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.