We'll switch back to the East for our first report today, for a reason which I'll explain in a moment:
Mets 10, Pirates 4 (Game 1)
The Mets committed five errors, but still managed to blow the Bucs out of Three Rivers Stadium. Dave Kingman was a perfect four for four with four runs scored, two home runs, and four RBIs. Bill Madlock went yard for the home squad. Congratulations to Mets manager Bob Gibson on his first victory!
W- Leach (4-1)
S- Allen (22)
L- Jones (4-8)
HR- NYM: Kingman 2 (36)
PIT: Madlock (8)
Pirates 6, Mets 2 (Game 2)
The Mets managed twelve hits, but could only score twice. Jason Thompson homered in both official at-bats for the Bucs. This doubleheader drew over 40,000 to Three Rivers Stadium despite the quality of the two teams involved.
W- Camacho (1-1)
L- Swan (0-3)
HR- PIT: Thompson 2 (19)
Expos 10, Phillies 5
No fewer than seven home runs were hit in this game, five by the Expos. John Milner, never known for his foot speed, had both an inside-the-park and a regular home run, and scored four runs as he went four for five. The Phillies had to use two starters, as Mark Davis tried to pitch through an allergic reaction to a bee sting on his non-pitching arm and lasted only an inning and two-thirds. Manager Dallas Green went to Larry Christenson in the third, and he finished the game, which means that the Phils will need another starter for Wednesday night.
W- Sanderson (11-7)
L- Davis (1-5)
HR- MTL: Carter (17), Cromartie (9), Parrish (9), Milner 2 (5)
PHI: Moreland (8), McBride (3)
Cardinals 13, Cubs 8
The Cubs got the jump on the Redbirds for once, scoring seven in the second on five hits, including two-run homers by Bill Buckner and Mike Lum. But the Cardinals scored the next twelve runs, all without the benefit of a longball. George Hendrick and Dane Iorg each drove in four runs, and Iorg added three hits. Tommy Herr and Keith Hernandez scored three runs each for the division leaders.
W- Shirley (11-5)
S- Sutter (38)
L- Kravec (2-8)
HR- CHC: Buckner (12), Lum (3)
The standings to the moment:
Cardinals: 79-52
Expos: 72-61- 8 GB
Phillies: 67-64- 12 GB
Pirates: 59-69- 18.5 GB
Mets: 49-79- 28.5 GB
Cubs: 45-82- 32 GB
Now to the reason I talked about earlier. Since there's only one game in the entire National League on July 6, and it involves two Eastern teams, I'm going to include it here:
Cubs 4, Cardinals 3 (10 innings)
For once, it was the Cubs who pull a stunner, coming back from a 3-0 deficit at the seventh-inning stretch to pull out the extra-inning victory. Things looked bleak when left fielder Dane Iorg smacked Ken Kravec's first pitch of the seventh over the right center field wall, and even worse later when a triple by right fielder Sixto Lezcano drove home Garry Templeton and Kenny Oberkfell. But the Cubbies got one back in the bottom of the seventh to trail 3-1 going into their last at-bat, which, of course, was against Bruce Sutter.
But Sutter didn't have it today, as he proved after an error and an infield hit put runners on first and second. Sutter had avoided throwing his famous split-finger fastball so far, but on the 1-2 to Bill Buckner, he decided that he needed a strikeout, so he opted to go to his bread and butter. Unfortunately, the bread was stale and the butter was as hard as a rock; Buckner timed the pitch and smacked it down the left field line, scoring Bobby Bonds and Ivan DeJesus to tie the game 3-3. The Cubs missed a golden chance to win it when Buckner was picked off of second later in the inning; a subsequent single by Jody Davis almost surely would have won the game. As it was, the Cubs had to settle for extra innings.
The Cardinals left the go-ahead run at third in the top of the tenth when Lee Smith induces a fly ball from Darrell Porter, In the bottom of the inning, Ken Reitz led off with a base hit, and Pat Tabler executed a picture-perfect bunt to put him in scoring position. Steve Henderson was sent up to bat for Smith and popped out to shortstop Templeton for out number one. Redbird manager Whitey Herzog then decided to intentionally load the bases to induce a double-play ball; normally, this is smart strategy, but in this game Sutter had been having trouble finding the strike zone. Nevertheless, Bonds and DeJesus were walked, and it was Sutter against Buckner. It got to a full count, with Sutter still reluctant to throw his money pitch. After two foul balls, Porter insisted on the split-finger, and Sutter let fly. It was a good one, but not good enough; Buckner lined it into right field to score Reitz, and the Cubs won.
Don't feel too sad for the Redbirds, though; they still possess a seven and a half-game lead in the National League East, while the Cubs are still the worst team in the entire National League. After the game, Herzog dismissed the notion that Sutter has been overused lately: "He's the best pitcher on the entire staff. As long as he feels good, we're gonna ride him." As for Sutter: "I felt better than I have in a while. They just beat me."
W- Smith (5-8)
L- Sutter (3-7)
HR- STL: Iorg (4)
The standings to the moment:
Cardinals: 79-53
Expos: 72-61- 7.5 GB
Phillies: 67-64- 11.5 GB
Pirates: 59-69- 18 GB
Mets: 49-79- 28 GB
Cubs: 46-82- 31 GB
Next: July 5 in the West.
Thoughts?
Mets 10, Pirates 4 (Game 1)
The Mets committed five errors, but still managed to blow the Bucs out of Three Rivers Stadium. Dave Kingman was a perfect four for four with four runs scored, two home runs, and four RBIs. Bill Madlock went yard for the home squad. Congratulations to Mets manager Bob Gibson on his first victory!
W- Leach (4-1)
S- Allen (22)
L- Jones (4-8)
HR- NYM: Kingman 2 (36)
PIT: Madlock (8)
Pirates 6, Mets 2 (Game 2)
The Mets managed twelve hits, but could only score twice. Jason Thompson homered in both official at-bats for the Bucs. This doubleheader drew over 40,000 to Three Rivers Stadium despite the quality of the two teams involved.
W- Camacho (1-1)
L- Swan (0-3)
HR- PIT: Thompson 2 (19)
Expos 10, Phillies 5
No fewer than seven home runs were hit in this game, five by the Expos. John Milner, never known for his foot speed, had both an inside-the-park and a regular home run, and scored four runs as he went four for five. The Phillies had to use two starters, as Mark Davis tried to pitch through an allergic reaction to a bee sting on his non-pitching arm and lasted only an inning and two-thirds. Manager Dallas Green went to Larry Christenson in the third, and he finished the game, which means that the Phils will need another starter for Wednesday night.
W- Sanderson (11-7)
L- Davis (1-5)
HR- MTL: Carter (17), Cromartie (9), Parrish (9), Milner 2 (5)
PHI: Moreland (8), McBride (3)
Cardinals 13, Cubs 8
The Cubs got the jump on the Redbirds for once, scoring seven in the second on five hits, including two-run homers by Bill Buckner and Mike Lum. But the Cardinals scored the next twelve runs, all without the benefit of a longball. George Hendrick and Dane Iorg each drove in four runs, and Iorg added three hits. Tommy Herr and Keith Hernandez scored three runs each for the division leaders.
W- Shirley (11-5)
S- Sutter (38)
L- Kravec (2-8)
HR- CHC: Buckner (12), Lum (3)
The standings to the moment:
Cardinals: 79-52
Expos: 72-61- 8 GB
Phillies: 67-64- 12 GB
Pirates: 59-69- 18.5 GB
Mets: 49-79- 28.5 GB
Cubs: 45-82- 32 GB
Now to the reason I talked about earlier. Since there's only one game in the entire National League on July 6, and it involves two Eastern teams, I'm going to include it here:
Cubs 4, Cardinals 3 (10 innings)
For once, it was the Cubs who pull a stunner, coming back from a 3-0 deficit at the seventh-inning stretch to pull out the extra-inning victory. Things looked bleak when left fielder Dane Iorg smacked Ken Kravec's first pitch of the seventh over the right center field wall, and even worse later when a triple by right fielder Sixto Lezcano drove home Garry Templeton and Kenny Oberkfell. But the Cubbies got one back in the bottom of the seventh to trail 3-1 going into their last at-bat, which, of course, was against Bruce Sutter.
But Sutter didn't have it today, as he proved after an error and an infield hit put runners on first and second. Sutter had avoided throwing his famous split-finger fastball so far, but on the 1-2 to Bill Buckner, he decided that he needed a strikeout, so he opted to go to his bread and butter. Unfortunately, the bread was stale and the butter was as hard as a rock; Buckner timed the pitch and smacked it down the left field line, scoring Bobby Bonds and Ivan DeJesus to tie the game 3-3. The Cubs missed a golden chance to win it when Buckner was picked off of second later in the inning; a subsequent single by Jody Davis almost surely would have won the game. As it was, the Cubs had to settle for extra innings.
The Cardinals left the go-ahead run at third in the top of the tenth when Lee Smith induces a fly ball from Darrell Porter, In the bottom of the inning, Ken Reitz led off with a base hit, and Pat Tabler executed a picture-perfect bunt to put him in scoring position. Steve Henderson was sent up to bat for Smith and popped out to shortstop Templeton for out number one. Redbird manager Whitey Herzog then decided to intentionally load the bases to induce a double-play ball; normally, this is smart strategy, but in this game Sutter had been having trouble finding the strike zone. Nevertheless, Bonds and DeJesus were walked, and it was Sutter against Buckner. It got to a full count, with Sutter still reluctant to throw his money pitch. After two foul balls, Porter insisted on the split-finger, and Sutter let fly. It was a good one, but not good enough; Buckner lined it into right field to score Reitz, and the Cubs won.
Don't feel too sad for the Redbirds, though; they still possess a seven and a half-game lead in the National League East, while the Cubs are still the worst team in the entire National League. After the game, Herzog dismissed the notion that Sutter has been overused lately: "He's the best pitcher on the entire staff. As long as he feels good, we're gonna ride him." As for Sutter: "I felt better than I have in a while. They just beat me."
W- Smith (5-8)
L- Sutter (3-7)
HR- STL: Iorg (4)
The standings to the moment:
Cardinals: 79-53
Expos: 72-61- 7.5 GB
Phillies: 67-64- 11.5 GB
Pirates: 59-69- 18 GB
Mets: 49-79- 28 GB
Cubs: 46-82- 31 GB
Next: July 5 in the West.
Thoughts?