The Chicago Docs scored in the 9th to spoil Greg Maddux’ start. They scored again in the 10th to complete the late comeback, topping the St. Louis Wizards 4-2. Willie Mays and Stan Musial hit back-to-back solo home runs against Docs starter Jerry Koosman in the 2nd inning, but Koosman shut them down the rest of the way. A sacrifice fly in the 6th cut the lead to 2-1 heading into the 9th. Troy Tulowitzki drew a walk to lead things off, and Keith Hernandez singled to knock Maddux out of the game. Maddux came into the inning having only allowed 5 hits. Buster Posey singled off Goose Gossage to load the bases with no outs. Albert Pujols hit one right to Mike Schmidt, who got the force at the plate to maintain the lead. Then, Sammy Sosa hit a shallow fly to left that wasn’t deep enough. But Jim Edmonds drew the bases-loaded walk with 2 outs to score the tying run. In the 10th, reliever Dizzy Dean allowed 4 straight Chicago baserunners. After Jeff Kent doubled, Tulowitzki hit a go-ahead single. But he got caught stealing for the 2nd out. Hernandez walked and scored on a Posey double two batters later. Tug McGraw pitched a perfect 10th to pick up his 3rd save. Koosman improved to 4-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.98 on the season.

Docs @ Wizards – 5/4/23

Pedro Martínez nearly pitched his 2nd shutout of the season, allowing a 9th-inning home run to Rafael Palmeiro while scattering 8 hits and striking out 11 as the New York Swats topped the Detroit Rockets 6-1. Cal Ripken Jr. was 2 for 3 with a triple and 3 RBI to lead the Swats. Babe Ruth added his 14th homer of the season, a solo shot in the 7th. Starter David Cone fell to 1-6, allowing 6 runs on 9 hits while striking out 8 in the loss. The Swats are now tied with the Rockets for 2nd place in the American League at 13-16. Both teams trail the Boston Splinters by 8 games.

Rockets @ Swats – 5/4/23

Randy Johnson hit Rogers Hornsby to lead off the game between the Houston Hoots and Los Angeles Dynamos. Johnson then unleashed two wild pitches in a row. After that, he was nearly perfect. Jeff Bagwell homered in the 4th for the only Houston hit, and Dave Bancroft walked to lead off the 5th for the only other baserunner, as Johnson earned just his 2nd win, striking out 7. Houston’s Cy Young kept pace until the 6th, when a walk, an error, and a couple of base hits pushed two runs across the plate for LA. Young scattered 9 hits over 8 innings. WIth the 2-1 win, the Dynamos closed the gap to just a game in the National League. Turkey Stearnes and Ralph Kiner each had 3 hits for LA.

Hoots @ Dynamos – 5/4/23

The Boston Splinters broke a 2-2 tie with a 6-run 6th inning on their way to a 9-5 win over the Oakland Jacks. Boston has now won 11 of their last 13 games. The teams traded runs through the first 5 innings, with Hal Newhouser and Catfish Hunter each allowing 2 runs. Mickey Mantle led off the 6th with a double off Newhouser, and scored on an Alan Trammell single. With runners on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs, Newhouser allowed 5 straight baserunners, including back-to-back 2-run singles to Ichiro Suzuki and Ted Williams. Oakland got 3 back in the 7th, capped by Hank Greenberg’s triple, but that was as close as they would get. Tris Speaker was 2 for 2 with 3 walks in the leadoff spot, while Mantle was 3 for 3 with 2 doubles and 2 walks. The win extends Boston’s lead in the American League to 7 1/2 games.

Jacks @ Splinters – 5/4/23

What was billed as a duel between two top pitchers did not disappoint, as Houston’s Juan Marichal and Los Angeles’ Tom Seaver turned in amazing performances. Timely hitting by Houston ended up being the difference. Arky Vaughan tripled in the 1st inning with one out against Seaver, and Oscar Charleston followed with a sacrifice fly to put the 1st Houston run on the board. In the bottom of the 5th, Tony Gwynn singled and stole 2nd for LA. Jackie Robinson followed with a base-hit to even the score 1-1. After retiring 14 straight hitters, Seaver walked Tony Gwynn in the 6th. Gwynn stole 2nd, but Vaughan grounded out for the 2nd out of the inning. Charleston came through again, belting a triple into the corner to put the Hoots back on top. Rogers Hornsby led off the 7th with a double and scored on a single by Gil Hodges for Houston’s 3rd run. Seaver allowed those 3 runs on just 4 hits in 8 innings, striking out 8. Marichal came into the game with the best ERA in the Maelstrom, and improved it even more. Other than their run in the 5th, the Dynamos had runners in scoring position in three other innings but failed to plate any more. Marichal lowered his ERA to 1.20 despite allowing 9 hits in 8 innings. Bruce Sutter pitched a perfect 9th to pick up his 8th save. Marichal is now 6-1. Meanwhile, Seaver is just 2-4 despite a 3.24 ERA. The 3-1 win gives Houston a crucial victory against LA in the National League. At 17-11. they are now just 2 games up on the Dynamos.

Hoots @ Dynamos – 5/3/23

The Boston Splinters continued their hot season, holding off a late rally to top the Oakland Jacks 8-5 on the back of great pitching by Bert Blyleven. Blyleven took a 5-hit shutout into the 8th before Ken Griffey Jr. hit a solo home run. Oakland’s Addie Joss picked up his 1st loss thanks to two tough innings. With two outs in the 4th, Joss’ throwing error extended the inning and led to two unearned runs. In the 7th, Boston batted around, scoring 5 runs as 6 straight hitters reached base. Blyleven entered the 9th eyeing a complete game, but gave up a single to Jimmie Foxx and back-to-back doubles to Eddie Collins and Harmon Killebrew. Jim Kaat got Reggie Jackson to fly out before Lou Boudreau singled and Lou Gehrig doubled. With the score 8-4, and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Rollie Fingers came in. Fingers got Hank Greenberg to ground out, scoring another. But Griffey flew out to end the game. Blyleven improved to 7-0 on the season, and Fingers got his 9th save with the 8-5 win. George Brett had another hot game, going 4 for 5 to raise his average to .413. Boston is now 20-8 this season, with a 7-game lead over the 2nd-place Detroit Rockets.

Jacks @ Splinters – 5/3/23

St. Louis Wizards starter, Don Sutton, continued his surprising dominance, holding the Chicago Docs to 2 runs, scattering 9 hits while striking out 11 in a 6-2 win. Sutton hasn’t allowed more than 3 runs in any start this season. He’s now 4-1 with a 2.25 ERA. Chicago had plenty of chances, getting runners into scoring position in almost every inning. Sutton struck out Sammy Sosa to end four different innings. Mike Piazza led the St. Louis offense against Chicago starter William Bell. Piazza was 4 for 4 with two doubles and drove in 3 runs. While the Wizards have been in last place this season, Sutton has been an unexpected bright spot. St. Louis is now just two games behind Chicago in the National League.

Docs @ Wizards – 5/3/23

Detroit’s Bobby Veach showed a rare power display, and Frank Tanana set a career high in strikeouts, as the Detroit Rockets topped the New York Swats 7-3 to end a 4-game losing streak. Batting 3rd against New York’s CC Sabathia, Veach hit a 2-run homer in the 1st inning to get the Detroit offense started. In the 3rd inning, he added another 2-run shot. Veach had just one home run all of Season 1. Manny Ramírez added a solo homer to lead off the 5th inning, which was his 1st of the season and kicked off a 3-run 4th inning. Frank Tanana allowed just 3 runs and scattered 7 hits over 7 2/3 innings while striking out 11. Tanana hadn’t struck out more than 5 in any of his prior starts. Dan Quisenberry relieved in the 8th with Swats runners on the corners and got Al Kaline to fly out. He finished with the save. CC Sabathia allowed 7 runs on 8 hits in 6 1/3 innings for his 1st loss. Babe Ruth hit his 13th home run of the season during the game. With all teams chasing the Boston Splinters, Detroit is now in 2nd place at 13-15, 6 1/2 games back.

Rockets @ Swats – 5/3/23