METS TAKE THREE OF FOUR FROM THE ASTROS

Game 1 at Shea Stadium

NY 6 HOU 4

Mets come from behind with 4 in the 8^th to win it. Trailing 4-2, Cleon Jones hits a huge 2 run HR off Larry Dierker to tie the game. The Mets get 2 more in the inning scoring on a grounder by Swoboda and a bases loaded walk to Jerry Grote, before Elio Chacon hit into an inning ending DP.

Houston led 4-0 before the Mets rallied with 2 in the 6^th, before scoring 4 in the 8^th. Houston starter Larry Dierker helped his own cause with a first inning RBI single to make it 1-0. Houston scored three in the top of the 6^th with the big hits being an RBI double by Chuck Harrison (2-3) and a single by the pesky Sonny Jackson.

Galen Cisco pitched 8 innings in his first start of the year to get the win. Dierker (1-1) took the loss. Tug McGraw picked up the save with a shutout 9^th

Game 2  at Shea Stadium

NY  3 HOU 2

Mets do it again in the 8^th inning as Joe Christopher comes through with an RBI single scoring Cleon Jones to break a 2-2 tie. The hit extended Christopher's hitting streak to 10 games.

Houston took a 1-0 lead on a second inning HR by John Bateman off Tom Seaver. Cleon Jones singled in a run in the third to tie it. Then in the 4^th Johnny Lewis doubled in a run to make it 2-1 Mets. In the 7^th a Bud Harrelson error led to an unearned run – setting the stage for Christopher's game winning hit.

Ron Taylor won it in relief with 2 scoreless innings. Bob Bruce started for Houston and took the loss.

Game 3  at the Astrodome

HOU 3  NY 2

The Mets rallied once again tying the game with 2 in the top of the 9^th, while using every single position player on the roster! But in the bottom of the 9^th, Ron Hunt's throwing error allowed leadoff batter Al Spangler to get to second. He took third on a wild pitch by Tug McGraw and then came on to score on a game winning single by Sonny Jackson.

The Mets trailed 2-0 going to the top of the 9^th when manager Raylesberg pulled out all the stops with pinch hitter after pinch hitter. Ed Kranepool pinch hit a double to make it 2-1 and then Charley Smith, who was pinch hitting for a pinch hitter, greeted Woodeshick with a single to tie the game.

Jackson was 3-4 with 2 RBIs. Chuck Harrison was 3-4 with a single, double and triple. Hal Woodeschick won it in relief. McGraw, who came on in the 9^th for starter Jerry Koosman took  the loss.

Game 4 at the Astrodome

Mets 4, Astros 0

Dennis Ribant (1-2) pitched a 5 hit complete game shutout, walking only one and striking out 7 as the Mets take the series 3-1.  Cleon Jones singled in a run in the 3^rd and the Mets added another, off starter and loser Don Wilson, in the 5^th to take a 2-0 lead. In the top of the 9^th, Johnny Lewis hit a mammoth 2 run HR to give the Mets two big insurance runs.

The Mets are now 6-6. Houston is 5-7. Next week: Mets play the Dodgers while the Astros take on the Cardinals

--submitted by Alan Raylesberg--

Week #2 - Highlights

Recent Games

New York (A) Beats Detroit 3-1
Detroit Beats New York (A) 8-4
New York (A) Beats Detroit 5-3, Richardson 3 Hits
Detroit Upends New York (A) 7-4
Pittsburgh Beats San Francisco 5-3, Clemente 4 Hits, 4 RBI
Philadelphia Edges Cincinnati 7-6, Allen 3 Hits
Philadelphia Pounds Cincinnati 10-2
Cincinnati Upends Philadelphia 8-1, May 2 HRs
Cincinnati Beats Philadelphia 3-1 in 10
Pittsburgh Over San Francisco 4-1, Clemente 3 Hits
Pittsburgh Tops San Francisco 5-1, Stargell 3 Hits
Friend Shuts Out San Francisco 8-0
Minnesota Over Oakland 6-2, Allison 3 Hits
Oakland Beats Minnesota 6-4
Minnesota Beats Oakland 4-2
Minnesota Upends Oakland 4-2
Hands Blanks New York (N) 8-0
Chicago (N) Pounds New York (N) 10-1, Hundley 6 RBI's
Chicago (N) Pounds New York (N) 11-1
Seaver 3 hits Chicago (N) 9-0
Atlanta Beats Houston 6-3, Torre 3 Hits
Atlanta Upends Houston 8-4, Crandall 3 Hits
Houston Beats Atlanta 5-2
Houston Edges Atlanta 2-1
Boston Edges Washington 6-5
Washington Edges Boston 6-5 in 11, Hinton 4 Hits
Boston Edges Washington 5-4 in 11, Nixon 3 Hits
Boston Nips Washington 3-2, Petrocelli 3 Hits
Siebert Blanks Baltimore 2-0
Cleveland Slips Past Baltimore 3-2 in 12
Baltimore Beats Cleveland 6-4, Gentile 3 Hits
Cleveland Beats Baltimore 4-2
California Edges Chicago (A) 5-4
California Upends Chicago (A) 3-1, Bilko 2 HRs
Chicago (A) Edges California 7-6
California Defeats Chicago (A) 4-1
Los Angeles Rallies To Beat St. Louis 6-5
St. Louis Over Los Angeles 7-2, Javier 3 Hits
Los Angeles Defeats St. Louis 3-1, Wills 3 Hits
St. Louis Slips Past Los Angeles 5-4 in 16
Late Houston Rally Beats Chicago (N) 5-3
Chicago (N) Pounds Houston 14-4, Williams 4 Hits, 4 RBI's
Chicago (N) Nips Houston 4-3 in 10, Phillips 3 Hits
Houston Beats Chicago (N) 10-5
Washington Upends Minnesota 6-1, Hinton 3 Hits
Minnesota Beats Washington 5-3, Versalles 3 Hits
Washington Edges Minnesota 5-4
Washington Beats Minnesota 4-2, Lock 2 HRs
Cincinnati Beats Atlanta 13-10, Perez 2 HRs, 4 RBI's
Atlanta Slips Past Cincinnati 8-7, Crandall 3 Hits
Nuxhall Shuts Out Atlanta 9-0
Cincinnati Beats Atlanta 11-5, Rose 3 Hits
Philadelphia Tops New York (N) 11-4
Philadelphia Pounds New York (N) 12-2
New York (N) Edges Philadelphia 4-3
Seaver Blanks Philadelphia 5-0
New York (A) Upends Chicago (A) 7-1
New York (A) Over Chicago (A) 12-8, Mantle 3 HRs, 5 RBI's
Chicago (A) Edges New York (A) 3-2
Chicago (A) Beats New York (A) 8-1, Landis 3 Hits
San Francisco Beats Los Angeles 10-5 in 13
San Francisco Tops Los Angeles 9-1, Bonds 5 RBI's
Los Angeles Edges San Francisco 3-2
San Francisco Edges Los Angeles 5-4 in 10

Tigers-Yanks split

GM 1  Det 7 NY 4 

Mclain vs Stottlemyre

Tigers got 4 in 3rd to open up scoring on a 2-run scoring double by Al Kaline and 2-run homer by 

Willie Horton. Tigers made it 5-0 on a run scoring single by who else but Al kaline... Yanks got 3 in 6th to make it 5-3 but Denny went the distance for win, Stottlemyre loss giving up 6 walks and 5 earned runs.

GM 2  NY 5 DET 3 

Lolich vs Terry

Det had a 3-1 lead going into 7th when it fell apart as the Yanks sent 7 batter to plate scoring 2 on run scoring singles by mantle and groundout rbi by Howard to tie game. In 8th with Fred Gladding on mound for Det Bobby Richardson singles home leading run. Padro Ramos the win pitching 2 scoreless.  Steve Hamilton the save.

GM 3 GM 1 OF DH   

Lary vs Stottlemyre

 

(This was a screwup as mel started gm 1 of series) As we had problems. Mel was at 100% however, so he wasn't tired...just horrible).  Tigers get a 3 run Mickey Stanley homer in 2nd and a 2 run scoring double by Bill Freehan in 4th and hang on to beat Yanks 8-4. Jim Northrup had a double, homer, and 2 runs scored. Tresh 3 hits and 3 runs for Bombers. Stottlemyre another loss. Lary the CG win scattering 8 hits 0 walks.

GM 4  

Aguirre Vs Ford

3 solo homers by Yanks is all they need when Whitey is on., Tresh, Mantle and Howard hit solo homers and Ford breezed 8.2 6 hits ,0 walks 8 k's. Tigers made trouble in the 9th but Luis Arroyo came in with 2 out and got the  struggling and the tying  run in  Norm Cash to fly out  deep to end game..  3-1 Yanks

 

--submitted by Dan Holm--

Twins take 3 of 4 from A's

Metropolitan Stadium

GAME 1

Odom vs Kaat

MIN 4, OAK 2

Minnesota jumped out to a 3 run lead after sending 7 batters to the plate in the home half of the first.  Zoilo Versalles, who led off with a walk and subsequently stole second, scored on a Killebrew ground out to start it off.  Rod Carew scored on a Jimmy Hall sac fly and run number 3 (Tony Oliva) scored on a Bob Allison two bagger.  Twin starter Jim Kaat cruised for 8 innings, allowing just 2 runs while fanning 7.  Rolland and Dailey (Save) combined to slam the door shut.  Rick Monday was 3 for 4 in a losing cause.  The A's actually out hit the Twins 8 to 6.

GAME 2

Hunter vs Stigman

MIN 4, OAK 2

Different day, same result, except this time the A's staked Catfish Hunter to a 2-0 lead, which held up until the bottom of the 6.  Cesar Tovar and Lenny Green combined for RBI singles to tie the contest.  A 2 run shot by Zoilo Versalles in the 7^th put the Twins ahead for good.  Dick Stigman (7IP/2ER) got the well deserved win and Al Worthington, who pitched 2 perfect innings of relief got the save.

Oakland Coliseum

GAME 3

J.Perry vs Nash

OAK 6, MIN 4

Those "Swingin' A's" returned home for the first game of a twin bill and had their bats going.  Twin starter Jim Perry was chased after 4 innings (5R/3ER).  The Twins scored some late runs to make the game look close, but it was all A's. with Jerry Lumpe (2-4) and Norm Siebern (2-5) leading the offensive charge.  Jim Nash posted the win with Jack Aker ringing up the save.

GAME 4

Boswell vs Dobson

MIN 6, OAK 2

The 2^nd game of this twin-bill saw the Twins bats (6R on 12H) come alive.  Both Versalles and Alison had 3 hit games.  Both Allison and Reese knocked in 2 as did starting pitcher Dave Boswell.  Both of Bob Allison's RBI's came with 2 outs.  Bill Dailey finished off the game in relief to get the final 5 outs in a non-save situation.

Mets @ Cubs

Game 1: Seaver v. Ellsworth

This game was a pitchers duel...for the first 3 innings then the Mets hammered Ellsworth scoring in every inning for a total of 9. Hunt, Smith and Christopher all went deep for the Mets.  Tom was "Terriffic" tossing his 2nd complete game shutout and held the 3 Cubs HOFer's (Banks, Santo, and Williams) to a combined 0 for 8.  Mets cruse to a 9 to 0 victory

Mets @ Cubs

Game 2: Koosman v. Jenkins

Cubs bats explode as they score runs in each of the first 7 innings. The Cubs got big games from Williams, Phillips, and Rodgers.  Jenkins goes the distance giving up just 1 unearned run. Cubs 11 Mets 1.

Cubs@Mets

Game 3: Jackson v. Selma

Cubs put up 10 runs; Hundley hits 2, 3 run home runs and Jackson goes the distance.

Cubs 10 Mets 1

Cubs@Mets

Game 3: Hands v. Ribant

Cubs were up 1 to 0 heading to the 7th when they put a 5 spot.  Williams goes 3 for 4 with a HR and 4 Rbi.  Hands gives the Cubs their 3 straight CG as he shutout the Mets. Cubs 8 Mets 0

LA and STL split classic series

Busch Mem Stdm
GAME 1
Koufax vs Gibson
STL 5, LAD 4 (16 inn)

Early on both HOF pitchers looked to be in good form in this most anticipated pitching matchup of the week.  LA played small ball to eek out a run in the first with the full intent on making that stand up.  A Julian Javier solo blast in the 5th tied it up.  A Dick Groat ground out in the 6th gave Gibby and the Cards a 2-1 lead that looked like a sure bet when Smokey Alston came to the mound to remove Koufax with 2 outs in the 7th.  Rest assured this was not a move that ole' Walt wanted to make.  His star lefty had 7k's without a walk and was pretty much in control, but soreness in that arthritic left elbow made the grizzled manager err on the side of caution.  Gibby's chances of victory exponentially escalated until the top of the 8th when LA put runners on 1st and second with one out for Willie Davis who got just enough of a Gibson fastball to clear the fence to put the Dodgers up 4-2.  Celebration time wasn't long lasting as the Redbirds struck back for 2 in the home half of the inning.  After a failed drag bunt attempt by Bobby Tolan, Stan the Man walked, and Kenny Boyer tripled him home.  Banjo hitting Dal Maxvill, who replace Groat at short slashed a seeing eye single just out of reach of Jim Lefbvre and Norm Larker to score Boyer and tie the game.  By the end of the 8th both future HOF starters were long gone.  After regulation the game was still undecided, so it headed to extra innings.  Fast forward to the bottom of the 16th with Howie Reed on the mound for the Dodgers and of all people Dal Maxvill at the plate.  Reed served up a 3-bagger to Dal and then gave up the game winner to Javier, who had the honor of starting the Cardinals scoring and ending it for the day.  Both teams exhausted their pens as St. Louie drew first blood in this battle of mid 1960's titans.

GAME 2
Drysdale vs Broglio
LAD 3, STL 1

Game 1 was laced with drama and extra innings.  Game 2 of this series was all about "Big D".  From start to finish LA's tall righty, Don Drysdale, dominated.  The intimidating one easily went the distance, while fanning 8 and allowing just 1 unearned run on 4 hits.  Speedster Maury Wills (3-5, 2R, 1RBI) paced LA's offense.  Jim Gilliam and Tommy Davis each had RBI's as well.

Dodger Stadium
GAME 3
Carlton vs Singer
STL 7, LAD 2

The first game of a twilight twin bill saw the Cards rough up Bill "The Throwing Machine" Singer to the tune of 7 runs in 7 innings.  For the second straight outing Singer (0-2, 10.29) didn't have it.  Newly activated Larry Sherry mopped up the final 2 scoreless innings.  Lefty Steve Carlton was two outs short of completing the circuit.  STL's hit parade reached 14.  Kenny Boyer (3-5, RBI) and Julian Javier (3-4, 2R, RBI) were the leaders of the pack.  Bill White and Curt Flood had 2 hits each as the Cards took game one with relative ease.

GAME 4
Simmons vs Sutton
LAD 6, STL 5

Simply put, the second game of the double header was going to make or break LA's young season.  After dropping 3 of 4 to the hated Jints, the Dodgers were in jeopardy of doing the same thing against the Redbirds.  Starting the season 2-6 would be a hole the would be virtually impossible to climb out of.  When the Cards exploded for 4 runs in the 6th to break a scoreless tie it looked like the season was on life support.  The Dodgers were able to claw their way back to a 4-2 deficit by scratching out 2 runs in the bottom of the 6th.  Both teams exchanged solo runs in the 7th, so the Cards had what seemed to be a nice 5-3 lead heading toward the final 3 outs.  Tommy Davis, who was 0-3 on the day, led off with a slow grounder up the first base line that Bill White fielded and flipped to Ron Willis who stumbled to the bag and dropped the ball just as the hard charging Davis touched it.  Up stepped Jim Lefebvre, who was hitting just .114 on the season.  Not a lot of confidence coming from the 3rd base dugout until Jim jumped on a 0-1 fastball from Willis that kept tracking for the LF fence.  Lou Brock, who could outrun a locomotive, gave it a chase and when he jumped at the base of the wall he had a chance to grab it.  The ball eluded Brock and hit off the wall.  Flood, who was backing up the play, tracked down the ball and tossed it in to hold Lefebvre to a stand up double as Davis easily scored.  Willis now had a 1 run lead with nobody out.  He jammed "Sweet" Lou Johnson with a 1-2 fastball that LA's rightfielder fought off and parachuted into right to score Lefebvre to tie the game.  By this point Wills was flummoxed, which facilitated lefty Joe Hoerner's arrival from the Cardinal pen.  The lefty/lefty matchup between Hoerner and Willie Davis favored St. Louis on paper, and as it turned out on the ball field as well.  Hoerner fanned Davis on some high heat that infuriated 3-Dog to the point where he was chest to chest with the home plate ump.  Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and both parties decided to keep it civil.  Hoerner looked to be in control of things, but when Wes Parker blooped one into right to tie the game Cardinal fans listening at home to Jack Buck on KMOX had that queesy feeling in their collective bellies.  John Roseboro was in the hole 0-2 when he got a hanging curve that he hit far enough to exit most ballparks, but not the cavern in Chavez Ravine.  Both runners moved up 90 feet with the game tied 5-5 and 2 outs.  Alston sent Wally Moon up to pinch hit for Howie Reed.  "The Unibrow" is that rare lefty who hits lefties well, which is exactly what he did to Hoerner lining a 1-0 offering into center to score Johnson and get the Dodgers a much needed split and new life for a season that looked to be on the edge.

Jints take 3 of 4 from LA

GAME 1
Candlestick Park
Koufax vs Marichal
SFG 5, LAD 4 (10 inn)

Koufax faltered and blew a 2 run lead as the Jints rallied to beat the Dodgers in extra innings.  The Say Hey Kid (3-4) and Chuck Hiller (3-5) were responsible for 2/3 of the Jints hits.  Frank Linzy picked up the win with 2 scoreless innings of relief.  Both HOF starters got roughed up a bit to open the season.

GAME 2
Drysdale vs Perry
LAD 3, SFG 2

For the second day in a row fans were treated to a pitching matchup between HOF'er.  This time both were up for the task with Big D outpacing the man who "loads em up".  Drysdale went 7 1/3 and gave up 2, while fanning 7.  Norm Larker, getting a surprise start went 3 for 4 with 2 RBI's courtesy of a double and a homer.

GAME 3
Dodger Stadium
O'Dell vs Singer
SFG 9, LAD 1

The throwing machine (Bill Singer) was lit up early and often by the Bay Area Bombers.  Bobby Bonds (2-5) knocked in 5 runs.  San Fran banged out 9 runs on 12 hits with Willie Mays being the only one in the lineup not getting one.  Billy O'Dell gave up just one run while going the distance.

GAME 4
McCormick vs Osteen
SFG 10, LAD 5 (13 inn)

Don't let the 5 run bulge in the score fool you, this was a see saw battle that took 13 innings to decide.  Lost in the shuffle was Ron Perranoski's 4 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.  This is because his replacement Howie Reed got lit up for 5 runs in the 13th to hand the game to San Fran.  Jim Ray Hart (3-5) knocked in 4.  Stretch McCovey's 3 run shot put the game out of reach.  Cepeda's PH HR in the 8th tied the score and sent the game to OT.