The Wizards needed a spark. Steve Carlton and Willie Mays gave it to them. Carlton allowed 7 hits and 2 runs in 8 innings while striking out 6 to break the St. Louis Wizards’ 8-game losing streak. After a 1st-inning single, Carlton retired 15 straight batters. A Dave Bancroft 2-run triple spoiled the shutout, but the game was all but over well before that. Phil Niekro allowed a 2-out 2-run single to Gabby Hartnett in the 2nd, and Joe Morgan followed by driving in 2 more runs with a double. The next inning, Mays took a Niekro pitch deep to give St. Louis a 6-0 lead. Reliever Jesse Haines allowed a couple more runs, including a Mike Schmidt solo home run. Mays finished 4 for 5 with a homer, triple, and 3 RBI. Carlton improved to just 3-3 this season despite a 2.86 ERA. The Wizards are just 9-15 with the win. Houston is 14-10 and lead the NL by 1 1/2 games.

Wizards @ Hoots – 4/25/23

Dick Allen broke out of his slump, going 3 for 5 with a home run and driving in 5 to lead the New York Swats over the Oakland Jacks in a 9-6 win. Allen entered the game hitting .143 since joining the Swats. In the 3rd inning, he launched his Maelstrom-leading 13th home run, this one against Nolan Ryan. The Jacks responded against Mike Mussina in the bottom of the 3rd, putting together three straight 2-out hits capped by Ken Griffey Jr. 3-run home run that tied the game 4-4. The next inning, with 2 outs and the bases loaded, Allen drove a sharp liner to plate two more. Mussina allowed 4 runs on 7 hits in 6 innings. Bullet Rogan added 3 innings of relief to earn the save. Ryan struck out 8 in 7 innings, but allowed 10 hits and walked 4. Bob Lemon allowed 3 more runs in 2 innings of relief. Allen’s 5 RBI added to his lead. He’s now driven in 32. Allen hit .377 with the Detroit Rockets before joining the Swats after his induction into the MLB Hall of Fame.

Swats @ Jacks – 4/25/23

Jerry Koosman allowed just 5 hits and a run in 8 inning while striking out 6 to lead the Chicago Docs over the Los Angeles Dynamos 3-1. Jeff Kent hit his 1st home run of the season to break a scoreless tie in the 5th. Jim Edmonds had an RBI double, and scored on Joey Votto’s groundout to give Chicago a 3-0 lead. Tony Gwynn supplied the only LA run on his RBI single that scored Hank Aaron. Randy Johnson struck out 7 in 6 innings for LA, but is now just 1-4. Los Angeles came into the game with a 6-game winning streak. Now both teams are tied at 12-11. Tug McGraw earned his 1st save since joining the Docs earlier this month.

Docs @ Dynamos – 4/25/23

Kenny Lofton led off the game with a home run against Jim Palmer, as Palmer allowed 9 runs in 3 innings against the Detroit Rockets. The Rockets batted around in the 3rd, scoring 6 runs on 6 hits. Palmer had 3 wild pitches in that inning alone. Mark McGwire added a 3-run and a 2-run homer against reliever Walter Johnson in the 4th and 5th innings to give the Rockets a 15-2 lead over the Boston Splinters. But Detroit starter Bret Saberhagen fell apart in the bottom of the 5th. A 9-run inning with home runs by Carlton Fisk and Wade Boggs cut the Detroit lead to 14-11. After an RBI triple by Mule Suttles off reliever Kevin Appier, Fisk hit his 2nd homer of the game to tie it up. In the 9th, Rafael Palmeiro grounded out against Jim Kaat with the bases-loaded to score Lofton and give the Rockets the lead again. Tom Henke struck out all 3 hitters he faced in the bottom of the inning to earn his 5th save. It also ended the 6-game Boston winning streak, and the 3-game Detroit losing streak. Lofton and Palmeiro each had 4 hits in the game, while McGwire went 3 for 6 with two homers and 5 RBI. Despite all of the offense, Ted Williams was 0 for 5.

Rockets @ Jacks – 4/25/23

The Houston Hoots jumped out to an early lead against Robin Roberts and the St. Louis Wizards, thanks to Jeff Bagwell’s solo home run and RBI hits from Rogers Hornsby and Ted Simmons. But St. Louis came back, thanks to Ozzie Smith’s RBI single in the 5th and sacrifice fly in the 7th. Gabby Hartnett tripled in the tying run to ruin Pete Alexander’s start. Alexander had retired the 1st 13th hitters he faced, but left this game with a no-decision, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 8 innings. In the 10th, Hornsby led off with a single, and moved to 2nd on Oscar Charleston’s groundout. With 2 outs, Willie Stargell lined a single into the outfield for the walk-off hit and a 4-3 Houston victory. Fergie Jenkins was perfect in his inning to earn his 4th victory in relief. Christy Mathewson picked up the loss. It was the 8th straight loss for St. Louis. Meanwhile, Houston stretched their lead in the National League to 1 1/2 games.

Wizards @ Hoots – 4/24/23

The New York Swats jumped on Oakland’s Hal Newhauser early, scoring 5 runs on 6 hits in the 1st two innings, including a 2-run double from Joe DiMaggio. But Swats starter Ed Walsh made a key mistake that let the Jacks back in the game when a 3rd inning fastball to Ken Griffey Jr. caught too much of the plate. Griffey’s 3-run home run tied the game 4-4. A Lou Gehrig triple gave the Jacks a 5-4 lead. Babe Ruth stepped up to lead off the 8th and hit a solo shot to tie the game back up. It was Ruth’s 10th home run of the season. With the game knotted up in the 10th, DiMaggio came through again, hitting a 2-out RBI double off Waite Hoyte. Satchel Paige pitched a perfect 10th for the save, giving New York a 6-5 win. Walsh allowed just 5 hits and struck out 11 in 8 innings in the no-decision. The teams are now tied at 9-14.

Swats @ Jacks – 4/24/23

Like a well-oiled machine, Houston Hoots starter Juan Marichal turned in another dominant performance. Marichal improved to 4-1, allowing just 1 run on 7 hits in 8 innings against the St. Louis Wizards. Stan Musial’s 8th inning double plated the only St. Louis run. Wizards starter Greg Maddux scattered 9 hits and struck out 9 to keep pace with Marichal. He hurt his own shot in the 5th inning when he misplayed a dribbler from Tim Raines. Rogers Hornsby followed with a triple, and scored on Oscar Charleston’s base hit, giving Houston their only two runs. With the 2-1 win, the Hoots improved to 13-9. The Wizards fell to 8-14 and have now lost 7 straight games. Marichal leads the entire Maelstrom with a 1.26 ERA in 5 starts. Bruce Sutter pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his 7th save.

Hoots @ Wizards – 4/23/23

New York starter Bob Feller pitched out of two bases-loaded jams caused by his inability to find the strike zone. Feller walked two hitters in each of the 3rd and 4th innings, but only allowed a single run to score. All of that changed in the 5th. Lou Gehrig led off the inning with a solo homerun. Harmon Killebrew added a 3-run shot later in the inning. Feller allowed another solo homer to Killebrew the next inning. When Hank Greenberg led off the 7th with another solo home run, it ended Feller’s day. Feller allowed 9 runs on 12 hits in 6 innings, but still struck out 7. Rickey Henderson added a solo homer off reliever Red Ruffing. In the 8th, Killebrew hit his 3rd home run of the game. All told, Oakland hit 6 homers, including 5 solo shots. Lefty Grove picked up his 1st win of the season, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings. Whitey Ford allowed another three Swats runs in the 9th thanks to 4 straight singles, but the Oakland Jacks still walked away with a 12-6 win. Killebrew finished 3 for 5 with 3 HR and 5 RBI. Yogi Berra led the New York offense, going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. New York is now a Maelstrom worst 8-14.

Jacks @ Swats – 4/23/23

Carl Hubbell finally earned his 1st win of the season, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits in 8 innings against the Chicago Docs. That run only scored due to an error by Ron Santo in the 8th inning. Chicago’s Rick Reuschel kept the game close, but the Los Angeles Dynamos managed a run on Todd Helton’s RBI double, and another scored on a groundout by Jackie Robinson. Reuschel allowed just 4 hits in 8 innings. Tug McGraw had his 1st appearance since joining the Maelstrom, but struggled. McGraw walked two and allowed back-to-back singles with 2 outs in the 9th, as LA carried a 5-1 lead to victory. Los Angeles has now won 6 straight and are just 1/2 game behind Houston in the National League.

Dynamos @ Docs – 4/23/23

The Boston Splinters continued to pull away in the American League, winning their 6th straight game. Bert Blyleven became the 1st American League pitcher with 5 wins, earning his first shutout of the season as the Splinters topped the Detroit Rockets 5-0. Blyleven scattered 7 hits and struck out 6. Ted Williams and Frank Thomas hit solo home runs against Detroit starter David Cone to lead the Boston offense. Cone allowed 4 runs on 6 hits in 7 innings, and is now 1-4. The win gives the Splinters a 5-game lead in the American League race, as they improved to 16-6. Detroit fell to 11-11.

Splinters @ Rockets – 4/23/23