Cy Young allowed 7 runs on 13 hits in a rough start, but the Houston Hoots came back against Jerry Koosman and Chicago relief, topping Chicago 10-7 to keep a 2-game lead in the National League. Two-out RBIs by Sammy Sosa and Jim Edmonds helped Chicago out to an early lead in a 3-run 1st inning. Chase Utley hit a 3-run shot in the 4th to extend the lead to 6-0. Oscar Charleston drove in Jeff Bagwell in the bottom of the 4th, but Edmonds homered to keep a 7-1 lead for the Docs. But Houston wouldn’t go quietly. Gil Hodges hit a 3-run homer in a 4-run 5th, and Tim Raines hit a solo shot in the 6th to cut the lead to 7-6. Kent Tekulve gave up a double to Eddie Mathews in the 8th, and Paul Waner hit a pinch-hit single to tie the game. Later in the inning, with the bases loaded and two outs, Charleston broke things open with a bases-clearing double off reliever Rick Reuschel, giving Houston their 1st lead. Bruce Sutter’s scoreless 9th sealed the 10-7 win. The win maintains a 2-game lead in the National League for Houston, with 5 games left to play.

Docs @ Hoots – 5/25/23

Oakland’s Addie Joss put together one of the most dominant pitching performances of the season, holding the Detroit Rockets to two baserunners in a 5-0 shutout. Joss retired the 1st ten batters before Joe Jackson hit a clean single to break up the no-hitter. After retiring 8 more batters, Jackson hit another single. Álex Rodríguez grounded into a double-play, and Joss was clean the rest of the way, striking out only two batters in the game. Bret Saberhagen allowed four straight hits in a 3-run 2nd inning, led by Edgar Martínez’s two-run single. Martínez added an RBI double in the 5th. Jimmie Foxx homered off Saberhagen in the 7th. The solo home run gave Foxx his Maelstrom-leading 47th RBI on the season. The loss ensures that Detroit will not reach .500 this season, after they won the World Series last year. Foxx finished 4 for 4 on the game.

Rockets @ Jacks – 5/25/23

The Los Angeles Dynamos scored late to top the St. Louis Wizards 7-4, putting pressure on the Houston Hoots as the National League race comes down to the final games of the season. LA scored 3 runs off Robin Roberts in the 2nd inning, aided by Craig Biggio’s 2-run single. But St. Louis came right back in the 3rd with their own 3-run inning against Randy Johnson, capped by a 2-run triple by Willie Mays. Dave Winfield’s solo home run in the 5th put the Wizards on top. Tony Gwynn stole 2nd and scored on Turkey Stearnes single to tie the game 4-4 in Roberts last inning. Joe McGinnity couldn’t keep the tie, as Pee Wee Reese, Ron Santo, and Gwynn all drove in runs in the 8th. St. Louis loaded the bases against Mordecai Brown in the bottom of the inning, but Mike Schmidt grounded into a double play to end the inning. Lee Smith stranded runners on 2nd and 3rd to notch his 11th save for LA. Smith hasn’t allowed a run this season. Los Angeles is now 27-22, and just 1 1/2 games behind Houston in the NL race.

Dynamos @ Wizards – 5/25/23

Ed Walsh improved to 5-0, holding the Boston Splinters to one run on 6 hits while striking out 9. Babe Ruth got the New York scoring started in the 1st inning with a 3-run home run. Ruth is now tied with teammate Dick Allen for the Baseball Maelstrom lead with 17. Nellie Fox drove in Alan Trammell for the only Boston run in the 3rd. Jim Palmer went the distance for the Splinters, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits. He’s now 3-5 on the season with a 6.56 ERA. Boston will need to win 4 of their last 5 games of the season to tie the Maelstrom record with 36 wins set by the St. Louis Wizards last season.

Splinters @ Swats – 5/25/23

The St. Louis Wizards came down from an early 5-run deficit to take a 3-run lead into the 9th, but barely got the win after the Los Angeles Dynamos stranded the tying run on 3rd. LA’s Tony Gwynn belted a 2-run double during a 4-run 2nd inning against Don Sutton. Todd Helton hit a solo home run in the 3rd, and Gary Carter singled in another run to give LA an early 6-1 lead. A 2-run single in the 6th off Tom Seaver cut the lead to 6-3. While Sutton settled, Seaver struggled. Duke Snider started the scoring in a big 7th inning when he slugged a 2-run homer. Seaver walked Willie McCovey with the bases loaded to tie the game at 6. That’s when Mike Schmidt followed with a bases-clearing double to put St. Louis on top 9-6. Rich Gossage took the mound to close it in the 9th, but Chipper Jones doubled in Helton. Ed Delahanty followed with a single to put the tying run on base. After Pee Wee Reese popped out, Ron Santo singled to make it a one-run game, with Delahanty on 3rd. Gossage struck out Carter to end the game. With the loss, LA wasted a chance to close the gap in the NL race, falling back to 2-games behind Houston, who lost earlier in the day.

Dynamos @ Wizards – 5/24/23

Bert Blyleven will remember this day for a while. Blyleven arguably had his best start of the season, earning his 10th win and shutting out New York to help the Splinters clinch the American League. Blyleven scattered 7 hits and struck out 8. New York’s Bob Feller kept it close until tiring in the later innings. Mule Suttles doubled in a run in the 4th, and Ichiro Suzuki followed with a solo home run in the 5th. Carlton Fisk added two more with his 11th homer of the season in the 7th. Frank Thomas led off the 8th with his 14th. Then, Feller loaded the bases before striking out Alan Trammell and Fisk. But Suzuki followed with an RBI single, and Nellie Fox drew a bases-loaded walk to put Boston up 7-0. Trammell added an RBI single off Red Faber in the 9th. Boston improved to 32-16, securing their spot in the World Series.

Splinters @ Swats – 5/24/23

Thanks to a Paul Waner triple and a sacrifice fly, the Houston Hoots carried a 2-1 lead into the 8th in what was a pitcher’s duel between Chicago’s William Bell and Juan Marichal. Marichal hit Joey Votto to lead off the 8th, and after Albert Pujols doubled, Sammy Sosa hit a 2-run single to put the Docs on top. Jeff Bagwell and Willie Stargell hit back-to-back doubles to even things up heading into the 9th. Houston’s Warren Spahn got two quick outs before allowing singles to Troy Tulowitzki and Votto. Buster Posey followed with a 3-run home run. Tug McGraw came in to close things out, but allowed three straight hits and a sac fly to cut the lead to 6-5. Pujols bobbled a Richie Ashburn grounder to put the tying run on 2nd. But Waner grounded right to Chase Utley for a textbook double play to end the game. The loss has Houston clinging to a 1 1/2-game lead in the National League race. Pujols finished 4 for 5.

Docs @ Hoots – 5/24/23

David Cone helped the Detroit Rockets end a 3-game losing streak, holding Oakland to 2 runs on 6 hits in a complete game 5-2 win. It was only the 2nd win for Cone this season, matching his performance in his 1st start on April 3rd. Manny Ramirez got Detroit on the board with an RBI double off Whitey Ford in the 1st. Dobie Moore tripled and scored in the 2nd, and after a sacrifice fly, the Rockets had a 3-0 lead. Dwight Evans extended the lead with a double in the 5th. A two-out RBI triple by Lou Gehrig finally broke up Cone’s shutout in the 6th. After Bill Freehan hit a solo home run in the 9th off Bob Lemon to make it 5-1, Mickey Cochrane hit an RBI double to give Oakland a little hope in the 9th. But Cone retired the next three batters to finish things out. With both teams out of the playoffs, fans are watching other story lines. In limited time this season, Moore is hitting .424.

Rockets @ Jacks – 5/24/23