Nolan Ryan may have Harry Heilmann to thank, after he outdueled David Cone to win his 2nd game this season as the New York Swats beat the Detroit Rockets 3-2. The Swats scraped together 3 runs against Cone in the first 4 innings with some well-placed singles, and a Babe Ruth double. Ryan took a shutout into the 6th when Bobby Veach singled with two on and one out. Charlie Blackwell was waved home, but Harry Heilmann unleashed a perfect throw to Iván Rodríguez to gun him down at home. Adrián Beltré and Lou Whitaker followed with singles of their own before Bill Freehan grounded out to end the inning. The Rockets would only plate one run. Veach homered in the 8th to cut the New York lead to 3-2, but that’s all Detroit could muster, as Satchel Paige picked up just his 2nd save of the season. Paige’s saves have come on Ryan’s only wins this season. The win improved the Swats to 8-10, while Detroit fell to 10-8.

New York @ Detroit – 4/19/22

Los Angeles humiliated the Houston Hoots in both hitting and pitching. The Dynamos’ Sandy Koufax hurled his first shutout of the season, allowing just 6 hits and walking 2 while striking out 6. But the real story was the LA offense, who hit 9 homers, just one shy of the Toronto Blue Jays MLB record set in 1987. Johnny Bench set the tone in the 1st inning off Houston’s Randy Johnson with a 3-run shot. Bench was then ejected in the bottom of the inning while catching for arguing on a close pitch that led to a Ryne Sandberg walk. Johnson gave up 6 homers in 3 innings of work, exiting with a 10-0 deficit. Rube Marquard gave up 3 homers in 3 innings of relief. All told, Chuck Klein and WIllie Mays hit back-to-back homers twice, once in the 2nd and once in the 4th. Johnny Mize and Frank Robinson went back-to-back in the 3rd, and Mize added another homer an inning later. Jackie Robinson also hit a homer in the 3rd. Los Angeles scored 14 runs on 19 hits to improve to 8-10. Houston is now 6-12 and will look to rebound with a severely depleted bullpen.

Los Angeles @ Houston – 4/19/22

The Oakland Jacks saw a rare rainout today as they prepared to host the Boston Splinters. Whitey Ford was set to take the mound against Gaylord Perry. Now they’ll face off tomorrow. The game has been rescheduled for May 27th, which had been a scheduled off-day for both teams before their season-ending series before the post-season. The extra day off could be just what the Splinters need. They came to Oakland riding a 4-game losing streak. Ted Williams was also scheduled to miss the game due to a nagging injury but will likely play tomorrow.

The Chicago Docs took advantage of poor play by the Los Angeles Dynamos to take 2 of 3 games in the series. LA leftfielder Frank Robinson misjudged a flyball in the first, setting up two unearned runs for the Docs against Greg Maddux. A Willie Mays homer in the bottom of the inning off Chicago starter Rick Reuschel would keep them in it, and Johnny Mize’s bases-clearing double in the 6th put the Dynamos up 5-4. Los Angeles brought in Trevor Hoffman to keep the lead in the 8th, but Hoffman loaded the bases with two outs. Chicago’s Pete Rose hit a grounder down the line that Eddie Mathews couldn’t get a glove on, plating two and putting the Docs up 6-5. Kent Tekulve and Billy Wagner pitched a perfect 8th and 9th to give the Docs the win. Chicago improves to 6-11, while the Dynamos fall to 7-10.

Chicago @ Los Angeles – 4/18/22

Boston Splinters starter Jim Palmer struggled with control, walking 9 batters and picking up his 1st loss of the season. Palmer started strong before walking in two runs in the 4th. In the 5th, he walked the bases loaded, and Bobby Veach took advantage, driving in two runs with a single. Rockets starter Frank Tanana allowed a Brooks Robinson homer and 5 singles over 8 innings to pick up his 2nd win. The Rockets have now won 5 straight, including this sweep of Boston, to tie the Splinters at the top of the American League standings. The struggling Splinters have lost 4 straight. Ted Williams’ hitting problems continued with an 0-3 outing. On top of that, Williams will likely miss the next game after injuring himself on a check-swing in the 6th. Joe Cronin went 2 for 4 in his first start for Boston, filling in for a resting Rickey Henderson.

Detroit @ Boston – 4/18/22

Yesterday, the St. Louis Wizards needed their final inning to beat the Houston Hoots. Today, they needed just two innings. Houston Dizzy Dean lasted just 3 innings after allowing 8 earned runs on 11 hits. Meanwhile, Juan Marichal allowed just 2 runs and 5 hits in 8 innings of work to improve to 3-1. Every Wizard had a hit, led by Larry Walker, who went 3 for 5 with a homer and 2 RBI. St. Louis is now a Baseball Maelstrom best 15-2. The loss drops Houston to 6-11.

St. Louis @ Houston – 4/18/22

The New York Swats and Oakland Jacks took a 2-2 tie into the 8th, but Walter Johnson blinked 1st. With 2 outs, Johnson walked Rod Carew, who stole 2nd and scored on Joe DiMaggio’s single. Two batters later, Reggie Jackson hit a 3-run homer to give Oakland some more breathing room with a 6-2 lead. The Swats made it interesting in the 9th off Jim Kaat. With 2 out, George Brett bobbled a sharp grounder. Paul Molitor followed with a pinch-hit single, and Harry Heilmann followed with another single to cut the lead to 6-3. Mariano Rivera came in and got Eddie Collins to ground out to end the game. Both teams are now 7-10. Ben Taylor saw his 1st at-bat for the Swats when Jimmie Foxx was ejected for arguing a 3rd strike call.

New York @ Oakland – 4/18/22

Houston’s Tom Seaver pitched 8 strong innings, allowing just 2 runs and 5 hits in 8 innings before turning over a 4-2 lead to Hoots closer Lee Smith. Smith was a perfect 4 for 4 in save chances this season. But the St. Louis Wizards continue to show that they can find ways to win. Smith struck out Larry Walker to lead off the 9th, but Orlando Cepeda and Ron Santo followed with back-to-back singles. When Smith struck out Mike Piazza, it looked like the tying runs would be left on base. Ozzie Smith hit a bloop single to score Cepeda and cut the lead to one. Oscar Charleston walked to load the bases. That brought up Rogers Hornsby, who was struggling with a .150+ batting average this season. Hornsby drilled a single, scoring Cepeda and Smith to put the Wizards in the lead. Bruce Sutter slammed the door on the Hoots to earn his 6th save. The win improves St. Louis’ record to 14-2, while Houston drops to 6-10.

St. Louis @ Houston – 4/17/22

The Oakland Jacks’ Bert Blyleven allowed just 1 earned run and 7 hits in 7 innings against the New York Swats. However, two costly errors in the 2nd inning ruined his good outing and gave him his first loss of the year. Robin Yount couldn’t handle a Jimmie Foxx grounder to lead off the inning. Blyleven walked Ken Griffey Jr. and Lou Boudreau before Roberto Alomar drove in 2 with a single. Harry Heilmann hit a shallow fly to right. Then, Iván Rodríguez dribbled one to Rod Carew for what should have been the third out of the inning. Carew couldn’t come up with it, and two batters later, Ty Cobb drove in two more with a double. The Swats’ Bob Lemon allowed a leadoff homer to Mickey Cochrane and just one other run to pick up the win. Red Faber was called on to close the game after Satchel Paige was reportedly scratched due to illness. This was Faber’s first relief appearance after losing his spot to Walter Johnson. Joe DiMaggio drove in 2 with a double to put the tying run on 2nd before George Brett grounded to third to end the game. The 5-4 win moved New York out of last place to 7-9, while Oakland fell to 6-10.

New York @ Oakland – 4/17/22

It’s not easy being the backup 1B for the Los Angeles Dynamos. With Johnny Mize as their everyday starter, Gil Hodges had been without an at-bat until the game against the Chicago Docs. In the top of the 1st, Jim Edmonds hit a slow roller down the firstbase line. Edmonds collided with Mize, who held onto the ball for the out but was shaken up on the play. That gave Hodges his shot, and he made the most of it. Hodges went 2 for 3 with a homer and a walk. That solo shot was the only run that Chicago’s Jerry Koosman would allow. Koosman earned his 1st win, allowing just 4 hits. LA’s Jim Bunning allowed 4 runs on 10 hits, picking up the loss. Chicago improved to 5-11, while Los Angeles fell to 7-9.

Chicago @ Los Angeles – 4/17/22