King of the Diamond Challenge

Orioles and Baltimore's Victory Celebration

2007-12-18T09:51:00.001-08:00

This 1969 team has become the darlings of the cyber world. What they couldn't celebrate in real life, they began celebrating on computers everywhere. As in real life this squad was the prohibitive favorite, but opposite of real life they actually won it all. For years, when interviewed, Frank Robinson said, "The Mets didn't win that World Series, we lost it...the better team did not win". From most accounts that would be viewed a sour grapes, but not taken in the context of when it was said and the team that it described.

In 1969 the Orioles won 109 games and viturally cruised to the first ever AL East crown. In the first ever ALCS they made easy work of a powerful Minnesota Twins team in 3 straight. In game 1 of that ill fated World Series Don Buford led off with a homer and the O's never looked back defeating Mets ace Tom Seaver. That's when overconfidence and a nasty slump took over. 4 games later the Miracle Mets were sipping the bubbly and planning for a parade in the canyon of heroes.

Was it over confidence ? Did they take the Mets too lightly ? Did Earl Weaver choke ? Did the God's of baseball smile on the Amazin's ? We'll never know. What we do know is that this team won 3 straight AL pennants and year in year out from the early 60's until the early 80's produced a contender.

From this team 3 Hall of Famer's came. Brooks Robinson did it all with his glove and timely hitting, Frank Robinson won a triple crown, an MVP in both leagues and provided veteran leadership. Jim Palmer ascended to become the dominant pitcher in the AL from the mid 60's well into the early 80's. In fact he is the only player to play on all 3 of their World Championship squads (1966, 1970, 1983).

During this project I gained a real appreciation for the team that Frank Cashen assembled. 4 Gold Glove fielders (Brooks, Belanger, Blair and Johnson) and a pitching staff that had 3 aces (Palmer, Cuellar and McNally). Overlooked was their bullpen, which had three guys with sub 2.00 ERA's (Watt, Hall & Richert).

Common thought is that the 1954 Indians were the best team to lose the World Series. After managing this team for almost 50 games and competing against that Cleveland squad I have to disagree. My honest feeling is that if the Mets didn't pull off the greatest sports miracle of all time, this Baltimore Orioles team would have to be considered the greatest team to have ever played. It was so easy managing them. You couldn't help but make the right moves. Sometimes they won despite my decisions.

I thank them all for allowing me the privilege to stroll down memory lane and to gain a greater appreciation for their history. I can't wait for KOD2 to start so we can create some for Distantreplay memories !!!

KOD WS Game 6: O's soar past Dodgers 11-5 to clinch series

2007-12-18T08:29:00.000-08:00

Game 6: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD

The series headed back east to the stadium on 33rd street, a place that the Orioles have called home since 1953 when the fledgling St. Louis Browns franchise relocated to Baltimore to become the Orioles. The 1960's were a time of prosperity for the Oriole franchise, and the 1969 team just might have been the franchises strongest offering. Snake bit in real life the 1969 O's will forever be tagged with the label "chokers", because of the way they were swept by the 1969 Miracle Mets. While winning a sports sim championship can never erase those bad memories, it can give credence to the fact that this was a powerhouse team with few if no weaknessess.

The Orioles put their hopes on the shoulders of 23 year old fireballer Jim Palmer, who brought an 8-0 KOD record into the game. Los Angeles had their backs up against the proverbial wall, so they entrusted their fate to one of the franchises most clutch performers, Johnny Podres. For those of you not up on your baseball history, Podres at the tender age of 23 tossed a complete game shutout to close out the 1955 World Series and give Brooklyn it's only World Championship.

The battle lines have been set. We have a young fireballer just ready to enter his prime vs an old crafty veteran who has been there and done all that. An intersting sidebar to all this revolves around the added pressure on Palmer's shoulders. You see if Baltimore doesn't close the series out here in game six they will be forced into facing the imortal Koufax with one of their spot starters. In one of the greatest feats of clandestine operations the Orioles were able to hide from the media the fact that Dave McNally was nursing a sore elbow and could not be counted on to pitch much if he was to start game 7. Palmer knew this and so did his ballclub.

The old axiom when facing an underdog is to put them away early and not let them hang around and gain confidence. The Orioles didn't pay attention to this detail and after 2 innings there was still no score. After Palmer dispatched the Dodgers in the top of the third the Orioles shifted into gear and began the onslaught.

For the next 6 innings Baltimore would score at least 1 run. In the bottom of the 3rd they scored two to break the ice. Andy Etchebarren singled and was bunted over to second by Mark Belanger. Palmer, who is adept with the lumber, pushed him up one more base by grounding out to the right side. With 2 outs Don Buford can through with an RBI single and Davey Johnson followed that up by doubling him in to stake the O's to a 2-0 lead they would never relinquish.

The O's scored 1 in the fourth off of Podres when Boog Powell doubled and Brooks Robinson singled him home. the fifth saw the floodgates open as well as Podres departure. Baltimore chased the veteran lefty with 4 big runs. Podres gave up 7 runs in 4 innings worth of work. The big blow came off the bat of slugger Boog Powell who hit a towering grand slam into the right field bleachers.

The O's would tack on another run in the 6th to increase their lead to 8-0. At this point the outcome wasn't in question. The only question was what the final score would be and how cold could the champagne get. Palmer was cruising along until he gave up 3 runs to LA in the top of the 7th. LA might have been down, but they are a prideful organization that will keep on fighting until the final bell sounds. At this point Palmer looked either disinterested or tired. In either case he should have been removed from the game, but manager Weiss felt a sense of loyalty to his ace and wanted to see him close out the game and the series. Finally by the 9th inning Weiss went to the pen and brought in lefty Pete Richert, who by chance was also on the LA roster...go figure ? Richert, got Maury Wills to fly to right, struck out Willie Davis and ended the series by having Tommy Davis fly out to Don Buford.

Needless to say the crowd bum rushed the field and the players. Redemption is sweet, victory is sweeter. The Orioles answered their critics by posting an incredible 38-8 run in the KOD innaugrual season. The were the pre-season and post-season favorites and they didn't disappoint, even though their detractors said otherwise. Hats off to the '62-Dodgers who won and improbable pennant and tested the O's like no team had before.

Congratulations to the 1969 Baltimore Orioles - KOD World Champions !!!

KOD WS Game 5: Cuellar outduels Drysdale as O's take a 3 games to 2 lead

2007-12-18T06:54:00.000-08:00

Game 5: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA

With the series knotted at 2 both teams went back to their aces and expected to see a replay of the series opener. Neither starter would disappoint. In 1962 Don Drysdale emerged as Los Angeles ace posting 25 regular season wins. Mike Cuellar, who was aquired from the Astros the previous year (1968), found his grove in 1969 and posted 23 W's. Drysdale is a big intimidating left hander who would sooner put a ball in your ribs than put one over the plate. Cuellar is an unassuming control pitcher who owns the black and changes speeds faster than a Shelby Mustang on the Pacific Coast Highway.

The Orioles were scratching their heads looking for answers after being virtually shut down by journeyman Stan Williams in game 4. Could they reproduce their game 3 offensive explosion (17 runs) or would their bats again remain silent ? In the opening frame the O's jumped on Drysdale for two quick runs. After lead off man Don Buford lined out to second, Davey Johnson doubled to left and scored on the next at bat when Frank Robinson lined a homerun into the left field pavillion, which was quite reminicient of the shot he hit in the 1966 series vs these same Dodgers. Drysdale, like most power pitchers found his slot and got the final two outs in the first.

The key to beating a great one like Drysdale is to get to him early before he finds his grove. The O's got to him early, but would 2 runs be enough ? Cuellar was his normal controlling self. LA did manage to get a run off of him in the second as centerfielder Willie Davis crushed a solo shot to the opposite field.

The game remained 2-1 in favor of the O's until the top of the 4th when Frank Robinson led off with a clean single. Lumber first baseman Boog Powell doubled down the right field line to score Robinson all the way from first. Paul Blair stepped to the plate and hit a hot smash to second, which normally sure handed Junior Gilliam booted. With nobody out the O's had runners at the corners and were threatening to break it open. Mere mortals would crack under this type of pressure. Drysdale is no mortal. Summoning courage from within "Double D" was able to get the next 3 hitters to either pop out or ground out, thus ensuring that Baltimore would not get that much needed extra run. In that inning the O's lost their starting catcher Ellie Hendricks to an undisclosed leg injury. Andy Etchebarren was summoned to replace Elrod to start the 5th.

The bottom of the 5th saw the Dodgers inch closer as Darryl Spencer notched a 1 out single to left. Cuellar then threw a low curve that went past Etchebarren, who was charged with a passed ball. Spencer moved up to second and manger Weiss began second guessing himself for not putting Clay Dalrymple behing the plate instead of Etch. That passed ball would prove costly as Johnny Roseboro promptly delivered an RBI double to cut the Oriole lead to 1.

From this moment on, both aces dug their heels in and went on cruise control. Fast forward to the bottom of the 9th and we see the Dodgers in desperate straits trying to get that ellusive run to tie the game up and force extra innings where they have been so successful in this series. Junior Gilliam attempted to lay down a bunt and catch the O's napping. Etchebarren pounced on the ball and nailed Junior by a stride for the first out. All world Tommy Davis promptly singled to left with one out. Jumbo Frank Howard came to the plate with the ability to win it with one might swing from his potent bat. Instead Frank put a dribbler in front of the plate, which backstop Andy Etchebarren promptly bungled and threw past Boog Powell at first. With runners at 2nd and 3rd and one out the O's decided to stick with Cuellar and let him win it. Willie Davis, who already homered, fought off one of Cuellar's best offerings and lined to Mark Belanger at short. Down to their last out LA's hopes rested on the shoulders of Ron Fairly, a great contact hitter. With the classic matchup of contact hitter vs control pitcher the control pitcher won out. Fairly lined a 2-2 pitch to his opposite number, Boog Powell, to end the game.

This classic 1 run matchup gave the fans everything that they wanted. The Orioles were ecstatic to take 2 of 3 in Hollywood and head home with the hopes of closing out the series in 6. LA planned to start left Johnny Podres, who is a clutch performer as evidenced by his game 7 shutout of the Yankees in the 1955 series. Baltimore pins its hopes on top dog Jim Palmer.

KOD WS Game 4: LA evens it up with 2-1 win in 10th

2007-12-18T06:40:00.000-08:00

Game 4: 1969 Baltimore Orioles at 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

The series had moved to Chavez Ravine for games three, four and five. After being embarrassed in front of their home town fans in game three, the Dodgers were to see what they were made of in game four. Would it be just a matter of time before the Orioles hoisted the championship trophy, or could this club somehow regroup after the game three pounding and make it a series?

Down two games to one, the Dodgers chose swingman Stan Williams to take the hill for game four. Manager Roberts considered youngster Pete Richert for the start, but decided to go with the veteran Williams. The result? All Williams did was pitch a 10 inning complete game two hitter, resulting in a 2-1 Dodger victory and squaring up the series at two games apiece. The only run Williams surrendered was in the fifth, and scored on a wild pitch.

Meanwhile Oriole lefty Dave McNally was being quite stingy himself, giving up only a sixth inning sac fly to Tommy Davis, which plated Maury Wills. Both pitchers looked strong. Williams was a bit wild, but was able to pitch out of any threats save for the wild pitch he uncorked that allowed a run. But he stayed strong throughout the game. In the top of the 10th, he struck out two of the three O’s batters, getting the other out on a harmless fly ball.

Dick Hall had been summoned to the Oriole hill in the eighth, and was still on the mound in the 10th when Johnny Roseboro led off with a single. Manager Roberts took a chance and decided to stick with Williams, allowing him to attempt to bunt Roseboro over to second. Williams did the job. Maury Wills then singled, but Roseboro was held at third. Hall was then replaced by a somewhat older Pete Richert, now holding down a spot in the Baltimore bullpen. Oriole Richert got Jim Gilliam to pop out to short, but team MVP Tommy Davis then rifled a ringing single to center to send Roseboro home with the winning run. -contributed by Mike Roberts-

KOD WS Game 3: O's bomb Koufax 17-10

2007-12-18T06:21:00.000-08:00

Game 3: Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles California

The series shifted coasts as game 3 moved to O'Malley's brand new playground in Chavez Ravine. With the series knotted at 1 game apiece the underdog Dodgers were feeling exceptionally confident. If not for a 9th inning comeback by Baltimore the Dodgers could, and probably should, have been up 2 games to none. On the hill for Los Angeles was emerging superstar Sandy Koufax. The Brooklyn born lefty came into his own in 1962 after years of promise and little dividends. The Orioles countered with the unhearalded Tom Phoebus. Pundits saw this game as LA's chance to take a 2-1 lead in the series as Koufax at times can be unhittable.

Unfortunately Koufax did not have it. The O's scored 10 runs off of him in the first 2 innings, which led to his removal from the hill. Phil Ortega came on in relief and fared no better, giving up 7 runs over 4 innings. Phoebus himself, was not spectacular as he yielded 6 runs over 6 innings. Mop up man Marcelino Lopez came in and yielded 4 more runs over the remaining 3, but the deficit was way too large for LA to overcome. No one could have predicted that the Orioles offens, which so far was held in check, would explode for 5 runs in each of the first 3 innings.

The hitting star for the O's was Brooks Robinson, who blasted 3 homers and accounted for 9 runs batted in. Usually known for his leather Brooksie, who was having a miserable offensive season to this point, finally broke out in a big way. Catcher Andy Etchebarren went 4 for 5 and Boog Powell and Frank Robby each hit the long ball. Wally Moon, who entered the game as a pinch hitter, went 3 for 3 and third sacker Andy Carey had three hits as well.

The Dodgers will pin their hopes on game 4 starter Stan Williams and the O's will hand the ball to lefty Dave McNally.

KOD WS Game 2: BAL 3, LA 2

2007-12-17T22:48:00.000-08:00

Game 2: 1962 LA Dodgers @ 1969 Baltimore Orioles

The heavily favored Orioles came into game 2 knowing that they were in a MUST win situation. Teams that lose the first 2 games of a 7 game series do not have a great track record when it comes to righting the ship and winning it all. On top of that little tidbit this team starter hearing the rumblings from the media and fans alike regarding how they lost the 1969 Series to the underdog Mets and they were well on their way to doing the same vs the Dodgers.

Ace righty Jim Palmer took the mound and had the world on his shoulders. His opponent was the cool lefty Johnny Podres who incidentally was the 1955 World Series MVP as he led Brooklyn to their only World Championship.

Both hurlers were posting goose eggs on the board as neither team could score. The O's finally broke Podres' spell and got a single run in the bottom of the 6th. Palmer worked out a lead off walk and moved to second on a sacrifice from lead off hitter Merv Rettenmund. Davey Johnson then hit a sharp grounder to second that was booted by Larry Burright and the O's were in business. Frank Robinson singled Johnson over to 3rd and the makings of a big inning seemed to be in place. That's when the coolness of a Podres comes into play. The crafty lefty struck out Boog Powell and got Paul Blair to fly to left to limit the damage to a lone run.

Palmer was in cruise control as he gave up only 3 hits well into the 8th where he opened the inning by striking out Dodger pinch hitter Wally Moon. All looked right for the O's, even as pinch hitter Duke Snider singled up the middle. Maury Wills followed Snider's hit up by grounding into a fielder's choice for the second out of the inning. Palmer looked good to go, when he made a mistake and hung a curve to fleet footed Willie Davis who promptly sent it out of Memorial Stadium. With 2 outs in the top of the 8th the Baltimore faithful became silent. Most fans will tell you that they weren't throwing in the towel, but this reporter will vouch for the fact that at least 20% of them began heading for the exits.

The bottom of the 8th saw the O's get a runner on, but the didn't pose any real threat. The Dodgers didn't do much in their half of the 9th. 3 more outs stood in the way of LA going home up 2-0 over the heavily favored O's with all the momentum in the world on their side.

Paul Blair, who has been clutch all season, lead off the 9th with a solid single to center off of Dodger fireman Ron Perranoski who came on for one out in the 8th. Perranoski promptly induced Brooks Robinson to hit into a force play, which came very close to being a double play. With 1 out and a man on first catcher Andy Etchebarren singled to move Brooksie into scoring position. Mark Belanger battled Perranoski and finally singled to right to score Robinson and move Etch over to 3rd. The game was now tied and life began to breathe back into the stadium on 33rd st. Curt Motton came up to pinch hit for reliever Dick Hall and barely missed a game winning hit as he lined to short. With 2 outs and 2 on switch hitter Don Bufford strolled to the plate. Bufford didn't crack the starting lineup, but did pinch hit for Rettenmund in the 7th. On a 2-1 pitch Perranoski's fastball caught a little bit too much of the plate and entirely too much of Bufford's bat as it wound up on the grass in centerfield as Etch scored the winning run.

Pandemonium broke lose. The series was tied. The O's have life ! We'll see you all for game 3 in Chavez Ravine !

KOD World Series Game 1: '62-LA 4, '69-BAL 3 (11 inn)

2007-12-17T22:38:00.000-08:00

Game 1: 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers at 1969 Baltimore Orioles

The first KOD World Series opened in Baltimore at venerable Memorial Stadium. The powerhouse Orioles cruised through the American League regular season, and advanced to the Series by sweeping the 1954 Cleveland Indians in the ALCS. The Dodgers won the National League regular season despite a .500 record, then took the NLCS three games to one over their cousins from the 1988 Los Angeles club.

The weather was warm and humid for game one. Rains briefly halted play in the fifth inning, but that was the only delay in the game due to weather. Dodger ace Don Drysdale took the hill for the gray-clad Dodgers, opposed by crafty Mike Cuellar for the home nine.

Cuellar had a little trouble settling in, as Jim Gilliam coaxed a one out walk in the first, and Tommy Davis singled. Big Frank Howard then singled, plating Gilliam and sending Tommy Davis to second. Willie Davis also singled, loading the bases as Tommy Davis had to stop at third on the sharply hit ball. Ron Fairly then grounded a ball to the left of Brooks Robinson, who scooped and threw out Fairly with Davis scoring. Cuellar escaped further damage by inducing Daryl Spencer to also ground out to Brooksie.

The Orioles countered with a tally in the third on a run scoring double by Mark Belanger, which drove home Boog Powell who had singled earlier. The Dodgers got the run right back in the third on another Gilliam walk, a Tommy Davis ground out with the runner moving, and Willie Davis single an out later.

Baltimore tied it at 3 all in the fourth as Boog Powell hit a tremendous home run to right center field following a Frank Robinson walk.

The game remained 3-3 through nine innings, each team squandering some scoring opportunities. Dave Leonard was on the hill for Baltimore in the 10th, and set the Dodgers down one, two, three. Don Buford greeted Ron Perranoski with a lead off single in the Oriole 10th. Buford was then sacrificed to second, and Frank Robinson was intentionally passed to put runners at first and second with one out. Boog Powell came up with a chance to be a hero, but Perranoski induced him to ground out to Fairly, the runners advancing to second and third. Manager Roberts then signaled to the bullpen for righthander Larry Sherry to face Paul Blair with the game on the line. Blair flew out to Howard in right, ending the threat.

The Dodgers then took the lead in the top of the 11th when John Roseboro singled, and pinch-hitter Duke Snider reached back into his past for some magic, and tripled into the right field corner. The Dodgers squandered a potential insurance tally when they could not get Snider home, despite him perched at third with no outs. But Sherry retired the Orioles in order in the bottom of the 11th to bring home the win, 4-3.

'62-LA wins NL Pennant in 4 over '88-LA

2007-12-16T12:20:00.000-08:00

Game 1, Dodger Stadium Game 1 matched up to gutty righthanders, Don Drysdale and Orel Hershiser. Both pitchers did not have their "A" stuff but competed hard in this one. Both teams scored a pair of runs in the first inning with 2 run homeruns. Pedro Guerrero hit a 2 run shot in the first for the 88 Dodgers and in the bottom of the first inning, Willie Davis retaliated with a 2 run blast of his own. The series was on! Steve Sax hit his second homerun of the season in the third inning. The score after sax's homerun was 3-2 in favor of 88 Dodgers. The Reagan era Dodgers added three more runs in the fifth inning on the power of Mike Marshall's three run tater, his 4th of the year. 1962 Los Angeles scored two runs in the bottom half of the fifth on the combination of walks, singles, and outs. After 5 innings, 6-4. The final score was 6-5 as Alejandro Pena and Jay Howell came in relief to seal the victory in game 1. Orel Hershiser(3-4) earned the win. Hershiser went 7 innings and surrendered 5 runs on 7 hits but he gave up a season high 8 walks.

Game 2, Dodger Stadium, Johnny Podres and Tim Leary were the starters in game 2. The 1962 Dodgers got out to an early lead and held on for most of the game. The game was close for most of the game and became closer in the 9th inning as the 88 squad tied the game at 3. In the bottom of the 9th, with Brian Holton on the mound, the first two Dodgers were retired. However, a walk to Ron Perranoski was followed with a single by Maury Wills. Willie Davis hit a basehit to right field to score Perranoski and knot the series up at 1-1. The winning pitcher was Perranoski and loss went to Brian Holton (0-4).

Game 3, Dodger Stadium, Sandy Koufax and Tim Belcher faired up in game 3 and this one was not even close. The 1962 club pounded out 15 hits and got out to a 7-0 lead by the fifth inning. Belcher stayed in and was taken out after 6 innings but surrendered 7 runs on 10 hits. Sandy Koufax (3-3) evened up his record as he threw 7 innings and struck out 6 batters. The 1962 Dodger offense was lead by catcher Johnny Roseboro as he hit a three run homerun in the 5th inning. Tommy Davis contributed 2 hits that accounted for 4 RBI. Final score...62 Dodgers 9...88 Dodgers 3. 62 Los Angeles leads the series 2 games to 1.

Game 4, Dodger Stadium, The 1962 Dodgers had a chance to wrap up the series and advance to the Championship against the 1969 Orioles. For the 1988 Dodgers, it was do or die. Veteran Don Sutton got the start for the 88 club and swing man Stan Williams began the game for the 1962 team. The 62 Dodgers wanted to squelch any 88 Dodger hopes as they knocked out Don Sutton in the first inning as the first 6 Dodgers reached base on hits and Sutton was gone after 6 batters. Sutton's line for the day 0 innings pitched.....5 runs on 6 hits. Brian Holton came in relief and stopped the bleeding. Holton pitched very well in relief as he threw 5.2 innings of 2 hit and no run ball. However, this was not enough as the Dodger offense took a day off. The 1988 team managed 4 runs on 9 hits for the day but they could not get over the early lead the 1962 team got off to. Tommy Davis had 3 hits and 1 RBI to lead the Dodgers in the game that wrapped up the NLCS for the 1962 squad. The final score 1962 Dodgers 6....1988 Dodgers 4. Stan Williams (3-0) earned the win with 6 innings of 5 hit ball and allowed 3 runs and struck out 6 batters. Perranoski, Sherry, and Richert threw 3 innings of solid relief to ice the victory for the Dodgers. Congrats to the 1962 Dodgers as they played a strong series.

'69 O's sweep '54 Tribe to clinch AL Flag

2007-12-12T20:11:00.000-08:00

Good pitching beats good hitting. The 1969 O's have both and then some. With a starting rotation that features 3 ace's (Palmer, Cuellar and McNally) the O's are a tough team to beat. Cleveland's staff is nothing to sneeze about either, but they unfortunately did not have their rotation setup due to having played the '61 Yankees in the ALDS, where Early Wynn and Bob Lemon both took to the hill.

The opener saw a classic matchup of HOF'ers with Jim Palmer matching up against Rapid Robert (Bob) Feller. Both pitchers were on their game. Palmer's was A+. Feller ran out of gas in the 7th and yielded 3 big insurance runs as the O's won 5-0. Palmer fanned 10 Indian batters and yielded only 3 hits enroute to the complet game shutout. Baltimore struck first in the opening stanza after Don Bufford walked and Paul Blair singled him home a few batters later. The O's scored again in the 3rd after Mark Belanger led off with a walk and Brooksie brought him home with a sac fly. As the late great Bob Murphy would say, "oh those bases on balls...they'll get you everytime". Feller was pitching fine, but this O's lineup is strong from top to bottom and they are very selective hitters. The 8th inning saw Feller laboring, but Cleveland's manager kept him in since his opposing number was scheduled to lead off. With nothing left in the tank Feller yielded a lead off double to Palmer who scored along with Mark Belanger on a Frank Robby triple. For good measure Boog Powell hit a sac fly to knock Frank in and increase the lead to 5-0 where it would stay.

Game 2 saw a classic pitcher's duel between lefty Mike Cuellar and his unlikely opponent Al Houtterman. Both went the distance, but Houtterman wound up on the short side of the ledger as Cuellar tosses a 3 hitter. The O's would score all of their runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings respectively, but with the way Cuellar was dealing he didn't need more. With 2 outs in the bottom of the second catcher Ellie Hendricks drilled one to deep left center to break the ice and put the O's up 1-0. In the 3rd catlyst Don Bufford lead off with a double. Frank Robby singled him over to 3rd and big John Wesley "Boog" Powell hit a sac fly to bring him in and put the Tribe on the brink of elimination.

Game 3 saw the series shift to the "mistake by the lake". The Tribe had reason to feel confident as ace Early Wynn would be on the hill. The O's were trotting out their 3rd ace in a row, lefty Dave McNally. Cleveland struck first as they loaded the bases and Al Smith hit a sac fly to bring in Hank Majeski. This was Cleveland's first run of the series, and sadly for the hometown faithful their last. Unable to capitalize on a 1 out bases loaded scenario the Tribe had to hope that Wynn could keep the O's in check and be near perfect, and for 6 innings he was. The top of the 7th saw Baltimore find a chink in Wynn's armor and tag him for 2 runs, which is all they would need to put away the Tribe's anemic offense. Big guns Frank Robinson and Boog Powell lead off with singles. Paul Blair bunted them up a base and the stage was set for Brooks Robinson to deliver. With everyone sitting on the edge of their seats Wynn got Robinson to ground to short. The ball was hit neither hard, nor soft enough for the runner to advance, so with 2 out the O's looked to be in trouble. Sensing the moment of destiny was at hand Wynn threw a ball that got too much of the plate and back up catcher Andy Etchebarren delivered a big 2 run triple that took all the air out of Municipal Stadium.

With the score 2-1 the O's lifed McNally for a pinch hitter and put the ball in their bullpen's hands. Dick Hall blanked the Tribe in the 8th and faced 1 batter in the 9th to give way to lefty Pete Richert who got the one lefty he faced. That put the ball in the hands of closer Ed Watt who made things interesting by walking Al Rosen and giving up a 2 out single to Al Smith. Cleveland went to the bench and brought in Vic Wertz to pinch hit for Dave Philley. Wertz hit a bullet to gold glover Mark Belanger deep in the hole at short, who calmly flipped it over to Davey Johnson who was covering second to record the final out of the series.

The O's put together a fabulous 3 game sweep and now sit back and wait to see which Dodger team they will face in the World Series.

'54 Tribe sweeps '61 Bombers to advance to ALCS

2007-12-12T19:58:00.000-08:00

In the opener starter Early Wynn went the distance and gave up only 1 run as the Tribe scored 7 off of Ralph Terry and rolled to an easy victory. Larry Doby was the hitting star with a huge 3 run clout in the Indians 4 run 5th inning. The victory put the Bombers on the brink of elimination in this best of 3 series.

Wynn kept the Yankee hitters off stride all day and fell into a nice comfortable grove once he got that big lead to protect.

Game 2 saw the second place Yanks needing a win desperately to extend the series to a 3rd and final game. That was not going to happen. the offensive explosion continued for Cleveland in this game as they banged out 13 runs, while the Bombers could only muster 4. Yankee starter Rollie Sheldon went 2 innings and was chased from the hill after yielding 6 runs. Whitey Ford was summoned from the bullpen to help stop the bleeding but he too was inefective as the Tribe added 5 more (4 unearned). Curiosly both Maris and Mantle both had 3 hits off of Cleveland starter Bob Lemon, but neither could find a way to hit the long ball.

Larry Doby was again the hitting star as he slammed two homers and knocked in 4 runs. In total the Tribe had 16 hits (the Bombers had 12) as they eliminated the mighty Yankees in a clean sweep to head to the ALCS and face the even mightier Orioles.

'88-LA defeats '86-NYM in classic 3 game playoff

2007-12-12T03:36:00.000-08:00

Game 1 at Dodger Stadium,Dodgers 5.......Mets 1 During the regular season, the Mets had little trouble with the Dodgers as they defeated the blue crew 3 games out of 4. However, that was then and this was now. The Dodgers are one of the hotest teams in the league right now and threw Tim Belcher on the mound as he went against Met ace Dwight Gooden. The Mets got on the board first with a run in the third inning as spark plug Lenny Dykstra drove in George Foster with a basehit. The score held until the bottom of the 7th. Jeff Hamilton was hit by a Gooden pitch to lead off the inning. Dave Anderson followed with a walk to put runners on first and second. Tim Belcher was due up but was lifted for pinch hitter Tracy Woodson. Woodson singled up the middle to score Hamilton to knot the game up at 1. The hottest Dodger Steve Sax came up next and untied the game with a hit to hit as Anderson scored. After Scioscia grounded out Gibson walked. Roger McDowell came in to relieve a tired Gooden. Marshall hit a deep fly ball to right field to score Sax from third to make the score 3-1 Dodgers. Franklin Stubbs then lined a double down the right field line for two more runs to make the score 5-1 after 7 innings. Brian Holton and Tim Crews came in to nail down the victory for the Dodgers in game 1. Winning pitcher was Tim Belcher (5-2). Gooden(1-5) received the lost.

Game 2, Shea Stadium Mets 7.....Dodgers 4. Game 2 turned into an exciting game as the Mets evened the series with a late rally to keep their playoff hopes alive. A pair of southpaws got the start. Sid Fernandez for the Mets and John Tudor of the Dodgers. It looked like Los Angeles was going to settle the series quickly as they erupted for two runs in the first inning on a 2-RBI double by third baseman Tracy Woodson (who has driven in 3 runs in the series so far). Los Angeles plated two more runs in the 5th inning on a throwing error by Fernandez and an RBI hit by Steve Sax. Going into the bottom of the 5th inning LA lead 4-0. The Mets would not go down without a fight. New York scored 2 runs in their half of the 5th inning to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Dodgers. In the seventh inning, the Mets got to John Tudor as five straight batters reached base. Strawberry lined a game tying 2 RBI double to center field and Gary Carter drove in the go ahead run with a base hit to left field. On the single, left fielder Kirk Gibson bobbled the ball allowing another run to score. New York added an insurance run in the 8th inning to make the final score 7-4 and a series tie. The victory went to Terry Leach (1-0) and John Tudor(2-1) suffered his first loss of the year.

Game 3, Shea Stadium The deciding game was played on an overcast day and matched up veteran pitchers Don Sutton of Los Angeles and Bobby Ojeda for the Mets. Lenny Dystra walked to lead off the first for the Mets and then promptly stole second base. Gary Carter drove him in with a line drive basehit. Both pitchers were on top of their games as they held the opposing offenses in check. In the fourth inning, .207 hitting Alfredo Griffin tied the the game with a duck snort down the left field line to score Mike Marshall who singled earlier. That would be the only scoring for the next 11 innings as relief pitching dominated both teams. Steve Sax lead off the Dodger 16th inning with a double to left. The next batter was Mike Shelby. Shelby bunted the ball in front of the plate. It looked like an easy play for catcher Gary Carter but his throw to third base floated over Ray Knight's head allowing Sax to score the go ahead run. Brian Holton was on the hill for the Dodgers in the bottom of the 16th inning and surrendered a lead off hit to Keith Hernandez. Gary Carter swung at a split finger fast ball and hit into a 6-4-3 double play. The Dodgers only needed one out to advance to the 2nd round of the playoffs but Strawberry singled followed by a Ray Knight hit that sent Strawberry to third. Runners at first and third with two outs and rookie slugger Kevin Mitchell due up. On a 2-1 slider, Mitchell was fooled and rolled a routine grounder to Griffin at shortstop, who cleanly fielded the ball and threw to first well ahead of Mitchell to end this hard fought game. Final score in 16 innings...Dodgers 2...Mets 1. Winning pitcher Brad Havens (1-0) and Holton earned his second save. Doug Sisk (0-3) got the lost. The 1988 Dodgers will face the 1962 Dodgers in the best of 5 games NLCS.
-contributed by Joey Scigliano-

Cinderella '88-Dodgers win 1 game playoff vs '79-PIT

2007-12-05T19:51:00.000-08:00

Pittsburgh - (AP): On a cold, windy, overcast night in Pittsburgh, the Dodgers and Pirates matched up to see who would play the 1986 Mets in the wild card series. The Dodgers came in with a 4 game winning streak but still were considered underdogs. Los Angeles had a well rested Orel Hershisher going while Pittsburgh had their ace John Candelaria on the hill. Pittsburgh scored first on a Tim Foli RBI in the second but was quickly tied during the top half of the third inning on a Kirk Gibson RBI single to plate Steve Sax.

With 2 outs in the third inning, the rain came down with a steady down pour and the game was halted for 103 minutes. When play resumed, Canderlaria could not come back out and was replace by veteran hurler Dave Roberts. Unfortunetly, Roberts did not have his stuff and was belted around for 6 runs on 7 hits in 2.1 innings pitched. Orel Hershisher threw 7 innings of 1 run, 3 hit ball to earn his second victory and improve to 2-4 on the year. Roberts got hung with the loss and is now 1-2. Final score: Dodgers 8....Pirates 1. The Dodgers will now face off against a powerful 1986 Mets club in a best of 5 series. On the regular season, the Mets had little trouble with the Dodgers as they took 3 of the 4 games played.

3 way tie for 2 Wild Card Spots in NL forces playoff

2007-12-02T22:14:00.000-08:00

In an unusual case of mediocrity 3 NL teams finished tied for the 2 Wild Card slots with identical 17-19 records. The 1986 NY Mets split their final series as did the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. The 1988 Dodgers got to this point by pulling off the improbable sweep of the 1981 Dodgers, who were favored in that series.

The playoff to get in the playoff will be decided by the league's tie breaking system.

The 1986 NY Mets will receive the bye and thus get awarded the 1st wild card slot. This is because they were tied with the 1988 LA Dodgers with 9-7 divisional records, but the Mets beat the 1988 Dodgers 3 of 4 times head to head. The 1979 Pirates finished with an 8-8 divisional record, so they automatically were relegated to the play in game.

The league conducted a coin flip (as per rules) and determined that the 1979 Pirates will host the play in game at three Rivers Stadium.

After the 2nd wild card slot winner is determined the Wild Card round playoffs will commence the following day.

1962 LA Dodgers clinch NL Div Title at .500

2007-12-02T22:03:00.000-08:00

Congrats to Mike Roberts who jumped in and took over the 1962 Dodgers in time for series #5 and piloted them to a division title !!! Scott Dyer resigned as manager with the team sitting at 6-10 and in turmoil. Mike Roberts came on board and "righted the ship". Finishing 12-8 down the stretch including a final series where he took 3 of 4 from the 1977 Yanks Mike won the division title ! Kudos to Mike and the Dodgers, who got an MVP type performance out of Tommy Davis (.378-7-32) and a Cy Young performance out of Double D, Don Drysdale (6-3, 2.08). I find it spectacular that Mike was able to win all those games down the stretch when Maury Wills hit only .242 and had a .298 on base % and Sandy Koufax finished with a dismal record (2-3, 4.19)

'88 LA and '61 Bombers split series

2007-12-02T16:04:00.000-08:00

Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, The Yankees and Dodgers faced off in the first of a four game set. The Yankees drew first blood with a run in the second inning. The Dodgers came back with a run in the bottom half of the second inning as pitcher drove in the first of his three runs with a sacrifice fly. Roger Maris hit a two run homerun in the top half of the third to give the Bronx Bombers a renewed 3-1 lead. Los Angeles tied the game in the bottom half of the third and took the lead in the fourth inning with two runs. The Dodgers added two more runs in the 5th and that was all they would need. The Yankees added a run in the ninth to make the final score 6-4 in favor of Los Angeles. Tim Belcher pitched 6 innings and gave up 4 runs but earned his 3rd win of the year against 2 losses. Sheldon got the start for the Yankees and got hung with the loss. Sheldon's record stands at 1-2.

Game 2 at Dodger Stadium, Fernando Valenzuela got the rock and very short rest but hung in there for 5 1/2 innings of no run 2 hit ball. Fernando hung around just long enough to get the win(2-3). The Dodgers scored the first run of the ballgame in the 5th inning with an RBI single by Rick Dempsey. The Dodgers plated three more runs in the 6th inning to increase their lead to 3-0. The Yankees avoided the shutout with Yogi Berra's solor homerun in the 8th inning, his 6th of the year. Final score: Dodgers 4...Yankees 1.

Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, Bill Stafford and Tim Leary took the mound in the third game of the series and it looked to be a good pitching duel. Both pitchers threw well. Stafford threw a complete game for the Yankees and Tim Leary threw 8 innings of 2 runs. Fortunetly for Los Angeles scored 4 runs for a 4-2 victory. Steve Sax connected for his first homerun of the year to aid in the Los Angeles victory. Tim Leary improves to 2-2 on the year and Jay Howell pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn his 3rd save of the year. Stafford fell to 3-3 on the year.

Game 4 at Yankee Stadium, The Yankees scored early and held onto the lead to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. Hard luck pitcher Orel Hershisher served up a two run homerun to Roger Maris in the first inning and that was all New York would need in defeating Hershiser and the Dodgers. All year, the Dodger offense has been unable to support Hershiser. The Dodger righthander is 1-4 on the year. Hershisher pitched a complete game while only surrendering 3 runs on 7 innings. On the other side of the mound Ralph Terry pitched great as he pitched 7 innings and improved to 4-1.

'69 O's sweep '81 LA to clinch AL top spot

2007-11-24T12:57:00.000-08:00

The 81 Dodgers have had a rough stretch lately. A team poised to put it's mark on the NL looks more fatigued than one might expect. Facing the AL leading O's is not a fantastic thing when one is not playing in top form. This 4 game set saw the O's run away with 3 contests and hold tight to win the only close game in the set.

GAME 1: (Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD) - LA jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead in the third, but became a victim of the weather more so than a victim of the jaugernaut O's. The heavens opened up and doused Baltimore with close to 30 minutes of rain. After the delay Sutcliffe didn't have much left in his arm and was removed in favor of Dave Goltz who served up 5 runs. Baltimore won this one 6-1. Even though he gave up 1 (unearned) run, Baltimore starter Jim Palmer had a no-hitter going into the ninth, but ran out of gas and had to be lifted. In the post game interview Baltimore's manager downplayed the no hit opportunity and said no one even paid attention to it since it wasn't a shutout. Palmer (6-0, 1.39), wouldn't comment on it when interview. The young hard throwing righty who battled injuries all season knew it was the right move as the team's one goal is a World Championship.

GAME 2: Valenzuela fanned 10, but McNally was mystifying. Not a hard thrower, Dave McNally relies on changing speeds and keeping hitters off stride, which is exactly what he did for 8 2/3 innings before giving way to Ed Watt who notched his 9th save. This low scoring event featured plenty of pitching. Brooks Robinson, who always brings his leather, brought his lumber today as he knocked in 2 runs. The 2 run 6th inning was the big inning for the Orioles. Brooksie knocked in Frank Robby with a double and Mark Belanger singled home Brooksie.

GAME 3: (Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA) - The change in venue did not help the Dodgers as Baltimore scored early and often. Veteran Dodger hurler Jerry Reuss just didn't have it as he gave up all ten runs and was not afforded any relief help. Sometimes during a season a manager asks a pitcher to "take one for the team" Reuss took this one on the chin. Baltimore starter Tom Phoebus went the distance and only gave up 1 run. Boog Powell continued his hot hitting with 2 huge homers and 6 RBI's on the day. Powell's linescore read 3-5 as he increased his batting average to .331. Merv Rettenmund and Don Bufford also had 3 hits and catcher Andy Etchebarren had 4 as Baltimore knocked out 16 hits on the afternoon in this rout.

GAME 4: Both teams banged out 10 hits appiec vs each team's respective starters. The difference here was that Baltimore made their hits count for more. Entering the top of the 6th the Dodgers had a 3-2 lead, but the O's exploded for 3 runs + 2 more in the following inning. Boog Powell was again the catalyst as he led off the inning with a double. Subs Merv Rettenmund and Dave May both had key hits. Davey Johnson was the offensive star of the show going 4-5 with 3 RBI while increasing his average to .361.

'54-CLE outduels '81 Dodgers

2007-11-20T13:27:00.000-08:00

For those who like low scoring, close pitcher's duels this series was for you. The Indians came out on top by taking 3 of the 4 games, but each team could have easily won all 4 or lost all 4 games.

GAME 1: Saw both Mike Garcia and Fernando Valenzuela go the distance. Garcia gave up only 1 run and Fernando gave up 3 to come up short. The offense centered around Al Rosen who knocked in all 3 of the Indians' runs. Rosen doubled home 2 runs in the first and hit a solo shot in the 6th with 2 out.

GAME 2: Cleveland was up 4-2 going into the 8th when the Dodgers' bats began to heat up. Hal Newhouse came in to close the game out and notch his 2nd save of the season. Both teams knocked out 9 hits in the one game of the series that had some decent offense.

GAME 3: Bob Lemon gave up 1 run and 4 hits in a complete game effort, where he outdueled Burt "Happy" Hooton of the Dodgers. The 6th inning saw Cleveland send 7 guys to the plate and score 2 runs to answer back the Dodgers who had notched 1 in the top of the inning.

GAME 4: This extra inning afair (11) saw neither team able to score. The Dodgers scored both their runs on homers. Ron Cey hit a solo shot in the 5th and Pedro Guerrero won it with a deep fly in the top of the 11th off Don Mosi who had gone 3+ scoreless innings before that.

Yankee/Dodger Rivalry Proves Indecisive

2007-11-20T12:53:00.000-08:00

The 1961 Yankees and 1962 Dodgers split an exciting and action packed four game series. The Dodgers took games one and four, while the Yankees took the middle two contests. Game four was especially exciting as the Dodgers scored two runs in the ninth to tie the game, then won it in the twelfth. Here are recaps of the games.

Game One, New York 4, Los Angeles 7

Game one saw Don Drysdale notch win number four, going the distance in a 7-4 Los Angeles win. Drysdale struck out four and walked only one in his route going performance. With Whitey Ford on the hill for the visitors, you would think this would be a low scoring game. But Ford didn’t have it this time. The Dodgers opened the scoring in third, scoring three runs on a walk to Junior Gilliam, singles by Tommy Davis and Frank Howard, a two-run double off the bat of Ron Fairly, and a single by Doug Camilli. The Dodgers added two in the fifth, but the Yankees made it a one run game when Yogi Berra flashed some of his old magic and touched Drysdale for a grand slam.

The Dodgers answered with one in the sixth when Gilliam singled home Drysdale, who had doubled. Gilliam’s single KO’d Ford. LA added an insurance run in the eighth to close the scoring on this one.

Game Two, New York 9, Los Angeles 2

Game two saw the Yankees score eight runs in the final three frames to route the Dodgers 9-2. Bill Stafford (3-2) bested Sandy Koufax, who is still looking for his first win against 3 defeats. New York scored in the top of the first on a Roger Maris single and Mickey Mantle triple. The game stayed 1-0 until the fifth, when the Dodgers got their two runs on a two out single by Maury Wills, a stolen base, Wills’ 11th steal of the season, a single by Willie Davis plating Wills, and a single by Tommy Davis scoring Willie who had taken second on the throw home attempting to get Wills.

The game remained 2-1 LA until the seventh, when Koufax lost the strike zone. He walked the bases full, then gave up a sac fly, a double and a single to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead. The Yankees then turned things into a route in the ninth, plating five more runs off reliever Ron Perranoski.

Game Three, Los Angeles 4, New York 5

The Yankees hit solo homers in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings, which erased a 4-2 Dodger lead and held up for a 5-4 Bomber victory. Little Bobby Richardson hit the seventh inning shot, his first of the year.

The Dodgers scored two in each of the third and fifth innings, with the Yankees scoring two in the first. Roger Maris then unloaded a long drive into the stands in right to cut the lead to 4-3 in the fifth. Moose Skowron hit his blast with two out in the sixth to tie it, setting the stage for Richardson’s blast the following inning. All five Yankee runs were off starter Joe Moeller (2-1). Hal Reniff (1-0) relieved Ralph Terry in the sixth and got the win. Luis Arroyo pitched two scoreless innings for his fifth save.

Game Four, Los Angeles 7, New York 5

The best game of the series started out looking like a Yankee cakewalk, as the Bombers poured four runs across in the first inning off of usually reliable Dodger starter Johnny Podres. After fellow lefty Bud Daley blanked LA in the top half of the first, the Yankees jumped all over Podres. Bobby Richardson started the inning with a single. Hector Lopez then walked, as did Roger Maris. Podres got Mickey Mantle to ground to third, which scored Richardson. Elston Howard then jumped on a Podres fastball and deposited the ball over the left field wall for a three run homer.

Podres settled down after that though, blanking the Yankees the remaining five innings he worked while his mates chipped away at the lead. The Dodgers put single runs on the board in the second, third and fourth innings, the run in the fourth coming on a solo homer by former Yankee Andy Carey. The Yankees added a run in the eighth on an Elston Howard single, which Frank Howard bobbled in right allowing Elston to move up a base. Moose Skowron then singled Howard to third, from where he scored on a sacrifice fly by Tony Kubek.

The Yankee manager stayed with Daley to try to get his complete game win, but the Dodgers had other ideas. Willie Davis started the ninth with a single, and Johnny Roseboro coaxed a walk. Pinch-hitter Duke Snider then hit a rocket, but it was right at Bobby Richardson for the first out. Maury Wills, a disappointment for the Dodgers so far, then shot a single through the hole between first and second plating Davis and sending Roseboro to third. Junior Gilliam then rifled a shot down the line in left to send Roseboro home with the tying run, as the speedy Wills flashed around the bases. It looked like Wills would put the Dodgers up as he flew around third, challenging the weak throwing arm of Hector Lopez. But Lopez made a perfect play on the ball and pegged a one-hopper to the plate, where Elston Howard blocked out Wills and applied the tag, keeping the game tied.

The momentum stayed with the Yankees and pinch-hitter Bob Cerv walked leading off the ninth against Phil Ortega, and Richardson followed with a single. After pinch-hitter Johnny Blanchard bounced out, sending runners to second and third, the Dodgers brought in lefty Ron Perranoski to face Roger Maris. Perranoski got Maris to line out to first baseman Ron Fairly, then challenged the struggling Mickey Mantle and got the Mick to line to Wills at short, ending the threat.

There was no scoring in the 10th or 11th innings, but the Dodgers erupted in the 12th off of fiery Yankee reliever Jim Coates. Maury Wills started the inning with a single, and promptly stolen second. Jim Gilliam then bunted Wills to third, from where he scored on a Tommy Davis single. Big Frank Howard then hit a long drive to left center that scored Davis, with the big guy lumbering around the bases for a triple. After an intentional pass to Ron Fairly, Andy Carey ended the inning by hitting into a 6-4-3 double play.

But the damage had been done. Stan Williams, who had pitched a scoreless 11th, set the Yankees down in order in the 12th to gain the win.
This was an exciting series between two legendary ball clubs.

'69 O's sweep '86 Mets to go to 20-4

2007-11-18T15:19:00.000-08:00

In 1969 O's lost 4 straight (after winning the opener) to the Amazin's and lost the World Series which was all but guarranteed to them. Facing the Mets again, albeit a different season, the O's vowed to turn the tables and exact a pound of revenge.

GAME 1: (Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD) Crafty lefties Bob Ojeda and Dave McNally hooked up for a classic pitcher's duel. McNally got 2 runs, Ojeda got 0 and the O's took the opener. Brooks Robinson hit a tape measure shot off Ojeda in the 2nd to open the scoring. McNally himself participated in the offense as he singled in the 5th and moved to second when Met RF'er Darryl Strawberry booted the ball and let it go all the way to the wall. Two batters later Davey Johnson singled him home for all the runs that the O's would need on the day.

GAME 2: Featured two lefty starters just like the opener. Both Mike Cuellar and Sid Fernandez were less than impressive. Cueller hung around longer to notch the win to got 5-0, but this game was all on the offense. Up 5-3 in the 6th Randy Myers couldn't hold the game and the O's went on top to win 6-5. George Foster hit 2 big homers for the Mets, who thought it was going to hold up. Oriole magic saw to that not happening. Chico Salmon pinch hit for Cuellar in the 6th and triggered a huge rally with 2 outs. Frank Robinson doubled in 2 in a huge 3 running inning for the birds.

GAME 3: (Shea Stadium, Flushing, NY) This contest saw Ron Darling no hit the O's for 5 innings and look extremely comfortable riding a 5 run 1st inning offense explosion by his teammates. The O's being as magical as they are didn't panic and scored 6 runs in the top of the 9th and the shocked fans at Shea expecting miracles of their own just fell silent. The O's had 6 consecutive batters reach base, which included back to back homers by Frank Robinson and Boog Powell. Paul Blair had the GWRBI with a sac fly. He has truly been Baltimore's MVP. Lefty Pete Richert came on to notch his 3rd save on the season in the bottom of the 9th.

GAME 4: The O's decided to bypass ace Jim Palmer since his arm was a little sore from his last outing. In his stead journeyman Jim Hardin took the hill vs Met act Dwight Gooden. Doc has been an enigma for the Amazin's all season. Management can not figure out why someone with all of his talent is faltering game in game out. Speculation in the NY press is that Doc has a substance abuse problem. Manager Andy Weinrib, not being a physician, has been forced to trot Doc out every 5th day and hope he reverts to his 1985 Cy Young form. This game turned into a laugher by the 6th inning. Both pitchers kept the game scoreless for the first 3 innings, but the O's errupted to score 7 off Gooden and put the game out of reach. Gooden gave up 4 of Baltimore's 5 homers on the day. Boog Powell hit his 9th and Frank Robinson hit his 8th. Even pitcher Tom Hardin found the blueprint for the long ball.

Baltimore swept the series and moved to 20-4 to solidify their lead in the AL. New York dropped below .500 and opened the door for the rest of the NL to move into 1st place in what seems to be a division no one wants to win.

'88-Dodgers and '79-Pirates Split Series

2007-11-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

Game 1 at Dodger Stadium, Another close hardfought game for the Dodgers as this time they played host to the "Lumber Company" 1979 Pirates. Both teams battled throughout the game with the final tally being scored on the game's final play. The scoring began in the first inning as Willie Stargell doubled in Bill Madlock off Dodger starter Tim Leary. The Dodgers knotted the game up at 1 in their half of the second when Kirk Gibson led off with a walk and then stole second base. For the game, both teams combined for 9 stolen bases. Gibson later scored on a clutch 2-out single to right by shortstop Dave Anderson. Both teams tallied a run in the fourth. The Dodger run came on a solo homerun to right by Kirk Gibson. Pittsburgh retook the lead in the 5th on a single and a stolen base by Omar Moreno(the second of his 3 stolen bags on the day.) Dave Parker drove Moreno home on a sacrifice. The Pirate lead did not last long as the Dodgers scored a run in the 6th as Shelby lead off with a triple, and Gibson drove him in with a single. Los Angeles took the lead in the 7th on a leadoff homerun to leftcenter by backup catcher Rick Dempsey, his 1st of the year. Jay Howell came in the ninth inning for the Dodgers but could not hold the lead as he surrendered the tying run. The score was tied at 4 going into the bottom of the ninth. Grant Jackson was on the hill for Pirates when the Dodgers came to bat in the 9th. With 2 outs Steve Sax walked and stole second base. On the attempted steal, Steve Nicoscia's throw sailed into centerfield for a 1 base error. Mike Davis was called back and Mike Marshall was sent up to pinch hit. Marshall rewarded his skipper with a clutch game winning single to make the final score 5-4 in favor of Los Angeles.

Game 2, at Dodger Stadium, Things looked bright for the Dodgers going into the second game of the series as they had their ace Orel Hershiser on the mound but sometimes the best laid plans do not work out. Hershiser's mates spotted him to an early 1-0 lead in the first but that changed in the Pirates half of the third. Willie Stargell took a Hershiser hanging slider and bombed it deep into the rightfield pavillion with two runners on to give Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead. The Pirates increased their lead in the 6th inning as Bill Madlock connected for yet another Pittsburgh 3 run homerun. After 6 innings, the Pirates led 6-1. Hershiser exited the game after 7 innings and 78 pitches. Only 3 of his runs were earned but none-the-less his record falls to 1-3 with a spectacular 2.44 ERA! Bert Blyleven(2-1) got the win for Pittsburgh as he went 8 innings surrendering 2 runs on 10 hits and striking out 6 batters.

Game 3, at Three Rivers Stadium, Jim Bibby and lefty Fernando Valenzuela battled in the third game of the series. Fernando was battered around as he lasted only 5 innings as he surrendered 6 runs on 10 hits. Ed Ott and Willie Stargell connected for homeruns off Valenzuela to put this game out of reach. Bill Robinson also had a big day at the plate for the Pirates as he went 3 for 3 with a run scored. Bibby threw 6 innings of 4 hit ball to earn his first victory of the year against 4 setbacks. Enrique Romo earned his first save of the year as he pitched the final three innings of the game for the Pirates. Final score....Pirates 6.....Dodgers 1.

Game 4, at Three Rivers Stadium, The Dodgers used a couple homeruns by backup players to win a rare blowout game. Tracy Woodson and Rick Dempsey both hit homeruns in the Dodger 9-3 victory. Los Angeles erupted for 14 hits in the game to give veteran righty Don Sutton his 1st victory of the season. Sutton went 6 innings and surrendered 3 runs on 8 hits. He also struck out a season high eight batters on the night. The "Candy Man" John Candeleria started for the Pirates and pitched a solid game of 6 inning ball but the wheels fell off as the Pirate Bullpen got into the act. First was Dave Roberts, who entered the 7th inning in a 3-3 tie. Roberts surrendered 5 runs on 6 hits in 1.1 innings. Next came Dock Ellis, who gave up 1 run in an inning and two thirds. The Dodgers tallied 5 runs in the eighth inning to put this game out of reach. John Shelby and Steve Sax collected 3 hits each in this game as the Dodgers displayed a rare show of offense....Special note...Steve Sax went 9 for 17 in the series with 5 runs scored and 2 stolen bases as the Dodgers split the 4 game series with the powerful Pittsburgh Pirates.

77-NYY & 88-LA Split Series...Stay in Basement

2007-11-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

Game 1, at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles took the first game of the series in a hard fought 1 run ballgame. The opening series matched up Mike Torrez of the Yankees against Tim Leary of the Dodgers. The Yankees struck first in the opening inning with an RBI single by Chris Chambliss. However, Los Angeles got their low octaine offense going in the bottom of the second inning as they erupted for 3 big runs on RBI singles by Mike Scioscia and Alfredo Griffin. Even pitcher Tim Leary got in the scoring mix with a sacrifice fly. In the top of the third inning, after a lead off single by Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson crushed a Leary fastball deep into the seats in rightfield to knot the game at 3. Fireworks were not done yet as Kirk Gibson blasted a long homerun to right in the bottom half of the inning to give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead. The Yankees tied the game in the fourth inning with a bases loaded walk to Chris Chambliss. Los Angeles retook the lead in the bottom half of the inning with an RBI single by second baseman Steve Sax and that is the way the game stayed. Mike Torrez went to 0-5 on the year. The Yankees smashed out 13 hits but could not get most of them in. Leary went 6 workman innings for Los Angeles and received help from his bullpen as Brian Holton and Jessie Orosco pitched the final three innings without surrendering a run. Orosco earned his 1st save of the year.

Game 2 at Dodger Stadium, The Yankees pounded out 6 runs on 11 hits as New York took the second game of the series. Shawn Hillegas got the start for the Dodgers and went only 5 innings surrendering 5 runs on 7 hits. Catfish Hunter got the start for New York and pitched a strong 7 innnings of 1 run and 4 hit ball to earn his first win of the year to improve to 1-2 on the season. Hillegas evened his season record to 1-1. The Yankees did not score more than a run in any one inning but managed to score one run in each of the first four innings to put this game out of reach early. No really hitting star in this game as everyone except Graig Nettles and Willie Randolph collected at least one hit for the game.

Game 3 at Yankee Stadium, This game matched up Fernando Valenzuela and Ed Figueroa. This game was another close one that was not decided until the final inning. For a while it looked like The Dodgers were going to win their second game in a row as they held a 5-1 into the sixth inning. With the game tied at one apiece going into the third inning, Kirk Gibson connected for this second homerun in two games but this time it was good for three big runs. Fernando Valenzuela got into the act with an RBI double in the sixth inning to add to Los Angeles's lead. The Yankees offense got rolling in the bottom of the seventh inning. The Yankees got 2 runs in the bottom of the seventh and leading off the 8th, veteran Paul Blair hit a leadoff homerun to get things started. The blast was Blair's first homerun of the year. New York added another run in the 8th to tie the game at 5 through 8 innings. Tim Crews was on the mound in the ninth inning for the Dodgers and the first batter he faced was captain Thurman Munson, who promptly singled for his third hit of the game. One out and a walk to Graig Nettles, Mickey Rivers was sent up to pinch hit for Paul Blair. Rivers lined a clutch double into the rightfield gap to score Munson giving the Yankees a great 6-5 victory. The Yankees were jubilant as they appeared dead for most of the game but were inspired by Munson, who refused to give up. Tim Crews(0-1) got the lost and Ken Clay(2-0) earned the victory for New York.

Game 4, at Yankee Stadium, This game was a classic pitchers duel between Ron Guidry and Tim Belcher. Both pitchers did a great job of holding the opposing offense down for most of the game. The Dodgers scored the first run of the game in the fourth inning as Pedro Guerrero singled and Mike Marshall walked. The next batter, John Shelby grounded out to third but it moved the runners up to second and third with only one out. Jeff Hamilton hit a rountine grounder to shortstop to score Guerrero to make the score 1-0 in favor of Los Angeles. Belcher was doing a great job of holding down the Yankee offense as he held the big bats to no runs on only one hit through 7 innings. The Dodgers added an insurance run in the 8th inning with a Marshall sacrifice fly to deep centerfield scoring Steve Sax, who doubled to lead off the inning. Jay Howell came in to pitch for Dodgers in the eighth inning a threw 2 innings of shutout ball to earn his 2nd save of the year. Tim Belcher evens his record at 2-2, while Guidry moves to 3-2. Final score...Dodgers 2....Yankees 0.

Pirates "buc" Dodgers take 3 of 4

2007-11-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

The series featured two teams headed in opposite directions. The Pirates were slumping as of late and the Dodgers had found new life with new manager Mike Roberts. Both were slugging it out for the 3rd playoff spot in the NL.

GAME 1 (Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, CA): This matchup featured two pitcher who had a lot in common, except the most important thing: winning. Dodger ace Don Drysdale is tall and imposing and can hit like a regular player, so can Pirate starer Don Robinson. Drysdale on most days is the ace of his team's staff. Robinson is not. Popular thought would have this matchup favoring the Dodgers' Don. Popular opinion is not worth the parchment it is printed on. Don Robinson gave up 2 runs in 6 innings of work, which is more than acceptable for a 4th or 5th starter. Don Drysdayle gave up 4 runs in 5 innings, which is not acceptable for any pitcher, least of all a man who is his staff's ace. The big inning was the top of the 5th, where Pittsburgh got to Double D and scored all 4 runs and hastened his exit. There was no "long ball" that inning. The Pirates manufactured runs and tested the Dodger defense. Grant Jackson and Kent Tekulve came on in relief of Robinson to shut out LA.

GAME 2: Another popular opinion is that when Sandy Koufax is on the mound all is right in Dodgerland. The problem with this opinion is that Sandy's automatic years were 1963-66. This is 1962, a season where Koufax began to emerge as a dominant, but injured force. The Pirates are a very balanced hitting team and they forgot to be intimidated. Sandy was able to strike out 8, but he did give up 5 runs (3 earned). The Dodger defense let him down. The Dodger offense did not since they were able to compile 4 runs, which is usually 3 more than Koufax needs. The win was a true testament to the resolve of the Steeltown 9, since they were down 4-0 after the first and they were facing a man who was on the verge of greatness. Curiosly, both Ed Ott and Dave Parker (lefties) hit homers. The Pirates chipped away with 2 in the 4th and 6th and 1 in the 8th to win this one.

GAME 3 (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA): This 6-5 offensive oriented contest needed 10 innings to be decided. By this time both staters, Jim Bibby (PIT) & Stan Williams (LA) were long gone. With one out in the bottom of the 10th Pirate left fielder Bill Robinson hit a walk off homer to send the Pirate faithful home happy and chanting "sweep". Ron Perranoski took the loss out of the bullpen after tossing 2 1/3 shutout innings and attempting to stretch it to a 3rd. Grant Jackson also went 2 and 1/3 shutout innings, but he never had to face that "8th guy", nor did he give up the long ball.

GAME 4: With the Pirate faithful chanting sweep the Dodgers came out determined to not let that happen. Having Johnny Podres on the hill helps. Podres, who won game 7 of the 1955 World Series vs the hated Yankess has always been known to be cool on the hill. The crafty lefty has an ability to rise up on big occasions and frustrate even the best hitter. Podres wasn't great, nor was he dominating, but he did give his team 9 innings and he never let the Pirates think they could come back after going down 6-0. Clutch pitchers know how to pitch to the scoreboard and Podres did. The Dodgers got homers from both Davis' (Willie and Tommie) and Jumbo Frank Howard as part of a 8 run, 10 hit onslaught of the Bucs.

Orioles Claw Tigers to take 3 of 4

2007-11-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

The jaugernaut that we call the 1969 Baltimore Orioles keeps rolling over opponents. The 1968 Detroit Tigers are an outstanding club, but the were only able to take 1 game in 4 tries from the O's.

GAME 1 (Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD): This was the game for the Tigers. Hope sprung eternal and Tiger starter Denny McLain was dominant. There's no secret as to why the big righty won 31 games that season and had a sub 2.00 ERA. The O's just couldn't solve him. They had him on the ropes on more than one occasion, but McClain would not yield the big run. Detroit jumped out to a 1-0 lead as second sacker Dick McAuliffe hit a tape measure shot to center off of Oriole starter Dave Leonhard, who only gave up 2 runs in 8 innings, but that was not good enough to beat "the gambler". The Tigers got an insurance run that they dearly needed in the top of the 8th. The O's answered back and got a run of their own, but fell short in the bottom of the 9th even after Paul Blair led off with his third hit of the day.

GAME 2: The O's needed to get on track and they did by scoring in the bottom of the 1st after Don Bufford lead off with a double. 2 batters later big John Wesley Powell, know to his fans a Boog, knocked him in for his first RBI of the day. That lead would not last long as Oriole starter Mike Cuellar would give up a collasal 2 run shot to his opposite number, Earl Wilson, who hit 7 in 1968. Wilson and Cuellar matched each other pitch for pitch after that until both were lifted in the 8th inning. Heading into the bottom of the 9th Detroit looked like they were going to hold on, but with 2 outs Patterson gave Chico Salmon something he could hit and he promptly singled home Ellie Hendricks and we headed to extra frames. Both managers took different approaches for extra innings. Detroit decided to go with a bullpen by committee and play for a quick win. Baltimore put in spot starter Tom Phoebus and figured to play for the long haul. This piece of strategy almost came back to burn the O's as Detroit scored 2 runs in the top of the 12 and looked to have it all sewn up. Tiger centerfielder Mickey Stanley lead off with a walk and promptly scored as Tiger great Al Kaline homered to plate them both. Kaline, who suffered with nagging injuries all year finally got his national moment in the sun. Unfortunately for the long suffering Tiger fans that moment would be eclipsed by what the O's were going to do in the bottom of the 12th. Veteran reliever Don McMahon started the inning and got pinch hitter Andy Etchebarren to strike out. Things looked good, but McMahon was out of gas, since he had already pitched the 11th. Out came fireballed Pat Dobson with the task of getting 2 more Orioles out and giving Detroit the first two games of the series and a happy plane right home to Wayne County Airport. This was not to happen. Dobson was not to get any Orioles out. Don Bufford immediately single to left and the Oriole faithful began to stir. Davey Johnson followed that with a double and everyone was on the edge of their seat. With 1 out and runners on second and third gold glove centerfielder Paul Blair delivered a sharp single to center to tie the game. Before the dust could settle Boog Powell would drive him home with a sharp hit into the gap. The play at the plate was close, but the fleet footed Blair was home and so were the Orioles. Another magical win in a magical season.

GAME 3 (Tiger Stadium, Detroit, MI): In a shocking move the Tigers were forced to start lightly used 20 year old Les Cain in place of Mickey Lolich, who was nursing a sore arm. Cain had never faced a lineup like the 69 O's and his inexperience showed. By the end of the 2nd Cain was gone and so were the Tigers hopes. Baltimore pounded him for 5 runs, which is more than enough for Oriole ace, Jim Palmer, to protect. Palmer went the distance and threw an economical 69 pitches to improve his record to 5-0. The Tigers could only muster 3 hits off of Palmer and never threatened. The big blow in the game came off of Boog Powell's bat. After Merv Rettenmund lead off with a single and Frank Robinson walked, Powell slammed a 3 run shot. The O's scored 6 more times before the contest ended. On a side note future HOF'er Eddie Mathews singled to lead off the 9th. Mathews is in the process of winding down a fantastic career and hopes to contribute many key pinch hits off the bench for the Tigers down the stretch.

GAME 4: This game figured to favor the offense, since both teams were starting back end rotation pitchers. Tom Hardin toted the rubber for the O's and went 7 innings and gave up 4 runs. Normally that won't get it done. Luckily for Hardin he was facing Detroit's Joe Sparma who threw 125 pitchers in 5 innings of action and left the game on the short side of the ledger. Both team's bullpens were stellar. Pat Dobson, looking to redeem himself for his poor game 2 performance, threw 4 shutout innings. The O's relied on Dick Hall and Eddie Watt and neither disappointed. Watt notched his 6th save as he struck out the first 2 batters he faced in the 9th (Don Wert and Ray Oyler). Gates Brown pinch hit for Dobson and doubled, but wound up stranded as Dick McAuliffe popped out to Davey Johnson at second to end it. Willie Horton was again Detroit's hitting star, going 3 for 3 with 2 homers. The big blast being a 3 run shot in the bottom of the 4th to tie the game after Baltimore took a 3 run lead over the first 3 innings. Baltimore got the long ball from Boog Powell and Frank Robinson. Normally light hitting shortstop Mark Belanger went 3-4 and raised his average to .366 to lead the senior circuit.

DIAMOND DUST: The O's moved to 20-4 and seem to be in total control of the senior circuit. Detroit dropped to an even 12-12, but is still very much in the playoff picture. Tiger manager Bill Keller was agitated in his post series interview when asked why Lolich did not make an appearance vs the 1st place O's. Keller, not one to mince words, blamed his pitching coach Dave Koch for limiting Lolich's EPC rendering him useless to the Tigers for this 4 game set. Keller left the podium in an abrupt fashion mubling how this EPC thing needs to be fixed next year...or else !

'61 Bombers sweep '77 Edition

2007-11-09T16:51:00.000-08:00

Al played 2 games vs the computer and Eddie played 2 games vs me (Marc). Any way you slice it the results were the same, the 1961 Yanks found a way to win. Mantle has gotten hot. He now has 9 homers. Maris is heating up too, as he went deep twice in the opener. This is good news for the folks on 161st and River and bad news for the rest of the AL.

GAME 1: Catfish Hunter gave up 3 solo shots and lost this game to Bill Stafford who gave up 2 runs on 5 hits. Dick Tidrow came in and yielded the 4th homer. Maris went deep twice and Berra and Boyer followed suit once each.

GAME 2: Bill Terry improved his record to 2-1 as he went the distance and gave up only 2 runs (solo shots by Graig Nettles and Mickey Rivers). The '61 crew were carried by "the Mick" who hit his 6th and 7th of the year. He and Maris knocked in 5 of the 6 runs scored by the bombers. Ed Figueroa took the loss and dropped to 0-4 on the season.

GAME 3: Tony Kubek went 3-4 includinga solo homer to open the scoring, but he was not the star of the game. The Mick as always finds a way to outshine anyone and everyone. Mantle also went 3 for 4, but clout 2 homers (8th/9th of the season). With the score tied at 3 in the top of the 9th Mickey his a 2 run shot to put his team ahead for good. The "gator", Ron Guidry was the victim. Whitey Ford (4-1, 1.52) gave up 3 runs and went the distance for his 4th win of the season. Ellie Howard also went 3-4, but was not involved in any of the scoring. Thurman Munson's homer tied the game at 3 and looked to be the key hit of the game until Mantle struck.

GAME 4: The '77 Yanks fell short again (by 1 run) in this offensive oriented game. '61's starter Bud Daley gave up 4 runs, but the lineup behind him is so potent he has the luxury of not having to be perfect. Don Gullett his opposite number doesn't have tha luxury as his team is hitting around .240 on the season. Both teams had 2 homers. Maris hit one out and looks to be heating up. The '77 team and a pull the names out of the hat lineup, which seemed to get them going. In the end the '61 squad was just to powerful to contend with.

62-LA sweeps 81-LA

2007-11-08T12:54:00.000-08:00

Every fan in this series wore Dodger Blue, as the 1981 LA Dodgers faced the 1962 LA Dodgers. There was even some confusion who the “Home” team actually was.

Game 1 – this was going to be a pitching duel as Don Drysdale and Jerry Reuss were on the mound. 1981 LA struck first in the 2nd inning with a walk, an error, and a single – which led to an unearned run for Drysdale. Drysdale in all held the 1981 team to just 3 hits, while going the distance. In the bottom 3rd, 1962 LA got 3 straight hits from Drysdale, Wills, and Gilliam to produce 3 runs of their own. 1962 LA led 3-1 after 3. Reuss settled down after that inning – and held them scoreless the rest of the way. But, 1962 LA did manage 11 hits off Reuss for the game. 1981 LA managed another run in the 6, when Dusty Baker hit a HR off Drysdale – but that is all they could muster. 1962 LA won this game 3-2 – and they out hit 1981 LA 11-3.

Game 2 – this appeared to be another pitching duel as Burt Hooten faced Joe Moeller. 1981 LA struck right away with a leadoff Double by Steve Sax in the top 1st, who would eventually score. 1962 LA countered with 2 runs of their own off a Double by Tommy Davis and a HR by Frank Howard. In the 2nd, 1962 LA scored 2 more runs off 3 straight hits again from Jim Gilliam, Ron Fairly, and Larry Burright – and 1962 LA led 4-1 after 2. An error in the 3rd allowed 1981 LA to score another run – but they were held to 4 hits for the game and ran out of gas. 1962 LA managed 2 more runs in the game off a Triple by Larry Burright in the 5th and a Double by Willie Davis in the 8th. 1962 LA won 6-2 – and out hit 1981 LA 9-4.

Game 3 – The 1981 LA team were now heading Home and looking for some answers. They put Bob Welch on the mound to face Johnny Podres. 1981 LA felt confident facing Podres and felt they could get some hits and score some runs off him. How wrong they were. The 1981 LA team did manage 7 hits off Podres, who went the distance – but were held to just 1 run in the 3rd. Welch did his part and contained the 1962 LA squad to 2 runs, which came off some timely hits in the 2nd and 7th. This was a pitching duel, as 1962 LA won this game 2-1 – and once again out hit 1981 LA 10-7.

Game 4 - This was another pitching duel – and 1981 LA put Rick Sutcliffe, a 5th starter, on the mound to face Pete Richert. 1981 LA was looking to salvage some dignity – being the division leader heading into this series…..not to be. 1981 LA did strike first with a run in the 6th off a couple of hits – and still led 1-0 going into the 8th. Sutcliffe did a good job holding 1962 LA scoreless thru 7 and allowing only 3 hits. In the 8th, 1962 LA managed a run off a couple of timely singles – to tie the game at 1-1. Ron Perranoski came in for 1962 LA and shut the door in the 8th and Larry Sherry came in to hold the 9th – so we are heading into Xtra innings. In the 10th, 1962 managed a run off Dave Stewart with a couple of hits – and 1981 LA could not counter. 1962 LA won the game 2-1.

This was an unexpected 4-game sweep by 1962 LA – who now forced a tie with their 1981 LA counterpart. Both teams are now 10-10 – and only the 1986 NY Mets are better at 11-9. So, it looks to be a tight race in this division with only 16 games left to play.

-contributed by George Bseraini-

54-CLE takes 3 of 4 from 88-LA

2007-11-04T15:52:00.000-08:00

Game 1, Los Angeles (Dodger Stadium)

Ramon Martinez made the start for the Dodgers against legend and Hall of Famer Bob Feller in the first game of this series and even though Ramon held his own against the talented Indians, he lost the game 5-0. The Indians scored a run in the second inning and that would be all that they would need for this game as the Dodgers could not post a run on only 2 hits. Bob Feller went the distance on his 2 hitter and also scored a run. Offensive star for Cleveland was second baseman Bobby Avila as he drove in 2 runs with 2 hits.

Game 2, Los Angeles

Lefty John Tudor made his first start of the season for the Dodgers and received some rare offense for the Dodgers as Los Angeles knocked off the Indians in game 2. Tudor went 7 innings and surrendered 1 run on 5 hits. He received bullpen support from veterans Jessie Orosco and 1984 ERA National Leauge winner Alejandro Pena. Pena earned his 3rd save of the year with an inning of work. The game was tied at one when the Dodgers came to bat in the bottom of the third inning. John Tudor led off the inning with a roller in the hole as Bobby Avila bobbled it for an error. Steve Sax bunted him over to second and then singles by Heep, Gibson and Shelby plated 2 runs. Franklin Stubbs then doubled in another run to make the score 4-1 in favor of Los Angeles. That was it for the scoring as the Dodgers held on to even the series at 1 win a piece.

Game 3 at Cleveland (Municipal Stadium),

Another close game as the Dodgers traveled to "friendly" Cleveland for a short 2 game series at Municipal Stadium. Cleveland ace Early Wynn made the start against savy veteran righty Don Sutton. Both pitchers were on their games as they shut out the opposing offenses. The Dodgers drew blood first in the top of the 3rd inning. Steve Sax singled with two outs then proceded to steal second base(his 7th bag of the year). Danny Heep drove in Sax with a clutch single. Dodgers 1.....Indians 0 after three innings. The Indians displayed some 2 out magic themselves in the bottom of the fifth inning. Back to back singles by Doby and Rosen put runners on first and second base. Vic Wertz drove both runners in with a double. Wynn took the ball and shut out the Dodgers for the rest of the game. Wynn went the distance to get the win with 4 hit ball and no walks. Wynn earns his second win of the season as Sutton goes to 0-1.

Game 4 at Cleveland,

Hard luck Orel Hershiser and Mike Garcia matched up in the series finale. This game was the most exciting of the series as Cleveland got out to an early 3-0 lead after three innings. Parttime firstbaseman Glynn drove in all three runs in the early going for Cleveland with a sacrifice fly and a single. The Dodgers crept back in the ballgame as they scored two runs in the 8th inning as Kirk Gibson drove in a pair with a clutch single. Hal Newhouser started the 9th inning on the mound for Cleveland as faced off leadoff batter Tracy Woodson. Woodson was making the start and firstbase as regular starter Franklin Stubbs was given a day of rest. Woodson hit the first Newhouser to pitch into the left center field stands to tie the game at three. Newhouser retired the Dodgers without further damage. In the bottom of the ninth inning and Brian Holton on the mound for Los Angeles, Pinch hitter Dave Pope stepped up to the plate and smashed a walkoff linedrive homerun to rightcenter field to send the Cleveland faithful home happy. Orel Hershisher did not get the decision in this game but he has had little luck with wins. For the game, Hershiser went 7 innings surrendering 6 hits and 3 runs(only 1 was earned). On the season, Orel has a 2.20 ERA and only one victory in five starts. -contributed by Joey Scigliano-

68-DET takes 3 of 4 from 86-METS

2007-11-04T08:03:00.000-08:00

In the opener, GAME 1 at Shea Denny McLain (1-2, 2.25) got his first win of the season. McLain went the distance and tossed a 4 hit shutout of the 'Amazins. Banjo hitting Ray Oyler (.167) opened the scoring with a homer off of Met starter Rick Aguilera to lead off the top of the 3rd. Oyler know exclusively for his leather and not his lumber game McLain the only run he'd need all day. For good measure Detroit added an insurance run in the 6th.

GAME 2 saw the Tigers wax the Mets by scoring 6 runs off of Ron Darling. John Hiller gave Detroit 7 innings of 3 hit shotout ball before handing the ball off to the seldom used pitchers in the bullpen. Tiger second baseman Dick McAuliffe was 3 for 3 on the day. Bill Freehan hit his first homer of the season and left fielder Willie Horton hit his 4th.

GAME 3 (Tiger Stadium, Detroit, MI) was the Mets chance to strike back, and they did. Starter Bobby Ojeda improved to a perfect 5-0 on the season as the Mets won 5-3. The key to this game was the 5 run 7th inning that New York Posted. At the time Tiger starter Joe Sparma was cruising to a shutout. In fact Detroit increased their scoreless innings streak vs New York to 24 consecutive innings. New York posted all 5 runs off of Tiger mis-cues and small ball. An interesting fact is that Darry Strawberry lead off the inning with a strikeout and closed it the exact same way as the Metsies batted around.

GAME 4 saw the Tigers return to their pitching dominance as 2 hurlers combined to shut New York out. Veteran southpaw Mickey Lolich, who already threw a no hitter this season, went 8 1/3 innings before seeding to Patterson who notched his first save of the season. Lolich again was dominating as he struck out 9 Met batter, while only walking 1. Met starter Dwight Gooden gave up only 2 runs, but with his offense not scoring those would prove to be detrimental. Tiger catcher Bill Freehan opened the scoring in the bottom of the 2nd with a solo shot off of Doc Gooden with 2 out in the inning. The Tigers tacked on another run in the 4th when Willie Horton scored on a sac fly from that hitting machine known as Ray Oyler (all sarcasm intended).

As a result of the series New York and Detroit both now have 11-9 records. Detroits fantastic pitching carried them to victory as they kept New York off the scoreboard in 35 of the 36 innings played.

69-O's take 3 of 4 from 79-Bucs

2007-11-03T22:11:00.000-07:00

GAME 1: (Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD) The series started out in Baltimore on 33rd St. Both team's bats were cold as the game remained scoreless for 7 innings. Curiously Pittsburgh lifted their starter, lefty Dave Roberts, after 5 successful innings. Tom Phoebus (3-0, 2.08) scattered 6 hits in 7 2/3 scoreless innings and closer Ed Watt finished it off with a shaky 9th to notch the save. The Orioles broke the stalemate in the 7th with a single by shortstop Mark Belanger and a series of passed balls and wild pitches. The O's added 2 more in the bottom of the 8th when Pirate reliver Enrique Romo walked the first 2 hitter he faced (Boog Powell & Frank Robinson). Brooks Robinson bunted them over Ellie Hendricks hit a sac fly to Omar Moreno in center to plate Powell. Belanger then promptly singled home Frank Robby to give the O's a 3-0 lead, which would be more than enough.

GAME 2: The second game saw lefty Mike Cuellar increase his record to 4-0 as he went the distance and fanned 9 Pirate hitters. His opposing number, Bert Blyleven, went 6 innings and also yielded 1 run, but his relief was not up to the task. Big Jim Bibby gave up 2 runs in 2 innings of relief and the O's cruised to a 3-1 lead just like in game 1. The bottom of the 8th inning started out innocently with catcher Ellie Hendricks getting a leadoff single. 8th place hitter Mark Belanger bunted him over to second and pitcher Mike Cuellar followed suit by bunting him over to third. Don Bufford walked to make it 1st and 3rd with 2 outs. Both Davey Johnson and Paul Blair followed with consecutive RBI singles to put the O's ahead for good.

GAME 3: (Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA) The series shifted to the steel town, but the Pirates fortunes did not. The Pirates did start out by scoring the first run of the contest in the opening inning, but the O's followed that up by scoring early and often. After giving up 4 runs and not looking sharp, Pirate starter John "candy man" Candelaria hurt his leg and had to leave the game without getting an out in the 4th. Davey Johnson was the hitting start for Baltimore going 3 for 5 with 6 RBI's and two huge homers. Every Oriole starter, including the pitcher, had a hit as part of the 17 hit barrage.

GAME 4: If ever the Pirates needed a stopper this was the time. Veteran Bruce Kison (3-2, 4.45) took the hill and gave the Bucs 8 scoreless innings as the Pirates shoutout the Orioles 3-0. Willie Stargell hit a 2 run blast off of Oriole stater Dave McNally (3-1, 1.82) in the first and Tim Foli scored in the second on a squeeze play execute to perfection by Kison. Kent Tekulve came on in the 9th to notch his 2nd save of the season as he allowed only a lead off single to Boog Powell and nothing more.

The Orioles moved to 17-3 as the increased their commanding lead in the AL. The Pirates dropped to 8-12, but still hold on to 3rd place and a tenuous lead for the Wild Card.

Majeski, Magic !!!

2007-11-03T10:52:00.000-07:00

This little tidbit was contributed by Mike Roberts, who took over as manager for the 1962 Dodgers. A little background on Mike: He's a 1960's baseball afficianado, who loves his Cardinals and everything 1960's. Mike has been posting on the Action Board for years and has insight into that era tha the rest of us should be jealous of.

From Mike: "The games were fun! Did Paul tell you about game four? My Dodgers were up 2-0, bottom of the ninth, two out, bases loaded. Perranoski is replaced by the right-handed Larry Sherry, who I brought in the face the right-handed hitting pinch hitter, Hank Majeski. Paul sticks with Majeski, who unloads a grand slam!!"

68-DET & 81-LA Split

2007-11-02T07:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the LA vs Det series - we split - good games

Game 1: Detroit won 3-2 in 15 innings.

Game 2: LA won 5-1 and Welch improved to 3-0.

Game 3: Detroit won 4-3 playing against LA scrubs. LA almost came back in this one with help from a Scioscia pinch hit HR in bottom 9th.

Game 4: LA won the game 2-1 in bottom 9th - GREAT pitching duel - Fernando Valley got the lengthy win over E. Wilson (both going the distance).

Cheers,George (Bseiraini)

'69 O's sweep '77 Bombers

2007-10-29T12:02:00.000-07:00

Those O's just keep on rolling and it all comes down to pitching. When you give up only 2 runs in 4 games to a high powered offense like the Yanks have you know you have the arms. New York's pitching was also exceptional, but there is no way you can win when your offens averages a half a run per game.

GAME 1 (Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, MD): Mike Cuellar and Ed Figueroa hooked up in a classic pitchers duel. For 7 full innings neither team could plate a run. In the bottom of the 8th the O's struck for 2 runs, which was all Cuellar needed. Light hitting shortstop Mark Belanger led off the bottom of the 8th with a single. McNally bunted him over to second and Don Bufford doubled him in. Frank Robinson doubled home Bufford to supply the insurance run. McNally went the distance to earn the complete game shutout. The Yanks threatened to score in the 9th, but both Nettles and Chambliss could not knock in either Randolph (single) or Jackson (walk).

GAME 2: Amost a repeat of game1. Sub in Dave Leonhard (BAL) and Don Gullet (NYY) and you have a similar result (2-0 shutout). In this game the Orioles scored both of their runs on John Wesley (Boog) Powell solo shots. Powell hit one in the 4th to break the scoreless deadlock and one in the 8th to add a much needed insurance run. Leonhard ran out of gas in the 9th after Willie Randolph hit a 2 out triple. Lefty Pete Richert was brought on to face Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss (lefty) who promptly popped out to Frank Robinson in foul territory in right field.

GAME 3 (Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY): Looking to spark his team, Yankee manager Ed Mikhli decided to start Ron Guidry on only 3 days rest. Not knowing how much he could get from Guidry was the wild card here, but New York's manager needed to spark it up. The other spark was inserting "Sweet" Lou Pinella into righfield and removing "Mr. October" Reggie Jackson. Pinella took "the collar" and Jackson eventually wound up pinch hitting for him and striking out in the 9th. Guidry gave his team 4 innings and 1 run ball, so did his relief, Dick Tidrow, but it would not be enough since the Yanks only managed to score 1 run and the O's plated 3. Dave McNally lasted until 1 out in the 8th and gave up only 1 run. Ed Watt came on in the 9th to nail down his 4th save. Brooks Robinson hit a solo shot in the 6th for his first of the season.

GAME 4: Orioles ace, Jim Palmer went the distance and gave up 1 unearned run to move his record to 4-0. Powell again provided the offense by clouting a 3 run shot in the 3rd inning off of Yankee starter Mike Torrez, who gave up 4 runs but only 1 earned, in 8 innings of work. The key play in the 4th revolved around Willie Randolph booting a Dave May grounder to put runners on 1st and 3rd as Powell stepped to the plate. If Randolph fields this ball cleanly the Yanks get the 3rd out and no damage is done. Palmer fanned 7 and allowed only 3 hits as he went the distance.

New York fell to 5-11 and plumeted into last place, while Baltimore moved to 14-2 as they tightened their grip on 1st.

79-PIT & 61-NYY split 2 at the Stadium

2007-10-26T07:17:00.000-07:00

Breaking from tradition of playing the full home and home series all at once the Yankees and Pirates decided to play 2 games and take an off day.

Game 1, Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY): Ralph Terry pitches 6 hitter and has 3 hits himself to almost win gane single handedly defeat the Bucs. Terry has a good memory and he remembers well that in 1960 he was victimized by the Bucs to lose the World Series.

Game 2, Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY): Mickey Mantle almost becomes the man has 3 HR's but Yanks run out of relief help and go down in extra innings. If the '61 Yankees have one shortcoming it's extended relief. Luis Arroyo is a fantastic closer, but the starters must get to him since the rest of the bullpen is mediocre at best.

-contributed by Al Ginglardi-

1986 Mets Dominate 1988 Dodgers

2007-10-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

Game 1: at Shea

Fernando Valenzuela opened the series for Los Angeles as he faced Ron Darling. Both pitchers pitched strong games but the Mets got on the board early as they plated 2 runs in the first inning as Strawberry connected for a booming 2 run homerun to left center. Ray Knight led off the second for the Mets and hit a ball into the Dodger bullpen in left to make it a quick 3-0 Met lead. The Dodgers made a late run as they scored a run each in the 6th and 9th innings. Fernando got tagged with the loss but pitched 6 innings of 3 hit ball while surrendering only 1 base on balls. Ron Darling allowed only 1 run in 7.1 innings pitched.

Game 2:

Another strong pitching performance by both clubs as the Mets and Dodgers combined to surrender only 5 hits in this game. Tim Leary was no hitting the Mets until the 8th inning and was protecting a 1-run lead when his defense let him down. Wally Backman led off the bottom of the 8th inning hitting the ball to first basemen Mickey Hatcher, who booted it. Rafael Santana then plated Backman as Rick Dempsey fielded his bunt and promptly threw the ball down the right field line to tie the game. Lenny Dykstra then shot a single to right field to score Santana with the go-ahead run. Roger McDowell came in the 9th inning to nail down the victory as he struck out the side. Noteables for the game. The Dodgers only run came on a homerun by Pedro Guerrero. Dykstra's RBI single was the only hit by the Mets all game.

Game 3: at Dodger Stadium

The Mets got on the board early when Keith Hernandez doubled to center then scored on a single by Ray Knight. Keith Hernandez was the star of the game as he went 3 for 5 with 2 runs and 2 RBI. All three of Hernandez's hits were doubles. Ray Knight also had three hits for the night as the Mets pounded out 10 hits to support starting lefty Bobby Ojeda. Ojeda went 6.1 surrendering no runs on 5 hits to improve to 4-0 on the season. The Met lefty has a good shot at the Cy Young this year with his strong pitching. Orel Hershiser is a disappointing 1-2 but he pitched well with 7 innings of 5 hit ball. Hershiser has started 4 games this year throwing 34 innings with a 2.38 ERA!! Baseball is a funny game but Orel is not laughing.

Game 4:

Another good pitching game but for the 3rd time in this series, the Mets struck in the first inning as Darryl Strawberry belted a 2-run homerun. The Dodgers came back in the bottom of the first with 1 run. Dwight Gooden and Tim Belcher matched zeros until the top of the 5th when the Mets added another run on a Wally Backman RBI double. It looked like the Amazins were cruising to another victory and a clean 4-game sweep until the eighth inning. The score was 3-1 and a runner on for the Dodgers and light hitting shortstop, Alfredo Griffin coming to the plate. The Dodger skipper had an ace to play; so he lifted Griffin for pinch hitter Pedro Guerrero. Guerrero hit a game tying homerun to left centerfield to shock the Mets and give life to the smoldering Dodger offense. Gooden was lifted for veteran reliever Jesse Orosco who got the side out without any other damage. In the bottom half of the 9th inning, Mike Marshall led off with a single. Mike Scioscia then bunted him over. Mickey Hatcher pinch hit for Stubbs and Orosco was lifted for Anderson. Hatcher singled sharply but not deep enough to score Marshall. One batter later, struggling veteran Mike Davis singled in Marshall to preserve a win for the Dodgers. The victory went to Alejandro Pena and the Defeat went to Jesse Orosco.

All the games were close and exciting. It seemed like a playoff series.

-Contributed by Joey Scigliano-

Boys of Summer Return as 81-LA Clobbers 79-PIT

2007-10-25T08:56:00.000-07:00

The long wait is over – and the boys of Summer take the field once again to ensue the ultimate race to the fall classic. There is electricity in the air, as the 1979 Pitt Pirates face the 1981 LA Dodgers for bragging rights in the National League, as these 2 teams, tied for first place, slug it out.

Game 1:
The long rest proved to be key for Bob Welch and the LA Dodgers, who were at Home for Game 1. LA pounced on Blyleven right away, beginning with a Double from Landreaux – who was Singled home by Guerrero and Garvey then added another Single. With 2 on, Ron “The Penguin” Cey belted a 3-run shot (his 3rd) off Blyleven. LA led 4-0 after 1, and grabbed another run in the 2nd for a quick 5-0 lead. Welch held his own and kept the Pirates scoreless giving up only 3 hits and 1 Walk thru 5 innings of work. “The Penguin” added another Homer to his resume (his 4th – and 2nd of the game) with a solo shot in the 4th – and Guerrero, feeling left out, contributed a solo shot of his own (his 1st) in the 5th. LA now led 7-0 after 5. In the 6th, Sanguillen pinch-hit for Blyleven – and his Double led the way for 2 quick runs for the Pirates. But, that did not rattle Welch, as he settled down and pitched a scoreless 7th & 8th. LA did manage another run in the 8th – and with an 8-2 lead going into the ninth, LA relaxed just enough to surrender a Double to Milner for another Pirates score. LA fans gave the players a standing ovation as they left the field. Final score: 8-3.

Game 2:
Fatigue was setting in for LA, so the Manager decided that he would rest his starters to keep them fresh for the long stretch ahead. Goltz was in for a ride, as LA had weak bats and a weak team in the field. As such, a nervous Goltz surrendered a monster 2-run blast by Stargell (his 2nd) in the 1st. The Pirates were trying making a statement. But, LA was not backing down – and Reggie Smith smacked a 2-run shot of his own (his 1st) in the bottom of the 1st. However, the weak D proved to be too much for LA – and they committed 3 errors, which led to 4 unearned runs from Goltz thru 6. The error committed by Frias in this game would go on to prove to be an important factor later in this series. LA did manage a couple more runs, and did manage to out hit the Pirates 11-8 – but the Offense lacked power and ran out of gas. The Pirates did exact revenge in this game to
recover a shared lead in the National League. Final score: 6-4.

Game 3:
LA took a different approach to this game – and decided to add a couple of starters to inject some needed power and Defense to back up their ace Fernando Valenzuela. The game started off slow – but “The Penguin” struck again with a 2-run blast (his 5th overall – and 3rd of this series) in the 2nd off Don Robinson. In the 4th, LA grabbed another run provided by Doubles from Garvey and Russell. Pittsburgh countered in the bottom half of the 4th with a blast from Bill Robinson (his 2nd). Leading 3-1, LA squeaked another run in the 7th off a couple of hits. Pittsburgh had a time of it and simply could not figure out Mr. Valenzuela and his screwball, who went on to pitch 8 solid innings giving up just 4 hits and that 1 run – while striking out 7. Stewart came in relief and shut the door on the Pirates. Final score: 4-1.

Game 4:
Looking for answers, Pittsburgh put Bibby on the mound – who had his work cut out for him facing Reuss….another LA ace. Can a ball club have 2 ace pitchers – it would seem this LA team has that luxury. Pittsburgh was also going to rely on the fact that LA once again was fielding a weak Defensive team – but Defense would play a big part in this game for LA. Pittsburgh and LA traded runs – with Pitt getting a couple of key hits off Reuss in the 2nd and
Johnstone hitting a solo shot (his 1st) off Bibby in the 3rd. The score was tied 1-1 going into the wild 5th inning. LA scored 3 runs in the 5th by way of back-to-back Doubles from Johnstone and Yeager. Not to be outdone, Pittsburgh countered with 2 runs of their own – with help from another Frias (LA) error and Bibby helping himself by hitting a 2-run shot (his 1st). LA led 4-3 after 5 – and would soon add to that when Monday hit a solo shot (his 1st) in the 6th. In
the 7th inning and leading 5-3, Reuss got into a serious jam – Stennett Doubled and Foli Singled leaving runners on 1st & 3rd with only 1 out – and Bill Madlock stepping to the plate. Sensing a big inning from Pittsburgh, the LA Manager called “time” to make a Defensive switch. Ron Cey (The Penguin) would replace the error-prone Frias at 3rd Base. That was a key move, as Madlock hit the ball right to Cey – who ended the threat with a double play. LA would go on to turn 4 double plays this game – and hold Pittsburgh scoreless the rest of the way. Final score: 5-3.

LA took the series 3 games to 1 by pounding on Pittsburgh’s starting pitchers – Blyleven gave up 7 runs, Kison gave up 4, Robinson gave up 4, and Bibby gave up 5 – while LA gave up a total of just 7 Earned Runs for the series (3 from Welch alone in Game 1) – and LA now holds the
lead (temporarily) in the National League.

-Contributed by George Bserani-

'68 Tigers split series with punchless 88-Dodgers

2007-09-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

The 1988 LA Dodgers have offensive stats that fit right in with the 1968 season, where the Detroit Tigers boasted the best offensive team in what has affectionately become known as "the year of the pitcher". The Dodgers relied on great pitching, more specifically a great pitcher (Orel Hersheiser) and timely hitting. The Tigers had both pitching and hitting.

In the opener the Dodgers called upon journeyman Shawn Hillegas to take the hill vs Detroit's Joe Sparma. In real life Hillegas was 3-4 with a 4.13 ERA. He was barely a 5th starter at best. His counterpart, Joe Sparma, was 10-10 witha 3.71 ERA in an era were a 3.20 was considered just average. Nobody expected this game to be a low scoring event. Both offenses were held in check all day. Hillegas looked like Hersheiser and scattered 4 hits enroute to 8 shutout innings. The game remained scoreless until the 8th when John Shelby hit a sac fly to score Steve Sax. Jay Howell came on to pitch a scoreless 9th to notch the save.

Game 2 was another 1 run event. In fact it took 11 innings to decide it. Orel Hersheiser went went the distance, which would be unheard of today, and outdueled 31 game winner Denny McLain. Tiger slugger Willie Horton knotted the game at 2 when he hit a solo homer in the top of the 9th to force extra frames. Veteran catcher Mike Sciocia won the game by doubling home Mike Marshall in the bottom of the 11th.

The series switched to Tiger Stadium for the final 2 games. A change in venue helped the Motown team immeasurably. Game 3 saw their bats come alive as Dodger starter Tim Belcher gave up 6 runs. Tiger starter Earl Wilson was nearly perfect as he tossed a 2 hit shutout. The finale saw 1968 World Series hero Mickey Lolich blank the Dodgers and Tim Leary, who only yielded 2 runs himself. The Tigers scored both runs in the first, all with 2 out, and never looked back. Al Kaline started the rally with a benign single. Bill Freehand and Wayne Northrup knocked in both runs.

Detroit evened its record at 4-4, while LA stands at 2-6.

'81 Dodgers take 3 of 4 from '61 Bronx Bombers

2007-09-15T10:33:00.000-07:00

---Summary by George Bserani---

Game 1: The 1981 LA Dodgers went with 5^th starter (Goltz) to begin this series against the mighty Bronx Bombers of 1961 – who had Coates on the mound. Scioscia got things going with a solo shot in the 2^nd inning to give LA a quick lead. In the 3^rd, Landreaux stole 2^nd Base after being - and Guerrero singled him home. LA now led 2-0 after 3 innings of play. In the 5^th, Guerrero hit a triple and we then saw Garvey single him in. LA now led 4-0 after 5. Goltz was cruising along for LA and held the Bombers scoreless while giving up only 5 hits during his 8 innings of work. Coates, who pitched a CG, settled down after the 5^th and held LA down until the 9^th inning – where Monday smacked a triple while pinching for Goltz to lead off. With Monday sitting on 3^rd, Thomas hit a slap shot – but Kubek was unable to gun down Monday at Home. Could have been a bad call there. Baker and
Guerrero each followed with a hit to eventually score Thomas – and LA scored 2 in the 9^th – and went to win the game 5-0.

Game 2: Not too much to report here, as this was a serious pitching duel between NYY ace Ford and LA ace Valenzuela. Things were quiet early on
as each pitcher had their game “on”. In the 5^th inning, Kubek and Mantle broke things up with back-to-back doubles – and that’s how it ended with NYY winning 1-0. Ford pitched a CG shutout and held LA to just 3 hits (singles) – LA did not get a man past 1^st all game. Ford was brilliant. Valenzuela held his own by holding the mighty NYY lineup to 5 hits – but unfortunately suffered the loss. A great game.

Game 3: Reuss, losing his last game, took the mound for LA – while Stafford coming off a win was going for NY. In the 2^nd, Reuss hit a wall and NY had the bases loaded with no outs – but with the help of a doubleplay, Reuss escaped the jam by giving up only 2. That was about as good as it gets for NY in this game. NY held their 2-0 lead until the 4^th – where Cey (2) hit a solo shot. In the 5^th, LA scored 2 on a double by Russell and a couple of singles from Landreaux and Baker. In the 7^th, LA scored 4 more on a double by Baker and
a 3-run shot by Garvey (2). Down 7-2, NY managed a solo shot from Mantle (1) in the 8th - only to give up another run to LA on another double by Russell. LA wins 8-3 – despite being out hit 11-10. LA’s defense held NY at bay.

Game 4: This game would see Hooten going against Terry. NY jumped to a quick 1-0 lead in the 2^nd
– off a single by Skowron followed by an error. Not to be outdone, LA came back with a run of their own by getting doubles from Garvey and Russell. Both pitchers were hitting their marks and getting defensive help, as the game remained at 1-1 going into the 6^th – where LA scraped together a run with 3
singles. The 7^th was quiet. IN the 8^th, down 2-1, NY got a run by hitting 3 singles of their own. Game now tie 2-2 heading into the 9^th. Hooten gave up a pinch-hit single to Blanchard to lead off the 9^th – survived the inning. In the bottom half of the 9^th, Guerrero singled – and Scioscia drove him home for the 3-2 win.

'69 Orioles take 3 from '62 Dodgers

2007-09-13T07:37:00.000-07:00

---Originally Posted 0n 9-12-2007---

The series opened up in Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The Dodgers sent ace right hander Don Drysdale to the mound sporting a 1-0 record. Baltimore went with 5th starter Jim Hardin. The O's jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first and Hardin looked to be cruising, until he came up lame with 1 out in the 3rd. Baltimore was then forced to go with a committee of relievers the rest of the way. LA's bats got hot and Drysdale notched his second victory of the year giving up 4 runs over 8 innings. LA's big blows
came with back to back 4 run innings in the 6th/7th. Tommy Davis went 3 for 5 for LA and Willie Davis had 3 RBI's.Game 2 saw Baltimore lefthander Dave McNally
toss a 4 hit complete game shutout. The O's jumped out to 4 runs in the
first and never looked back as the final score was 11-0. John Podres took
the loss for LA in 5 innings of work (9 ER). Baltimore hit 4 homers off of Podres including 3 in the first inning by: Davey Johnson (to lead the game off), Boog Powell and Merv Rettenmund.The series shifted to the West Coast as the Dodgers played host in Chavez Ravine. This game saw a pitching matchup of future HOF'ers. Jim Palmer took the hill for Baltimore and Sandy
Koufax represented the Dodgers. In a matchup reminiscent of Koufax's final game pitched in the majors (Game 2 1966 WS) a young Palmer got the best of the great Koufax. Palmer threw a 1 hitter (double by Frank Howard to lead off the 5th) and out dueled Sandy, who only gave up 3 runs (7k's). The big offensive blow came in the 6th when Paul Blair hit a solo shot to make the score 2-0. Frank Robinson also hit a solo shot in the 9th to make it 3-0 and add a valuable insurance run.The series finale saw Mike Cuellar
(BAL) face Stan Williams (LA). On the surface this looked to be pitching mismatch with Cuellar having such a dominant 1969 season. LA's bats awoke and torched Cuellar for 6 runs over 6 innings until he was finally lifted for a pinch hitter. Williams gave up 6 runs as well in 6 innings, but shoddy Dodger fielding made 3 of the unearned. The turning point of the game occurred in the top of the 7th with 2 out and 2 on. Baltimore lifted Cuellar for pinch hitter Chico Salmon who promptly delivered a 3 run shot to break the deadlock and put Baltimore up by 3 (9-6). LA was only able to manage 1 hit over the next 3 innings as Pete Richert and Dick Hall kept them in knots. Hall notched his first save of the year and Baltimore posted their 7th win in 8 tries.

Lolich No Hits 1962 Dodgers:

2007-09-13T07:34:00.000-07:00

---Originally Published 9-3-2007---

Manager Bill Keller put it best, "I clicked on the right buttons and he threw the ball and they didn't get any hits". As simple as that sounds it really is more impressive than the understated Keller led us to believe. Lolich's opponent the 1962 LA Dodgers have a ton of contact singles hitters. They type of players that are not easy to no hit. Detroit won the game 3 to 0 as Kaline, Cash and Freehan all had RBI singles. Dodger starter Johnny Podres injured his arm in the second inning and was replaced by lefty Pete Richert who went 5 2/3 without yielding a run.. Both teams split the 4 game set, which was dominated by pitching. Game #1 saw Don Drysdale outduel Denny McLain in a 2-0 shutout. Game #3 was an extra inning affair. Dodger starter Sandy Koufax was touched for 4 runs (1 earned), but the Tigers still needed extra frames to win it as future HOF'er Ed Mathews hit a walk off pinch hit 3 run homer in the 10th off of Patterson. The finale saw the Dodgers win in the 8th as they manufactured a run Maury Wills style. Starter Stan WIlliams went 8 innings for the win and Ron Perranoski notched the save with a scoreless 9th.

'69 Orioles sweep '88 Dodgers:

2007-09-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

---Posted Originally on 9/1/2007---

Both games in LA were of the 1 run variety. The opener went 13 innings. Paul Blair delivered a huge a solo shot in the top of the inning and closer Eddie Watt slammed the door shut on LA. Game 2 saw Dodgers closer Jay Howell blow a 9th inning lead. The games played in Baltimore were not close. The Orioles won 7 to 1 in both contests. NOTES: Dodger reliever Tim Crews was injured in game 1, but returned to pitch in 3 of the 4 games in the series.

First Pitch 9-1-2007

2007-09-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

10 Great Teams over a 50 year span of MLB (1951-2000) will face off against each other in the first ever King of the Diamond Tournament battle.

Let's set the mood correctly...It's late August and after 126 games they are all tied. The final 36 games will be a mad dash for the pennant and ultimate glory...The WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP !!!

The concept is the brainchild of our esteemed commish, Ross Gotlieb