After a 12-1 victory in Detroit in Game 5, the St. Louis Wizards were ready to ride the momentum back in St. Louis with ace Steve Carlton on the mound for Game 6. Carlton pitched out of a bases-loaded no-out jam in the 2nd, and the Rockets stranded a runner on 3rd in the 3rd inning, but Manny Ramírez opened up the 4th with a solo home run to kick off a 3-run Detroit inning. Carlton exited after 7 innings, having allowed 8 hits but striking out 8. Meanwhile, Frank Tanana was having the game of the season. Tanana walked Oscar Charleston to lead off the bottom of the 1st but then retired the next 21 batters he faced, striking out 8 himself. Fergie Jenkins lasted just 3 hitters in the 8th for St. Louis, but allowed a critical insurance run before John Smoltz got out of the jam. Larry Walker ended Tanana’s no-hitter and the shutout with a solo shot to lead off the Wizards’ 8th. Tony Gwynn followed with a single that ended Tanana’s day. Dan Quisenberry got out of the inning with just one more run scored, but it was too little too late. Tom Henke pitched a perfect 9th for the Detroit Rockets to take the 1st Baseball Maelstrom World Series with a 4-2 victory. Despite being heavy favorites, the Wizards’ pitching staff proved to be no match for the Detroit offense. On top of that Quisenberry and Henke combined to allow just 4 hits and 0 runs in 9 innings of relief.

Detroit @ St. Louis – 6/10/22 (Detroit Wins the Series 4-2)

Facing elimination on the road, the St. Louis Wizards put on a power display against Bret Saberhagen in Game 5 of the World Series. Saberhagen allowed 7 runs in 3 1/3 innings, including 4 homeruns. Two of those were 2-run shots by Rogers Hornsby, who is hitting .476 this Series. Stan Musial and Willie McCovey added back-to-back homers against Urban Shocker in the 8th. It was also McCovey’s 2nd home run of the game. All told, St. Louis scored 12 runs on 17 hits. Juan Marichal allowed just 1 run and 7 hits in 8 innings of work. The Series now heads back to St. Louis, where Steve Carlton will face Frank Tanana with the Rockets now up 3-2.

St. Louis @ Detroit – 6/8/22 (Detroit leads the Series 3-2)

Bobby Grich had just 32 at-bats in the regular season, mostly against left-handed starters. With an abundance of left-handed pitching for the St. Louis Wizards, Grich knew that he would be called on to step up, and he’s done just that. Batting in the #9 spot, Grich hit a 3-run homerun in the 2nd inning that made the home crowd at Tiger Stadium go wild. Grich hit just .250 on the season and hadn’t hit a homer all year until this night. Overall, he finished 2 for 4 and is hitting .455 in the Series. Meanwhile, Roger Clemens allowed just 5 hits and a 1st inning run in 7 innings to put the Detroit Rockets up 3-1 and one win away from a World Championship. St. Louis had taken last night’s game to avoid a potential sweep. Once again, Carl Hubbell picked up the loss, allowing 6 runs in 7 innings as they Wizards lost 6-2. Detroit will have a chance in Game 5 to win it all at home. If not, the Series will move back to St. Louis for Game 6 and 7.

St. Louis @ Detroit – 6/7/22 (Detroit leads the Series 3-1)

When Álex Rodríguez and Dick Allen hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the 1st, Wizards fans feared the worst. But Steve Carlton allowed just 4 more hits and struck out 10 in 8 innings of work. Meanwhile, Mike Piazza hit 2 homers and drove in 5 runs for St. Louis against Detroit’s Frank Tanana. Tanana was pulled after the 2nd Piazza homer in the 6th. In the end, the St. Louis Wizards topped the Detroit Rockets 7-3 to cut their series lead to 2-1. Chipper Jones was 2 for 4 with a homer, driving in the other 2 St. Louis runs. The home team is still looking for a win this Series. The teams face off tomorrow at 7pm in Detroit with a repeat of Game 1 starters, Carl Hubbell and Roger Clemens.

St. Louis @ Detroit – 6/6/22 (Detroit leads the Series 2-1)

When Rogers Hornsby hit a solo home run in the 8th inning against Bret Saberhagen to extend the St. Louis Wizards lead to 4-2, the St. Louis Wizards looked poised to even up the World Series at a game a piece. Bruce Sutter came in to close things out. But the Detroit Rockets had other plans. Lou Whitaker and Kenny Lofton led off with base hits. Sutter struck out Ichiro Suzuki to get back on track, but Álex Rodríguez followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 4-3. Sutter struck out Dick Allen and seemed ready to end the threat, but pinch-hitter Mark McGwire took the next pitch into the gap for a game-tying double. Both teams were quiet until the 14th when Warren Spahn retired the first two Rockets hitters. Then, Charlie Blackwell doubled, and Bobby Veach followed with a go-ahead 2-run homer. Detroit would score six 2-out runs against Spahn and Fergie Jenkins to take Game 2 10-5 and carry momentum as the teams head to Detroit for Game 3. Rodríguez would finish 3 for 7 with 5 RBI. Rockets relievers allowed just one run in 6 innings of work.

Detroit @ St. Louis – 6/4/22 (Detroit leads the Series 2-0)

The underdog Detroit Rockets showed the St. Louis Wizards why they were the best team in the American League, taking the 1st game of the World Series 4-3 on the road. The Wizards had a runner on 3rd with no outs in each of the first two innings, but Clemens struck out 2 each time to get out of the jam. After a Larry Walker 3-run home run in the 3rd, Clemens allowed just 1 hit over the next 4 innings. Meanwhile, the Detroit offense kept up the pressure against lefty Carl Hubbell, putting men in scoring position in every inning but the 7th against him. Álex Rodríguez was 3 for 5 with a solo shot, and the 7-8-9 hitters were 7 for 12. Dan Quisenberry pitched a perfect 8th, and Tom Henke followed with a perfect 9th to pick up the save. St. Louis came into the Series as heavy favorites, but the Rockets were the team in control today, despite a 3-5 record against left-handed starters during the regular season.

Detroit @ St. Louis – 6/3/22 (Detroit leads the Series 1-0)

Greg Maddux allowed just 4 hits in 7 innings, but one of those hits was a 2-run homer by Hank Aaron. It was Aaron’s 14th homer of the season, tying him with LA’s Eddie Mathews for 2nd place in the National League. The Dynamos finally got to Bob Gibson in the 8th. Gibson had held the Dynamos to 1 run until then, but a double, single, and triple knotted the score at 3-3. Relievers Trevor Hoffman and Lee Smith each pitched 3 scoreless innings of 1-hit ball. But in the 11th, Goose Gossage hung the very 1st pitch to Jeff Bagwell, who took it deep to win it 4-3 for the Hoots. LA fell to 27-27, while Houston pulled to within a game to close out the season.

Los Angeles @ Houston – 5/31/22

Jim Palmer bounced back from his worst start of the season, allowing just 1 hit in his first 6 innings of work. Frank Thomas hit a 2-run home run to give Boston a lead. But in the 7th, Oakland fought back. Robin Yount led off the inning with a solo homer, Hank Greenberg singled, and George Brett walked before Joe DiMaggio hit an RBI single to tie the game. Reggie Jackson led off the next inning with a solo homer to put the Jacks ahead 3-2. Jim Kaat allowed just 2 runs on 7 hits in 8 innings, and Mariano Rivera picked up his 8th save. Lou Gehrig made things interesting with a 2-out pinch-hit triple, but Tony Oliva flew out to end the game. The win completed a 5-game sweep of the Splinters to end the season. Boston ended the season at 27-27, just a game ahead of Oakland.

Boston @ Oakland – 5/31/22

The Chicago Docs ended the season on a high note, holding on to beat the St. Louis Wizards 6-5 at Wrigley Field. Todd Helton hit a 2-out, 3-run home run in the 3rd that put the Docs ahead for good. Roy Oswalt was given his 1st start of the season and allowed just 3 runs in 6 innings to pick up his 1st win after a season in the bullpen. Billy Wagner earned his 11th save. For Wizards starter Robin Roberts, the disappointment continued. Roberts allowed 6 runs on 12 hits in 7 innings to fall to 3-7. He’s lost his last 7 decisions dating back to April 21st. Stan Musial hit his Maelstrom-leading 17th homer. Chicago finished 19-35, while St. Louis prepares for their trip to the World Series.

St. Louis @ Chicago – 5/31/22