Sunday, January 29, 2017

Games of Friday, July 4

Kansas City       42     28      .600     ---
Seattle               42     32       .568     2
Chicago             36     32      .529     5
Montreal           36     34       .514     6
California          34     36       .486    8
Philadelphia      33     37       .471     9
San Diego         30     38       .441   11
Cleveland          27     43      .385    15

Saturday's games
Kansas City (Bunker and Jones) at Philadelphia (James and Wise), 2
California (Murphy and Geishert) at Montreal (Waslewski and Reed), 2
Cleveland (Tiant) at Chicago (Edmondson)
San Diego (Kirby) at Seattle (Brabender)

Montreal 11, California 2: Mack Jones drove in four runs with a homer, triple and two singles, and Larry Jaster retired the final 16 Angels in his complete game four-hitter.  Jim Fregosi and Bubba Morton hit solo homers for California's runs. Jim McGlothlin surrendered all 11 runs in five innings on 12 hits, including a homer by Rusty Staub. Jones scored three runs. Morton was injured (15 games) and will be replaced on the roster by Bob Priddy; Morton is eligible to return for games of July 20.

Montreal 7, California 3: Kevin Collins scored three runs and Gary Sutherland and John Boccabella each drove in two runs as the bottom of the Expo lineup had a big game. Steve Renko went 7.2 innings for the win, allowing three runs on eight hits; Dan McGinn got the final four outs, with three strikeouts, for the save. Steve Kealey took the loss.

Kansas City 2, Philadelphia 1: The Royals had two runs after three men hit, and Jim Rooker and Moe Drabowsky made those runs stand up. Chuck Harrison had a crucial triple in Kansas City's first inning, driving in a run and setting up a following sac fly. Rooker went eight innings, allowing four hits, one a homer by Dick Allen, and Drabowsky worked the ninth for the save.

Kansas City 11, Philadelphia 6: Joe Foy homered and drove in four runs, and Pat Kelly doubled twice, walked twice, scored twice and drove in two as the Royals completed the doubleheader sweep. Loser Bill Champion allowed just one hit through the first four innings but was stung for five runs in the fifth, two of them unearned. Dick Drago allowed three runs in eight innings for the win, allowing a homer to Larry Hisle among the four safeties he permitted. After the game, the Phillies demoted Rich Barry and activated Jeff James.

Cleveland 4, Chicago 2: The Indians scored all four runs in the first inning, rattling Joel Horlen for five singles and a double. Eddie Leon's base-loaded single with two out drove in two and capped the inning. Stan Williams allowed two runs on eight hits in seven innings for the win, and Horacio Pina survived an eighth-inning scare (Bobby Knoop just missed a three-run homer) for the save. After the game, Sammy Ellis was demoted by the Sox, with Jack Hamilton activated. Ellis is eligible for recall after July 14.

Cleveland 8, Chicago 3: Mike Paul threw a four-hitter (two of those hits homers) and Jose Cardenal scored three times as the Indians completed the sweep. Ray Fosse homered and doubled for Cleveland. Don Pavletich homered in the second for Chicago and Carlos May hit a two-run homer in the ninth. Gary Bell (seven-plus innings, five earned runs) took the loss. Cleveland has won five straight.

Seattle 4, San Diego 3 (10 innings): Jerry McNertney homered with one out in the bottom of the 10th to give the Pilots the walk-off win. The Pilots committed four errors and allowed two unearned runs. Marty Pattin struck out 13 Padres in seven innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits. Steve Barber got the win with an inning of scoreless relief.

San Diego 2, Seattle 1: Gary Ross allowed one unearned run in six innings of four-hit ball, and Jack Baldschun and Frank Reberger allowed no hits in three innings of relief as the Padres split the twin bill. Tommy Dean was 2-for-3 for the Padres with a double and a sac fly. Mike Marshall went the distance for the Pilots, allowing two runs on seven hits. He walked two, hit one and struck out nine. Larry Stahl was injured (two days) and will remain on the roster.

Player of the Day: Mack Jones, Montreal

Monday, January 23, 2017

Games of Thursday, July 3

Kansas City       40     28      .588     ---
Seattle               41     31       .563     1
Chicago             36     30      .545     3
California          34     34       .500    6
Montreal           34     34       .500     6
Philadelphia      33     35       .485     7
San Diego         29     37       .439   10
Cleveland          25     43      .368    15

Friday's games
Kansas City (Rooker and Drago) at Philadelphia (Jackson and Champion), 2
California (McGlothlin and Kealey) at Montreal (Jaster and Renko), 2
Cleveland (Paul and Williams) at Chicago (Horlen and Bell), 2
San Diego (Santorini and Ross) at Seattle (Marshall and Pattin), 2

Cleveland 2, San Diego 0: Sam McDowell struck out 14 in a three-hit shutout. The first two Padres hitters, Ivan Murrell and Ollie Brown, singled, but McDowell fanned the next three and allowed just one more single the rest of the way. He walked one batter and hit another. Max Alvis doubled twice for Cleveland and scored a run. Dick Kelley allowed both runs; he worked 6.1 innings. giving up five hits.

Philadelphia 5, California 3: Larry Hisle scored twice and Jerry Johnson threw seven innings for the win. Rick Joseph singled home a pair of runs in the Phillies' three-run first. Bill Wilson allowed a single and double to the first two hitters in the top of the ninth, but then retired Sandy Alomar, Jay Johnstone and Jim Fregosi for the save. Clyde Wright took the loss.

Chicago 4, Seattle 3: Gail Hopkins hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to put the White Sox ahead, and Wilbur Wood struck out all three Pilots he faced to nail it down. Ed Herrmann also hit a two-run homer; his came in the seventh inning off Seattle starter Diego Segui, who didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning and ended with three hits in seven innings. Tommy Harper homered to lead off the game for the Pilots, and Mike Hegan hit a solo homer in the eighth. Dan Osinski is credited with the win, Bob Locker with the loss. Rich Rollins (six days) and Harper (two days) were injured for the Pilots; Harper will remain on the roster, but Rollins will be replaced by John Kennedy. Rollins is eligible to return July 14.

Player of the Day; Sam McDowell, Cleveland

Sunday, January 22, 2017

Games of Wednesday, July 2

Kansas City       40     28      .588     ---
Seattle               41     30       .577     0.5
Chicago             35     30      .538     3.5
California          34     33       .508    5.5
Montreal           34     34       .500     6
Philadelphia      32     35       .477     7.5
San Diego         29     36       .446     9.5
Cleveland          24     43      .358    15.5

Thursday's games
San Diego (Kelley) at Cleveland (McDowell)
California (Wright) at Philadelphia (Johnson)
Chicago (Peters) at Seattle (Barber)

California 7, Philadelphia 4: A pair of ill-timed Philly errors -- the first by Dick Allen, the second by Larry Hisle -- resulted in five unearned runs for the Angels. Sandy Alomar and Jay Johnstone each scored twice for the Angels. Winning pitcher Rudy May allowed a pair of homers, to Hisle and Cookie Rojas, in the first two innings but went 7.1 innings, allowing six hits. Hoyt Wilhelm got the final five outs for the save. Lowell Palmer -- six innings, seven hits, two earned runs -- took the loss. Dave Watkins was injured and will sit out the second game of the doubleheader and the game of July 3.

California 3, Philadelphia 2: Aurelio Rodriguez doubled home two runs in the eighth inning after a Terry Harmon error gave him the at-bat. and Ken Tatum entered in the bottom of the frame to strike out Dick Allen with the tying run on third. Andy Messersmith allowed two runs in 7.2 innings for the win; he allowed seven hits and struck out four. Loser Woodie Fryman allowed one earned run in eight innings. He allowed seven hits. California has won seven of its last eight games.

Cleveland 7, San Diego 4: Jose Cardenal led off the game with a home run and was one of three Indians to score a pair of runs. The others were Lou Klimchock and Ken Harrelson. Dick Ellsworth allowed four runs on nine hits in eight innings for the win, and Ron Law worked a scoreless ninth for the save. Ed Spiezo homered, doubled and scored twice for the Padres. Russ Snyder was injured (four games); he will be replaced on the roster by Cap Peterson and is eligible to return July 13.

Kansas City 2, Montreal 1: Mike Hedlund struck out 10 in his complete-game five-hitter, and Bob Oliver and Buck Martinez hit solo homers off hard-luck loser Bill Stoneman. Hedlund walked four, three of them in the third inning, when the Expos scored their only run. Ron Brand (Montreal) was injured for 8 days; he will be replaced on the roster by John Boccabella and is eligible to return July 13.

Seattle 2, Chicago 1: Don Mincher's pinch hit homer with two out in the bottom of the ninth gave the Pilots the win. Tommy John and George Brunet dueled into the eighth, but neither got the decision; John allowed four hits and one unearned run in 7.1 innings, and Brunet three hits, including a homer by Bill Melton, in the same number of outs. Jim Bouton got the win, Danny Murphy the loss.

Player of the Day; Don Mincher, Seattle

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Games of Tuesday, July 1

Kansas City       39     28      .582     ---
Seattle               40     30       .571     0.5
Chicago             35     29      .547     2.5
Montreal           34     33       .500     5
California          32     33       .492    6
Philadelphia      32     33       .492     6
San Diego         29     35       .453     8.5
Cleveland          23     43      .348    15.5

Wednesday's games
Kansas City (Hedlund) at Montreal (Stoneman)
San Diego (Niekro) at Cleveland (Ellsworth)
California (May and Messersmith) at Philadelphia (Palmer and Fryman), 2
Chicago (John) at Seattle (Brunet)

Cleveland 7, San Diego 6: Tommy Dean threw one away with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to allow Tony Horton to score the winning run. The last three runs for Cleveland -- two in the eighth, one in the ninth -- were all unearned. Ollie Brown and Al Ferrara each homered in the fifth for the Padres. Ken Harrelson and Horton each scored twice for Cleveland. Mike Paul got the win in relief and Jack Baldschun took the loss.

San Diego 12, Cleveland 3: Nate Colbert drove in four runs and Clay Kirby held Cleveland to five hits in eight innings as the Padres split the doubleheader, San Diego drew eight walks in the final four innings. The Indians committed three errors for the game. Kirby allowed two runs.  Van Kelly (Padres) was injured (six days) and will be replaced on the roster by Jerry Morales; Kelly is eligible to return July 11.

Montreal 5, Kansas City 3: Gary Sutherland scored three runs and Rusty Staub belted a two-run homer as the Expos topped the Royals. Winner Mike Wegener went six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks. Roy Face induced a double-play grounder from Pat Kelly, the only man he faced, to end the game and get the save. Losing pitcher Billy Butler walked four men in the first two innings; he made it though five innings, allowing all five Montreal runs.

Montreal 3, Kansas City 2: Ty Cline singled home Bobby Wine in the bottom of the ninth for the double header sweep. Jerry Robertson went the distance for the win, scattering 11 hits but allowing just two runs. Dave Wickersham took the loss; he pitched three innings and allowed the one, unearned run (Wine reached on a two-base error by Paul Schaal). Rusty Staub homered, doubled, singled and walked for the Expos. Lou Piniella was injured (15 days) and will be replaced on the roster by Joe Keough. Piniella is eligible to return July 16.

Philadelphia 2, California 0: Rick Wise threw a three-hitter for the Phillies, and Dick Allen and Deron Johnson each contributed two-out RBI singles in the sixth inning. Wise walked three and struck out five, retiring 12 Angels in a row at one point. Tom Murphy allowed two runs on five hits in six innings for the loss.

Chicago 7, Seattle 3: Don Pavletich doubled twice to drive in three runs, and Tom McCraw homered as the White Sox kept the Pilots from moving into first place. Billy Wynne went seven innings for the win, allowing three runs on five hits.  The Pilots scored all three of their runs with two outs in the fourth, and the inning ended when Ken Berry gunned down Jerry McNertney at the plate. Wayne Comer homered for the Pilots.

Player of the Day: Gary Sutherland, Montreal


Saturday, January 14, 2017

Games of Monday, June 30

Kansas City       39     26      .600     ---
Seattle               40     29       .580     1
Chicago             34     29      .540     4
California          32     32       .500     6.5
Montreal           32     33       .492     7
Philadelphia      31     33       .484     7.5
San Diego         28     34       .451     9.5
Cleveland          22     42      .346    16.5

Tuesday's games
Kansas City (Butler and Nelson) at Montreal (Wegener and Robertson), 2
San Diego (Kirby and Sisk) at Cleveland (Tiant and Hargan), 2
California (Murphy) at Philadelphia (Wise)
Chicago (Wynn) at Seattle (Meyer)

Kansas City 4, Montreal 1: Mike Fiore's three-run homer in the eighth off Gary Waslewski propelled the Royals to the win.  Wally Bunker allowed four hits in eight innings, but three of them came in the second and resulted in the one Montreal run. Moe Drabowsky worked a perfect ninth for the save. Four Royals were thrown out attempting to steal bases.

Montreal 9, Kansas City 4: Howie Reed threw a four-hitter and retired 14 straight hitters at one point as the Expos salvaged a split of the doubleheader. Rusty Staub hit a two-run homer, and Remy Hermoso and Gary Sutherland each scored twice for Montreal. Steve Jones was the loser. Kansas City got all four of its runs in the fourth, when Reed walked three batters and was victimized by an error.

California 8, Philadelphia 0: Only one Phillie reached second base as the Angels' Jim McGlothlin spun a four-hit shutout. Jim Spencer hit a pair of RBI doubles, singled and scored three runs. Both  Jim Fregosi  and Ruben Amaro were injured, and Billy Cowan played the final four innings at shortstop for Anaheim; he had no chances afield. Fregosi is eligible to play in the second game of the doubleheader, and Amaro is out until July 4.

California 10, Philadelphia 4: The Angels knocked Bill Champion out of the box in the third inning  and never trailed in the doubleheader. Jim Spencer went 4-for-5 with two runs, a double and an RBI. Jay Johnstone homered and singled, scored twice and drove in a pair. The Angels totaled 13 hits and five walks off four Philadelphia hurlers. Dick Allen hit a two-run homer off winner Vern Geishert.

Seattle 8, Chicago 6: Steve Whitaker tied the game with a pinch hit homer and later singled home a run as the Pilots overtook the White Sox. Ron Hansen drove in three runs for Chicago with a pinch-hit double, and Carlos May had a two-run homer. The White Sox committed three errors, resulting in two unearned runs. John Gelnar got the win in relief with two scoreless innings, and Diego Segui got the save; Gary Bell took the loss, also in relief. Walt Williams (Chicago) was injured and must sit the next five days; he will be replaced on the roster by Sammy Ellis.

Player of the Day: Jim Spencer, California

Monday, January 9, 2017

Games of Sunday, June 29

Kansas City       38     25      .603     ---
Seattle               39     29       .574     1.5
Chicago             34     28      .548     3.5
Philadelphia      31     31       .500     6.5
Montreal           31     32       .492     7
California          30     32       .484     7.5
San Diego         28     34       .451     9.5
Cleveland          22     42      .346    16.5

Monday's games
Kansas City (Bunker and Jones) at Montreal (Waslewski and Reed), 2
California (McGlothlin and Geishert) at Philadelphia (Jackson and Champion), 2
Chicago (Edmondson) at Seattle (Brabender)

Kansas City 10, Montreal 9 (10 innings): The Royals snapped a short losing streak with a extra-innings slugfest. Kansas City got three-run homers from Joe Foy and Mike Fiore and a solo homer (in the 10th) from Lou Piniella. Montreal got a pair of three-run homers from Kevin Collins, who totaled seven RBIs.  Mack Jones scored three times for the Expos. Dave Wickersham got the win; Dan McGinn the loss. Bob Oliver (Royals) was injured for one day.

Seattle 8, Cleveland 7 (10 innings): Jim Bouton threw four hitless innings of relief, and the Pilots plated three unearned runs to overcome Sam McDowell and the Tribe. Russ Snyder drove in three runs for Cleveland, which led 7-3 after four innings. Ron Law took the loss. Bouton was the winner, and John O'Donoghue worked a scoreless ninth for the save.

San Diego 8, Chicago 3: Nate Colbert homered twice and Tommy Dean went 4-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs for the Padres. Billy McCool and Gary Ross combined to throw 3.2 scoreless innings of relief for winner Al Santorini. Ivan Murrell and Walt Hriniak each scored twice for San Diego. Carlos May homered for Chicago. Joel Horlen took the loss.

Player of the Day: Kevin Collins, Montreal


Saturday, January 7, 2017

Games of Saturday, June 28

Kansas City       37     25      .597     ---
Seattle               38     29       .567     1.5
Chicago             34     27      .557     2.5
Montreal           31     31       .500     6
Philadelphia      31     31       .500     6
California          30     32       .484     7
San Diego         27     34       .443     9.5
Cleveland          22     41      .349    15.5

Sunday's games
Kansas City (Drago) at Montreal (Renko)
Seattle (Pattin) at Cleveland (McDowell)
San Diego (Santorini) at Chicago (Horlen)

Seattle 9, Cleveland 8: Steve Whitaker's three-run homer in the ninth inning lifted the Pilots to a stunning comeback win. The Indians, riding a Ken Harrelson grand slam and a three-run homer by Vern Fuller, scored seven runs off Steve Barber in the first four innings and led 8-0 after five. But the Pilots got six runs on eight hits in the sixth inning, and an Eddie Leon error with two outs in the ninth gave Whitaker his chance to hit. Jim Bouton got the win, Diego Segui the save, and Larry Burchart took the loss.

Montreal 10, Philadelphia 5: Don Shaw threw six scoreless innings of relief and Adolpho Phillips and Coco Laboy each hit go-ahead homers for the Expos. Phillips' two-run shot off Jerry Johnson in the first inning keyed a three-run outburst, and after Jerry Robertson allowed five runs in the second, Laboy's three-run homer put the Expos back in front in the third. Shaw allowed four hits and walked one while striking out six. Rusty Staub went 3-for-3 with two walks, two runs and an RBI for Montreal.

Philadelphia 7, Montreal 1: Deron Johnson and Johnny Callison homered and Woodie Fryman went the distance as the Phillies split the doubleheader in Montreal. Fryman scattered six hits while walking three and striking out eight. Larry Hisle scored three runs for the Phillies. Bill Stoneman took the loss. After the game, the Expos demoted Don Shaw; Ron Fairly will take his place on the roster but remain ineligible until July 1. Shaw is eligible to return July 9.

Chicago 4, San Diego 3: Don Pavletich's two-run triple highlighted a three-run first for the White Sox, and the Padres never quite caught up. Gary Peters went eight innings, allowing two runs on eight hits. Dan Osinski got the final three outs for the save after Gary Bell loaded the bases with no outs. Jose Arcia scored a pair of runs for San Diego.

California 9, Kansas City 2: Aurelio Rodriguez hit a grand slam and Joe Azcue a three-run homer as the Angels pounded the Royals. Jim Spencer also homered for California. Five of the the runs were unearned. Clyde Wright went seven innings, allowing one run on seven hits, for the win. Scott Northey (Royals) was injured and must sit the next day. He remains on the roster.

Player of the Day: Steve Whitaker, Seattle

Monday, January 2, 2017

Games of Friday, June 27

Kansas City       37     24      .607     ---
Seattle               37     29       .561    2.5
Chicago             33     27      .550     3.5
Montreal           30     30       .500     6.5
Philadelphia      30     30       .500    6.5
California          29     32       .475     8
San Diego         27     33       .450     9.5
Cleveland          22     40       .355   15.5

Saturday's games
Philadelphia (Johnson and Fryman) at Montreal (Robertson and Stoneman)
Seattle (Barber) at Cleveland (Williams) 
San Diego (Kelley) at Chicago (Peters)
California (Wright) at Kansas City (Rooker)

California 8, Kansas City 3: The Royals' seven-game winning streak ended early in this one, as the Angels scored five runs in the first inning, taking advantage of  the lack of range in the Kansas City outfield. California got six consecutive hits in the inning off Roger Nelson, who nevertheless managed to get through six innings. Bill Voss had a two-run double in the inning. Rudy May went seven innings, allowing three runs (all in the third) on five hits, for the win. Jim Spencer homered in the ninth off Dave Morehead.

California 2, Kansas City 0: Andy Messersmith threw a five-hitter and Jay Johnstone drove in Sandy Alomar twice as the Angels completed the doubleheader sweep of the first-place Royals. In the first inning, Alomar singled off Mike Hedlund and stole second ahead of Johnstone's triple; in the eighth, Alomar hit a two-out double and scored on Johnstone's single. Hedlund went the distance for Kansas City, allowing eight hits, for the loss. The Royals' Ed Kirkpatrick was injured (seven games) and will be replaced on the roster by Juan Rios. Kirkpatrick is eligible to return July 8.

Seattle 9, Cleveland 8 (10 innings): Steve Whitaker's homer in the top of the 10th put the Pilots back in front of a game they had led most of the way. Seattle scored six runs in the first two innings off Dick Ellsworth, who walked four and allowed four singles in the second, but Cleveland had a pair of three-run outbursts against George Brunet  and scored solo runs in the seventh and ninth, both charged against Diego Segui, to force extras. Bob Locker was credited with the win, and John O'Donoghue got the save. Horacio Pina took the loss. Tony Horton had three RBIs for Cleveland.

Chicago 9, San Diego 6: The White Sox took advantage of four Padres errors to score four unearned runs. Luis Aparicio scored three times for Chicago and had an RBI; he went 3-for-5 with a triple and double. Bill Melton had three RBIs for the White Sox, including a two-run homer off loser Joe Niekro. Dan Osinski allowed one run in two innings of relief for the win, and Wilbur Wood threw a perfect ninth for the save. After the game, the White Sox demoted Angel Bravo and reinstated Don Pavelitch.

Player of the Day: Sandy Alomar, California