Juan Marichal was stellar through 8 innings, allowing just one run on 4 hits against the Houston Hoots to help the Wizards on their way to their 30th win. Fergie Jenkins nearly blew it. Duke Snider hit a 2-run homer with 2 outs to get the Hoots to within a run of St. Louis. But Bruce Sutter struck out Willie Stargell with the tying run on 2nd to pick up his 13th save. Stan Musial stayed hot, going 3 for 4 with a triple and his league-leading 16th home run. Burleigh Grimes was on the losing end for the Hoots, allowing 6 runs in 8 innings, 3 of which came on a Ted Simmons bases-loaded double. The win gives the Wizards an 6-game lead in the National League with just 8 left to play.

St. Louis @ Houston – 5/22/22

Just one day after Satchel Paige blew a save and the New York Swats lost in 14 innings, Paige blew another, and the Swats lost in 13 innings. Bob Lemon and Bert Blyleven each allowed 2 runs in 9 innings before turning it over to a depleted bullpen. New York’s Jimmie Foxx hit a solo shot off Whitey Ford in the 11th, but Paige allowed a solo home run to Hank Greenberg in the bottom of the inning. Greenberg finished the game 4 for 5, scoring 3 times. Finally, Red Faber allowed a Robin Yount home run to lead off the 13th to lose the game for the Swats. Oakland improved to 21-24, while the Swats dropped to 19-27 after their 2nd straight heart-breaking loss.

New York @ Oakland – 5/22/22

Sandy Koufax shutout the Chicago Docs each of the last two times he faced them. Today, it only took two batters before the Docs put a run on the board. Jimmy Rollins and Albert Pujols hit back-to-back doubles in the 1st inning as the Chicago Docs topped Koufax and the Los Angeles Dynamos 3-1 to complete a 4-game sweep in Los Angeles. Buster Posey was 3 for 4 for Chicago. Dwight Gooden took a shutout into the 9th before Chuck Klein’s sacrifice fly gave LA their only run. The Dynamos have lost 8 of their last 9, and head to St. Louis needing a miracle to catch the Wizards in the National League.

Chicago @ Los Angeles – 5/22/22

The Boston Splinters had a chance to pull within 1/2 game of the Detroit Rockets in the American League, and starter Jim Palmer gave them that shot, taking a 5-hit shutout through 9 innings. But Detroit’s Roger Clemens was even better. Clemens allowed just 3 hits in 9 innings of work himself, taking a 0-0 tie into extra innings. Ichiro Suzuki finally broke the tie with a 2-out solo homerun against Palmer in the 10th. It was only Suzuki’s 2nd homer of the season. Tom Henke pitched a scoreless 10th for his 12th save of the season. Henke got two quick outs before Biz Mackey singled and Rickey Henderson walked, but Tony Oliva flew out to end the game. Detroit improved to 27-19 and has a 2 1/2 game lead over Boston after taking 3 of 4 in the series at Fenway.

Detroit @ Boston – 5/22/22

Greg Maddux, making his first start for the Los Angeles Dynamos in nearly two weeks, struggled with uncharacteristic control issues in the 6th inning against the last-place Chicago Docs. Maddux walked 3 straight, including walking in a run. With two outs in the inning, Pete Rose hit a 2-run double to give the Docs the lead. Chicago starter Jerry Koosman allowed just one run in 8 innings, keeping LA to 7 hits. A Johnny Bench solo homer was the only Dynamos run. Los Angeles has now lost 4 straight and 7 of their last 8. With a Wizard loss earlier in the day, LA had the chance to make up some ground, but it didn’t happen. They have one last game against the Docs to avoid the sweep before they face the 1st-place Wizards in a 4-game series that could end their hopes for the season.

Chicago @ Los Angeles – 5/21/22

David Cone and Catfish Hunter dueled to a 2-2 tie in the 8th before the Boston Splinters’ big inning saw them pull ahead to top the Detroit Rockets and move closer in the American League. Detroit’s Cone allowed solo home runs to Lou Gehrig and Charlie Gehringer in the 4th and 5th. The Rockets responded against Hunter, with Lou Whitaker scoring on Kenny Lofton’s RBI double in the 5th, and Ichiro Suzuki’s RBI triple in the 7th. Rickey Henderson led off the 8th for Boston with a double, and Tony Oliva singled before Luis Tiant replaced Cone for the Rockets. Ted Williams doubled home both runners to give the Splinters the lead, and Lou Gehrig followed two batters later with his 2nd homer of the game to add some insurance. The 6-2 win pulls Boston back to within 1 1/2 games of Detroit in the American League. The teams finish their 4-game series tomorrow.

Detroit @ Boston – 5/21/22

Wizards starter Robin Roberts continued his May struggles, allowing 5 runs in 7 innings against the Houston Hoots. Roberts allowed just 5 hits, but 3 of those were home runs. Roberto Clemente hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning, and Mike Schmidt and Hank Aaron hit solo shots in the 2nd and 4th. Houston’s Bob Gibson pitched out of several jams to take a shutout into the 8th before the Wizards finally scored 2 runs. Rube Marquard allowed 2 more without retiring a batter in the 9th, both runs from a double by Tony Gwynn, but Lee Smith was perfect to close out the game for his 13th save, giving Houston the 6-4 win. Roberts is now 0-5 in May. Houston has now taken 2 of 3 from the Wizards, improving to 21-24. Meanwhile, St. Louis dropped to 29-16, giving the Los Angeles Dynamos a small 4 1/2 game window to catch up in the National League.

St. Louis @ Houston – 5/21/22

The New York Swats and Oakland Jacks combined for 6 errors, including two each from Alan Trammell and Tris Speaker, but the real story was the longest game of the season, marked by a couple of blown saves. The Swats rode a 3-1 lead into the 8th thanks to two unearned runs in a 3-error 5th inning by the Jacks. But Walter Johnson’s luck ran out when he gave up a 2-run homer to Reggie Jackson, and an unearned run to give Oakland the lead in the bottom of the 8th. Down to their final out in the 9th and facing Oakland closer Mariano Rivera, Ken Griffey Jr. hit a solo shot to tie the game. The Jacks nearly won it in the 13th, but stranded Robin Yount on 3rd with one out. The Swats hadn’t had a baserunner since Griffey’s homerun when pinch-hitter Lou Boudreau hit a lead-off single in the 14th and later scored on a Wade Boggs sacrifice fly. Satchel Paige came in for the Swats, but served up the game-tying home run to Minnie Miñoso. Reggie Jackson walked, and Nellie Fox singled before Rod Carew hit a double in the gap to win it for Oakland 6-5. Rod Carew finished the game 4 for 7. The Jacks improved to 20-24, while the Swats fell to 19-26.

New York @ Oakland – 5/21/22

Houston’s Randy Johnson nearly shut out the St. Louis Wizards, striking out 13 for the 2nd straight game as the Hoots topped the Wizards 2-1 at the Astrodome. St. Louis starter Carl Hubbell allowed just 6 hits, but 3 of those came in the 1st inning, including a leadoff home run from Arky Vaughan. Hank Aaron had an RBI double in the inning too. It would be the only 2 runs Houston would score, but it was enough. Vaughan would finish 2 for 4. Johnson took a shutout into the 9th before Stan Musial hit his league-leading 15th homer, a solo shot. Johnson allowed just 3 hits. It was Hubbell’s 1st loss of the season. St. Louis will wait another day to attempt to get to 30 wins. They’re currently 29-15. Houston improved to 20-24.

St. Louis @ Houston – 5/20/22

One inning and a lack of offense spoiled great games by Oakland Jacks’ Hank Greenberg and Bob Feller. Feller took a no-hitter into the 6th, but allowed 3 hits and 2 runs that inning. He only allowed 4 hits in 9 innings of work, but those 2 runs were enough to send the game to extra innings. New York’s Hal Newhouser scattered 9 hits in his 9 innings of work, but only 2 runs himself. Jacks reliever Bullet Rogan allowed the 1st 4 hitters he faced to reach base in the 10th, capped by a Babe Ruth RBI single to give the Swats a 3-2 lead. Satchel Paige allowed a leadoff single to Robin Yount in the bottom of the inning, but Tris Speaker followed by grounding into a double play. Greenberg followed with a double, but Joe Gordon popped out to end the game. Greenberg was 5 for 5 with 3 doubles. New York improved to 19-25, while Oakland fell to 19-24. Time is running out for either team to catch Detroit or Boston in the American League.

New York @ Oakland – 5/20/22