April 11, 1984 - Insert Snappy Title Here

I struggled to come up with a title that correlated between these three games.  I guess just before midnight isn't the best time for my creative juices...

Game #81 - Kansas City Royals @ Baltimore Orioles
I thought I'd try something new and not reveal the score until the end of the blurb.  Mark Gubicza and Mike Boddicker were baffling the hitters in this game through the first six innings.  Neither team scored a run in that span.  Gubicza actually finished with nine strikeouts total. 

In the top of the seventh Frank White singled but made it to second when CF Al Bumbry booted the ball.  White move to third on a poke from Don Slaught, which brought up pinch hitter Dane Iorg.  Iorg grounded out to first but White score to break the 0-0 tie.  In the bottom of the seventh, though, the Orioles took the lead with RBI singles from John Shelby and Mike Young.  The O's got two more in the bottom of the eighth when Rich Dauer and Rick Dempsey stroked back to back doubles to add two more runs.  The O's beat the Royals, 4-1.

Winning Pitcher - Mike Boddicker
Losing Pitcher - Mark Gubicza
Save - Sammy Stewart
Player of the Game - Ken Singleton, 3-4, 1R (started both rallies in the seventh and eighth)
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray

Game #82 - Milwaukee Brewers @ California Angels
With two outs in the bottom of the second, 1B Darryl Sconiers punched a double and later scored on a Ted Simmons error (Simmons has been playing first base with Cecil Cooper on the DL).  The Brewers tied things up when Simmons redeemed himself and batted in Ben Oglivie.  Simmons really must have been feeling guilty, because he had another RBI single in the sixth to give Milwaukee the 2-1 lead.  In the bottom half of the frame Reggie Jackson singled, stole second (!) and on a wild throw from C Bill Schroeder moved to third.  Juan Beniquez squeezed him home to once again tie the game.  Moose Haas, the Brewers starter, had been cruising up to this point, as had Angels starter Ron Romanick (whose name reminds me of this).  I lifted Romanick after seven innings but left Haas in to face the heart of the Angels order in the eighth.  Bad move on my part.  Fred Lynn singled and Doug DeCinces made the California fans go wild with a two run homer.  Angels win, 4-2

Winning Pitcher - Doug Corbett
Losing Pitcher - Moose Haas
Player of the Game - DeCinces, game winning homer
Hall of Famers in the Game - Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Reggie Jackson

Game #83 - Cleveland Indians @ Chicago White Sox
Julio Franco owes Bert Blyleven an apology.  With two outs and a runner on in the bottom of the second, Franco fumbled a sure out grounder from Julio Cruz, and the White Sox went on to score six runs in the inning.  Harold Baines added a grand slam in the third and it was game over for the Indians.  LaMar Hoyt of the White Sox had only allowed one run on an Andre Thornton homer through eight innings, and I thought I'd let him try for the complete game victory.  After surrendering three runs in the ninth, including another Thornton homer, I had to pull him.  8 2/3 innings pitched - close but no cigar.  His ERA won't reflect it, but Hoyt pitched a heck of a game.  White Sox win, 12-5.

Winning Pitcher - Hoyt
Losing Pitcher - Blyleven
Player of the Game - Baines, 3-5, grand slam, 6RBI's, 2R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Bert Blyleven, Carlton Fisk

April 10, 1984 - More Wild Games

What are you doing reading this blog?  Shouldn't you be watching the NCAA Tournament? 

Game #78 - Houston Astros, 9 @ Philadelphia Phillies, 5
It hurts to see major stars like Steve Carlton and Mike Schmidt struggle in Statis Pro.  Enos Cabell hit a two run homer in the first thanks in part to a Schmidt error.  Schmidt has four on the season, which leads both leagues.  He's also yet to hit a home run (though he's hitting fine otherwise).  Carlton surrendered eleven hits over six innings but avoided the loss because Tug McGraw gave up the eventual winning run. 

Winning Pitcher - Mike LaCoss
Losing Pitcher - Tug McGraw
Player of the Game - Cabell, 4-5, HR, 3RBI's, 3R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton

Game #79 - St. Louis Cardinals, 6 @ San Diego Padres, 5
The Cardinals started beating up Padres starter Eric Show right away as they scored three in the first, two from a double by Andy VanSlyke.  They added another in the second but the Padres tied things up in the bottom of the third when Show led off with a solo homer and Kevin McReynolds added a two run bomb.  The score stayed knotted at 4-4 heading into the bottom of the eighth.  With one out 2B Alan Wiggins singled off of reliever Dave Rucker.  Tony Gwynn did as well, leaving runners on the corner.  The infield was at double play depth when Steve Garvey hit a chopper to second base.  Tom Herr threw out Gwynn at second but Garvey was safe at first and Wiggins scored the go-ahead run, 5-4 Padres. 

The Padres brought in closer Goose Gossage to shut down the Cards in the ninth.  Pinch hitter Tito Landrum popped out to the catcher and George Hendrick struck out, making it two outs.  But Gossage walked VanSlyke, which brought up Lonnie Smith.  If you've been reading the blog, you might know Lonnie has a flair for the dramatic.  He didn't disappoint here - TWO RUN, HOME RUN!  The Padres went from leading by one to trailing by one.  Sutter saved the game in the bottom of the ninth and the Padres must have headed to the locker room in disbelief.  If this were a real game, that is.

Winning Pitcher - Dave Rucker
Losing Pitcher - Goose Gossage
Save - Bruce Sutter
Player of the Game - Lonnie Smith.  He only went 1-5, but he made the one count!  He's also the second player to have two "POTG" honors.
Hall of Famers in the Game - Ozzie Smith, Bruce Sutter, Tony Gwynn, Goose Gossage

Game #80 - Pittsburgh Pirates, 1 @ San Francisco Giants, 0 (12 innings)
The pitching battle of the year happened in this one.  Through ten innings starters Rick Rhoden and Atlee Hammaker pitched a scoreless game.  At one point Hammaker had retired eighteen batters in a row.  The Pirates finally lifted Rhoden for a pinch hitter in the top of the eleventh, and though they had runners on the corners, Hammaker escaped the jam.  Cecilo Gaunte made quick work of the Giants in the bottom of the eleventh, so we headed to the top of the twelfth.  After eleven innings Hammaker was finally yanked and Giants reliever Bob Lacey got right into trouble.  He walked Jason Thompson and gave up a hit to Tony Pena.  The hit moved Thompson to third, 90 feet away from the first lead for either team.  Bill Madlock flew out to shallow center, stranding Thompson on third.  Dale Berra was up next and attempted the squeeze - success!  Thompson scored!  Gaunte gave up a hit to Bob Brenly in the bottom of the inning but the Giants could do nothing with it.  The Giants have started the season 0-6, this one being their most frustrating loss.

Winning Pitcher - Cecilio Gaunte
Losing Pitcher - Bob Lacey
Player of the Game - I'm giving it Rick Rhoden, who pitched ten shutout innings.  Hammaker deserves some love too, as he went eleven.

***That's it for April 10 - standings and stats have been updated.

April 10, 1984 - Two Runs or Less

I have three close games to report!

Game #75 - Boston Red Sox, 4 @ Seattle Mariners, 2
We had a southpaw battle in the Emerald City as Bobby Ojeda faced off against Mark Langston.  Back to back doubles by Dwight Evans and Wade Boggs gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead, but Phil Bradley knocked in Gorman Thomas for a run in the bottom of the second, and catcher Bob Kearney had an RBI single to score Barry Bonnell in the fourth, making it 2-2.  Through the first four innings Langston had recorded seven strikeouts, and I thought he might be heading towards a Statis Pro, season high.  But the harder you throw it, the harder they hit it.  Dwight Evans crushed a solo homer in the fifth and Tony Armas added another homer.  Armas was 1-4 on the day with a homer and three strikeouts, which was pretty much his real 1984 season in a nutshell.  Langston finished with 10 K's but still suffered the loss.

Winning Pitcher - Bobby Ojeda
Losing Pitcher - Mark Langston
Save - Steve Crawford
Player of the Game - Dewey, 2-3, HR, 2B, BB, 1RBI, 2R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Wade Boggs, Jim Rice

Game #76 - New York Mets, 5 @ Atlanta Braves, 7
The Mets had a 5-1 lead after three innings, largely in part to THREE (!!!) errors by centerfielder Claudell Washington.  The errors all came on hits, too.  He just couldn't get his glove on the ball.  In the fourth, though, the Braves started clawing back.  Gerald Perry knocked in two, and then Atlanta scored three more in the fifth, chasing away Mets starter Ron Darling.  Miraculously, Pascuel Perez got the win with only five innings of work.  He gave up five runs, but only one was earned due to Mr. Washington.  Gene Garber had three solid innings of relief work, limiting the potent Mets lineup to one hit, two walks, and four strikeouts. 

Winning Pitcher - Pascuel Perez
Losing Pitcher - Ron Darling
Save - Terry Forster
Player of the Game - Garber, 3IP, no runs, outstanding beard

Game #77 - Montreal Expos, 6 @ Cincinnati Reds, 7
I hate to bury the lead, but this was one of the most exciting games on the season.  RBI hits from Gary Carter and Tim Wallach gave the Expos a 2-0 lead after one inning.  Dave Concepcion had an RBI double in the third to cut the lead to one, but the Expos got four runs in the fifth off Jeff Russell, including a two run jack from Andre Dawson.  The Reds wouldn't go away, though.  Starter Charlie Lea left one hanging for 1B Dan Driessen, who promptly crushed a two run homer to cut the lead in half, 6-3.  Then in the seventh, with Lea still pitching and two men on, Gary Redus destroyed a pitch for a three run homer and amazingly tied the game, 6-6.  Dan Schatzeder for the Expos and Brad Lesley of the Reds pitched bravely in relief to keep the game tied.  John Franco pitched the eighth and ninth against Montreal and, despite allowing runners in both innings, kept the game scoreless.  Greg Harris came to the mound for the Expos in the bottom of the ninth.  He has a 2-9 pitching rating in Statis Pro, which is the best you can have and certainly makes him the best bullpen arm for Montreal.  He retired the first two batters with no problem.  But with two out, game tied in the bottom of the ninth, Reds outfield Cesar Cedeno took Harris backbackback - GONE!  WALK OFF HOMER!  THE REDS WIN!!!!  The first walk off home run of the Statis Pro season.  I actually yelped out loud when it happened!

Winning Pitcher - John Franco
Losing Pitcher - Greg Harris
Player of the Game - Cedeno!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hall of Famers in the Game - Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Pete Rose

April 10, 1984 - AL East Still Rolling

Game #72 - Texas Rangers, 7 @ Detroit Tigers, 18
No, that's not a typo.  The Tigers put up 18 runs on the beleaguered Rangers.  They scored 10 of them in the sixth inning alone.  Every Tiger starter had a hit and every Tiger starter had a run, except Alan Trammell.  That's kind of ironic because because he was the lead off hitter.  Or maybe its not ironic - I've been confused about irony since Alanis Morissette wrote a song about it...  The Tigers also blasted six home runs.  Meanwhile Jack Morris had seven solid innings, only giving up two runs.  The Rangers tagged mop-up man Glenn Abbott for five runs in the top of the ninth, including two homers from Alan Bannister and Buddy Bell.

Winning Pitcher - Jack Morris
Losing Pitcher - Joey McLaughlin
Player of the Game - Howard Johnson, 4-5, HR, 2B, 3RBI's, 3R's

Game #73 - Minnesota Twins, 2 @ New York Yankees, 6
The Twins snuck out to a 1-0 lead in the Yankee Stadium season opener thanks to a solo shot from Kent Hrbek.  Hrbek has started the season slowly, maybe he's warming up.  Ken Griffey tied things up in the bottom of the third with double that plated Mike Pagliarulo.  Griffey knocked in another two, again on a double, giving the Yankees a 3-1 lead.  Minnesota inched back on a RBI double from Dave Meier, but the Yankees extended the lead for good in the bottom of the eighth.  Don Baylor knocked in two with a double.  Minnesota stranded a ton of runners - Ron Guidry surrendered seven hits and five walks but the Twins couldn't capitalize.  Part of the problem were Guidry's strikeouts.  The Gator racked up ten K's. 

Winning Pitcher - Ron Guidry
Losing Pitcher - Mike Smithson
Save - Jay Howell
Player of the Game - Ken Griffey, 3-4, 2 2b's, 3RBI's, 1R
Hall of Famers in the Game - Dave Winfield

Game #74 - Toronto Blue Jays, 6 @ Oakland A's, 0 (rained out after 7 innings)
The rain put the A's out of their misery.  They've lost four straight after starting the season 3-0.  Doyle Alexander had his second strong start of the year, going the distance in the shortened game. 

Winning Pitcher - Doyle Alexander
Losing Pitcher - Ray Burris
Player of the Game - Tony Fernandez, 4-4, HR, 3RBI's, 2R's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson

***The Tigers, Yankees, and Blue Jays  have stayed hot to start the season and are making the AL East a very tough division so far...

April 10, 1984 - To Error is Human

Game #71 - Cleveland Indians, 4 @ Chicago White Sox, 6

Sometimes, things go wrong.  And sometimes, when things go wrong, other things start to go wrong.  The wrongness becomes contagious.  That's my only explanation for today's update.  The Indians and White Sox committed seven total errors today.  It wasn't pretty.  I thought I'd share each of them with you.

1. Heading into the bottom of the third, the Indians had a slim 1-0 lead.  After starting pitcher Steve Farr walked Jerry Hairston, CF Rudy Law hit a comebacker to Farr he couldn't handle.  E-1.  Hairston would eventually score on a Greg Walker double.
2. Still in the bottom of the third, but now the Indians are losing 3-1.  Vance Law hit a sharp grounder to 2B Tony Bernazard and it went through Tony's legs.  E-4.  Nobody scores as a result, though, and Farr got out of the inning.
3. Brook Jacoby smacked one towards White Sox 2B Julio Cruz in the top of the fourth.  Some of the Bernazard stank must have still been on the field, because Cruz couldn't handle it.  E-4.  Jacoby would be stranded when Carmelo Castillo popped out to the catcher.
4. Top of the fifth, catcher Chris Bando up for the Indians.  He hits a routine grounder to White Sox shortstop Scotty Fletcher.  Fletcher air mails the throw to first, Bando ends up on second.  E-6.  Bando would end up scoring on a sacrifice from Brett Butler.  That's an unearned run for pitcher Britt Burns.
5. Now in the top of the sixth, DH Andre Thornton hits one back up the middle to pitcher Britt Burns.  Burns isn't ready.  E-1.  Thornton would end up getting thrown out on a Joe Carter lineout.
6. That brings us to the top of the eighth.  With two outs and Butler standing on third base, Thornton is up.  Perhaps his bat is infecting the ball?  He grounds one to Julio Cruz but Cruz records his second error on the day and Butler scores.  E-4.  Thornton would end up scoring when George Vukovich rips a triple, closing the White Sox lead to 5-4.
7. Final error of the game.  Mike Fischlin is a late defensive substitution playing third base.  Jerry Hairston hits one hard at him and he boots it.  E-5.  It scores Vance Law to give the White Sox their sixth and final run.

It wasn't a good day to flash the leather, that's for sure.

Winning Pitcher - Britt Burns

Losing Pitcher - Steve Farr

Save - Ron Reed

Player of the Game - Vance Law, 2-4, HR, 2RBI's, 2R's, no errors!

Hall of Famers in the Game - Carlton Fisk

April 10, 1984 - Hall of Fame Losing Pitchers

Game #69 - Kansas City Royals, 6 @ Baltimore Orioles, 3
Jim Palmer toed the rubber for the undefeated Baltimore Orioles, and it got ugly early. In the top of the first he gave up a RBI double to Jorge Orta. The very next inning the Royals got two more with RBI singles from Willie Wilson and George Brett. The Orioles finally answered back in the bottom of the second with a pair of RBI's courtesy of Rick Dempsey and Todd Cruz.

Things got funny in the bottom of the fourth. Royals starting pitcher Bud Black objected to the umpire's insinuation that he was going to his mouth too much and had a few choice words for the man in blue. The ump decided it was in Bud's best interest to think about his actions in the clubhouse for the rest of the game. Our second ejection of the year, which, ironically enough, first happened to Rick Dempsey - who was in the batter's box when Black got tossed. Rick Dempsey: harbinger of ejections.

Palmer got tagged for a two run homer when Frank White knocked one out. All in all, Palmer gave up five runs in six innings. Royals reliever Joe Beckwith went four innings in relief of Black, and Quisenberry managed to save things over two to give the Royals a needed victory.

Winning Pitcher - Joe Beckwith
Losing Pitcher - Jim Palmer
Save - Dan Quisenberry
Player of the Game - Willie Wilson, 3-5, 2RBI's, 1R
Hall of Famers in the Game - George Brett, Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer

Game #70 - Milwaukee Brewers, 2 @ California Angels, 8
Don Sutton faced off against Mike Witt and despite both of them having a 2-6 pitcher rating in Statis Pro, Witt had the much better game. The Angels scored first in the bottom of the first when Reggie Jackson hit a single to score Rod Carew. The Brewers tied things up in the second when catcher Jim Sundberg hit a double to bring in Ted Simmons. But Fred Lynn belted a solo shot in the third and the anemic Dick Schofield muscled up a double to score Gary Pettis in the fourth. In the bottom of the seventh Brewers shortstop Ed Romero (Yount was DH-ing) had a costly error that led to a two run homer from Lynn, and that was the end of Sutton's day. Meanwhile, Mike Witt went eight innings and struck out eight. Yount had a solo homer in the eighth, but it did nothing to save the Brewers.

Winning Pitcher - Mike Witt
Losing Pitcher - Don Sutton
Player of the Game - Fred Lynn, 2-4, 2HR's, 3RBI's
Hall of Famers in the Game - Paul Molitor, Robin Yount, Don Sutton, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson

April 9, 1984 - Travel Day

We have our first calendar occurrence that ESPN producers must dread - travel day. Only three games happened on April 9, so here they are! (Stats and standings are updated too...)

Game #66 - Toronto Blue Jays, 4 @ Oakland A's, 0

This might have been the fastest game I've played so far. Dave Stieb was doing his usual unheralded awesomeness. He threw a complete game shutout, striking out seven and only allowing four hits, two by Joe Morgan. Rickey Henderson struck out three times in four at bats, which didn't help the A's offense. DH Willie Aikens had a nice 2-RBI double, and Willie Upshaw and Damaso Garcia continued their hot starts with five hits between them.

Winning Pitcher - Dave Stieb

Losing Pitcher - Steve McCatty

Player of the Game - Stieb

Hall of Famers in the Game - Rickey Henderson, Joe Morgan

Game #67 - Montreal Expos, 7 @ Cincinnati Reds, 4

The Expos came into this game still winless on the season, and things didn't start well for them. In the bottom of the first the bases were loaded thanks to an error by Tim Wallach on a Dave Concepcion bunt. Wayne Krenchicki delivered a single that scored two runs off Bill Gullickson. Gullickson gave up a solo homer to Krenchicki in the fourth to make it 3-0 Reds, and then Krenchicki recorded his fourth RBI when he doubled in Duane Walker.

The Expos struck back in the seventh with back to back doubles by Tim Wallach and SS Derrell Thomas, making it 4-1 Reds. In the eighth the Expos exploded. Terry Francona pinch hit for Gullickson and led of with a double. Mario Soto walked Tim Raines and Pete Rose to load the bases, ending his day. With Gary Carter up next against reliever Ted Power, he hit a weak grounder to Krenchicki, but Krenchicki bobbled it! The hero of the game committed an error, scoring Francona and keeping the bases loaded. Andre Dawson was up next and cranked a double to score two more and tie the game! Wallach popped out and Thomas tried to squeeze home Carter, but they threw him out. With two outs and runners on the corner, little Bryan Little poked an RBI single to give the Expos the lead, and pinch hitter Jim Wohlford added another RBI. Reliever Gary Lucas threw two scoreless for the save. Expos finally win!

Winning Pitcher - Bill Gullickson

Losing Pitcher - Ted Power

Save - Gary Lucas

Player of the Game - hard to choose, but I'll go with the big double by Andre Dawson

Hall of Famers in the Game - Gary Carter, Andre Dawson, Tony Perez

Game #68 - Chicago Cubs, 6 @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 8

This was a fun back and forth battle. The Dodgers jumped to a 2-0 lead after two innings, which could have been even larger had Bill Russell and Fernando Valenzuela not been thrown out at home on separate hits. Jody Davis, who is absolutely on fire right now, hit his second double of the game in the fourth to score the Cubs first run. In the fifth the Cubs took the lead on a two run homer from Ryne Sandberg. But in the bottom of the inning errors by starter Steve Trout and Jody Davis allowed the Dodgers to score four runs on five singles and the errors. Leading 6-3, the Dodgers gave up two more runs in the sixth thanks to a double by OF Henry Cotto. But LA answered back with two more runs on back to back RBI doubles from RJ Reynolds and Pedro Guerrero. The only other run scored by the Cubs was a solo homer from Davis (who was 3-3 on the day with the homer and two doubles).

Winning Pitcher - Fernando Valenzuela

Losing Pitcher - Lee Smith

Save - Tom Niedenfuer

Player of the Game - Pedro Guerrero, 2-5, 3RBI's, 1R

Hall of Famers in the Game - Ryne Sandberg

***This blog is now over a 1,000 page views - thanks for checking in and reading these recaps! As always, let me know in the comments below if you have any suggestions for improvements, etc. I'd love to build up the number of official followers, too. I might run a contest where I'll let a randomly selected follower pick the lineup for the next game of their favorite team. Stay tuned!