Braves sweep home series vs Mets

Game 1:
Atlanta 4  NY Mets 2
WP - P Niekro (4-6)  LP - Gentry (5-3)
HR: NY - Agee (7), Boswell (3)  
       ATL - Gonzalez (2), Aaron (15), Carty (7)

The Braves edged the Mets in a game that featured 5
homers, all solo shots that accounted for all but one of
the runs.  Phil Niekro picked up his 4th win on the
season with a complete game, striking out 6 Mets.
Gary Gentry also pitched the whole game with 6
strikeouts, but he was victimized by the long ball and
took the loss.


Game 2:
Atlanta 5  NY Mets 3
WP - Jarvis (8-2)  LP - Seaver (7-5)  
S - Wilhelm (6)
HR: NY - None  ATL - Aaron (16)

Pat Jarvis picked up his NL leading 8th win on the year,
beating Tom Seaver and the Mets. The Mets jumped out
to an early 2-0 lead in the first, but Jarvis settled down
after that, pitching 8 innings before giving way to Hoyt
Wilhelm who finished the game off for his 6th save.
Hammerin' Hank Aaron's 3-run homer in the 5th put the
Braves out in front for good.  Aaron is now up to 16
home runs on the season.

HOFers Perry, Gibson Win in Series Split

June 2, 1970 at St. Louis – Bobby Bonds (10) hit a solo home run in the T8 and Ron Hunt walked with the bases juiced in the T9 to lift San Francisco to a 5-3 win. Gaylord Perry (5-5) evened his record on the season with 8 IP. Frank Linzy (0-2 suffered the loss for the Cardinals in relief of Steve Carlton.   

June 3, 1970 at St. Louis – Bob Gibson (8-2) fanned 8 and scattered 7 hits for a CG, 5-0 shutout victory. Gibby helped his own cause with 2 base knocks and an RBI. Dick Allen had 3 hits and a pair of RBI.

Cubs Claw to Series Win Over Padres

The Cubs lose the first game of a doubleheader against San Diego but take the next two. Billy Williams hit 13 homers in May and now has 20 on the season. San Diego's Ollie Brown has a nine game hit streak and knocked three homers in the series, including a grand slam.

Game One: San Diego 7, Cubs 4

W: Kirby (3-6)
L: Holtzman (6-5)
S: Dukes (1)

Kenny Holtzman allows a single, hits a batter and walks another in the first, before giving up Brown's grand slam for a 4-0 San Diego lead. The Padres tack on more, including a Cito Gaston homer. Youngster Clay Kirby strikes out nine in the San Diego win.

Game Two: Cubs 8, San Diego 6
W: Decker (6-2)
L: Dobson (3-5)
S: Colborn (1)

San Diego again jumps out to a first inning lead, 3-0, behind doubles from Al Ferrara and Brown. The Pads' Pat Dobson gets into trouble in the third, giving up a three run homer to Williams and a solo shot to the next batter, Jim Hickman. The Cubs' Joe Decker settles down and strikes out nine (with only one walk), and the Cubs continue to add to the lead for the win. Williams hits his second homer of the game later as he continues to be on fire.

Game Three: Cubs 6, San Diego 5
W: Jenkins (6-5)
L: Rodriguez (0-1)

Fergie Jenkins gives up the longball, as Ollie Brown hits two and Nate Colbert adds his 13th for San Diego. But the Cubs also take advantage of the Wrigley winds, as Williams hits his 20th and Johnny Callison adds a two run shot off San Diego's rookie starter Mike Corkins. The game is tied at five in the bottom of the 9th when Ron Santo greets newly entered San Diego reliever Rich Rodriguez with his 8th homer of the year, a walkoff shot to win it for Chicago.

Senators Sweep Expansion Royals

Washington moves back to .500 by sweeping the three game series at RFK. KC's Amos Otis sees his 21 game hitting streak snapped.

Game One: Washington 7, KC 3
W: Coleman (3-5)
L: Rooker (0-4)

Washington gets five in the seventh inning to blow open a tight game, as Rick Reichardt doubles in two, to beat KC rookie Jim Rooker.

Game Two: Washington 4, KC 3
W: Bosman (7-2)
L: Burgmeier (1-2)

KC takes an early 3-2 lead, led by a second inning double from Joe Keough that leads to two runs off Washington ace Dick Bosman. But Washington grabs the 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth as reliever Tom Burgmeier blows his first save, allowing a two run single to catcher Paul Casanova. Bosman goes all the way to move to 7-2.

Game Three: Washington 4, KC 2
W; Knowles (1-1)
L: K. Wright (0-3)

KC and Washington are knotted at two after eight, as Polish Prince Moe Drabowsky wastes a 2-0 KC lead by giving up seventh inning singles from Ed Stroud and Frank Howard to tie the game. Big Frank then comes up in the bottom of the ninth with a man on and two out and pounds a two run homer, his seventh, off Ken Wright to win it.

Dodgers Reach 30 With Sweep of Cards

May 29, 1970 at St. Louis – Jim Lefebvre’s (2) 3-run blast in the T8 highlighted a 5-run inning for the Dodgers and gave them a come-back 6-5 win over St. Louis. Jose Pena (1-0) got the win in relief with Jim Brewer (11) nabbing the save. Willie Davis saved the score in the B8 by cutting down Vic Davalillo at the plate.

May 30, 1970 at St. Louis – LA sent 9 batters to the plate and scored 5 in the T1 and sailed from there to an 11-2 victory. (One of my favorite all-time names) Billy Grabarkewitz (2 hits) led the way offensively with a triple and 3 RBI. Davis chipped in 3 hits and scored thrice. Claude Osteen (5-6) tossed a complete game.

May 31, 1970 at St. Louis – Dodgers pick up the sweep and win #30 as May comes to a close. Sandy Vance (5-1), who is looking like the love-child of Sandy Koufax and Dazzy Vance, tossed 7 innings for the win. Brewer (12) hurled two for the save. Tom Haller drove in 3 runs on 2 hits in the 6-4 LA win.

Bucs' Bob Robertson Has A Big Series vs. Cubs

In a battle of rivals for the NL West title, Pittsburgh takes two of three from the Cubs, as many longballs are launched at Wrigley.

Game One: Cubs 8, Pirates 3

W: Holtzman (6-4)
L: Hartenstein (1-3)

Kenny Holtzman and Steve Blass hook up in a good pitching duel, tied at three after five. But then Blass tires, and reliever (and former Cub) Chuck Hartenstein and Bruce Dal Canton gives up five to the Cubs in the eighth, including a three run shot by Jim Hickman. Holtzman goes all the way.

Game Two: Pirates 5, Cubs 2 (10 innings)
W: Moose (4-2)
L: Jenkins (5-5)
S: Guisti (6)

Bob Moose and Fergie Jenkins battle in another close duel, tied at two after nine, with both pitchers still in the game. Bob Robertson gives the Pirates all their offense with two solo homers. In the top of the 10th, Jenkins tires, giving up three Pirates runs, including Gene Alley's second triple of the day to bring home two.

Game Three: Pirates 7, Cubs 4
W: Ellis (6-2)
L: Hands (6-4)
S: Dal Canton (4)

Bob Robertson tops his game two performance with three more home runs, giving him 12 on the season and five in the last two games. He also drives in six to help the Pirates take the series.

Oakland Takes 3; Weirdness Takes Final DH

May 22, 1970 at Chicago – Reggie Jackson’s (10,11) second home run of the day, a 2-run shot in the T10, lifted Oakland to a 9-7 victory. Don Mincher (9) also enjoyed a huge day, going 4-4 with a 2B and HR.  

May 23, 1970 at Chicago – Catfish Hunter (6-5) hurled 7 1/3 innings of 1-run ball as Oakland wins 6-1. The game was a tight 2-1 until the T9 when the Athletics piled on 4 more. Rick Monday (3 hits) and Bert Campaneris (2-run HR) were the hitting stars.

May 24, 1970 (Game #1) at Chicago – A wild one on the South Side as the two clubs combined for 31 runs on 40 hits and 8 home runs. Monday singled home Tito Francono in the T12 to give Oakland the 16-15 win. Campy went crazy with 4 hits and 7 RBI, including a grand slam. Sal Bando also drove in 4, including a 3-run bomb. Monday and Joe Rudi contributed 4 hits apiece.

For the ChiSox, Bill Melton homered twice and drove in 5. Carlos May drove in 4 with a 2B and HR after entering later in the game. Gail Hopkins chipped in 4 hits. To make the whole thing even more surreal, I was playing this game in the midst of a total solar eclipse at 11 a.m. in Poland. You got the feeling anything could happen.

May 24, 1970 (Game #2) at Chicago – Evidently the hitters wore themselves out in Game 1, because the White Sox took the nightcap, 2-1. Bart Johnson (2-0) out-dueled Blue Moon Odom (2-5). Ed Herrman and Syd O’Brien (RBI single in the 7^th) had the RBI for Chicago. 

Baltimore Finds Boston To Be "No Cup of Tea"

The Boston Red Sox rolled through Memorial Stadium taking 3 or 4 games from the division leading Baltimore Orioles.

Game 1 set the tone for the series as the Red Sox gave up 8 runs in the last two frames of regular innings to eventually outlast the Orioles in overtime.  The 11 inning affair ended in a 9-8 Boston win. Carl Yastrezemski (.340 avg, 11 HR) homered twice in the win.

Game 2 saw Baltimore hustle some late inning runs (3 in the last 3 innings) to, this time, steal one back from Boston 3-2.  Jim Palmer (9-1, 1.67 ERA) threw a complete game to earn his league leading ninth win of the season.

Game 3 (the first of a double dip) came down to the final inning as both teams were knotted at 3-3 going into the 9th.  Oriole skipper Earl Weaver felt confident as ace Mike Cuellar (6-3, 2.81 ERA) seemed to have plenty of gas in the tank.  But a line drive double, down the first base line, by Mike Andrews would eventually lead to the go ahead (winning run).  Reggie Smith would then hit a single to right, driving in Andrews, for the eventual winning run.   Baltimore could not respond in the bottom half of the ninth as the Orioles would bow out losers.

George Scott (3 for 5) and Rico Petrocelli (3 for 4) recorded 6 of Boston's 10 hits in Game 4 as the Red Sox rolled to a 7-2 easy win.  Sonny Seibert (2-5, 4.97 ERA) went the distance striking out 5 to get the win.

Baltimore finished the series with a 26-16 record while Boston improves to 20-19

Angels Bash White Sox with Halos

May 18, 1970 at Chicago – Andy Messersmith (3-4) may want to sue the league for free agency. He has no grounds to sue his own team for lack of run support. California destroyed the White Sox 27-3 with a 30-hit explosion. The top 6 hitters in the Angels lineup (Sandy Alomar, Jim Fregosi, Roger Repoz, Alex Johnson, Jim Spencer and Ken McMullen) each had 4 hits. Repoz hit 3 HRs and drove in 6. Fregosi also drove in 6 and scored 5 runs for a 7-5-4-6 line. Wow! In case you record geeks are wondering (yeah, I looked it up); The MLB record is 30 by Texas against Baltimore in 2007. The Red Sox in 1950 and the White Sox in 1955 had 29. The Cardinals had 28 in 1929. The Indians had 27 in 1923.

May 19, 1970 at Chicago – Bobby Knoop’s 2-run single in the B8 capped a 4-run inning for the White Sox and a come-back 6-5 win. Wilbur Wood (5-1) grabbed the win in relief.

May 20, 1970 at Chicago – Angels hitters had halos over their batting helmets again, winning 11-6 with 20 more hits. McMullen and Spencer each has 3 hits and a big fly. SP Tom Murphy (3-6) joined the act with 2 hits, 2 R, 2 RBI and a HR 

Cubs Come to St. Louis and Pour Beer on the Home Team

The Cubbies continue to be a strong contender in the NL East, sweeping the tough Cards squad and moving to 21-11. They won all three of these games pretty decisively, scoring boatloads of runs and holding down the Cards offense.

Game One: Cubs 10, Cards 3
W: Decker (5-1)
L: Torrez (3-4)

The Cards gave the Cubs a few gift runs, as St. Louis starter Mike Torrez walked five with no Ks in 5.2 innings, and the Cards played hot potato with three key errors. The Cubs worked their 10 hits efficiently (only one an extra base knock)  to score 10 times, as both Don Kessinger and Jack Hiatt knocked in two apiece in the balanced attack. Youngster Joe Decker goes to 5-1 and only allows four hits in six innings.

Game Two: Cubs 9, Cards 0
W: Holtzman (5-3)
L: Carlton (3-4)

Kenny Holtzman continues to round into good pitching shape, winning his third in a row and hurling a complete game masterpiece. While he was shutting out the Cards on six hits, the Cubs offense again was in full throttle. The great Billy WIlliams went three for four with two home runs, his 13th and 14th, and drove in four to lead the scoring. His veteran teammate Ernie Banks went three for five and continues to surprise with a solid campaign, as he's hitting around .315.

Game Three: Cubs 5, Cards 1
W: Jenkins (5-3)
L: Briles (1-2)

Fergie Jenkins followed Holtzman with another pitching gem for Chicago, throwing a complete game six hitter with six Ks. The Cards' Nelson Briles also was on command early, and the score was 2-1 Cubs going into the eighth. Dick Allen's bat finally awoke, as he hit his seventh homer of the year for the Cards' scoring. But Chicago put it away with three runs in the top of the eighth off reliever Sal Campisi, led by an RBI single from Banks and a ground rule double from Hiatt to plate two more.

The Sens Split with the O's

The Senators at least gain a moral victory, winning game one against the mighty Orioles team and making game two a close affair.

Game One: Washington 4, Baltimore 2. Dick Bosman only allows two runs in eight innings to move to 4-2, and the Sens get offensive help from Mike Epstein, who blasts his sixth homer, and Lee Maye, who hits his second. Tom Phoebus slides to 2-3 with the loss.

Game Two: Baltimore 3, Washington 1. The Orioles look like they are about to blow out Washington early on, as they touch suddenly hittable starter Casey Cox (3-5) for three early runs, including long shots from Brooks Robinson (6) and Davey Johnson (1). While Baltimore can't keep up the scoring, Washington can't do any damage against the formidable Dave McNally, who only allows three hits in nine innings to move to 4-2.

Herrmann; Sox Sweep Away Royals

May 15, 1970 at Chicago – Ken Berry (2) went 4-4 including a solo homer in the 7^th that lifted the White Sox to a 6-5 win over Kansas City in the opener of a 4-game set. The ChiSox struck for 4 runs in the opening frame, including a 446-foot bomb by Ed Herrmann (5) that just missed the RF rooftop. Joel Horlen (2-5) was strong on the bump in the early going, but yielded 1 in the 6^th and 4 in the 7^th to lose the lead. Syd O’Brien’s (1) solo shot tied the game for the Sox earlier in the 7^th, setting up Berry’s heroics 2 outs later. Wilbur Wood (6) got the final 3 outs and has now saved 6 of the ChiSox 10 wins in 1970.

May 16, 1970 at Chicago – Ken Berry singled home PR Rich Morales with 2 outs in the B10 to give the Pale Hose a 4-3 victory. Herrmann (6,7) kept the Sox in the game driving in 3 runs with two HRs into the lower level in RF. Wood (4-1) notched the win in relief. Amos Otis had 3 hits for the Royals.

May 17, 1970 (Game #1) at Chicago – Ed Herrmann (8) continued to feast on Royals pitching with a double, home run and 4 more RBI in a 10-7 Chicago win. He was joined at the table by O’Brien, Carlos May and Bobby Knoop who chomped 3 hits apiece. Joe Keough (3) went bat crazy for KC with 4-5, a HR and 5 RBI.  Otis had 3 more hits and extended a hitting streak to 11. Gerry Janeski (2-3) started and won for the home club. Dick Drago (5-1) suffered his first loss of the season.

May 17, 1970 (Game #2) at Chicago – Ed Herrmann (9) was weeping in the White Sox locker room after the game; he was so sorry to see the KC pitchers leave town. The Chicago backstop hit his 5^th HR in 4 games and added another single and 2 RBI in a 10-3 Chicago win, capping a sweep of the DH and the series. May and Walt “No-Neck” Williams chipped in 3 hits each. If not for the Royals’ Pat Kelly (2,3) and his two taters and 3 RBI, Bart Johnson (1-0) would have had a shutout in his first start of the year. 

Bucs - Cards Split Pair

May 13, 1970 at St. Louis – Bob Moose (2-2) was in the showers before most fans had the mustard and relish on their hot dogs. St. Louis scored 4 in the 1^st, 4 in the 2^nd and 7 in the 3^rd on its way to a 16-4 rout of the Pirates. Dick Allen (6) was the biggest hitting star with 3 hits and 5 RBI, including a double and home run. Bob Gibson (4-2) went on cruise control (if that’s possible for him) through 7 innings.

May 14, 1970 at St. Louis – Dock Ellis (4-2) scattered 9 hits and surrendered no earned runs as the Bucs split the short series with a 4-1 win. Al Oliver banged out 3 hits to lead the Lumber Company.

Redbirds Sweep Phils Off Busch Carpet

May 11, 1970 at St. Louis – Jose Cardenal (3) went 4-for-4 with a 2B, HR, 4 RBi and 2 runs scored to power St. Louis to a 7-4 victory. Steve Carlton (3-3) was the starting and winning pitcher. Jim Bunning (2-1) started and lost for Philly. Jerry Johnson (4) notched his 4^th save.

May 12, 1970 at St. Louis – The Cardinals come from behind with 2 runs in the B9 to sweep the series with a 5-4 win. Vic Davilillo led off the B9 with a PH triple. Dal Maxvill, also PH, squeezed him safely home. Cardenal followed with a double, and then Carl Taylor singled him home for the GWRBI. For the game Taylor went 3-3 with 3 RBI. 

Yankees Sink Crew In 2 Game Tilt

Game 1 New York 9  Milwaukee 1
Eight of New Yorks fourteen hits went for extra bases (including home run number 4 on the season for Jake Gibbs) as the Yankees dominated the Brewers.  Fritz Peterson (5-3, 1.92 ERA) struck out 7 and went the distance to dominate Brewer bats.  Lew Krause (3-4, 4.34 ERA) was knocked out in the 6th and should have been yanked earlier, but skipper Dave Bristol left his veteran righty in to take his lumps.

Game 2 New York 3  Milwaukee 2
A pitching battle between Yankees John Cumberland (3-0, 1.30 ERA) and Brewers John Morris (1-1, 3.10 ERA) broke out in game number 2 of the 2 game series.  Cumberland struck out 4 in 6.2 innings before handing the reigns over to Lindy McDaniel (3.12 ERA) to finish things off and earn his 6th save of the season.  Phil Roof was the main feature in constructing the Milwaukee runs hitting his 3rd homer of the season (a 2 run shot) in the bottom of the second inning.  

Milwaukee's losses dropped them to 15-17 on the season, while the Yankees wins bumped them to 17-16.

Cubs Bats Bite Braves, Mets

The Cubs score 17 runs in a two game sweep of the Braves at Wrigley, and then win a 9-8 offensive blowout against the Mets.

Game One: Atlanta jumps out to a 2-0 lead in the third as Felix Millan singles home a pair. The Cubs pound Phil Niekro (1-6) for seven runs in the fourth, as Billy Williams cracks a two run homer (12) and pitcher Joe Decker hits a three run shot. Rookie pitcher Decker moves to 4-1. Cubs 9, Braves 5.

Game Two: Chicago scores five times in the first three innings, including a three run first courtesy of a Ron Santo triple that plates three. Santo follows with another triple and his fifth homer of the year, knocking in five runs and leading to an early exit for Atlanta starter Pat Jarvis (4-2). The Cubs Kenny Holtzman goes nine to move his record above .500 to 4-3. Cubs 8, Braves 3.

Game Three: A showdown between teams near the top of the NL East. Chicago takes an early 2-1 lead as Santo strikes with sixth homer. But the Mets come back with three in the fifth as Tommie Agee hits his fifth homer and Cubs pitcher Bill Hands gets wild, walking two to lead to another run. In this seesaw battle, the Cubs get three of their own in the bottom of the sixth, two on Jim Hickman's fifth double that chases Mets starter Gary Gentry. The Mets get four more in the top of the ninth to take an 8-5 lead, as pinch hitter Ron Swoboda drives in two and Donn Clendenon delivers a pinch double to bring home two more. The Cubs come back to tie it at eight in the bottom of the eighth on Glenn Beckert's triple that drives home two.

Then, in the bottom of the ninth and score tied, ageless Mets reliever Don Cardwell allows a triple to Johnny Callison and eventually walks home the game winner to help the Cubs keep pace with the Mets in the division. Cubs 9, Mets 8.

The Reds Club the Cubs

Cincinnati came into Wrigley with both teams near the top of their respective divisions. The Reds look to be the much better team, mauling the Cubs to win three of four.

Game One: Cincinnati jumps out to a 9-1 lead, hitting Cubs starter Joe Decker (3-1) hard for his first loss. Bernie Carbo's three run homer (6) and solo blasts from Lee May and Johnny Bench help Jim McGlothlin move to a 5-1 record. The Cubs try to come back late, scoring six runs in the last two innings, but can't catch up.  Reds 11, Cubs 7.

Game Two:  A 3-2 Cubs lead is lost in the eighth as the Reds' Bobby Tolan hits a triple to score Tommy Helms. Lee May also hits two more homers for the rest of the Reds' scoring. But with Clay Carroll trying to keep it tied in the bottom of the ninth, the Cubs get going with a single, a key error from Tony Perez and a walkoff single from good hitting pitcher Jin Dunegan to win it. Cubs 4, Reds 3.

Game Three: Cincinnati bounces back in a big fashion, scoring 11 runs to break open a tie game in the ninth, as Cubs relievers Larry Gura and Jim Colborn are tagged for eight runs in the top of the ninth. Tolan's grand salami (6) and a blast from Perez (12) lead the scoring. Reds 11, Cubs 3.

Game Four: Young starter Wayne Simpson moves to 5-0 with an easy, three hit complete game. He gets plenty of scoring help, as Reds hitters continue to maul the Cubs. Chicago ace Fergie Jenkins (4-3) leaves after 5.1 innings and seven runs. May hits his eighth (and fourth against the Cubs), while Carbo also gets in the act again with his eighth homer of the year. Reds 8, Cubs 1.

Pirates pitchers shut down Braves bats

Game 1 - (5/4/70)
Pirates: 3  Braves: 0
WP - Walker (2-1)  LP - Nash (2-2)
HR - Pittsburgh: Stargell (4), Atlanta: none

Lefty Luke Walker shut out the Braves on 5 hits. as the Pirates won the first game of the series, 3-0.
The Pirates took a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning on a Bill Mazeroski single.
The game stayed that way until Willie Stargell parked a 2 run homer off Bob Priddy in the ninth, which gave Walker and the Pirates some breathing room.


Game 2 - (5/5/70)
Braves: 4  Pirates: 2  (11 innings)
WP - Priddy (1-1)  LP - Hartenstein (1-2)
HR - Pittsburgh: none, Atlanta: Boyer (4)

Clete Boyer's walk-off two run blast off Chuck Hartenstein ended this one in the bottom of the 11th, evening things up for the Braves in the series.  Matty Alou's 9th inning single had tied things up off Hoyt Wilhelm, who blew his first save of the year.  Wilhelm though was able to get himself out of a 1st and third, one out jam in the same inning, keeping the game knotted up and allowing for Boyer's extra inning heroics  Bob Priddy got the win in relief, his first of the year.

Game 3 - (5/6/70)
Pirates: 1  Braves: 0
WP - Ellis (2-2)  LP - P Niekro (1-5)
HR - Pittsburgh: Robertson (2), 
Atlanta: none     

Dock Ellis pitched like a man
possessed on this gloomy, rainy
night in Atlanta.
Ellis's shutout was the Pirates'
second in three games vs. the
Braves.  The game was a complete
pitching duel between the Dock
and knuckle-baller Phil Niekro.
A scoreless duel was finally broken
up by Bob Robertson in the top
of the seventh, when he drove a
solo shot into the left field seats.
That was all the support Ellis
needed in his masterful, complete
game 3-hitter.