1970 Great Eight League

Through Game #40.

Game Results:

Boston 3 Los Angeles 8

WP- Ray Lamb (3-2) LP- Mike Nagy (3-3)

HR- Carl Yastrzemski (6), George Scott (5)

The Dodgers rallied for a comeback victory, scoring seven runs over the final four innings, to upset the Red Sox, 8 to 2. Though Boston had two home runs, they were limited to just five hits. The bullpen was especially effective, with Ray Lamb, Sandy Vance and Charlie Hough pitching four innings of scoreless relief.

Cincinnati 3 Baltimore 4 Eleven innings

WP- Dave Leonhard (2-1) LP- Pedro Borbon (3-2)

HR- Frank Robinson (4), Paul Blair (6), Davey Johnson (4); Bernie Carbo (4)

Frank Robinson hit a walk off home run in the bottom of the eleventh inning off Pedro Borbon, as the Orioles won 4 to 3, over the Cincinnati Reds. This despite what was probably Brooks Robinson’s worst game as a pro. He went 0-4 and committed two errors at third base.

Oakland 8 New York 3

WP- Diego Segui (6-2) LP- Steve Kline (4-2)

HR- Don Mincher (12), Reggie Jackson (10)

The Athletics got to Steve Kline early, scoring four runs in the first, capped by a three-run clout from Reggie Jackson. Don Mincher also went deep, and Diego Segui notched his sixth win in the 8 to 3 victory over the New York Yankees.

Pittsburgh 6 Minnesota 4

WP- Orlando Pena (4-1) LP- Ron Perranowski (2-1) SV- Luke Walker (1)

HR- Bob Robertson (2), Willie Stargell (5); George Mitterwald (4)

The Twins went into the ninth inning with a 4-3 lead, but Ron Perranowski blew the save chance by giving up a single to Richie Hebner, walking Freddie Patek, then surrendering a three-run, pinch hit homer to Bob Robertson. With Pirates closer, Dave Giusti unavailable, Luke Walker pitched the bottom of the ninth to earn the save for Pittsburgh.

Standings and Leaderboard courtesy of http://www.cardanddicebaseball.com

Game #40 Recap:

The big news, of course, is that Baltimore is now tied for first place with Boston. That marks the first time this season that the Red Sox have not been in first place alone. The Orioles have won three in a row, while the Red Sox have dropped two straight games. Pittsburgh is still in the cellar, but have played well of late, winning their last three games. The Twins and Reds round out the first division, two and five games back, respectively.

Individually, Bobby Tolan still leads the league in batting, at .344, but he lost points on his average and Rod Carew and Cesar Tovar are hot on his tail, just .003 points behind. Don Mincher now has a two-homer lead in the home run race, with 12. Gary Peters still has an outside chance at the pitching Triple Crown. He leads in wins and ERA (among starters) and is second in strikeouts.

Game #41 Schedule and Probable PItchers:

Baltimore (Palmer 5-3, 2.54) at Pittsburgh (Ellis 2-4, 4.47)

Minnesota (Perry 4-2, 2.02) at Los Angeles (Sutton 1-5, 4.87)

New York (Peterson 2-3, 2.27) at Cincinnati (Nolan 4-3, 3.60)

Oakland (Hunter 4-3, 3.78) at Boston (Culp 4-1, 1.88)