St. Louis Wizards starter, Greg Maddux, turned in another amazing performance, while Houston’s Phil Niekro dropped another heartbreaker thanks to a 10th inning walk-off home run by Mike Schmidt. Coming off a 3-hit shutout, Maddux took a no-hitter into the 6th before allowing his 1st hit, and an RBI single to Oscar Charleston that tied the game 1-1. But Maddux held that score through 10 innings. Meanwhile, in his last start, Niekro retired the first 17 batters he faced before allowing 4 earned runs and losing to the Chicago Docs. This time, Pop Lloyd hit an RBI triple in the 4th before Niekro retired 16 straight batters to send the game against the Wizards to extra innings. That’s when Schmidt led things off with the walk-off shot to give St. Louis the 2-1 win. Maddux now accounts for both Wizards wins, as they are just 2-6 to start the season. Houston falls to 4-4, and Niekro is 0-2 despite his flashes of greatness.

Hoots @ Wizards – 4/8/23

The New York Swats topped the Oakland Jacks in the first two games of their series with walk-off hits. For 6 innings, it looked like it was going to be another close game with the Swats on top. But Oakland scored 13 runs in the final 3 innings to top New York 17-5. The Jacks took a lead when Hank Greenberg doubled in two runs in the 4th off Pedro Martínez, but a Rod Carew triple in the 5th tied the game up. A Lou Gehrig home run in the 6th put them back on top, but Al Kaline responded with a 2-run homer in the bottom half, and the Swats retook the lead. Red Ruffing came on for New York in relief, and loaded the bases with no outs. Harmon Killebrew followed with a grand slam. Three batters into the 7th, and Greenberg connected for a 3-run shot that ended Ruffing’s day. Red Faber allowed 3 more runs in the 8th. In the 9th, Jimmie Foxx added a 3-run homer of his own. Hal Newhouser picked up the win, allowing 5 runs in 8 innings. Greenberg finished 4 for 4 with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored.

Jacks @ Swats – 4/8/23

The St. Louis Wizards’ early season slide continued with a 9th-inning 5-4 loss to the Houston Hoots. The teams traded runs early before the Wizards took a 4-2 lead thanks to a 2-run double by Duke Snider. Oscar Charleston responded in the 6th with an RBI triple and scored on a Sac Fly by Jeff Bagwell to tie the game. It was Charlston’s 2nd triple of the game. The game remained tied into the 9th. That’s when Eddie Mathews walked to lead off the inning, and the Hoots put up back-to-back one-out singles from Ted Simmons and Arky Vaughan to take the lead. The Wizards threatened in the bottom of the 9th against Bruce Sutter when Mike Piazza walked with 2 outs and Ozzie Smith singled. But Stan Musial lined out to second base to end the game. Pete Alexander allowed 7 hits and 4 runs in 8 innings to improve to 2-0. Burleigh Grimes allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 8 innings for St. Louis. Dizzy Dean picked up his 2nd loss of the season.

Hoots @ Wizards – 4/7/23

For the 2nd straight game, the New York Swats beat the Oakland Jacks with a walk-off hit. This time, it was a Cal Ripken game-winning single in the 11th inning off Waite Hoyt. New York starter Mike Mussina allowed back-to-back home runs to Lou Gehrig and Reggie Jackson, and another homer to Harmon Killebrew that gave Oakland a 4-2 lead early. Al Kaline hit a 3-run shot off Lefty Grove in the 6th to put the Swats back on top. It was Kaline’s 2nd homer of the game. But Jackson hit his own 2nd home run of the game in the 8th off reliever Ted Lyons to tie it, and Lou Boudreau hit a 2-out solo shot in the 9th to put the Jacks on top. Mariano Rivera got two easy out to start the 9th before Ripken connected with a single. Babe Ruth drilled a double into the gap to tie the game back up and send it to extra innings. In the 11th, Hoyt retired Adrián Beltré, but allowed singles to Rod Carew and Harry Heilmann. That’s when Ripken followed with his clutch hit to win it for New York 7-6. Satchel Paige pitched two scoreless innings to earn the win.

Jacks @ Swats – 4/7/23

Shortly after announcing his retirement, Cole Hamels was on his way to join the Chicago Docs roster in Season 2 of the Baseball Maelstrom POPs League. The Docs roster is made up of major leaguers who aren’t in the Hall of Fame, but are retired from Major League Baseball. Roy Oswalt was removed from the Chicago roster to make room for Hamels. The Los Angeles Dynamos spoiled his 1st start, scoring 7 runs on 10 hits in just 6 innings against the new starter, topping Chicago 7-2. Frank Robinson hit a 2-run homer for his 1st home run of the season. Chipper Jones hit an RBI double in the 7th to score Barry Larkin to end Hamels’ night. Meanwhile, Tom Seaver scattered 9 hits, allowing just 2 runs and striking out 11 in 8 innings for LA. It was just the 2nd loss of the season for Chicago.

Dynamos @ Docs – 4/7/23

Splinters’ Slugger Mickey Mantle’s 8th inning home run put Boston on top on their way to a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Rockets. The loss was Detroit’s 3rd straight after a 4-0 start. Boston has now won 6 straight to improve to 6-1. Boston’s Frank Thomas hit his league-leading 5th homer in the 4th off Frank Tanana to break a 0-0 tie. In the 5th, Dick Allen hit an RBI double off Jim Palmer to tie the game, and Miguel Cabrera drove him in with a base hit to put the Rockets up 2-1. Tanana had retired 14 straight batters before Ted Williams hit a 2-out double in the 8th. That’s when Mantle took the next pitch deep to put the Splinters back on top 3-2. Alan Trammell added a solo shot of his own off Dan Quisenberry to extend the lead to 4-2. Rollie Fingers pitched a perfect 9th for his 3rd save. Palmer walked 6 and allowed 7 hits in 8 innings. Boston also committed 3 errors, but still came out on top to improve Palmer to 2-0.

Splinters @ Rockets – 4/7/23

Everything has been clicking for the Chicago Docs. After finishing in last place in the 1st season of the league, the team has been much better this year. Ace Dwight Gooden had another strong start, shutting out the Los Angeles Dynamos and allowing just 3 hits to improve to 2-0. While he struck out only 5 and walked 4, he still kept LA hitters off-balance. Dynamo starter Don Drysdale also pitched well, but a mistake to Jim Edmonds yielded a 2-run home run en route to a 3-0 loss in his 1st start. A Barry Bonds RBI triple in the 1st provided the other run. Chicago is now 5-1 to start the season. Todd Helton continued to lead the LA offense, providing 2 of the 3 Dynamos hits to improve his average to .381. Ron Santo walked 3 times, but is still hitting just .083.

Dynamos @ Docs – 4/6/23

For 6 innings, Houston’s Bob Gibson and St. Louis’ Robin Roberts battled it out in a pitcher’s duel. In the 7th, the Hoots finally got to Roberts with a 4-run inning, capped by a 3-run home run by Oscar Charleston that put Houston up 5-0. The 8th more than doubled that score. Feasting on reliever Dizzy Dean, Willie Stargell hit a solo homer to lead off the inning. With 2 outs, Dean allowed 5 straight hits and 4 more runs before Rube Marquard tried to stop the bleeding. Stargell had other thoughts, taking Marquard deep for a 3-run shot, his 2nd homer in the inning. Stargell had also hit a warning track shot in the 6th. Stargell finished 3 for 5 with a double, 2 homers, and 4 RBI. Yet, Stargell was somewhat overshadowed by Gibson. Gibson took a no-hitter into the 6th, finishing with just 3 hits allowed in a complete game shutout, striking out 9. On Willie Mays Night, Mays finished 1 for 3 with a double and a couple of great catches in the 13-0 loss. The loss drops St. Louis to 1-5, a bad start after leading the National League last year.

Hoots @ Wizards – 4/6/23

Detroit Rockets ace Roger Clemens struck out the side to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the 1st inning. Clemens also escaped with runners in scoring position in the 2nd and 3rd innings. The Rockets took advantage of the 1st of 2 George Brett errors in the 3rd with a 2-run single from Ichiro Suzuki and a 2-run home run from Dick Allen. But in the 5th, Clemens luck ran out, as the 1st seven Boston hitters reached safely, including a 3-run homer by Harold Baines. George Brett and Frank Thomas hit back-to-back homers off Urban Shocker in the 7th to extend the lead on their way to a 12-7 victory. Baines went 5 for 6, as the Splinters collected 24 hits in the game. Bert Blyleven picked up the win, allowing 4 earned runs on 8 hits and striking out 10 in 8 innings to improve to 2-0. Kenny Lofton was 5 for 5 with 3 doubles and 3 runs scored in the losing effort. Boston has now won 5 straight, and they now move into 1st place over Detroit.

Splinters @ Rockets – 4/6/23

The New York Swats overcame a 7-4 deficit against the Oakland Jacks in the 8th inning, eventually winning in the 9th when Roberto Alomar hit a walk-off double to give New York their 1st victory of the season. The Swats’ Bullet Rogan was called upon to make a spot start. Rogan allowed a leadoff home run to Lou Boudreau before striking out the side. Oakland scored a run in each of the next two innings, keeping a 3-3 tie after a 3-run 2nd inning from the Swats. Harry Heilmann hit a solo shot against Bob Lemon to give the Swats a lead heading into the 7th. That’s when Rogan lost control. Rogan issued 3 of his 4 walks in an inning extended by a rare error by Cal Ripken Jr. Jimmie Foxx’s 2-run single gave Oakland a 6-4 lead, extended to 7-4 when Hank Greenberg hit a solo shot off Red Ruffing in relief. But in the 8th, Paul Molitor doubled, and Bob Lemon walked the next two batters to load the bases with one out. Whitey Ford couldn’t save him, as Ford allowed two singles and walked in a run to tie the game. In the 9th, Molitor walked with one out, and Alomar drilled the next pitch from Ford into the gap to win it for the Swats 8-7. Rogan struck out 8 in 7 innings of work in his 1st start. The Swats are now 1-5 after losing the 1st 5 games of the season.

Jacks @ Swats – 4/6/23