New York Swats fans have waited patiently for Babe Ruth to break out. Today, he showed flashes of what he could do, going 2 for 2 with an RBI single, a 2-run homer, and 3 walks against the Boston Splinters. The Swats handed Lefty Grove his 1st loss of the season. Grove gave up 6 runs in 6 innings, allowing 9 hits and walking 5. Swats starter, Nolan Ryan, had another strong outing, allowing just 3 hits and one run in 8 innings, striking out 8. Ryan is now 3-3 and hasn’t allowed more than 2 runs in his last 4 starts. Wade Boggs went 3 for 4 and is now hitting .365 for New York. Satchel Paige had a shaky inning of relief for the Swats, allowing a run on one hit and 2 walks in the 9th. The win improved the Swats to 10-15 and snapped their 5-game losing streak, while Boston fell to 14-10.

New York @ Boston – 4/27/22

Heavy rains in Chicago washed out today’s game between the Houston Hoots and the Chicago Docs. The game will be made up Thursday, a scheduled off-day for the two teams before the All-Star break. Chicago is in last place in the National League, just one game behind Houston. Dizzy Dean was slated to pitch for the Hoots, but the added day off will likely allow Houston to bring out Tom Seaver instead. Chicago’s ace, Dwight Gooden, is scheduled to start for the Docs.

The Boston Splinters topped the Detroit Rockets in a game rescheduled due to rain earlier in the week. Rockets starter Roger Clemens and Splinters’ hurler Catfish Hunter pitched a scoreless game into the 6th when Ichiro Suzuki put the Rockets on top with an RBI single. The Splinters responded with a 2-run single by Charlie Gehringer. Bobby Veach tied things back up in the 7th with an RBI double. With 2 out in the 7th, the Splinters took the lead for good. Lou Gehrig hit an RBI double, scoring Ted Williams, and Harmon Killebrew followed with a 2-run homer. The Rockets got one run back in the 8th off Dennis Eckersley, but Rollie Fingers pitched a scoreless 9th. The 5-3 win improved Boston’s record to 14-9, while Detroit fell back to 12-12. Despite an American League-best record, it was only the 2nd save for Fingers. Most Boston wins haven’t been close enough to give him the chance. Catfish Hunter improved to 3-2. Clemens is now 4-2.

Detroit @ Boston – 4/26/22

Tony Gwynn was 3 for 3 with a walk, scoring two key runs to lead the St. Louis Wizards over the Houston Hoots at the Astrodome. Wizards starter John Smoltz allowed just 2 runs, both on solo homers, and 8 hits in 7 innings, but Houston had several chances to tie the game. The Hoots left the bases loaded in the 6th after Jeff Bagwell led off the inning with a walk and got caught stealing by Ted Simmons. In the 8th, Smoltz allowed a leadoff homer to Billy Williams and a single to Ryne Sandberg. Fergie Jenkins then struck out Duke Snider, but Hank Aaron followed with a single to put the tying run on 3rd. Mel Ott dribbled one back to Jenkins, and Gary Carter flew out to left to end the inning. Bruce Sutter followed with a 1-2-3 inning in the 9th for his Baseball Maelstrom-leading 8th save. The Wizards improved to 19-5, while the Hoots fell to 9-15.

St. Louis @ Houston – 4/25/22

Oakland Jacks starter Bert Blyleven took a 2-hit shutout into the 9th, overcoming three errors, including two by George Brett in the same inning. With one out, New York Swats slugger Jimmie Foxx hit a solo homer to tie it up. Swats starter Walter Johnson held the Jacks to one run on 8 hits in his 9 innings of work. In the 10th, the Swats’ lack of a solid bullpen showed itself again. While Jacks reliever Ted Lyons pitched a perfect inning, Swats reliever Red Faber allowed a leadoff single to Rod Carew before Joe DiMaggio took the next pitch deep for the walk-off homer. The 3-1 win improves Oakland’s record to 12-11. The sweep hands New York their 5th straight loss and drops them to 9-15.

New York @ Oakland – 4/25/22

The Chicago Docs had high hopes when Albert Pujols retired from Major League Baseball and joined the team in the Baseball Maelstrom. But after 8 games with the team, Pujols was hitting just .188 with just one extra-base hit (a double), an RBI, and a walk. That changed today. Pujols reached on an error and scored in the 2nd, but followed that with a solo homerun and doubles in each of his next two at bats against Los Angeles Dynamos starter Don Drysdale. Chicago Docs starter Orel Hershiser carried a 5-2 lead into the 6th, but Frank Robinson homered with 2 on and 2 out to tie the game. The Dynamos took advantage of a couple of Roy Oswalt walks in the 8th to take a 7-5 lead. Pujols faced LA closer Goose Gossage with a runner on and one out in the 9th, but grounded into a double play to end the game. Los Angeles improved to 12-12, while Chicago fell to 8-16.

Chicago @ Los Angeles – 4/25/22

Gaylord Perry allowed just 2 runs and 7 hits in 7 innings, striking out 4, and Cal Ripken provided the offense as the Boston Splinters topped the Detroit Rockets 7-2. Perry carried a 2-1 lead into the 5th against David Cone when Harmon Killebrew hit a bases-loaded Sac Fly and Ripken followed with a 2-run double to break things open. Ripken added another RBI in the 8th. Teammate Carlton Fisk also hit his 5th homer of the season. Cone allowed 6 runs and 10 hits in 6 innings in the losing effort. Boston extended their lead in the American League and is now 13-9. Detroit fell to 12-11. Yesterday’s game was rained out and will be made up tomorrow.

Detroit @ Boston – 4/25/22

Los Angeles Dynamos starter Greg Maddux struggled against the Chicago Docs. Known for his control, Maddux hit Sammy Sosa with a pitch to lead off the 2nd inning. Sosa scored on a Troy Tulowitzki single later in the inning. Tulowitzki led off the 5th inning with a triple, scoring on Jeff Kent’s RBI single. Maddux then walked Todd Helton and allowed a single to Pete Rose to load the bases before walking Barry Bonds to walk in a run. Overall, Maddux allowed 5 runs in 6 innings, allowing 9 hits. Docs starter Curt Schilling also allowed 9 hits, but LA could only plate 3 runs thanks to poor base running. Sammy Sosa threw out Joe Morgan at the plate in the 1st inning, and Jim Edmonds doubled up Eddie Mathews on a flyout in the 5th. Tom Glavine allowed just one unearned run in relief for Los Angeles, while Kent Tekulve and Billy Wagner teamed up for a scoreless 8th and 9th for Chicago. Wagner earned his 7th save of the season. The loss drops Los Angeles to 11-12, while Chicago improves to 8-15, snapping their 4-game losing streak.

Chicago @ Los Angeles – 4/24/22

The Official Baseball Maelstrom All-Star Ballot has been released. With a league comprised of three teams of Hall of Fame players in each league and a team of greats not in the Hall, the All-Star teams are sure to be stacked. But fans are anxious to see the American League face the National League for the first time since the season began. Festivities are expected to begin with the Baseball Maelstrom Homerun Derby. Fans interested in helping to choose the starters can find the ballot here:

https://forms.gle/TSAD9J1wkXzHzdzYA

Heavy rain has postponed today’s game at Fenway Park between the Detroit Rockets and the Boston Splinters. The teams have been battling for 1st place in the American League as the first half of the season approaches. Boston is currently in 1st place by half a game with a 12-9 record. Detroit is 12-10. The Oakland Jacks are close behind at 11-11. The game has been rescheduled for Tuesday (April 26th), which was a scheduled off-day for both teams.