New York Swats’ Walter Johnson was the latest pitcher to be punished by the Boston Splinters lineup, though he held on longer than most. In his first start, the Big Train allowed 5 runs in the first two innings. Despite getting into trouble in nearly every inning, Johnson held Boston scoreless for the next 4 innings. Meanwhile, the Swats cut the Splinters’ lead to 5-3. In the 8th, Johnson tired and fell apart, capped by a Rickey Henderson grand slam. Boston won it 10-4. Lefty Grove allowed 3 runs in 7 innings, improving to 3-0. The loss dropped the Swats to 4-9. The Splinters improved to 10-3 and look like the team to beat in the AL.

New York @ Boston

Rogers Hornsby entered today’s game in Los Angeles hitting under .150, and was 0 for 3 entering the 9th, but came up clutch when it counted most, spoiling a Greg Maddux shutout. The Wizards’ Robin Roberts was nearly Maddux’s equal. Chuck Klein’s lead-off triple in the 4th had led to the only run to that point. LA’s Maddux retired Ted Simmons on a lazy flyout to lead off the 9th. Tony Gwynn slapped a base hit for just the 4th St. Louis base hit of the day. Orlando Cepeda took over for Gwynn on the basepaths as the tying run. Maddux then got one too far inside to Oscar Charleston, who took first on a hit-by-pitch. That brought up Hornsby, who hit a double into the gap, scoring Cepeda and Charleston to give the Wizards the lead, chasing Maddux. Trevor Hoffman retired the next two batters to get out of the inning. Bruce Sutter came in for a scoreless 9th for his 5th save as the Wizards topped the Dynamos 2-1. The win was the 7th straight for the Wizards, improving their record to 11-1 as they continue to find new ways to win.

The Boston Splinters run machine met the worst pitching staff with predictable results. The Splinters batted around in back-to-back innings and hit 5 homeruns on their way to a 14-6 win over the New York Swats. Tony Oliva hit his 2nd grand slam of the season, but it was Ted Williams who continued to lead the team. Williams went 3 for 5 with his league-leading 7th homerun. Through 12 games, he’s hitting .490. New York started hot, with Lou Boudreau taking advantage of a Harmon Killebrew miscue, hitting a 3-run homer in the 3rd to put the Swats up 5-1 heading into the 4th. That’s when the damage began, with Boston plating 5 runs in the 4th and 7 in the 5th against Bob Lemon and Early Wynn. Catfish Hunter picked up the win, scattering 10 hits and striking out 7 in 7 innings. Boston improved to 9-3, while New York fell to 4-8.

Randy Johnson allowed a 1st inning Sammy Sosa solo homerun, but not much else to lead the Houston Hoots to a 5-2 win over the Chicago Docs. Meanwhile, Gary Carter’s 3-run homer in the 2nd capped a 4-run inning for the Hoots against the Docs’ Curt Schilling. Johnson allowed just 1 earned run and 3 hits over 7 innings while striking out 8. Hoyt Willhelm allowed a run in the 8th, but Lee Smith pitched a scoreless 9th. Houston has now won 4 straight, after 7 straight losses to improve to 5-8. Meanwhile, Chicago has dropped 5 straight to fall to 4-9.

Oakland starter Mike Mussina couldn’t overcome a 3-run 1st inning, capped by Dick Allen’s 2-run homer, picking up his 1st loss of the season. Mussina scattered 7 hits over the next 5 innings of work, allowing just one more run. Jim Kaat kept things close with 2 scoreless innings of relief work. Allen was 2 for 4 for the Rockets, improving his average to a team-leading .380. Meanwhile, Rockets starter Frank Tanana kept Jacks hitters off balance. Tanana allowed 3 of his 5 hits in the 2nd inning when the Jacks scored 2 of their runs. Hank Greenberg connected for a solo shot in the 6th for another. Despite Tanana not notching any strikeouts, only a handful of Jacks hitters got the ball out of the infield. Tom Henke came in to close out the 9th, picking up his 2nd save. Both teams are now 6-7.