tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48763150512420404712024-03-19T03:28:14.311-07:00Nightmare On 33rd StreetThe Story Of The 1988 OriolesNPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.comBlogger190125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-7121949971614701552019-01-01T16:46:00.002-08:002019-01-02T05:57:40.865-08:00Wrap UpI've been needing to do a wrap up post for this blog for a while now. I apologize for taking so long. This blog had kind of eaten my brain during the baseball season - having to write about every day from April 3 to October 2 was very demanding. I had worked ahead - it was a necessity since I was going for a two and a half week vacation in September - and once I had all the posts done for the season around Labor Day I took a break from this blog and went back to working on <a href="https://japanesebaseballcards.blogspot.com/">my main blog</a> (and took the afore-mentioned vacation). I just took a longer break than I had intended. But with the end of 2018 I figured it was time to wrap this up.<br />
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The Orioles surprised the baseball world in 1989 by unexpectedly contending - they moved into first place in May and didn't relinquish it for good until the end of August. They weren't eliminated until the next to last day of the season. The next two seasons, the last two at Memorial Stadium, were less successful however, although the team's fortunes turned around with the move to Camden Yards in 1992. They finished over .500 in five of the next six seasons, culminating in a Wild Card berth in 1996 and a wire-to-wire division title in 1997. They made it to the American League Championship Series both of those season, losing to the Yankees in 1996 and the Indians in 1997. The team fell into a long dry spell after that, finishing under .500 every season from 1998 until 2011. They finished over .500 for the five years in a row from 2012 to 2016, making the playoffs in 2012 (lost the ALDS to the Yankees), 2014 (lost the ALCS to the Royals) and 2016 (lost in the AL Wild Card game to the Blue Jays) but 2017 saw them lose 87 games and 2018 was a disaster of biblical proportions - they lost 115 games.<br />
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The 1988 Orioles ended up having two Hall Of Famers - Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray. Ripken remained an Oriole for the rest of his career, retiring at the end of the 2001 season. Murray was traded to the Dodgers during the 1988-89 off season, moved to the Mets as a free agent in 1992 (which allowed him to play in the first game ever at <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1992/04/04/orioles-inaugurate-camden-yards-defeat-mets/ac92fcfb-e360-4e4a-ac6c-b0ea714c2c3c/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.433c04e8cd1b">Oriole Park at Camden Yards</a>) and on to the Indians in 1994 before returning to the Orioles in a mid-season trade in 1996. He retired following the 1997 season that he split between the Angels and Dodgers.<br />
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There's a possible third Hall Of Famer from the team - Curt Schilling, who went 0-3 in 4 starts in September. Schilling was traded to the Astros in the 1990-91 off season as part of the ill fated Glenn Davis trade and moved onto the Phillies in 1992 where he became an All Star starter. He later moved to the Arizona Diamondbacks and helped them win a World Series in 2001 and then to the Red Sox where he helped them win World Series in 2004 and 2007. He retired after the 2008 season with a record of 216-146 and 3116 strikeouts. I think he was the last active player from the 1988 Orioles roster.<br />
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Some of the other contributors (for better or for worse) for the team:<br />
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Brady Anderson developed into a three time All Star outfielder for the Birds during the 90's. His 50 home runs in 1996 was the team record until Chris Davis hit 53 in 2013. Anderson was released by the Orioles after the 2001 season and he played for the Indians in 2002 and for the Padres' AAA team in Portland, Oregon in 2003 before retiring.<br />
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Bill Ripken stayed an Oriole until he was released following the 1992 season. He spent time with the Rangers, Indians and Tigers as well as returning to the Birds for the 1996 season before retiring after the 1998 season.<br />
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Fred Lynn, who was traded to Detroit at the end of August, remained a Tiger in 1989 and then retired after a single season with San Diego in 1990.<br />
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Mickey Tettleton spent two more seasons in Baltimore before moving to the Tigers where he had 3 30+ home run seasons (from 1991-93). He later spent three seasons in Texas before retiring after 1997. <br />
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Joe Orsulak was an Oriole for four more years. He spent three years with the Mets, and a season with the Marlins and Expos before he also hung up his spikes in 1997.<br />
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Rene Gonzales retired after 1998 - he spent two more seasons with the Orioles, then flipped between the Angels, Blue Jays, Indians, Rangers and Rockies as well as in the minors for the Padres, White Sox and Astros.<br />
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Ken Gerhart and Pete Stanicek never played in the majors again after 1988. Gerhart was traded to the Giants during spring training in 1989 and spent the season in Shreveport and Phoenix. He played in four games for the Indians' AAA team in Colorado Springs in 1990 before retiring. Stanicek spent two more seasons in the Orioles organization before injuries forced him to retire.<br />
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Three members of the team ended up in Japan during the first half of the 1990's. Jim Traber only spent one more season with the Orioles before signing with the Kintetsu Buffaloes for the 1991-92 seasons. He made the All Star team and led the Pacific League in RBIs in 1991. Larry Sheets also moved on from the Birds after 1989 - he spent 1990 with the Tigers. It's not clear to me that he played anywhere in 1991 but he was a Yokohama Taiyo Whale in 1992 (and also made the All Star team). He returned to the States in 1993 and spent most of the season with the Brewers' AAA team in New Orleans before playing 11 games in the majors with the Mariners in September. Rick Schu was briefly with the Orioles in 1989 before he was sold to Detroit. He spent 1990 with the Angels and went back to the Phillies (his original team) for the 1991 and 1992 seasons. He spent 1993 and 1994 with the Nippon-Ham Fighters before returning to the US and playing for Oklahoma City (Texas AAA) in 1995 and for Ottawa (Montreal AAA) in 1996-97 - his last major league appearance was with the Expos in 1996.<br />
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At 25 each pitchers Jeff Ballard and Jose Bautista made the most starts for the 1988 Orioles. Ballard would go 18-8 for the 1989 Birds but his effectiveness significantly declined after that and he parted ways with the team after the 1991 season. He spent 1992 at AAA Louisville in the Cardinals organization before spending the final two years of his career with the Pirates. Bautista was a 23 year old rookie in 1988. He remained with the Birds through 1991 before moving on to the Texas organization. He spent 1992 in the Royals organization before spending 1993-94 with the Cubs and 1995-96 with the Giants. His last major league appearances were in 1997 with the Tigers and Cardinals but he spent time in 1998-99 in the Yankees, White Sox, Mets and Expos organizations before ending his career with Monterrey in the Mexican League in 2000.<br />
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Mike Boddicker, traded to the Red Sox at the end of July, pitched for five more seasons after 1988 - two with Boston, two with Kansas City and one with Milwaukee.<br />
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Dave Schmidt spent one more season with Baltimore before moving on to the Expos as a free agent in 1990. He spent 1991 split between the Texas and Montreal organizations and 1992 split between Seattle and Oakland before retiring.<br />
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Jay Tibbs only played for two more seasons after 1988. He spent 1989 with the Birds but moved to the Pirates for the 1990 season.<br />
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Mark Williamson spent six more seasons with the Birds, retiring after the 1994 season.<br />
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After the 1988 season Mike Morgan was traded to the Dodgers for Mike Devereaux who would be a key part of the 1989 Orioles. Morgan spent the next three seasons as a solid starter for the LA before moving onto the Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Twins, back to the Cubs, the Rangers and the Diamondbacks. With the four teams he played with before the Orioles (the A's, Yankees, Blue Jays and Mariners) he played for 12 different teams which was the record until Octavio Dotel played for his 13th team in 2012. I believe that Morgan along with Schilling are the only members of the 1988 Orioles to experience a World Series championship after 1988 - he was also on the 2001 Diamondbacks. He retired after the 2002 season.<br />
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The Orioles had four pitchers make their major league debut in September of 1988. I've already mentioned Schilling. Gregg Olson saved 27 games for the 1989 team and was named AL Rookie Of the Year. He went on to save over 30 games a season in the next three seasons and notched 29 in 1993 before leaving as a free agent. Injuries hampered him over the next four seasons and he kicked around between the Braves, Indians, Royals, Tigers, Astros and Twins. He saved 30 games again for the Diamondbacks in their inaugural season in 1998 and followed up with 14 more in 1999 before moving on to the Dodgers for his final two seasons in 2000-01. Pete Harnisch departed the Orioles in the same trade that sent Schilling to Houston after the 1990 season. He would play until 2003 with the Astros, Mets, Brewers and Reds. Bob Milacki had the most auspicious debut for the Birds, going 2-0 in three starts including a shut out. He stayed with the Orioles through the 1992 season and the spent the next few years in the Indians, Royals and Mariners organization before heading to Japan to play for the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes in 1997. He returned to the US and spent 1998-99 in the Astros and Pirates organizations before finishing his career with the St Paul Saints of the independent Northern League in 2000.<br />
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Cal Ripken Sr, who was unceremoniously fired as manager in April, returned to the team to his old role as third base coach for the 1989 season. He retired after the 1992 season and passed away in 1999. Elrod Hendricks who was an interim manager for the team during the season continued to coach for the Birds until 2005. He passed away in December of that year.<br />
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Frank Robinson continued as manager of the Orioles until he was fired in May of 1991 and replaced by Johnny Oates. He returned to managing in 2002 when he was hired to run the Montreal Expos which had just been taken over by MLB. He managed the team for the next five seasons - their final three in Montreal and their first two in Washington as the Nationals.<br />
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I've been asked if I'm going to write a blog for the 2018 Orioles in 30 years and my answer has been "no". 1988 was a significant year for me and the Orioles were a big part of the year for me. 2018 was a pretty good year for me but I can't say the Orioles were that much of a part of it.<br />
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One last item to wrap up. I've written about what happened to many of the players for the 1988 Orioles but what about this Sabra woman that I met that year. What happened to her? Well, I married her and had a couple of kids. We're still together after 30 years.<br />
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To all of you who've read all of this and found it at all interesting, thank you.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-13181194304999055772018-10-02T05:00:00.000-07:002019-08-26T11:30:49.099-07:00Sunday October 2 at the Blue Jays<b>Opponent:</b> Toronto Blue Jays<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TOR/TOR198810020.shtml">3-9</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L3<br />
<b>Record:</b> 54-107<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 34.5<br />
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The Orioles's 1988 season came to an end on an overcast and drizzly afternoon in windswept Exhibition Stadium in Toronto. Curt Schilling made his fourth start of the season of his career and didn't last very long.<br />
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The Orioles played sloppy baseball in the first inning. Tony Fernandez led off the game with a double and Nelson Liriano laid down a bunt in an attempt to sacrifice him to third. Orioles catcher Carl Nichols decided to try to throw Fernandez out at third but his throw went down the left field line, allowing Fernandez to score and Liriano to reach second. Rance Mulliniks lifted a fly ball to center field that Brady Anderson dropped, allowing Liriano to move to third and Mulliniks to pull into second. A George Bell sacrifice fly brought Liriano with the second run of the inning. With Ernie Whitt at the plate Schilling uncorked a wild pitch which moved Mulliniks up to third where he was able to score minutes later on Whitts' sacrifice fly. A fly ball by Fred McGriff ended the inning but the Jays had scored 3 runs on one hit and two Oriole errors.<br />
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Toronto piled on further in the second. With one out Rob Ducey singled and Alexis Infante drew a walk. Fernandez brought both of them in to score by hitting a triple and then he scored when Liriano followed with another triple. A sacrifice fly by Mullinks brought Liriano in with the fourth run of the inning and seventh run of the game. Bell flew out to end the inning and Schilling's day. Mark Williamson came in to pitch in the third inning. Schilling had given up seven runs (although only five were earned) on four hits and a walk in two innings. Every single baserunner he allowed on had scored.<br />
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Bell hit a two run home run off of Williamson in the fourth inning to make the score 9-0. The Birds finally got on the board in the sixth inning on a two run home run by Larry Sheets, his tenth home run of the season. They added another in the seventh on an RBI groundout by Craig Worthington to make the score 9-3.<br />
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This was the final Orioles game for several players. Tom Niedenfuer pitched the fifth inning and Don Aase pitched the sixth and seventh innings. Niedenfuer was granted free agency on November 4th but Aase was given his outright release on October 3rd. Pete Stanicek went 0-4 in the game. He suffered through two more injury plagued years in the Orioles minor league organization in 1989 and 1990 before retiring at age 27.<br />
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The big name making his Orioles farewell was Eddie Murray. Murray went 0-2 in the game before being lifted for a pinch hitter (Rick Schu) in the sixth inning. He was traded just over two months later to the Dodgers for Juan Bell, Brian Holton and Ken Howell. He would return to the Orioles for the 1996 season.<br />
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It's a small sample size but the Orioles had a bad month in October - going 0-2 while being outscored 16 to 6.<br />
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Today's loss clinched the worst record in all of baseball for the Orioles. The Atlanta Braves ended the season with a 54-106 record for a .338 winning percentage, three percentage points better than the Orioles .335. The Braves were arguably just as bad as the Orioles that year but didn't have a sexy 21 game losing streak to start the season - theirs was only 10 games.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-39695851773756602302018-10-01T05:00:00.000-07:002018-10-01T05:00:01.198-07:00Saturday October 1 at the Blue Jays<b>Opponent:</b> Toronto Blue Jays<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TOR/TOR198810010.shtml">3-7</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L3<br />
<b>Record:</b> 54-106<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 34.5<br />
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For a little bit this afternoon it looked the Orioles might put up a fight against Toronto. The Blue Jays got on the board first in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly by Rob Ducey but the Orioles tied it in the top of the third on an RBI ground out by Craig Worthington. Toronto went ahead for good in the fourth on a two run home run by Jesse Barfield and an RBI single by Kelly Gruber but the Birds cut the lead to just one run on a two run shot by Jim Traber in the fifth. But Toronto responded in the bottom of the fifth with three more runs to bury the Orioles. A Fred McGriff solo home run followed later in the inning with an RBI double by Ducey and an RBI single by Nelson Liriano accounted for the runs.<br />
<br />NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-42565471350195451552018-09-30T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-30T05:00:03.328-07:00Friday September 30 at the Blue Jays<b>Opponent:</b> Toronto Blue Jays<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/TOR/TOR198809300.shtml">0-4</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L2<br />
<b>Record:</b> 54-105<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 34.5<br />
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The Orioles suffered any number of indignities during the 1988 season but one thing they managed to avoid was getting no-hit. Tonight was the closest all season they came to succumbing to that fate - Dave Stieb of the Blue Jays held them hitless until two outs in the ninth inning when pinch hitter Jim Traber lined a single. It was the second straight start that Stieb had lost a no-hitter with two outs in the ninth (he had done it against <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CLE/CLE198809240.shtml">Cleveland on September 24th</a>) and his third consecutive complete game shutout. Stieb would end up losing three no-hitters in the ninth inning in his career which is the record. He did eventually throw a no-hitter in 1990 - it was the first and so far only no-hitter in Toronto Blue Jays history.<br />
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With the Orioles not hitting (and they only drew one walk) the game went very quickly, clocking in at one hour and 52 minutes, the second shortest game by time for the Birds all season (behind the <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/09/saturday-september-3-at-mariners.html">September 3rd game against the Mariners</a>).<br />
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Toronto got a run in the bottom of the first when Tony Fernandez led off with a triple and Kelly Gruder followed with a single. Those two knocked in three more runs in the fifth inning when Fernandez singled with two on to knock in one run and Gruber tripled to knock in the other two.<br />
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From May through August the Orioles had pretty much just been mediocre. They'd held steady from May through July and actually were almost a .500 team in August. September though was a disaster. With today's loss the Orioles had gone 8-19 this month, allowing 118 runs while only scoring 75.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-24090510033327085042018-09-29T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-29T05:00:02.924-07:00Thursday September 29 vs the Yankees<b>Opponent:</b> New York Yankees<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809290.shtml">1-5</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L1<br />
<b>Record:</b> 54-104<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 34.5<br />
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This was the Orioles final home game of the season and the Orioles were running a somewhat unique promotion called "Shirts Off Out Back Night". The O's would be changing their uniform design in the off-season and were giving away all the jerseys the players were wearing to the fans. I was at the game but I don't remember the details of how it worked - if I had to actually register somewhere at the ballpark to be in the running or if they were doing everything by seat location - but it doesn't really matter as I didn't win a jersey.<br />
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There were 38,958 fans in attendance that evening which was the third highest home crowd of the season (behind <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/04/april-4-vs-brewers-opening-day.html">Opening Day</a> and <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/05/may-2-vs-rangers.html">Fantastic Fans Night</a>). The Orioles ended up drawing 1,660,738 which at the time was the eighth highest total in the club's history (and the fourth highest total for any team that had lost over 100 games). I'll note that while this is a tribute to the fans of Baltimore who came out to support a bad team, it also reflects a trend upward in overall baseball attendance over the past 30 years. The 1988 attendance is actually the Orioles lowest since the 1982 season.<br />
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The game was kind of an after thought and the Orioles played like it. The Yankees went up 2-0 on a two run home run by Ken Phelps in the fourth and added a third run on an RBI single by Rafael Santana in the sixth. Cal Ripken led off the bottom of the sixth with his 23rd home run of the season to get the Birds on the board but the Yankees got the run back in the top of the seventh on a bases loaded walk to Jack Clark. New York got a final run in the ninth inning on a solo home from Don Mattingly.<br />
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The Orioles ended up leaving nine men on base and went 0 for six with runners in scoring position so they certainly had opportunities in this game. Of course the Yankees squandered just as many opportunities to score more runs - they left 10 men on base and went one for eight with runners in scoring position.<br />
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Here are the clippings about the game from the next day's Evening Sun:<br />
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<br />NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-51399591678746299482018-09-28T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-28T05:00:04.676-07:00Wednesday September 28 vs the Yankees<b>Opponent:</b> New York Yankees<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> W<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809280.shtml">2-0</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> W1<br />
<b>Record:</b> 54-103<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 33.5<br />
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The Orioles played very poorly over their final 20 games of the 1988 season, going 3-17 in games after September 12th. (Note - they still have four more games after tonight so I'm giving away the fact that they didn't win any of them.) The three games that they won were all starts by rookie Bob Milacki. Oddly enough of the three starting pitchers that debuted with the Orioles in September of 1988 (Milacki, Curt Schilling and Pete Harnisch), Milacki had the most successful debut month but the least succssful career. <br />
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At 23 Milacki was two years older than both Schilling and Harnisch which may have played into how their careers went. Milacki was a mainstay of the Orioles rotation the next couple years, leading the AL in starts with 36 in 1989. Injuries (possibly related to his workload) started taking their toll in the early 1990's. In 1992 he went 6-8 with an ERA of 5.84 which led to him being called "Bob Shellac-i" among Orioles fans. He left the Orioles as a free agent and spent the next few years bouncing around the A's, Indians, Royals, Red Sox, Mariners, Astros and Pirates organization along with a stint with the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes of Japan in 1997. He finished his career with the St Paul Saints of the independent Northern League in 2000.<br />
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But all of that was in the future. Tonight Milacki pitched a gem against the Yankees, holding them to three hits and two walks while striking out ten. He had a complete game shutout, only the second one the Orioles got all season (the other was by Jeff Ballard against the Brewers back on <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/08/saturday-august-13-at-brewers.html">August 13th</a>). <br />
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This was yet another game in which the Orioles had baserunners but couldn't get runners in. They had 10 hits tonight along with two walks as well as getting two runners on via Yankees errors. But they only scored two run - one on a double play in the second by Craig Worthington and the other on an RBI single by Rick Schu in the fourth. They left 10 men on base tonight and went 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-91791212059829497182018-09-27T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-27T05:00:05.828-07:00Tuesday September 27 vs the Yankees<b>Opponent:</b> New York Yankees<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809270.shtml">1-5</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L4<br />
<b>Record:</b> 53-103<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 34.5<br />
<br />
Curt Schilling made the third major league start of his young career and was saddled with the second loss of his career. Don Mattingly did a number on him in this game, hitting a two run home run in the first inning and a solo shot in the third to put New York up 3-0. <br />
<br />
But it was the fourth inning that really did Schilling in tonight. With one out Wayne Tolleson singled and two batters later Randy Velarde walked. With Rickey Henderson at bat the Yankees pulled a successful double steal, moving both runners into scoring position. They both then scored when Henderson doubled, making it 5-0 Yankees. Schilling got Claudell Washington to fly out to end the inning and his day. Doug Sisk came in to pitch the next four innings and Gregg Olson pitched the ninth and neither of them gave up any more runs.<br />
<br />
Not that it mattered though - the Orioles only managed to score one run this evening and that was almost by accident. Mickey Tettleton singled to start the seventh inning and Ken Gerhart was hit by a pitch from Yankees starter Ron Guidry. Carl Nichols popped out to Mattingly in foul territory down the right field line, deep enough for Tettleton to alertly advance to third. This put him in position to score when Guidry's first pitch to the next batter Craig Worthington went wild. Guidry struck out Worthington and got Rene Gonzales to ground out to end the inning without any further damage.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-40428421200375338432018-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-26T05:00:03.265-07:00Monday September 26 vs the Yankees<b>Opponent:</b> New York Yankees<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809260.shtml">4-5</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L3<br />
<b>Record:</b> 53-102<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 34.5<br />
<br />
Jeff Ballard started this evening for the Orioles but if you blinked you missed him. He got leadoff hitter Rickey Henderson to fly out to start the game but then loaded the bases on a Don Mattingly single and walks to Dave Winfield and Jack Clark. Gary Ward hit a single to bring in Mattingly and Winfield and Don Slaught followed with another single to score Clark. Jay Tibbs came in to relieve Ballard and despite walking Rafael Santana to load the bases got out of the inning without giving up any more runs. But the Yankees led 3-0.<br />
<br />
The Orioles started a comeback in the second inning when Mickey Tettleton had a two run home run. They tied the game in the fifth on a Ken Gerhart sacrifice fly and took the lead in the sixth inning on an RBI double by Rick Schu.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile Jay Tibbs was actually pitching pretty well for the Orioles. He entered the eighth inning having held the Yankees to only two hits and two walks while striking out six after entering the game with only one out in the first. He got two quick outs in the eighth on a strikeout of Clark and a flyball from Ward but he then ran into trouble. Slaught singled to put the tying run on and pinch hitter Ken Phelps followed with a double that put both the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position. Orioles manager Frank Robinson went to his bullpen and brought in Don Aase. Santana greeted the new pitcher with a single that brought both runners in to score. The Orioles bullpen had failed yet again and the Yankees were back on top 5-4 which is how the game ended.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-15588457246235090502018-09-25T10:17:00.000-07:002018-09-25T10:17:28.060-07:00Another Comment On The 2018 Orioles<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: system-ui, -apple-system, system-ui, ".SFNSText-Regular", sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">The 2018 Orioles not only have a worse record than the 1988 version but are in serious danger of being outdrawn by them as well. The attendance for the 1988 team was 1,660,738. The 2018 Orioles current attendance is 1,494,822. The current team has four more home dates - they'll need to average more than 41,479 for those games to beat the 1988 team. Can they do it? Considering their last four home games drew an average of about 12,000 per game I'm going to say it's unlikely.</span>NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-65509613753708007932018-09-25T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-25T05:00:04.420-07:00Sunday September 25 vs the Tigers (2)<b>Opponent:</b> Detroit Tigers<br />
<b>Game 1</b><br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809251.shtml">1-2</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L1<br />
<b>Record:</b> 53-100<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 34.5<br />
<b>Game 2</b><br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809252.shtml">4-7</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L2<br />
<b>Record:</b> 53-101<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 34.5<br />
<br />
It was a very frustrating afternoon for the Orioles. They got swept in the double header, giving up the winning runs in the top of the ninth in both games.<br />
<br />
The Orioles got on the board first in the first game. With one out in the bottom of the first Pete Stanicek reached base safely on an error by first baseman Dave Bergman. Stanicek stole second with Cal Ripken at the plate but it didn't matter because Cal drew a walk. Eddie Murray came up and hit a ground ball that Bergman fielded at first and threw to shortstop Luis Salazar. But Salazar's throw back to first attempting to double up Murray went wild and Stanicek ended up scoring and Murray ended up on second. Mickey Tettleton struck out then to end the inning. The Orioles scored a run on no hits, one walk and two Tiger errors.<br />
<br />
It was good that the Orioles had scored without benefit of a hit because Jack Morris was on the mound for Detroit and he was being very stingy when it came to hits. The Birds only got one hit in the game and it didn't come until one out in the seventh inning when Tettleton lined a single. Meanwhile a solo home run off the bat of Darrell Evans in the third had tied the game at 1.<br />
<br />
This was yet another game where you wonder if the Orioles should have gone to their bullpen in the ninth inning. Mark Williamson had started for Baltimore and had pitched well - giving up one run on four hits and one walk while striking out three. But he'd thrown over 110 pitches as he started the ninth inning by getting Matt Nokes to ground out. Gary Pettis followed with a single and then stole second with Pat Sheridan at the plate. Sheridan then grounded out to shortstop with Pettis moving to third on the play. Salazar then singled, bring Pettis in with the go-ahead run. Finally the Orioles went to the bullpen, bringing in Gregg Olson who got Tom Brookens to fly out for the third out.<br />
<br />
Morris retired the Orioles in order in the bottom of the ninth for the complete game victory, his fourteenth of the season. He ended up giving up just the one unearned run on one hit and two walks while striking out eight. <br />
<br />
The loss was the Orioles 100th of the season. It was the first time that the Orioles had lost 100 games in a season since their first season in Baltimore in 1954.<br />
<br />
The second game started well for the Orioles. They scored in the bottom of the first again - this time plating two runs on an RBI single by Murray and a sacrifice fly from Jim Traber. The Tigers tied the game on a two run home run by Dwayne Murphy in the fourth but the Orioles had a two run home run of their own off the bat of Ken Gerhart in their half of the fourth to go up 4-2. Torey Lovullo led off the fifth with a solo home run to pull the Tigers within one run.<br />
<br />
I've been beating up the Birds the last few days about their bullpen management and this game is an example of why manager Frank Robinson was reluctant to use it. Mark Williamson had come in for starter Jose Bautista to start the sixth inning and had pitched very well for three innings, holding the Tigers to no hits and only one walk. But he walked Bergman to start the ninth inning and Robinson, perhaps because not going to the bullpen had been burning him lately, decided to bring in a reliever. He brought in the closer, Tom Niedenfuer and Niedenfuer, like so many other times this season, didn't have it. He walked Evans to put the go-ahead run on base. Bill Bean laid down a sacrifice bunt to move up the runners so he ended up issuing an intentional walk to Nokes to load the bases. Former Oriole Fred Lynn came in as a pinch hitter for Lovullo and crushed a shot to deep right field for a grand slam. The Tigers were now up 7-4. This was the second time in nine days that Lynn had hit a game winning home run against his old team.<br />
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The Tigers weren't quite done - Mike Heath followed Lynn with a single before Niedenfuer was finally able to get the last two outs of the inning on a Ray Knight fly out and a Chet Lemon strikeout. The Orioles again went quietly in the ninth for their 101st loss of the season.<br />
<br />
This was the last time Niedenfuer came in in a save situation for the Orioles this season. I'm not sure the Orioles gave up on him - there really was only one save situation the rest of the season. But he only made one more appearance ever for the Birds - on the last day of the season. He left the team as a free agent over the winter and signed with the Mariners where he went 0-3 with a 6.69 ERA. He finished his career with the Cardinals in 1990 with an 0-6 record and a 3.46 ERA.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-9172120065825799182018-09-24T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-24T05:00:04.277-07:00Saturday September 24 vs the Tigers - Rained OutThe Orioles game against the Tigers was rained out today and would be made up as part of a double header the next day on September 25th.<br />
<br />
I spent this weekend up in Delaware. Sabra was away for a week or so - she had gone back to the Midwest to visit family - but I went up to Delaware to hang out with my parents and my friends. I ended up going to the Phillies game this evening and saw something special. The Expos were in town and their starting pitcher Pascual Perez threw a <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PHI/PHI198809240.shtml">no-hitter</a>. It was raining in Philadelphia that evening as well and the game ended up getting called after six innings so it's not an "official" no-hitter. (Actually it was at the time - MLB didn't change the definition of an "official no-hitter" to exclude any games shorter than nine innings until a few years later.)<br />
<br />
I got back to my parents' house in time to watch the local news at 11 PM. The sportscaster mentioned that the no-hitter would have an asterisk next to it - not because it was rain shortened but because it was against the 1988 Phillies. The Phillies were the third worst team in baseball that year, behind the Orioles and the Braves (who actually had a worse record than the Orioles at this point in the season). I was able to watch all three of these teams from my parents' house. Their cable system carried the sports channels from both Philadelphia and Baltimore as well as Superstation WTBS which was the Braves TV home at the time. The only last place team my parents couldn't watch on a regular basis that year was the Seattle Mariners.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-62995804353499362842018-09-23T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-23T05:00:00.960-07:00Friday September 23 vs the Tigers<b>Opponent:</b> Detroit Tigers<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> W<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809230.shtml">5-4</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> W1<br />
<b>Record:</b> 53-99<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 33.5<br />
<br />
Bob Milacki was on the mound tonight for the Birds making his second career start and this game almost went as well as his <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/09/sunday-september-18-at-tigers.html">first game</a> - at least through the first eight innings.<br />
<br />
The Orioles scored first in the bottom of the first. With one out Pete Stanicek and Cal Ripken hit back to back singles. Eddie Murray then hit a ground ball that Tigers second baseman Jim Walewander fielded cleanly but made a bad throw on. Murray was safe and Stanicek scored.<br />
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The Tigers tied the game at 1 on an RBI single from Dwayne Murphy. The Orioles went back ahead in the sixth inning on an RBI single from Cal Ripken and extended their lead to two runs on an RBI ground out by Ripken in the eighth.<br />
<br />
After eight innings Milacki had given up one run on four hits, three walks and four strikeouts. He'd also thrown 120 pitches but no one really paid a lot of attention to pitch counts in 1988. While it wouldn't have been unexpected for the Orioles to bring in their closer Tom Niedenfuer in the ninth, the decision was made to leave Milacki in to try for a complete game. Matt Nokes led off the ninth with a solo home run to make it 3-2 and at now Orioles manager Frank Robinson decided to bring in Niedenfuer. Darrell Evans greeted Niedenfuer with a solo home run of his own to tie the game at 3. Niedenfuer got Chet Lemon and Tom Brookens to strike out but then Torey Lovullo doubled and Dave Bergman knocked him in with a single. The Tigers now led for the first time all game. Niedenfuer got Murphy to fly out to end the inning.<br />
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Walt Terrell was the starting pitcher for the Tigers tonight and he also was allowed to start the ninth. He gave up back-to-back singles to Brady Anderson and pinch hitter Larry Sheets before Tigers manager Sparky Anderson decided he should bring in a relief pitcher. Willie Hernandez replaced Terrell on the mound while Butch Davis came in to run for Sheets. Jeff Stone came in to hit for Bill Ripken and lined a single to right that scored Anderson with the tying run and moved Davis to third base. Joe Orsulak drew an intentional walk to load the bases and set up a force out at every base. The strategy almost worked - Stanicek hit a ground ball to Brookens at third who threw home to force out Davis. But Tigers catcher Nokes tried to get Stanicek at first for a double play and threw the ball away. Stone came in to score and the Orioles won 5-4. It was the Birds' ninth and final walk off victory of the season.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-14541308961781444322018-09-22T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-22T05:00:01.486-07:00Thursday September 22 vs the Tigers<b>Opponent:</b> Detroit Tigers<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809220.shtml">4-7</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L4<br />
<b>Record:</b> 52-99<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 33.5<br />
<br />
The Orioles returned to Baltimore tonight to take on the Tigers, opening an eight game home stand - the final one of the season. Tonight was the last "Three Buck Night" of the year so of course I was in attendance. I had made it to all eleven "Three Buck Nights" that weren't rained out this season.<br />
<br />
It was a very sloppy game by the Orioles. They had 15 hits this evening along with a walk but only scored 4 runs. They left 10 men on base and went 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position. They also made three errors in the game.<br />
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The first error came on the very first pitch of the game. Dave Bergman led off for the Tigers and hit Dave Schmidt's first pitch for a ground ball to third baseman Craig Worthington who made a bad throw to first that pulled first baseman Rick Schu off the bag. Dwayne Murphy followed with a ground ball that moved Bergman to second. An Alan Trammell single moved Bergman to third which allowed him to score when Fred Lynn hit a line drive to center field for a sacrifice fly. The Birds second error of the game came when center fielder Ken Gerhart attempted to double Trammell off first on Lynn's liner - no one was covering first. Trammell was able to move up to second on Gerhart's error and then scored on Matt Nokes' single. 2-0 Tigers.<br />
<br />
The Orioles cut the lead in half when Pete Stanicek led off the bottom of the first with a home run. The Birds actually briefly took the lead in the third inning (and ended up knocking Tigers starter Frank Tanana out of the game) on Eddie Murray's 28th home run of the season - a two run shot.<br />
<br />
The Tigers took the lead back in fourth inning. Nokes led off with a double. After Darrell Evans struck out, Chet Lemon drew a walk. Tom Brookens then knocked both Nokes and Lemon in with a double. After Jim Walewander struck out for the second out, Bergman hit the third double of the innin which scored Brookens. Jay Tibbs now came in to relieve Schmidt and Murphy greeted him with a single that brought in Bergman before Trammell struck out to end the inning. It was now 6-3 Tigers. A Bergman RBI single in the sixth would extend the Tigers lead to 7-3.<br />
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The Orioles blew a golden opportunity to have a big inning in the seventh. Singles from Bill Ripken, Cal Ripken and Murray loaded the bases with no outs. Mickey Tettleton then singled to score Bill Ripken. The key play of the inning came next - Brady Anderson hit a fly ball to center field that Murray, expecting that Cal Ripken would score on it, tagged up and tried to advance. When he realized that Cal was still on third he had to beat a hasty retreat and was doubled up by the Tigers. Rick Schu then flied out to end the threat. The score was 7-4 and that's how it ended.<br />
<br />
I have to confess that I didn't make it to the end of the game this evening. I was pretty anal about always staying for the entire game but I was pretty tired this week after the concert on Monday night and a couple other late nights. And this game was dragging. I remember ducking out after what seemed like an interminable Chet Lemon at bat in the top of the sixth but I'm not sure now that that's what happened. My scorecard doesn't have anything in it after the top of the fifth so maybe I remember hearing the Lemon at bat on the radio on the way home. Regardless I did get an Evening Sun the next day and I saved the clippings about the game:<br />
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<br />NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-72829451161988041512018-09-21T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-21T05:00:08.754-07:00Wednesday September 21 at the Yankees<b>Opponent:</b> New York Yankees<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198809210.shtml">2-3</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L3<br />
<b>Record:</b> 52-98<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 33<br />
<br />
Tonight's game was certainly one that the Orioles could have won. They had 11 hits and three walk in the game but ended up leaving 7 men on base and only going 2 for 9 with runners in scoring position.<br />
<br />
The Birds got on the board first in the top of the second when Rick Schu's single scored Mickey Tettleton. But a Rickey Henderson RBI ground out in the third allowed the Yankees to tie the game and a Jack Clark solo home run in the fourth put them up 2-1. The Orioles tied it in the fifth on an RBI single by Craig Worthington.<br />
<br />
The game remained tied into the twelfth inning. Mark Thurmond came in that inning in relief and after striking out Gary Ward he gave up a game winning home run to Don Slaught. It was the second walk off home run surrendered by Thurmond in less than a week - he'd given up the game winner to Fred Lynn of the Tigers <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/09/friday-september-16-at-tigers.html">the previous Friday night</a>.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-56930113724964087672018-09-20T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-20T05:00:05.232-07:00Tuesday September 20 at the Yankees<b>Opponent:</b> New York Yankees<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198809200.shtml">1-7</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L2<br />
<b>Record:</b> 52-97<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 33<br />
<br />
No way to really sugar coat tonight's game - the Orioles got slapped around pretty well by the Yankees bats and New York starter Rick Rhoden was able to keep the Baltimore bats from doing muc of anything. The Yankees got on the board first in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Ken Phelps but really put themselves in control in the game on back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning. The first one was a three run shot from Jack Clark which was followed by a solo (obviously) shot by Phelps. The Yankees led 5-0 after five.<br />
<br />
Craig Worthington led off the sixth with a solo home run for the Birds to make it 5-1 but the Yankees got two more in the eighth inning on an RBI ground out with the bases loaded by Don Slaught followed by an RBI single by Rafael Santana. Meanwhile Rhoden ended up pitching a complete game giving up just the one run on five hits and a walk en route to his 12th win of the season.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-21095820744085408552018-09-19T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-19T05:00:00.758-07:00Monday September 19 at the Yankees<b>Opponent:</b> New York Yankees<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYA/NYA198809190.shtml">2-3</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L1<br />
<b>Record:</b> 52-96<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 32<br />
<br />
It had been a little more than three months since the last time the Orioles had faced the Yankees and New York's situation had changed quite a bit in the meantime. When the Orioles lost to the Yankees back on <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/06/sunday-june-12-at-yankees.html">June 12th</a> the Bronx Bombers had been in first place with a 38-21 record and a two game lead over the second place Tigers. The Yankees now were in fourth place with a 78-70 record, 6 1/2 games behind the first place Red Sox. Lou Piniella was now the manager, having replaced Billy Martin in late June.<br />
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Pete Harnisch was making his second major league start for the Orioles tonight and it went slightly better than <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/09/tuesday-september-13-at-red-sox.html">his first outing</a>. He got behind 3-0 after three innings after a Wille Randolph RBI single in the second and a Jack Clark two RBI double in the third but worked out of bases loaded jams in the fifth and sixth innings without giving up any further runs. Meanwhile a pair of RBI singles - one by Cal Ripken in the fourth and the other by Pete Stanicek in the fifth - brought the Birds to within a run of tying the game. But ultimately they fell short. Dave Righetti came in in the ninth inning and notched his 23rd save of the season by striking out Eddie Murray, Butch Davis and Mickey Tettleton to end the game.<br />
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I spent the evening at JFK Stadium in Philadelphia at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Now!">the Amnesty International Human Rights Now! concert</a>. I got to see Tracy Chapman, Peter Gabriel, Sting and Bruce Springsteen. It was a pretty good show but way too big of a venue - I'm not a big fan of stadium concerts and JFK Stadium was probably the largest stadium I've ever seen a concert in.<br />
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One other significant event this day - out in California my sister gave birth to a little girl. Sarah was the first grandchild for my parents and was born on my grandmother's 76th birthday. Earlier this year Sarah gave birth to a little boy who was the first great-grandchild for my parents.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-2174184141885419362018-09-18T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-18T05:00:06.498-07:00Sunday September 18 at the Tigers<b>Opponent:</b> Detroit Tigers<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> W<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198809180.shtml">2-0</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> W1<br />
<b>Record:</b> 52-95<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 32<br />
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This afternoon's starting pitcher for the Orioles was the third starter who made their major league debut with the Birds this month. Bob Milacki had been the Orioles second pick in the June 1983 draft (secondary phase). He didn't start pitching in the minors until 1984 and had mixed results for his first couple seasons. He started 1988 with Double A Charlotte and went 3-1 in five starts before being promoted to Triple A Rochester and going 12-8 in 24 starts with the Red Wings. <br />
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Milacki's debut was something to write home about - he went eight innings and only gave up one hit - a double to Tom Brookens in the third inning. He struck out four and walked four.<br />
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A Pete Stanicek solo home run in the sixth inning gave the Birds the lead and an RBI single by Ken Gerhart in the seventh made the lead 2-0. Tom Neidenfuer relieved Milacki in the ninth inning and got his 18th save of the year.<br />
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The win snapped the Orioles' five game losing streak. It was the second five game losing streak they had had this season - the two streaks were tied for the longest losing streak the Birds had since they had opened the season 0-21.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-78076545447256062052018-09-17T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-17T05:00:07.411-07:00Saturday September 17 at the Tigers<b>Opponent:</b> Detroit Tigers<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198809170.shtml">3-7</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L5<br />
<b>Record:</b> 51-95<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 32<br />
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The Orioles scored first tonight, getting on the board with two runs in the first inning. With one out Brady Anderson tripled and scored on Cal Ripken's ground out. Eddie Murray then doubled and came around to score on Larry Sheets' single.<br />
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Mark Williamson had started the game for the Birds and pitched pretty well, giving up only three hits and a walk over five innings. The problems for Baltimore started after he came out of the game before the sixth inning. Don Aase came in and had nothing. He walked Dave Bergman to start the inning and Dwayne Murphy followed with a single. Bergman then scored on Alan Trammell's single. Orioles manager Frank Robinson went back to the bullpen and brought in Gregg Olson. Olson almost got out of the inning unscathed. He struck out Fred Lynn for the first out of the inning, then got Matt Nokes to ground into a force out of Trammell at second while Murphy moved to third base. But with Darrell Evans at the plate Olson got called for a balk which brought Murphy in with the tying run. Olson got Evans to ground out to end the inning.<br />
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Olson ran into problems in the next inning. Chet Lemon led off with a double and moved to third on Tom Brookens' ground out. He got Pat Sheridan to ground out for the second out before walking both Bergman and Murphy to load the bases. Trammell then lined a single to bring in Lemon and Bergman and move Murphy to third. The Tigers were now up 4-2. The Orioles went back to their bullpen and brought Mark Thurmond in to pitch to Lynn - a somewhat gutsy move since Lynn had hti a game winning home run against Thurmond the night before. But the Thurmond-Lynn rematch ended up unresolved - Murphy attempted to steal home and was thrown out for the third out of the inning.<br />
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The Birds went to Doug Sisk for the eighth inning and he walked Lynn. Nokes sacrificed Lynn to second with a bunt, bringing up Evans who was intentionally walked. Lemon then put the game out of reach with a three run home run. It was now 7-2 Tigers.<br />
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Eddie Murray led off the ninth inning with a home run and the Orioles managed to load the bases against Tigers reliever Willie Hernandez (who had gotten the win the night before on only one pitch) but Mike Henneman came in and got Pete Stanicek to ground out to end the game. Olson ended up with the loss - it was the first of his major league career.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-14075182686678452422018-09-16T05:00:00.001-07:002018-09-16T05:00:01.389-07:00Friday September 16 at the Tigers<b>Opponent:</b> Detroit Tigers<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET198809160.shtml">7-8</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L4<br />
<b>Record:</b> 51-94<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 31<br />
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Two days after the Orioles were beaten by a former teammate on the mound (Mike Boddicker) they were victimized by another ex-teammate. Fred Lynn, who had been traded to the Tigers just over two weeks earlier, went 3 for 5 tonight, scoring two runs and knocking in four.<br />
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Lynn and the Tigers drew first blood in this game. After Gary Pettis lead off the bottom of the first with a triple and Luis Salazar was hit by a pitch, Lynn hit a ground ball to second baseman Bill Ripken that forced Salazar at second but also brought Pettis in with the game's first run.<br />
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The Tigers lead didn't last long. Larry Sheets led off the second inning with a solo home run off Tigers starter Jack Morris. Morris would run into more trouble in the third. After Bill Ripken flew out to start the frame, Joe Orsulak singled and came around to score on Brady Anderson's double. After Cal Ripken walked, Eddie Murray came up and connected for his 26th home run of the season - a three run shot that put the Birds up 5-1. The home run knocked Morris out of the game after 2 1/3 innings - Tigers manager Sparky Anderson went to the bullpen and brought in Paul Gibson who got out of the inning without giving up any more runs.<br />
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The Tigers got a run back in their half of the third off the bat of Lynn again. Two batters after Pettis led off the inning with a double, Lynn hit a single that brought him in from second. The Orioles though scored another run in the fourth inning on an RBI single from Anderson, keeping the Birds lead at four runs.<br />
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The Tigers started coming back against Orioles starter Jeff Ballard. Larry Herndon led off the fourth with a home run. Two batters later Tom Brookens tripled and then came into score on Jim Walewander's sacrifice fly. The O's lead was now only 6-4.<br />
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In the next inning the Tigers tied the game up and Lynn was involved of course. He singled with one out and then scored when Dwayne Murphy followed with a two run home run. The blast knocked Ballard out of the game. Jay Tibbs came in to relieve him and like Gibson a little earlier he got out of the inning without any more damage.<br />
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The game remained tied at six until the top of the ninth. With one out, Anderson hit his second double of the game and moved to third when Tigers shortstop Salazar misplayed the throw from the outfield. Cal Ripken was intentionally walked and Eddie Murray hit a ground ball to first baseman Dave Bergman that looked like it was going to be an inning ending double play, Bergman threw the ball to Salazar covering second to force Ripken but Salazar threw the ball away for his second error of the inning - Anderson scored the go-ahead run and Murray ended up at second. Sparky Anderson went to his bullpen again and replaced Mike Henneman with Willie Hernandez who got Sheets to ground out on his first pitch to close out the inning.<br />
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I'm curious now about a decision that Orioles manager Frank Robinson made going into the bottom of the ninth. Or rather a decision he didn't make. With a one run lead I would have expected him to have brought in Tom Neidenfuer, the closer, to close out the game. He didn't though. He left Mark Thurmond on the mound. Thurmond had relieved Tibbs in the seventh and hadn't given up any hits although he did walk two batters in the ninth. I'm not sure why Robinson didn't bring in Neidenfuer though.<br />
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Of course, the way 1988 went for the Orioles it probably didn't matter. Salazar led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and Lynn completed his night of tormenting his former team by crushing a two run game winning home run to deep right field, making the final score 8-7. Willie Hernandez got credit for the win after throwing only one pitch.<br />
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Sabra and I went out this evening to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pratt_Street_Power_Plant">Power Plant</a> in Baltimore which at the time was a night club - it's now a Barnes & Noble. I was able to win a free beer by knowing that Curt Schilling and Pete Harnisch were the answer to the question "Who are the two pitchers who made their big league debuts this month for the Orioles?" It's nice that occasionally paying constant attention to this stuff pays off...NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-85482013438434017062018-09-15T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-15T05:00:02.945-07:00Thursday September 15 - Off DayThe Orioles were off on this day as they prepared for a three game weekend series in Detroit. This would be the last scheduled off day for the team this season.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-41035840319595322022018-09-14T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-14T05:00:04.092-07:00Wednesday September 14 at the Red Sox<b>Opponent:</b> Boston Red Sox<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS198809140.shtml">3-4</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L3<br />
<b>Record:</b> 51-93<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 30.5<br />
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Tonight was the Mike Greenwell show. The Red Sox left fielder went 4 for 4, hitting for the cycle and scoring three runs.<br />
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The Red Sox starting pitcher this evening former Oriole Mike Boddicker who had been traded to Boston back at the end of July. This was Boddicker's first start ever against his former team. He had a bit of a rough going early on. With one out in the second inning he loaded the bases by walking Larry Sheets and Mickey Tettleton and giving up a single to Jim Traber. Rick Schu then came through with a single that brought in Sheets and Tettleton to put the O's up 2-0. Boddicker struck out Bill Ripken and got Joe Orsulak to ground out to get out of the inning without giving up any more runs.<br />
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Greenwell led off the bottom of the second with a solo home run to cut the Birds' lead in half. Boston pulled ahead a couple innings later. After Dwight Evans struck out to open the fourth, Greenwell hit a shot into the right field corner that bounced into the stands for a ground rule double. Ellis Burks followed with a single that moved Greenwell to third. Burks then stole second with Jim Rice at the plate. Rice hit a sacrifice fly that scored Greenwell with the tying run and then Larry Parrish put the Red Sox up by a run when Burks scored on his single. But the Orioles came back in the top of the fifth, tying the game at 3-3 on a sacrifice fly by Eddie Murray that scored Brady Anderson (who had been acquired from Boston in the Boddicker trade).<br />
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Boston went up for good in the sixth inning. Greenwell led off the inning with a ball that was misplayed in deep left-center field by Sheets. Greenwell ended up on a third and was given credit for a triple. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Burks to put the Red Sox up 4-3.<br />
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Greenwell led off the bottom of the eighth with a single to complete his cycle but for the first time in the game he failed to score. <br />
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Boddicker ended up going seven innings against his former team tonight, giving up three runs (only two of which were earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out five. He got his 12th win of the season - it was his sixth win since joining the Red Sox.<br />
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Here's a YouTube clip showing Greenwell's four hits from that night:<br />
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<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KkKfD92hCoU" width="560"></iframe><br />
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My friend Steve had moved up to Boston at the beginning of the month and was at this game.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-14391413649393362322018-09-13T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-13T05:00:04.154-07:00Tuesday September 13 at the Red Sox<b>Opponent:</b> Boston Red Sox<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS198809130.shtml">4-6</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L2<br />
<b>Record:</b> 51-92<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 29.5<br />
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Tonight's starting pitcher for the Orioles was another player making his major league debut. Pete Harnisch had been a first round pick for Baltimore in the 1987 draft out of Fordham University and had rapidly moved through the minors. He started the 1988 season in Double A with Charlotte and after 20 started moved up to Triple A Rochester. He would end up packaged with his fellow 1988 MLB debuter Curt Schilling and Steve Finley in the infamous trade with the Astros in the 1990-91 offseason for Glenn Davis . Harnisch would eventually spend 14 seasons in the majors with the Orioles, Astros, Mets and Reds.<br />
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His debut didn't go particularly well. He walked Wade Boggs to start the game but got out of the first without giving up any runs. He gave up two singles in the second but again didn't give up a run. His luck ran out in the third. Boggs lead off the inning with a double and was sacrificed to third on a bunt by Marty Barrett. Dwight Evans flew out for the second out but Harnisch then walked Mike Greenwell and Ellis Burks to load the bases. Jim Rice then unloaded them by crushing a grand slam to deep left-center field. Surprisingly Orioles manager Frank Robinson left Harnisch in the game and he struck out Larry Parrish to end the inning. <br />
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Mickey Tettleton got the Birds on the board in the fourth inning with a two RBI double that cut the Red Sox lead in half. Harnisch rewarded his manager for his patience by settling down and retiring the Red Sox in order over the next three innings. But in the seventh inning he gave up another run on a pair of doubles by Jody Reed and Boggs to put the Sox up 5-2. This would prove costly as the Orioles cashed in on doubles by Joe Orsulak, Eddie Murray and Larry Sheets to score two runs in the top of eight, cutting the Red Sox lead to 5-4. <br />
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The Orioles now finally went to the bullpen in the bottom of the eighth, bringing in Mark Williamson to replace Harnish. Williamson ended up giving up a final run to Boston on an RBI single by Reed. Lee Smith closed out the game for his 25th save on the season. Harnisch ended up going 7 innings in his debut, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts and took the loss.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-73802808394583585212018-09-12T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-12T05:00:01.250-07:00Monday September 12 at the Red Soc<b>Opponent:</b> Boston Red Sox<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> L<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS198809120.shtml">1-6</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> L1<br />
<b>Record:</b> 51-91<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 28.5<br />
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Curt Schilling made his second career start this evening - it didn't go as well tonight as <a href="https://nightmare33rdstreet.blogspot.com/2018/09/wednesday-september-7-vs-red-sox.html">his first start against the Red Sox went last week</a>. He walked Wade Boggs on four pitches to start the game and gave up a single to the second hitter Marty Barrett. His third pitch to Dwight Evans got by catcher Mickey Tettleton and both runners moved up but ultimately it didn't matter because Evans drew a walk on four pitches as well to load the bases. Schilling got a break when Mike Greenwell hit a ground ball to second baseman Bill Ripken who was able to convert it into a double play although Boggs scored on the play. Ellis Burks followed with a single that brought Barrett in for the second run of the inning. With Todd Benzinger at the plate Schilling attempted to pick off Burks at first but he threw the ball away - Burks made it all the way to third on the throwing error. Two pitches later Burks came in to score when Schilling threw a wild pitch. Benzinger then mercifully struck out to end the inning. Boston scored three runs on two hits, two walks, an error, a passed ball and a wild pitch.<br />
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The second inning went only a little better for Schilling. After Larry Parrish flied out to start the inning Jody Reed hit a double. Rich Gedman flew out for the second out but Boggs hit an RBI single to score Reed. When Barrett followed with another single, Orioles manager Frank Robinson had seen enough. Doug Sisk came in to relieve Schilling and got Evans to fly out to end the inning. In the next inning Sisk gave up another run on an RBI double by Benzinger. The Red Sox led 5-0 after three innings.<br />
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Meanwhile Bruce Hurst was pitching pretty well for the Red Sox this evening. He scattered eight hits over the first six innings and struck out seven. But he ran into some trouble in the seventh inning. Tettleton started the inning with a single and after Ken Gerhart and Rick Schu flew out Pete Stanicek drew a walk. The Red Sox went to their bullpen and brought in Dennis Lamp. Lamp gave up a single to pinch hitter Larry Sheets to load the bases, then uncorked a wild pitch to bring Tettleton in with the Birds' first (and ultimately only) run of the game. Lamp got Cal Ripken to fly out to end the threat. Boston would get the run back in the eighth inning on an RBI single from Reed to make the final score 6-1. Hurst earned his 17th win of the season.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-26292801331390960702018-09-11T05:00:00.000-07:002018-09-11T05:00:09.132-07:00Sunday September 11 vs the Blue Jays<b>Opponent:</b> Toronto Blue Jays<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> W<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809110.shtml">4-2</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> W2<br />
<b>Record:</b> 51-90<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 27.5<br />
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For the third game in a row Toronto got on the board in the top of the first inning. Today Lloyd Moseby had a solo home run and Ernie Whitt had an RBI single to put the Jays up 2-0. But that would be all the runs that Toronto would get this afternoon. </div>
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Toronto's lead was short-lived. An Eddie Murray double in the bottom of the first brought Cal Ripken in with the Birds' first run of the game and the O's scored two more in the bottom of the second on an RBI single by Rick Schu and an RBI ground out with the bases loaded by Bill Ripken. The Birds extended their lead to 4-2 on a Joe Orsulak pinch hit RBI single in the 7th.</div>
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Meanwhile the Orioles pitching was shutting down the Blue Jays. After giving up four hits in the first inning, Baltimore starter Dave Schmidt and reliever Mark Thurmond only gave up four more hits the rest of the game and didn't issue any walks.</div>
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This was the last time the Orioles would win consecutive games in the 1988 season.</div>
NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4876315051242040471.post-81600826657344489352018-09-10T11:23:00.000-07:002018-09-10T11:23:02.656-07:00Saturday September 10 vs the Blue Jays<b>Opponent:</b> Toronto Blue Jays<br />
<b>Outcome:</b> W<br />
<b>Score:</b> <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BAL/BAL198809100.shtml">7-4</a><br />
<b>Streak:</b> W1<br />
<b>Record:</b> 50-90<br />
<b>Rank:</b> 7th<br />
<b>GB:</b> 28.5<br />
<br />
Toronto got things going this evening early. For the second consecutive game George Bell got an RBI in the top of the first - tonight it was an RBI single rather than a two run home run. And for the second consecutive evening the Orioles got a run in the bottom of the first - this time it was an RBI single by Eddie Murray. The score was tied 1-1 after one.<br />
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Toronto went ahead 2-1 in the top of the sixth on an RBI groundout by Tony Fernandez but the Orioles came back big time in the bottom of the inning. Jim Traber led off the frame with a double and Rick Schu followed with a single. Pete Stanicek then knocked in Traber with the tying run with a single. With Bill Ripken at the plate the O's pulled a double steal with both Schu and Stanicek moving up a base. Ripken then hit a ground ball to third baseman Kelly Gruber who made an error on his throw to first that allowed Ripken to make it all the way to second. Schu scored on the play to give the O's the lead although Stanicek only made it to third. Cal Ripken was intentionally walked to load the bases and Eddie Murray lofted a sacrifice fly that was deep enough to not only score Stanicek from third but also allowed both Ripkens to move up a base. Toronto starter Jeff Musselman's last act in the game was then to intentionally walk Mickey Tettleton to re-load the bases. Musselman was then replaced by Frank Willis who was greeted with a double by pinch hitter Joe Orsulak that scored both Ripkens and sent Tettleton to third. A sacrifice fly from Ken Gerhart plated Tettleton with the O's sixth run of the evening before Traber ended the inning he had started with a double with a line out. Baltimore now lead 7-2.<br />
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Toronto made it a little interesting in the ninth. Orioles closer Tom Neidenfuer came in to pitch despite it not being a save situation. Fred McGriff and Gruber hit back-to-back solo home runs to start the inning and after Tony Fernandez singled following a Manny Lee strikeout, Orioles manager Frank Robinson decided to replace Neidenfuer with Mark Thurmond who got Lloyd Moseby to groundout and move Fernandez to second. Robinson again went to the bullpen and brought in Mark Williamson to get the final out - a line out from pinch hitter Rick Leach.<br />
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I was at this game - I spent the weekend in Delaware and Sabra and I came down to Baltimore for the game. I don't have any newspaper clippings for this game for some reason - I'm guessing I came back home too late on Sunday to get that day's Sun paper.NPB Card Guyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01178497208404127283noreply@blogger.com0