Braves take 3 of 4 from struggling Cards

The Atlanta Braves squared their record at 4 and 4 by taking 3 of the four games in their set with the struggling St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards dropped to 2-6 as their offensive woes have only been exceeded by their mound miseries.

Game one saw the Cardinal bullpen squander a 3-2 ninth inning lead, and come up on the short end of a 5-4 decision. Todd Worrell was the prime arsonist in the Cardinal bullpen, while David Justice homered, doubled, and drove in 3 of the Atlanta runs.

The Cardinal bats came to life in the second game, pounding out 13 hits and scoring 7 runs to earn a 7-4 victory. Bill Virdon started in center field for the first time and put down a claim on the position, at least for the time being, going 5 for 5 and scoring 3 times, with Ken Boyer notching 3 RBIs. Catcher Hal King homered twice for the Braves. The Cardinals went with Lindy McDaniel who pitched a scoreless ninth, wanting no part of Worrell this time.

The series switched to the south and the Braves took advantage of the home cooking for relatively easy 7-2 and 6-3 wins in games 3 and 4. They outhit the Cardinals 22-13 in the two games combined, with Dusty Baker's 5 for 9 effort leading the way. The Cardinals did have a bit of a breakout game from Don Blasingame in the finale as he went 4 for 4.
--submitted by BikeMike--

Hail Cesar...

GAME 1 - Citizens Bank BP
Forsch vs Sanford
Phillies 7, Astros 0

Jack Sanford left after 8 shutout innings.  The Phillies offense took care of business, scoring 7.  Lonnie Smith was 3 for 4 with 3 RBI.  Richie Ashburn was 2 for 5 with a run scored.

GAME 2 - CBBP
Oswalt vs Culp
Astros 2, Phillies 0

A Luis Gonzalez RBI double in the 4th and a Lance Berkman solo shot in the 9th were all the runs that Roy Oswalt (7 shutout innings) and Dave Smith (2 shutout innings in relief) would need.  Smith saved his 4th of the season.  Ray Culp, who fanned 9 in 8 innings and gave up just 1 lone run was surely the hardluck loser.

GAME 3 - Astrodome
Happ vs D.Wilson.
Astros 7, Phillies 5

It took 10 innings to settle this one thanks to Ryan Madson imploding in the closer role.  Philly led 5-3 after 8 1/2 innings of play, then handed the ball off to Madson who surrendered the tying runs in the bottom of the 9th.  To add insult to injury he gave up 2 in the 10th in the form of a Cesar Cedeno walk off homer.

Week #2: Montreal sweeps Arizona

GAME 1 - Chase Field
Hesketh vs Moore
Expos 12, DBacks 5

Montreal scored early and often off of Arizona starter Matt Moore, who did not escape the 4th inning.  Tim Raines stole 2 bases and gathered 2 hits and scored 2 runs.  Andre Dawson hit his 1st homer of the season to stake Joe Hesketh to a 8-0 lead.  Montreal's lefty starter began to lose interest and his shutout as the Dbacks scored 5 in the 7th.  Montreal answered back with 4 insurance runs and never looked back.

GAME 2 - Chase Field
Morton vs Niemann
Expos 5, Dbacks 2

Arizona's 2-0 lead was erased in the top of the 5th with back to back RBI singles from Delino DeShields and Bryce Harper.  An Ian Desmond RBI single in the 6th and a Ryan Zimmerman RBI double in the 7th gave Expo starter Carl Morton all he would need for victory.  Dale Murray pitched a perfect 9th for the save.

GAME 3 - Stadie Olympique'
Kazmir vs Lannan
Expos 4, Dbacks 0

Andre Dawson's RBI triple scored Ian Desmond with 1 out in the bottom of the first.  Dawson scored on Zimmerman's ground out to give John Lannan a 2-0 lead.  Lannan would strike out 7 and walk one and leave with a 3-0 lead with 2 outs in the top of the 7th.  Montreal would score again thanks to a comedy of errors by Arizona in the bottom of the 7th.  Bobby Ayala, Tim Burke and Steve Fey combined for 2 1/3 shutout innings of relief ball to help Lannan shutout the Dbacks.  The only down note would be Gary Carter injuring his knee after going 2 for 4.  Carter is listed as day by day.  Wilson Ramos replaced him behind the dish.

GAME 4 - Stadie Olympique'
Hellickson vs Warthen
Expos 4, Dbacks 0

Expos cemented the sweep with their second consecutive shutout of Arizona.  This time the bullpen was given a much deserved rest as lefty Dan Warthen went the distance striking out 8 and allowing just 3 hits.  While the Expos are winning games, they are losing star players steadily.  Yesterday Kid Carter went down and today Bryce Harper had to leave the game with a sore ankle.  Xrays came back negative and Harper is not expected to miss any significant time.

M's sweep Rangers

Texas 3 Seattle 11
A rough welcome to KOD action for Andy. Things looked good early on with Texas scoring 2 in the third that started after Bill Sample stole 2nd and scored when Paul Casanova doubled. Casanova was later brought in by Bump Wills. Alas it was not to last as Mark Langston turned it up a notch and stuck-out 10 over 6 1/3 innings. Seattle tied it with 2 out when Greg Briley, Omar Vizquel and Ichiro Suzuki all singled and a wild pitch notched it at 2. Seattle then took the lead in the 6th with an Alvin Davis single followed by a Danny Tartabull triple and scored on a Rupert Jones sacrifice fly. Seattle added to the lead with one run in the 7. Texas pulled back within 2 when George Wright singled, Bill Sample walked and Paul Casanova singled scoring George Wright. Seattle then dropped the hammer and scored 6 in the bottom of the 8th with 10 batters going to the plate. Mark Langston got the win, Mike Smithson the loss and Romo the save. Game MVP was Rupert Jones.

Texas 1 Seattle 2
Coach Weinrib wasn't pleased with his pitching performance and came back with Mike Mason who went 7 1/2 innings allowing only 3 hits. Seattle countered with Matt Young. Both pitchers performed terrific through the 1st 5 innings. In the 6th A double by Mark Teixeira followed by a single by Mark Hargrove had runners on the corners with one out. Ruben Sierra then doubled to Donnell Nixon in CF but Mark Hargrove was gunned down at the plate. Texas led 1-0. Seattle scored when Rich Amaral singled stole 2nd and scored on a Ichiro Suzuki single. The game went to extra innings when Mickey Brantley doubled in the 10th for Seattle. With two out pinch hitter Mario Diaz reached 1st on an error and pinch hitter Greg Briley brought in Mickey Brantley for the win. Tom Wilhelmsen got the win, Dick Lines the loss and game MVP was Matt Young.

Seattle 4 Texas 0
Alvin Davis opened the scoring with a solo home run in the 4th. In the 5th a Texas error Allowed Rupert Jones to end up at 2nd. Danny Tartabull singled and Greg Briley brought them in with a 3 run blast. Game MVP Erik Hansen went the distance for the win, Joe McLain also went the distance for the loss.

Seattle 9 Texas 7
Scott Bradley singled in the 1st, Alvin Davis was HBP and Danny Tartabull once again came through with a triple and scored on a Rupert Jones single. In the 2nd with 2 out Kevin Reimer doubled off the wall and scored an a Mike Lamb single. In the 3rd Danny Tartabull and Scott Bradley both homered. Texas got 1 back in the bottom of the inning Ken Retzer walked and then scored on a Bump Wills double. Kevin Reimer hit a solo blast in the 4th making it 5-3 after 4. Seattle lit it up in the 5th responding with 3 with Omar Vizquel and Ichiro Suzuki singling and later an error allowed Alvin Davis on base with Omar Vizquel scoring and once again Danny Tartabull doubled scoring 2 more.Seattle added 1 more in the 7th. The Texas bats came alive in the bottom of the 7th Kevin Reimer doubled, Mike Lamb singled, George Wright singled scoring Kevin Reimer, Elvis Andrus singled scoring Mike Lamb, Bump Wills singled scoring George Wright all with none out and runners on 2nd and 3rd. We have us a ball game its 9-6 Seattle. Mid reliever Enrique Romo finally got an out when he struck out Mark Teixeira but Ken Retzer score when Pete Incaviglia grounded out, but Elvis Andrus went to third, Enrique Romo was pulled an Ed Vande Berg was brought in. He retired the next 7 batters. Joel Pineiro got the win, Bill Gogolewski the loss and Ed Vande Berg the save. Danny Tartabull was MVP 3 for 3, 5 RBIs and a walk.

The Calgary Cannons (really Seattle I watched many of these guys play Triple A ball here with the Calgary Cannons) sweep the Texas Rangers 4-0.

Thanks to Andy for playing in his 1st KOD series and welcome aboard.
--submitted by Robert Chisholm--

Bums take 3 of 4 from Redbirds

Game 1: Valenzuela (LAD) vs. Hughes (STL)
Todd Hollandsworth brought Ted Sizemore in in the third inning with a
double for the only run of the game. Fernando-mania was strong through
6.1 innings. Orel Hershiser and Takashi Saito came in to seal the 1-0
victory.
Game 2: Nomo (LAD) vs Haddix (STL)
Ted Sizemore hit a two-run double in the second inning to stake the
Dodgers to an early lead. Chris Duncan scored the Cardinals first run
of the season with a homer in the 4th. Hideo Nomo scattered 3 hits
over 5.1 innings. Ted Sizemore picked up his 3rd RBI of the game in
the 7th inning and the Dodgers jumped to a 4-1 lead. Each team scored
one more run and the Dodgers won the game 5-2.
Game 3: Morris (STL) vs Sutton (LAD)
Matt Morris threw a masterpiece, scattering 3 hits and 1 run over 8.2
innings. Todd Worrell came in and threw one pitch for the save. The
Cardinals won the game 5-1 with Albert Pujols and Joe Cunningham each
picking up 2 RBI's.
Game 4: Ankiel (STL) vs. Belcher (LAD)
Mariano Duncan and Jackie Robinson hit homeruns to give the Dodgers a
2-0 lead through three innings. The Cardinals came back with Joe Hague
picking up an RBI in the fourth. However, the Dodgers pitchers Tim
Belcher (6.1 innings) and Joe Black (2.2 innings) held the Cardinals
and won the game and the series 3-1.
--submitted by Keith MacDonald--

Halos sweep Jays

Game 1 – LAA 5, TOR 4

Adam Kennedy’s 2-out single in the bottom of the 5^th gave the Angels a 1 run cushion that Frank Tanana (1-0) and 2 relievers protected for the final 4 innings.  Devon White had 3 hits.  Losing pitcher Gustavo Chacin’s own error lead to 4 unearned runs, and proved to be his own undoing.

Game 2 – LAA 6, TOR 5

A sloppy game, with a combined 15 walks, 6 errors and 5 unearned runs allowed.  By the time the dust settled, LAA had managed to allow fewer runs than Toronto.  Dean Chance (1-0) picked up the win, and Bob Lee his 2^nd save.  Al Woods has 2 hits including a triple for the Blue Jays.  Juan Guzman (0-1) took the loss despite allowing only 1 earned run. But as in Game 1, his undoing was really his own 2 errors.

Game 3 – LAA 4, TOR 0

Marcellino Lopez (1-0) was masterful, allowing only a single and 2 walks on his way to a complete game shutout.  Mike Trout had 3 hits for the Halos, and Devon White belted his 3^rd double of the young season.  But this game belonged entirely to Lopez.  Dave Steib (0-1) suffered the loss.

Game 4 – LAA 10, TOR 0

LAA completed the sweep as their bats broke out for 16 hits off a tired Toronto pitching staff. Wally Joyner had 3 hits and Adam Kennedy his first HR of the season. Yet the hitting star was definitely Devon White, who slugged 2 HRs and had 4 RBIs.  Rickey Clark (1-0) pitched 7 shutout innings for the win.  Shawn Green had 2 hits in a losing cause for the Blue jays, and Kelvim Escobar (0-1) was tagged with the loss.
--submitted by Douglas Zaner--

Motown bests Beantown by taking 3 of 4

August 8, Tiger Stadium, Nagy -v- Fidrych

Mark Fidrych scatered 7 hits over 7 2/3 innings, giving up only one run on a Walt Dropo homer (1).  The Tigers picked up single runs in the 4th and 5th, then broke the game open with 5 in the 8th.  Joel Zumaya closed out the game for his first save.  Tigers 7  Sahx 1


August 9, Tiger Stadium, Sullivan -v- Lary

Each team scored 2 runs in the first.  Then Boston added a run in the second to take a lead it held until the 7th.  The Tigers came up with two in that frame to take a lead.  Terry fox gave up a run in the top of the ninth to tie the game but Mickey Lolich came in and got Freddy Lynn to fly out for the final out of the inning.  Lolich earned his fist win in the bottom of the 9th when Austin Jackson singled and scored on Harvey Kuenn's triple.  Dick Radatz took the loss.  Tigers 5  Sahx 4

August 10, Fenway Park. Verlander -v- McGlothlin

The Tigers picked up single runs in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th innings.  The Sahx got their only hit of the game with two out in the bottom of the 7th.  The only other Boston baserunner came in the first on a two base error by Allan Trammell.  Verlander struck out 6 and didn't walk anyone.  Tigers 3  Sahx 0


August 11, Fenway Park.  Galarraga -v- Curtis

Galarraga threw a shutout for 6 innings, allowing only 3 hits, but then ran out of gas.  The Tigers sported a 2 run lead with one coming on their first homerun, by Travis Fryman.  Lolich and Mike Henneman continued the shutout into the 8th but with one on and Fredd Lynn at the plate, Henneman gave was to lefty John Hiller.  Lynn blasted his first offering into the center field seats (2) and the game was tied.. In the bottom of the ninth,  Hiller alowed two hits, then got Jacoby Ellsbury to ground into a force play at second.  Needing a strikeout, Hiller gave way to Zoom Zoom Zumaya.  Boston countered by sending up Wade Boggs to pinch hit and Boggs delivered a long fly to center to score the winning run.  Sahx 3  Tigers 2
--submitted by Tom "Crash" Davis--