Bums and Red split

Arch rivals (Reds/Dodgers) hook up in a classic NL West 4 game set that saw both teams have their moments and both managers ecstatic for a split.

GAME 1 - Dodger Stad.
Bailey vs Osteen
Reds 4, Dodgers 1

Homer Bailey's bid for a shutout was ended in the bottom of the 8th when glove man Billy Cox lined a leadoff homer to right center.  That shot would be the Dodgers 3rd hit of the game.  Bailey went 8 strong innings before yielding to the pen.  Middle of the lineup batsman Ken Griffey (3-5) and George Foster (3-4) vexed Dodger starter Claude Osteen all day.  Dan Driessen knocked in two, thanks to hitting behind the aforementioned pair.  Every Red starter, sans Bailey, posted at least 1 hit.  Hoover pitched a shaky 9th, but still earned the save.

 

GAME 2
Latos vs Sutton
Dodgers 2, Reds 1

Mat Latos looked like a Hall of Famer (9.1 IP / 10k).  Don Sutton (8.2 IP / 9k) is a Hall of Famer.  In a matchup of unlikely foils Latos shockingly was the hurler who went extra frames.  In an era of specialists and 6 inning starters Latos defied common usage.  Sutton, who looked equal to the task had his day ended with 1 out in the 9th when he mouthed off to the home plate ump who's skin seemed to be a thinner than a Hollywood starlet's waistline.  With the score knotted at 1 apiece LA was forced to press rookie southpaw Doug Rau into service.  With 2 out Rau walked Joe Morgan, but rallied back to fan Dan Driessen.  LA threatened to score in the 9th with runners on 1st and 2nd and 1 out, but Latos fanned Campy and Gil to send it to extra innings.  Cincy went easy in the top of the 10th as rookie Rau had it all under control.  Dem Bums go a leadoff single from Skoonj followed by a full count walk to Cal Abrams.  Latos' last batter of the day, Bridges, went down swinging.  Reds manager Bill Keller replaced Latos, who was flat out exhausted, with LeCure who walked pinch hitter Wayne Terwilliger on 5 pitches.  After Pee Wee's grounder forced Furillo at the dish Simon was called upon to face the Duke of Flatbush, who he walked on 5 pitches to force home Abrams for the winning run.  Cincy's lone run of the game came on a Pete Rose homer way back in the top of the 1st.  The Dodgers tied it on a Reese RBI single in the 6th.

GAME 3 - Great Amer BP
Downing vs Cingrani
Dodgers 8, Reds 6

The series moved to the Queen City for a rare day/night doubleheader.  With both teams desperately trying to save their bullpens lefty starters Al Downing and Tony Cingrani both were given extra long leashes.  Both gave up more scores than a modern NFL defense.  Downing (7IP / 6 ER) turned out to be "less bad" than Cingrani (5IP / 7 ER) in this less than entertaining run fest.  After Joe Morgan hit a 3 run shot in the bottom of the 5th to put the Reds up 6-3 most pundits would have left the Dodgers for dead.  That 3 run lead evaporated quickly as the boys in blue sent 8 batters to the plate in the top of the 6th with 4 of them returning safely to home.  Campy's 2 run shot got the fireworks started.  After nursing Downing through 7 painful innings Dodger manager Marc Weiss went to the pen and gave the ball to Jim Brewer to get the final 6 outs.  Brewer gave up 2 hits, fanned 3 and never threatened the lead en route to his 2nd save of the season.

 

GAME 4
John vs Arroyo
Reds 8, Dodgers 5

Game 2 of the twin bill picked right up with the opener left off.  Both offenses were in high gear. 

Neither starter was all that effective with TJ being completely ineffective (7ER in 4 IP).  After going down 8-1 LA managed to score some back door runs to make the final score look much more respectable than one would expect.  Cincy got a huge day from Ken Griffey (4-5, 2RBI) and Foster (2-4, RBI) like they did in game 2.  Davey Concepcion (3-5) blasted 3 doubles and scored 3 runs from the leadoff position.  No Red homered.  The Dodgers got homers from Duke Snider (2-4, .330) and backup catcher Rube Walker (2-4, 3RBI, 2R).  The Dodgers finish the series 12-9 and in a virtual tie with the Braves for 1st in the West.  Cincy fell to 8-13 game games off the pace.

Redbirds take 2 of 3 from Jints

The San Francisco Giants got off to a hot start in a three game inter-division series against the St. Louis Cardinals, nipping the Redbirds 3-2. Juan Marichal pitched eight strong innings to get his first win, while Rich Aurilia continued his hot hitting by slamming two home runs and driving in all three. Lefty Larry Jaster took the loss.

The series moved to St. Louis, with young Steve Carlton making his first start against veteran Giant lefty Mike McCormick. Cartlon went a solid 8 1/3 innings striking out five, while Mark McGwire and Mike Matheny looked like a latter day “M&M” combo, each hitting two-run homers. St. Louis won 6-2, with McCormick dropping to 2-2 in the process.  Aurilia homered again, his eighth of the season.

The rubber matched pitted former Cardinal (who has made two starts for this Redbird club) Ray Sadecki against Bob Gibson. Both starters had their strikeout pitch working, but they also were wild. Sadecki struck out 8 in only 5 innings, but walked 6. Gibby fanned 9 over 8 innings, walking 5.

With the game tied at 3 going into the eighth, the Giants took a one-run lead in the top half when JT Snow completed a 4-for-4 day with a long home run to center field. The Cardinals came back in the bottom half with two outs, none on, to score 2. Fernando Vina drew a one-out pinch-hit base on balls off reliever Ron Herbel, only to be caught stealing in a busted hit-and-run attempt by Edgar Renteria. Renteria then singled, and Placido Polanco walked. McGwire then doubled home both runners to give St. Louis the lead 5-4.  Joe Hoerner pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to preserve the win.

Bike Mike