That brought up Gary Carter.  With first base open, one out, and Montreal's best slugger at the plate, the Cubs opted to intentionally walk Carter to set up the double play for Tim Wallach.  Wallach wasn't having any of that.  After 14 innings of play he was ready to go home.  As in RUN.  HOME RUN.  WALK-OFF!!!

Winning Pitcher - Jeff Reardon
Losing Pitcher - Rick Reuschel
Player of the Game - Tim Wallach, 3-Run Walk-Off Homer!!!
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg, Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

Happy Trails...Greg Harris

Greg Harris pitched two scoreless innings of relief in this one.  Fear not, it's not the last time you'll see his name this season.  He got traded to the Padres in the real 1984, though I'll probably hold out on using him until after the All-Star Break.  Let's compare the real 1984 Greg Harris Expos numbers to his Statis Pro performance:

Real 1984:  0-1, 2.04 ERA, 17.2 IP, 2 saves, 0.96 WHIP
Statis Pro:  1-3, 1.20 ERA, 15 IP, 5 saves, 0.87 WHIP

Both versions of Harris are studly for the Montreal bullpen.  Harris actually leads the Statis Pro team in saves.  Jeff Reardon will probably get more use later in the games, now, though I'm trying to channel my inner-Keith Law and use the best pitcher in the highest leverage situation, be it the ninth inning or not.

Greg Harris wrapped up his long career in 1995 by pitching one last season with...the Expos. 

June 5, 1984 - Rated PG

Game #679 - Cincinnati Reds, 2 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 0

I'm not exaggerating when I say Frank Pastore might be the worst starter in Statis Pro so far, but good governor, he pitched one of the most fantastic starts of the  year!

The Dodgers recorded their first base-runner in the bottom of the second.  Ken Landreaux singled with two outs.  He was stranded after R.J. Reynolds struck out to end the inning.  L.A. didn't have a new runner until the bottom of the sixth!  Orel Hershiser singled but Dave Anderson struck out and then Mike Scioscia grounded out to Dave Concepcion.

Speaking of Hershiser...he was nearly as brilliant.  He only allowed one run over eight innings, a Tom Foley sacrifice fly that plated Dave Parker.  But Pastore was practically perfect, so Orel got stuck with the loss.

Winning Pitcher - Frank Pastore
Losing Pitcher - Orel Hershiser
Player of the Game - Pastore, CG SHO, 3H's, BB, 7K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tony Perez

Game #680 - Texas Rangers, 5 @ Minnesota Twins, 8

Mike Smithson worked a perfect first inning but ran into a buzz-saw in the top of the second.  The Rangers smoked him for three runs and only escaped when Wayne Tolleson got thrown out trying to steal second base.

In the bottom of the fourth the Rangers were up 4-0 when the Twins came roaring back.  A Gary Gaetti RBI single led the way as they tied the game back up.  Gaetti drove in two more in the fifth to give Minnesota their first lead of the game.  They'd go on to win the game, breaking their tie for last place with Texas.

Winning Pitcher - Mike Smithson
Losing Pitcher - Frank Tanana
Save - Mike Walters
Player of the Game - Gary Gaetti, 4-4, 2R's, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett

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 3, 1984 - Unlikely Pitching Heroes

Game #653 - Boston Red Sox, 5 @ Milwaukee Brewers, 0

Mike Brown started 11 games for the Red Sox in 1984 and wasn't very good.  But as I like to say in Statis Pro..."that's why you play the game!!!"

Brown retired the first ten batters he faced, finally surrendering a single to Jim Sundberg in the bottom of the fourth.  He would only give up three more singles the rest of the way and only had to face 30 total batters!!!  It ranks as one of the top pitched games of the year, easily in the top 10.

He had all the runs he needed thanks to a breakout inning in the top of the third.  Moose  Haas gave up an RBI double to Jim Rice and then a three-run homer to Tony Armas.  The Red Sox picked up one more run in the top of the ninth thanks to a Ted Simmons error at third base.

Winning Pitcher - Mike Brown
Losing Pitcher - Moose Haas
Player of the Game - Brown, CG SHO, 2K's, 0BB's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Robin  Yount

Game #654 - Kansas City Royals, 3 @ Minnesota Twins, 1

Frank Wills started 5 games for the Royals in 1984 and wasn't very good.  But as I like to say in Statis Pro..."that's why you play the game!!!"

Wills pitched seven shutout innings and only gave up four hits.  Strangely, all four were for extra bases and three of them came off the bat of Ron Washington (two doubles and a triple).  But Wills worked out of every one of those jams without the base runner crossing home plate. 

Strangely, the KC pitcher who struggled on the day was ace reliever Dan Quisenberry.  Quiz hadn't allowed a single run all season but the second batter he faced, Tim Laudner, took him deep for a solo homer.  He gave up two more hits in his two innings pitched but did well enough to record the save.  Onix Concepcion was the star on offense, going three for three with a double, RBI, stolen base and two runs scored.  The win meant the Royals swept the Twins at the Metrodome, going 4-0 and moving to within a game of .500 on the season.

Winning Pitcher - Frank Wills
Losing Pitcher - Ken Schrom
Save - Dan Quisenberry
Player of the Game - Wills, 7IP, 0R's, 5K's
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Kirby Puckett

June 2, 1984 - The Kings of I-70

Game #641 - Kansas City Royals, 5 @ Minnesota Twins, 4

On paper this looked like an easy match-up, but it was anything but for the Royals.  They had staff ace Bud Black on the mound against a sub-par Pete Filson.  Don Slaught took Filson deep for a two run blast in the second.  KC  tacked on another run in the fourth on an RBI hit by Greg Pryor.

But in the bottom of the fourth Black fell apart, surrendering four runs and getting lifted from the game.  Two of those scores were compliments of a Kent Hrbek triple. 

The Royals tied the game on a passed ball that scored Willie Wilson in the fifth.  And then in the sixth Onix Concepcion scored on a Don Slaught double, his third RBI of the day and the eventual game-winner.

Winning Pitcher - Bret Saberhagen
Losing Pitcher - Pete Filson
Save - Mark Huismann
Player of the Game - Don Slaught, 2-3, HR, 2b, BB, 3RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Kirby Puckett

Game #642 - St. Louis Cardinals, 2 @ New York Mets, 0

This was another one I would have bet money on only to lose it.  Dwight Gooden was up against Bob Forsch, and there were nearly four runs of difference between their ERA's in the real 1984.  Gooden lived up to his reputation, going eight strong and striking out nine along the way.  But Forsch kept the Mets bats guessing.  In the bottom of the eighth he allowed a lead-off single to Ron Hodges and then a walk to Rusty Staub.  At that point Forsch got lifted for Bruce Sutter, who worked out of the jam when Keith Hernandez grounded into his second double play of the game.

Doug Sisk came on in the top of the ninth and the Cards played their custom small-ball offense.  David Green walked and moved to third on a hit-and-run by Ken Oberkfell.  Tom Herr came up next and squeezed Green home!  Two batters later Oberkfell scored on a single by Tito Landrum and with that Gooden's gem was flushed down the drain.

Winning Pitcher - Bruce Sutter
Losing Pitcher - Doug Sisk
Player of the Game - Tom Herr, 2-3, RBI sacrifice bunt
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith, Bruce Sutter

June 1, 1984 - Rocket Launch

Game #627 - Boston Red Sox, 9 @ Milwaukee Brewers, 6

Well, this was one of the most anticipated games of the Statis Pro season - the debut of rookie Roger Clemens!

Clemens is a "2-5" ranked pitcher in Statis Pro thanks to his +4 ERA, but his strikeout range is enormous, so it should make for some interesting stat lines the rest of the way.

The Rocket got into trouble in the bottom of the second.  With two outs and runners on second and third, Rick Manning ripped a double to but the Brew Crew up by two.  But the Red Sox tied the game by plating runs in the third and fourth inning.  The score stayed knotted until the top of the sixth.  With one run already in, Dwight Evans took spot starter Chuck Porter over the outfield fence for three more RBI!

Meanwhile, Clemens pitched out of a jam in the bottom half of the inning but finally got tagged again in the seventh when a Ben Oglivie single brought Cecil Cooper and Robin Yount home.  Ganter came up next and got a hit but Oglivie was thrown  out at third base for the second time of the game by Dewey.  Bob Stanley gave up two unearned runs off his own error in the eighth but Boston held on to give Clemens a win for his first career start.

Winning Pitcher - Roger Clemens
Losing Pitcher - Chuck Porter
Player of the Game - Dwight Evans, 2-4, HR, 3RBI, 2R's, BB, HBP, 2Asst.'s
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice, Robin Yount, Rollie Fingers

Game #628 - Kansas City Royals, 3 @ Minnesota Twins, 2

Dave Engle led off the bottom of the second with a double and scored three batters later when Kirby Puckett knocked him home.  That was the only run of the game until the bottom of the sixth when Tim Teufel took Royals starter Larry Gura deep for a solo homer.

Frank Viola, meanwhile, was mowing down the Royals...until the eighth inning.  With two outs Hal McRae singled and Willie Wilson scored to make it a 2-1 game still in favor of the Twins.  But a Houston Jimenez error kept the inning alive and Viola was replaced by Ron Davis.  Davis gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitter Dane Iorg and all of a sudden Viola had a no-decision and the game was tied.

In the top of the ninth pinch-hitter Jorge Orta doubled with one out.  Wilson popped out and it looked like George Brett grounded out to Gary Gaetti but Gaetti overthrew Kent Hrbek and Orta scored the go-ahead run on the error!  Quisenberry worked his second inning of relief in the bottom of the ninth and got the Twins retired without incident to cap a comeback victory for the Royals.

Winning Pitcher - Dan Quisenberry
Losing Pitcher - Ron Davis
Player of the Game - Quisenberry
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Kirby Puckett

May 31, 1984 - You Only Have To Win By One

Game #617 - Kansas City Royals, 4 @ Minnesota Twins, 3

This was a real back and forth game.  In the top of the first Onix Concepcion reached on a single.  He stole second base and reached third on a George Brett fly out.  He proceeded to score on a passed ball by Tim Laudner.  Kansas City returned the favor in the bottom of the second when Tim Teufel scored on a wild pitch by Mark Gubicza.

Minnesota pulled ahead three to one when Tom Brunansky went deep for a two run bomb in the third.  But KC tied it up again in the fifth.  In a huge two-out rally, Willie Wilson tripled, scored on a Concepcion double, and then two batters later Hal McRae singled home Concepcion.  That would turn out to be the deciding run as Dan Quisenberry held the Twins scoreless over the final two innings.

Winning Pitcher - Mark Gubicza
Losing Pitcher - Rick Lysander
Save - Dan Quisenberry
Player of the Game - Hal McRae, 3-4, 2B, 2RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Kirby Puckett

Game #618 - St. Louis Cardinals, 1 @ New York Mets, 2

This looks like a pitcher's duel on the screen, but in reality these two teams combined for 24 hits...yet only produced three runs!  The winning run came in the bottom of the sixth when Keith Hernandez knocked Jerry Martin home.  Jesse Orosco pitched a perfect ninth inning to notch the save.

Winning Pitcher - Ron Darling
Losing Pitcher - Dave LaPoint
Save - Jesse Orosco
Player of the Game - Keith Hernandez, 3-5, RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith

May 30, 1984 - Remember When They Were in World Series Droughts?

Game #603 - Chicago Cubs, 10 @ Atlanta Braves, 8

The Cubbies went up 4-0 in the first and never looked back, even though the final score made it look closer than it really was.  Leon Durham hit a 2-RBI double with the bases loaded, helping chase away Len Barker after three innings and seven runs of offense.  Durham added another RBI, again with a double, in the sixth.  But it was Rich Hebner, making an ultra-rare start in the outfield, who had the biggest day.  He went four for five with a RBI and three runs scored...plus an outfield assist!

Winning Pitcher - Chuck Rainey
Losing Pitcher - Len Barker
Save - Warren Brusstar
Player of the Game - Rich Hebner
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg

Game #604 - Minnesota Twins, 0 @ Boston Red Sox, 7

The poor Twins lost this one almost as soon as it started.  In the bottom of the first Wade Boggs singled, Dwight Evans walked, and then Mike Easler homered to give them a 3-0 lead before they even recorded an out!  Bob Ojeda scattered nine hits and two walks in a complete game shutout, the first shutout of the year for any Boston pitcher.

Winning Pitcher - Bob Ojeda
Losing Pitcher - John Butcher
Player of the Game - Mike Easler, 3-4, 2B, HR, 5RBI
Hall of Famers in the Game - Kirby Puckett, Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

May 27, 1984 - Calendar Milestones

I suspect that before I'm able to post again, the date of the 2017 MLB season will surpass that of my Statis Pro calendar.  Each year this happens it reminds me of how far I have to go and how quickly real time passes us by!

Game #577 - Milwaukee Brewers, 3 @ Minnesota Twins, 8

Few players are having a worse season in the AL than Tim Laudner.  His offense has been abysmal.  But in this game his bat finally came alive.  He had RBI doubles in the second and fifth innings and eventually scored after both hits.  Ken Schrom scattered seven hits over six innings to earn the win.  Pete Ladd went three innings in relief to preserve the Milwaukee bullpen after Mike Caldwell could only go five.

Winning Pitcher - Ken Schrom
Losing Pitcher - Mike Caldwell
Player of the Game - Tim Laudner, 3-4, 2 2b's, 2RBI, 2R's, asst.
Hall of Famers in the Game - Robin Yount, Kirby Puckett

Game #578 - San Francisco Giants, 4 @ Montreal Expos, 6

Errors by Joel Youngblood and starter Jeff Robinson helped the Expos plate five runs in the first two innings.   Youngblood, playing left field because of the gluttony of injuries for the Giants, is a disaster at any position thanks to his "E10" error rating.  I think that was mostly earned at third base during the real 1984, but it carries over to whichever position he plays according to Statis Pro.

San Francisco staged a game-long rally but fell short in the ninth, climbing back to within two runs before Bob James retired the top of the lineup (Chili Davis, Chris Brown, and Jeffrey Leonard) in order.

Winning Pitcher - Bill Gullickson
Losing Pitcher - Jeff Robinson
Save - Bob James
Player of the Game - James, 1 IP, SV
Hall of Famers in the Game - Tim Raines, Andre Dawson, Gary Carter

May 26, 1984 - Dramatic Outcomes

Game #563 - Pittsburgh Pirates, 3 @ Houston Astros, 4 (10 innings)

Bob Knepper gave up a lead-off double in the first to Lee Lacy, who eventually scored on a Jason Thompson sacrifice fly.  But he settled down after that, going six innings only giving up that run.

The Astros took the lead in the fourth.  Jose Cruz was on base after a single when Jerry Mumphrey cranked a long fly to right field.  Brian Harper crashed into the wall trying to track it down, resulting in a triple for Mumphrey.  He then scored on a Denny Walling single, which made it 2-1 Houston.  Harper is injured now for 67 games - a record length of time for this Statis Pro season.

In the top of the ninth the Pirates were down to their last three batters.  With one out Lee Mazzilli dug in against Dave Smith...and hit a HOMER!  TIE GAME!  The Astros couldn't answer in the bottom of the ninth so it was on to free baseball.

Lacy led off the tenth with a single and booked it to third on a Tony Pena double.  Frank DiPino intentionally walked Jason Thompson to load the bases but make it a force out at any base.  Jim Morrison hit a deep ground out to the first base side which allowed Lacy to score and to give the Pirates a one run lead going into the bottom of the tenth.  But the game wasn't done!  Cecilio Guante took the mound for the save but yielded a walk to Terry Puhl and a single to Jose Cruz.  He struck out Mumphrey but Enos Cabell SMOKED a DOUBLE to CLEAR THE BASES FOR THE WALK-OFF WIN!!!

Winning Pitcher - Frank DiPino
Losing Pitcher - Cecilio Guante
Player of the Game - Enos Cabell, 2-5, 2B, 2RBI

Game #564 - Milwaukee Brewers, 3 @ Minnesota Twins, 0

This was a game of pitching dominance.  Frank Viola was filthy for the Twins, going eight innings and giving up only three hits while striking out five, but one of those hits was a Bob Clark homer.  Meanwhile, Jaime Cocanower hurled a no-hitter until the sixth inning, when Tom Brunansky ripped a double with one out.  In the seventh Randy Bush singled with one out when Tim Laudner smacked a double to the noodle-armed Clark in center field.  Bush applied his "OBR A" running and tried to make it all the way home against Clark's "T2" arm rating.  But Clark got it into Jim Sundberg at home and ahead of Bush to keep the Twins off the scoreboard.  Ray Searage got the save but recording five straight outs.

Winning Pitcher - Jaime Cocanower
Losing Pitcher - Frank Viola
Save - Ray Searage
Player of the Game - Bob Clark, 1-3, HR, RBI, Asst.
Hall of Famers in the Game - Robin Yount, Kirby Puckett