Baltimore Claims Series Vs Sliding Chicago

September 3: Baltimore 6, Chicago 3

Recent Baltimore additions Manny Machado and Baby Doll Jacobson each collected their first dinger of the year against a struggling Chris Sale. Sale has given up 18 runs while throwing just 13 innings over his last three starts.

                  R  H BB
CHI 002 001 000 - 3 10  3
BAL 112 010 01x - 6  9  5

HR: M. Machado (1), B. Jacobson (1)

starters     IP  R ER HR BB SO
C. Sale     6.1  5  4  2  4  8  
J. Palmer   7.0  3  3  0  2  2 

CHI 72-64, BAL 72-64

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September 4: Baltimore 11, Chicago 2

The Orioles again beat up on ineffective Chicago hurling the next day, and Ken Singleton, Frank Robinson, and Adam Jones all reached safely thrice, and Machado collected three singles plus a walk.

                   R  H BB
CHI 001 001 000 -  2  7  6
BAL 230 014 01x - 11 16  4

HR: E. Murray (16)

starters      IP  R ER HR BB SO
E. Cicotte   5.0  8  6  0  4  0  
J. Powell    9.0  2  2  0  6  4 

CHI 72-65, BAL 73-64

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September 5: Chicago 2, Baltimore 1

Ed Walsh gave the White Sox the strong start they needed to salvage a game in Baltimore. A Minnie Minoso error contributed to the one, unearned run Baltimore managed against him. The Sox batters barely fared better against Harry Howell but managed to scratch across two runs for the victory.

Chicago’s second-half resurgence seems to be losing steam. They are now tied with Baltimore in fourth, 6.5 games out of first with just 24 games to play.

                  R H BB
CHI 100 000 100 - 2 9  4
BAL 100 000 00x - 1 7  1
HR: none

starters     IP  R ER HR BB SO
E. Walsh    9.0  1  0  0  1  3  
H. Howell   9.0  2  1  0  4  3 

CHI 73-65, BAL 73-65

KC Edges Into First, Boston Pads Their Narrow Lead, and All the Action From Aug. 31-Sep. 2

August 31: Kansas City 6, Texas 3 (13 inn.)
September 1: Kansas City 5, Texas 2
September 2: Kansas City 6, Texas 5

The Royals pulled off their second straight series sweep, after which they found themselves with a half-game lead atop the Expansion Division. Game one was a doozy. DH Willie Aikens crushed a home run in his first plate appearance of the season, and then added another dinger in the sixth to boost KC to a 3-2 lead. Jeff Montgomery got two quick outs in the bottom of the ninth for KC, but a pinch-hitting Al Oliver doubled and Julio Franco knocked him in to send the game to extras. In the top of the 13th, Kevin Seitzer and Willie Wilson started things with back-to-back walks, and later in the inning Danny Tartabull, Hal McRae, and Jose Offerman knocked three hits in a row. Aikens added a double and another homer later in the series. The Royals are streaking, having won 11 of their last 13, and it looks like a two-horse race in the Expansion Division between KC and Seattle. Third-place Texas is 10 games out of first.

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August 31: Boston 7, Oakland 4
September 1: Boston 4, Oakland 1
September 2: Oakland 2, Boston 0

It was a big series in Oakland as the top two teams in the Original Division met with just two games separating number one Boston from the A’s. Oakland got out to a 4-2 lead in the first game (Jimmie Foxx homered for both teams), but Ted Williams slammed a three-run dinger in the top of the eighth to put Boston up for good. Boston ensured they would be remaining alone in first after the series by taking game two as well. Smoky Joe Wood was wicked for Boston, holding Oakland to one run, which was Wood’s 11th straight start without allowing more than three runs. Oakland’s Chief Bender and Rube Walberg handled most of the mound duties in the finale as the A’s kept the Sox off the scoreboard. Boston flew out of Oakland with a three-game lead.

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August 31: Minnesota 8, Cleveland 4
September 1: Minnesota 2, Cleveland 1 (11 inn.)_
September 2: Cleveland 10, Minnesota 1

The Twins had their aces Johan Santana and Walter Johnson going in the first two games and took advantage with wins. The Minnesota bats backed Santana with 14 hits in the first game. Johnson and Corey Kluber dueled magnificently in the second game. Both pitchers had allowed one run through nine innings, which was the end of the line for Kluber. In the top of the 11th, Stan Spence doubled against Doug Jones and Mickey Vernon knocked him home with a single. Johnson went the full 11 innings for Minnesota and lowered his ERA to 2.65.

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August 31: Anaheim 1, Seattle 0
September 1: Seattle 7, Anaheim 4
September 1: Anaheim 6, Seattle 5
September 2: Anaheim 4, Seattle 2

The first-place Mariners visited last-place Anaheim for four games, a golden opportunity to stave off the hot Royals, but the Angels have been a much-improved team of late and Seattle dropped three of four.

Anaheim’s Rod Carew led off the bottom of the first with a walk and came around to score the game’s only run. Starters Freddy Garcia and Jered Weaver battled tooth and nail.

The Mariners claimed game two in large part thanks to multi-run homers by Nelson Cruz and Robinson Cano in the fifth.

Cruz homered again in the third game, which was knotted at five runs apiece after eight and a half innings. Brian Downing ended the contest with a solo jobby in the bottom of the ninth off Michael Jackson. Game four was tied through seven and a half innings until Tim Salmon drove a two run bomb.

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August 31: New York 5, Baltimore 3
September 1:  Baltimore 5, New York 3
September 2: New York 8, Baltimore 5

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August 31: Detroit 9, Chicago 3
September 1: Detroit 10, Chicago 3
September 2: Chicago 4, Detroit 3

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August 31: Houston 2, Toronto 1
August 31: Toronto 4, Houston 3
September 1: Toronto 6, Houston 3
September 2: Toronto 7, Houston 2

Ray Halladay and Mike Cuellar dueled in the opener. Josh Donaldson collected three hits that included a triple in his debut.

In the second game, Carlos Correa knocked a two-run homer in his debut Rhubarb plate appearance. For Toronto, Carlos Delgado walked in his first four plate appearances and then homered in his fifth and final PA, which came in the ninth and put the Jays up by a run. Shawn Green later homered in the ninth to give the Jays a two-run cushion that they ended up needing after Craig Biggio led off the bottom of the ninth with a solo jack of his own. Morgan Ensberg made it to third base as the tying run, but Tom Henke closed out a two-inning save for Toronto.

 

Cobb & Young Are August Players of the Month

Two dead-ball era greats who had not been living up to expectations through the first four months of the season broke out in a big way over the month of August.

Ty Cobb had not been bad through July, nor had he been the kind of elite force on which Detroit was counting. Before August started, Cobb had a .314/.378/.414 slash line with which most players in the league would be thrilled. But there were 28 hitters in the league with more runs created than Cobb despite him having the tools to be one of the top two or three in the league. Cobb finally found that elite level of play in August when he put up these eye-popping numbers:

 PA  AB BB  H 2B 3B HR SB CS  AVG  OBP  SLG WOBA wRC
123 111 12 44  7  2  0  8  0 .396 .455 .495 .443  27

The big month catapulted Cobb 14 spots up the runs created leaderboards into 14th place and boosted his season-long slash line to .328/.391/.426.

It could actually be said that Boston twirler Cy Young had been bad through the end of July. Not horrendous, but his 4.38 ERA was on the wrong side of league-average. Young’s August started with a complete-game, three-runs allowed victory over Oakland. His second start was not a good one and he allowed four runs to Baltimore in seven innings in a loss. Young was almost untouchable in four starts from there, in which he threw nine innings and gave up one run in each. On August 15, he was one out away from his first shutout when an unearned run scored against him, but he still led the Sox to a victory over Detroit. On the 20th, Young kept the mighty New York offense quiet in a win, then on the 25th he led Boston to a tight 2-1 win over Seattle. Finally, he racked up a season-high eight strikeouts on the 30th to lead Boston to victory over Texas. That 4.38 season ERA tumbled down to 3.75 thanks to these August numbers:

IP  R ER HR BB SO  ERA
52 11 10  0  9 20 1.73

Close of 2017 MLB Season Brings Changes to the Rhubarb; Correa & Donaldson Headline New Arrivals

Call ’em September call-ups. Even though there is only one month of games left in this inaugural season of the Grand American League Rhubarb, I could not resist the fun of seeing how the 2017 season changed what players were eligible for each team and what players needed their 2017 performance folded into their card chances. Going back through all the eligible players also turned up a number of pre-2017 players that did not have a card before but I thought might be an upgrade, so there are a number of new old guys in addition to the new new guys (?). Here’s a look at all the notable changes around the league:

Anaheim: Mike Trout‘s slightly abbreviated 2017 was long enough to be added into his card chances. His hitting chances got even better though the number of games he can play in a year dropped from 154 to 148. I’d somehow missed that Chili Davis was qualified to join the Angels’ all-time team as a DH, a pretty major oversight since he’s now one of the team’s top hitters.

Baltimore: Reliever Darren O’Day‘s 2017 season got added in, but the big news in Maryland is the new eligibility of Manny Machado. It’s a steep hill to climb to unseat Brooks Robinson at the hot corner, but Machado has done it by fielding the position nearly as well as Robinson and clearly out-hitting him. Old-timer Baby Doll Jacobson (1919-25) is going to take over most of the center field duties from Adam Jones.

Chicago: Jose Abreu‘s superb first four seasons in the majors quickly vaulted him into Rhubarb eligibility, and he’s slotted to bat fifth in the Sox lineup and be their every-day first-baseman.

Cleveland: Corey Kluber and Cody Allen were already on the Naps roster but had their 2017 performance added in. Starter Carlos Carrasco gained eligibility on the back of his 2017, his fourth-straight strong season with Cleveland, and has immediately joined the rotation, bumping Sam McDowell.

Houston: The Astros might have enjoyed the biggest upgrade in the Rhubarb thanks to 2017, mostly because Carlos Correa is now their starting shortstop instead of Dickie Thon. Jose Altuve was already eligible before 2017, but couldn’t break into the ‘Stros roster with Craig Biggio blocking the way at second base. But Altuve’s hitting got too good to deny after his remarkable 2017 season, and he now holds a spot on the 25-man. He’s slated to be the starting DH against lefties, joining Texas’s Toby Harrah as the only middle-infielders to be starting DHs.

Kansas City: There weren’t any fresh faces to become eligible for the Royals roster after ’17, but a number of players already on the roster had their season added into their card chances, including Salvador Perez, Alcides Escobar, Joakim Soria, and Kelvin Herrera. Unfortunately, the addition of 2017 mostly hurt those players. On the other hand, Lorenzo Cain had been eligible before but couldn’t break into the KC outer garden until the inclusion of his strong ’17 campaign. He’s now bumped Alex Gordon down a notch and off the roster. I hadn’t noticed before how lethal Willie Aikens (1980-83) could be against right-handed pitchers. Aikens has one of the most extreme platoon splits in the league and will now see plenty of action against north-paws.

New York: Dellin Betances joins the Yank’s pen, a welcome upgrade for a team desperate for pitching help. Betances slots in as perhaps the second-best arm in NY’s ‘pen behind Mariano Rivera, and Betances has more strikeout chances on his card than any other pitcher in the league.

Seattle: Kyle Seager and Robinson Cano both had their 2017s added in. The headline for Seattle fans is the addition of Nelson Cruz to the team after his blistering hitting over the last three years. Cruz would fit in best at DH, but there’s no unseating Edgar Martinez in that spot, so the Mariners will put up with some bad corner-outfield defense from Cruz in order to get his bat in the lineup.

Toronto: Josh Donaldson became newly eligible and should be a massive upgrade at third base over the Rance Mulliniks/Kelly Gruber platoon they’ve gone with up until now. DH Paul Molitor (1993-95) is also a fresh card on the Toronto roster.

Babe Hits For Cycle – Again!, Oakland Amazes, and Full Action From Around The League For Aug. 28-30

New York Wins 2 of 3 in Minnesota
August 28: New York 8, Minnesota 4
August 29: New Yor 20, Minnesota 3
August 30: Minnesota 2, New York 1

The Yanks won the first two games of the set on the strength of mammoth hitting. In game one, Minnesota starter George Mogridge made his Rhubarb debut and performed admirably for his seven innings of work and handed the bullpen a 4-3 lead. Joe Nathan quickly coughed up the lead in the top of the eighth on a two-run Derek Jeter jack, and Joe DiMaggio added a three-run dagger to the seats in the ninth. Lou Gehrig tacked on three more hits and a walk to his ludicrous season totals. Dellin Betances made an appearance from the New York bullpen to become the first player in the Rhubarb to take the field with 2017 stats factored into his card.

In game two, the biggest offense in the league had their biggest offensive game of the season as a string of Minnesota hurlers got bashed. Gehrig reached four times again and knocked his 33rd dong, and Babe Ruth collected his and the league’s second cycle of the season. The Babe first pulled the trick on May 13th in Seattle. Ruth singled in the first against Dutch Leonard, flew out in the third against Leonard, launched a three-run homer in the fourth against Firpo Marberry, drove in two with a double in the fifth against Marberry, drew a walk in the seventh off Al Worthington, and collected his sixth RBI of the game with a triple off Rick Aguilera in the eighth.

The finale could not have been much different. Minny starter Camilo Pascual managed to hold the NY bats to one run in seven innings, and Eddie Guardado nailed down two shutout innings to make the Twins’ two runs hold up.

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Oakland’s Amazing Run Gains Momentum With Suffocating Sweep of Detroit
August 28: Oakland 3, Detroit 2 (16 inn.)
August 29: Oakland 3, Detroit 0
August 30: Oakland 7, Detroit 0

The Swingin’ A’s won their fifth straight series and are on a 17-4 roll that has them within two games of the division-leading Red Sox.

Detroit started the series in good shape, taking a 2-0 lead into the top of the eighth inning in game one. Starter Schoolboy Rowe made his season debut for the Tigers and did not allow an earned run in seven innings. But center gardener Al Kaline erred on a Bert Campaneris fliner to start the eighth, and the Tigers were doomed for the rest of the series. The two runs Detroit plated in the second inning of game one were the first and last they would score in the whole three-game, 34-inning series.

But game one was far from over after Campaneris reached in the eighth. Campy came around to score, and the A’s tied it up in the top of the ninth on the strength of a Jason Giambi walk and singles by Home Run Baker and Mickey Cochrane. The two bullpens dug in from there and it took seven extra innings to decide the competition. Oakland starter Chief Bender was strong for eight innings, and then Huston Street, Dennis Eckersley, Rube Walberg, and Eddie Rommel came out of the Oakland pen for eight shut-down frames.

Dizzy Trout mowed down Oakland in the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th and was still going in the 16th when Cochrane started it off with a single and Campaneris frozen-roped a triple to finally break the stalemate. In the bottom of the 16th, the Tigers got runners on the corners with just one out against Walberg, who was pulled in favor of Rommel. Rommel whiffed Hank Greenberg and grounded out Travis Fryman to end the saga.

Detroit looked dejected and done with their disappointing season in the next two games. Barry Zito twirled a shutout for the A’s in the middle game and Rube Waddell turned the same trick in game three. Jimmie Foxx provided fireworks on offense for Oakland with a homer in game two and three hits that included two doubles in game three.