KOD 13 - NYY @ BOS

Yankees sweep 3 from Red Sox at Fenway

 

9/18 - Fenway Park

 

Yankees 11, Red Sox 8

 

 

Guidry vs Tanana

 

Wild game that saw the Red Sox chase Guidry by scoring 8 runs in 5 innings for an 8-3 lead.  Yankees put up 3 in the 6th  on a 3-run homer by Mumphrey, and 2 in the 8th to tie the game at 8.  In the top of the 9th Bob Watson clears the bases with a 2-out triple off Bruce Hurst.  Goose gets the last 3 outs for his 11th save. MVP: Jerry Mumphrey 2-5, HR, 5 RBI

 

 

9/19 - Fenway Park

 

Yankees 4, Brewers 1

 

 

Righetti vs Ojeda

 

Bobby Ojeda was very wild walking 6 in 2 innings and allowed 3 runs.  Rags goes 7 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run and striking out 11 for his 4th win.  Goose gets the last 5 outs for his 12th save. MVP: Rich Gossage 1 2/3, 0R, 1W, 1K, Save

 

9/20 - Fenway Park

 

Yankees 12, Red Sox 9

 

 

Tom Underwood vs Eckersley

 

Boston puts up 5 runs in the first off Underwood highlighted by Gary Allenson's Grand Slam.  The Red Sox get 3 more in the 5th on Dave Stapleton's 3 run homer to chase Underwood. The Yanks crawl back to tie the game at 10 in the 9th on a single by Reggie Jackson.  In the 11th, Bobby Murcer doubles in 2 runs for the lead, and Gossage saves his 3rd in a row.  Willie Randolph goes 4-6 to raise his average above the Mendoza line.  MVP: Graig Nettles 2-3, 2 HR, 2RBI, 3W

 

 

New York heads home to host the Indians, and Boston awaits the Brewers arrival.

Redbirds take 2 of 3 from Amazin's @ Shea

After the Mets won a rather easy 8-2 decision in the opener of a three game series at Shea, the Cardinals bounced back for 7-5 and 6-3 wins to take the series.

Dyar Miller pitched 3+ innings of middle relief for the win in the opener as starter Pat Zachry exited after 4 innings of work, besting Silvio Martinez whose record was evened at 3-3. Dave Kingman (10) and Lee Mazzilli (6) each connected for 3 run homers to power New York.

 

The Cardinals ran off to a 7-1 lead in game two, and held on to win 7-5. Ken Oberkfell, who is absolutely on fire for the Redbirds, chipped in 3 hits and drove in 2. The Cardinals used four pitchers with starter Andy Rincon getting the win and Bruce Sutter notching his 5th save.

 

The rubber game again saw the Cardinals run out to a good lead, this time 5-0, before holding on as the Mets made it a ball game with 3 in the 7th. The Cardinals again used four pitchers, and Sutter notched save number 6, this time for Joaquin Andujar (2-3).  Ken Oberkfell went 2 of 3 to finish the day with a .405 batting mark. Former Cardinal Pete Falcone was rocked for 8 hits and 4 runs in 2 2/3 innings of work for the loss. 

Witt Loses out on no hitter bid - Blue Jays take 2 of 3 from California

Almost a No-No

California 6 Toronto 0

Witt (W) Bomback(L)

This game was all Witt and with his complete game 2 hit outing. He pitched no hit ball for 7 1/3 innings until Iorg ended it with a single. At games end MVP Witt allowed just 2 hits while striking out 6. California spread the hitting around with 8 different batters getting at least 1 hit.

California 3 Toronto 5

Renko (L) Garvin (W)

Toronto went with Garvin for only the second time this season. It was the right decision as he held California to only 3 hits over 6 innings. Jackson and McLaughlin came in to save the day with McLaughlin getting the save. The Game MVP was Garth Iorg who was 3 for 4 all doubles.

California 1 Toronto 2

Kison vs Clancy

Hassler(L) McLaughlin(W)

Clancy had no pitched for a longtime. He was handed the ball and just like Gavin the day before caused California batters lots of problems. He allowed 6 hits, 1 run and 6 strikeouts. Kison was strong for California. It looked like this game was heading for extra innings as Hassler was blanking the Blue Jays and Murray and McLaughlin were blanking the Angels. All that change in the bottom of the 9th as Griffin lead off with a double. A bunt by Moseby moved him to 3rd. Wells was brought in to pinch hit and was intentionally walked setting up for an inning ending double play. Instead Game MVP Damiso Garcia singled bringing home the winning run.  

Thanks to Doug for the great series.

--Submitted by Robert Chisholm--

Chisox take 2 of 3 from A's @ Comiskey

game 1:

Marquee match-up between Britt Burns and Rick Langford with a 2-2 tie till A's score 4 in 8th to pull away. Costly error, wild pitch in frame..A's with only 4 hits in the win. Langford 6 hits, 0 walks, 4 K's for the impressive win. 6-2 A's

game 2:

Norris vs Trout yet another good match-up. Sox blowout A's 13-0.
Sox get 6 in unusual 3rd inning getting runs on bases loaded walk and balk.
Just 2 hits for Oakland. Fisk 1st homer of year.

game 3:

The best pitching match-up yet featuring Steve McCatty against Dennis Lamp.
When A's got 2 in 5th to break 1-1 tie it looked like with McCatty on mound Oakland would win the series. However the Sox came up with a another big inning based on miscues.
With bases-loaded and A's still holding on to 3-2 lead Jim Morrison hit a shot to pitcher McCatty which he bobbled to let Sox tie game at 3. Tony Bernazard followed with a 2 run single to make it 5-3. Harold Baines hit his first homer of year a few batters later, a 3 run shot sealing the game. 8-4 WSox

--submitted by Dan Holm--

Nolan Ryan throws no-hitter in 2 games sweep of the Padres

Game 1.

Houston got HR's from Alan Ashby and Ceasar Cedeno to lead Houston to a 9-4 win over San Diego. Don Sutton got the win to go 5-1 on the season. Frank LaCorte finished the last 2 innings giving up just one walk. San Diego starter Tim Lollar homered in the loss to drop to 2-4. Alan Wiggins had 2 hits and scored twice for San Diego.

Game 2

Nolan Ryan was at the top of his game (+) throwing a no hitter improving his record to 4-1 on the season. Ryan struck-out 10 including 5 in a row from 7th to 9th and walked none. San Diego also grounded out 14 times. San Diego's only base runner reached on a lead-off error in the 5th by 3B Art Howe. Mura took lose dropping to 1-3. Jose Cruz hit a 2 run homer giving Ryan all the runs he would need.
--submitted by Mark Angle--

KOD 13 - NYY @ MIL

Yankees bring their bats and win 2 of 3 at Milwaukee

 

9/14 - County Stadium

 

Yankees 11, Brewers 5

 

 

May vs Caldwell

 

The wind was blowing out to right and the Yanks clobbered 5 home runs and score 9 runs off Mike Caldwell.  Rudy may goes 7 innings and runs his record to 4-2. MVP: Willie Randolph 2-4, HR, 2 RBI

 

9/15 - County Stadium

 

Yankees 10, Brewers 4

 

 

John vs Vuckovich

 

Yankees keep killing the ball as Reggie Jackson and Graig Nettles each hit 3-run homers in the first. Pete Vuckovich takes his first loss after giving up 9 runs over 5 innings.  Tommy John allows 4 runs over 8 innings for his second win. Stormin' Gorman Thomas hits 2 homers.  MVP: Reggie Jackson 2-5, HR, 3RBI

 

9/16 - County Stadium

 

Brewers 5, Yankees 4

 

 

Haas vs Nelson

 

Moose Haas allows 2 runs over 7 innings to run his record to 5-2.  Yankees score 2 in the 8th and 2 in the 9th and Rollie Fingers gets Reggie to fly out with the bases loaded.  Jerry Mumphrey collects 4 hits including his 2nd homer in the loss to raise his season average to .346.  MVP: Mark Brouhard 2-4, 3B, 2RBI

 

New York goes into Boston for the weekend, while Milwaukee heads to Baltimore.

O's and Tribe split in Cleveland

The Orioles came into Cleveland for a short two game series and left town with a split.

In game one Indian starter Tom Brennan W, ( 1 - 2) went 8 innings allowing just one run on nine hits and Andre Thornton hit his first two homers of the season off Scott McGregor L. (5 - 2) to lead the Tribe to a 4 - 1 win.  Dan Spillner pitched a perfect ninth inning to gain his fourth save of the season.

Game two was a slug fest as Indian starter Len Barker L, (2 - 6) yielded 10 hits and 9 runs in just 2 1/3 innings. After taking a 3 - 2 lead into the third the Orioles racked Cleveland pitching with six straight hits after a HBP and two singles loaded the bases with one out to score 8 runs and take a 11 - 2 lead.The Tribe countered with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning off starter Mike Flanagan.  The main blow was Andre Thornton's third homer of the season and the series.

Sammy Stewart came on for the Birds and allowed the Indians just one run in five innings to pick up with first win of the season and Tippy Martinez shut out the Tribe in the ninth as the Orioles coasted to a 12 - 7 win.

--submitted by Jim Clouser--

A's take 2 of 3 from Rangers in Arlington

9/14/81 - Arlington Stadium
Rangers 12, A's 0

Matt Keough vs Danny Darwin
Texas roughed up Matt Keough to the tune of 10 runs (8 earned) in 4 innings.  Danny Darwin improved his record to 3-0 and lowered his ERA to 2.44 as the Rangers banged out 12 runs on 14 hits.  Pat Putnam (4) and Jim Sundberg (3) had big RBI days.  "Mr. Scoops" Al Oliver went 3 for 5 to bump his season average up to .343.  Mike Babcock pitched the final inning and 2 thirds to share the shutout with Darwin.  Oakland got just 3 hits and never advanced a runner past second.

9/15/81
A's 3, Rangers 2
Steve McCatty vs Fergie Jenkins
Buddy Bell's RBI single in the first scored Mickey Rivers to make it 1-0 Texas.  Oakland starter Steve McCatty was in trouble, but he got Al Oliver to ground out and Leon Roberts to strike out to end the inning and strand 2 runners.  This would come back to haunt the Rangers as McCatty was on his "A" game the rest of the way.  DH Cliff Johnson's solo blast in the bottom of the second tied the game up at 1-1.  Oakland found a way to scratch out 2 huge runs in the top of the 4th to give McCatty a 3-1 lead.  Cliff Johnson came through again with an RBI single to score Dave McKay, who led off the inning with a walk.  Wayne Gross' sac fly to center scored Tony Armas.  Billy Sample cut Oakland's lead to 1 with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the 6th.  Buddy Bell and Al Oliver followed that up with singles, which made manager Keller start thinking, "why couldn't we have had the singles before the homer".  Manager Keller's prophecy was correct, because Leon Roberts flew out weakly to right and Mark "Power Painter" Wagner hit into a routine 4-6-3 DP to end the inning and blow a huge opportunity for the Rangers.  McCatty would feed off of the adrenaline created in the 6th and not allow the Rangers a single baserunner the rest of the way and improve his season record to 3-4.  Jenkins, also went the distance and was the hard luck loser.  His record fell to 0-5, with an ERA of 3.96.  Obviously the Rangers refuse to hit for the future HOF'er from Canada.

9/16/81
A's 7, Rangers 4
Brian Kingman vs Doc Medich
The good doctor needed a physician himself after rubbing up a blister the size of the Hindenburg in the top of the 2nd.  Medich, who had thrown just 24 pitches to that point, was replaced by Charlie Hough who's knuckleball still hasn't knuckled.  Oakland proceeded to batter Hough for 7 runs (6 earned) over the next 3 innings including a huge 5 run third inning that erased Texas' 3-0 lead.  Rob Picciolo led off the 3rd with an opposite field single, then moved to third on Rickey Henderson's hit.  Picciolo scored easily on Dave McKay's slow roller to second to make it 3-1.  Dwayne Murphy's homer to right center tied the game up a 3-3.  Tony Armas kept the pressure on Hough by doubling off the wall in left center.  Wayne Gross walked to put runners on 1st and 2nd.  Both runner moved up 90 feet on Jeff Newman's chopper to third.  Gold Glover Buddy Bell made a great play to get the slow footed Newman at first.  A lesser fielder would have not made the play and their would have been 1 out with the bases jammed.  With 2 outs Jim Spencer "for hire", sliced a single on the chalk down the left field line to score Armas and Newman and give Oakland a 5-3 lead.  Mike Heath's solo shot to lead off the 6th made it 7-3 and a passed ball charged to gold glover Sundberg allowed Picciolo to score, which made it 7-3.  After 7 innings Kingman was replaced by Bob Owchinko.  Kingman gave up all 3 of the runs he allowed in the bottom of the 2nd, but by the 7th he was running on fumes.  Owchinko had a scoreless 8th, but began to falter in the bottom of the 9th.  After getting the first 2 outs (Sample struck out / Wagner grounded out) Owchinko was firmly in the drivers seat.  Singles by Bump Wills and Bill Stein were mild concerns.  A walk to Buddy Bell to load the bases became a major concern, because the go ahead run was at the plate in the form of Jim Sundberg.  Oakland went to the pen and brought on Dave Beard, who jammed Sundberg.  Picciolo picked up the 2 hope grounder and flipped it to defensive replacement Chicken Stanley for the force out to end the game.  Oakland took 2 of 3 to move right behind the Angels in a battle for the AL West.

Minnesota leaves Toronto taking 2 of 3

Minnesota 1 Toronto 2
Erickson vs Leal
Corbett(L) McLaughlin (W)

Minnesota came to Toronto looking to continue their dominance against the Blue Jays. The opening game of the series went 12 innings with strong pitching by both teams. Luis Leal game MVP went 7 innings allowing 5 hits and 1 run. The game difference was in the bottom of the 12th when Smalley errored to lead off batter Moseby allowing him to reach 2nd. Barfield grounded out advancing Moseby to third who then scored when Alfredo Griffin sacrificed to left.

Minnesota 10 Toronto 2
Havens (W) vs Todd (L)

Minnesota redeemed themselves with a game lead off homerun by Goodwin. By the end of it 9 batters went to the plate in the 1st and Minnesota scored 4. Game MVP Brad Havens was throwing a no hitter through 7 when he was pulled as coach decided he had run out of gas.

Minnesota 7 Toronto 3

Koosman (W) Steib (L)

Toronto started fast as Velez put one out of the park with Garcia on board. Minnesota clawed back after a leadoff walk and stolen base byWashington, Jackson brought him in with a single. In the 4th Ward tripled and again Jackson brought him home with a single. With te first 2 out in the 5th Steib stalled and gave up back to back singles to Castino and Wilfong. Powell doubled bringing home Castino. In the 7th the Castino and Wilfong again had back to back singles and Powell sacrificed bringing in Castino. Any hops in a Toronto comeback were dashed when Castino tripled in the 9th and then Macha went on to commit 2 errors. Minnesota score 3 times.Game MVP Hosken Powell was 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs.

Thanks to Marvin for the series. --submitted by Robert Chisholm--

R.I.P - Charlie Lea - 12/25/1956 - 11/11/2011

Another one of our cardboard heroes has left us. This is the second member of my Montreal Expos (Dick Williams) to pass on this year.  In 1981 Charlie Lea was a 24 year old youngster trying to break into the starting rotation.  The next 3 season would see him elevate his game to All-Star level, but then it all came tumbling down in the form of arm and shoulder injuries.  Lea didn't quit.  He battled through it and even spent time in the minors trying to find that yellow brick road back to Oz.  After 3 years of basically being away from the majors he made it back for one last shot with the Twins.  The numbers weren't great, but he made it back to "the show".  After the season he realized that the injuries had taken it's toll and it was time to move on.

May 10th, 1981 was the day the baseball world began to talk about Charlie Lea.  On that day he pitched a no-hitter vs the San Francisco Giants.  Prior to that game Lea's ERA hovered around 8.00 and there was a good chance he might have punched his ticket back to Triple A.  That win made him feel like he belonged.  He finished the strike season at 5-4 and after that became a top tier pitcher in the Expos rotation for the next 3 seasons.

Lea went to high school in Memphis, played baseball at Memphis State and pitched for Memphis in the late 1970s when it was Montreal's Class AA minor league affiliate. Though he worked in broadcasting as an analyst since 2002, Lee had been considering getting closer to the game, perhaps as a pitching coach.  He was born in Orleans, France and when he played for the Expos most fans assumed he was a Quebecois.

In a seven-season career, Lea posted a 62-48 record with 535 strikeouts and a 3,54 ERA in 923.1 innings. He added 22 complete games and eight shutouts in 152 games pitched (144 as a starter).

Lea was inducted to the Tennessee Sports of Hall of Fame in 1999.

Lea passed away on Friday, November 11, 2011 of a sudden heart attack.  He was 54 years young.

Reds move into 1st place by taking 2 of 3 from LA

9/11/81 - Riverfront Stadium
Dodgers 7, Reds 3
Valenzuela (6-1) vs Soto (4-2)

A 5 run outburst in the top of the 7th gave the visiting Dodgers a 6-3 lead.  Up until that point Mario Soto was in cruise control mode.  Valenzuela fanned 9 and went the distance by righting his ship after allowing 3 in the first to shut out the Reds the rest of the way.  Rick Monday's (3-5, 3 RBI)'s 3 run blast off Soto in the 7th was the difference maker.  Derrell Thomas (2-4, 3 RBI) also homered for the victors.

9/12/81
Reds 2, Dodgers 1 (10 inn)
Welch vs Seaver

A scoreless tie in regulation led to extra innings.  Tom "Terrific" was more than just terrific, allowing 2 hits and 1 run in  9 2/3 innings of work.  That one run looked to loom large, because it occurred in the top of the 10th when Ken Landreaux doubled home Steve Garvey with 2 out.  Joe Price came on in relief to get pinch hitter Steve Sax.  Dan Driessen grounded out to lead off the home half of the 10th, but Dodger reliever Steve Howe was unable to record another out.  Junior Kennedy's ground out off Rick Sutcliffe tied the game at 1-1.  Dave Collins' RBI single with 2 out scored Ron Oester for the walk off extra inning win.

9/13/81
Reds 5, Dodgers 3 (10 inn)
Reuss vs Berenyi

Entering the rubber match of the series the Dodgers held a ½ game lead.  Both teams scored solo runs in the first.  Cincy took the lead with 2 unearned runs in the 5th, but Dusty Baker's 2 run shot off of Berenyi in the top of the 6th tied the game up a 3-3.  A scoreless 7th, 8th and 9th innings led to extra innings.  The Dodgers did not score off of Paul Moskau in their half of the 10th.  Dave Stewart, who pitched a clean 9th returned for 1 inning too much in the 10th.  After George Foster singled to lead off the inning, aging superstar Johnny Bench returned to his glory days by capping off a 4 for 5 day with a 2 run walk off homer, which was his 4th RBI of the day.   By virtue of 2 consecutive extra inning wins the Reds now hold a ½ game lead over the Dodgers in the NL West.

Seattle visits Toronto and gets swept

Seattle 3 Toronto 5
Bannister (L) vs Todd (W) 
Game MVP Otto Velez
Todd pitched a strong game until going out in the 6th injured. Barlow came in but ran into trouble in the 9th. Jackson came in for the save.

Seattle 0 Toronto 1
Clay vs Bomback
Game MVP Mark Bomback

A pitching duel. Both Clay and Bomback pitched 8 innings of shutout ball. Bomback allowed only 2 hits but was tired so McLaughlin came to the mound in the ninth. A lead off single in the bottom of the 9th by Wells of Wells ended the game for Clay. Domaso Garcia came on to pinch run. Whitt singles and Garcia advanced to 3rd. Moseby flew out to Burroughs in right, but having used Garcia as the pinch runner he was able to tag-up and beat the throw at home. McLaughlin with the win, Rawley the loss.

Seattle 1 Toronto 3
Clark (L) Steib (W)
Game MVP Dave Stieb

Stieb went the distance allowing 6 hits and 1 run but 0 earned as Garcia errored in the 3rd. Little used Fred Manrique started at short, scored a run, was 2 for 3 with 2 RBIs. Zisk was 2 for 3 for the Mariners. 

A's sweep Royals in 3 game set

9/11/81 - Oakland Coliseum
A's 3, Royals 1
Leonard vs Kingman
After getting battered around most of the season Brian Kingman was tapped to pitch on short rest (3 days).  The reason he was given that honor had less to do with his skill and more to do with the fact that Oakland's manager wanted to get the rest of his rotation back on track.  Kingman responded by bobbing and weaving in and out of trouble.  After 92 pitches and 7 hits during his 5 scoreless innings he handed the ball over to Jeff Jones, who pushed himself to the brink of exhaustion.  Jones went 2 2/3 innings in relief and gave up just 1 unearned run.  Beard and Ochinko split time in the 9th with the latter earning the save.  Oakland struck in the 2nd with two big two out hits.  Light hitting Fred "Chicken" Stanley knocked in Wayne Gross with a 2 run double.  Rickey Henderson followed up with an RBI single.  Cliff Johnson's solo blast off of hard luck starter Dennis Leonard made it 3-0.  KC got on the board with an RBI single from Willie Wilson in the 7th and had 2 runners on in the 8th when Owchinko got Amos Otis ground out to third.

9/12/81
A's 4, Royals 1
Jones vs Langford

No hitter for 6 inn

Mike Heath walked witht he bases loaded in the 3rd to make it a 1-0 game.  Tony Armas, who has been heating up as of late, hit a 3 run shot in the 5th.  Langford was cruising with 6 innings of no-hit ball until future HOF'er George Brett singled to lead off the 7th.  Langford would lose his shutout in the 9th when Aikens hit a 1 out solo shot.  Langford would get Brett to pop out to short for his second out and McRae would ground out weakly to short to end it.  Rick Langford notches the complete game victory allowing just 1 run on 3 hits.

9/13/81
A's 4, Royals 2

Norris vs Gura

Walk off 3 run blast

"You stick with your ace, no matter what", said Justin Ryan manager of the fading Royals.  Up 2-1 and heading into the bottom of the 9th Ryan put all of his trust and faith on the left arm of Lary Gura.  On a 3-2 payoff pitch Rickey Henderson lined a homer over the left field wall to tie the game at 2-2.  Gura got Shooty Babitt to ground out to short, but walked Dwayne Murphy on 6 pitches.  After Tony Armas lined out to U.L. Washington for the second out of the inning everyone turned toward the A's bullpen to see if there was any action going on, which there wasn't.  Oakland starter Mike Norris was getting set to start the 10th inning since it looked more than likely that there would be extra innings.  That likelihood ended with one mammoth swing of his 35 ounce bat.  Gura's fastball, which normally tops out around 90 came in around 88 and went out even faster.  Cliff Johnson's walk off homer saved Mike Norris (6-0, 1.94) from a 10th inning after he threw 126 pitches.  Oakland completes the 3 game sweep and gets back into the AL West race with a 20-14 record.  KC drops to 16-17, and in the words of Ryan, "KC is now dead".

Expos take 2 of 3 from Cubbies @ Wrigley

9/11/81 - Wrigley Field 

Expos 7, Cubs 6
Gullickson vs Kravec
Things can really change on a dime at Wrigley.  For 8 innings Bill Gullickson had a neat 4 hit shutout going, then in the 9th it almost all came crumbling down.  Chicago scored 6 unanswered runs to come within 1 run of tying it.  Jeff Reardon had to come in from the pen to put the fire out, which earned him his 6th save of the season.  Even though he wasn't charged with allowing a run Reardon threw a wild pitch to let 1 run score and gave up a hit to Jerry Morales which allowed the 6th run to score.  Ivan DeJesus flew out to center to end a game that contributed more gray hairs to Montreal's manager's head.  Completely lost in all of the late drama was the 4 for 5 day that "the Hawk", Andre Dawson had.  Dawson had 3 runs scored, 3 RBI's, a double and his 11th and 12th homers of the season.

9/12/81
Cubs 5, Expos 1
Sanderson vs Caudill
Wild Bill struck out 5, walked 1 and allowed just 1 run on 4 hits in 7 innings of work.  "Dirt" Tidrow finished up with 2 scoreless innings as the Cubbies scored solo runs in 5 straight innings to send the Expos home unhappy.  Montreal starter Scott Sanderson fanned 6 in 6 innings of work, but gave up 3 runs, including solo homers to Jody Davis and Billy Bucks.  Buckner hit his second homer of the game (6th on the season) off of reliever Elias Sosa in the 8th.  Buckner went 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored and 2 RBI.  His "other" hit was a triple.  Montreal's lone run came via the bat of Andre Dawson who hit his 13th of the season.

9/13/81
Expos 10, Cubs 5
Rogers vs Griffin
Montreal scored early and quite often off of Cub starter Mike Griffin.  After 3 innings and 7 earned runs, Griffin was headed to the showers.  Dawson once again was unstoppable with the bat going 3 for 5.  His bases loaded clearing double in the 6th put the final nail in Chicago's coffin.  The Cubs mounted a late inning rally, but came up way short.  Steve Rogers left the game after 6 innings with a 10-1 lead.  Montreal's shaky bullpen supplied the Cubs with 2 runs in the 8th and the 9th respectively.  Stan Bahnsen continued to be horrific giving up 2 runs in 2 innings of relief.  His ERA now stands at an even 12.00.  Tim "Eli" Wallach went 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored to move his average up to .298.  Buckner went 2 for 5 to boost his average to .325.

Halos sweep DH vs A's in battle for 1st in AL West

9/10 - Anaheim Stadium
Angels 7, A's 0
Matt Keough vs Ken Forsch

Ken Forsch tossed a 3 hitter and didn't need much more than Butch Hobson's 3 run shot in the 2nd.  Matt Keough got roughed up again for Oakland and had to be replaced by Ed Figueroa.  Daryl Sconiers hit a double and triple to increase his season average to .429.

9/10 - Game 2 (DH)
Steve McCatty vs Angel Moreno
Angels 2, A's 1

The nightcap remained scoreless until the 6th when the normally sure handed Dwayne Murphy dropped a can of corn in center to allow Dan Ford to reach second safely, while Rod Carew strolled home to make it 1-0.  Oakland, was shut out by the Angels for 17 consecutive innings until the top of the 9th when the mounted a rally vs Don Aase.  Tony Armas led off with a double.  Keith Drumright walked with 1 out and Wayne Gross singled home Armas to tie the game.  Pinch hitter Cliff Johnson hit a tailing liner to right that Ford caught on the run.  Drumwright stumbled while tagging up and was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.  Baseball lore states, "the guy who makes a great defensive play usually leads off the inning".  This was true today as Ford led off and singled.  Campy Campaneris came up as a pinch hitter and bunted Ford over to third for pinch hitter John Harris who lined a game winning single to close out the double header sweep in a the battle for first that really wasn't much of a battle.

KOD 13 - Week 9 - BOS @ NYY

Yankees win 2 of 3 at home

 

9/11 - Yankee Stadium

 

Yankees 5, Red Sox 2

 

 

Guidry vs Torrez

 

Red Sox score first on Carney Lansford's solo HR in the 4th, but the Yankees put up 4 unearned in the bottom of the inning off Mike Torrez. Ron Guidry goes 7 solid innings to run his record to 5-0. MVP: Rick Cerone 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI

 

9/12 - Yankee Stadium

 

Yankees 5, Red Sox 4

 

 

Reuschel vs Tanana

 

Boston scores 3 in the first, highlighted by Dewey Evans 2 run homer.  The Yanks answer back in the bottom of the first when Dave Winfield goes deep on Tanana. The Yankees score single runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th for a 5-3 lead.  Boston gets one back but can't score again as Goose gets his 10th save.  MVP: Dave Winfield 3-4, HR, 2 RBI

 

9/13

 

Red Sox 3, Yankees 2

 

 

Ojeda vs Underwood

 

Bobby O goes  7 strong innings  for the win. Dwight Evans cracks two more homers and accounts for all the Red Sox runs.  Graig Nettles hit a 2 run homer of his own, but it wasn't enough. MVP: Dwight Evans 3-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI

 

New York heads to Milwaukee for a 3 game set, while Boston goes home to host Detroit.

Yanks take 2 of 3 from Brew Crew @ the Stadium

9/7 - Yankee Stadium

Yankees 6, Brewers 0

Rudy May vs Jim Slaton

Rudy May throws 7 scoreless innings for the win.  Reggie Jackson, Bobby Murcer and Graig Nettles all hit homers in support.  Game MVP: Rudy May 7IP, 4H, 3W, 4K

9/9 - Yankee Stadium

Brewers 14, Yankees 5

Randy Lerch vs Tommy John

The Brewers bust out for 12 runs in the first 4 innings as Tommy John is sent to the showers early. Robin Yount and Don Money each collect 4 hits and 3 RBI.  Money cracks his 3rd homer.  Barry Foote hits a solo home for the Yanks. MVP: Don Money 4-6, 2B, HR, 3RBI

9/9 - Yankee Stadium

Yankees 10, Brewers 2

Gene Nelson vs Mike Caldwell

Nelson allows 2 runs over 5 2/3 for his first win and Caldwell gives up 5 over 5 IP.  Reggie and Sweet Lou go deep, and Dave Winfield knocks in 4 runs with 2 doubles. MVP: Dave Winfield 3-4, 2 2B, 4RBI

The Yankees wait for the Red Sox to arrive for a weekend series, while the Brewers head home to host the White Sox in a makeup game before the Orioles arrive for an important series. --submitted by John Clingan--

Bucs take 3 of 4 from Amazin's

Game One - Omar Moreno and Tim Foli each have three of the Pirates' fourteen hits, and Odell Jones pitches seven two-ht innings as Pittsburgh beats the Mets 8-0. Jones walks three in his stint on the mound, and contributes two knocks at the bat in the first game of the twin-bill.

WP - O. Jones (1-2)        LP - Falcone (1-2)

Game Two - The Pirates complete the double-header sweep with a walk-off 3-2 win. Pinch-htter Willie Stargell leads off the bottom of the ninth with a double and pinch-runner Lee Clacy scores on Moreno's RBI single.

WP - Tekulve (2-0)        LP - M. Marshall (0-1)

Game Three - The Pirates explode for nine runs in the sixth inning, and Luis Tiant pitches a four-hit shuout as Pittsburgh extends their winning streak to nine with an 11-0 win over the Mets. Jason Thompson had four RBI for the Bucs and Tiant struck out seven Mets hitters (throwing 142 pitches) for the win.

WP - Tiant (4-0)            LP - Swan (0-2)

Game Four - The winning streak comes to an end as Randy Jones and three relievers limit the Pirates to four hits in the Mets 8-2 win. John Stearns has two hits and three RBI, while Rusty Staub pitches in with a pinch-hit homer.

WP - R. Jones (1-5)        LP - Perez (3-2)
--submitted by Chris Gotay--