The Houston Hoots rode two good innings into a sure win in the 9th with top closer Bruce Sutter on the mound, but Sutter blew the save for the 1st time this season, sending the game to extra innings that the Hoots needed 13 innings to win. Tim Raines broke a scoreless game in the 3rd against Clayton Kershaw with a 2-run single, and Jeff Bagwell tripled to put Houston up 3-0. Chicago responded against Bob Gibson in the 4th. Gibson hit Pete Rose with a pitch to load the bases with two outs, and Chase Utley followed with a go-ahead grand slam. But in the 5th, Oscar Charleston tied it with a sacrifice fly, and Gil Hodges hit a 2-run triple to push Houston ahead 6-4. The Docs chipped away with a run in the 7th, but Bruce Sutter entered the 9th. Sutter hadn’t allowed an earned run all season, finishing 15 straight saves in 15 scoreless innings. Keith Hernandez capped three hits to open the inning with a game-tying double. Bobby Bonds and Bagwell traded home runs in the 10th to keep the extra innings going. Finally, in the 13th, Hodges hit a walkoff shot off Rick Reuschel to give Houston the win. With Los Angeles winning earlier in the day, Houston’s win kept their 2-game lead in the National League. Bagwell finished 4 for 6, and was a double short of the cycle.

Docs @ Hoots – 5/23/23

Lefty Grove cruised to a shutout win, holding the Detroit Rockets to 7 hits and a walk while striking out 7. The only threat came in the 4th inning when Detroit loaded the bases with three straight 2-out singles. But Grove got Bobby Grich to pop out to end the inning. Edgar Martínez drove in Josh Gibson with a single in the 2nd off Frank Tanana. Jimmie Foxx drove in another run in the 6th. After Joe Gordon led off the 7th with a solo home run, Rickey Henderson scored on a groundout to 1st later in the inning. Tanana allowed 8 hits and struck out 6 in a complete game loss. The win broke Oakland’s 4-game losing streak. Meanwhile, Detroit has now lost 3 in a row.

Rockets @ Jacks – 5/23/23

Pee Wee Reese went 4 for 4, driving in 5 runs, as the Los Angeles Dynamos came from behind to top the St. Louis Wizards 7-5. The Wizards took an early lead off Don Drysdale when Joe Morgan hit a home run to lead off the game for St. Louis, and Willie Mays drove in Ozzie Smith with a sacrifice fly. After Reese hit a solo homer in the 3rd, the Wizards took advantage of three hits and a walk in the 4th to score 3 more and take a 5-1 lead. Reese drove in another run in the 5th and, after Robinson drove in a run, two more in the 6th with a double to tie the game. LA sent every hitter to the plate against Steve Carlton in the 3-run inning. Turkey Stearnes hit a solo homer in the 7th, and Reese drove in another to give LA a 7-5 lead. After 5 allowing 5 runs in the 1st 4 innings, Drysdale didn’t allow another run the rest of the way. Lee Smith picked up his 10th save, as LA moved to within 1 1/2 games of Houston in the National League.

Dynamos @ Wizards – 5/23/23

The Boston Splinters scored 4 runs, all with 2 outs, and held off a late New York rally, topping the Swats 4-3 to move closer to winning the American League pennant and securing their spot in the World Series. Iván Rodríguez singled in Alan Trammell with 2 outs in the 2nd inning to put Boston on top early off CC Sabathia. Sabathia never looked comfortable and had trouble finishing innings. With two outs in the 4th, three straight singles gave Boston a 3-0 lead. Wade Boggs drove in Trammell in the 7th for their 4th run, also with two outs. Gaylord Perry kept New York hitters guessing, allowing just 4 hits into the 7th inning. Finally, Joe Mauer and Roberto Alomar singled, and Harry Heilmann followed with a triple to break up the shutout. Derek Jeter followed with a sacrifice fly to cut it down to a one-run lead. But Walter Johnson pitched a perfect 8th, and Rollie Fingers followed with a perfect 9th to seal the 4-3 win, earning his 12th save. Boston is now 31-16, and their 3-game winning streak has put them up 6 games in the American League with just 7 left to play.

Splinters @ Swats – 5/23/23

Christy Mathewson pitched well, and the St. Louis Wizards took advantage of a big error by Jeff Bagwell, topping the Houston Hoots 4-2 to keep their lead in the National League to just 2 games. Bagwell hit a solo home run in the 2nd inning to get Houston up early, but Duke Snider responded with a solo homer of his own against Pete Alexander in the 3rd. Mike Schmidt led off the 7th with a single, but Alexander retired Joe Morgan. Ozzie Smith followed with a sharp grounder to Bagwell, but the ball bounced off his glove. After Snider flew out, Willie Mays followed with a 2-run single to give St. Louis the lead. Morgan drove in Schmidt with a double in the 8th to put the Wizards up 4-1. Oscar Charleston led off the bottom of the inning with a double, and Bagwell drove him in to cut the St. Louis lead, but the rally fell short. Rich Gossage struck out the side in the 9th to earn his 8th save, sealing the win for the Wizards. Mathewson allowed just 2 runs on 10 hits in 8 innings to improve to 4-2. With 8 games left in the season, Houston holds a 2-game lead in the National League over Los Angeles. St. Louis is 6 games back.

Wizards @ Hoots – 5/22/23

The New York Swats took advantage of Nolan Ryan’s control problems and Mike Mussina’s strong start to top the Oakland Jacks 9-3 and win their 5th straight game. The win also completed a 4-game sweep of the Jacks. Most of the damage was done in the 2nd inning when 8 straight batters reached base against Ryan, including 5 walks, scoring 5 runs. Oakland scored in the 3rd, and Reggie Jackson hit a solo home run off Mussina in the 4th to make it 5-2. Two more walks in the 7th led to 2 more runs against Ryan. Joe Mauer doubled in two runs in the 8th against reliever Early Wynn. In the bottom of the inning, Jimmie Foxx hit his 12 homer, but the Jacks still came up short 9-3. Ryan allowed 10 walks in the outing. Mussina allowed 3 runs on 9 hits, but struck out 8 to improve to 4-4. The win kept New York within 5 games of the Boston Splinters in the American League race. Boudreau finished 4 for 5 in the loss.

Swats @ Jacks – 5/22/23

The Chicago Docs broke their 6-game losing streak, handing Sandy Koufax his 2nd straight loss as Dwight Gooden pitched a game for a 4-1 win. Gooden allowed just 5 hits, including a Todd Helton home run, while striking out 9 in his best start since he shut out Los Angeles on April 6th. Koufax came into the game with a 9-3 record and a sub-2.00 ERA, but left still waiting on win #10. Buster Posey hit a solo homer in the 2nd off Koufax, and scored on an RBI single from Willie Davis in the 6th. Posey singled with 2 outs in the 8th, and Barry Bonds followed with a 2-run shot off Koufax. Frank Robinson came in to pinch hit as the tying run, with runners on the corners and one out in the 9th, but grounded into a double-play to end the game. LA’s loss gives the Houston Hoots a 2 1/2 game lead in the NL race. Posey finished 3 for 4, scoring 3 of Chicago’s runs.

Docs @ Dynamos – 5/22/23

Rube Waddell allowed just 2 hits in his 1st shutout of the season, giving the Boston Splinters a 4-0 win, and expanding their lead in the American League to 5 1/2 games with 8 left for them to play. Detroit starter, Roger Clemens, struggled with his control against Boston, allowing 4 walks in the 1st two innings. The Splinters loaded the bases in each of the first 3 innings, but were only able to plate one run. Finally, in the 5th, they broke through. Tris Speaker doubled in Ted Williams, and Boston loaded the bases again. After Detroit had a 4-2-3 double play to nearly get them out of the inning, Ichiro Suzuki followed with a 2-run single to give the Splinters a 4-0 lead. Meanwhile, Waddell allowed his 1st hit to Thurmon Muson to lead off the 3rd. The Rockets wouldn’t get another hit until Mark McGwire singled in the 9th. Since joining Boston, Waddell is 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA in 3 starts. The New York Swats have won 4 straight, but Boston has managed to maintain their AL lead, and the door for New York to catch them is closing.

Rockets @ Splinters – 5/22/23