Orioles Sweep Athletics, 3-0 (Oakland Dynasty: 1975 ALCS)

The Oakland Athletics led 6-2 during the top of the 9th in Game 1, and let the lead slip away.

It got worse, the Baltimore Orioles' Mike Cuellar against Oakland's Vida Blue, pitches a no-hitter, while Bobby Grich hit a two-run homer during the 5th, to cap off a 3 RBI night. Cuellar's magical night spawned 4 strikeouts.

Oakland's Game 3 starting pitcher, Ken Holtzman had his work cut out for him, in an attempt to turn around Oakland's luck. Oakland was hoping, behind Holtzman, to win their first of three straight games, but it was never meant to be. The Orioles won 6-5 in Game 3, putting the dagger in Oakland's backs by scoring 3 runs during the bottom of the 6th, to give the O's a 6-2 lead.

Grich was named the A.L. Championship Series Most Valuable Player, after batting .545 with 5 RBI for the series.

Meanwhile in the National League Championship Series, the Cincinnati Reds' troubles continue. Their quest to make that next step, taking the Big Red Machine, to the ultimate peak as World Champions came to an end, in a close, 3-2 series loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Jim Palmer Pitches No-Hitter into 10th & Loses Game

Series Recap: The Orioles came close to sweeping Minnesota in Game 2 & handing them a possible 5th straight loss. The Orioles' future Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer was pitching a no-hitter through 9 innings, but could get no run or hit support from his Orioles lineup. The Twins' Dave Goltz was putting on a masterpiece of his own, pitching in his 1st game since April 21st. Goltz allowed only 5 hits, 3 of those 5 his being two-hit doubles. Game 1 had 4 HR by the 2 teams combined, while Dennis Martinez won his 6th game of the year.

Game 2 No-Hitter Bid Breakdown (from Facebook): 

1978 A.L. Replay - MAY 16, 1978

The Baltimore Orioles (16-15) roll into Minnesota to face Rod Carew & the Minnesota Twins (14-20). The Match-up would be a battle of two Grade A-Y starting pitchers - Jim Palmer (entering with a 3-2 record & 3.23 ERA) for the Orioles, and Dave Goltz (3-0, 1.39 ERA), who is just returning from injury -- Pitching for the first time this month.

It ended up playing out as advertised, a battle of wits on the mound. Palmer from the get-go had no-hit stuff, while the Orioles were not doing much better against Goltz. 3 of Baltimore's 5 hits were two-out doubles, while their biggest opportunity may have been in the 7th, with Billy Smith hitting a one-out double, followed by Andres Mora drawing a walk. I'm kicking myself for not pinch-hitting for either Mark Belanger (although defensive 10) and catcher Dave Skaggs, since I am trying to stick heavily with actual games played for the replayed, but I thought even with their anemic cards that they could pull off a hit, or get Smith closer to the plate... but no cigar.

The game goes into the bottom of the 10th, and Roy Smalley breaks up the no-hitter with a double (11-6), while Mike Cubbage followed with a walk-off double (11-0, 36-6) to win the game for the Twins.

This is the 2nd no-hitter that I have had broken up in extras, the other was Nolan Ryan with the 1986 Astros in a 64-game tournament -- broken up by Don Baylor with a walk-off home run for the 1979 California Angels.

I have pitched close to 25 no-hitters in my life, while rolling one perfect game with Don Sutton in my BATS1 season.

Jim Palmer (3-3, 2.92 ERA, 2 CG) gets the loss, while Dave Goltz, not losing any of his stuff after the injury, remains perfect (4-0 in 5 GS, 3 CG, 2 SHO & 1.06 ERA) allowing only 5 earned runs through 42 1/3 innings.

Jordan Rules! Montgomery pitches No-no!

The Blue Jays had no answer for Montgomery.

I am closing in on 300 games in two months, with my latest series of my 2018 MLB Projections Season, between the visiting Toronto Blue Jays and the New York Yankees.

The series opener would be a 4-1 victory with CC Sabathia getting a strong win on his return from the disabled list; Sabathia allowed only 2 hits & one run in 7 innings of work, with 5 K's... Sabathia's bid for a no-hitter was broken up by Devon Travis with one out during the top of the 6th.

Fast forward to the next night, the Toronto Blue Jays once again are having a difficult time putting the barrel on the ball. The Yankees scored quickly once again with a Aaron Judge two-run first-inning homer, the previous night he hit a solo home run in the opening frame of that game as well. Didi Gregorius would hit a solo HR in the 4th, while Giancarlo Stanton added a two-run double in the 8th.

Jordan Montgomery would go on to pitch a no-hitter, but would not come out with a shut-out, as he allowed a 4th inning run. Curtis Granderson led off the 4th by drawing a walk, he would advance to second on a wild pitch, while advancing to third on a ground out (for the 1st out) & then would score on a Teoscar Hernandez ground out to deep short.

Marcus Stroman (6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 K & 2 BB) would get the loss, as the Toronto Blue Jays fall to 6-15 for the season, while they are 0-6 against the Yankees this season. Two more games remain in the series, the Jays' bats better heat up as they only logged a total of 2 hits in 2 games. They were outscored in the opening series of the season by the score of 28-8, while being out-hit 39-19... which was also a four-game series.

The Yankees' Montgomery joins the Detroit Tigers' Francisco Liriano as the only pitchers to pitch no-hitters during the 2018 MLB Projection Season; Liriano no-hit the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 1st (3rd game of the series), he struck out 6 while walking 4 batters in his effort, as the Tigers won 2-0.

3rd No-No of Crazy 48's Season (plus other highlights)

Carlton's No-No: League's 3rd  no-no this season.

Lefty Leads Off Series with a Bang

The 1977 Philadelphia Phillies, 2nd Place in the Ripken (Stripes III) Division, with a 15-13 record (trailing 1st Place - 1984 Detroit Tigers, 18-12) find themselves at Baltimore Memorial Stadium to play their division rival 1983 Baltimore Orioles (5th Place, 10-18), who are in the middle of a four game losing skid.

The pitching match-up was the Phillies' Steve Carlton against the Orioles' Scott McGregor; "Lefty" entered the game with a 4-2 record, 2.70 ERA with 35 K's & 21 walks allowed in 53.1 innings for Philadelphia... while McGregor sports a 1-4 record, 4.73 ERA, with more walks (15) than strikeouts (12) in 40 innings of work for the O's.

Both starting pitchers would not allow a hit through the first 3 innings, McGregor was more flawless in the first three than Carlton, by not allowing a single baserunner, while Carlton allowed three walks already.

A few times, the Phillies stranded solid baserunners in the 6th (runners on the corners), while Mike Schmidt with bases loaded in the 8th, could not deliver.

McGregor allowed his 1st hit to the leadoff hitter Bake McBride in the 4th Inning, but kept pitching solid, as the Phillies could not give Carlton any run support.

It became apparent by the 6th & 7th Inning that Steve Carlton was in solid shape to continue his no-hitter. The problem is Scott McGregor now advanced from a Grade B-Z to a Grade A-Z due to the fact that the Phillies were still scoreless as well, the game would go to extras.

Top of the 10th, with bases loaded, Mike Schmidt (this time) delivers with a long fly to left, in which Larry Bowa tagged up & scored...

It would be all that Carlton needed as he got Jim Nolan, Lenn Sakata & John Shelby to fly-out the side, to complete the no-hitter.

It is the 3rd No-Hitter in this project (Crazy 48's League), but the first in this league, in years, which started in early 2013, in which the league witnessed no-hitters in the first couple weeks of the league running.

(Click on either below)

• 35' Crawfords' Satchel Paige's No-Hitter vs. 1942 St.Louis Cardinals

• 1914 Braves' "Seattle Bill" James' No-No vs 1971 Athletics.

The game was Carlton's 4th complete game of the season & 3rd shutout in 8 starts, as he improves to 5-2 with a 2.27 ERA; He did allow 6 walks, with only 3 K's in the no-hitter though.

McGregor pitched 8 K's, allowing 8 hits & only one run through 10 innings.


Joltin' Joe Collins?!

The 1953 New York Yankees would go on to take their series with the 1971 Oakland Athletics, 3-1; They took the last 3 games, after their bullpen blown Game 1.

First baseman Joe Collins went 4-for-10 in the first 3 games, with 2 HR, 2 doubles & 8 RBI, drawing 2 walks, with 3 runs. The 53' Yankees' two RBI leaders are Collins with 32 & Billy Martin's 29 ribbies -- which is unusual considering the team is led by Mickey Mantle & Yogi Berra.

You may remember Joe Collins' early heroics in the Crazy 48's with this article... Wild One in Washington.

After a semi-sluggish season start, the 53' Yankees trail their 1953 World Series counterparts, the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers, by one game, for 1st place; Dodgers are 20-10, while the Yankees are 20-12 in the Jackie Robinson (Stripes II) Division.

The Brooklyn Dodgers may be the hottest team in the entire Crazy 48's as they are current riding a hot 9-game winning streak, with a league-best scoring differential of 73 runs! This hot streak was also due to Duke Snider's bat waking up (after a slow start) & now has 9 HR & 33 RBI, while batting .315, with a .573 Slugging percentage & .394 On-Base Percentage (.967 OPS).

The rest of the Robinson Division is a pitiful group for the most part...

• 1969 New York Mets (14-16)
• 1954 Cleveland Indians (11-19)
• 1960 Pittsburgh Pirates (10-20)
• 1971 Oakland Athletics (10-22)

The 1969 New York Mets, recently have won 5 straight, and have shown life as of late, but have a tough road ahead of them if they want to capture those last few wild card slots, with only 18 games remaining in the season. The team that currently owns the last playoff spot on the Stripes side of the spectrum are the 1917 Chicago White Sox (of the Mathewson Division / Stripes I) at 18-12. 

We'll see if these Mets have an amazin' run left in them.

BoS Season Update: Burnett's No-No & A.L. Playoff Race

A.J. Burnett tips his hat off to the crowd.

A few things from the Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League [Computer]...

The league's 10th No-Hitter has taken place, this time it was by the Louisville Sluggers' A.J. Burnett, against the San Diego Heroes. This is the second time the Heroes were no-hit this season, the previous game was on May 16th against the Fairgrove Tigers' Marco Estrada.

The Heroes become the 3rd team in league history be no-hit in league history & the 2nd team to ever be no-hit in the same season (South Shore Fighting Imps were no-hit twice, last year in 2015).

A.J. Burnett did it in typical Burnett fashion with 9 K's, yet 5 walks.

Meanwhile, on a separate note, the American League playoff race got more tight, as the Chicago Nine lost 5 straight games to the South Side Spartans -- in which the Fairgrove Tigers only trail in the A.L. West by a single game...

In the A.L. East, things got more complicated as 3 teams are only separated by three games... Both the Spartans and Corktown Tamales have winning streaks going. In the very end, only 3 of these 5 contending teams will move onto the playoffs in the American League, who will they be? 

We'll have to see how it all plays out.

'A' is for Arrieta

Jake Arrieta is just flat-out dominating in the 2016 Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League; He is 6-0 with a 0.75 ERA, 72 K (14 BB) in 60 IP (3 Complete Games!) & has allowed only 18 hits!

Oh... and after conducting a couple one-hit shutouts already... He just threw a NO-HITTER for the Corktown Tamales! It is also safe to say he will be Week 7's pitcher of the week for A.L., after already winning the weekly award twice before that.

Meanwhile, in Major League Baseball -- Jake Arrieta is 9-0 in 11 starts, I started the discussion on APBA Facebook Group, is it possible for a pitcher to reach 30 wins in a season again? They all answered 'no'... but isn't that what everyone said about the chances of a Triple Crown happening, until Miguel Cabrera broke the mode in 2012.

I personally believe he will finish with 25+ wins (27 to be exact) & I am throwing it out there that I do believe it is possible to accomplish 30 wins, even in today's game.

Here is what he's been doing in the current 2016 Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League (based on 2015 MLB statistics)....

My brother Chris informed me, while looking it stat master (provided by APBA) that opponents are batting a combined .090 against him -- that's really impressive; Plus he has allowed a 2.7 hits per nine innings.

12 Seconds of Glory

Alex Cobb of the Panthers.

So a few weeks ago, we had a no-hitter take place for Jordan Zimmerman of the Buffalo Yankees, no-hitting the Boston Bravos (their second time to be no-hit during the season). Zimmermann's no-hitter took place on July 8th, 2014.

Then two weeks later to the day, on the 22nd, Travis Wood for the Hannibal Cavemen was pitching a no-hitter against the San Diego Heroes. He was 8 innings & 2 outs through with a no-no in the works, when the Heroes pinch-hit Erik Kratz for Alex Avila -- Kratz sent a solo HR over the center-field wall, breaking it up.

This past series, I was playing an inter-league series against the tough Fairgrove Tigers, the series was 3-1 in favor of Fairgrove, and I just lost the 5th game of a 6th game series -- in which my team with a 3-2 lead blew the save & the game. Disgusted with my team's performance, I decided to simulate my last game, letting my micro-manager play it out. Turned out to be a 12-second simulation in which my Traverse City Panthers won 12-0, right away the scoreboard reflected 0 0 0 for the Fairgrove Tigers on the scoreboard under R H E -- A no-hitter was made, our league's 5th no-hitter (3rd this season) by Alex Cobb of the Panthers, it wasn't exactly a pretty one with 5 walks, but he accomplished the feat regardless. The no-hitter took place on August 1st, 2014 on our schedule.

So I guess it goes to show, even if you are frustrated with your team, you might want to play it, then again... maybe it would never have happened as well.

Zimmermann No-Hits Bravos

Jordan Zimmermann of the Buffalo Yankees, became the 4th player in the history of the Boys of Summer APBA Baseball League to pitch a no-hitter. It's the 4th in it's short league history, that has been around for only a season-and-a-half.

Zimmermann pitched the no-hitter on Saturday evening (real-time on February 7th) against the Boston Bravos; Its the 2nd time this season that the Bravos have been no-hit, the first came early in the season for Matt Cain of the Brooklyn Mets.

Of all the no-hitters, a "Perfect Game" has only happened once & that was Scott Diamond of the South Shore Fighting Imps (against Washington). Justin Verlander became the first pitcher to do it, on May 10th, 2013 against the Bronx Bombers.

Another interesting fact, is that all four of the No-Hitters were conducted by American League teams, also the victims (the ones to be no-hit) were also American League teams. Another note, three of the four pitchers (Verlander, Cain & Zimmermann) all pitched no-hitters in Major League Baseball as well.

To Pitch or Not to Pitch...

So something interesting happened today while I was playing the third game of a series between the 1998 San Diego Padres at 1954 Cleveland Indians in my Crazy 48's League.

The game was close, a 3-1 lead for the Padres entering the bottom of the 6th. The pitching matchup was the Padres' Joey Hamilton verses the Indians' Mike Garcia. The Indians are at the plate, and I decide to have Hamilton pitch to the dangerous Al Rosen, he strikes him out. My mind was made up prior to the at-bat, that I would have him pitch to Rosen, then have Randy Myers (a Grade C-Y) come out of the bullpen to pitch against the rightie, to take advantage of the in-inning pitching grade bump-up (making Myers a B-Y) against Larry Doby.

While I go to write Hamilton's information down, I notice he has not allowed a hit -- How do I miss something like this? Pretty easy, when considering the first inning alone he walked two Indians, plunked another, and a run scored off a sacrifice fly; the Padres would also allow a runner on a error by Steve Finley, and Hamilton would walk another batter in the 3rd, so nothing jumped out NO-HITTER ALERT.

So what did I do? Normally I leave the guy in, and see if he can seal the deal -- but Joey Hamilton was a Grade C, if I was to keep him in, he would have to pitch through the 7th without allowing a run (since he allowed one in the first) to get bumped up to a Grade B. Plus with Larry Doby coming up, followed by some pop with Dave Philley & Bill Glynn -- and the fact that my first instinct was go to the bullpen, I decide to proceed with Randy Myers. Myers would go on and strike Doby out, drop back to his normal Grade C, and get Philley to ground out.

We are shooting for the combined no-hitter here, I have it planned to bring Donne Wall (APBA Grade A-YW) in the bottom of the 7th, with Trevor Hoffman (A&C-K) to do double the work for the 8th & 9th. I felt that this was a very possible feat, especially considering the Indians entered the game with a horrible .161 team batting average (yes, .161!).

Donne Wall would face Bill Glynn, in which Glynn grounds out, one down. Jim Hegan would strike out, which brings up Bo Strickland. Wall would walk Strickland, should have known the chances would be good there for Strickland, he was a lousy hitter for 54' Indians, but knew how to draw a walk from time to time (his 8th of the season). So two outs, and the Tribe wants to stay in this game, so they leave their reliever (who also started in 54') Art Houtteman, because he is pitcher who knows how to come up with some hits.

Runner on first, I roll the dice... it comes up 35, look on Houtteman's card.... 35-9, and a 9 against an A pitcher with a man on first, is a base-hit! NO-HITTER, BUSTED! A strange way to get a 9 for a hitting pitcher by the way... but that's why we enjoy the game, the odd roll of the dice & the situations that play out.

This is one of many reasons, I'm really enjoying my Crazy 48's, and why I have a love affair with APBA Baseball.

Game #5's / Paige's No-Hitter

I took the last week off, the wife an I had a lot of important things to take care of, and I didn't want to get invested in APBA -- when I needed to have 100% focus elsewhere. Now that everything has been taken care of, I finished the last five games (of this batch of 24 games) during the night.

I forgot to mention it on the APBA Baseball Group, the other night, but it was mentioned on my Boys of Summer Facebook Page. On April 28th, Satchel Paige of the 1935 Crawfords no-hits the 1942 St.Louis Cardinals.

PAIGE NO-HITS MUSIAL & the 42' CARDINALS!

Satchel Paige of the 1935 Crawfords delivers the second no-hitter of the season. A few games ago, "Seattle Bill" James of the Boston Braves delivered the league's first-ever no-hitter. This is also now back-to-back record performances for Paige as well, after setting the strikeouts (single-game) record with 10 strikeouts, he now has delivered the league's second no-no. The amazing thing is that the 42' Cardinals have Hall of Fame outfielders Enos Slaughter & Stan Musial, plus Whitey Kurowski, Walker Cooper & Terry Moore.

                              R   H   E
1942 Cardinals     0    0    0
1935 Crawfords   4     6    2    F

St. Louis (3-2) / Pittsburgh (4-1)

WP- S.Paige (2-0)/ CG (2)/ SHO (1)
LP- M.Cooper (0-1)

The Remainder of Game #5's ("Crazy 48's)

                              R   H   E
1986 Mets            4    6    3
2007 Red Sox       6   11   0    F

New York (0-5) / Boston (2-3)

WP- Buchholz (1-0)
LP- R.Anderson (0-1)
SV- Papelbon (1)

INJURIES: Pedroia (BOS) - 6 Games.

Wally Backman (.412 AVG) collected 2 hits for the Mets, but seems to be the only one able do anything with the bat -- as the Mets remain winless. The Red Sox snap their 3-game skid, as David Ortiz went 3-for-4, with 2 doubles & 2 RBI's.

                            R   H   E
1975 Reds          4     7    0
1999 Rangers     2     3    1     F

Cincinnati (2-3) / Texas (3-2)

WP- Nolan (2-0)
LP- Helling (0-1)
SV- McEnaney (2)

Cesar Geronimo led the charge with a 2-for-3 performance, featuring his first HR of the season; lifting his batting average to .313. The Rangers' Todd Zeile became the fourth Ranger with at least 2 HR's for the season (hitting both solo shots in this game).

                           R   H   E
1998 Yankees    1    8    2
1976 Dodgers    3    4    1   F

New York (4-1) / Los Angeles (3-2)

WP- E.Sosa (1-0)
LP- Mendoza (0-1)
SV- Hough (3)

Davey Lopes comes into the ballgame in the bottom of the eighth (pinch-hitting for Sizemore) and hits a solo HR off of reliever Ramiro Mendoza; later in the inning, Reggie Smith would hit the go-ahead 2-run HR (his 2nd) that would seal the deal.

Maddux was in charge for Atlanta.

                        R   H   E
1998 Braves   4     9    1
1971 Giants    0     2    0     F

Atlanta (4-1) / San Francisco (3-2)

WP- Maddux (1-1)/ CG (1)/ SHO (1)
LP- G.Perry (0-1)

Greg Maddux's bid for a no-hitter was broken up in the bottom of the 7th by Bobby Bonds. Chipper Jones tied the record for 3 steals in a single ballgame.

                         R   H   E
1995 Indians   12  14   3
1980 Royals     5    5    0    F

Cleveland (1-4) / Kansas City (3-2)

WP- J.Tavarez (1-0)
LP- Quisenberry (0-1)

The Indians looked as if they were heading to a 0-5 start, after trailing 5-1, entering the top of the 7th. The Royals' suffered an injury to starting pitcher Dennis Leonard who was looking pretty good, his start next series will be bumped a game -- but the Royals bullpen imploded, especially Dan Quisenberry, who didn't look like himself, by walking 4 batters & allowing 4 hits & 5 runs in one inning of relief. Julian Tavarez earned the victory for the Tribe with 2 solid innings of relief.

                           R   H   E
1931 Athletics   3    6    1
1937 Giants      10  12   1    F

Philadelphia (3-2) / New York (3-2)

WP- Hubbell (1-1)
LP- Grove (0-2)

Lefty Grove got knocked out early again, as his record falls to 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts -- he has also allowed 9 hits & 5 walks in eleven innings of work, while striking out six. Mel Ott went 2-for-3, 2-run HR & 2 BB's.

                          R   H   E
1904 Giants      10  16   4
1971 Athletics   5     6   0    F

New York (3-2) / Oakland (1-4)

WP- McGinnity (2-0)
LP- Blue (0-2)

Vida Blue got rocked again, he has now allowed 12 ER's (9.82 ERA) & 6 walks in 11 innings of work. Billy Gilbert & Dan McGann each had 4 RBI for the Giants.

                         R   H   E
1968 Tigers     3     6    1
1981 Expos     2     5    1     F

Detroit (3-2) / Montreal (3-2)

WP-McLain (1-0)
LP- Gullickson (1-1)
SV- D.Patterson (1)

Bill Freehan hit HR #4 of the season, a 2-run HR at the top of the 6th off of Bill Gullickson that would be the difference-maker. Willie Horton added HR #3. Montreal's Tim Raines swiped his 7th bag.

George Caster (Browns)

                          R   H   E
1927 Yankees   0    4    0
1944 Browns     1    2    0    F

New York (1-4) / St. Louis (2-3)

WP- J.Kramer (1-0)
LP- Hoyt (0-1)
SV- Caster (1)

During the first round of the APBA Tournament of Champions, the Yankees swept these same Browns, 3-0 -- this time, the Browns turned the tables, as Milt Brynes' solo HR was the difference. The Yankees' team ERA is 6.80 after five games.

                            R   H   E
1971 Pirates       1     4    0
1985 Blue Jays  2     6    0    F

Pittsburgh (1-4) / Toronto (3-2)

WP- Stieb (1-0)
LP- Blass (1-1)
SV- Lamp (1)

The Blue Jays like to play close games, they are now 3-2 with a score differential of 1 run. George Bell's 2-run blast in the bottom of the fourth was the decisive factor.

                        R   H   E
1984 Tigers     8    8    1
1998 Padres    1    6    1    F

Detroit (5-0) / San Diego (2-3)

WP- J.Morris (2-0)
LP- K.Brown (0-2)

Kevin Brown & the Padres were in countrol, up 1-0, with 2 outs on the Tigers during the top of the 6th -- with Barbaro Garbey on first, Lance Parrish knocked in a 2-run HR to take the lead in which they never looked back. Tigers would score 6 runs in the top of the 8th as well, including a 2-run triple by Howard Johnson (who leads the Tigers with 7 RBI's). Greg Vaughn hit HR #4 of the season.

Medwick delivers clutch single against Yanks.

                           R   H   E
1937 Yankees    2    3    0
1934 Cardinals   3    8    1    F

New York (1-4) / St. Louis (3-2)

WP- Haines (1-0)
LP- I.Andrews (0-1)

Frankie Frisch tied the game with a RBI triple off of reliever Ivy Andrews, in which Joe Medwick followed that up with the go-ahead RBI single. Myril Hoag had 2 of the Yankees' three hits (including a 2-run double).

                         R   H   E
1977 Phillies    6    7    0
1993 Giants     1    2    2    F

Philadelphia (4-1) / San Francisco (3-2)

WP- Garber (1-0)
LP- Mi.Jackson (0-1)

INJURIES: Ro.Thompson (SF) - 5 Games.

Tim McCarver put the game further out of reach with his pinch-hit Grand Slam off of Mike Jackson, during the top of the ninth.

                          R   H   E
2002 Athletics   1    3    2
1983 Orioles     3    6    1     F

Oakland (1-4) / Baltimore (2-3)

WP- McGregor (1-1)
LP- Zito (0-2)
SV- Tp.Martinez (2)

INJURIES: T.Cruz (BAL) - 1 Game

Replacing the injured Todd Cruz, Gary Roenicke hit the deciding 2-run HR in the bottom of the fifth. Scott McGregor was spectacular, allowing only 2 hits & a ER in 8 innings (4 strikeouts).

Brown (Cubs) sets 'K' mark with 11.

                      R   H   E
1906 Cubs     9   12   0
1969 Mets    1     3    1     F

Chicago (4-1) / New York (2-3)

WP- Mo.Brown (2-0) / CG (2)
LP- Seaver (1-1)

Mordecai Brown breaks the single-game strikeout record held by Satchel Paige & Denny McLain, with the new mark of 11 strikeouts, as the Mets were no match for the Cubs. Chance & Steinfeldt each had 4 hits, while Steinfeldt also had 4 RBI.

                              R   H   E
1917 White Sox    3    7    1
1953 Dodgers       4    5    0     F

Chicago (1-4) / Brooklyn (2-3)

WP- Erskine (2-0)
LP- Cicotte (0-2)
SV- J.Hughes (1)

Carl Erskine pitched another good outing, as the bullpen also contributed by holding off the White Sox. Billy Cox smacked in a 2-run pinch-hit double, as the Dodgers score 3 in the bottom of the fifth. Chick Gandil had 2 RBI's for Chicago.

                             R   H   E
2001 Mariners     3   12   1
1962 Dodgers       2    8    2     F / 11 Inn

Seattle (3-2) / Los Angeles (1-4)

WP- R.Franklin (2-0)
LP- Roebuck (0-2)
SV- Sasaki (3)

Ichiro smacked in Carlos Guillen with a single, for the go-ahead run at the top of the 11th, as Kasahiro Sasaki comes in for his third save. The Mariners' bullpen has been phenomenal, allowing no runs in 21 innings of work.

                             R   H   E
1954 Indians        11  13  0
1925 Senators       1    6   1    F

Cleveland (2-3) / Washington (2-3)

WP- Lemon (1-1)
LP- Coveleski (0-2)

The Indians would go on and score 7 runs in the third off of Stan Coveleski, including a 3-run triple by Vic Wertz & RBI double by Indians' starting pitcher Bob Lemon. Bobby Avila hit his 2nd HR of the season.

                            R   H   E
1969 Orioles       5    8    0
1993 Phillies       3    5    2    F

Baltimore (3-2) / Philadelphia (1-4)

WP- Cuellar (1-1)
LP- Schilling (0-1)
SV- D.Hall (1)

Don Buford of the Orioles fell a triple short of the cycle, going 3-for-5, 2 RBI's, while scoring twice. Frank Robinson hit HR #2, while the Phillies' Lenny Dykstra smacked in his first of the season (2-run HR).

Back-to-Back complete games for Root.

                            R   H   E
1946 Red Sox     1    5    1
1929 Cubs           5   12   1    F

Boston (1-4) / Chicago (4-1)

WP- Root (2-0)/ CG (2)
LP- Ferriss (0-2)

After allowing a RBI double (to Dom DiMaggio) with no outs in the first, Charlie Root of the Cubs settled down and shut down the Red Sox with a complete game, allowing only 5 hits -- He also contributed to his cause with a 2-run HR in the bottom of the sixth inning. The Cubs' Rogers Hornsby went 4-for-5, 2 doubles, RBI & 2 runs. 

                          R   H   E
1912 Giants      3    4    1
1940 Reds        4    7    0     F

New York (3-2) / Cincinnati (2-3)

WP- Vander Meer (1-0)
LP- Wiltse (1-1)
SV- Beggs (1)

The Giants appeared to have this game under control, until Hooks Wiltse blown the good game that Christy Mathewson got started, allowing a 3-run HR to Frank McCormick -- The inning started with an error by Fred Snodgrass. Joe Beggs came into the game to get his first save in his first appearance of the season.

                          R   H   E
1912 Red Sox   0    5    0
1960 Pirates      5    8    1     F

Boston (3-2) / Pittsburgh (4-1)

WP- Friend (2-0)
LP- J.Wood (0-2)

Pirates snap the Red Sox' three-game winning streak, as Bob Friend pitched 7 scoreless innings, allowing only one walk & 4 hits. "Smokey" Joe Wood has yet to pitch to his potential, allowing 16 hits & 5 walks in 10 innings of work this season, with a 12.60 ERA.

                         R   H   E
1953 Yankees  0    3    0
1914 Braves     1    5    0    F

New York (2-3) / Boston (4-1)

WP- D.Rudolph (2-0)/ CG (1)/ SHO (1)
LP- W.Ford (0-2)

Dick Rudolph's excellent pitching (3 hits allowed) & Butch Schmidt's RBI single in the first inning was the difference in this one.

NO-HITTER for James & other Game #2's

BRAVES' JAMES PITCHES NO-NO AGAINST A's!

"Seattle Bill" no-hits Oakland!

"Seattle Bill" James of the 1914 Boston Braves becomes the first pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the Stars & Stripes ("Crazy 48's") League, against the 1971 Oakland Athletics. James also struck out 9 batters, while walking two & plunking Mike Epstein with a pitch.

The Braves would score three runs in the bottom of the fifth, 2 of those runs came on a triple by Rabbit Maranville. Hank Gowdy put the game away with a 2-run HR in the bottom of the sixth, making it 6-0.

                             R   H   E

1971 Athletics      0    0    0

1914 Braves         6    8    0      F

Boston (2-0) / Oakland (0-2)

WP- B.James (1-0)/ CG (1)/ SHO (1)

LP- C.Hunter (0-1)

The rest of the league -- Crazy 48's League / Game # 2

                            R   H   E
2007 Red Sox     1    4    0
1980 Royals        3    7    0     F

Boston (1-1) / Kansas City (1-1)

WP- Gura (1-0)
LP- Matsuzaka (0-1)
SV- Quisenberry (1)

George Brett set the tone with his 2-run HR in the first, Hal McRae went 3-for-3, 2B & RBI.

                          R   H   E
1993 Phillies     2    6    1
1971 Giants      7   11   2    F

Philadelphia (0-2) / San Francisco (2-0)

WP- Marichal (1-0)
LP- Mulholland (0-1)

The Giants after their dramatic win in Game 1, continued where they left off with Willie Mays hitting a 3-run HR in the first inning. Ken Henderson went 2-for-3, 3B, RBI & 2 BB's for the Giants. The Phils' Eisenreich had 3 hits in their losing cause.

                           R   H   E
1925 Senators    5    7    0
1969 Mets          4    9    1      F

Washington (1-1) / New York (1-1)

WP- W.Johnson (1-0)
LP- Koosman (0-1)
SV- Marberry (1)

It was looking like deja vu with Ken Boswell, once again leading the charge for the Mets in the fourth inning, scoring 3 runs off of "The Big Train", but the Senators would bounce back and take the lead in the top of the 6th, with Goose Goslin hitting his first HR of the young season. Washington's Firpo Marberry comes in for a two-inning save.

                           R   H   E
1998 Yankees    3    4    2
1986 Mets          2    5    2      F / 13 Innings

N.Y. Yankees (2-0) / N.Y. Mets (0-2)

WP- G.Lloyd (1-0)
LP- R.McDowell (0-1)
SV- M.Rivera (1)

The game was knotted up 1-1 after 4 innings, and would stay gridlocked through 8 more innings -- until Derek Jeter's 2-run HR in the top of the 13th. The game stayed interesting with Howard Johnson's lead-off HR off of Mariano Rivera in the bottom half, but Mariano would settle down & close it out.

Both David Wells (NYY) & Ron Darling had solid starts, Wells 5 K's, 1 ER through 7 IP & Darling 6 K's, 1 ER through 6.2 IP.

                           R   H   E
1934 Cardinals   6   14   0
1937 Giants        3     6   0      F

St. Louis (2-0) / New York (0-2)

WP- D.Vance (1-0)
LP- Coffman (0-1)
SV- Haines (1)

Frankie Frisch adds 3 more hits (a total of 6 now) as the Cardinals keep adding their hit totals as well, with 27 now in the first two games. Whitehead (of the Giants) hit a 2-run HR. 

                           R   H   E
1962 Dodgers    2    5    1
1999 Rangers    3    5    0      F

Los Angeles (0-2) / Texas (2-0)

WP- Sele (1-0)
LP- Roebuck (0-1)
SV- Wettleland (1)

Rafael Palmeiro hits his 2nd HR of the season, as Frank Howard hit a 2-run HR for the Dodgers. Aaron Sele was strong through 7 innings for the Rangers, striking out 7, allowing only 5 hits & 2 runs.

                           R   H   E
1971 Pirates      3     6    1
1981 Expos       11   10   2     F

Pittsburgh (1-1) / Montreal (1-1)

WP- Gullickson (1-0)
LP- D.Ellis (0-1)

John Milner who came in off the bench in Game 1 & hit a HR, has hit his 2nd HR of the season in Game #2 for Montreal. Tim Raines got SB #3 & #4 already, as Rodney Scott went 1-for-2, Sac Fly, 2 BB's, 2 RBI's & a steal in this one. Roberto Clemente added a 2-run HR (now has 4 RBI & 5 hits for the season).

                            R   H   E
1968 Tigers         7   10   2
1985 Blue Jays   8   12   0      F / 10 Innings

Detroit (0-2) / Toronto (2-0)

WP- Acker (1-0)
LP- Hiller (0-2)

No matter how much closer the Tigers got the Jays would inch forward a little bit more, until the top of the ninth, Dick McAuliffe scored on Al Kaline's ground out to finally tie the game in the top of the ninth, with Henke blowing the save like Hiller did the game before. Speaking of Hiller, Hiller came in the bottom of the 10th, this time with the game tied, and the Jays deliver another walk-off winner in the 10th! This time with a RBI single by Cliff Johnson!

                          R   H   E
1993 Giants       3    9    0
1983 Orioles      0    3    1      F

San Francisco (2-0) / Baltimore (0-2)

WP- Burkett (1-0)/ CG (1)/ SHO (1)
LP- S.Davis (0-1)

Burkett was pitching a no-hitter into the 5th inning when Rick Dempsey broke it up with a one-out double. Robby Thompson hits his first HR of the season for the Giants.

                          R   H   E
1912 Red Sox   4    4    1
1953 Dodgers   0    1    2       F

Red Sox (1-1) / Brooklyn (1-1)

WP- B.O'Brien (1-0)/ CG (1)/ SHO (1)
LP- R.Meyer (0-1)

Both sides was relatively quiet, Harry Hooper went 2-for-5 with SB & run, as Jake Stahl also added two singles. The Dodgers only manufactured one hit, after their 17-run, 16-hit explosion on Opening Day.

Verlander, PURR-Fect on PS3!

So, I have been playing (renting) MLB13: The Show this week, after my brother-in-law loaned it to us indefinitely since he doesn't use it often. I have been playing it non stop since Tuesday night, and the cool thing is that I work nights (and had Tues & Weds) off.

I'm playing the Tigers of course, and have decided to play only the Justin Verlander starts, except for one against the Nationals, in which Scherzer pitched (wanted to see the realistic graphics of Bryce Harper). In the very first game I played, it was a Spring Training game against the Atlanta Braves, I was cruising and mowing down every Brave in site, the game got to the 5th in where Matt Vasgersian on my game decides to mention the perfect game.

I got to the 9th, and had one out when Andrelton Simmons placed a looper perfectly in between 2nd & short to break up the perfect game.

No big whoop, I would also put together four one-hit shutouts against Minnesota, Joe Mauer got hits early in two of the games, and the game must read real-life menaces like Jamey Carroll (little gnats), who actually has played the Tigers really well as a Indian & Twin. Luke Scott seems to have the Tigers' number in this game as well, as Luke Scott tied a 2-0 game, hitting a game-tying 2-run HR in the 8th & then hitting a walk-off 2-run HR off my relievers as well. Luke Scott used to kill the Tigers as an Oriole, for those that may not know.

There was another game in Houston, which the opposing pitcher was Phillip Humber of all people, and both were pitching great, I only had 4 hits while the Stros couldn't do anything off Verlander. Andy Dirks launched a solo shot to left-center that broke the 0-0 tie in the 7th, thank god because having a no-no with no score could make chances tougher, then during the top of the 9th, I exploded off the bullpen for 8 runs in the top of the 8th. Not sure if the long wait had anything to do with it, but their second hitter that innings got a base hit to break up the Perfect Game.

I have also been cruising through the games by skipping my batting sequences, I'm a bit of a streaky hitter, not to mention free-swinger, so I would simulate the half-innings, so I can just mow people down with J.V.!

At the All-Star Break, The Tigers were in first by 4.5 games over Kansas City, both Prince Fielder & Miguel Cabrera have 30 & 31 HR's (while Fielder has 86 RBI's) -- both were the finalists in the Homerun Derby in which Cabrera won (53 total), then Miguel smacked a 2-run HR in the All-Star Game off of starter Matt Cain, to help in the 11-0 victory over the N.L.

Victor Martinez has been a joke for me, and while shopping for a fix, I saw that Brandon Inge was a free agent, and brought him back to Detroit. In games he plays, I move Cabrera to first & Prince to DH. Brennan Boesch, who was on the roster, before I could cut him, he's done really well for me in the OF & DH, so he has stuck. Torii Hunter really struggled out of the gates in April, but lifted his average as high as .276, and now it sits at around .260 (while batting under .200 against lefties).

Verlander, at the All-Star Break sat at 15-1, 1.20 ERA, 19 GS (18 quality starts), 6 SHO with 225 K's in 142.1 innings -- I have two goals to get the no-hitter or perfect game that I felt was actually a matter of time & for Verlander to break the 383 Ks in a single-season record. Now he appears 400 K's is possible, if he continues the mad path towards it. His only loss came against the Angels.

Like I said it was a matter of time, and in his second start after the All-Star Break in Chicago, Justin Verlander pitched a perfect game on July 24th against the White Sox, with 17 K's! I've had as much as 18 K's, while 15 or 16 are nothing new to me. It was cool to see the team celebrate and lift Verlander up, in the old days video games didn't read like that, I once pitched a no-hitter with John Smoltz (in 1998 or whatever) in which the announcers didn't seem to even bother mentioning the accomplishment, with Smoltz and his teammates acting like it's just another day!

His K rate per 9 Innings is something like 14.5, while his WHIP (Walks + Hits per Innings) is only 0.45!

I will admit, that I am playing at Beginners rate, but yet find opposing pitching still challenging enough to make games interesting, but I'm also known to pitch great on the other levels, I have more of a tough time hitting -- like I said, a bit of a free-swinger, who from time to time gets hot at the right time. One of my favorite moments when I ended up hitting 3 HRs in one inning off of Jarrod Parker in Oakland of all places, the fans were getting quite upset -- plus you should have seen the 3-run moonshot by Prince Fielder!

I haven't had this much fun with a video game athlete since the Cowboys "hey day" in which I used to run Emmitt Smith down people's throats for his annual dosage of 2,000+ rushing yards!

There was some interesting trades by the computer, I was surprised (yet not) to see Justin Morneau hitting for the Nationals, and then to read the trade wire in which the Angels traded Albert Pujols to the San Francisco Giants for a pitching prospect & 1B-Brandon Belt! The Angels and Giants, both underachieving & trailing the Wild Card spot, are trying to make the necessary moves to make the playoffs. We'll have to see how the rest of the season plays out (which will be this weekend) since I only have the game until Sunday night!

Now is it tougher to get a no-no in a video game than say APBA Baseball? I like to say yes, because I have only did it twice my entire life and computers can be glitchy and work against you, yet I was pretty confident after my Spring Training debut that it would definitely happen at some point this week, especially after the string of one-hitters & Verlander making a joke of the league now with his 0.98 ERA, 18-1 record & 283 K's & only 12 walks in 174.2 innings (0.45 WHIP) & 8 SHO's! So on beginner's mode, it may be pretty easy, like I said it felt like a foregone conclusion after the debut, the other night.

I have probably 12 no-hitters in APBA, could be more (two by Greg Maddux), & one perfect game (Don Sutton) -- I happened to get three of my APBA no-hitters on the same day as MLB no-hitters actually happened, which was really weird.