COVID-19(73) Baseball Version 3 ALCS game 5

Bill Spaceman Lee faced Jim Catfish Hunter in a crucial game 5 of the ALCS. But Hunter wasn't around very long.

• After walking Pete Rose and then Joe Morgan to lead off the 1st inning, Hunter started griping to the home plate umpire Ron Luciano - he then may or may not have thrown a spitball to Tony Perez - but that was enough for Luciano and Hunter was sent to the showers.
• Thrown in to the fire Horacio Pina saved the situation against Perez and struck him out. The he felt Luciano's wrath walking Reggie Jackson and then Carl Yastrzemski to score Rose
• Reggie Smith followed with a sharp single that scored Rose but Jackson was held at 3rd, keepign it 2-0
• Pina settled down to get Dave Concepcion and Johnny Bench to end the inning and strand 3 base-runners

The Alteses struck back in the bottom of the first:

• Bill North singled and stole second to start the inning, he moved to third on Garry Maddox's grounder to the right side
• After a walk for Willie McCovey, Gene Tenace hit a deep flyball that was able to score North and cut the lead to 2-1

Rose and Morgan walked again in the second inning, but Pina got out of it without them getting further.

The Leos threatened again in the 3rd against Tom Bradley

• Yaz singled and Smith followed with a double, but Yaz stopped at third
• Bradley struck out Concepcion and walked Bench to force a decision with Lee due up next
• Lee was pitching well enough that he was sent up hoping to squeeze home a run
• Lee missed the pitch and Yaz - may have missed the safety squeeze sign - was out at home
• Lee then struck out to end the threat

The Alteses tied it up in the 4th

• With one out, Sal Bando walked
• Chris Speier followed a Bobby Bonds popout with a single to right - moving Bando to third
• Steve Ontiveros pinch-hitting for Bradley singled and Bando scored

A great defensive play from Reggie Jackson kept it tied in the bottom of the 6th

• With two outs Speier walked
  
• Jesus Alou, pinch-hitting for Darold Knowles doubled to right
• Jackson got to the ball quickly and hit Morgan for the relay to Bench for the final out keeping the score 2-2

The bottom of the 7th ended Lee's night

• With one out North, again singled and stole second
• Maddox reached on an infield single, North taking third
• Lee pitched around McCovey walked to load the bases
• Mel Stottlemeyer relieved Lee and induced a ground ball from Tenace, but Morgan had to range to his left and had no play other than Tenace at first, allowing North to score the lead run.

It stayed that way until the top of the 9th

• Rollie Fingers came in to try to get the save and allowed a leadoff single to pinch-hitting Carlton Fisk
• Tommy Harper came in to run for Fisk, Fingers held him close and got Rose to fly out to leftfield
• With Morgan up, Harper strayed too far off first and was picked off for the second out
• Morgan then singled, bringing Perez, up as the last hope
• Morgan took off for second, and saw that the throw from Tenace was far off line. He made the turn for third, and by the time Maddox corralled the poor throw, Morgan had come home to tie the score at 3
• Fingers snagged a line shot from Perez to end the inning

Pedro Borbon pitched a spotless 9th and Fingers matched him in the top of the 10th. The bottom half was a different story for Borbon

• McCovey walked to start the inning and was replaced by Gary Matthews to run
• Tenace flew out to Rose in left
• Bando singled and Matthews just beat the throw into third base. This allowed Bando to take second base.
• With first base open, Borbon intentionally walked Bonds to face Speier
• Speier was the hero with his third hit of the game scoring Matthews and giving the Bay Area Alteses the 4-3 win

Game 6 will be Saturday evening in Cincinnati/Boston with the RedsSox facing elimination. Expected starters are Ken Holtzman for the Alteses and John Curtis for the Leos

COVID-19(73) Baseball Version 3 ALCS game 4

After a few "rain outs" we finally got to game 4 in the ALCS. The Leo RedsSox went with their 4th-starter Luis Tiant against game 1 starter Vida Blue for the Bay Area Alteses.

The Alteses did make a couple lineup changes swapping in Bobby Bonds for Gary Mathews and Chris Speier for Bert Campaneris. Both moves paid dividends.

In the bottom of the 1st, Bonds homered to make it 1-0.

Tiant had more trouble in the second:

• Sal Bando leadoff with a single and moved to second on Garry Maddox's gound-ball
• Speier hit one into the gap, Bando scored and Speier ended up on third with a triple
• Tito Fuentes singled him home to make it 3-0
• After Blue sacrificed Fuentes to second, Bill North singled and Fuentes scored
• North then scored on Bonds second extra base hit in as many innings - a double making it 5-0

The RedsSox fought back in the top of the 3rd:

• With 1-out Pete Rose walked
• Joe Morgan then doubled - Rose holding at third
• The red hot Tony Perez then singled to left, scoring Rose, Morgan to 3rd
• Blue got out of the inning with a Reggie Jackson foul popup and Carl Yastrzemski grounding out to Willie McCovey at first

Tiant got in more trouble in the 3rd loading the bases with singles by Gene Tenace and Bando and walking Maddox. Roger Moret came in and got 3 outs without allowing a run to keep it close at 5-1

The Leos stuck again in the top of the 5th:

• Perez singled with one-out
• After Jackson struck out, Yaz singled
  
• Perez then scored on a base hit from Reggie Smith
• Blue struck out Concepcion to end the inning, but the score tightened to 5-2
  

Back-to-back walks to Johnny Bench and Andy Kosco start the 6th inning ended the night for Blue

• Darold Knowles made his first appearance in the series got a ground out from Rose that moved the runners up to second and third
  
• Knowles then got a key 3rd strike call on Joe Morgan
• With Perez coming to the plate, Knowles came out and and Horacio Pina came in to face him. Perez smashed a hard liner - but right to Bando at 3rd base to end the inning.

That defensive spark opened the flood gates in the bottom of the 6th:

• With 1-out Fuentes singled, Chris Arnold, pinch-hitting for Pina singled as well and the North followed with the 3rd straight single off of Bobby Bolin to load the bases.
  
• The the strike zone shrunk
• Bolin walked Bonds, scoring Fuentes
• Ray Culp came in to face the left-handed hitting McCovey, and walked him, scoring Arnold
• Mel Stottlemeyer then came in to face Tenace and again walked him, scoring North before recording the final outs of the inning.
  

The damage was done making it 8-2

As in their game 1 loss, the RedsSox ended on a high note:

• Back-to-back doubles from Perez and Jackson in the top of the 9th off of Tom Bradley ended teh scoring and the game 8-3

COVID-19(73) Baseball Version 3 NLCS game 4

The Gotham Pauls sent Tom Seaver out to try to avoid the sweep, but Don Sutton, once again, proved to be at-least his equal.
Seaver had some troubles with the strike zone, but didn't allow a hit to the Matts until Davey Lopes singled in the 5th.
Sutton had allowed 3 hits in that time, but none got past first base.
For a short time the Matts bats came to life in the top of the 6th

• Merv Rettenmund singled to start the inning
• Willie Crawford followed with another single, moving Rettenmund to third, Crafrod took second on the throw to third
• Bobby Grich then singled scoring Rettenmund, but Matty Alou's throw nailed Crawford at home
• Boog Powell connected for the 4th straight hit against Seaver, scoring Grich for the 2-0 lead

The Pauls had a chance in the bottom of the 6th

• John Milner, pinch-hitting for Seaver singled to start things off 
• After Alou flew out to center, Murcer singled
• Milner took 3rd and Murcer took second on the throw
• Sutton got Thurman Munson to pop up to Cey
• Ron Blomberg grounded out to Lopes to end the threat

Rusty Staub's double to start the 7th looked like potential, but Sutton then struck out Horace Clarke and Bud Harrelson before a Graig Nettles grounder ended the inning

Jim Brewer and Bob Reynolds were perfect in relief for the 2-0 win and a 4-0 series sweep.

Don Sutton, with 2 victories was the series MVP

COVID-19(73) Baseball Version ALCS game 3

The ALCS moved to the Bay Area for game 3 and as with most games in this playoff - pitcher had the advantage and the Alteses couldn't take advantage of base-runners - at least early on.

While Ken Holtzman limited the RedsSox to 2 base-runners through 5 innings, the Mikes:

• Wasted Bill North's lead-off single in the first when Willie McCovey hit into a double-play
• Bert Campaneris stranded 2 runners in the 2nd with a line out in the second
• North walked and stole second in the 3rd inning but got no further
• Jack Billingham lost a little control in the 4th, walking Gene Tenace and Sal Bando to start the inning
• After a Garry Maddox Popup, Tito Fuentes singled and Tenace tried to score from second, but Pete Rose made a perfect throw to Johnny Bench 
• Campaneris lined out again for the 3rd out
• North walked again in the 5th, again stole second, but once again Gary Mathews and McCovey couldn't bring him home

The Leos had their first threat in the 6th:

• Bench lead off the inning with a single
• Tommy Harper pinch ran for hi, stole second and moved to third on a poor throw from Tenace
• With first base open, Holtzman walked George Foster intentionally
• Pete Rose popped up on the infield for the first out
• Joe Morgan hit a comebacker to Holtzman who threw to Campaneris for one and the relay beat Morgan for the inning-ending double play

Holtzman got into trouble in the 7th as well:

• Tony Perez singled
• After Reggie Jackson flew out to left, Carl Yastrzemski singled
• Don McMahon came in to relieve Holtzman and induced a double play grounder from Reggie Smith

The RedsSox finally broke through in the 8th with a Dave Concepcion home-run

The lead lasted for a half inning

• North singled again, but couldn't get a jump against Pedro Borbon 
• He did break up a potential double play with a hard slide into Morgan on Mathews grounder to Dan Driessen
• Mathews moved to second when Carlton Fisk allowed a passed ball from Borbon
• McCovey singled to Yaz, now in left, and Mathews was able to beat the throw home to tie it up

Leos struck again in the 9th as Tony Perez hit his 3rd home-run of the series it 2-1, putting Rollie Fingers in line for the loss

Borbon was given a second chance at a save, and for the second time he gave up the tying run

• With 1-out Jesus Alou doubled, pinch-hitting for Fuentes
• Chris Speier, now in at shortstop, singled and Alou came home to tie the score
• Tom Hall came in for Borbon and struck out Dave Rader
• Bobby Bolin then replaced Hall and walked North 
• Mathews then singled, but Jackson threw out at home Speier to keep the score tied

Fingers came out for the 10th

• He got Smith and Concepcion before giving up a single to Fisk
• Driessen followed with a triple in the gap in right center to again put the RedsSox up 1

Roger Moret came out in the bottom of the 10th hoping for better luck than Borbon

• With one-out the BayArea squad was out of hitters and sent switch hitting Vida Blue up to bat for Fingers - Blue lofted one over Smith, playing shallow in centerfield and ended up on 3rd base with a triple
• With the infield in, Bando hit a grounder to 3rd and Blue was headed for home
• Driessen's throw to Fisk was perfect and Blue was tagged out
• Maddox extended the game, drawing a walk and moving the tying run to second
• Chris Arnold popped up to Driessen to end the game 

COVID-19(73) Baseball Version NLCS game 3

The Mighty Matts scored again in their final at-bats to win a 2-1 squeaker to take a commanding 3 games to 0 lead in the series.

Matt struck first in the top of the 4th

• George Stone hit Merv Rettenmund and walked Bobby Grich with no on out
• Willie Crawford hit into a 5-4-3 double play, but Rettenmund took 3rd
• Ron Cey singled to score Rettenmund

The Gotham Pauls finally scored in the 7th

• Thurman Munson lead off with a double off Tommy John, only the 3rd hit allowed (also the team's final hit of the day...)
• Ron Blomberg walked 
• Munson moved to third on a deep fly ball from Cleon Jones
• Felix Millan hit one even deeper to left on the next pitch, it stayed in the park, but brought Munson home to tie the score

The score stayed that way until the 10th

• Crawford walked off Ray Sadecki 
• Cey followed with single putting runners, putting runners at the corners
• Sparky Lyle relieved Sadecki and the New Yorkers brought their infield in and it paid off as Steve Garvey bounced back to Lyle who held Crawford at 3rd and got Garvey at first for out number 1
• Al Bumbry came in to pinch-hit for Bob Reynolds and hit a sinking liner to Bobby Murcer in centerfield
• Crawford thought it was going to drop in and took off for home - when Murcer made the catch he had to scramble back and just beat the throw to avoid the double play
• With 2 outs, Davey Lopes put the Matts in front with a single scoring Crawford, but Murcer again made a stellar play throwing out Cey at the plate

Grant Jackson pitched a quick 10th for the save and the 3-0 series lead

COVID-19(73) Baseball Version 3 NLCS game 2

Game 2 was billed as a face off between 1973 Cy Young Winner Jim Palmer and lefty Jerry Koosman. The Gotham Pauls used Koosman as an opener to get all the right handed hitters into the Matts lineup.
After Koosman got Davey Lopes to popout in the bottom of the 1st, Manny Mota singled - and that was all for Koosman, right hander Doc Medich came in. Medich induced a double play from Joe Ferguson and set the tone for a low scoring affair.

The Pauls scored first in the top of the 5th.

• Bud Harrelson led off with a single but was doubled off on Graig Bettles hard liner to first.
• With 2-out, the Pauls sent Medich up to hit for himself, he took advantage of the situation with a triple.
• Matty Alou singled him home to make it 1-0
• Palmer was shaken and walked Bobby Murcer and gave up a single to Thurman Munson - but Alou was held at third
• A Ron Blomberg ground ball ended the inning

The lead lasted 4 batters

• After a Steve Garvey ground out, Willie Crawford drew a walk from Medich
• Crawford moved to third on a single from Al Bumbry - Bumbry took 2nd on the throw
• Hoping for the double-play, the Pauls had the infield back
• Davey Lopes ground ball seemed to fit the bill, but he was too fast for the relay and Crawford scored to tie it up

Fred Beene, Bob Reynolds, Lindy McDaniel and Grant Jackson kept the score tied into the bottom of the 9th. The gamed seemed destined for extra innings.

• With 2-outs Bobby Grich doubled to center field, bringing Ron Cey to the plate
• Cey hit a hard ground ball to Nettles at third, Nettles misplayed the ball and with 2-outs the speedy Grich came all the way around for the winning run

COVID-19(73) Baseball Version 3 ALCS game 2

Game 2 in the ALCS was ind of  pitchers duel. John Curtis's final stats aren't as pretty as Catfish Hunter's, except for the W vs. the L.

Teams were scoreless into the 5th

• Bert Campaneris led off with a single and stole second
• Hunter successfully sacrificed to 3rd
• Billy North's base hit made it 1-0 Bay Area Alteses

The RedsSox had been limited to 1 hit by Hunter as Pete Rose led off the bottom of the 6th

• Rose walked
• Joe Morgan's hit-and-run single moved Rose to 3rd
• Gene Tenace threw out Morgan trying to steal second
• Tony Perez followed with his second 2-run homer of the series giving the Leos their first lead 2-1

Rollie Fingers relieved Hunter in the 7th

• Fingers walked Reggie Smith
• Tommy Harper came in to pinch-run for Smith and immediately stole 2nd
• Smith moved to 3rd on Dave Concepcion's ground out
•  Fingers walked Johnny Bench intentionally to face Dan Driessen
• Driessen doubled to score both runners and make it 4-1

The Mikes threatened in the 8th Against Bobby Bolin, but came up empty

Pedro Borbon started the 9th hoping to close it out quickly, it did not go as planned

• After Bobby Bonds popped out, North singled and stole second
• Jesus Alou pinch-hit for fingers and singled scoring North making it 4-2
• Willie McCovey walked
• Tenace singled home Alou making it 4-3
• Sal Bando reached on Morgan's error to load the bases
• Mel Stottlemeyer came in to relieve Borbon with the bases loaded
• Garry Maddox popped out in the infield for the second out
• Ray Culp then came in to face the left handed hitting Doug Rader and he struck him out to end the threat and tie the series
• The 3 men left on base raised the LOB total to 13 for the game

COVID-19(73) Baseball Version 3 ALCS game 1

Game 1 of the ALCS was a long sloppy, slugfest, 27 hits, 16 walks, 5 errors, 5 double plays and 12 pitchers used between the 2 teams.

The Bay Area Mikes struck early and mostly never looked back.

• With 2 outs in the top of the first, Willie McCovey singled off of Bill Lee
• Lee then walked Gene Tenace (Tenace walked 4 times in the game)
• Sal Bando singled, scoring McCovey
• Tenace and Bando moved to 3rd and second on the throw home
• Garry Maddox singled to score 2 more before Lee got Tito Fuentes to fly out to end the inning

The RedsSox of Leonardi struck back in the second

• Reggie Jackson led off the bottom of the second with a triple off Vida Blue 
• Bert Campaneris bobbled Carl Yastrzemski's grounder - but was able to hold Jackson at 3rd
• But Reggie Smith singled home Jackson on hte next pitch to cut the lead to 3-1
• After a Dave Concepcion lined out, and a Johnny Bench walk, pinch-hitter George Foster hit into an inning ending 3-6-3 double play

The Leos scratched out another run in the 4th

• Jackson started it again with a single Yaz followed with a walk. 
• Smith erased Yaz and himself with another 3-6-3 DP, but Jax took 3rd
• Concepcion singled home Jackson to make it 3-2

Bobby Bolin couldn't keep the momentum going in the top of the 5th

• With 1-out, Bolin walked Bando
• Maddox followed with a triple, scoring Bando
• Fuentes singled in Maddox to put the Mikes back up 5-2
• In the 6th Bolin walked Gary Mathews, this forced a call to Mel Stottlemeyer
• Stottlemeyer got McCovery on a 3-1 ground out, Mathews moving to second
• Yaz couldn't handle Tenace's ground ball putting runners on 1st and 3rd
• Bando singled home Matthews to make it 6-2

 Bob Veale let it slip all hope slip away in the 7th,

• Chris Speier's base hit led off the inning
• Veale walked Bill North
• After Mathews flew out to left, McCovey hit a 3-run homer to right making it 9-2

 More bullpen failure led to 1-run each in the 8th and 9th

• McCovery singled home Speier in the 8th
• Speier walked with the bases loaded in the 9th making it 11-2

Tony Perez brought a little spark in the bottom of the 9th, homering with Pete Rose on base off of Randy Moffitt, making the final score 11-4

COVID-19(73) Baseball Version 3 NLCS game 1

Opening up this 3rd version of the COVID playoffs was the first game of the NLCS and the Gotham Pauls traveled to Dodger Stadium to take on the Bi-Coastal Script Jersey Matts.

• The Matts struck early in the bottom of the first. After walking Merv Rettenmund, Tom Seaver left a mistake over the heart of the plate and Willie Crawford deposited it in the seats for a 2-0 lead
• Don Sutton was pitching well and it looked like that would hold up until the top of the 6th
• Matty Alou walked, moved to second on Bobby Murcer's deep fly ball and scored on Thurman Munson's single - only the second hit off Sutton.
• Munson took second on the throw to the plate. Then Munson scored on Ron Blomber's single to tie the game at 2.
• The tie held until the bottom of the 7th 
• Boog Powell lead off the inning with a double
• Seaver struck out Ron Cey
• Joe Ferguson singled and Powell was able to score on a tight play
• That ended the night for Seaver 
• Mark Belanger greeted Fred Beene with a single, scoring Ferguson to make it 4-2
• Paul Threatened in the top of the 9th 
• Munson walked toe lead off the inning
• Blomberg singled. putting runners on first and second with nobody out
• Then Cey took over
• Rusty Staub hit a hard grounder to Cey who made the diving stop, tossed to Bobby Grich at second, who then pivoted and relayed to Powell to turn the double play
• Munson moved to third 
• Roy White, pinch-hitting for Bud Harrelson, also grounded to Cey, Cey didn't think he could get the speedy White at first and threw home, Ferguson applied the tag on Munson and sealed the 4-2 win

COVID-19(73) Baseball is Back (Version 3)

We're back, new-ish and improved (who knows).

A few changes for this season. Joe is unable to go so he was replaced with Paul's brand-spanking-new Son-in-Law, Matt.
We are using the 1973 cards again (saving paper) but went with slightly different drafting. This time each manager was allowed to pick the entire roster of two of the 1973 squads, one from each league, and would then cut down to 25 for their final team.

Since Matt is a first-timer we let him pick first and he chose the Baltimore Orioles. Leo had second pick and chose the Oakland A's. I whined until Leo would trade me the A's for the Cincinnati Reds plus a player from the A's of his choosing. Paul then picked the Mets.

Round two went in reverse order, Paul stayed in the Big Apple and took the Yankees. I selected the Giants (and traded Reggie Jackson to Leo with the Reds). Leo took the Boston Red Sox, and Matt finished up the draft with the LA Dodgers.

One other trade sent Luis Aparacio from Leo's Red Sox to Paul for Mel Stottlemeyer.

The final cuts to 25 left the following:

Matt		Paul		Mike		Leo
Don Sutton		Tom Seaver		Catfish Hunter		Bill Lee
Jim Palmer		Jerry Koosman		Vida Blue		John Curtis
Tommy John		George Stone		Ken Holtzman		Jack Billingham
Andy Messersmith		Doc Medich		Tom Bradley		Luis Tiant
Grant Jackson		Fred Beene		Elias Sosa		Roger Moret
Bob Reynolds		Sarky Lyle		Randy Moffitt		Pedro Borbon
Charlie Hough		Lindy McDaniel		Don McMahon		Bobby Bolin
Doug Rau		Ray Sadeki		Rollie Fingers		Bob Veale
Jim Brewer		Wayne Granger		Darold Knowles		Tom Hall
Pete Richert		Bob Miller		Horacio Pina		Ray Culp
Eddie Watt		Thurman Munson		Glenn Abbott		Mel Stottlemeyer
Joe Ferguson		Ron Hodges		Dave Rader		Tony Perez
Earl Williams		Ron Blomberg		Willie McCovey		Joe Morgan
Steve Garvey		Felix Millan		Tito Fuentes		Dave Concepcion
Boog Powell		Horace Clarke		Chris Speier		Carl Yastrzemski
Davey Lopes		Wayne Garrett		Gary Matthews		Johnny Bench
Mark Belanger		Graig Nettles		Garry Maddox		Reggie Jackson
Ron Cey		Bud Harrelson		Bobby Bonds		Reggie Smith
Manny Mota		Luis Aparacio		Chris Arnold		Pete Rose
Willie Crawford		Bobby Murder		Steve Ontivernos		Dan Driessen
Merv Rettenmund		Matty Alou		Gene Tenace		Phil Gagliano
Al Bumbry		Rusty Staub		Sal Bando		George Foster
Don Baylor		Cleon Jones		Bert Campaneris		Andy Kosco
Paul Blair		Roy White		Bill North		Tommy Harper
Bobby Grich		John Milner		Jesus Alou		Carlton Fisk

Paul will take on Matt in the NLCS (No Lehtinen Championship Series)
I will face Leo in the ALCS (Aware of Lehtinen Championship Series)

COVID World Series 1973 Players Edition - Part 17

The two teams battled into the 16th inning, Paul used all 24 of his players, but once again Darrell Evans was the hero.

• The Mikes struck first in the top of this first - Jerry Koosman walked Toby Harrah with 2 outs
• Bill Melton doubled him home before Koosman got Mayberry to end the inning
• Paul answered back in the bottom 
• Dave Concepcion led off with a single off Vida Blue and stole 2nd
• Blue got Rod Carew to fly out then walked George Scott
• Evans hit what should have been an inning ending double play, but Bill Melton mishandled it and loaded the bases
• Blue then walked Bob Watson to tie the score
• Ted Simmons hit a grounder to Ron Hunt who tried to get Scott at home, but Scott beat the tag to take a 2-1 lead. 
• Blue got out of the inning without any further damage
• In the Top of the 2nd George Hendrick homered to tie the game at 2
• It stayed that way until the bottom of the 7th.
• With 2-outs Bobby Murcer doubled
• Reggie Jackson singled and Murcer beat the throw to the plate to put the Pauls up 3-2
• Again the Mikes answered right back in the next half inning as Dave Winfield, pinch-hitting for Blue, homered off Chuck Taylor - tying the game at 3
•  Outs on the basepaths highlighted the next few innings
• Garry Maddox threw out Carl Yastzremski trying to take 3rd on Murcer's single for the 2nd out of the 9th
• Ralph Garr was caught stealing by Simmons in the 12th
• Double plays ended threats for Paul in the 12th and 14th
• Ellie Rodriguez gunned down Rod Carew trying to steal in the 13th
• Yaz threw out 2 runners in the top of the 13th
•  Cliff Johnson trying t0 take 3rd on Ellie Rodriguez's single
• Then Rodriguez trying to score on Garr's 2-out single
• Roger Moret starting his 5th inning hung a curveball to Evans leading off the bottom of the 16th and that was the ballgame and the series
  

COVID World Series 1973 Players Edition - Part 16

A pitcher's duel through 7 innings turned into a rout in the 8th and 9th as the Fighting Mikes bullpen failed to take advantage of a great performance from Bert Blyleven.

• Frank Tanana had a rocky first inning 
• Ron Hunt singled with 1 out
• Toby Harrah doubled, but Hunt held at 3rd
• Tanana intentionally walked Bill Melton to get to the lefthanded John Mayberry
• Mayberry popped out to Ted Simmons and Ellie Rodriguez grounder to Darrell Evans ended the inning
•  Paul's best threat against Blyleven was in the 5th
•  Simmons singled and Carl Yastzremski singled after a Bobby Murcer strikeout
• Dave Concepcion hit into a double play to end the inning - but his day would get better a few innings later
• In the bottom of the seventh against Tanana
• Ralph Garr singled and stole second 
• George Hendrick couldn't move him to 3rd on a ground out to Concepcion
• With Blyleven due up, Mike first announced Manny Sanguillen to pinch-hit
• That ended the day for Tanana and brought in Chuck Taylor
• Last night's hero, Dick McAuliffe then pinch-hit for the pinch-hitter and scratched out an infield single, Garr went to third, but no further
• Garry Maddox then hit into an inning ending 5-4-3 double play 
• Roger Moret started the top of the 8th and gave up a single to Murcer
• Paul pinch hit George Scott for Yaz, ending Moret's night
• Pedro Borbon came in and forced a Scott popup to Rodriguez
• Dave Concepcion - made up for his double play grounder with a 2-run homer
• The Paul's got another run off Borbon after Rod Carew singled, stole second and scored on Willie Horton's single
• Sparky Lyle had troubles of his own in the 9th, walking Evans and Simmons
• Murcer followed with a single to load the bases 
• Diego Segui relieved Lyle and allowed singles to Bob Watson and Concepcion again making it 5-0
• The Fighting Mike's took offense to Don Kessinger coming in trying to squeeze home a 6th run - but after some shouting the sides calmed down

•  Horton flew out to end the inning
• Bob Reynolds pitched a perfect 9th to make that the final

COVID World Series 1973 Players Edition - Part 15

Game 4 was another extra inning nail-biter. The Fighting Mikes scored in the 12th to even the series at 2 games apiece.

George Stone faced off against Tommy John in a battle of left handed starters. As in the previous 3 games, the Battling Pauls went with more of an Opener strategy as John only pitched one batter into the 3rd inning.

• John was pulled after giving up a lead-off triple to Garry Maddox. Chuck Taylor came in and struck out Ron Hunt, but Toby Harrah doubled to put the Mikes up 1-0
• That held up until the 5th inning. Stone gave up a lead-off single to Bob Boone, pinch-hitting for Taylor).
• Boone went to 3rd on a double by Dave Concepcion. 
• After striking out Rod Carew, Stone intentionally walked George Scott to face game 1 & 2 hero Darrell Evans.
• Evans hit a pop foul that Stone took care of himself for the 2nd out
• It looked like Stone would get out of the inning without allowing a run but Toby Harrah made a wild throw on Bob Watson's grounder to short allowing both Boone and Concepcion to score.
• Ted Simmons popped to 3rd to end the inning, but the Pauls now lead 2-1
• Paul decided to ride his ace reliever Don McMahon as long as he could after taking the lead. 
• McMahon was spotless in the 5th and 6th
• He gave up a single to George Hendrick in the 7th but ended that threat quickly
• Garry Maddox lead off the 8the with a double, Hunt moved him to 3rd with a ground-out
• Dick McAuliffe stepped in to pinch-hit for Harrah and singled home Maddox, tying the game at 2
• John Mayberry made a defensive gem in the 10th that stopped a potential rally - George Scott opened the inning with a walk off Grant Jackson. 
• Evans hit a hard liner to first that Mayberry hauled in and stepped on the base to double off Scott.
• In the bottom of the 12th Jim Rooker, who won game 1 and saved game 2, was working on his second inning of relief.
• The Mikes were down to one bench player so they opted to let Jackson hit for himself to lead off the inning - and it paid off with a slap single to left field
• Manny Sanguillen followed that with a single to center, the slow Jackson and the strong arm of Bobby Murcer held runners to 1st and 2nd
• Maddox got his 3rd hit of the day - another single to Murcer -this time Jackson was waved around to try to score - Murcer made a perfect throw for the first out of the inning
• Sanguillen and Maddox had moved to 2nd and 3rd on the throw, so with the base open, Rooker walked Hunt intentionally to set up the double play
• But McAuliffe came through again in the clutch with a base hit and Sanguillen scored the winning run to even the series at 2 games each

COVID World Series 1973 Players Edition - Part 14

If there first two games were low output offensively - game 3 was even more so. one - unearned - run was scored, in the 9th inning. There were 8 total hits in the game, but 13 walks and a hit batter. Ultimately the games only extra base-hit was the difference maker.

• Andy Messersmith and his bullpen counterparts, limited Paul's team to 4 hits on the night, but walked 10 - including loading the bases twice
• In the top on the 2nd Messersmith walked Ted Simmons, Bobby Murcer and Dave Concepcion around a strikeout of Carl Yastzremski - he was able to get out of the inning with a pop out from opposing pitcher Randy Jones and a line-out by Rod Carew
• My team loaded the bases in the 3rd. With 2 outs Jones walked Garry Maddox gave up a single to Ron Hunt then walked Toby Harrah. Bill Melton flew out to Center to end the inning.
• My defense turned double plays in the 6th, 7th and 8th innings to limit Paul's opportunities
• In the top of the 9th with 1 out Yaz walked and was out on Dave Concepcion's force. Concepcion stole second. Ray Burris walked Willie Horton and Rod Carew to load the bases again, but induced a ground-out from Don Kessinger to end the inning.
• Still scoreless to the bottom of the 9th. Don McMahon,and Bob Reynolds had not allowed a hit in 4 innings of relief of Jones. 
• Paul brought in Chuck Taylor to face Toby Harrah, Bill Melton and John Mayberry. Harrah grounded out and Melton hit a grounder as well, but Darrell Evans threw it away and Melton was safe at first (a speedier runner would have been on second).
• Cesar Tovar went in to pinch run for Melton, Mayberry smashed a double to left field
• Tovar is an A base-runner
• Horton in Left is a T3
• 11-42 he's safe, 43-88 out - I figured 40% chance hee is better than Ellie Rodriguez or Ralph Garr's chances of knocking in the run
• Random number was 26 - safe! 1-0 win and tightens the series to 2-1