Now let's look at Saturday, April 8. We begin with Joe Ray's report:
Cubs 7, Mets 3 (ABC: Brent Musburger, Jim Kaat)
W- Jim Bullinger (13-8)
L- Bret Saberhagen (5-6)
HR- CHC: Sammy Sosa (37)
NYM: Bobby Bonilla 2 (30)
The Cubs won a important game, thus keeping up with the Reds in the division and the Astros in the wild card race. The Mets took a first-inning lead on this rainy/cool day, with Bonilla hitting a solo home run . In the top of the second, however, the Cubs score four runs, with Sosa's two-run homer leading the way. Pitcher Jim Bullinger helps himself with his first-ever triple, which scored Shawon Dunston. Bullinger then scored on a Brian McRae single to give the Cubs a 4-1 lead.
Dunston's third-inning single scored Mark Grace to increase the Chicago lead to 5-1 in the fourth. In the sixth, Luis Gonzalez's single scored Bullinger, who singled to begin the inning. In the seventh, Joe Orsulak cut the Cubs lead to 6-2 with a bases-loaded single.
Todd Haney's eighth inning single scored Sammy Sosa to make it 7-2 Cubs, and the game was basically over at that point. Bonilla's second homer cut the Cubs' lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the eighth, but the Mets didn't score again. Saberhagen took the loss after lasting only five innings.
The Cubs have overtaken the Mets in the wild card race, but they still trail the Astros by five games with just twelve to play.
Pirates 4, Braves 3 (ABC: Gary Thorne, Dave Campbell)
W- Jason Christiansen (2-3)
L- Greg McMichael (7-3)
S- Dan Miceli (22)
HR- PIT: Jay Bell (14)
ATL: David Justice (25), Chipper Jones (25)
The Pirates stole a game from the Braves on a beautiful day in Atlanta.. David Justice's first-inning homer gave the Braves a 1-0 lead, but Orlando Merced's third-inning single scored Jacob Brumfield to tie the game at one. The Pirates loaded the bases in the fifth, but couldn't score. Chipper Jones' sixth-inning dinger put the Braves in front 3-1, and they held this lead until Greg McMichael entered in the seventh. Merced's single scored Angelo Encarnacion, and Al Martin's bases-loaded walk scored Brumfield to tie the game at three
Jay Bell's 8th inning homer went over the left field foul pole and gave the Pirates a 4-3 lead. The Braves nearly come back in the ninth, but Jones grounded out to second to end the game.
Despite the loss, the Braves have moved closer to the NL East crown, as the Mets' loss to the Cubs drops their magic number to six.
Rockies 11, Phillies 10 (ABC: Jon Miller, Joe Morgan)
W: Roger Bailey (8-6)
L: Russ Springer (1-3)
HR- COL: Larry Walker (40)
In one of the best games of the day, the Phillies and the Rockies staged a classic. Larry Walker's first-inning homer brought the sellout crowd at Mile High Stadium to its feet and gave the Rox a 2-0 lead, but the Phils came back in the top of the second with four runs on a Charlie Hayes double, a Darren Daulton triple that scored Hayes and Mickey Morandini, and a Lenny Dykstra single. Hayes added another RBI to his total in the third when his single scored Gregg Jeffries to make it 5-2 Philadelphia.
John Vander Wal cut the lead to 5-4 with a single in the third that scored Walt Weiss and Walker. The Rox left the bases loaded in the fourth, but came back in the fifth thanks to RBI singles by Joe Girardi and Trenidad Hubbard. The Phillies came back in the sixth to tie the game at six with a Mark Whiten RBI grounder, but Andres Galarraga single in the bottom of the sixth scored Walker and Vander Wal to give the home squad an 8-6 lead.
The Rockies added two more in the seventh on Weiss's triple and Walker's double, and take their 10-6 lead to the top of the ninth. The first two Philly hitters struck out, but Gregg Jefferies kept the inning alive with a stand-up triple. Morandini then singled to right to score Jeffries. Later in the inning, Darren Holmes threw a wild pitch, scoring Hayes to make it 10-9. Roger Bailey relieved Holmes, but hit Lenny Dykstra, which allowed Kevin Stocker to score the tying run. Whiten had the chance to give the Phils the lead, but flew out to end the inning.
Walker singled with two out in the bottom of the ninth, then scored the winning run on Vinny Castilla's double to left center, as Stocker's relay throw home arrived just a second too late.
Phillies pitcher Mike Mimbs allowed thirteen hits in four innings.
At the moment, the Rox remain three games behind the Dodgers in the West.
Giants 7, Marlins 2 (ABC: Keith Jackson, Reggie Jackson)
W: Mark Portugal (12-10)
L: Willie Banks (2-7)
HR- SF: Matt Williams (24), Barry Bonds (34), Steve Scarsone (12)
The Giants won this game before a surprisingly large matinee crowd of over 23,000 at Joe Robbie Stadium The Marlins took a 2-0 first-inning lead with RBI singles by Gary Sheffield and Chuck Carr. In the top of the second, Scarsone's homer to deep center cut the Florida lead to 2-1.
Matt Williams' three-run homer in the top of the third gave the Giants a 4-2 lead. In the fifth, his double to left center drove in Deion Sanders to make it 5-2 Frisco. Barry Bonds' single drove in Williams to make it 6-2. Bonds homered to center in the eighth to complete the scoring, but tweaked his ankle running the bases and had to leave the game; he's day-to-day/
Portugal got the win despite throwing just five innings and sixty-nine pitches, while Banks was knocked out of the box after just three innings.
Now for my report:
Padres 9, Reds 8 (ABC; Chris Berman, Tommy Hutton)
The freefall for the NL Central leaders continued, as the Friars scored six in the first two innings off of starter Dave Burba. Assisting in this power explosion was Tony Gwynn, who had a rare two-homer game. The Reds chipped away with the help of four home runs, two by center fielder Thomas Howard. His two-run ninth inning line shot over the wall in right center field off of Padres closer Trevor Hoffman brought the Reds to within 9-8, but Hoffman struck out Barry Larkin to close it out. Gwynn and left fielder Melvin Nieves had four RBIs each for the Pads, while Howard was three for five for the Reds with three RBIs and three runs scored.
The Reds' lead over the Astros in the Central is now down to a game, while the Padres are within a game and a half of the Dodgers in the West.
W- Blair (9-5)
S- Hoffman (32)
L- Burba (7-3)
HR- SD: Gwynn 2 (11), Nieves (16)
CIN: Howard 2 (5), Boone (17), Sanders (30)
Astros 9, Dodgers 3 (ABC; Al Michaels, Jim Palmer, Tim McCarver, Keith Olbermann)
The Stros exploded from behind with a five-run fifth to blow away the Dodgers, maintain their lead in the NL Wild Card race, and close to half a game of the Reds. Both left fielder John Cangelosi and catcher Tony Eusebio went four for five, and Eusebio drove in four runs, including two with a fifth-inning single that pus Houston ahead for good. Craig Biggio added two hits and two RBIs.
The Astrodome rocked as it hasn't since the days of Luv Ya Blue; in fact, for the seventh-inning stretch, the organist plays the old "Houston Oilers #1" fight song. Despite the mismatched lyrics, the crowd stands as one in support of their Stros. Quips Al Michaels: "All we need to make this scene complete are Bum Phillips and Crazy George." Raul Mondesi had two hits and drove in two runs for the Dodgers.
The Dodgers now lead the Padres by just a game in the West, with the Rockies lurking in third place two games out. Will this be the second year in a row that the Pads catch their SoCal neighbors in the season's final weeks? In other news, the Stros' magic number to clinch the wild card is down to eight.
W- Kile (5-12)
L- Park (0-1)
Expos 1, Cardinals 0 (11 innings; ABC, Bob Ley, Buck Martinez)
The combined offensive ineptitude of both teams resulted in a total of one run and seven hits. Darrin Fletcher's single drove in pinch hitter Moises Alou with the game winner. Only 17,534 showed up at Busch Stadium, and most of them remained silent throughout the game; they've tired of their team being cellar-dwellers and want a fresh approach, like the one of A's manager Tony LaRussa, for example.
Rumors today, though, have him checking out the relocated Pirate organization, should it leave Pittsburgh and he be available. Some even suggest that Bucco manager Jim Leyland, despite his word, will leave regardless for a team with a brighter future, but has suggested LaRussa, his mentor, as a possible replacement. No one involved had any comment whatsoever.
The loss coupled with the Pirates' win in Atlanta drops the Redbirds into last place in the Central.
W- Shaw (3-6)
S- Rojas (32)
L- Parrett (4-8)
Now for your up-to-the-second standings, beginning in the East:
Braves: 86-62 (Magic Number: 6)
Mets: 78-71- 8.5 GB
Expos: 75-74- 11.5 GB
Marlins: 74-76- 13 GB
Phillies: 72-78- 15 GB
In the Central:
Reds: 85-65
Astros: 84-65- .5 GB
Cubs: 79-71- 6 GB
Pirates: 63-86- 21.5 GB
Cardinals: 62-87- 22.5 GB
In the West:
Dodgers: 77-73
Padres: 75-73- 1 GB
Rockies: 74-74- 2 GB
Giants: 62-87- 14.5 GB
In the Wild Card:
Astros: 84-65 (Magic Number: 8)
Cubs: 79-71- 5.5 GB
Next: We look at April 9.
Thoughts?