Chipper Jones struck out twice and grounded into a double-play. But in the 11th inning with 2 men on, he connected on a Dizzy Dean fastball for a 3-run home run to give the Los Angeles Dynamos a 6-3 win over the St. Louis Wizards. LA starter Carl Hubbell struggled early, but settled down, allowing just 5 hits in 8 1/3 innings while striking out 8. Stan Musial had Hubbell’s number, hitting a 2-run homer in the 1st and an RBI triple in the 3rd. The triple would be the last hit Hubbell would allow. St. Louis starter Don Sutton was nearly as good. Sutton allowed 7 hits in 7 innings, but also walked 4. Cristóbal Torriente’s homer in the 6th tied the game at 3. The Wizards also got 3 scoreless innings from Hoyt Wilhelm. Dean entered in the 11th but didn’t look comfortable. He allowed back-to-back singles to Jackie Robinson and Gary Carter to lead off the inning. Two batters later, Jones would punish him for a fastball left in his wheelhouse. Lee Smith pitched a 1-2-3 inning, striking out 2 for his 2nd save of the season. The teams will finish their series tomorrow.

Dynamos @ Wizards – 4/4/23

New York Swats’ Paul Molitor went 3 for 4 with a triple, 2 home runs, and 4 RBI. But the Swats still found a way to lose to the Dennis Eckersley and the Boston Splinters 6-4 to drop to 0-4 to start the season. Ty Cobb reached on a Wade Boggs error to start the game for the Swats, but was thrown out at 3rd by Ted Williams on a Rod Carew single. Iván Rodríguez then threw out Carew trying to steal second before a Harry Heilmann double which could have scored them both. Meanwhile, Boston’s Frank Thomas hit a 2-run homer to get the Splinters on the board. A Joe DiMaggio misplay would allow 2 more runners to score with 2 outs in the 4th. Another error by Heilmann in the 8th would lead to two more Boston runs. Despite that, Molitor’s 9th inning homer would cut the Boston lead to 6-4 before Joe Mauer flew out to end the game. Lefty Gomez pitched well for New York. While he walked 7, he allowed just 6 hits and 2 earned runs. The Swats are now 0-4 to start the season. Roberto Alomar was thrown out twice trying to steal by Rodríguez in the game.

Splinters @ Swats – 4/4/23

Jerry Koosman allowed just 5 hits and a run while striking out 7, as the Chicago Docs topped the Houston Hoots to improve to 4-0. All of the scoring in the game came in the 5th inning, starting with a 2-out RBI single from Keith Hernandez off Juan Marichal. Pete Rose followed with a double that scored another run. In the bottom of the inning, Dave Bancroft led off with a triple, scoring on Ted Simmons ground out to 1st. Marichal allowed 8 hits and 2 runs in the loss. Both pitchers went the distance. The win means that the non-Hall of Fame teams are a combined 8-0 to start Season 2.

Docs @ Hoots – 4/4/23

The Detroit Rockets improved to 4-0 with a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Jacks. Bret Saberhagen gave the Rockets their 2nd straight complete game, allowing 8 hits and 3 runs while striking out 5. Stan Coveleski hit back-to-back batters to lead off the 3rd, leading to the 1st two Detroit runs. Ichiro led the Rockets offense, going 3 for 4 with 4 RBI. Reggie Jackson hit a solo home run against Saberhagen for the only Oakland run until the 9th. Ken Griffey Jr. hit another solo shot, and Jackson and Mickey Cochrane hit back-to-back doubles to cut the lead to 6-3 before Saberhagen got Hank Greenberg to fly out to end the game.

Rockets @ Jacks – 4/4/23

For nearly 6 innings, Houston starter Phil Niekro was untouchable. Niekro retired the 1st 17 Chicago Docs batters he faced before Jeff Kent’s 2-out double in the 6th. That opened up a 4-run two-out rally for Chicago, capped by Barry Bonds 2-run double. Chicago had 4 doubles and a walk, all with 2 outs. Meanwhile, the Houston Hoots offense stalled against Orel Hershiser. Hershiser finished with 3 runs and 6 hits allowed in 6 innings. Roy Oswalt pitched two scoreless innings of relief, and Billy Wagner collected his 3rd save in as many games, allowing a leadoff single to Rogers Hornsby before striking out the side in the 9th. Chicago finished in last place last season, but is 3-0 to start this year.

Docs @ Hoots – 4/3/23

Charlie Blackwell went 4 for 4 with a home run and 4 RBI to lead the Detroit Rockets to a 6-2 win over the Oakland Jacks. The reigning champions are off to a 3-0 start to the season. David Cone did his part too, going the distance, allowing just 2 runs and 6 hits in his complete game victory. Oakland’s Hal Newhauser ran into trouble in the 1st inning, but pitched out of a bases-loaded jam. He didn’t look comfortable on the mound all game. He finished after 7 innings, allowing 11 hits and walking 4. The Jacks avoided the shutout in the 7th with back-to-back RBI base-hits by Ken Griffey Jr. and Lou Gehrig. Álex Rodríguez and Bobby Veach each had 3 hits for the Rockets.

Rockets @ Jacks – 4/3/23

Greg Maddux allowed just 3 hits against his former team, shutting out the Los Angeles Dynamos to give the St. Louis Wizards a 7-0 win. It was their first win of the season. LA’s Randy Johnson struck out 11 in 6 innings, but also allowed 7 hits, walked 5, and hit a batter. St. Louis was able to capitalize, scoring 3 runs off Johnson. Mike Schmidt hit a 3-run home run off reliever Jim Bunning to really put the game out of reach. But the Wizards didn’t need it. After a Ron Santo triple in the 1st, Maddux didn’t allow another hit until the 7th inning. It’s also an inning that he struck out the side. He finished with 7 strikeouts. After dropping two games to the Chicago Docs to start the season, the Wizards really needed the win. Larry Walker and Ozzie Smith both went 3 for 4 in the game. Maddux was just 2-3 last year with Los Angeles, and didn’t pitch a shutout.

Dynamos @ Wizards – 4/3/23

Pedro Martínez couldn’t stop the New York Swats from an 0-3 start. Martínez allowed 7 hits and 2 earned runs in 6 innings, and another unearned run thanks to his error. All three runs were in the 2nd inning. Jim Palmer pitched 5 scoreless innings for the Splinters before walking in a run in the 6th. Cal Ripken Jr. followed with a sacrifice fly that got New York to within a run. But George Brett homered off reliever Ted Lyons in the 7th, and drove in another run in the 8th when Boston put up 4 to increase their lead to 8-3. Brett finished 4 for 5. Jim Kaat pitched two scoreless innings of relief for the Splinters. New York’s Babe Ruth also homered in the game.

Splinters @ Swats – 4/3/23