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