Mets Split With Cubs

Split the 2 games. Mets take game 1,  6 to 4 in 10 innings as Stearns smacks a 2 run homer to win it.  The Cubs win game 2, 4 to 0 as Holtzman and Sutter combined for 2 hitter.  

Opening Day! Coming Friday 1/31/14

Can Steve Garvey and the LA Dodgers do what no other team in ARAIGBB has yet to do?  Repeat as 

Can the Dodgers repeat in 1979?

World Series Champs!  Their quest will be underway this week as the OPENING DAY game disk will be sent out this Friday (1/31/14).  We still have 2 open teams (San Francisco Giants & Atlanta Braves) in case you know of anyone who would like to join.

If anyone is interested in posting to this blog, please let me know and I'll send you an invite.

1979 Topps Card Update Set - in progress!

As always, thanks to Marc Weiss for creating these awesome cards to use w/ our ARAIGBB 1979 game.

Tim Raines

 To follow along on the card updates, click on the link, and become a follower:

http://1979cards.blogspot.com/

Dodgers Crowned '78 Champs!

Game 1
It's Burt Hooten for the Dodgers and Dennis Leonard for the Royals to kick off the 1978 World Series.  Each team

Dodgers celebrate Rick Monday 3 run blast.

went down quietly in the first 2 innings before Los Angeles erupted for 6 runs in the 3rd with half of those runs coming on a Rick Monday 3 run HR.  That was pretty much the ball game as Kansas City put up solo runs in the 4th and 7th and could only manage 4 hits as Hooten tossed a complete on only 95 pitches.  Los Angeles takes game one , 7-2.

Game 2
Game 2 is a match up of two southpaws, Tommy John for LA and Larry Gura for KC.  Both teams struck early with a pair of runs in the first frame, the Dodgers via a Reggie Smith 2 run HR and the Royals on an IF ground out and a Darrell Porter 2 out single.  Both pitchers then settled down tossing goose eggs.  John was removed in the 6th after allowing the first 2 batters to reach base.  Bob Welch came on to get the Dodgers out of trouble and keep the game tied.  Meanwhile, Gura was doing the same as he went 8 innings without allowing any further runs.  The tie breaker came in the bottom of the 8th when John Wathan hit a ball down the left field line that just cleared the fence to give KC a 3-2 lead.  Closer, Al Hrabosky sealed the deal in the 9th and the series is tied 1-1.

Game 3
The series moves to LA for the next 3 games and it is Paul Splittorff for the Royals and Don Sutton for the Dodgers.  Like game 1 the sides go down quietly in the first 2 innings before LA once again has a big inning.  With 2 outs and 2 on, Reggie Smith hits his 2nd HR of the series for a 3-0 Dodger lead.  LA follows that with a single, walk, single, single off Splittorff for 2 more runs and a 5-0 lead.  It proved to be enough as Sutton pitched well and was removed after 8th and Charlie Hough pitched a perfect 9th for a 6-0 Dodger win.  Los Angeles 2  Kansas City 1

Game 4
It is Rich Gale for the Royals and Doug Rau for the Dodgers in game 4.  Kansas City takes an early 1-0 lead in the 2nd

George Brett homer ties series
at 2-2.

on a Darrell Porter HR and then add another in the 6th on a Pete LaCock RBI double.  The Dodgers get a run back in the bottom of the 6th on a Steve Garvey single but George Brett goes long in the 7th for a 3-1 Kansas City lead.  Al Hrabosky comes on in the 9th to earn his 2nd save and the series is tied at 2.

Game 5
Game 5 sees a re-match between game 1 starters, Dennis Leonard and Burt Hooten.  This time the Royals jump on Hooten first and grab a 2-0 lead as Clint Hurdle goes long.  However, the 3rd inning has proven to be big innings for the Dodgers and so it was again.  After Garvey gets an RBI single to make the score 2-1, Rick Monday hits his 2nd 3 run HR of the series to make it 4-2 Los Angeles.  Reggie Smith adds another run in the 6th on his 3rd HR of the series and Leonard hits the showers after 6 innings and on a 5-0 losing end.  Marty Pattin comes on in relief in the 7th only to give up a Bill Russell HR and then a Steve Yeager 3 run blast in the 8th as the Dodgers run away with this one, 9-3 and take a 3-2 lead in the series.

Game 6
The series moves back to Kansas City for game 6 and the Royals trot out lefty, Larry Gura to try and send the series onto a 7th game.  Tommy John is trying to close out the series for the Dodgers.  Unlike in game 2, Gura immediately exhibited control issues as he walked 3 batters in the first inning, the third one walking in a run.  Los Angeles added 2 more runs in the 2nd on a Davey Lopes 2 run HR for a 3-0 lead.  The Royals cut that to 3-2 on a Darrell Porter RBI triple and a RBI ground out in the bottom of the 2nd.  That is the way the score remained until the 8th inning when PH Manny Mota worked a bases loaded walk to get an insurance run for the Dodgers, 4-2.  Bob Welch came in with 2 out in the 6th and, unlike in game 2, shut the door on the Royals for the rest of the game to earn the save and give the Los Angeles Dodgers a win and make them World Series Champions.

MVP:  Reggie Smith   .286    7 runs   8 RBI  4 HR

Dodgers Advance to World Series

Game 1
The Dodger's, Burt Hooten, and the Phillies, Larry Christenson, were stellar as the NLCS kicked off.  As it turned out Ron

Dodgers celebrate as they move
on to the World Series.

Cey's lead off HR in the 2nd was all the runs that LA would need as Hooten threw 8 shutout innings and Bob Welch closed the game out.  The Dodgers added an unearned insurance run in the 8th on a Reggie Smith double.  Christenson was the hard luck loser as he went 8 innings.  Los Angeles 2  Philadelphia  0     Series  Los Angeles 1-0

Game 2
Game 2 featured Tommy John against Dick Ruthven and the Dodgers jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first on a Bill Russell single and increased the lead to 3-0 in the 5th on a 2 out Davey Lopes double.  Both teams put up run in the 6th and the Dodgers added one more in the 7th on Lopes' 3rd RBI.  Larry Bowa's 2 run single in the 8th made it a 2 run game but Bob Welch came on for John to record the last 6 outs.  Los Angeles 5  Philadelphia 3   Series  Los Angeles  2-0

Game 3
The series moves to LA and it is a premier match up of Steve Carlton for Philadelphia and Don Sutton for LA.  The Phillies take their first lead of the series in the 2nd inning on a Ritchie Hebner HR.  The Dodgers tied it up in the 4th on 3 consecutive singles by Steve Garvey, Ron Cey and Dusty Baker.  Carlton and Sutton continued to put up the goose eggs.  Carlton was removed in the 8th after a Reggie Smith one out double and Ron Reed kept the game tied at 1.  Sutton got the first 2 outs in the 9th and was removed after a Mike Schmidt single.  Bob Boone followed with a single moving Schmidt to 3rd and when the usually sure handed Davey Lopes misplayed a groundball the Phillies had a 2-1 lead.  Warren Brusstar came on for the save and promptly game up singles to Baker and Russell putting baserunners at the corners.  Tug McGraw came on and PH Leon Lacy doubled to tie the score but Russell was out at home and the game went to extra innings tied at 2.  Neither team could score until the 13th when Hebner led of the inning with his 2nd HR of the series for a 3-2 Phillies lead and Jim Kaat, who had come on in the 12th, pitched the 13th to get the win.
Philadelphia 3  Los Angeles 2     Series  Los Angeles  2-1

Game 4
Two lefties started game 4, Randy Lerch for the Phillies and Doug Rau for the Dodgers.  Lerch gave up a lead off HR to Davey Lopes in the first but Mike Schmidt got one of his own in the 3rd to knot the score at 1.  Lerch didn't have his best stuff this game and in the 3rd Lopes had a lead off double followed by a Bill Russell single.  Reggie Smith then doubled both runners home before Steve Garvey plated runs 3 and 4 of the inning and a HR and Lerch's day was done as the Dodgers lead 5-1 after 3 innings.  Los Angeles added one more in the 4th and Philadelphia 2 in the 5th to cut the deficit to 3.  Lopes hit his 2nd HR of the game in the 7th for a Dodger 7-3 lead.  Rick Rhoden pitched 3 scoreless innings and Bob Welch through a scoreless 9th as the Dodgers win the deciding 4th game.
Los Angeses  7  Philadelphia  3       Los Angeles wins the series 3-1.

Giants club Reds

Cincinnati,

Game 1,

Red killer Marc Hill banged out 3 hits to lead San Francisco past the Reds in the opener.  Jack Clark and shortstop Roger Metzger drove in two runs to aid in the offensive surge. Bob Knepper scattered 11 hits over 9 innings to improve his record to 15-12.  The loser was Bill Bonham (6-8). Giants 6...Reds 2.

Jack clouts lead Giants to a sweep.

Game 2,

Tom Terrific was far from that today as he lacked his usual overpowering stuff.  San Francisco roughed up Seaver for 8 runs over 3.2 innings. Seaver watched as his ERA ballooned to 3.38 and his record fall to 13-9.  Offensive heros in the game were Jack Clark, who clouted his 22nd, and 23rd homeruns of the season and drove in 4 runs.  Leadoff man Bill Madlock added 2 more RBI and 3 hits.  Ed Halicki pitched the second complete game for the Giants as he improves to a remarkable 18-2 and lowered his ERA to 1.73.  Giants 9...Reds 1.

Reds Sweep Friars.

Cincinnati,

Game 1,

DeFreites drives in 3 and clouts first homerun

Arturo Defeitas hit his first homerun of the year and drove in three runs to help lead the Reds past the Padres in the first of a short two game set.  George Foster connected for his 37th dinger of the year to send south paw Bob Owchinko to his 13th loss. Reds 8...Padres 4.

Drives in winning run with booming double.

Game 2,

Cincinnati took the second game of the series but needed the bottom half of the ninth to work their magic.  The game was tied entering the bottom half of the ninth, when Dan Driessen doubled high off the right field wall to score Doug Bair with the winning tally.  Reds 6...Padres 5.