Standings after week # 3

East               W   L   Pct     GB
Pittsburgh         7   3  .700     -
Philadelphia       5   4  .556    1.5
St. Louis          4   4  .500    2.0
New York(N)        5   5  .500    2.0
Montreal           3   5  .375    3.0
Chicago(N)         2   8  .200    5.0


West               W   L   Pct     GB
Los Angeles        8   2  .800     -
San Diego          7   3  .700    1.0
Houston            7   3  .700    1.0
Cincinnati         4   5  .444    3.5
Atlanta            3   7  .300    5.0
San Francisco      2   8  .200    6.0


East               W   L   Pct     GB
Baltimore          6   4  .600     -
New York(A)        6   4  .600     -
Milwaukee          7   5  .583     -
Cleveland          6   6  .500    1.0
Detroit            4   6  .400    2.0
Boston             4   6  .400    2.0
Toronto            2   8  .200    4.0


West               W   L   Pct     GB
Kansas City        8   3  .727     -
Oakland            6   3  .667    1.0
Texas              6   3  .667    1.0
Chicago(A)         6   4  .600    1.5
California         5   4  .556    2.0
Minnesota          4   7  .364    4.0
Seattle            2   9  .182    6.0

LA sweeps hapless Cubbies in 3 game set @ the Friendly Confines

8/17 - Wrigley Field

Dodgers 6, Cubs 3

Bob Welch vs Mike Krukow

Darrell Thomas' solo blast and Pedro Guerrero's 2 run double in the 3rd erased a 2-0 Cub lead.  Kenny Landreax's RBI single with 2 out in the 5th made it 5-0.  The Dodgers never looked back.  Bob Welch would up his record to 2-0 with 7 2/3 innings of solid work.  Krukow would not get past the 4th inning.  Welch was the only Dodger starter not to post a hit.  Since he's not paid for hitting, nobody cared.

8/18 - Dodgers 7, Cubs 4

Jerry reuss vs Randy Martz

Reuss was good enough to get the win thanks to a trio of Cub pitchers who surrendered runs like the French surrender territory.  LA jumped out to a 3-0 lead after 2.  The Cubs rallied back to make it 3-2 with 2 in the 3rd, but never inched closer.  "Popeye", Steve Garvey went 3 for 5 flro LA.  Kenny Landreaux and Dusty Baker both had 2 RBI days.  Cub pitchers walked 10 batters.  Chicago is hitting an even .200 on the season, which is not going to get it done with their anemic pitching.

8/19 - Dodgers 12, Cubs 4

Fernando Valenzuela vs Rick Reuschel

Fernando-mania made it's stop in Chi-town.  LA's Merry-mex fanned 10, but did give up 3 runs in just 6 innings worth of work.  Of course vs Jim W's hapless Cubbies a 6 IP / 3 R linescore is more than good enough.  Big Daddy Reuschel was tagged for 12 hits and 4 runs in 4 2/3 innings.  Dick "Dirt" Tidrow was even worse giving up 8 in 2 2/3.  A pair of rookies paced LA's offense.  Rookie 2nd baseman Steve Sax went 4-6 with 2 RBI and rookie backstop Mike Scioscia was 4 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI's.  LA's hitfest ran the odometer up to 22.  Chicago had 12 hits of their own, but when your pitching staff leaks oil more than BP you have to do better than that.  LA's record inflates to 8-2 giving them a lead in the NL West, while the Northsiders dropped to 2-8 and sole possession of the NL East cellar.

Bombers take 2 of 3 from visiting Chisox

A 3-game set played at Yankee Stadium gave the fans an exciting series that could have gone either way.

Game 1:  NYY 4, CHW 3 (12 inns)

Rich Dotson vs Tommy John

Tommy John gave up a 3-run homer to Bull Luzinski in the first inning.  Rich Dotson held the Yankees silent until Oscar Gamble hit a 3 run homer of his own in the fifth.  Gamble now has 2 hits in 18 at-bats, each a 3-run homer.   In the 12th, Jerry Mumphrey walked and stole second and two batters later scored the game winning run on a single by Reggie Jackson.  Game MVP: Oscar Gamble 1-5, HR, 3RBI

Game 2: CHW 2, NYY 0

Britt Burns and Dennis Lamp held the Yankees scoreless through nine innings.  The White Sox were able to score 2 unearned runs in the game due to 2 errors by catcher Rick Cerone on steals by the Sox.  The Yankees were able to subvert another run on a squeeze play by pitching out and catching the White Sox red-handed.  Dave Righetti took the loss despite allowing 3 hits in 8 IP.  Game MVP: Britt Burns 7IP,  5H, 0R, 1W, 5K.

Game 3: NYY 2, CHW 1

Ross Baumgarten vs Rick Reuschel

Bob Watson hit his first HR of the season off Ross Baumgarten in the 2nd to give the Yanks a 1-0 lead.  In the 7th, Wayne Nordhagen hit his 2nd homer of the year  to tie the score.  The Yankees were able to win the game in the 9th on another walk-off single by Reggie.  Game MVP: Rick Reuschel 8IP, 6H, 1ER, 1W, 2K.

The Yankees (6-4) await the Royals for a weekend 3 game set, and the White Sox (6-4) continue on their road trip with a stop in Toronto.  --submitted by John Clingan--

Amazin's take 2 of 3 from Braves @ Launching Pad

8/18 - Fulton County Stadium

Randy Jones vs Rick Mahler

Braves 8, Mets 6

The "Launching Pad" saw the home team take the ailing Randy Jones deep 3 times in consecutive innings.  Chris Chambliss (3rd), Bruce Benedict (4th) and Dale Murphy (5th) helped hasten Jones' departure.  If there is such a term, Mahler could be considered a "hard luck" winner.  He gave up 5 runs on 10 hits, but only 4 of them were earned.  The bullpen almost let the Metsies back into it.  Somehow Mahler was able to get the win.  Both teams combined for 10 runs in just the first inning alone.  Both the smooth fielding Chambliss and Benedict had 2 hit / 3 RBI days.  Lee Mazzilli and John Stearns each had a 3 hit game, but the Amazin's still wound up on the short side of the ledger.

8/19 - Mets 2, Braves 1

Pat Zachry vs Tommy Boggs

Tommy Boggs' RBI single in the third turned out to be the only run that Pat Zachry or his minions would allow.  New York's bearded hurler would fan 6 and not allow a walk in 7 2/3's innings of work.  Tom Hausman would come up big getting the one batter he faced (Terry Harper) to fly out to shallow left.  Prior to Harper's AB, Brave Shortstop Mario Ramirez hit a two out triple and represented the tying run.  New York took the lead in the 4th when Ellis Valentine lifted a sac fly to right with the bases loaded to score Dave "Kong" Kingman.  John Stearns would score what would be the winning run 2 batters later when Zachry sliced a rare single just over the outstretched arms of Chambliss at first.  Neil Allen would toss a perfect 9th to get his second save of the season.

8/20 - Mets 1, Braves 0

Mike Scott vs Phil Niekro

Mike Scott carried a no hit bid into the 9th, but lost it when Claudell Washington lined a clean single to right with 1 out.  Scott looked a bit upset, so his manager (Eric Stouber) quickly went to the pen and brought in Neil Allen, who notched his 3rd save of the season (2nd in as many days).  Scott and Allen protected a 1 run lead provided by a two out RBI double by Ellis Valentine in the 4th.  Scott's breakout day on the hill was backed up by little or no offense, so he had to be just that perfect.  Hubie Brooks, Frank Taveras and Doug Flynn all had 2 hit games, with Taveras scoring New York's lone run.

O's almost sweep Halos in 3 at the Big A

8/18 - Anaheim Stadium

Scotty McGregor vs Mike Witt

Orioles 5, Angels 0

No need to dig deep to find the story of the day.  It begins and ends with Scotty McGregor's masterful 3 hit complete game shutout.  With Rick Burleson leading the game off for California with a clean single to center there was never any no hitter suspense.  The game was scoreless until John "Tonight Let it be" Lowensten hit a 3 run blast in the top of the 4th to get Baltimore's party going.  As we all know the O's for years have lived and died (mostly lived) by the 3 run homer and this game would be a classic example of that.  An RBI double by Rich Dauer in the 5th and a run scoring single by Rick Dempsey rounded out the scoring for the victorious O's.

8/19 - Orioles 7, Angels 5

Mike Flanagan vs Steve Renko

Both starters had nothing.  Flanagan lasted 2/3 more innings than his opposing number, not due to effectiveness, but more due to the benevolence of his manager (Andy Weinrib), who was hoping he'd right his ship so to speak.  Renko on the other hadn't had 5 shutout innings until he was blasted for 5 runs (all earned) in the 6th.  Renko's fate was sealed by the fact that he couldn't even get one batter out in the 6th before hitting the showers.  Doug DeCinces two run double signaled Renko's untimely exit.  There is nothing worse than squandering a big lead.  In one inning California went from being up by 5 to being tied vs a team with superior talent.  Rich Dauer's double in the 7th scored Len Sakata and Doug DeCinces 3rd RBI of the day (a sac fly) scored Rick Dempsey to give the O's a 2 run lead after 7.  Tim Stoddard, who replaced Flanagan went 2 1/3 scoreless innings to earn the win.  Tippy Martinez posted a scoreless 9th for his 3rd save.

8/20 - Angels 6, Orioles 5

Dennis Martinez vs Ken Forsch

It took two late inning comebacks for the Angels to force extras en route to salvaging some sort of respect in this series.  Manager Douglas Zaner had to dig deep into his bag of tricks and preemo strategic skills just to keep this team going.  Down 5-2 in the bottom of the 8th the Angels rallied for 2 to make it 5-4.  Zaner astutely put in John Harris to pinch hit for the stale Freddy Lynn.  Harris came through with a 2 out RBI single.  Butch Hobson followed that with a two out double to make it a 1 run game.  With Tim Stoddard on the bump in the 9th Zaner needed even more magic.  He got that with a 2 out RBI single from Brian Downing, which scored Rick Burelson to force extras.  The bottom of the 10th saw Zaner's strategic genius come through one more time with Larry Harlow chosen to pinch hit for defensive specialist Bobby Clark.  With Hobson on 1st Harlow hit a bullet to second that Dauer had to dive for, but could not field cleanly.  The official scorer gave Dauer an error, but when a ball is hit that hard most scorers would have been inclined to record a safety.  Veteran Rod Carew flew out weakly to center for the second out of the inning, but Rick Burleson lined a hot smash threw the hole to score Bert Campaneris, who pinch ran for Hobson, for the game winner.

'Stros take 2 of 3 from 'Spos @ the 8th Wonder of the World

8/17 - Astrodome

Astros 4, Expos 2

Bill Gullickson vs Vern Ruhle

Vern Ruhle gave up just 1 unearned run over 5 innings, then gave way to the pen.  Montreal sat around waiting for the big hit that never arrived.  Houston's top two hitters Tony Scott and Craig Reynolds were on base early and often (both were 2 for 4).  The top 4 hitters in Houston's lineup are hitting over .400, which is off the charts good.  Ruhle not only had a great day on the bump, he also went 2 for 3 at the plate.

8/18 - Astros 4, Expos 0

Steve Rogers vs Bob Knepper

Houston had Rogers on the ropes in each of the first 3 innings where they scored a run each time.  The 'Stros never delivered the knockout blow, but didn't need to as starter Bob Knepper went the distance with a tidy 6 hit shutout.  Once again Tony Scott found first with regularity going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored.  In total Houston had 11 hits.  Cesar Cedeno, who still isn't enjoying his conversion from centerfield to 1st base had himself a 3 for 5 day with 2 RBI's.

8/19

Expos 7, Astros 3

Scott Sanderson vs Nolan Ryan

Ryan threw 108 pitches in 6 1/3 innings and made an early exit up 1-0.  Houston's pen couldn't do "the Express" justice as they proceeded to melt down.  Billy Smith looked more like his namesake goalie than a competent reliever in the 7th inning where he gave up 3 runs on 5 hits and became the pitcher of record on the short side of the ledger.  Tim Raines' two out two run double broke up a 1-1 tie.  In the 8th the Expos got a 3 run shot by Tim Wallach to salt away the game.  Montreal's rookie right fielder is really a 3rd baseman by trade.  He's been struggling defensively, but did not take his woes out to the plate whee he went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 3 RBI's.  Everyone in the Expo lineup had a hit except Sanderson, who only went 6.  Elias Sosa and Bill Lee finished out the game.  Montreal posted 14 hits and Houston posted 10.  Tony Scott for the 3rd straight day had a multi-hit game (3 for 5) for the Stros.  His season average is now a gaudy .484.

Bosox take 2 of 3 from A's in Oakland

8/18/1981 - Oakland Coliseum

Mike Torrez vs Steve McCatty

Red Sox 5, A's 2

Tied 2-2 after 5 the Bosox were able to nibble away at McCatty to take a 3 run lead.  41 year old Yaz singled home Rem-Dog with 2 out to break the 2-2 tie up in the 6th.  Four straight singles in the 7th and a walk to Yaz with the bases loaded provided 2 more.  Oakland out hits Boston 10 to 9, but never solve Boston's relievers (Bob Stanley & Tom Burgmeier).

8/19/1981

Steve Crawford vs Mike Norris

Red Sox 6, A's 3 (14 inn)

Boston used 7 pitchers today and needed each and every one of them to defeat the A's.  A Mike Norris wild pitch in the top of the 7th scored Dave Stapleton with 2 outs and gave the Bosox a 3-1 lead.  Time was running out on the A's, who struck quick with 2 homers in the bottom of the 8th.  Dave McKay led off the inning with a line drive that barely cleared the left center fence.  Cliff Johnson's 2 out blst tied it up at 3-3, which is how it remained until the top of the 14th.  A's reliever Jeff Jones squandered 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief turned in by Tom Underwood, by giving up 3 back breaking runs.  Jerry Remy's RBI double busted up the stalemate.  Carney Lansford's 2 run single provide the necessary insurance.  Chuck Rainey and Bobby Ojeda combined to get the final 3 outs.

8/20/1981

Dennis Eckersley vs Matt Keough

A's 4, Red Sox 0

Oakland needed a big game from Matt Keough today in order to stop the bleeding.  Keough took on the role of stopper and cruised to a 5 hit complete game shutout.  Cruised might be an exageration, because up until the bottom of the 6th we were looking at a scoreless tie.  With 1 out and the bases loaded Eckersley gave up an RBI single to Jeff Newman.  Pinch hitter Shooty Babitt singled home Tony Armas to make it 2-0.  Bases loaded walks by Mark Clear allowed 2 more runs to score in the 8th.  Jeff Newman went 3 for 4 and knocked in a run and scored a run.  His season average increased to .360.  Oakland at least salvaged some dignity in a must win game.

Friars take 2 of 3 from Redbirds @ Jack Murphy Stadium

Game 1 at San Diego,

San Diego banged out 13 hits including 2 hits apiece from Kennedy, Jones, Lefebvre, and Juan Bonilla as the Friars outlasted the Cardinals.  Tim Lollar threw three innings of relief to even his record at 1-1.  John Littlefield earned his first save with one inning of relief in the ninth inning.  The loser was veteran south paw Jim Kaat. Padres 8...Cardinals 6.

Game 2 at San Diego,

The second game of the series went the way of the Padres too.  Chris Welsh remains perfect at 2-0 as he threw 6 innings of 4 run ball. Welsh got support from Randy Bass as he connected for his second homerun of the season.  Terry Kennedy banged out 3 hits. Gary Lucas pitched the final three innings, surrendering only 1 to nail down his fourth save of the year. Padres 7...Cardinals 4.

Game 3 at San Diego,

The Cardinals salvaged the last game of the series as lefty, John Martin pitched 8.1 innings of scoreless ball.  Martin kept the Padre batters off balance all game as he surrendered only 7 hits during his work. Bruce Sutter came on the 9th inning to get the final two Friar batters.

Cardinals 4....Padres 0.

--submitted by Joey Scigliano--

Bucs take 2 of 3 from Jints

The Pirates chase Giants' starter Tom Griffin early by scoring 14 runs in the first three innings and go on to win Game One 14-7. Bill Madlock and Mike Easler both go 3-3 and drive in seven between them to lead The Lumber Company.

 

In Game Two, Madlock comes off the bench and doubles home pinch-runner Lee Lacy in the 10th inning to give the Pirates a 4-3 for their sicth win in a row.

 

The Giants get off the schneid in Game Three by scoring three runs in the seventh; tying the game on Billy Smith's two-run homer, and the go-ahead run scoring on a Rennie Stennet sacrifice fly. Greg Minton holds off the Pirates for the save in San Francisco's 4-3 win.

--submitted by Chris Gotay--

Motown sweeps 3 from Twinkies

Monday August 17 at Tiger Stadium  Milt Wilcox was the only Tiger pitcher to win a game this season as the Tigers start 1--6.  He would be facing Jerry Koosman who also won his only start of the season.  Neither would figure in the outcome.  The Tigers got things going in the bottom of the first when Lou Whitaker tripled and Alan Trammell dropped a perfect suicide squeeze for a 1-0 lead.  That was all Wilcox had needed in his first appearance, but today he would need more.  The Twins charged back in the top of the second. Pete MacKinon singled home two, John Castino doubled him home and Gary Ward stroked theTwins third double of the inning to plate Castino..  the Tigers got two back in the third on Trammell's two run homer (1).  In the bottom of the 5th, Koosman lost all semblence of control.  A single and four consecutive walks gave the Tigers the lead then Kirk Gibson drove in two on a shot to right which was misplayed by Ward.  Manager Sik later commented.  "We wouldn't be bad if it weren't for all the walks and errors."   The Twins would come back though, putting up three in the 5th on a double by Ward and a Roy Smalley two run homer (2).  The Twins tied it in the 8th on a single by Mackanin and we went into extra innings.  In the bottom of the 11th, Tom Brookens tripled with one out and Ricky Peters singled through a drawn in infield to end the game.  Dave Tobik got the win )1-1. 2.70). Don Cooper took the loss (0-1, 15.63)  Tigers 9  Twins 8

 

Tuesday August 18 at Tiger Stadium.  Dave Rozema pitched a great game not allowing a run until two out in the ninth when he surrendered a two tun homer to Hosken Powell )1_.  Rosie was clearly out of gas at that point and Ken Saucier finished off the Twis.  The walk bug a boo continued to haunt the Twins as Al Williams walked the first two Tigers he faced in the first and both came around to score.  The Tigers scored three in the first and added solo runs in the 4th and 8th .  Rosie gets the win (1-1, 2.16_ and Williams took the loss (1-1, 3.46)  Tigers 5  Twins 2

Wednesday August 19, at Tiger Stadium.  Howard Bailey made his first appearance of the season and surprised the Tiger's manager by giving a very good performance.  He have up only solo runs in the 5th and 7th, the latter coming on a Danny Goodwin home run (1),  Aurelio Lopez finsihed out the game to earn his first save.  The Tigers again scored three in the first, again keyed by two walks by Twin starter Roger Erickson.  Alan Trammell squeezed home another run in the 2nd and the Tigers added an insurance run in the 6th.  After the game, Tiger manager Tom Davis was asked about the two squeeze plays he called during the series.  "These ain't your daddy's Tigers.  We have more speed than power and we need to play a bit more small ball than Tiger fans are used to."  Bailey was the winner (1-0, 2.70)  Erickson took the loss (1-2, 1.35)  Tigers 5 Twins 2  --submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--

O's take 2 of 3 from Pale Hose

O's win big in gm1 11-2...Eddie Murray of course... 5 RBI

Sox win big in gm 2 8-2, Greg Luzinski 2 hr;s 4 rbi

Al Bumbry's walk off homer in gm3 gives O's series win...3-2 in 10. O's retire last 13 palehose in row
--submitted by Dan Holm--

'Stros and Friars split a 4 game set

Game 1,

at San Diego,

Chris Welsh pitches a beautiful game as the Padres shutout the Astros.  Jose Moreno and Ruppert Jones drive in runs with hits as the Padres took the first game 2-0.

Game 2,

at San Diego,

Phil Garner and Craig Reynolds each drive in a pair as the Astros hang on to take the second series in a slugfest.  Don Sutton pitched a strong game as he threw 8 innings of one run ball but Frank Lacorte came in for the ninth inning and surrendered 4 runs but got the final out with runners on base.  Astros 7...Padres 5.

Game 3,

at San Diego,

Randy Bass hits a three run homerun off Nolan Ryan in the 8th inning to bring the Padres back to take game three.  Urrea gets the victory as he pitched 2 innings in relief.  Gary Lucas came in the ninth to nail down the win and his 3rd save of the season.  Padres 6...Astros 4.

Game 4,

at San Diego,

Another slugfest as the lead changed hands several times in this one but Houston plated 3 runs in the ninth inning off Dan Boone to earn the series split.  Alan Ashby gave the Astros the lead with a 3 run double in the 9th.  Art Howe went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and two runs scored. Astros 9...Padres 7.

--submitted by Joey Scigliano--

Twins take 4 of 5 from M's @ "the Met"

Aug 13, 1981     1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SEA 0-4     3 0 1   1 0 0   0 0 0      5  9  2
1981 MIN 1-3     0 0 0   0 6 0   0 1 -      7 12  1

GAME 1 - Time 3:21,  85ø,  15mph Out to RCF

Jim Beattie vs Jerry Koosman

Neither starter was impressive in this run-fest.  Beattie actually had a shutout going until the Twins finally resurrected their all but dead offense in the bottom of the 5th.  Six huge runs in one inning is a major occurrence for an offense that hits at a .157 clip.  That 6 run inning errased Seattle's 5-0 lead.  Roy Smalley's grand slam was the back breaker for Beattie, who inexplicably lost it all at once.  Greg Adams' RBI single scored Mickey Hatcher in the 8th to provide a 2 run cushion.  Doug Corbett nailed down the save by fanning 2 in the 9th.  Koosman got the win in a less than impressive outing (8 hits / 4 runs in 5 2/3 innings).

Aug 14, 1981     1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SEA 0-5     0 0 0   0 0 0   1 0 0      1  7  1
1981 MIN 2-3     1 0 0   2 0 0   0 0 -      3  7  1

GAME 2 - Time 3:04,  82ø,  10mph Out to LCF

Brian Allard vs Alvin Williams

Two unheralded hurlers gave their teams 6 quality innings on the hill today.  Naysayers will point to the fact that both teams can't hit, which has some validity.  The Twins jumped out to a 3-0 lead by posting 1 in the bottom of the 1st and 2 in the 4th.  Ron Jackson's two out RBI double in the first was made possible by Mariner shortstop Jim Anderson's throwing error.  In the 4th back to back lead off singles by Jackson and Mickey Hatcher set the stage for Greg Adams' RBI single and Ron Washington's RBI off a weak ground out to second.  Tom Paciorek's two out RBI double in the 7th came off of Vaselic, but the run was charged to Williams who started the inning and allowed Anderson's lead off double.  Credit a 3 inning save to Bob Vaselic, who gave up 2 hits and was not credited with an earned run.

Aug 14, 1981     1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SEA 1-5     1 0 0   1 0 0   4 0 2      8 16  3
1981 MIN 2-4     0 0 3   0 0 0   0 2 1      6  9  0
GAME 3 - Time 3:39,  83ø
Jim Beattie vs Fernando Arroyo

Jim Beattie would get the win despited the 3 errors his team made behind him.  Jim Anderson alone, had 2 of those 3 errors.  Beatie gave up 3 runs (none earned) in his 6 innings of work.  Because of all the errors and extra at bats Beattie threw 101 pitches in his stint.  If not for a 4 run outburst by the M's off of Twin reliever Brad Havens, Beattie would have stood to be the loser.  Lenny Randle's RBI double tied the game at 3-3.  Anderson somewhat attoned for his errors by bunting home Jerry Narron.  Back to back two out singles by Julio Cruz and Paciorek made it 6-3.  Two runs in the bottom of the 8th pulled the Twins to within 1 as veteran reliever Dick Drago had nothing to offer.  Tom Paciorek and Richie Zisk added RBI singles in the 9th off of embattled Twin reliever Doug Corbett.  Those insurance runs would loom large as the Twins mounted a comeback in the bottom of the 9th off of Shane Rawley, who pitched a perfect 8th.  After John Castino tripled home Greg Adams, Rob Wilfong struck out for the first out of the inning.  Roy Smalley walked to put the tying run on 1st and the winning run at the plate in the form of Dave Engle who hit a one hop bullet to Anderson at short.  Mr. lead glove himself fielded this one cleanly and flipped it to Cruz at second.  Cruz recorded the second out easily and then bounced one to first that Gary Gray scooped out of the dirt for the final out of the game.

Aug 15, 1981     1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SEA 1-6     1 1 0   0 0 0   0 0 0      2  6  1
1981 MIN 3-4     3 0 1   1 1 0   1 0 -      7 12  2

GAME 4 - Time 3:03,  79ø,  15mph In from LF

Ken Clay vs Roger Erickson

The Twins scored early and often.  In fact there were only 3 innings where they didn't score.  Clay was tagged for 6 runs and 10 hits.  Erickson performed well in front of the home crowd by going 7 and allowing just 2.  Mickey Hatcher had himself a 3 for 3 day with 2 runs scored and 2 runs knocked in.  Hitting behind him Butch Wynegar was 3 for 4 with 2 RBI's.  Ron Washington had 2 RBI's out of the 8 slot.

Aug 16, 1981     1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SEA 1-7     1 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 1      2  9  0
1981 MIN 4-4     0 0 1   2 0 0   0 0 -      3  5  0

GAME 5 - Time 3:19,  81ø,  10mph Out to LCF

Floyd Bannister vs Pete Redfern

Tied 1-1 after three innings the Twins posted two big two out runs in the 4th when Butch Wynegar singled home Dave Engle and Greg Adams did the same for Wynegar.  Redfern shut down the M's for the rest of his outing then handed the ball over to the pen.  Darrell Jackson started off the 9th by issuing a walk to Dave Henderson and a single to Julio Cruz that put runners on the corners.  A wild pitch allowed Hendu to score, so Doug Corbett was called on to do the impossible:  get 3 outs without letting a runner on 3rd score.  Tom Paciorek greeted Corbett by hitting a bullet to Engle in right.  The ball was not hit deep enough for the speedy Cruz to chance tagging up.  Corbett then found his stride and fanned both Zisk and Burroughs to end the game and give the Twins a nice 4 out of 5 series over the M's.

Billy Ball takes 2 of 3 from Halos

Aug 14, 1981    1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9    R  H  E
1981 CAL 3-1    2 0 1   2 1 0   0 0 0    6 14  2
1981 OAK 4-0    0 3 2   0 2 0   1 0 -    8 12  0

GAME 1 - Oakland Coliseum

Steve Renko vs Matt Keough

This was purely a day for the offense.  Competant starters like Steve Renko and Matt Keough do not normally get battered around like this.  Renko was done after giving up 5 runs on 7 hits in just 4 innings.  Keough had a longer leash, but was marginally more effective.  With 1 out in the 6th Keough was given a free pass and a bar of Ivory.  12 hits and 6 runs isn't an acceptable linescore for beer league softball, let alone major league baseball.  The lead bounced back and forth until the bottom of the 5th, when Oakland scored 2 to take a tenuous 7-6 lead.  Big Cliff Johnson hit a moon shot clear to Stockton off reliever Jesse Jefferson to give Oakland the lead for good.  With Keough gone Jeff Jones (2 1/3) and Tom Underwood (1 1/3) combined to shut the door on the Halos the rest of the way.  Brian Downing and Rick Burleson both had 3 hit days for the Halos.  Wayne Gross had a monster 3 for 4 day with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI's, which included a 2 run homer in the 3rd.  Rickey Henderson went 2 for 5 and saw his average "drop" to .611.  The speedy left fielder also had 3 RBI's.

Aug 15, 1981    1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9    R  H  E
1981 CAL 4-1    0 1 0   0 1 2   0 0 0    4  7  1
1981 OAK 4-1    0 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 0    0  5  0

GAME 2

Ken Forsch vs Brian Kingman

The Angels went to their "stopper", Ken Forsch, and the big righty delivered a 5 hit complete game shutout.  Forsch fanned 6 and walked just one as he went the distance.  Brian Downing's solo shot in the 2nd with 2 out put the Halos on the board.  His second homer of the day came in the 5th and that made it 2-0.  Bobby Grich's 2 run blast in the 6th made it 4-0 as Forsch cruised to victory.  Kingman was pretty sharp, but fell victim to the long ball.  He went 7 innings and gave up all 4 runs.  On a positive note, Kingman fanned 10 and didn't walk a batter.  He just needs to keep the ball inside the park to be successful.

Aug 16, 1981    1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9    R  H  E
1981 CAL 4-2    0 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 0    0  6  1
1981 OAK 5-1    0 0 0   0 1 0   0 0 -    1  4  0

GAME 3

Geoff Zahn vs Rick Langford

After the offensive fireworks of game #1 the balance of the series belonged to the arms.  Forsch's 5 hitter on Saturday was followed by a 6 hit gem by Rick Langford today.  Langford was locked in mortal combat with the soft tossing lefty Zahn.  For a while it looked like neither team would be able to push across a run.  Oakland was poised to break it opening the 5th when Shooty Babitt singled with one out to move Rickey Henderson to third.  Dwayne Murphy just got under a slow jug and lifted a deep fly to "Disco" Dan Ford in right.  Henderson easily scored the first, and what would eventually turn out to be the only run of the game.  Oakland could add to their lead, so the pressure fell squarely on Langford's shoulders.  California had runners on 1st and 2nd in the 7th, but Langford was able to get Downing to hit a can of corn to Rickey in left.  The top of the 9th saw the Halos have runners on 1st and 2nd with just 1 out.  Veteran DH, Don Baylor came to the plate as Dave Beard and Tom Underwood awaited a call to the pen to bail Langford out.  Manager Weiss' first impulse was to go to the pen and a fresh arm, but he fought back the temptation and said, "WWBMD ?"  Translation:  What would Billy Martin do ?  Billy would stick with his starter until his wing fell off.  Since this is Martin's team the choice was simple; let Langford close it out.  On a 2-1 count Baylor hit a one hop bullet to Rob Picciolo at short.  Piccilo scooped the ball up and with his momentum carrying him toward the bag, stepped on second and then threw a pea to Jim Spencer at first to end the game.

Reds take 3 of 4 from Jints

Aug 14, 1981  1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9   10 11   R  H  E
   SFG 1-3    1 0 0   0 0 0   0 0 0    0  2   3  7  0
   CIN 0-4    0 0 0   0 1 0   0 0 0    0  0   1  3  2

GAME 1 (DH) - Riverfront

Vida Blue vs Bruce Berenyi

Awesome pitchers duel between the veteran Blue and the young Berenyi.  Darrell Evans' 1st inning ground out scored Bill North after a Ron Oester error to give SF an 1-0 lead on an unearned run.  Johnny Bench's solo blast to lead off the 5th tied the game at 1-1, which is how it stayed all the way until the top of the 11th.  Red reliever Tom Hume was starting his 3rd inning of action in relief of Berenyi.  Back to back jacks from Milt May and Jack Clark would be Hume's undoing.  Cincy could only manage a lone Dave Collins single in the bottom of the 11th as Greg Minto was able to close the door and notch the save with Gary Lavelle gaining the win.

Aug 14, 1981     1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SFG 1-4     0 0 0   0 0 1   0 0 0      1  5  0
1981 CIN 1-4     2 0 3   0 0 0   0 0 -      5 10  1

GAME 2 (DH)

Alan Hargesheimer vs Mike LaCoss

Cincy continued to get great pitching.  Mik LaCoss would go 8 innings with only one blemish on his record, a solo shot by Larry Herndon in the 6th.  LaCoss had an easy day thanks to the 5 runs his offense posted in the first 3 innings.  George Foster had a 2 run single in the first to score Dave Concepcion and Ken Griffey.  Ron Oester's bases clearing triple plated Concepcion, Foster and Joe Nolan.  All 3 baserunners reach via the walk..."Oh, those bases on balls, will get you everytime".  Doug Bair pitched an uneventful 9th to lock the door.

Aug 15, 1981      1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SFG 1-4      0 0 0   0 0 0   1 0 0      1  4  0
1981 CIN 1-4      1 3 0   0 0 0   0 0 -      4  9  1

Game 3

Alan Ripley vs Mario Soto

Mario Soto fanned 7, while walking just 2 and allowing only 1 run in 7 2/3 innings of stellar work.  Cincy for the second game in a row handed their starter a nice early lead (4-0 after 2 innings).  George Foster's RBI double score Ken Griffey all the way from first with 2 outs to make it 1-0.  Ray Knight's RBI single in the bottom of the second scored Dan Driessen to make it 2-0.  Soto dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt to score Oester to make it 3-0 and Dave Collins' infield single scored Knight to give Soto a 4-0 lead.  Jack Clark's solo shot in the 7th broke the shutout up, but San Fran never really threatened the Reds today.

Aug 16, 1981      1 2 3   4 5 6   7 8 9      R  H  E
1981 SFG 1-5      0 0 0   0 0 1   0 0 0      1  2  0
1981 CIN 2-4      3 0 2   0 0 2   1 1 -      9 12  2

Game 4

Doyle Alexander vs Tom Seaver

Tom Terrific gave up just 2 hits, while going the distance.  Seaver missed a shutout thanks to a wild pitch and a RBI single by Milt May in the top of the 6th.  By that point he had a 5-0 lead, as Cincy for the 3rd straight day jumped out to a big early lead.  The Big Red Machine lit up Doyle Alexander for 7 runs in just under 6 innings.  George Foster had a huge day at the plate by going 3 for 5 with 2 homers and 5 RBI.  Concepcion, Griffey and Driessen had 2 hits apiece to surround Foster with lots of ducks on the pond.  Seaver even got involved in the offense with a hit and a run scored.

Brew Crew sweeps Jays up in Toronto

Milwaukee sweeps Toronto out of 1st place.  It was good while it lasted.

Milwaukee 5 Toronto 2

Caldwell (W) vs Clancy (L)

Clancy fell apart in the 2nd. He walked 3, hit Molitor, threw a wild pitch and allowed 2 Brouhard and Cooper singles. Milwaukee scored 5 and that would be all they needed. Game MVP Jamie Easterly came in to pitch in the 8th and allowed no runs 1 hit and no walks for the save.

Milwaukee 4 Toronto 1

Vuckovich (W) vs Stieb (L)

The Brew Crew came alive right from the start. Moiltor reached first on an error by Griffin. Cooper and Oglivie singled and Gantner doubled. 4 players crossed the plate. Again that was all the Brew Crew needed. Game MVP Pete Vuckovich got the win with 8 solid inning allowing only 3 hits and striking out 6. Benard came in for the save. Steib took the los but kept his perfect 0.00 ERA as he was not charged with any earned runs.

Milwaukee 22 Toronto 8

Haas (W) vs Bomback (L)

The NFL started their season this past week and the Brew Cew decided to emulate them on the ball diamond. Toronto was up 3-2 after 4. Then in the 5th  the Brew Crew sent 13 batters to the plate. 5 singles, 2 walks, a double, triple and wild pitch and the Brew Crew threw the Bomb against safety Bomback and scored 10 runs. In the 6th they picked up where they left off and threw another bomb, 4 singles, 3 walks and a double, scoring another 6. Toronto manged to get 3 back in the bottom of the 6th. In the 7th the route continued as Oglivie singled to lead off the inning, Moore tripled, Gantner singles and Money homered scoring another 4. Could have been worse as they stranded 3 before the inning ended. Don Money was MVP went 3 for 4 and 7 RBIs.

Milwaukee 6 Toronto 4

Slaton vs Leal

The only close game of the series. Milwaukee opened the scoring in the 2nd Gantner singled scoring Simmons. Toronto took a rare lead when Whitt singled scoring Bell and then Ainge singled scoring Whitt. In the third the Brew Crews Molitor lead off with a double. Cooper was walked, Yount was hit by a pitch, Thomas walked,scoring Molitor, it looked like the Blue Jay pitching was falling apart yet again. Simmons sacrificed scoring Cooper and Gantner singled scoring Yount. Toronto tied it in the 5th whe Moseby singled and stole second, then Mayberry singled him in, Barfield singled, Bell singled scoring Mayberry. Augustine was credited with the win and came in replacing Slaton In the 8th Money doubled off of Garvin who took the loss when Brouhard homered. Rollie Fingers game MVP came in as relief in the 8th with runners on 1st ad 2nd and shut the Blue Jays down.  --submitted by Robert Chisholm--