Games of Friday, May 23

                              W      L        Pct.     GB
New York            19     13        594    ---
Atlanta                 14     12       .538    2
St. Louis              15     13       .536    2
Houston               16     14       .533    2
Chicago               18     16       .529    2
Montreal              14     17       .452    4.5
Philadelphia         11     15       .423    5
Pittsburgh            13     19       .406    6

Saturday's games
Atlanta (Harrison) at Chicago (Hooton)
Philadelphia (Carlton) at St. Louis (Gibson)
New York (Stone) at Houston (Forsch)

Montreal 14, Pittsburgh 6:  The Expos knocked Bob Moose out of the box with a six-run first, then tacked on two more in the second and five in the third as they ran through the Pittsburgh pitching staff. Boots Day, fresh off the injured list, scored three times for Montreal. Bob Bailey, Mike Jorgensen and Bob Stinson each had three RBIs. Richie Zisk hit a grand slam in the seventh. Balor Moore got the win; he allowed one earned runs and five unearned in seven innings as the Expos committed four errors, three of them by second baseman Larry Lintz. Al Oliver homered twice for Pittsburgh, and Ron Fairly homered for Montreal.

New York 4, Houston 0: Jim McAndrew combined with three relievers on a four-hit shutout. McAndrew allowed all four singles in five innings and was credited with the win. Harry Parker pitched a perfect sixth, Tug McGraw retired all six Astros he faced in the seventh and eighth innings, and Buzz Capra walked one man but struck out two in the ninth.Dave Roberts took the loss, allowing four runs, three earned, in eight innings.

Games of Thursday, May 22

                              W      L        Pct.     GB
New York            18     13        580    ---
Houston               16     13       .551    1
Atlanta                 14     12       .538    1.5
St. Louis              15     13       .536    1.5
Chicago               18     16       .529    1.5
Montreal              13     17       .433    4.5
Philadelphia         11     15       .423    4.5
Pittsburgh            13     18       .419    5

Friday's games
Montreal (Moore) at Pittsburgh (Moose)
New York (McAndrew) at Houston (Roberts)

Chicago 9, Atlanta 8: The Cubs scored eight runs in the bottom of the ninth to overtake the Braves. The rally started with four consecutive singles off Adrian Devine, who then gave way to Ron Schuler. He retired Jose Cardenal but then allowed singles to Don Kessinger and Billy Williams, then a double to Ron Santo. That made the score 8-6 Atlanta. Tom House relieved and struck out Billy Williams, but then Mike Lum erred on Jim Hickman's fly ball, with Williams and Santo scoring to tie the game. Randy Hundley singled to plate Hickman, and the Cubs had the win. House was charged with the loss. Jim Aker, who allowed a run in the top of the ninth, was credited with the win. Wasted was eight innings of one-run, six hit ball by Carl Morton. Dusty Baker, Darrell Evans and Johnny Oates all homered for Atlanta.

Montreal 9, Pittsburgh 3: John Boccabella drove in five runs and Steve Renko went the distance for the Expos. Boccabella had two sac flies, drew a bases-loaded walk and tripled in two runs on a fly ball that Richie Zisk got a bad read on. Mike Jorgensen scored three times. Renko scattered eight hits, one a homer by Zisk. Jim Lyttle will miss the next three days for Montreal.

St. Louis 2, Philadelphia 1 (12 innings): Mike Tyson punched a singled through the drawn-in infield to plate Ken Reitz from third in the bottom of the 12th. Wayne Granger, the fourth St. Louis pitcher, was credited with the win, but the Cardinals' mound hero was Rich Folkers, who threw five innings of one-run ball after Reggie Cleveland left with an injury sustained while hitting in the third inning. Wayne Twitchell took a no-hitter into the seventh and allowed one run in nine innings for the no-decision. Diego Segui worked three scoreless innings, and with their bullpen depleted and three double-headers looming, the Cardinals deactivated Bake McBride after the game and promoted Mike Nagy.

New York 4, Houston 3: Don Wilson retired the first 19 Mets, but he couldn't get an out in the eighth inning. The Mets opened that inning with five straight hits off Wilson and loser Jim Ray and scored all four runs. Jon Matlack (seven innings, eight hits, three runs) got the win; Harry Parker worked two perfect innings for the save. Cesar Cedeno went 4-for-4 with two steals, a solo homer and two runs scored. Doug Rader also homered for Houston.

Games of Wednesday, May 21

                              W      L        Pct.     GB
Houston               16     12       .571    ---
New York            17     13        567    ---
Atlanta                 14     11       .560    0.5
St. Louis              14     13       .519    1.5
Chicago               17     16       .515    1.5
Philadelphia         11     14       .444    3.5
Pittsburgh            13     17       .433    4
Montreal              12     17       .414    4.5

Thursday's games
Atlanta (Morton) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Montreal (Renko) at Pittsburgh (Ellis)
Philadelphia (Twichell) at St. Louis (Cleveland)
New York (Matlack) at Houston (Wilson)

Philadelphia 3, Chicago 1: Ken Brett not only threw a complete-game six-hitter, he homered, a solo shot in the fifth inning that completed the scoring. Greg Luzinski also homered for the Phillies. Fergie Jenkins took the loss for the Cubs. Glenn Beckert was injured and deactivated after the game, with Rico Carty activated. 

New York 5, Pittsburgh 0: Jerry Koosman threw a four-hit shutout for the Mets and retired 18 of the final 19 Pirates he faced. Cleon Jones went 3-for3 with two walks, a run and a double, Bud Harrelson scored a pair of runs and Duffy Dyer drove in two with a double and a sac fly. Pirates starter Jim Rooker took the loss. He was injured after pitching two innings and is out until June 6.  Steve Blass has been activated in his place.

Houston 3, Montreal 2: The Astros scored three runs in the third inning off Mike Torrez, and Jerry Reuss and the bullpen made them stand up. Reuss had a two-hit shutout going though seven innngs, but with one out in the eighth allowed three straight singles. Ken Forsch finished the eighth but got into his own jam in the ninth, and Jim Ray got all three men he faced for the save. 

Atlanta 10, St. Louis 3: Mike Lum hit a grand slam in the first inning and Henry Aaron hit a three-run homer in the ninth as Braves never trailed. Ralph Garr hit a solo homer off loser Rick Wise, who surrendered seven runs in seven innings. Phil Niekro allowed three runs, two earned, in seven-plus innings for the win.

Games of Tuesday, May 20

                             W      L        Pct.     GB
Houston               15     12       .556    ---
New York            16     13        551    ---
Atlanta                 13     11       .542   0.5
St. Louis              14     12       .538    0.5
Chicago               17     15       .531    0.5
Pittsburgh            13     16       .448    3
Montreal              12     16       .429    3.5
Philadelphia         10     14       .416    3.5

Wednesday's games
Philadelphia (Brett) at Chicago (Jenkins)
New York (Koosman) at Pittsburgh (Rooker)
Atlanta (Niekro) at St. Louis (Wise)
Montreal (Torrez) at Houston (Reuss)

Chicago 4, Philadelphia 1: Burt Hooton went the distance, allowing five hits, and Randy Hundley hammered a three-run homer off Steve Carlton in the sixth. The Phillies did not score until Bill Robinson's RBI single with two out in the ninth. Rick Monday hit a solo homer for Chicago.

New York 5, Pittsburgh 4: John Milner hit a three-run homer in the Mets' five-run eighth inning to overcome the Pirates. Tom Seaver allowed two runs in seven innings for the win. Tug McGraw allowed two runs in the bottom of the eighth but still managed to collect the save. Nelson Briles, who had a shutout through seven innings, was charged with the loss. After the game, Jim Fregosi was deactivated and Willie Mays returned to the active roster.

Game of Monday, May 19

                             W      L        Pct.     GB
Houston               15     12       .556    ---
Atlanta                 13     11       .542   0.5
St. Louis              14     12       .538    0.5
New York            15     13        535    0.5
Chicago               16     15       .516    1
Pittsburgh            13     15       .464    2.5
Philadelphia         10     13       .435    3
Montreal              12     16       .429    3.5

Tuesday's games
Philadelphia (Carlton) at Chicago (Hooton)
New York (Seaver) at Pittsburgh (Briles)

Pittsburgh 5, New York 1: Rennie Stennett hit a two-run homer in the third and Bob Robertson doubled home two runners in the fourth as the Pirates knocked the Mets out of first place. Bruce Kison allowed one run in six innings for the win, and Ramon Hernandez retired nine of the 10 men he faced for the save. George Stone allowed five earned runs in six innings for the loss.

Games of Sunday, May 18

                             W      L        Pct.     GB
New York            15     12        556    ---
Houston               15     12       .556    ---
Atlanta                 13     11       .542   0.5
St. Louis              14     12       .538    0.5
Chicago               16     15       .516    1
Pittsburgh            12     15       .444    3
Philadelphia         10     13       .435    3
Montreal              12     16       .429    3.5

Monday's game
New York (Stone) at Pittsburgh (Kison)

Philadelphia 17, Chicago 2: The wind was blowing out at Wrigley, but only the Phillies seemed to notice. Mike Schmidt and Bill Robinson each hit two homers for the visitors, with both of Robinson's coming in a nine-run top of the ninth. Jim Lonborg allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings for the win; one of the hits was a solo homer by Ron Santo. Schmidt had three hits, three runs and two RBIs. Robinson drove in four runs, and Larry Bowa went 4-for-5 with two doubles and three runs. Del Unser also scored three times.

Houston 7, Montreal 3: Jim Wynn hit a three-run homer and Jim York threw 3.2 scoreless innings of relief for Houston. Wynn went 3-for-5 with two runs, four RBIs and a steal. Tom Griffin held the Expos scoreless for five innings but was knocked out in the sixth; York relieved and finished the game for the save. Ernie McAnally gave up five runs, four earned, in five innings for the loss as the Expos moved into the cellar..

St. Louis 6, Atlanta 3: Alan Foster allowed one run in seven innings, scattering six hits and striking out five. Ken Reitz hit a three-run homer and drove in a fourth run with a single, and Lou Brock had a two-run single in the third that put the Cardinals ahead to stay. Rick Folkers got the last out with two on for the save. Carl Morton (three runs in seven innings) was saddled with the loss.

 

Games of Saturday, May 17

                             W      L        Pct.     GB
Atlanta                 13     10       .565    ---
New York            15     12        556    ---
Houston               14     12       .538    0.5
Chicago               16     14       .533    0.5
St. Louis              13     12       .520    1
Pittsburgh            12     15       .444    3
Montreal              12     15       .444    3
Philadelphia           9     13       .409    3.5

Sunday's games
Philadelphia (Lonborg) at Chicago (Pappas)
Montreal (McAnally) at Houston (Griffin)
Atlanta (Morton) at St. Louis (Foster)

Philadelphia 4, Pittsburgh 2 (10 innings): Al Oliver committed a two-base error with two outs in the 10th inning, and Greg Luzinski followed with a two-run single to put the Phillies ahead. Winner Wayne Twitchell allowed just three hits in nine innings, but two were solo homers, by Richie Hebner and Gene Clines. Luzinski drove in three of the four Phillies runs. Dave Giusti was the loser and Mac Scarce got the save.

Chicago 2, New York 1: Rick Rueschel and Jon Matlack kept the game scoreless into the seventh inning, when the Cubs broke through for their two runs. Randy Hundley walked with one out and Don Kessinger singled. Pinch-hitter Carmen Fanzone singled to plate Hundley and send Kessinger to third, and Jose Cardenal followed with a sac fly off reliever Harry Parker. Rusty Staub hit a solo homer in the ninth off Bob Locker, who got the save anyway. 

Montreal 5, St. Louis 0: The Expos took advantage of two hit batters in the first inning to score four runs off Bob Gibson, with Ken Singleton and Jim Lyttle each driving in two runs with doubles. Steve Renko worked the first seven innings of the combined shutout, with Joe Gilbert getting the final six outs after Renko wearied in the eighth. 

Atlanta 7, Houston 2: Henry Aaron busted the game open with a three-run homer in the seventh, and Phil Niekro allowed two runs in seven innings as the Braves moved into first place by percentage points. Loser Dave Roberts was charged with all seven runs in six plus innings; he allowed 10 hits, five for extra bases. Dick Dietz was injured and was deactivated after the game; he is eligible to return for games of May 28. Larry Howard returns to the active roster.

Games for Friday, May 16

 

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

New York          15     11        577     ---
Houston             14     11       .560    0.5
Atlanta               12     10       .545   1
St. Louis            13     11       .542    1
Chicago             15     14       .517    1.5
Pittsburgh          12     14       .461    3
Montreal            11     15       .423    4
Philadelphia        8     13       .381    4.5

Saturday's games
Philadelphia (Twitchell) at Pittsburgh (Rooker)
New York (Matlack) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Montreal (Renko) at St. Louis (Gibson)
Atlanta (Niekro) at Houston (Roberts)

Chicago 5, New York 4: The Cubs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the eighth, then survived a ninth-inning scare. The decisive inning started with one out, with consecutive singles by Jose Cardenal, Glenn Beckert and Billy Williams chasing Jerry Koosman. Tug McGraw entered; Ron Santo singled, Rick Monday walked and Jim Hickman singled. Williams, Monday and Hickman had the RBIs. Jim Aker allowed a double, a walk and a single in the ninth before Felix Millan made the final out on a liner that Don Kessinger speared at shortstop. Dave LaRoche was credited with the win, and Koosman took the loss.

Pittsburgh 3, Philadelphia 0: Dock Ellis threw a five-hit shutout with eight strikeouts, including all three men he faced in the ninth inning. Ellis also doubled and scored in the third inning. Ken Brett went seven innings for the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits.

Houston 3, Atlanta 2: Lee May led off the bottom of the ninth with a triple off reliever Danny Frisella, then scored when Bob Watson's cleared the drawn-in outfield for a single for the walk-off win. Jim Crawford escaped the top of the inning unscathed when Jim Wynn threw out Sonny Jackson trying to score on Dave Johnson's base-loaded fly ball. Don Wilson went eight innings, allowing two runs on nine hits. Pat Dobson allowed two runs in five innings for Atlanta, and Gary Gentry followed with three scoreless frames. Johnny Oates was reactivated after the game with Larry Howard demoted.

St. Louis 3, Montreal 1: Lou Brock tripled with the bases loaded in the second inning to supply the only runs Reggie Cleveland got or needed. Jim Lyttle homered in the eighth for Montreal's only run; Cleveland allowed just four hits in his eight innings. Al Hrbrosky relieved after Cleveland walked the leadoff man in the ninth and got a strikeout and a double play to end the game. A Tim Foli error set up Brock's triple and made all three runs off loser Balor Moore unearned.

 

The no-hitters

I started the solitaire Strat-O-Matic hobby in 2010, which is not to say that I've been playing it continuously for more than a decade. There was a hiatus between the Presidential League, which I almost abandoned in mid-season, and the 40-Years Tourney, aka Tournament One.

But once I started the 40-Years Tourney, the Strat projects have been pretty much a daily part of my life. There are few days in which I don't do something to advance my current project.

So I've played a few hundred -- a few thousand? -- games over the years. And there have now been five no-hitters in those games to date. I decided to catalog them here for easy reference:

1) Walter Johnson, Presidential League. In a bit of serendipity, this happened to be the very first game I played in the very first solitaire project. Johnson was assigned to the Obamas, a squad of mixed eras; he no-hit the Crawfords, a team assembled from the Negro League set. I've said before that the setup of the Presidential League was flawed; the NeL teams were simply not competitive against the HoF teams. This would be one extreme data point.

2) Paul Edmondson, Losers League. Spot starter for the 1969 Chicago White Sox, no-hit the 1969 San Diego Padres in their game of May 31. The real life Edmondson was a rookie who went 1-6 in 14 starts in 1969 and then died in a traffic accident shortly before spring training the next year. In this league -- eight teams that lost 90 or more games in 1969 playing the 1924 AL schedule -- he was a factor in the White Sox winning the pennant.

3) Tommy John, Tournament Three. His gem came for the 1973 Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Four of their series against the 2019 San Diego Padres.  The real life John never threw a no-hitter in his distinguished career.

4) Tom Bradley, Tournament Three. Pitching for the 1973 San Francisco Giants against the 2019 Los Angeles Angels in Game Seven of their series. The real life Bradley had a short career as a workhorse starter; to the extent that he's remembered today it is as part of the three-man rotation for the 1972 White Sox with Wilbur Wood and Stan Bahnsen. Those three combined for 130 starts in the strike-shortened season. Bradley made seven starts on two days rest that year, then was traded to the Giants for Ken Henderson and Steve Stone. He blew out his arm in 1974 and eventually became a college coach.

5) Roric Harrison, 73 Least League. Pitching for the 1973 Atlanta Braves against the 1973 Houston Astros in their game of May 15. 1973 was the best season of Harrison's brief career, most of which was spent with the Braves. Came up with the Orioles in 1972, was traded to the Braves with Dave Johnson in the following offseason, finished his career with the Twins in 1978. I have no memory of him with the Twins. According to Wikipedia, he was the last pitcher to homer in an American League game before the introduction of the designated hitter.

My intent with this post is to update and repost the above details with each no-hitter going forward.

Games of Thursday, May 15

                             W      L        Pct.     GB

New York          15     10        600     ---
Atlanta               12       9       .571    1
Houston             13     11       .541    1.5
St. Louis            12     11       .522    2
Chicago             14     14       .500    2.5
Pittsburgh          11     14       .440    4
Montreal            11     14       .440    4
Philadelphia        8     12        .400    4.5

Friday's games
New York (Koosman) at Chicago (Jenkins)
Philadelphia (Brett) at Pittsburgh (Ellis)
Montreal (Moore) at St. Louis (Cleveland)
Atlanta (Dobson) at Houston (Wilson)

New York 8, Chicago 7 (11 innings): Felix Millan's sac fly in the 11th plated the final run in a see-saw affair that featured a first-innng grand slam by Rick Monday off Tom Seaver. Seaver himself homered in the fourth off Burt Hooton to even the score. Billy Williams also homered for the Cubs, Cleon Jones drove in three runs for the Mets, including a two-run homer in the 10th that gave the Mets a lead that they then gave up in the bottom of the inning. Tug McGraw was the winner, Dave LaRoche took the loss, and Harry Parker got the final three outs for the save.

Philadelphia 3, Pittsburgh 0: Steve Carlton struck out nine Buccos in his complete game three-hitter. Del Unser had three hits for the visiting Phillies, including a homer and a triple. Nelson Briles allowed three runs in six innings for the loss.

Atlanta 4, Houston 0: Roric Harrison no-hit the Astros. He walked two and struck out 10. Mike Lum and Darrell Evans each hit two-run homers off loser Jerry Reuss.

Montreal 4, St. Louis 3: All four Expos runs, and one of the Cardinals', were unearned in a remarkably sloppy game. Winning pitcher Steve Rogers committed two balks in his eight innings; he allowed two runs, one earned, on six hits. Mike Marshall got the save despite allowing consecutive doubles to Ken Reitz and Jose Cruz. Rick Wise took the loss.

Games of Wednesday, May 14

                            W      L        Pct.     GB
New York          14     10        583     ---
Houston             13     10       .565    0.5
Atlanta               11       9       .579    1
St. Louis            12     10       .545    1
Chicago             14      13      .519    1.5
Pittsburgh          11      13      .458    3
Montreal           10      14       .417   4
Philadelphia        7     12       .368    4.5

Thursday's games
New York (Seaver) at Chicago (Hooton)
Philadelphia (Carlton) at Pittsburgh (Briles)
Montreal (Rogers) at St. Louis (Wise)
Atlanta (Harrison) at Houston (Reuss)

Chicago 5, New York 0: Bill Bonham and three Cubs relievers held the Mets to six hits. Bonham went six innings for the win, striking out seven. Jack Aker, Dave LaRoche and Mike Paul each got three outs. Ken Rudolph hit a two-run homer pinch-hitting in the eighth. Don Kessinger doubled, tripled and walked and scored three runs. Loser Jim McAndrew allowed two earned runs in six innings.

Houston 4, Atlanta 3 (11 innings): Doug Rader hit a two-run homer off Danny Frisella in the ninth to tie the game, and Cesar Cedeno drove in Hector Torres in the 11th to win it. Jim Ray was credited with the victory and Pat Dobson took the loss. Dave Johnson hit a two-run homer in the first for Atlanta. Roger Metzger is out until the 17th. He remains on the active roster.

Montreal 4, St. Louis 2: Mike Jorgensen drove in two of the Expos' three runs in the fifth inning, and Mike Torrez limited the Cardinals to one run in 6.2 innings. Tom Walker allowed one run over the final two innings for the save.

Games of Tuesday, May 13

                           W      L        Pct.     GB
New York          14       9        609     ---
St. Louis            12       9       .571    1
Atlanta               11       8       .579    1.5
Houston             12     10       .545    2
Chicago             13      13      .500    3
Pittsburgh          11      13      .458    4
Montreal             9      14       .391    5.5
Philadelphia        7     12       .368    5.5

Wednesday's games
New York (McAndrew) at Chicago (Bonham)
Atlanta (Morton) at Houston (Forsch) 
Montreal (Torrez) at St. Louis (Murphy)

Montreal 7, Chicago 5: The Expos scored three runs in the first inning and never relinquished the lead. Winner Ernie McAnally held the Cubs scoreless through five innings but was charged with four unearned runs in the sixth. Ken Singleton drove in three runs with a pair of doubles, Ron Fairly homered and Tim Foli plated a run with a squeeze bunt. Mike Marshall gave up one run in two innings of relief for the save.

Atlanta 14, Pittsburgh 2: Dave Johnson drove in four runs and Mike Lum three as the Braves pummeled Pirates pitchers for 19 hits, including a pair of homers, two triples and three doubles. Phil Niekro went seven inning for the win, allowing solo homers to Willie Stargell and Richie Hebner. Ralph Garr and Darrell Evans each scored three times for Atlanta.

Houston 3, Philadelphia 0: Dave Roberts, aided by four double plays, spun a four-hit shutout. He also bunted home the final run in Houston's three-run second inning. Lose Jim Lonborg also threw a complete game, allowing the three runs on eight hits. Roger Metzget tripled in the first two runs for the Astros before coming home on Roberts's suicide squeeze.

St. Louis 3, New York 2: Alan Foster struck out 13 in his complete game. He allowed two earned runs on six hits. Ken Reitz drove in a pair of runs for the Cardinals with a double and a grounder. Bud Harrelson was injured and must sit out the first two games in Chicago,

Games of Monday, May 12

                           W      L        Pct.     GB
New York          14       8        636     ---
Atlanta               10       8       .556    2
St. Louis            11       9       .550    2
Houston             11     10       .524    2.5
Chicago             13      12      .520    2.5
Pittsburgh          11      12       .478   3.5
Philadelphia         7     11       .389    5
Montreal              8      14      .363    6

Tuesday's games
Montreal (McAnally) at Chicago (Pappas)
Atlanta (Niekro) at Pittsburgh (Kison)
Philadelphia (Lonborg) at Houston (Roberts)
New York (Stone) at St. Louis (Foster)

Montreal 10, Chicago 5: Bob Bailey went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and Mike Jorgensen drove in three runs to power the Expos. Winner Steve Renko retired 14 men in a row at one point; he was charged with three runs in 7.1 innings. Ron Santo hit a grand slam in the eighth off Joe Gilbert. Loser Rick Reuschel allowed five runs in five innings.

Houston 3, Philadelphia 1: Cesar Cedeno led off the bottom of the first with a homer, and the Astros held the lead throughout. Don Wilson went seven innings, allowing one run on five hits. He walked none and struck out three. Cedeno also doubled and scored. Tom Griffin and Jim Crawford worked a scoreless inning apiece. Tom Hutton must sit out Tuesday's game.

New York 4, St. Louis 3 (14 innings): George Theodore, the last man off the Mets' bench, brought home Don Hahn in the top of the 14th with a pinch-hit single for the decisive run. Buzz Capra got the win with two scoreless innings and Harry Parker got the save. Orlando Pena took the loss. Starters Bob Gibson (seven innings) and Jon Matlack (eight innings) each allowed three runs. Ted Simmons caught all 14 innings for the Cardinals and should sit Tuesday.

Games of Sunday, May 11

 

                          W      L        Pct.     GB
New York          13       8        619     ---
St. Louis            11       8       .579     1
Atlanta               10       8       .556    1.5
Chicago             13      11      .542     1.5
Houston             10     10       .500    2
Pittsburgh          11      12       .478    2.5
Philadelphia         7     10       .412     3.5
Montreal              7      14      .333     5.5

Monday's games
Montreal (Renko) at Chicago (Reuschel)
Philadelphia (Twitchell) at Houston (Wilson)
New York (Matlack) at St. Louis (Gibson)

Chicago 4, Montreal 2: Ferguson Jenkins retired the final 13 Expos he faced , and Ron Santo and Randy Hundley each hit a two-run homer off loser Balor Moore. Ron Fairly homered twice for Montreal, but the Expos got just three other hits, all singles. Bill Bonham got the final out in relief of Dave LaRoche with two on for the save.

Houston 5, Philadelphia 3: Bob Watson drove in four runs, three on a sixth-inning homer off loser Steve Carlton. Jerry Reuss went 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs, for the win. Jim Ray pitched the ninth for the save.

New York 4, St. Louis 2: The Mets scored three runs in the first inning and the Cardinals never caught up. Jerry Koosman went the distance, scattering eight hits. Battery mate Jerry Grote drove in a pair of runs in the first inning rally against Reggie Cleveland, who allowed all four runs in six innings of work.

Games of Saturday, May 10

                          W      L        Pct.     GB
St. Louis            11       7       .611     ---
New York          12       8       .600     ---
Atlanta               10       8       .556    1.5
Chicago             12      11      .521     1.5
Pittsburgh          11      12       .478    2.5
Houston               9     10       .474     2.5
Philadelphia         7       9       .438     3
Montreal              7      13      .350     5

Sunday's games
Montreal (Moore) at Chicago (Jenkins)
Philadelphia (Carlton) at Houston (Reuss)
New York (Koosman) at St. Louis (Cleveland)

Pittsburgh 10, Atlanta 5: Al Oliver, Gene Alley, Richie Hebner and Milt May all homered for the Pirates. Jim Rooker allowed four runs (one unearned) in the first two innings but managed to go six innings for the win. May had three hits and scored three times, and Alley and Rennie Stinnett each scored twice.

Chicago 4, Montreal 0: Burt Hooton threw a three-hitter and Don Kessinger drove in a pair of runs for the Cubs.  Pat Borque hit a solo homer off loser Mike Torrez, Hooton walked three and struck out three. John Boccabella must sit out Sunday's game.

New York 5, St. Louis 3: Ed Kranepool hit a three-run homer in the first inning, and Tom Seaver went the distance despite allowing homers to Joe Torre and Jose Cruz. Cruz threw out a pair of Mets at home, Cleon Jones in the eighth and Rusty Staub in the ninth. Seaver allowed six hit and one walk while striking out four.

 

Game of Friday, May 9

                          W      L        Pct.     GB
St. Louis            11       6       .647     ---
Atlanta               10       7       .588    1
New York          11       8       .579     1
Chicago             11      11      .500     2.5
Houston               9     10       .474     3
Pittsburgh          10      12       .455    3.5
Philadelphia         7       9       .438     3.5
Montreal              7      12      .368     5

Saturday's games
Atlanta (Schuler) at Pittsburgh (Rooker)
Montreal (Torrez) at Chicago (Hooton)
New York (Seaver) at St. Louis (Wise)

Friday's game

Pittsburgh 4, Atlanta 1: Dal Maxvill hit a two-run triple and Nelson Briles allowed one runs in six innings. Carl Morton allowed four runs on nine hits in six innings to take the loss. Bob Moose pitched two scoreless innings and Luke Walker got the final three outs for the save.

Returning to the 73 Least League

 Reposted from Dec. 2019:

The slow-motion "pennant race" in the 1973 National League East fascinated the 15-year-old me -- five of the division's six teams struggling to reach .500, and anybody that was over .500 was probably in first place.

The Mets won 82 games, and won the division -- then beat the Big Red Machine in the NLCS, and took the Moustache Gang A's to seven games in the World Series.

The three best teams in the National League, perhaps the best four, were all in the West. The East got dubbed the "NL Least," but it was competitive.

I'm going to replay that race, with additions. As in the Losers League, I have grafted eight teams -- the six NL East teams of 1973 (New York, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Chicago and Philadelphia) plus Houston and Atlanta -- onto the National League schedule of 1924.

St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Philadelphia kept their schedules. Atlanta inherited the Boston Braves schedule. The Mets got the Giants' schedule, Houston got Cincinnati's and Montreal got Brooklyn's.

Also as in the Loser's League:

I'll use injuries. 25 man active rosters, demotions must last at least 10 days. I will use the weather ballpark ratings (1973 parks, obviously; only the schedule is 1924).

Games will be presumed to be night games with the following exceptions:

• All games in Chicago are day games (there were no lights in Wrigley Field in 1973)
• All Saturday and Sunday games are day games
• All weekday double headers are day-night doubleheaders EXCEPT Decoration Day, Independence Day and Labor Day.
• Other than in Houston and Atlanta, the first two weeks of the season will be day games and the last two weeks will be day games.
• In a change from the Losers League, getaway games won't be day games unless they fit one of the other criteria.

These eight teams have 27 to 30 players available. One, Montreal, has just 10 pitchers -- and a September stretch of nine games in five days. Half the teams have just two catchers. Nobody's roster is quite as misshapen as the Indians and Angels in the Losers League, but there will be problems.

To that end, I have established not only the league taxi squad that I created for the second half of the Losers League, but team specific ones.

For some, but unfortunately not all, of the teams, I have identified pitchers from their 1969 team who will be available to start for games with no rested starters. Using them will not require a roster move. They are:

Atlanta: none

Chicago: Rich Nye

Houston: Wade Blasingame

Montreal: Larry Jaster, Howie Reed

New York: Cal Koonce

Philadelphia: Bill Champion, Jeff James, Lowell Palmer

Pittsburgh: Bo Belinsky

St. Louis: Mudcat Grant

The league-wide taxi squad is to be used after the team-specific pitchers are exhausted. If more than one team needs a pitcher on a given day, the team with the worse record gets first dibs. A pitcher cannot be used a second time until all taxi-squad pitchers have been used once. The usual pitcher rest rules apply.

If a team needs a relief pitcher, it must go to the taxi squad, not to its team-specific list. The 1969 pitchers are solely to start. Teams may go to the taxi squad if injuries deplete their staff to eight pitchers, but it will require a roster move. 

Activating a position player from the taxi squad requires a roster move, and there must be (a) no healthy position-coded players or (b) just one healthy catcher to go to the taxi squad. The player must return to the taxi squad once the shortage at his position is resolved.

As with the Losers League, I will not compile stats. It would be a full-time job, and I already have one. While it would be nice to know who leds the league in homers or how many strikeouts Tom Seaver has, I don't really care what Don Kessinger's batting average is.

Reposted from Feb. 2020:

This is a prime time for me to put the 73 Least League into its planned hiatus. Strat-O-Matic is to begin shipping the new set of cards tomorrow, and I have plans for Tournament Three, which I will detail later in the week.

And the schedule fits for a long break here. I have finished the games of May 7. No games are played May 8; only one game for May 9. I will set aside the pitching rotation plans and the injury details. And I am declaring a bullpen reset when I resume the league. There are, honestly, one or two relievers who by my normal usage rules would need to sit a day or two, but ... we're talking the early 70s, and pitchers were routinely "abused" by today's standards. Yes, I used George Culver for five innings on May 7. The Phillies don't play May 8, 9 or 10. Ideally he won't pitch May 11 either, but so what if he does?

I will here list the players on the 73 Least emergency squad, since I will have to return them to their teams for Tournament Three:

Pitchers: Lloyd Allen, David Clyde, Don Durham, Don Stanhouse (Texas); Dick Pole (Boston); Jim McGlothlin (Cincinnati); Jerry Johnson, Mike Kekich, Milt Wilcox (Cleveland); Bill Parsons, Gary Ryerson, Chris Short (Milwaukee); Eddie Bane (Minnesota); Don Carrithers, Charlie Williams (San Francisco); Goose Gossage (White Sox); Bruce Dal Canton, Wayne Simpson, Ken Wright (Kansas City)

Catchers: Hal King (Cincinnati); Dick Billings (Texas); Elrod Hendricks (Baltimore); Pat Corrales (San Diego); Mike Sadek (San Francisco); Art Kusnyer (California)

Infielders: Ed Crosby (Cincinnati); Pete Mackanin Texas); Joe Lis, Dan Monzon (Minnesota); Frank Baker (Baltimore); Dwain Anderson (San Diego); Tim Johnson (Milwaukee)

Outfielders: Terry Crowley (Baltimore); Ben Oglivie (Boston); Danny Walton (Minnesota)

Standings as we resume play:

                          W      L        Pct.     GB
St. Louis            11       6       .647     ---
Atlanta               10       6       .625    0.5
New York          11       8       .579     1
Chicago             11      11      .500     2.5
Houston               9     10       .474     3
Philadelphia         7       9       .438     3.5
Pittsburgh            9      12       .429    4
Montreal              7      12      .368     5

Thursday's schedule
no games

Friday's schedule
Atlanta (Morton) at Pittsburgh (Briles)

Wrapping up Tournament Three

I certainly didn't foresee this outcome when I started this tournament almost a year ago. 

But the 1973 San Francisco Giants -- a No. 6 seed that finished third in its real-life division -- earned the title. They beat a No. 1 seed (the 2019 Twins), a No. 2 seed (1973 A's), a No. 3 seed (2019 Athletics), a No. 4 seed (2019 Cardinals) and a No. 5 seed (2009 Rockies). 

They were the lower seed in five of the six series. Three of the series went seven games, another two went six. The Giants found ways to win four games in each series. 

So what went right for the Giants that didn't in real life? A few possibilites, none of them mutually exclusive:

1) Luck. Of course. One aspect that stood out: The Giants corner infielders -- mainly Willie McCovey, Dave Kingman and Ed Goodson -- were atrocious defensively. As it happened, their problems afield did not seriously harm their team. Their miscues seldom if ever cose them a game.

2) Four of the series were against DH teams. The Giants may be been, with those three poor-fielder corner infielders, the best equipped of the tournament's non-DH teams to play with the rule. 

3) The Giants did not need to use a fifth starter, but then, neither did anybody else. But in the final four, they uniquely didn't have to use a fourth starter either. Juan Marichal relieved three times in the final two series and picked up a win. (He did replace Tom Bradley in the rotation halfway through the final round, and Bradley pitched a fraction of an inning in relief as well.)

---

For the record:

2019 teams  won 29 series, lost 30.

2009 teams won nine series, lost six

1973 teams won 20 series, lost 23

The 1969 team won three series, lost one.

1961 teams won two series, lost two

The 1924 team lost its one series.

Stat break: 1973 San Francisco Giants

     

Hitters

Name                AB     R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,

Arnold               12      2    5     3       0     0     0       3      0     .417

Bonds            157     31   50   22      7     1      8    20      7     .318

Fuentes         147     24   37   19       5    4      2    14      0     .252

Goodson       136     10   31   16       9    0      2      4      0      .228

Howarth             9      3     2     0       1    0      0      2      0      .222

Kingman          86    15   18    19       0    0     9    14      2      .209

Maddox         161    30   47    22      4     7     4      5      2      .292

Matthews       143    26   44    19      4    1      4    22       1     .308

McCovey       111    18   27    30      3     2   10     26      0      .243

Phillips             12      3     2     0      0     1     0       1      0      .167

Da Rader      119    14   29   17       7    0      3      8       0      .243

Sadek              15      2     1     0      1    0     0       2       0      .067

Speier            129    12  34    17      7     1     2    22      1      .264

Thomasson     23      5     7     6       2    0     1       5      0     .304

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.     W    L     ERA

Barr                 9      9    65         55   22    18      7    33       0      6     2     2.49

Bradley          10      9   55         59   30    30    17    47       0       5    3     4.91

Bryant            13    13   84         67   47    42    37    44       0      4     5     4.50

Carrithers        5      0      7.3       5     1      1      3       4      0      0     0      1.23

D'Acquisto       3      0      4          2     0      0      2      6      0      0     0      0.00

Marichal        10      7     53        49   21    19    12    30       0      4    1      3.23

McDowell        9      0      6.6       7      1      1      4      4      0       0     0     1.35

McMahon      10      0    10.3     10     3      3      0    10      1      2     0      2.61

Moffitt            14      0    18.3        9     3      3     5    13      7      1    1       1.47

Sosa             16      0     21.3     17      8      5     6    18      5     0     2       2.11

Willoughby      8      0     16        17   16      9     8    12      0      2     0      5.06

Stat break: 2019 St. Louis Cardinals

  

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Bader               88   14   19     7       5    0    1     9      2    .216
M Carpenter    94     8   24     9       4    0    2   10      2    .255
DeJong          128   16   25   19       3   0     3     9      4    .195
Edman           116   12   40   15       9    4    2     7      2    .345
Fowler           110   10   22   10       3    1    2   10      4    .200
Goldschmidt  136   23  44   26       7    0   11   20      1    .324
J Martinez       37     5     3     4      0    0     1      9      0    .081
Molina          127   14   32   10       5    0     2   10      0    .252
Munoz            28     4      5     1        0    0    0     1     0    .178
O'Neill            13     0     1     0       0    0     0      0     0    .077
Ozuna           134   17   29   18       8     1    5    17     1    .216
Wieters           17     7     9     9       2     0    4      2     0    .529
Wong            135   15   35   12       7     1    1    14     7    .259

Pitchers

Name                 G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L     ERA

Brebbia             14      0    20.6     10     5     5       9    20        0      2     1     2.18
Flaherty            11    11    65        51   24   21     19    55        0      5     2      2.91
Gallegos           17      0    16          4     0     0       4    12        0      4     0      0.00
Gant                  14      0   16.6     17   10   10     15     11        0      2     1      5.40

Hicks                13      0    14         8      3     3       5    11        4      1     0      1.92

Hudson               8      8    40.3    31    11  10     19     16       0       2     1      2.23
C Martinez       12      0    14          8     2     2       5    13        6      0     0      1.29

Mikolas              7      7    36        33   17   17     12    24        0      3     2      4.25

Miller               18      0    17.3     15   11   11     10    22       1      1      0      5.71

Ponce de Leon   6      0    14.3     12     6     6       6    16        0      0     0     3.77
Wacha                7      0    20       14      4     4       5    11        1      1     0     1.80
Wainwright        8      8    34       42    21   20    13     24        0     2     2      5.29

Webb                19      0    12.6    11      4     4      6       6       0      0     2      2.84