Barbero Garbey Appreciation Society

  Those who left Dodger Stadium when the score was 10-0 after 4 innings can be forgiven. Greg Brock certainly gave them enough reason to turn their cars back around with a pair of 3-run homers in the 7th and 9th but amazingly, it wasn't enough. Padres 13, Dodgers 10. It all began in the 1st when San Diego sent 10 friars to the plate and roughed up Jerry Reuss for 6 runs, starting with a trio of stolen bases by Luis Salazar , Alan Wiggins and Tony Gwynn .  Steve Garvey doubled home Wiggins and Gwynn, while Garry Templeton also doubled home 2 runs in the 1nning. In a touch of irony, Reuss managed to strike out the side, but by the 2nd, he was gone and after 3, so was the game. Padres 10, Dodgers 0 after 3.  Mark Thurmond still had a 10-2 lead entering the bottom of the 7th, when Greg Brock decided to make things a bit interesting. Bill Russell and Ken Landreaux rapped back-to-back singles with 1 out, then after a near-homer by Pedro Guerrero , PH Dave Anderson singled h...

Dave Rozema , save for last-out relief help by Aurelio Lopez and Willie Hernandez , struck out 6 in limiting the White Sox to 5 hits in a 2-0 shutout in front of an enthusiastic crowd at " The Corner ."  "Rozey" got all the runs he needed in the 6th when Darrell Evans reached on a 1-out single and scored on a 2-run blast to left by Lance Parrish . Sox starter LaMarr Hoyt dodged a bases-loaded threat in the 5th and a 1st/2nd one in the 8th but still got the hard-luck loss as the Sox got blanked for the 2nd game in a row. In the ChiSox 9th, Rozema retired Carlton Fisk on a deep drive to left but after a single from Harold Baines and a walk to Greg Luzinski , Sparky brought out the "Hook" and brought in Aurelio Lopez to face Greg Walker , who "Stood there like the house by the side of the road and watched that one go by." For right-handed pinch-hitter Ron Kittle , the "Hook" came for Willie Hernandez, who blew out Kittle with a swin...

Darryl Motley slugged a pair of homers enroute to another victory for his "Crew" as the Royals outslugged the Tribe 8-3  at Municipal .  With the Royals trailing 2-1 in the 5th, 2 outs and 1 on, Motley took Bert Blyeven deep for his first "Home Sweet Home" run giving the Royals a lead they would not relinquish. Motley then slugged a solo shot in the 7th to extend the lead to 4-2 but just missed a 3-run homer in the 8th off Mike Jeffcoat that would have put the game away. Frank White , however, would put the game away with a 2-run shot off Jeffcoat in the 9th to make the final 8-3. Danny Jackson pitched 6-2/3 innings for the win, with Joe Beckwith getting the cheap save. KCR 8-13-0 CLE 3-9-2 WP-Jackson LP-Blyeven SV-Beckwith HR-Motley (2), White. KCR 11-3 CLE 4-8

Johnny Ray went 4-6 with a double as the Pirates pounded the Cubs 11-4 at " The Confines ." Ray paced a 19-hit attack which reached its peak in the 6th, scoring 5 times on 6 hits, chasing Cub starter Rick Reuschel from the game. They also scored 3 times on 5 hits in the 8th, providing ample offense for Pirate starter Larry McWilliams , who went the distance, retiring the last 11 Cubs on a 6-hitter.  PIT 11-19-0 CHC 4-6-0 WP-McWilliams LP-Reuschel HR-Davis PIT 7-7 CHC 7-7

The A's erupted for 7 in the 7th to break it WIDE open behind a 22-hit attack and 4-hit games from Carney Lansford and Dave Kingman in a 15-6 rout of the Red Sox in front of a stunned Fenway Park crowd. The game was tied 1-1 in the 3rd when the A's scored 2 runs on a leadoff double by Rickey Henderson who stole 3rd and scored on Dwayne Murphy 's 2nd RBI single of the game. Murphy scored on Dave Kingman's RBI double. The A's added 3 more in the 4th on Donnie Hill 's leadoff single, a walk by Rickey and a mammoth 3-run homer by Murphy, giving him 5 RBIs.  The Sawx chased A starter Mike Warren with a 5-run 5th to tie the score, highlighted by Jim Rice 's 3-run bomb over the Monstah to tie the game. Oakland went to long man Ray Burris , who would be richly rewarded in the 7th when 12 Athletic hitters banged out 7 runs, including 2 hits each from Dave Kingman and Davey Lopes, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter for Mike Davis. The A's added insuranc...

It started with a dramatic 2-out, 2-run single in 9th. Then in the 13th, Kent Hrbek made the comeback complete with a 2-run homer as the Twins stun the defending world series champ Orioles by a score of 11-10 at Memorial Stadium . It was a tale of two ballgames as the Orioles dominated the early part with runs in 6 of the first 7 innings, highlighted by a 4-run 2nd inning with 5 consecutive hits and a Twins wild pitch producing 4 runs. The Birds produced back-to-back doubles by T-Bone Shelby and Cal Ripken in the 1st and Gary Roenicke and Joe Nolan in the 2nd for a 5-1 lead after 2. Ken Singleton also added a solo homer in the bottom of the 3rd for a 6-1 lead after 3, The Twins pulled to within 6-4 on a solo homer by Tom Brunansky in the 4th and back-to-back doubles by Gary Gaetti and Tim Laudner plus an RBI single by Darrell Brown in the 5th. A Gary Roenicke sac fly rebuilt the Orioles lead in the 5th, then Pete Filson , in relief of Mike Smithson gave up 2 Oriole runs in the 6t...

At least Craig McMurtry lasted longer than Ken Dayley .  But it still didn't hide the fact that the Braves pitching sprung another leak leading to another early exit and another beatdown by the Houston Astros, this time by a 12-4 score in front of a "We Want Pascual" yelling crowd at Fulton County Stadium . Braves starter Craig McMurtry pitched a scoreless 1st, then watched in disgust as 11 Astros scored 6 runs in the 2nd including 3 doubles by Phil Garner , Kevin Bass and Jose Cruz , who would also launch a 3-run homer in the 5th giving him a 3-hit, 5 RBI night. Bass also had a 3-RBI game.  McMurtry pitched 1-2/3 innings, while Rick Mahler stopped the bleeding, only to inflict more bleeding in a 6-run Astro 5th. Steve Bedrosian did his beleaguered skipper Joe Torre a favor by finishing out the game. The Braves made things respectable with a 3-run 6th and a run in the bottom of the 9th. Mike Scott struck out 5 Braves before being relieved by Vern Ruhle , who pitched ...

In a game which was actually competitive for 7-1/2 innings, the Blue Jays clipped the wings of the Angels by a 12-2 score in front of a rowdy Exhibition Stadium crowd.  The Blue Jays led 6-2 with 2 outs in the top of the 8th when the Halos made one last push starting with a walk to Rod Carew . Fred Lynn then doubled Carew to 3rd, then Doug DeCinces drew a walk from Luis Leal that chased Leal from the game and chased Reggie Jackson into his usual dramatic spotlight. Dennis Lamp quickly dimmed the spotlight by getting " Mr. October " to bounce out to Willie Upshaw at 1st, ending the threat and 6 runs and 10 Toronto batters later, the ballgame.  The Jays flapped their wings for 19 hits, 4 of them by Alfredo Griffin , who also drove in 4 runs. Every Blue Jay starter had at least 1 hit, with Damaso Garcia, Rance Mulliniks, Erine Whitt and Griffin each scoring 2 runs. The Angels were held to just 4 hits, one of which was a Doug DeCinces homer.  TOR 12-19-2 CAL 2-4-2 WP-L...

The Reds "ran" out to a 6-0 lead and coasted behind the 4-hit pitching of Jeff Russell and 4-4 by Dave Parker on their way to a 6-2 triumph over the Giants at the "Stick."    Eddie Milner set the pace with singles in his first 2 at-bats, followed by successful steals and each time, RBI doubles by Cesar Cedeno . Dave Parker singled in the 3rd, then swiped 2nd and advanced to 3rd, Cedeno scoring on a throwing error by Bob Brenly , making the score 3-0. Dan Driessen 's sac fly to right scored Parker with run #4 and for good measure, Nick Esasky hit a solo homer, putting Giant starter Mike Krukow in a 5-0 hole after 2-/1/2. Ron Oester added a 6th run in the 4th on an RBI double, scoring Dann Bilardello . Jeff Russell went the distance for Cincy , striking out 6 and retiring the last 12 Giants, save for a hiccup in the 4th, when the Giants scored their 2 runs on 2-out singles by Jeffrey Leonard and Joel Youngblood , both scoring on a 2-run double by Bob Bren...

The Mets erupted for 5 runs in the 5th enroute to an 8-3 win over the phirst-place Phils at the Vet . Both teams exchanged runs in the 1st before the Mets let " Lefty " have it the 5th, starting with a leadoff double by red-hot Hubie Brooks . After a pair of grounders to short, things began to unravel for the Phils as Len Matuszek booted a grounder, allowing Ron Gardenhire to reach, advancing Brooks to 3rd. Jose Oquendo singled home Brooks, Gardenhire to 2nd giving the Mets the lead. Keith Hernandez doubled home Gardy, Oquendo to 3rd, then George Foster put the nail in the coffin, more precisely, into the left field seats with a 3-run homer giving the Mets a 6-1 cushion over a besieged Steve Carlton . Met starter Tim Leary pitched well into the 7th, when the Phils pulled to within 6-3, starting on a leadoff homer by Len Matuszek. Joe Lefebvre singled with 1 out, advanced to 2nd on a passed ball by Junior Ortiz and scored on an RBI single by Von Hayes. The Mets got those 2...

The emergence of Don Mattingly continued at Yankee Stadium , as he picked up 2 hits against Texas righty Dave Stewart . Trouble was the rest of the Yankees couldn't get anything past Stewart, as the Rangers blanked the Yankees by a 2-0 count on Stewart's gem. Stewart pitched 6 no-hit innings against the Yankees before Mattingly broke up the no-no in the 7th with a perfectly clean lead-off single. That would be the only hit off Stewart until the bottom of the 9th, when Mattingly lined a 2-out single to 2nd. PH Roy Smalley would line out to Wayne Tolleson at 2nd to end the game and Stewart's nifty 2-hitter. Just as Stewart was brilliant, so was his left-handed counterpart Ron Guidry , who struck out 9 Rangers, but made 2 mistakes which were the difference in the game. In the 4th, George Wright singled, followed by walk to Buddy Bell , giving the Rangers 1st and 2nd with nobody out. After Guidry caught Larry Parrish looking, Pete O'Brien caught a look at a Guidry cur...

MIL 7-12-2 SEA 6-10-1 WP-Sutton LP-Beattie SV-Fingers Robin Yount: 3 singles, 3 RBI Dion James/Jim Gantner: 2 runs scored each Brewers 2 runs each in 1st, 3rd, 4th Don Sutton: 6-1/3 IP 5 ER 5 K 4 BB HBP 7 H Alvin Davis: 2 doubles, SF, 2 RBI  MIL 7-6 SEA 5-9  

It was just like old times as Steve Garvey singled home 2 runs in the top of the 11th as the Padres scored a 6-3 win over the reeling Dodgers at Chavez Ravine .  The score was tied at 3 when with 1 out, PH Tim Flannery hit a grounder to Pedro Guerrero at 3rd which Guerrero lazily threw to 1st, a textbook E-5. Alan Wiggins then singled, moving Flannery to 3rd. With Tony Gwynn at the plate and Steve Garvey on deck, Tommy Lasorda brought out the 4 fingers in search of a double play. Turns out, it was just like old times as the former Dodger coolly brought home Flannery with the go-ahead and Wiggins with the insurance runs. Terry Kennedy added a sac fly to score Gwynn and Goose Gossage retired the Dodgers 1-2-3 with a pair of Ks to save it for Craig Lefferts. For the 2nd straight outing, Fernando Valenzuela wasted a multi-strikeout performance, striking out 11 in 7-1/3 as the Padres rallied for 2 runs to tie after Valenzuela himself provided insurance in the bottom of the 7th w...

Milt Wilcox limited the usually potent White Sox to just 3 hits, retiring the last 16 in order as the Tigers scored a 4-0 win at "The Corner." Wilcox weathered a 1st and 3rd threat in the 1st and a 1st and 2nd in the 4th on 2 walks. All the Sox hits were singles by Scott Fletcher and Harold Baines in the 1st and a single by Vance Law in the 2nd. Wilcox walked Greg Luzinski and V. Law in the 4th. Wilcox then retired the last 16, striking out 7.   The only offense the Tigers needed came in the bottom of the 2nd when with 1 out, Chet Lemon slugged a solo homer off Floyd Bannister . Marty Castillo then singled and when V. Law could not handle a Kirk Gibson grounder, Castillo advanced to 2nd on the error. After Tom Brookens lined to Fletcher at short, Lou Whitaker walked to load the bases. Alan Trammell unloaded them with a 3-run double to center.  Just goes to prove if Jack Morris can no-hit them in real life, Milt Wilcox can limit the ChiSox to 3 hits in "C&D....

There's an early front-runner for MVP in the American League and his name is...  Steve Balboni . The Kansas City first baseman continued his excellent start to the season by going 3-4 with a double, single and his 7th homer of the year in a 10-5 KC victory over the Indians in front of the usual sparse crowd at Cleveland Stadium .  The Royals started impressively in the 1st off Neal Heaton on a single/stolen base by Onix Concepion . After advancing to 3rd on a fly out by Darryl Motley , Concepion walked home on the front end of back-to-back home runs by Frank White . Hal McRae supplied the back end and Balboni nearly made it back-to-back-to-back on a double that just hit the base of the wall. Leon Roberts , making a rare start, got Balboni home with a triple, capping off the 4-run 1st. The Tribe got on the warpath in the 3rd off Larry Gura on a leadoff single by Ron Hassey , who then advanced to 2nd on an error by Concepion at short, George Vukovich reaching. After Otis N...

The Cubs used a balanced attack to sink the Pittsburgh Pirates by an 8-2 final at Wrigley Field . Gary Matthews led the way RBI-wise with 3, while a rejuvenated Bill Buckner drove in 2 with a single and a double. Ron Cey also drove in 2 while Keith Moreland added a solo homer.  The breakthrough star was one Henry Cotto , who had a double, 2 singles and also reached on an error. He scored each time. Ryne Sandberg had 2 singles and scored twice.  The Cubbies scored twice in the 1st, 3rd, 7th and 8th while Dick Ruthven pitched 7-2/3, allowing 7 hits, one of which was a 2-run homer by Pirate RF Doug Frobel in the 7th. Lee Smith finished in relief for the victorious Cubs. CHC 8-13-1 PIT 2-7-1 WP-Ruthven LP-Rhoden HR-Frobel, Moreland. CHC 7-6 PIT 6-7

The Red Sox struck again with another late-inning rally as they edged the A's by a 5-4 final at a raucous Fenway Park . Oakland jumped off to an early lead on a 1st inning solo homer by Bill Almon . From that moment forward, it was a pitcher's duel between lefties Tim Conroy and Bruce Hurst , matching zeroes until the 7th when Donnie Hill's bases-loaded sac fly extended the A's lead to 2-0. With the bases loaded and 2 out, Almon hit a deep fly into " Monstah " territory only to have Jim Rice make a catch at the base of the wall. That missed slam turned out to be a bad omen for the A's and an even better one for the Sawx . Wade Boggs led off the 7th with a single, then was walked over to 2nd by Jim Rice. Mike Easler singled to center to load the bases, then Tony Armas singled home 2 to tie and Reid Nichols put the Sox on top with an RBI single, chasing Conroy from the game. Keith Atherton took over and walked PH Rich Gedman , then allowed a 2-run dou...

It was a rather "Stormy" night for the Twins , grounding into 3 DP's induced by the Oriole RHP, not to mention a night of poor control for Twins lefty Frank Viola , who missed the strike zone to the tune of 7 walks in an Oriole 7-1 triumph at Memorial Stadium .  The Twins grounded into 3 double plays in the first 4 innings, while the Birds grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 3rd on a John Shelby single, stolen base/throwing error and an RBI double by Cal Ripken Jr. The Twins stayed away from the DP ball long enough to get their lone run in the 5th on a leadoff double by Mickey Hatcher and a 1-out single by Gary Gaetti.  Viola's wildness caught up with him in the 6th, when he walked Ripken to lead off the inning, then Eddie Murray ripped another poor pitch from Viola and turned it a 2-run homer, giving the Twins the lead for good. Of the 7 walks Viola issued, 3 were to Gary Roenicke with #3 followed by a double by Ken Singleton, who had grounded into 2 double plays previously. ...

No doubt they were watching the Superstation in Ken Dayley 's Idaho hometown on this Friday night. Within a few minutes though, they were watching the 6:00 news, and the news was, Ken Dayley was HORRIBLE! He faced only 7 batters, 6 runs scored, no outs recorded. The Houston Astros took advantage of Dayley's rotten misfortune and even more horrible pitching on their way to a 14-5 pummeling of America's Team , also known as the Atlanta Braves , also known as a property of Ted Turner .  Kevin Bass led the hit parade with 4 singles, while Enos Cabell and Alan Ashby each belted 3 hits. The big hit of the night was provided by Phil "Scrap Iron" Garner , who reduced a Dayley pitch to well, just plain "scraps" with a grand slam homer. Garner also tripled. The Astros added to their 6 runs with 8 more in the 4th, courtesy of 14 Astro hitters.  Dayley was followed by Rick Camp in the 1st, Terry Forster in the 4th, Jeff Dedmon in the 7th and Gene Garber in the 9th...

The Giants jumped out to a 3-0 lead but had to hold off a late rally to nip the Reds, 3-2 in front of a sparse Candlestick Park crowd.   The Giants struck first on a leadoff double by Chili Davis in the 1st, who then promptly scored on Manny Trillo 's own 2-bagger. With 1 out, Al Oliver scored Manny Trillo with a triple. In the Giant half of the 3rd, Jack Clark slugged a 1-out solo homer to extend the lead to 3-0, where it stood until the 9th. Giant starter Jeff Robinson was working on a 4-hit shutout going into the 9th, retiring Dave Parker and Dan Driessen on popouts to Al Oliver at 1st before the dam burst. Nick Esasky hit a grounder which in which Joel Youngblood pretended to be Joe Montana throwing a long one to Dwight Clark . E-5 with 2 out. Ron Oester then singled to right, Esasky stopping at 2nd. Pinch-hitter Tony Perez then smacked a 2-run triple, making the score 3-2 and prompting Frank Robinson to replace Robinson with Greg Minton . PH Brad Gulden fouled o...

"On 20/20 , the Barbara Walters interview with the man who shaped the early days of the Reagan White House . "I'm in charge here." Alexander Haig with the answers everyone wants to hear on Reagan, Nixon, the foreign policy decisions that shaped a controversial figure. 20/20, Thursday." (ABC) -Haig was promoting a book at the time. (Malice) Alejandro Pena and Ed Whitson traded zeroes on the Dodger Stadium scoreboard for 9 innings before the Pads broke the scoreless ice with a go-ahead double by Kevin McReynolds in the 10th, just enough to blank the Dodgers, 1-0. The Padres had a 2nd and 3rd with nobody out chance in the 3rd with McReynolds leading off with a single and advancing to 3rd on a double by Garry Templeton. The Dodgers pulled the infield in and a strikeout of Ed Whitson, bounce to 2nd by Alan Wiggins and a Tony Gwynn fly to left ended the best Padre threat up to that point. The Dodgers had a 1-out double by Pedro Gurrero in the 4th and a 1st and 3r...

It all started with a little "Wizardry," the kind that usually happens down Waveland Ave. After slumping Lonnie Smith led off with a fly to Sarge Matthews , not-so-slumping Ozzie Smith took a Steve Trout pitch downstream, turning it into a solo homer. After the Cubbies turned on the speed, turning stolen bases into sac flies for a 2-1 lead after 2, the Cards set 4th for even bigger speed in their half of the "4th." David Green led off the 4th with a single, stole 2nd, then scored on Willie McGee 's RBI single to right. McGee followed that with his own steal of 2nd, scoring on Art Howe 's single to center. After Glenn Brummer hit a slow one to 1st, moving Howe to 2nd, SP Danny Cox singled to center, sending Howe to 3rd. After Lonnie Smith was caught looking at the Cubs' ball girl, the "Wizard" magically made a walk appear to load the bases. Tom Herr singled home Howe and Cox, making the score 5-2 after 3-1/2.  Danny Cox cruised through th...

Editor's Note: Let me apologize for my sloppy updating skills, it wasn't until I finished rolling Expos - Mets that I realized that someone was closing in on a milestone. That someone is 1 hit short. It's Pete Rose , who got hits #3998 in the 5th and 3999 in the 7th, but flied to center in the 9th, leaving him 1 hit short of 4000 . As for the game itself, Dwight Gooden recorded the 2nd 10-strikeout game of his young career in a 6-3 triumph over Rose's Expos. Keith Hernandez singled home 2 runs in the 1st, while Wally Backman and Hubie Brooks each collected 3 hits apiece. NYM 6-12-1 MON 3-8-0 WP-Gooden (10 K's) LP-Gullickson NYM 7-5 MON 5-8   

Jim Rice drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 9th, capping off a game where Tony Armas slugged 2 solo home runs and tripled to bring home 2 more in a wild 8-7 win over the Rangers at Fenway Park . After the Rangers scored twice in the 9th to tie the score at 7, Glenn Hoffman struck out to open the inning. Then Jerry Remy got his 4th single of the game to begin the game-winning rally. After being caught stealing twice, Remy got a quick jump off Odell Jones and swiped the bag. Then Jones completely forgot there was a strike zone, walking Dwight Evans and Wade Boggs to load the bases. Dave Schmidt took over for Jones to face Jim Rice and yes, you guessed it, Schmidt couldn't find it, either.  Before the Red Sox walked, Tony Armas slugged a couple of solo homers in the 2nd and 4th. Armas' 2nd homer tied the score at 3. It remained tied at 3 until the 7th when after a walk to Buddy Bell, Larry Parrish cranked a 2-run homer off Oil Can Boyd for a 5-3 Rangers lead. Pa...

The Orioles rode the reliable bats of Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray to a pair of home runs, while Scott McGregor limited the Blue Jays to just 4 hits in a decisive 6-1 triumph at Exhibition Stadium . The Orioles got 2 in the 1st on a single by John Shelby and walk by Cal Ripken Jr., they both scored on John Lowenstein's 2-run triple. Eddie Murray homered solo with 2 outs in the 3rd, starting a rally in which Lowenstein and Ken Singleton singled and Gary Roenicke walked. Joe Nolan coaxed a bases loaded walk from Jim Clancy to make it 4-1. The Orioles closed out the scoring in the 7th on a John Shelby walk with 1 out, which was followed by a 2-run bomb by Ripken. The Blue Jays lone run came on a George Bell solo blast in the 1st. McGregor struck out 4 for the complete game win over Clancy. BAL 6-8-0 TOR 1-4-0 WP-McGregor LP-Clancy HR-Bell, Murray, Ripken. BAL 7-4 TOR 9-4   

The White Sox rode the right arm of Richard Dotson and a 11-hit attack to an 8-2 triumph over the Brewers at County Stadium . Dotson went the distance, striking out 7 Brewers, limiting them to 5 hits. Vance Law paced the Sox with a double and 2 singles, while Rudy Law (no relation) tripled and homered, driving in 3 runs. The Brewers dug their own grave, committing 3 errors, while starting pitcher Jaime Cocanower walked 4 in 5 very lackluster innings. The Brewers lone bright spot was 3B Randy Ready , who tripled twice, scoring one run while driving in the other. Rudy Law also contributed defensively for the Sox, making 6 putouts in center field. CWS 4-6 MIL 6-6 CWS 8-11-0 MIL 2-5-3 WP-Dotson LP-Cocanower HR-R. Law CWS 4-6 MIL 6-6

  It was an historic season on paper. On the paper known as Cards & Dice baseball, it's just another season. 104 wins, a lot of historic landmarks. One landmark, the landmark known as 35-5 will be impossible to reach, that is because the C&D gods have determined that the 1984 Tigers were just an average team. The record through 10 games: 5-5. You can say Bye-Bye to that historic start in this replay because of Steve Balboni , who in game 10, struck 2 home runs, driving in 3 as the KC Royals dethroned the Tigers, 4-1. Bret Saberhagen shut down the Tiger bats on just 5 hits, striking out 4. Kirk Gibson slugged a solo homer in the 2nd and started a last-ditch Tiger rally with a 1-out single in the 9th. After Larry Herndon flied to right, Dave Bergman drilled a single to center setting up Chet Lemon , who would face relief ace Dan Quisenberry to prolong the game. Suffice to say, it would end on a "sour" note with Lemon striking out. Bye-Bye 35-5 It is inconceiva...

Lefty Bob Knepper struck out 8 Dodgers , limiting them to 2 runs on 7 hits in a 5-2 Astros win at the Astrodome , averting a series sweep. Both teams exchanged runs in the 1st before the Astros lifted off in their half of the 2nd, scoring 3 runs on 5 hits and a bases-loaded walk by Jose Cruz . Phil Garner and Craig Reynolds had RBI singles in the inning. Cruz and Reynolds had 3 hits each, Cruz also driving in a run with a single in the 1st.  Knepper struck out the side in the 4th among his 8 strikeouts and retired the last 7 Dodgers to close out the win. Pedro Guerrero 's RBI double in the 1st and Mike Marshall 's solo homer in the 6th were all the Dodgers could do against Knepper. Bob Welch pitched 6 lackluster innings for the blue boys, with Pat Zachry mopping up the final 2 innings. HOU 5-12-0 LAD 2-7-1 WP-Knepper LP-Welch HR-Marshall LAD 7-6 HOU 6-7

Eddie Milner 's go-ahead homer in the 4th and a 11 K outing from Mario Soto paced the Reds to a 5-4 win over the Braves in a " Businessman's Special " at Riverfront . It looked like the Reds would run away with this one early, jumping on Braves starter Len Barker for 4 runs in the 1st, Barker walking Eddie Milner and Dan Driessen and giving up an RBI single by Dave Parker . Nick Esasky made Barker "overbid" for his wildness by depositing a 3-run homer to left, making it a 4-run 1st. The Reds also ran in the 1st, getting steals from Milner and Parker. The Braves would answer the Reds 4-spot with a 4-spot of their own in the 2nd, getting their runs before Soto could record an out as Chambliss walked, Bob Horner singled and Rafael Ramirez doubled in Chambliss to put the Braves on the board. Glenn Hubbard singled in Horner, making it 4-2, Bruce Benedict doubled home Ramirez, now 4-3 and with runners on 2nd and 3rd, Len Barker grounded one to Concepion at ...