After a 1-6 start to the season, the St. Louis Wizards have won 4 straight. Today they completed a sweep of the hot Chicago Docs. Robin Roberts took a 3-hitter into the 8th before allowing home runs to Buster Posey and Barry Bonds, but still picked up his 1st win of the season with a 5-3 victory. Dwight Gooden had one bad inning, but it was enough. Gooden walked 4 straight batters to start the 5th, then allowed back-to-back doubles to Stan Musial and Larry Walker. He still struck out 7 and allowed just 6 hits in 8 innings. Rich Gossage earned his 1st save of the season for the Wizards. Joey Votto doubled in his 1st Baseball Maelstrom at-bat, and finished 1 for 4. The loss drops Chicago to 6-5 and 2nd place in the National League behind the Houston Hoots.

Docs @ Wizards – 4/11/23

Miguel Cabrera was 3 for 4 with 2 home runs, 2 walks, and 6 RBI, as the Detroit Rockets topped the New York Swats in a 17-9 slugfest. With a tired bullpen, Swats starter Bullet Rogan went 7 innings, allowing 14 runs on 14 hits. Roger Clemens allowed 5 earned runs in 7 innings for Detroit. Babe Ruth got the New York offense started with a 3-run homer in the 1st inning, but Detroit struck back in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Bobby Veach was 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 4 RBI for Detroit. American League teams are hitting near .300 through 11 games. Detroit is now 6-5, while New York has dropped to 3-8. The teams also combined for 30 hits and committed two errors each.

Rockets @ Swats – 4/11/23

Bob Gibson started the season lasting just 6 innings, allowing 7 runs. Gibson now has two straight complete games. Today, he allowed just 5 hits and struck out 9 in a 7-1 Houston Hoots victory against Don Drysdale and the Los Angeles Dynamos. This is the 10th straight game , after that Opening Day start, that Houston starters have lasted at least 8 innings. After scoring a run in the 1st, LA only had one other inning where they had a runner in scoring position, and that was when Gibson hit Ron Santo and Cristóbal Torriente back-to-back in the 6th. Willie Stargell led the offense, going 2 for 3 with a double and his 4th home run of the season, driving in Houston’s 1st 3 runs in the 5th. Ernie Lombardi was 3 for 4 with a homer filling in for Ted Simmons. With the win, Houston is now 7-4, while Los Angeles has fallen to 4-7.

Hoots @ Dynamos – 4/11/23

The Oakland Jacks ended the Boston Splinters’ winning streak at 9 games, with a 13-4 win. Bob Lemon allowed 3 runs on 8 hits in 8 innings. He also struck out 7. Despite this, Lemon’s control struggles continued, as he walked 8 batters. The Jacks hitters were relentless against Dennis Eckersley, who allowed 9 runs on 12 hits in just 5 innings. Walter Johnson retired 10 straight hitters in relief before walking in 2 runs in a 4-run 9th. Hank Greenberg led the offense, going 3 for 5 with 3 RBI. Carlton Fisk was 2 for 4 with his 1st home run of the season in the losing effort. Boston entered the day riding a 9-game winning streak after losing on Opening Day. They still lead the American League with a 9-2 record. Oakland is 4-7.

Jacks @ Splinters – 4/11/23

Jackie Robinson committed his 1st two errors of the season, as the Houston Hoots topped the Los Angeles Dynamos 8-5. Sandy Koufax allowed all 8 runs, but only 1 of those runs was earned. LA had a 4-2 lead until the 8th inning. That’s when Ron Santo bobbled a grounder, allowing a run to score. Robinson’s 2nd error extended the inning. Houston took full advantage with three straight 2-out singles after the errors for a 6-run 8th. Bruce Sutter had another perfect inning to pick up his 5th save. Sutter hasn’t allowed an earned run yet this season. Todd Helton was the offensive star for the Dynamos, going 4 for 5 with a home run and 3 RBI. Fergie Jenkins picked up the win for Houston, allowing 3 earned runs on 10 hits in 8 innings. The win improves Houston to 6-4, and they are now tied with Chicago for 1st place in the National League.

Hoots @ Dynamos – 4/10/23

For the 2nd straight game, the Oakland Jacks mounted a comeback that fell just short, as the Boston Splinters won 8-7 to take their winning streak to 9 games. Despite a shaky start, Bert Blyleven became the 1st pitcher to 3 wins. Blyleven allowed 10 hits and 4 runs, including 2 home runs in 8 innings. Meanwhile, Oakland led 4-3 into the 5th inning when Stan Coveleski allowed 4 straight RBI singles with 2 outs. Jack Morris allowed a 2-run homer to Jimmie Foxx in the 9th, followed by a single by Ken Griffey Jr., but retired Lou Gehrig, Reggie Jackson, and Hank Greenberg to escape with his 1st save. Rollie Fingers had picked up the save in the prior 3 straight games. Frank Thomas was 2 for 4 with his league-leading 7th homer.

Jacks @ Splinters – 4/10/23

For the 3rd straight game, the St. Louis Wizards starter pitched a complete game. This time it was Don Sutton, who held the Chicago Docs to 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 5 in an 8-1 victory. Curt Schilling ran into trouble in his 2nd straight start, lasting just 4 innings. Duke Snider hit a 2-run double in the 1st and an RBI single in the 3rd. Later in the 3rd, Mike Schmidt hit a Grand Slam to put the game away. The only Docs run scored in the 1st inning when Keith Hernandez led off with a double and scored on a Barry Bonds double later in the inning. Stan Musial added 2 triples as the Wizards collected 11 hits. The loss drops Chicago to 6-4 as the Wizards improve to 4-6.

Docs @ Wizards – 4/10/23

The Detroit Rockets took advantage of 10 walks to score 5 runs in the 1st 2 innings against Swats starter Lefty Gomez. But a 7-run 3rd inning put New York back in it. After Cal Ripken Jr. flew out to lead off the inning against Dave Stieb, the Swats had 9 straight batters reach base, including an error by Bobby Grich. The inning put New York up 7-5. Detroit battled back with solo home runs by Dick Allen and Bobby Veach to tie the game. Facing Urban Shocker in the 7th, Adrián Beltré hit a 3-run shot to give the Swats the lead for good. Beltré finished 3 for 3 with a homer, a double, a walk, and 4 RBI. Red Faber allowed just 1 run on 2 hits in 4 innings of relief for the win, as New York improved to 3-7. Detroit has dropped back down to 5-5.

Rockets @ Swats – 4/10/23

It looked like it would be another tough-luck start for Steve Carlton. Carlton allowed two ground-ball RBI through 6 innings against the Chicago Docs. Meanwhile, Jerry Koosman held the St. Louis Wizards scoreless. All of that changed in the 6th, when Stan Musial put the Wizards on the board with an RBI single that would mark the start of a 9-run inning. After Koosman hit Larry Walker, Mike Schmidt followed with a 3-run homer. Dave Winfield, who led off the inning with a double, hit a 2-run homer later in the inning. Koosman allowed 8 hits during the inning. Carlton cruised the rest of the way, allowing just 5 hits and striking out 12 in 9 innings to pick up his 1st win of the season. It was only the 3rd win of the season for the Wizards, and only the 3rd loss for the Docs.

Docs @ Wizards – 4/9/23