Dave McNally held the dangerous Boston Red Sox lineup to just one run on 7 hits in 8 innings, but Gregg Olson nearly blew it in the 9th. Boston’s Cy Young allowed a solo home run to Frank Robinson in the 2nd and a 2-run homer to Jim Gentile in the 6th to give the Orioles the lead. A Wade Boggs error in the 7th lead to another unearned run. With a 4-1 lead, Baltimore turned to Olson. A Bobby Doerr double and two walks loaded the bases for Boston with one out. After Baltimore couldn’t turn the double play on a Dwight Evans grounder, Tris Speaker knocked in another run with a 2-out single and then stole 2nd to put the winning run in scoring position. But Wade Boggs hit a sharp grounder to Gentile to end the threat and the game, giving the Orioles a 4-3 upset. Boston was the #2 seed in the American League. They’ll now face the #7 seed Houston Astros in the Loser’s Bracket. Baltimore will face Oakland. Cy Young pitched a complete game, but didn’t strike out a single batter.

Baltimore @ Boston – 10/1/23

Nolan Ryan had a rough start for the Houston Astros. Reggie Jackson got the Oakland Athletics offense going against Ryan with a 3-run home run in the 4th. But 2 innings later, Mickey Cochrane kicked off a 7-run inning with a bases-loaded triple that chased the Hall of Fame hurler. Overall, Ryan allowed 7 earned runs on 5 hits and 5 walks, while also striking out 5. Astros relievers didn’t do much better, with Hal Woodeshick and J.R. Richard allowing a combined 7 more runs, capped by a 2-run shot by Jason Giambi. Chief Bender picked up the win, despite allowing 3 homers himself. Alan Ashby hit a 2-run home run in the 5th, and Richard Hidalgo and Morgan Ensberg hit back-to-back homers in the 6th. In the end, Oakland topped Houston 14-5 in the highest-scoring game in the Baseball Maelstrom tournament so far. Cochrane finished 3 for 4 with 3 RBI.

Oakland @ Houston – 10/1/23

Dean Chance became the 2nd pitcher in as many games to earn a shutout. Chance and the Los Angeles Angels held the Tampa Bay Rays scoreless on just 3 hits today in front of the home crowd at Angels Stadium. Chance retired the 1st 11 hitters he faced before Carlos Peña drew a walk in the 4th inning. While the Rays collected 3 singles, all 3 were erased by double plays. Meanwhile, Mike Trout hit a 2-run home run off David Price in the 2nd, and Troy Glaus hit a 2-run double the following inning. Overall, Price allowed 5 runs in 7 innings, walking 5 but striking out 8. Chance walked 1 and struck out 5. The Angels advance to face Cleveland tomorrow, while Tampa Bay will host Texas.

Tampa Bay @ Los Angeles (A) – 10/1/23

Cleveland’s Addie Joss became the first pitcher in the Baseball Maelstrom tournament to pitch a shutout, holding the Texas Rangers scoreless on 6 hits. Joss struck out 5. Fergie Jenkins was nearly as good for the Rangers. Jenkins allowed 7 hits and struck out 4 in his 8 innings for a complete game. Manny Ramírez provided the only offense, hitting a 2-run homer in the 4th that scored Jim Thome. Texas left runners in scoring position in 4 different innings. No player on either team had more than 1 hit.

Texas @ Cleveland – 10/1/23

Pedro Martínez didn’t allow a baserunner until the 5th, but some wildness kept the game close against the Homestead Grays, who scored in the 10th thanks to an Al Oliver error to win it 5-4. Tim Raines got the Nationals on the board with a leadoff solo home run in a 3-run Washington 4th. It was in the 7th that Martínez got into a jam, loading the bases with no outs. It looked like he might get through it when he struck out Sam Bankhead and George Scales, but Matt Carlisle worked a bases-loaded walk, and an inside pitch hit Josh Gibson to tie the game. The teams traded runs in the 9th. In the 10th, Jud Wilson and Vic Harris hit back-to-back singles before Oliver dropped a throw, allowing Wilson to score. Oliver had a chance at redemption when he singled in the bottom half of the inning, but Wilmer Fields got José Vidro to ground into a game-ending double play. Jerry Benjamin finished 3 for 5 to lead Homestead. The Grays will play the Miami Marlins tomorrow while the Nationals play the San Francisco Giants in the Loser’s Bracket.

Homestead @ Washington – 10/1/23

Darryl Strawberry and John Olerud each drove in 3 runs, and Dwight Gooden showed flashes of brilliance as the New York Mets topped the Cincinnati Reds 6-2 to advance in the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament. Strawberry’s solo home run off Dolf Luque got the Mets on the board in the 3rd, but it was the 5th inning that they blew things wide open. Strawberry hit a 2-out, 2-run single, and two batters later, John Olerud connected for a 3-run shot to put the Mets up 6-0. Frank Robinson hit a 2-run double in the 6th, but got doubled up on a George Foster line-drive to José Reyes to end the threat. Gooden allowed just 5 hits in 8 innings while striking out 9. The 12th-seeded Mets came in as underdogs against the #4 seed Reds. They’ll face the Phillies tomorrow at home.

New York (N) @ Cincinnati – 10/1/23

Mordecai Brown took a 3-hit 3-0 shutout into the 9th for the Chicago Cubs, backed by 2 home runs by Derek Lee off Philadelphia starter Pete Alexander. But that’s when things fell apart. With one out, Dick Allen singled, and Dolph Camilli walked. That brought up Greg Luzinski, who had one of the three Philly hits earlier in his last at-bat. Luzinski took a 2-2 pitch deep to center for the game-tying 3-run shot. Mike Lieberthal followed with a home run of his own to give the Phillies the 4-3 lead and an incredible come-from-behind victory. Tug McGraw picked up the save, allowing a single but striking out two. The 4th-seeded Cubs now fall to the loser’s bracket and try to overcome the stunning loss.

Philadelphia @ Chicago (N) – 10/1/23

Miami starter Kevin Brown held the San Francisco Giants to just 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 10 in 8 innings to become the 2nd 16-seed of the day to advance in the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament. Carlos Delgado was 3 for 5 with a home run, driving in 3 runs against Christy Mathewson. Miami’s bullpen nearly blew it in the 9th. A.J. Ramos allowed back-to-back homers to Barry Bonds and Willie McCovey, and another to Kevin Mitchell to cut the Marlin lead to 6-5. Armando Benítez walked the first two batters he faced before getting Roger Bresnahan to ground out and striking out Jeff Kent to end the game. The top-seeded New York Yankees lost earlier today to the Seattle Mariners.

Miami @ San Francisco – 10/1/23

Denny McLain allowed just one run on 2 hits and walked one while striking out 7 in 8 innings to advance the Detroit Tigers over the Kansas City Royals in the first round of the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament. Kansas City’s Bret Saberhagen was nearly as good. Saberhagen allowed 3 straight hits and walked in a run in the 3rd inning, but allowed only two other baserunners. He finished with 2 earned runs on 4 hits and 3 walks in 7 innings. Mickey Cochrane was 2 for 3 with a run and an RBI for the Tigers. Detroit will host the White Sox tomorrow in the 2nd round of the Tournament. Meanwhile, the Royals will travel to Minnesota to face the Twins in the Loser’s Bracket.

Kansas City @ Detroit – 10/1/23

Carl Reynolds and Minnie Miñoso provided the power, and Ed Walsh provided the pitching as the Chicago White Sox held off the Minnesota Twins to win on the first day of the Baseball Maelstrom Triple-Elimination Tournament. The Twins jumped out with a run in the 1st, but the White Sox got it back in the 3rd. In the 4th, Miñoso hit a 2-run home run to put Chicago up 3-1. In the 6th, the Twins tied it up with back-to-back 2-out singles by Joe Cronin and Mickey Vernon. That’s when Reynolds took Walter Johnson deep for another 2-run homer by Chicago. Luke Appling added an RBI single in the 7th to provide an insurance run, which the Sox needed. After Goose Gosling hit a leadoff 8th inning homer against Dámaso Marte, Vernon hit a leadoff triple and scored off Bobby Thigpen in the 9th to pull to within a run, but Chuck Knoblauch grounded out to end the game. Johnson allowed 5 runs on just 5 hits, including the two homers, in the loss. Walsh allowed 7 hits in 7 innings while striking out 7. Goslin and Vernon both had 3 hits in the loss.

Minnesota @ Chicago (A) – 10/1/23