Here’s your morning baseball
briefing:
Game of the Day for Thursday August
29:
Detroit
Tigers 7, Oakland 6
On a day where Detroit starter Max Scherzer attempted to
become baseball’s first 20-game winner, all signs pointed toward a loss. He was roughed up for a season-high six runs,
defending Triple Crown Winner Miguel Cabrera left the game early with an
abdominal injury after sliding in second base, and the Tigers trailed 6-3 with
three outs left. What followed in the
ninth was nothing short of miraculous, as Detroit rallied with a with a walk, a
popout out, a strikeout, another walk, a single to score one run that cut the
deficit to 6-4, and then, with two out, Torii Hunter entered the game as a pinch
hitter and walloped a three-run home run
to left that capped the incredible comeback and Detroit walked-off winners at
home. Baseball can be a funny game, and
when all seemed lost for Detroit, they ended up in a wild celebration at home
plate in the end. And oh yeah, Scherzer is
still 19-1, Cabrera said he is fine and will play Friday, and Detroit extended
their A.L. Central lead to 6.5 games as second place Cleveland lost to
Atlanta. Not a bad day in Motown.
Rest
of the days’ scores:
Consecutive
days with a walk-off win (where the home team scores the winning run in the
ninth inning or later that immediately ends the game): 3. The Detroit Tigers were the only team to walk-off winners.
Longest
Winning Streak: 5 – Kansas City Royals
Longest
Losing Streak: 5
– Minnesota Twins
A.L. MVP Watch: Manny
Machado, 3B, Baltimore Orioles
Yesterday:
2-3, 2 RBI and 2 walks
Season: .298, 12 HRs, 64 RBI and 79 runs scored
On pace
for: .297, 14 HRs, 79 RBI and 97 runs
scored
N.L. MVP
Watch: Andrew McCuthcen, OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
Yesterday:
1-3 with a walk
Season: .323, 17 HRs, 74 RBI, 81 runs scored and 27 stolen bases
On pace
for: .322, 20 HRs, 90 RBI, 99 runs scored
and 33 stolen bases
A.L. Cy
Young Watch: Max Scherzer, Detroit Tigers
Yesterday:
5 IP, 8 hits, 5 runs and 5 K’s in a
no-decision vs. Oakland
Season: 19-1, 201 K’s and a 2.90 ERA
On pace
for: 23-1, 244 K’s and a 2.87 ERA
N.L. Cy
Young Watch:
Gio Gonzalez, Washington Nationals
Yesterday:
7 IP, 3 hits, 0 runs and 8 K’s in a win vs.
Miami
Season: 8-6, 154 K’s and a 3.56 ERA
On pace
for: 9-7, 202 K’s and a 3.55 ERA
History –
1977 World Series
Winner: The New York Yankees beat the
Los Angeles Dodgers 4 games to 2.
The New York Yankees returned to the World
Series after their embarrassing sweep by the Reds in 1976, and manager Billy
Martin had a new offensive weapon at his disposal with outfielder Reggie
Jackson. The Dodgers were led by manager
Tommy Lasorda in his first full season at the helm, and had a formidable
offense as well, boasting a new MLB record with four players with 30-plus home
runs in their starting lineup.
New York had
home field advantage in the series, and Game 1 provided enough dramatic moments
for an entire series, but it was just the beginning. The Dodgers jumped out to an early 2-0 first
inning lead, but trailed 3-2 in the ninth when Lee Lacy tied the score at three
with an RBI single that sent the game into extra innings. In the bottom of the twelfth, Yankee second
baseman led off with a double and scored the winning run on outfielder Paul
Blair’s RBI single, as just like that New York had one more World Series win
than all of last year.
The Dodgers
stormed back in Game 2 behind four home runs from Ron Cey, Steve Yeager, Reggie
Smith and Steve Garvey to win 6-1, and the series moved west tied at a game
apiece.
In Los
Angeles for Game 3, New York struck first with three runs in the first inning
off Dodger starter (and future Yankee) Tommy John, and hung on to win 5-3
behind Mike Torrez’s complete game, nine strikeout gem.
New York once
again started strong in Game 4 as they scored three runs in the second, and won
4-2 behind pitcher Ron Guidry’s complete game four-hitter. Reggie Jackson capped the scoring with a home
run in the sixth, and New York held a 3-1 series lead with one more game in Los
Angeles.
The Dodgers
didn’t roll over in Game 5, and their offense exploded for ten runs while starter
Don Sutton pitched a complete game as Los Angeles won easily 10-4. Reggie Jackson hit his second home run in the
series off Sutton in the eighth, but the game was well out of reach by
then.
New York
hosted Game 6 in a wild night in the Bronx, and fans were ready to celebrate
the return of the Yankees as baseball champions. The heroics that followed made this game on
of the most memorable in baseball history.
Los Angeles had a few minutes of hope when they scored two first inning
runs, but the night would belong to Reggie Jackson the rest of the way. After Chris Chambliss tied the game at two
with a two-run homer in the second, Jackson hit a two-run home run in the fourth
to make it 5-3, another two-run home run in the sixth to increase the lead to
7-3, and just when you thought he’d done enough, with nobody on base in the
eighth, he hit the first pitch he saw deep over the center field wall for his
third home run of the game to make the score 8-3. It was his fifth home run of the series (a
new World Series record), and officially fourth in a row (he walked in the
second, and walks don’t count as official at-bats). The Yankees won the game 8-4 and secured
their first World Series title since 1962, their 21st overall, first under new
owner George Steinbrenner, and first and only for manager Billy Martin. Reggie Jackson was named series MVP, and he
earned the nickname Mr. October, forever securing his legacy in New York.
For the
series the Dodgers outscored the Yankees 28-26, but New York outscored them
50-48. Hall of Famers in the series
included for NewYork: outfielder Reggie Jackson and pitcher Catfish Hunter; and
for the Dodgers: manager Tommy Lasorda and pitcher Don Sutton.
Tomorrow: 1978 World Series – New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
Trivia -
Today’s Question: What player tied Reggie Jackson with five home runs on a
World Series in 2009?
Yesterday’s
Question: Who was the last team to be
swept in the World Series?
Answer: In 2012, the Detroit Tigers were swept by
the San Francisco Giants.
Vegas Bet: Lastly, here’s an
actual bet you can make at a Las Vegas Sports Book: Over/Under 1.5 wins by the New York Yankees in the three-game series with
Baltimore in New York this weekend.
Yesterday’s
Bet: Over/Under
7 strikeouts by Detroit starter Max
Scherzer today vs. Oakland as he goes for his 20th win of the season.
Result: Under. Scherzer
struck out 5 in a no-decision vs.
Oakland.
Standings:
| American League | National League | |||||||||
| EAST | W | L | GB | STRK | EAST | W | L | GB | STRK | |
| Boston | 79 | 56 | - | Lost 1 | Atlanta | 81 | 52 | - | Won 4 | |
| Tampa Bay | 75 | 57 | 2.5 | Lost 1 | Washington | 68 | 65 | 13 | Won 3 | |
| Baltimore | 71 | 61 | 6.5 | Won 1 | Philadelphia | 61 | 73 | 21 | Lost 1 | |
| NY Yankees | 70 | 63 | 8 | Lost 1 | NY Mets | 60 | 72 | 21 | Won 1 | |
| Toronto | 60 | 74 | 19 | Won 1 | Miami | 49 | 83 | 32 | Lost 4 | |
| CENTRAL | W | L | GB | STRK | CENTRAL | W | L | GB | STRK | |
| Detroit | 78 | 56 | - | Won 1 | St. Louis | 78 | 55 | - | Lost 1 | |
| Cleveland | 71 | 62 | 6.5 | Lost 3 | Pittsburgh | 77 | 56 | 1 | Lost 1 | |
| Kansas City | 69 | 64 | 8.5 | Won 5 | Cincinnati | 75 | 59 | 3.5 | Won 1 | |
| Minnesota | 57 | 75 | 20 | Lost 5 | Milwaukee | 59 | 74 | 19 | Won 1 | |
| Chicago Sox | 56 | 76 | 21 | Won 2 | Chicago Cubs | 56 | 77 | 22 | Lost 1 | |
| WEST | W | L | GB | STRK | WEST | W | L | GB | STRK | |
| Texas | 78 | 55 | - | Won 3 | LA Dodgers | 78 | 55 | - | Won 1 | |
| Oakland | 75 | 58 | 3 | Lost 1 | Arizona | 68 | 64 | 9.5 | Lost 1 | |
| LA Angels | 60 | 72 | 18 | Won 1 | Colorado | 63 | 72 | 16 | Won 1 | |
| Seattle | 60 | 73 | 18 | Won 1 | San Diego | 60 | 73 | 18 | Won 1 | |
| Houston | 44 | 89 | 34 | Lost 3 | San Francisco | 59 | 74 | 19 | Lost 1 | |
Schedule for Friday August 30 – Sunday September 1 with probable pitchers in parentheses. My picks to win
are highlighted. Yesterdays’ Picks: 4-5 Overall:
797-597
Times EST
