DIVISION TWO ACTION-FIVE TEAMS IN FIRST PLACE

-Terry Yanny, D2 Stat Man, reporting

First Place back up for grabs!  
Five tied for the lead!  
Four just one game back!
 
Brewers 29 – Cubs 18
Brewers prevail in a slug fest that saw 61 hits.  The scrappy Cubs with 3 subs made a game of it thru 5 innings, but ran out of gas in the last 2 innings.  The Brewers worst inning was the 4th, and they still scored 3 runs.  They had a minimum of 4 runs in all the other innings.  Jim Creed was the leader with 4 hits, including 2 inside the park HR’s for the Brew Crew.  Tom McGann, Jed Doan and Gordie Lewis also had 4 hits for the Crew.  Pitcher Gary Luck picked up the win.  Seven players had 3 hits for the Cubs.

Astros 16 – D-Backs 12
With the game knotted at 9 thru 5 innings, the Astros took the lead with 1 in the 6th, then posted 6 more in the 7th.  The D-Backs started a rally in the bottom of the 7th by getting 3 quick runs, but couldn’t make it last.  Astros’ pitcher Ray Beaupre got the win.  Jim Colloton had 4 hits and Gene Mand had 3 for the Astros.  Frank Pierce was 4 for 4 with 2 doubles and a triple for the D-Backs.  Frank Murth, Digger Lines and Jack McGroarty had 3 hits each.

Cards 16 – Padres 15
The Cards put 4 on the board in the first 2 innings, but after a couple of goose eggs, found themselves trailing by 2 after a 5 run 4th by the Padres.  The Cards were still trailing 12 – 11 until they put 5 on the board in the 6th and holding the Padres to 2.  The Padres shut down the Cards 1 – 2 – 3 in the 7th, but needed 2 to tie.  The Cards held the Padres to 1 run to give pitcher Ken Semmel the win.  Bob Holbert had 4 hits, while Bill Dunkley and Mike Hyott had 3 hits each for the Cards.  Tim Carroll and Brian Feldman had 4 hits and Buzzy Hill had 3 hits for the Padres.

Marlins 13 – Mets 4
The Marlins put 5 on the board to take a 5 – 4 lead thru 3, and didn’t need anymore as their defense held the Mets to 3 hits in the last 4 innings.  The Marlins added 5 in the 5th with the aid of 2 Mets errors.  Scott Curry and Pat Furlo had 3 hits each for the Marlins and for winning pitcher Bob Fleming.  Dave Blandford added an inside the park HR.  Chuck Tomney, Pat Perkins and Tom Ledoux had 2 hits for the Mets.

Dodgers 16 – Nationals 15
The Dodgers found themselves down by 6 going into the bottom of the 7th (down but not out).  Pete Castriotta got things going with his 3rd hit of the game.  After an out, the Dodgers put together 6 straight hits to tie the game.  With the game tied and 2 outs and a runner on first, George Slack ripped a triple to drive in the winning run.  Pitcher Steve White got the win.  Rick Poland was 4 for 4 for the Dodgers.  John Meindl added an inside the park HR.  Roy Warter had an inside the park HR for the Nationals.

Rockies 12 – Angels 11
What looked like a defensive battle turned into a slug fest the last 2 innings.  The Angels kept the Rockies off the board thru 5 innings and only got 2 runs in the first to hold a slim 2 – 0 lead.  After each team put 3 on the board in the 6th, the Rockies crossed the plate 9 times in the 7th with the help of 3 Angels’ errors.  The Angels found themselves trailing by 7, but weren’t ready to surrender just yet.  With the help of a Rockies’ error, the Angels scored 6 and got to within 1 before a fielders choice ended the game.  Pitcher Fred Hughes got the win for the Rockies.  Denis Hodge paced the Angels with a 4 for 4 day.

Pirates 7 – Royals 5
Five run innings are great, unless you only have one and that’s all you score.  That’s what the Royals found out today as the Pirates kept them off the board except for the 5 run 3rd inning.  The Pirates scored 1 in 4 different innings and added 3 in the 5th to give pitcher Jim Joseph the win.  Bob Cramer was 3 for 3 and Jim Glover added an inside the park HR for the Pirates.  Dave Oatley led the Royals with 3 hits.

Braves 11 – Phillies 4
The Phillies scored 3 in the first and 1 in the second, but the bats went quiet and didn’t score anymore.  The Braves tied the game in the 3rd and added 2 in the 6th and 5 in the top of the 7th to seal the victory for pitcher Emil Notorantonio.   John Collins led the Braves with 3 hits, including a triple.  Randy Bowen let the Phillies with a double and triple.

Giants 12 – Reds 10 (8 innings)
The Giants were holding on to a slim 10 – 9 lead thru 5 innings.  Great defense by both teams turning double plays in the 6th kept the score the same, 1 run lead by the Giants.  More great defense by the Reds set the Giants down 1 – 2 – 3 in the 7th.  Trailing by 1, and a quick out, Harold Holiman and Tom Myers got things going with singles.  After another out, an error allowed the tying run to score, but the Giants kept the winning run from scoring and sent it to extra innings.  The Giants were able to score 2 in the top of the 8th and their defense took over shutting the Reds down in order to give pitcher John Ashby the win.  Rick Fredieu and Rick LaFerriere had 3 hits for the Giants and John Iorio ripped an inside the park HR.  Marty Berger and Harold Holiman had 3 hits for the Reds.