Babe Ruth homered for the 2nd straight game, and Mike Mussina earned his 1st win of the season as the New York Swats topped the Splinters 7-2 to win their 2nd game in a row. New York got on the board in the 2nd when Roberto Alomar his a 2-run home run off Jim Palmer. Harry Heilmann and Babe Ruth went back-to-back in the 3rd to add 3 more runs. The Swats were patient in the 4th, drawing 5 walks against Palmer. Palmer finished allowing 7 runs on 6 hits and 6 walks in just 5 innings. Jack Morris pitched 4 innings of scoreless relief for Boston, but it was too late. George Brett hit a 2-run shot in the 6th for the only Splinters runs against Mussina, who allowed 8 hits and struck out 6 in 8 innings. The two wins against the 1st-place Splinters improves New York to 5-9 on the season.

Swats @ Splinters – 4/15/23

After hitting just .194 with 0 home runs in his first 8 games of the season, Houston Hoots’ Jeff Bagwell has heated up. Bagwell is hitting .478 over the last 5 games with 3 homers and 6 RBI. One of those homers came today in the 8th inning against the Chicago Docs to break a 2-2 tie. Chicago’s Jerry Koosman had allowed just two 1st-inning runs up to that point. Houston starter Phil Niekro had held the Docs scoreless through 4 innings before RBI base hits by Pete Rose and Barry Bonds. Overall, Niekro allowed just 6 hits in 8 innings. Bruce Sutter pitched a perfect 9th to pick up his 6th save, as Houston won it 3-2. The win expanded Houston’s lead in the National League over Chicago by 2 games.

Hoots @ Docs – 4/14/23

Dick Allen hit his league-leading 8th home run, a 2-run shot in the 1st inning. It was a lead the Rockets would never give up, as they topped the Oakland Jacks 5-2. Bret Saberhagen allowed just 2 runs on 5 hits and struck out 6 in 8 innings, improving to 2-0. Tom Henke pitched a scoreless 9th for his 2nd save of the season. Hal Newhouser kept things close, allowing just 5 hits himself through 7 innings. The Rockets finally got some insurance runs to break a 2-1 lead in the 8th. Kenny Lofton singled, Miguel Cabrera doubled, and Bobby Veach tripled to end Newhouser’s day. Thurman Munson was 2 for 3 with an RBI in his 1st game back after injury. The win improved Detroit to 7-7, while Oakland falls to 6-8.

Jacks @ Rockets – 4/14/23

Once again, Los Angeles Dynamos ace, Sandy Koufax, tamed the St. Louis Wizards. Koufax outdueled Steve Carlton in a 1-0 10-inning shutout the last time he faced them. This time, he allowed just 2 hits, walking 3 and striking out 9 in his 2nd shutout of the season. Mike Schmidt’s 2nd-inning leadoff single was the last hit the Wizards had. Greg Maddux came into the game having allowed just one run and 8 hits in 19 innings. The Dynamos had 6 runs on 5 hits in just the 1st inning against him. Ralph Kiner’s 3-run home run put a dramatic touch to the inning. Overall, Maddux allowed 10 runs on 11 hits in 4 innings. Dizzy Dean walked two and hit a batter in his 1st inning of relief, but didn’t allow a Dynamos hit in his 4 innings. The 10-0 victory ended two streaks – a Dynamos 5-game losing streak, and a Wizards 5-game winning streak.

Wizards @ Dynamos – 4/14/23

Babe Ruth hit a 2-run homer in the 7th to put the New York Swats ahead of the Boston Splinters 3-2, but New York needed more than that to win this game. Boston came back with 3 runs in the 8th, capped by a 2-run 2-out single by Ben Taylor. Rollie Fingers couldn’t complete the save for Boston. Fingers allowed 7 straight New York baserunners. The Yankees added a couple of sacrifice flies against Jim Kaat to end a 6-run inning and take a 9-5 lead. Boston made it interesting against Red Ruffing, scoring and loading the bases. Satchel Paige finally closed the door, getting pinch-hitter Minnie Miñoso to ground out to end the game, giving the Swats a 9-7 win. Rod Carew went 3 for 5 for New York with his 1st home run of the season.

Swats @ Splinters – 4/14/23