ALDS: 'Stros Roll over Chisox in 4

Houston Continues to Roll

After a winning the play in game at the ’25 A’s, and then coming back towards the future to Cleveland to squeak out a 1-0 win over the 2013 Indians in the Wild Card game, the Way Back Machine deposited the Astros in Comisky Park, circa 1977.

Game #1

HOU  5   9 3

CWS  9 12 0

WP – Kravec  LP – Fields

HR – Zisk, Soderholm

Lance McCullers got the Game 1 start vs. lefty Ken Kravec.  The scoring started in the bottom of the 2^nd when Richie Zisk walked and Jim Spencer singled him to 3^rd.  Soderholm then walked to load the bases with no one out.  Ralph Garr followed with a sac fly to left center to score Zisk.  McCullers bore down and struck out Jim Essian and Alan Bannister to get out of trouble with just the one run scoring.

In the 4^th Altuve hit a one out single and with two out Marwin Gonzalez doubled to send Altuve to 3^rd.  Colby Rasmus then followed with a single to bring them both in and put Houston up 2-1.  In the home half, Zisk doubled, went to 3^rd on a wild pitch and scored as Garr netted his 2^nd RBI with a single up the middle.

Houston went out in front again in the 5^th when George Springer scored Chris Carter from second with a single to center. In the bottom of the 6^th Josh Fields relieved McCullers.  Garr doubled and Essian drove him home with a double of his own to make the score 3-3 heading to the 7^th.

Houston went in order and Fields came out for his 2^nd inning of relief.  Chet Lemon grounded to Altuve who threw the ball into the stands allowing Lemon to take 2^nd.  Fields struck out Oscar Gamble and then turned the ball over to Chad Qualls.  Qualls struck out Zisk and looked like he might escape, but Spencer singled to left and then Soderholm launched a 2 run shot to left to give the Sox a 6-3 lead.

In the 8^th, Zisk added a 3 Run homer to extend the lead to 9-3.  In the 9^th, Houston scored 2 runs on a Chris Carter double before Villar grounded out to end the game.

Game #2

HOU 9 12 3

CWS 8 12 1

WP – Feldman   LP – Barrios  Sv – Gregerson

HR – Springer, Villar, Rasmus, Zisk, Essian

Chicago picked up where they left off in Game 1, with Zisk clonking a solo HR to lead of the 2^nd and   In the top of the 3^rd Rasmus and Gattis singled before Castro drove Rasmus in with a double down the right field line and Springer pulled a 3 run HR to left, giving the Stros a 4-3 lead.  In the bottom half of the 3^rd, Lemon reached on an error, moved to 3^rd on a Zisk single and scored on a Spencer single to tie the score at 4-4.

Essian knocking out a 2 run shot later in the inning.

In the 5^th, Castro walked and with one out Villar pulled a ball to right field stands to put Houston back up 6-4.  And in the 6^th, Valbuena double and scored on Colby Rasmus’ 2 run shot to right making the score 8-4.  In the 7^th Houston added an insurance run on a Villar single and Preston Tucker double. 

In the bottom of the 7^th, Lemon reached on a single and Tony Sipp came in to relieve Feldman and face Gamble.  Gamble walked and then Zisk also walked to load the bases with no one out.  With the lefty on the hill, Chi Sox manager Thomas brought in Lance Johnson to PH for Spencer and he lined a single to left to score Lemon.  Sipp got Soderholm to pop out but Ralph Garr droved in another one with a single up the middle.  Will Harris came in to slow things down and induced Essian to ground to short.  But Correa bobbled the ball, allowing another run to score and the inning to continue.  Harris got Bannister to strike out, but the Sox were back in this one, 9-7.   Luke Gregerson came in for the 9^th and made it interesting allowing a run on a Bannister single before closing it out.  9-8 Astros.

Game #3

CWS 2 2 0

HOU 6 7 0

WP – Fields   LP – Kucek  Sv – Harris

HR – Villar, Correa

The teams headed to Houston for Game 3 with Dave Frost going up against Dallas Keuchel.  Houston got on the board first when Villar drove in Jake Marisnick with a 2 out single.  The White Sox came back in the 5^th against Keuchel.  Dallas gave up a single to Soderholm and then loaded the bases with two one out walks to Brian Downing and Bannister.  That brought Ralph Garr to the plate who bounced one to the pitcher.  Keuchel too long to make his throw to the plate and everyone was safe, and the game was tied.  Chet Lemon drove Downing in with a long fly to left and the White Sox had the lead halfway through. 

Frost left after 6 innings allowing only 1 run on 3 hits and turned the ball over to Jack Kucek.  A walk, a double and a walk loaded the bases and Springer tied the game with a sac fly.  Then Jonathan Villar knocked a 3 run HR to take the lead, 5-2.  Carlos Correa added a solo HR leading of the 8^th and that was the ball game.  Astros win 6-2 and lead the series 2-1. 

Game #4

CWS   4   7 1

HOU 11 16 1

WP – McHugh  LP- Stone

HR – Lemon, Gamble 2, Essian, Springer, Rasmus

With their backs to the wall the White Sox sent Steve Stone to the mound to face Collin McHugh.  McHugh was still riding high off his win in the play in game vs the A’s.   While McHugh was still patting him self on the back, Chet Lemon and Oscar Gamble went back to back with solo HR’s in the top of the first.  Collin settled down and in the bottom of the 3^rd the Astros tied it up on a Castro double and a Villar sac fly. 

Essian led of the 5^th inning with a solo HR to put the Sox back up on top.  In the bottom of the 5^th Houston erupted for 5 runs, the big hit being a bases loaded double by Jose Altuve that scored 3.  Springer padded the lead with a solo HR in the bottom of the 6^th.  Rasmus hit a solo shot in the 7^th and the Astros added two more runs in the 8^th.  Oscar Gamble led of the 9^th with his 2^nd HR of the day, but that was it for the White Sox as the Astros took the game 11-4 and the series 3-1.

--submitted by Tom Landers--

NLDS: Braves kick Phillies butt 3 to nothing. Congrats Erik good luck in the next round.

Charlie Leibrandt (4-2, 2.35) tosses a tidy 2 hit shutout to stymie the '93 Phightin's.  David Justice (2-3) along with Otis Nixon (3-4) paced an 11 hit Brave attack.

ALWC: Stros take LDS 1-0 over Tribe

In a tight one, a solo homer by Preston Tucker off Ubaldo Jimenez was all Houston needed (and got) in a 1-0 win. Cleveland could only muster four meaningless singles and a leadoff double that went nowhere off Keuchel and the pen.

--Joe Pryweller--

AL Play In Game: "The last Stro for the Mackmen"

The Astros traveled back in time to Shibe Park to take on the A’s.  Righty Collin McHugh started for the Astros while Jack Quinn took the ball for the A’s.  The temp was a comfortable 73 degrees, but there was a 12 mph wind blowing straight out to CF.

George Springer led off the game with a single to right center.  Marwin Gonzalez bunted him to 2^nd, but Springer was thrown out at the plate by Bing Miller when he tried to score on a Jose Altuve single to left.  Correa grounded out to end the inning.  In the bottom of the first Al Simmons reached base on a single, but he was stranded at first.

In the 2^nd, Luis Valbuena led off with a single and scored on Colby Rasmus’ double to the right center gap.  Jason Castro doubled to score Rasmus.  McHugh worked a walk and with two outs Gonzalez brought in Castro with a single to center and Altuve drove in McHugh with a double to left center.  Carlos Correa walked and Quinn signaled to the dugout that he could not continue due to a sore arm.  Lefty Grove game in to end the inning.  In the A’s half, with two outs and Bill Lamar on first, Chick Galloway launched a double down the line in left.  But Lamar was thrown out by Preston Tucker as he tried to score, and the score remained 4-0 Houston.

In the 3^rd, Tucker doubled to right and Castro hit his 2 HR of the season to deep right to make the score 6-0. 

McHugh then singled and George Springer knocked one out for his own 2 run shot to give the Stros an 8-0 lead.  With one out in the bottom of the 3^rd, Calloway walked and Al Simmons went deep.  Jimmie Dykes followed that with a solo shot and the A’s were climbing back into it, 8-3.

The game and wind settled down after that and both teams were unproductive for a few innings.  McHugh tired in the 6^th and was relieved by Pat Neshak, who ended the inning.  The bullpens held serve until with one out in the 8^th Lamar drove in Jim Poole from 3^rd with a sac fly.  Houston went quietly in the 9^th and Luke Gregerson pitched a perfect 9^th to end the game.  Final Score Astros 8  A’s 4.

Congrats to Jim for a great season.  And it’s on to Cleveland for the Astros.

Some bugs were encountered with the game.  When Quinn left with his injury and Lefty Grove was brought in, there was no option to insert him into the batting order.  When he ended the inning the #9 spot stayed blank.  And after the #8 hitter ended the 2^nd, the #1 hitter led off the 3^rd – skipping the blank 9 spot.  When the 9 spot came around again in the 4^th, the game forced Jim to insert a pinch hitter.  But it did not require the pitcher to be removed and the PH stayed in the 9 spot with a “?” for his position.  When Grove was pulled the new pitcher (and a fourth pitcher later) never appeared in the lineup.   The box score shows only Quinn in the lineup, with two PH’s.  The other three pitchers only appear in the pitching section.

--submitted by T-Landers--

Bucs Slash Mets to take 3 of 4

BUCS SLASH METS TAKING THREE OF FOUR

Game 1

PIT 7 NYM 0

Mike Dunne (1-2) pitched 5 shutout innings and Jeff Robinson and Bob Kipper 2 each as the Pirates beat the Mets easily in the opener. Bruce Berenyi (1-1) takes the loss as Ed Lynch falters in relief (2 IP, 4 R). Barry Bonds hits a HR (6) and drives in four to lead Pittsburgh.

Game 2

PIT 3 NYM 1

Doug Drabek (3-4) outpitched rookie sensation Dwight Gooden (2-4) as the Bucs take a 2-0 series lead. Drabek got a complete game victory, allowing only 3 hits, 1 unearned run and striking out 7. Gooden went 8 innings, allowed only 2 runs on 3 hits and struck out 11. Andy Van Slyke hit a 2 run HR (6) that proved to be the difference in the game.

Game 3

PIT 6 NYM 2

The series moved to Three Rivers Stadium and the Pirates kept on winning. Bob Walk, battling injuries, pitched a solid 7 2/3 to get the win to go 5-2 on the season. Ron Darling was roughed up for 5 runs in 4 innings as his record drops to 4-2. Jim Gott got his 6^th save. Van Slyke continued his hot hitting, going 4-4 with a double and 3 RBIs. Catcher Mike Lavailliere continued to flirt with .400 as he went 2 for 2 with 2 walks.

Game 4

NYM 4  PIT 2  12 innings

The Mets salvage a game with an extra inning win. Darryl Strawberry tripled in the top of the 12^th, off Barry Jones, to break a 2-2 tie and then scored an insurance run on a George Foster sac fly. The Mets led 2-1 going to the bottom of the 9^th , as Walt Terrell and John Smiley locked up in a great pitcher’s duel. In the bottom of the 9^th, the Pirates tied it on a Barry Bonds singled and had the bases loaded and one out when reliever Jesse Orosco got pinch hitter Dave Hostetler to hit into a 1-2-3 DP to send the game to extra innings.

Pirates and Mets are now each 16-18 and on the outside looking in for a playoff spot with one week to go.

--submitted by Raylesbert--

South-Side Hitmen near AL West Title

Game #1
MINNEAPOLIS -- Eric Soderholm (4) belted a 3-run home run in the 4th and Richie Zisk (8) followed up with a solo shot as the 77 South Side Hitmen powered their way past the 87 Twins 5-4. Minnesota was not without its own power display as the MetroDome played small. Greg Gagne (5) hit a solo shot in the 1st and Roy Smalley followed with a 2-run blast in the 2nd. Soderholm and Lamar Johnson led all hitters with 3 hits apiece. Steve Stone (4-1) was the starting and winning pitcher for the ChiSox. Lerrin Lagrow added his 10th save. Frank Viola (3-2) took the loss.

Game#2
MINNEAPOLIS -- Chicago scored in each of the first 5 innings with a 2-spot going up in the 1st to cruise to a 6-0 lead. Francisco Barrios (3-2), Don Kirkwood, and Dave Hamilton (2) made it hold up for a 6-3 win. Joe Niekro's (0-4) knuckler couldn't stop the onslaught. Oscar Gamble (8) and Gagne (6) provided HRs for their respective clubs.

Game #3
CHICAGO -- Dan Gladden pounded out 3 hits, including an RBI single in the 9th that lifted the Twins to an 8-7 win in ChiTown. A lot of back-and-forth drama in this one with the long ball playing a big part. Gamble (9) put the Pale Hose up 3-2 with a 2-run blast in the 3rd. Tom Brunansky (10) hit a solo shot in the 4th to tie the game. Kirby Puckett (6) stepped into one with a man on in the 6th and put Minny back up 6-5. The home club tied the game in B6, only to see the visitors jump ahead 7-6 with another run in the T7. Jorge Orta (2) then knotted the game again with a solo shot in the 8th. George Frazier (1-0) picked up the win in relief after first getting the blown save. Bart Johnson (3-1) was tagged with his first loss of the season.

Game #4
CHICAGO -- Oscar Gamble's (10) 2-run bomb in the 8th ignited the Hitmen to a 5-3 win. Minnesota went up 3-0 with Brunansky's league-leading 11th tater, a solo shot in the 4th, capping the scoring.the Sox plated 1 in the B4th, then tied the contest on Orta's (2) 2-run blast in the 5th. LaGrow (1-2) got the win for Chicago with Keith Atherton (1-1) tagged with the L.

61 Redlegs shock 84 Metropolitans winning 2 of 3

GAME #1
CINCINNATI -- Bill Henry (3) took the mound for Cincy with 2 outs in the 9th and the Reds clinging to a 5-4 lead. Wally Backman represented the tying run at second. PH John Christensen came off the bench for the Metropolitans, and grounded to 1B to end the game.  New York tallied first when Rafael Santana doubled home Hubie Brooks in the 2nd. The Redlegs responded with a pair in the bottom half off a Jerry Lynch 2-run, 2-bagger. George Foster's (8) solo shot in the 4th tied it at 2-2. Gene Freese (3) led off with a HR in the B4 to give Cincy the lead back. Later in the inning, starting and winning pitcher Jim O'Toole (2-3) singled in another run to make it 4-2. Mookie Wilson (6) brought the Mets 1 closer with a solo blast in the 8th. Freese answered again in the bottom of the frame with an RBI double, 5-3 Reds. PH Rusty Staub got one more home for NY in the 9th with an IF groundout, but the rally ended there. The sensational rookie Dwight Gooden fell to 2-3.

Game #2
CINCINNATI -- Ron Darling (4-2) fired 8 innings of 3-hit, shutout ball as the Mets whitewhashed the Reds 3-0. Jesse Orosco (5) closed out the final inning. Foster was the leading offensive performer with 3 hits. He singled and scored in the 7th. In the 8th, he doubled in a run. Keith Hernandez drove in the New Yorkers first run with a sac fly in the 2nd. Joey Jay (2-5) started and lost for Cincinnati.

Game #3
NEW YORK -- Frank Robinson went 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored and 5 RBI to lead the Reds to an easy 8-1 win in the rubber game. F. Robby (5,6,7) cranked 3 shots out of the ballpark. Knuckleballer Bob Purkey (4-3) went the distance on the hill. Vada Pinson chipped in 3 hits. Walt Terrell (2-2) took the loss.