You've figured out the theme by now, right?
August 2016
(2 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)
Loading... Cleveland v Toronto, Kluber v Sanchez, in progress.
Chicago v Los Angeles, Arrieta v Hill, 7:00 p.m.
Part of picking October for surgery was the better weather; it was 90° yesterday (record: 88°) and 72° overnight (record: 66°) -- it's not helping my sleep at all 🙁
Nick Gordon's two-run double put the Saguaros ahead 2-0 in the third and they never trailed. Gordon was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two. Tanner English was 0-for-3.
A three-run fourth put Lara up 4-0 and they stayed in control of the game. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-for-4 for Zulia.
Date: Wednesday, April 22.
Batting stars: Al Newman was 2-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in two. Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his second) and an RBI. Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.
Pitching stars: Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Juan Berenguer struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Mark Langston pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks with nine strikeouts. Rey Quinones was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk, scoring twice. Harold Reynolds was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his fourth), scoring once and driving in one.
The game: Blyleven left a pitch up to Quinones in the fourth to tie the game 1-1, but Newman's two-run single in the fifth put the Twins up 3-1. The Mariners tied it with two in the seventh. In the eighth, Seattle got three consecutive singles off George Frazier, with the last a run-scoring hit by Reynolds, to take the lead. The Twins put two on with two out in the ninth, but Mark Davidson popped up to end the game.
Of note: Newman raised his average to .317...Gladden was batting .357...Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 to drop his average to .351...Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4.
Record: The Twins were 10-5, in first place by a game over California.
Notes: Newman started at second base in place of Steve Lombardozzi...Gladden was in center field, with Davidson in left. Puckett was the DH...It seems highly unlikely that Langston would be allowed to pitch a complete game today in this situation. I don't have a pitch count for him, but he had allowed three runs in eight innings and had a one-run lead, so the closer would almost certainly be brought in to start the ninth. Even if not, it seems like a move would be made after Langston allowed a single and a walk with two out. That's not to say which is better or worse, just that times have changed.
Candy Cummings (1848)
Cliff Carroll (1859)
Walt Wilmot (1863)
Boileryard Clarke (1868)
Hans Lobert (1881)
Burt Shotton (1884)
Charlie Berry (1902)
Skeeter Newsome (1910)
Roy Cullenbine (1913)
Andy Carey (1931)
Bobby Knoop (1938)
Willie Horton (1942)
Ed Farmer (1949)
George Hendrick (1949)
Andy Hassler (1951)
Jerry Royster (1952)
Mike Walters (1957)
Alan Mills (1966)
Doug Mirabelli (1970)
Alex Cora (1975)
David Murphy (1981)
Yoenis Cespedes (1985)
Alex Cora was drafted by Minnesota in the twelfth round in 1993, but he did not sign.
We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to AMR.
Not what you were expecting next, was it?
1978
(1 votes, average: 9.00 out of 10)Loading... Cleveland at Toronto AND OH MY GOSH THERE IS BLOOD
SURPRISE 8, SCOTTSDALE 1 IN SURPRISE
Surprise scored two in the first and never trailed. Mitch Garver was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk. Nick Gordon was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run. John Curtiss struck out two in one inning but allowed a run on three hits. Randy Rosario pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and striking out one.
ANZOATEGUI 15, CARACAS 6 IN CARACAS
Leading 5-3, Anzoategui scored nine in the seventh to put away the win. Niko Goodrum was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three times for Anzoategui. Wilfredo Tovar was 2-for-3 with two doubles and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two, for Caracas.
ZULIA 9, LARA 3 IN ZULIA
Trailing 3-1, Zulia scored five in the fifth to go into the lead to stay. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 1-for-5 with a run and two RBIs for Zulia. He circled the bases on a three-run single-plus-error in the fifth, driving in the tying and go-ahead runs.
MAGALLANES 7, ARAGUA 2 IN ARAGUA (3 1/2 INNINGS--SUSPENDED DUE TO RAIN)
Luis Arraez is 0-for-2 with a walk and a run for Magallanes. Jairo Rodriguez is 2-for-2 with a run and an RBI for Aragua.
MARGARITA 5, LA GUAIRA 3 IN MARGARITA
No Twins played.
ANZOATEGUI 10, CARACAS 8 IN CARACAS (10 INNINGS)
An RBI double by Luis Domoromo and a run-scoring single by Hernan Iribarren provided the margin of victory for Anzoategui. Niko Goodrum was 1-for-6 for Anzoategui. Wilfredo Tovar was 1-for-4 with a run for Caracas.
ZULIA 1, LARA 0 IN ZULIA
Reynaldo Rodriguez was 1-for 3 with a home run (his third) in the second inning to provide the game's only run. Lara used four pitchers and Zulia used six.
LA GUAIRA 10, MARGARITA 2 IN MARGARITA
La Guaira scored five in the third to go up 5-2 and was never threatened. Heiker Meneses was 3-for-4 with a home run and a double, scoring twice and driving in three for La Guaira. Nick Greenwood started for Margarita and pitched three innings, allowing five runs on six hits and two walks with one strikeout.
MAGALLANES 7, ARAGUA 1 IN MAGALLANES
Magallanes scored six runs in the first on their way to an easy victory. Luis Arraez was 0-for-3 for Magallanes. Jairo Rodriguez was 1-for-3 for Aragua.
Date: Tuesday, April 21.
Batting stars: Tom Brunansky was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his second. Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, scoring twice and driving in one. Gary Gaetti was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI.
Pitching star: Les Straker pitched seven shutout innings, giving up three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Opposition stars: Phil Bradley was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once. Ken Phelps was 1-for-2 with two walks and an RBI. Mike Kingery was 2-for-4 with a triple.
The game: Brunansky's three-run homer in the second put the Twins up 3-0. RBI singles by Hrbek and Gaetti made it 5-0 after three. Straker took it from there. The only times he was in any trouble were the first, when the Mariners had men on first and second with two out, and the sixth, when men were on second and third with two out.
Of note: Kirby Puckett went 0-for-3 with a walk and saw his average fall to .377. Mark Salas was 0-for-3 with an RBI to drop his average to .333. Keith Atherton pitched two innings and allowed his first run of the season, raising his ERA to 0.93.
Record: The Twins were 10-4, in first place, leading California by one game.
Notes: Hrbek stole thirty-seven bases in his career. His season high was five, in 1987, 1990, and 1992. He stole at least one in every season of his career except 1988, when he was 0-for-3, and his last year, 1994, when he did not attempt any steals. He was not a good percentage base stealer, going 37-for-63 (59%)...Al Newman was at second in this game, replacing Steve Lombardozzi...Randy Bush was again in right, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden on the bench...Salas started for the second time in three games. He would make eight more starts for the Twins before being traded to the Yankees in June for Joe Niekro...Mike Morgan, who had started yesterday's game but faced only six batters, retiring none, came in at the start of the sixth and pitched a perfect inning of relief.
