Oakland Jacks starter Nolan Ryan took a 2-hit shutout into the 8th, but wasn’t able to become the 1st pitcher with 4 wins this season. Harry Heilmann tripled for the New York Swats, and scored on Joe DiMaggio’s 2-out single to tie the game. In the 9th, Joe Mauer walked and Cal Ripken Jr. followed with a 2-run homer to give the Swats a 3-1 lead. Ed Walsh was just as good in his 1st start with New York since joining the league. Walsh allowed a 1st-inning RBI double to Ken Griffey Jr. He would allow just 4 hits and that run in 8 innings. Satchel Paige pitched a scoreless 9th for his 2nd save. Ryan finished allowing just 5 hits, but 7 walks, while only striking out 5. The Swats are now just 6-10, but hope that Walsh can give them more outings like this one.

Swats @ Jacks – 4/17/23

Cole Hamels took a shutout into the 8th inning, but it was a few big home runs that doomed the Los Angeles Dynamos, in an 11-4 Chicago Docs win. Gene Tenace hit a solo homer in the 1st to get the scoring started against LA starter Carl Hubbell. In the 4th, Hubbell issued 3 straight walks with 2 outs. Sammy Sosa followed with a no-doubt grand slam to give Chicago a 7-0 lead. Barry Larkin finally got the Dynamos on the board with a 2-run homer in the 8th. Facing Jim Bunning in the 9th, the Docs added to their lead thanks to a 3-run shot by Ken Boyer. LA scored two in the 9th themselves, but William Bell came in to shut them down to end the game. Hubbell allowed 7 runs on 7 walks and 5 hits in just 5 innings, falling to 0-2. The win gets Chicago back to .500 at 8-8.

Docs @ Dynamos – 4/17/23

Miguel Cabrera and Rafael Palmeiro hit back-to-back home runs against Catfish Hunter to give the Detroit Rockets a 4-0 lead, but the Boston Splinters came back against Frank Tanana. Frank Thomas’ 2-run homer started the comeback, and Mickey Mantle’s 2-run shot in the 5th gave Boston the 5-4 lead. Hunter pitched out of trouble and allowed just 3 earned runs on 8 hits in 7 innings. In the 9th, Rollie Fingers retired Lou Whitaker before Kenny Lofton singled, but Lofton got gunned down at 2nd by Iván Rodríguez for the 2nd out. Needing just one more out, Ichiro Suzuki singled. That’s when Álex Rodríguez connected for his 1st home run of the season, a 2-run shot to give Detroit the lead. Tom Henke pitched a perfect 9th for the save. It was the 2nd blown save for Fingers. The Splinters have now lost 4 straight, while Detroit has won their last 3 games, cutting the Boston lead to just one game. Palmeiro finished his 1st appearance in the league going 2 for 4 with that home run.

Rockets @ Splinters – 4/17/23

Ron Santo went 4 for 5 and drove in 2 runs to lead the Los Angeles Dynamos over Dwight Gooden and the Chicago Docs in a 6-4 win. Santo drove in a go-ahead run in the 2nd with a double, but Chicago took the lead right back in the 3rd with 3 runs against Don Drysdale, capped by Joey Votto’s 2-run double. Santo put LA in the lead for good in the 4th with another RBI double. The Docs only managed one hit after the 3rd inning, as Drysdale finished allowing just 4 runs on 6 hits in 8 innings. Lee Smith pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save. Gooden finished 7 innings, allowing 6 runs on 12 hits, but striking out 8. Kevin Brown allowed a hit and hit a batter in the 8th, but struck out Todd Helton and Chipper Jones in his 1st appearance of the season. LA improved to 6-9, while Chicago dropped to 7-8, losing their 3rd straight.

Docs @ Dynamos – 4/16/23

The game between the Detroit Rockets and Boston Splinters was called after 5 innings due to heavy downpours, but it was considered mercy for the home team. Roy Halladay and Walter Johnson had rude welcomes to the league in their 1st appearances. Halladay allowed 8 runs on 8 hits, including 3 home runs in just 3 innings. Walter Johnson allowed 5 more runs and 2 homers in his 2 innings of work. Detroit’s Bill Freehan kicked off the Detroit scoring with a grand slam in the 2nd. He added a 2-run homer in the 4th to knock Halladay from the game. Dick Allen also had 2 homers for the Rockets, driving in 4 runs himself as he became the 1st player to reach 10 homers this season, and that accomplishment in just 15 games. Meanwhile, Detroit starter Roger Clemens kept Boston hitters off-balance, allowing just 3 hits while striking out 4 in a rare 5-inning shutout. The 13-0 win improves Detroit to 8-7, just 2 games behind the Splinters, who have now lost 3 straight.

Rockets @ Splinters – 4/16/23

Robin Roberts allowed 2 runs on 7 hits in 8 innings, and the St. Louis Wizards offense put up a big inning on Bob Gibson as they topped the Houston Hoots 9-5. Duke Snider hit his first home run of the season, a 3-run shot in the 1st inning off Gibson, but it was the 7th inning when things really fell apart for the hurler. Gibson entered the inning having only given up 4 hits, but St. Louis batted around, scoring 5 runs on 8 hits in that inning alone. Jeff Bagwell homered off Roberts in the 2nd, and Oscar Charleston added an RBI single in the 8th. Eddie Mathews added another homer in the 9th, the 1st of 3 runs off reliever Rube Marquard. Burleigh Grimes came in to get the final out and end Houston’s comeback hopes. With the win, St. Louis is 8-7 and just a game behind Houston in the National League race.

Wizards @ Hoots – 4/16/23

Addie Joss wasted no time making his POPs League mark, hurling a complete game victory over the New York Swats. Joss scattered 9 hits and allowed 2 runs in his debut. Rickey Henderson led off the game against Lefty Gomez with his 1st homerun of the season. Two innings later, Jimmie Foxx’s 3-run homer with 2 outs gave the Oakland Jacks a 4-0 lead. Lou Boudreau’s 2-run single in the 6th would lead to the end of Gomez’ day. Aided by an error, the Jacks would score 3 runs in the 8th against reliever Bullet Rogan, giving Oakland a 10-2 victory. In Josh Gibson’s 1st start, he went 1 for 4. Brooks Robinson was 4 for 4 in the #9 spot, scoring 3 runs. Oakland is now 7-8, while the loss dropped New York to 5-10.

Swats @ Jacks – 4/16/24

Don Sutton improved to 2-0 with another excellent start. Sutton allowed just 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 7 in a 10-1 victory against the Los Angeles Dynamos. LA starter Randy Johnson’s struggles continued. Johnson allowed 8 runs in 5 innings, including 3 home runs. Johnny Mize hit a 3-run homer in the 2nd, Dave Winfield added a solo shot in the 3rd, and Mike Schmidt added another solo homer in the 5th. Johnson’s is now 0-3 with a 10.69 ERA this season. The win improved St. Louis to 7-7. Winfield led the Wizards offense, going 3 for 5 with 2 triples to go with his home run. The loss dropped Los Angeles to 5-9.

Wizards @ Dynamos – 4/15/23

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