Halos sink Mariner in 4 game sweep

05 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (Doug Zaner) vs. '01 Seattle mariners (Michael Hopcroft)

Game 1: LAA 3, SEA 1

Anaheim opened the scoring on an RBI groundout by Adam Kennedy in the third. The M's struck back in the fifth as Mark McLemore drove in David Bell who had singled to lead off the inning – only to be left on base himself. Freddy Garcia and Bartolo Colon dueled it out until the seventh, when Darrin Erstad hit an RBI triple, Cabrera drove him home with a grounder to third, and Figgins tripled only to be left on base. After that, the Angels bullpen held true to preserve the win.

Game 2: LAA 7, SEA 1

John Lackey pitched well on short rest for the Angels, but John Halama matched him. Vladimir Guerrero sacrifice fly provided the only score in the first seven innings, as the game was handed over to both bullpens. The mariners tied it in the eighth on John Olerud's RBI single, but then the floodgates opened when Norm Charlton and Jose Paniagua pitched the ninth. In the final inning the Angels sent eleven men to the plate and scored six runs. The M's went meekly in the ninth and the Angels got the sweep of the games in Seattle.

Game 3: LAA 5, SEA 3

The series returned to Anaheim With Aaron Sele dueling Paul Bryd for the early part of the game. The Angels opened with and RBI Triple by Vlad Guerrero, followed by a Rivera sac fly. The M's came back to tie on consecutive RBI hits by Carlos Guillen and Ichiro Suzuki (who hit one of four triples in the game by both sides) and took the lead on a solo shot by David Bell in the seventh. But the Angels exploded for three in the seventh off of Jeff Nelson, climaxing with an RBI single by Guerrero, and the Angels bullpen held to secure the win and clinch the series.

Game 4: LAA 9, SEA 8

By the fourth inning, it looked like the Angels had the sweep wrapped up. Jamie Moyer had been torched for nine runs, including a three-run shot by Juan Rivera, by the fourth inning and it appeared he would have no choice but to take one for the team. But Ryan Franklin pitched two scoreless innings and the M's started to mount a comeback. First Bret Boone hit a two-out grand slam in the seventh, the Jose Guillen drove in two with a double in the eighth. Fernando Rodriguez came on in the ninth and promptly loaded the bases. Ed Sprague was walked to force in a run and place the tying run on third. Then Dan Wilson hit a deep fly ball to left that would have easily scored Edgar Martinez – were it not for a spectacular throw by Garret Anderson. Martinez was cut down at the plate, the game was over, and K-Rod had recorded what Doug described as “the ugliest save ever recorded”. The Mariners, favored at the beginning of the series, had been swept in dramatic, definitive fashion.

TURNING POINT: The M's rally in the final three innings of Game 4 showed great resiliency, but came just short. Up to that point, the Mariners had had great difficulty scoring runs, averaging fewer than three per game. That the Angels were able to blunt the rally against all odds showed their resolve as well.

SERIES MVP: Any number of Angels could have been considered Series MVP.But Vladimir Guerrero stood out, hitting .400 to date. And Garret Anderson's game-saving throw in the ninth of game 4 was an incredible play that cannot be overlooked. --submitted by Michael Hopcroft--

Northern Expos-ure

1977 Phillies (Gary B) vs 1979 Expos (Marc W)

GAME 1 (The Vet): MON 9, PHI 1 - 49 minute rain delay in 5th

Normally when one team's #1 starter (Steve Carlton - PHI) faces a team's #5 guy (Scott Sanderson - MON) the fans expect some sort of giveaway...not the kind that you receive at the turnstile, but the kind on the scorecard. In this case the fans got exactly what they expected, but the giveaway came from the kind heart of a HOF ace and not a journeyman right hander. Carlton had nothing and after 2 innings he yielded 6 runs. Thanks to a rain delay both starters were gone before the 7th. Sanderson pitched the required 5 innings to get the win. The Expo bullpen (Bahnsen and Fryman) kept the Phils scoreless to close it out. Gary Carter went 3 for 5 and had 3 RBI's. Ellis Valentine hit a two run shot.

GAME 2 (The Vet): PHI 3, MON 1

Montreal got a 3 run complete game performance from Steve Rogers, but it would not be enough because Philly trotted out 4 pitchers, who combined to 4 hit the Expos who's lone run came via a Gary Carter Solo shot in the 6th, which at the time made the score 2-1. Larry Christenson started the game for the Phils, but tired after 6 innings of work and 113 pitches. Philly got on the board first with 2 runs in the home half of the 2nd. Gary Maddox doubled with 1 out and moved over to third when Ted Sizemore single. With 1 out Bob Boone grounded out, but advanced Sizemore to 2nd. Christenson helped his cause by lining a sharp single to right to plate both runners and stake himself to a 2 run lead with a clutch 2 out hit. Sizemore scored again in the 6th when Bowa hit into a force play. Philly's pen held Montreal in check the rest of the way for the win.

GAME 3 (Olympic Stadium) MON 4, PHI 0

For his second straight outing Bill "the spaceman" Lee was locked in. For 7 1/3 innings he tossed shutout ball, before yielding to close Elias Sosa who was tasked with recording the final 5 outs. Lee and Philly starter Jim Lonborg were tossing goose eggs until the Expos broke through with solo runs in the 5th and 6th innings to make it 2-0. After yielding a 1 out double to Warren Cromartie, Lonborg was victimized by a throwing error by his normally sure handed backstop, Bob Boone, who mishandled Chris Speier's dribbler in front of the plate, which forced him to hurry this throw. The errant throw wound up in right field and Cromartie wound up scoring. The run was unearned and it forced Lonborg to bare down and strike out 2 of the next 3 batters to get out of the inning with no further damage. Gary Carter led off the 6th by striking out, but Boone again had trouble holding on to the ball, was forced to throw to Davey Johnson at 1st to record the out. Lonborg had a little bit of frustration on his face, because the lay at first was very close and he must have had flashbacks to the run causing error by Boone in the previous frame. Up stepped "the Hawk", Andre Dawson, who blasted Lonborg's first offering deep over the right center field fence to make it 2-0. Cromartie then doubled with 2 out and Speier was intentionally passed to get to the pitcher Lee, who hit a bullet to Sizemore at second to end the inning and Lonborg's day without any further damage. The top of the 8th was Philly's best chance to get on the board. With Lee beginning to tire Montreal's 2 run lead seemed tenuous at best. Bowa led off by lining out to Rodney Scott at second. Sizemore smoked a single to left and that was it for Lee. Sosa came on board and served up a clean single to Schmitty and just like that Luzinski was at the plate representing the go-ahead run. Elias Sosa proceeded to fan the Bull and get Maddox to ground out to end the inning. The bottom of the 8th saw the Expos add on 2 insurance runs, which were essential as Sosa had a troublesome 9th as he barely dodged the bullet to close out the save. A bases loaded DP ball from Bowa was needed to save the day.

GAME 4 (Olympic Stadium) MON 6, PHI 5

After giving up 6 runs (5 earned) in a little over 3 innings worth of work Randy Lerch was yanked by Phillie Manager Gary Bringhurst, who had seen just about enough from his troublesome lefthander. Bringhurst's move was genius as it allowed his squad a chance to stay in the game. Once Lerch left the Expos bats went silent, while Philly's lumber began to spark. Dan Schatzeder ran out of gas after posting one of those so called "quality starts" (6 IP, 3 ER). David Palmer came on to relieve him and he was shaky at best yielding 2 runs in 2 IP. When Philly scored 2 in the 8th the game was now within one run. Montreal was in big trouble since their normal close, Elias Sosa, pitched 2 innings the day before and was not available. the 9th inning now belonged to two veterans, Bahnsen (the righty) and Fryman (the lefty). Bahnsen struck out Luzinski and got Maddox to fly out and Fryman came on to fan McBride for the final out. Philly came up just short thanks to the terrible outing Lerch posted. In a losing cause Schmidt hit his first homer of the KOD7 season, while the light hitting Bowa hit his 3rd. Montreal catcher Gary Carter had the day off since he caught 7 straight. His backup Duffy Dyer went 2 for 4 and had a RBI. "Doggie" Tony Perez hit his 2nd homer for the year and went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI's. Montreal moved to 6-2 on the season, while Philly dropped to .500.

Grove'in on a Sunny Afternoon

Howie Fortel (PHA-32) vs Marc Weiss (BOS-49)

GAME 1 (Shibe Park): PHA 1, BOS 0

In a game series that featured 5 HOF batters the shinning star was a 300 game winning HOF pitcher named Robert Moses Grove. Known to us all as "Lefty", Grove was purely dominant as he threw a complete game 3 hit shutout. Overshadowed by Grove's brilliance was the work of Mel Parnell, who match Grove pitch for pitch and who's only blemish was a 3 walk 5th inning. Double X, Jimmy Foxx's sac fly that scored Williams was the difference maker. The fans got to sit back and watch this fantastic pitcher's duel that last just 2 hours. Two HOF lineups baffled by two fantastic southpaw hurlers.

GAME 2 (Shibe Park): PHA 13, BOS 3

Ellis Kinder started the game for the Sox and proceeded to stink up the joint. The White Elephant banged out 13 runs on 15 hits. The game was close until Philly's 8 run 8th inning put it completely out of reach. A's, Eric McNair went 5 for 5 with 6 RBI's to outshine his HOF teammates. Rube Walberg went the distance to get the win and increase his record to 2-0. Kinder was left out there to take one for the team and was responsible for all 13 runs (11 earned).

GAME 3 (Fenway Park): BOS 6, PHA 0

Boston's Joe Dobson tossed a 2 hitter as the "Little Professor" Dom DiMaggio went 4 for 5 and scored 2 runs. Good ole T.S. Williams came to life and went 2 for 3 with a long homer. Al Zarilla was the only Red Sox starter that did not reach base. The slow footed Sox also had 2 stolen bases (Doerr and Goodman).

GAME 4 (Fenway Park): PHA 13, BOS 2

Surprise starter Al Freitas went the distance by scattering 7 hits and just 2 runs. The real story was the offensive fireworks supplied by the Mack-men. Even the slumping Mickey Cochrane (1-28) managed to bang out 2 hits including a tape measure homer that just cleared the Pesky pole. Aloysius Simmons went 5 for 6 to increase his season average to .429. Mule Haas had 4 RBI's. Bobby Doerr homered in a losing effort for the 2-6 Sox. Philly moved back to .500 at 4-4.

Not in the Cards...

GAME 1 (Olympic Stadium) MON 6, STL 3:

The game was scoreless until Montreal broke the ice in the bottom of the 4th when "the hawk" Andre Dawson scored on an Ellis Valentine Sac Fly. Both teams exchanged runs in the 5th and after the Cards tied it at 2 in the top of the 7th both teams expected this pitcher's duel between Warneke and Rogers to continue. Unfortunately for STL Warneke became human and the Expos torched him for 4 runs in the home half of the 7th to win the day. Light hitting Chris Speier launched a two run homer to break the tie. Stan Bahnsen and Elias Sosa closed it out as the Expos won their home opener.

GAME 2 (Olympic Stadium) MON 2, STL 0:

The Spaceman, Bill Lee spun a masterful 2 hit shutout as the Expos moved to 2-0. Montreal scored 2 runs off of Cardinal starter White in the first inning and Lee made it hold up. Larry Parrish's 2 run clout accounted for all of the scoring.

GAME 3 (Sportsman's Park): MON 9, STL 4

Mort Cooper was nursing a 3-2 lead until the top of the 6th when the Expos erupted for 5 runs as they batted around. The crushing blow was a 2 run homer by Expo starter Dan Schatzeder who also went 7 and gave up 3. David Palmer came on for the final 2. Every Expo starter had at least 1 hit. Gary Carter had 3 RBI's as well as 3 walks as his avg went to .444. Enos Slaughter knocked in 3 runs in a losing effort.

GAME 4 (Sportsman's Park): STL 5, MON 4
Max Lanier went the distance for the Cards and prevented the Expos from gaining a sweep. Ross Grimsley gave his Expo team a chance by hanging in there. With the Cards leading 3-2 Expo reliever Rudy May was uncharacteristically wild and that cost his team 2 runs and the game, because his team managed to score 2 of their own to lose by 1 run in the 9th. Mancuso and Brown both had RBI singles in the bottom of the 8th off May. The Kid, Gary Carter's 2 run shot off Lanier in the 9th brought it back to within 1, but both Tony Perez and Dave Cash were unable to reach base as Lanier shut the door for the Cards first win of the season. Terry Moore had 3 hit as did Lanier, who helped his own cause out.

Philadelphia Freedom

77 Phils (Gary B) vs 99 Mets (Andy(games 1 and 2) + Marc(games 3 and 4))

GAME 1: Philadelphia 4 New York Mets (13 Inn)

Mets score 2 in the bottom of the 9th to ruin a gem pitched by Carlton but the Phils score a run in the top of the 13th to win 4-3. Bob Boone went 3-5.including a home run and 2 RBI to lead the Phils

GAME 2: New York Mets 5 Philadelphia 3

Benny Agbayani was the star of this match as he goes yard and went 3-4 with 3 RBI as the Mets win 5-3.

GAME 3: Philadelphia 4 New York Mets 3

Jim Lonborg gives up 1 run in 7 innings to lead the Phils to a 4-3 win over the Mets. Larry Bowa and Bake McBride each had 2 hits to lead the Phils offense.

GAME 4: Philadelphia 6 New York Mets 4

Mike Schmidt goes 3-4 with a run and 2 RBI as the Phils out slug the Mets 6-4.

TURNING POINT: The Phils starting pitching kept the pen frsh and rested throughout the series.
SERIES MVP: Larry Bowa goes 8-18

--submitted by Gary Bringhurst--

SD Friars first salvo vs Brooks

1991 Padres-Joey Scigliano vs 1951 Dodgers-George Bseraini

GAME 1: Padres 4 Dodgers 3 (Ebbets Field)
In a close, hard fought contest, the Padres pulled out the first game over in Flatbush today. Ed Whitson and Don Newcombe squared off against one another. Newcombe was his usual strong self as he struck out 10 Padre hitters and allowed only one run through 8 innings. Usually that is enough for a victory especially with swatters with the names of Reese, Snyder, Robinson, Hodges, and Campenella. However, in this game the Padres hurler, Eddie Whitson was equal to the task. In fact both teams pitched so well that this game was not decided until the 15th inning. The Padres diminutive second baseman Bip Roberts touched mighty Newcombe in the third inning with a homerun to knot the game at one apiece. The score remained locked until the bottom of the 7th when the powerful first sacker from Brooklyn, Gil Hodges smashed a long homerun to center off the Tennessen Whitson to make the score 2-1 in favor of dem bums. It looked like that score would hold. Podbielan came on the mound for Brooklyn in the 9th and got the first batter to ground out but the Crime Dog Fred McGriff came up and touched him for a line drive homerun to right to tie the game at 2-2. The score remained tied until the 15th when San Diego struck for two more runs of Podbielan to retake the lead. Jackie Robinson smacked a homerun in the bottom half of the inning but it was not enough as the Friars took the first game of the series. Mike Maddux pitched 3 innings of relief for the victory and Podbielan threw 6 innings in relief as he was the goat for the day. First he coughed up the lead and then lost the game. Tough game for the Dodgers bullpen.

GAME 2: Dodgers 4 Padres 1 (Ebbets Field)
The second game of the series matched up a couple of hardy veterans. Bruce Hurst was on the hill for San Diego and Preacher Roe was toeing the rubber for Brooklyn. The Padres took an early 1-0 lead in the second but it would not hold up as the Dodgers erupted for 3 runs in the 4th inning off the veteran south paw. First Gil Hodges connected for this second homerun of the series. This time a runner was on base. The next batter was Andy Pafko and he gave the fans another souvenir as he clouted the ball over the left field fence. The Bums would add some GEICO in the seventh innings with a solo run. Preacher Roe went the distance for the victory. Hurst also pitched a complete game but was hung with the loss.

GAME 3: Padres 3 Dodgers 2 (Jack Murphy Stadium)
The series moved to the west coast for the next two games. The Dodgers were welcomed to American's finest city by leadoff hitter Darin Jackson as he hit a low line drive homerun over the inner 8 foot fence down the right field line. Ralph Branca served up the dinger but composed himself to pitch 5 shutout innings. However, in the 7th things turned from bad to worse as the host team stung Branca for two more tallies to increase the lead to 3-1. The Dodgers had a mini rally in the 9th as they pushed across one run against Padre reliever Craig Lefferts but the crafty lefty was able to minimize the damage and earn his first save. The victory went to hard throwing Andy Benes, who went 7 innings surrendering one run on only five hits while striking out 5 Dodgers.

GAME 4: Padres 8 Dodgers 3 (Jack Muphy Stadium)
Dennis Rasmussen and Carl Erskine matched each other in the finale of this series. It appeared that the Dodgers were going to even the series as they quickly struck for 2 runs in the 2nd inning on a Abrams sacrifice fly followed by a run scoring Pee Wee Reese triple. That lead was short lived as the Padres touched up Erskine for 5 big runs in the bottom half of the 3rd frame. Tony Gwynn got hold of a hanging change up and deposited it into the right field stands for a 2 run homerun. San Diego plated three more runs in the 3rd to push their lead to 5-2. The Friars added a single run in the 5th and two more in the 8th inning. Rich Rodriguez pitched 2.1 inning of relief for the Padres but got into trouble in the 9th. With one run already across for the Dodgers and the bases loaded, the Padre skipper decided to give the hook to the young left hander and bring in the veteran Larry Anderson to face tough hitting Jackie Robinson. Anderson got Robinson to ground to short to preserve the victory for the west coasters. Rasmussen earned the win and Anderson cot credit for the save. The loss went to Carl Erskine. --submitted by Joey Scigliano--
TURNING POINT: 1st game...Padres tied the game with a McGriff homerun in the 9th and then went on to win the game and take 3 of 4 for the series.
SERIES MVP: Tony Gwynn. He batted .316 with a homerun, 2 doubles and drove in 4 RBI's.

Motown shows no brotherly love to the White Elephant

Detroit took the series 3 games to 1. Only the first game wasn't close as the Tigers jumped all over Lefty Grove and Jim Bunning won 7-0. Rube Walberg out dueled Frank Lary in the second game and, sparked by Jimmie Foxx's homer, won 3-1. Norm Cash's 8th inning homer won the third game for Terry Fox, 4-2. The last game went into extra innings, with the winning run coming home for the Tigers when Lew Krause walked Steve Boros with the bases full, having previously walked Al Kaline and Cash after Billy Bruton opened the inning safe on an error by Krause. Jim Donohue got the win, 3-2. These two powerhouses combined for only two homers in the series. --contributed by Tom "Crash" Davis--

'77 Bucos take 3 of 4 from '08 Cubbies

77 Pirates - Jesse Elicker vs 08 Cubs - Mark Angle
GAME 1: 8-2 (77-Pit)
John Candelaria worked 7 strong innings and aided his own cause with a 2-run single to beat the Cubs 8-2. Willie Stargell homered for Pittsburgh, and Frank Taveras and Phil Garner added 2 RBI each. Carlos Zambrano struggled, leaving the game in the 5th.

GAME 2: 5-0 (08-Chi)
Ryan Dempster was masterful, blanking the Pirates for 8 innings on just 3 hits, and the Cubs tied the series with a 5-0 win. Derek Lee had 3 hits, including a HR, and drove in 3 run. Reed Johnson reached base 4 times with 2 hits and 2 walks.

GAME 3: 5-1 (77-Pit)
The series moved to Chicago, but the Cubs' bats apparently didn't, as Pittsburgh took game 3 by a 5-1 score. Jim Rooker 6 innings to get the win. Bill Robinson's 2-run HR in the 3rd put Pittsburgh up 3-1. He later added a sac fly for a 3 RBI day. The Buccos ran at will on Geovony Soto - 5 steals, 2 caught. Cubs' starter Rich Harden failed to make it out of the 5th inning.

GAME 4: 11-4 (77-Pit)
The Pirates unleashed 14 hits to take the series with a 11-4 win. Bill Robinson's 3-run HR keyed a 4-run 3rd to put the Bucs up 4-2. Bruce Kison's RBI double in the 4th made it 5-2, and a 3-run 6th blew the game open, 8-2. Nine different Pirates drove in runs. For the Cubs, the lone bright spot was Jim Edmonds, who went 3 for 4 and hit a 2-run HR.

SERIES MVP: Frank Taveras - 7 for 15, 3 R, 3 RBI, 5-0 in stolen bases.
--submitted by Jesse Elicker--

'75 A's and '01 Mariners split in KOD7 Opener

Seattle (Hopcroft) vs. Oakland (Crouch)

GAME 1: OAK 2 SEA 1

GAME 2: SEA 5 OAK 4

GAME 3: SEA 9 OAK 2

GAME 4: OAK 5, SEA

The Mariners and A's opened their season evenly matched, and closed their series the same way as they split a 4-game set. Each took a game on their opponent's home field; the offenses were muted at Safeco but opened up in Oakland Coliseum.

TURNING POINT: When the games were played in Safeco, the pitching dominated. But in Oakland John Olerud exploded for two home runs in Game 3, to be countered in game 4 by Gene Tenace, a display of opportune power that preserved the split.

SERIES MVP: In the 7th inning of game 4, Oakland starter Stan Bahnsen was ejected for arguing a called Ball 4. Paul Lindblad, who had not been warming up, came in and prevented further damage, slowing a mariners rally and giving Rollie Fingers the chance to preserve the win.

--submitted by Michael Hopcroft--

First Pitch Scheduled for May 1st, 2009

Not a lot of downtime between KOD6 and 7, but that was by popular request. This will be our second season in a row with 24 teams and 38 games. Here is how the schedule will play out.

Week 1: May 1st to May 10th (we have an extra weekend to play with)
Week 2: May 11 - May 17th (Sun @ 11:59pm)
Week 11: July 19th will be the final Sunday of KOD7, then the playoffs start.

Plan accordingly :) !