Félix Hernández kept the St. Louis Cardinals off-balance for 6 innings. Meanwhile, back-to-back Seattle base hits against Bob Gibson put the Mariners up 2-0. Finally in the 7th, Hernández tired, allowing a 2-run single to Joe Torre to tie the game. Pinch-hitter Willie McGee walked to load the bases before reliever Bill Swift struck out Yadier Molina and got Lou Brock to line out. Stan Musial’s slump continued as he struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning. In the 8th, Álex Rodríguez launched his 1st home run of the Tournament, a solo shot that gave Seattle a 3-2 lead. Ozzie Smith doubled in the 9th with 2 out, but J.J. Putz got Jim Bottomley to ground out to end the game, giving the Seattle Mariners a 3-2 victory and putting them one win away from winning the Tournament. The Cardinals will need to win the next 2 games to stop them. Hisashi Iwakuma is set to face John Tudor in Game 2.

Seattle @ St. Louis – 10/10/23

For 6 innings, José Fernández lived again. Just 7 years after a boating accident tragically ended his life, Fernández kept the St. Louis Cardinals lineup off balance, allowing just 1 hit into the 7th. Meanwhile, Mort Cooper was nearly as good, but faltered in the 5th. Miami Marlins hitters put up 4 straight hits and broke a scoreless tie to take a 2-0 lead. Finally, in the 7th, Rogers Hornsby led off with just the 2nd Cardinals base hit, and Mark McGwire followed with his 6th home run of the Tournament. All 6 of his Tournament hits have been homers. Miami had a chance to retake the lead in the 8th, with runners on the corners and 1 out, but Al Hrabosky came in and shut them down. After Lou Brock walked and stole 2nd and 3rd in the bottom of the inning, Stan Musial hit a come-backer that A.J. Ramos couldn’t handle. That error opened the door to 3 Cardinal runs, 2 of them unearned. That was enough for Bruce Sutter, who picked up his 4th save with a perfect 9th, as the Cardinals won it 5-2 and knocked out the Marlins. That sends them to the Championship to face the Seattle Mariners. With both teams a perfect 5-0, it’ll essentially be a best of 3 series to decide the winner. Fernández still finished allowing just 4 hits and 2 runs in 6 1/3 innings. Cooper allowed 7 hits and 2 runs in 7 1/3. Hornsby and Joe Torre were both 2 for 3 and are hitting .471 in the Tournament.

Miami @ St. Louis – 10/8/23

Randy Johnson and Jay Buhner were too much for the Los Angeles Angels. Buhner was 3 for 3 with 2 solo home runs against Angels starter Frank Tanana. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles bats were quiet and wasted several opportunities against Johnson. The Big Unit retired the 1st twelve hitters he faced before Troy Glaus singled to lead off the 5th. Mike Trout followed with another single to put runners on the corners with no outs. But Rod Carew flew out to shallow left, Don Baylor struck out, and Bobby Grich flew out to end the inning. The Mariners were already up 3-0 by that point. LA threatened again in the 7th when Glaus led off with a double, and Trout singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. This time, Carew walked to load the bases, but Johnson struck out Baylor and Grich before getting pinch-hitter Vladimir Guerrero to fly out to end the inning. The Angels had another shot the following inning down 4-0. Darin Erstad tripled, and Brian Downing doubled to break up the shutout and end Johnson’s night. Bill Swift walked Tim Salmon before striking out Glaus and getting Trout to fly out. Carew singled, but Ken Griffey Jr. gunned down Downing at the plate to end the inning. J.J. Putz pitched a perfect 9th to send Seattle to the Tournament Championship. Johnson allowed 7 hits and one run while striking out 6 in 7 innings. Tanana allowed just 6 hits, but 4 runs in 7 innings for Los Angeles.

Seattle @ Los Angeles (A) – 10/8/23

Kevin Brown had another stellar game as the Miami Marlins stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 to advance to the National League Championship game. Miami wasted no time getting on top when Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning off Clayton Kershaw. Overall, Kershaw allowed 3 runs in the 1st, 2 more in the 2nd, and another in the 3rd. When Cliff Floyd hit a leadoff homer in the 3rd, the Dodgers had seen enough. Kershaw allowed 7 hits and 6 runs in 2 innings. Orel Hershiser came in and allowed just 3 hits the rest of the way. But that’s all Miami needed, as Kevin Brown turned in his 2nd straight great start. Gary Sheffield hit a 2-run homer in the 4th for the only Dodger runs. Brown allowed just 3 hits and 2 runs while striking out 7 in 7 innings, and the LA offense never really mounted any kind of challenge. Miami will move on to face a St. Louis Cardinals team that gave them their only loss of the Tournament so far. They’ll need to beat them twice.

Miami @ Los Angeles (N) – 10/7/23

Troy Glaus hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning, and the Indians committed 3 errors in the 2nd, which was too much to overcome as they fell to the Los Angeles Angels 5-4. Cleveland starter Gaylord Perry got into trouble in the 2nd when Jim Thome bobbled a Rod Carew grounder to start the inning. With two on and two out, Darin Erstad hit a sharp liner that Thome couldn’t come up with again. Gaylord Perry did the same thing after walking Brian Downing when he couldn’t handle Tim Salmon’s come-backer. The three errors led to two unearned runs. Thome did go 2 for 4 with a homer and 2 RBI, but the errors would end up being the difference, as Francisco Rodríguez pitched a perfect 8th and Brian Harvey followed with a perfect 9th for the save. LA starter Dean Chance allowed 4 runs on 8 hits while striking out 6 in 7 innings. WIth the win, the Angels will advance to play Seattle for the American League Championship. They’ll need to win twice to unseat the Mariners. The Indians will head home after their 4-game winning streak was snapped.

Los Angeles (A) @ Cleveland – 10/7/23

The Elimination Game between the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers saw a pitcher’s duel between Dwight Gooden and Don Drysdale. And both pitchers pitched well. Ron Cey’s 2-run single in the 2nd would be the only Dodger runs. Gooden would finish allowing 8 hits and those 2 runs in 8 innings, walking 3 and only striking out 4. Pitching for the first time in the Tournament, in front of the home crowd, Drysdale allowed just 6 hits. He did get into some trouble in the 7th when he hit Keith Hernandez with a pitch to load the bases with one out. Darryl Strawberry and Cleon Jones grounded out, and Drysdale escaped, allowing just 1 run. Eric Gagné struck out Hernandez with a runner on 2nd to end the game and pick up his 4th save. The 2-1 win sends Los Angeles on to face the Miami Marlins tomorrow. The winner of that game will earn a spot in the National League Championship against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Mets’ Mike Piazza was 2 for 4 to end the series hitting .316. The Dodgers’ Piazza was 0 for 4 this game, but is hitting .364.

New York (N) @ Los Angeles (N) – 10/6/23

The Cleveland Indians grounded into 6 double-plays but still topped the Detroit Tigers 5-3 to become one of the last 3 American League teams in the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament. Detroit jumped out to an early 3-0 lead against Addie Joss, but the Indians had a big 4th inning. Dizzy Trout had gotten out of two bases-loaded jams before the 4th, but that’s when his luck ran out. Nap Lajoie hit a bases-loaded triple, and scored on Sandy Alomar’s base-hit to take the lead. Lajoie drove in another run in the following inning. Joss finished allowing 9 hits and those 3 early runs in 7 innings. Cleveland got another scoreless inning out of Dan Spillner. José Mesa pitched another scoreless 9th to pick up his 4th save in as many days. Cleveland has now won 4 straight, and will play the Los Angeles Angels to determine who will advance to the American League Championship game. Detroit will head home.

Detroit @ Cleveland – 10/6/23

The Los Angeles Dodgers jumped out early against Gaylord Perry and the San Diego Padres, with 4 runs on 9 hits in the 1st two innings. Gary Sheffield did his part to keep it close, hitting a grand slam in the 3rd off Sandy Koufax to briefly give San Diego the lead. But Jackie Robinson tied the game with an RBI double in the bottom of the inning. Then, Matt Kemp hit a go-ahead solo home run in the 5th and another solo shot in the 7th for some insurance. Eric Gagné struck out all 3 hitters he faced in the 9th for his 3rd save, eliminating the Padres from the Tournament with the 8-6 win. Sheffield finished 3 for 4 with 5 RBI for the Padres. Kemp was 3 for 4 with 3 RBI for Los Angeles. Perry finished with 13 hits and 6 earned runs in 5 innings. Koufax picked up his 2nd win, allowing 7 hits and 5 earned runs in 6 innings of work.

San Diego @ Los Angeles (N) – 10/5/23

The Cincinnati Reds found history repeating itself, as they lost for the 2nd time in the Tournament to the New York Mets, this time 7-6, thanks in part to a 5-run 5th inning. Both teams hit 3 home runs, but a Sac Fly eventually decided the game in the 9th. Howard Johnson got the Mets ahead early with a solo homer in the 3rd off Paul Derringer. But Ted Kluszewski responded in the 3rd with a 3-run shot off David Cone to put Cincinnati up 3-1. Two innings later, the Mets had their big inning. Derringer allowed a 2-run home run to Darryl Strawberry, and a 3-run shot to Mike Piazza just 3 batters later. It was a 5-run 5th inning that helped give New York the win in the 1st game between these two teams. This time, a George Foster solo homer and RBI double by Barry Larkin made it 5-4 in the 6th before Frank Robinson tied it in the 8th with his own solo shot against reliever Armando Benítez. In the 9th, Rob Dibble loaded the bases, leading to a Sacrifice Fly by John Olerud. John Franco pitched a perfect 9th to give the Mets their 2nd win over the Reds.

New York (N) @ Cincinnati – 10/5/23

Catfish Hunter lost his 2nd game of the day, allowing 4 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings in a back-and-forth battle with the Cleveland Indians. The New York Yankees’ Catfish Hunter lost earlier in the day. This time, he lost for the Oakland Athletics. Oakland scored first in the 2nd inning on an RBI single by Mickey Cochrane, but Albert Belle homered and Nap Lajoie tripled in the bottom of the inning to put Cleveland on top. Reggie Jackson homered in the 4th, and Jimmie Foxx added an RBI single in the 5th to retake the lead for Oakland against Cliff Lee. An RBI single by Jim Thome and a Sacrifice Fly by Manny Ramírez put the Indians on top for good. Lee finished with 3 runs on 6 hits and 5 walks in 5 innings, but Cleveland relievers allowed just 3 hits and didn’t walk a batter the rest of the way. José Mesa pitched a perfect 9th to collect his 3rd save, and the Oakland Athletics were eliminated from the Tournament. Cleveland will face the Detroit Tigers tomorrow.

Oakland @ Cleveland – 10/5/23