Wednesday July 20 vs the White Sox - Rainout

After making up an earlier rained out game yesterday, the Orioles and White Sox had today's game rained out.  Since this was the Chicago's last visit to Baltimore this season and the game would have no bearing on the final standings, the game was never made up.

Tuesday July 19 vs the White Sox (2)

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Game 1
Outcome: W
Score: 6-4
Streak: W1
Record: 30-63
Rank: 7th
GB: 25.5
Game 2
Outcome: L
Score: 0-2
Streak: L1
Record: 30-64
Rank: 7th
GB: 25.5

For the second time in less than a week the Orioles were playing a twi-night doubleheader to make up an earlier rain out.  This time it was to make up the game that had been rained out on May 6th.  And for the second time in less than a week Mike Boddicker started the first game and came away with the victory.  And once again the team that won the game had fewer hits than the team that lost.

The White Sox got on the board first in game one when Steve Lyons hit an RBI double in third inning to score Gary Redus.  It looked like Chicago was going to blow the game open in the fourth when they loaded the bases with nobody out but Boddicker got Fred Manrique to line out for the first out and then got Redus to hit a sacrifice fly for the second out.  After walking Lyons to reload the bases he got Harold Baines to fly out to end the inning.  The White Sox now led 2-0 though. 

The Orioles came back in the bottom of the fourth, scoring their first run on three consecutive singles by Ken Gerhart, Pete Stanicek and Cal Ripken.  After Eddie Murray grounded into a double play it looked like White Sox starter Jerry Reuss was going to get out of the inning with only giving up the one run but Mickey Tettleton clubed a two run home run to put the Birds up 3-2.  Baltimore added three more runs in the sixth inning on a three run shot by Jim Traber.

The White Sox added solo home runs by Redus and Daryl Boston in the seventh and eighth innings respectively but that was all they got against Boddicker and Tom Neidenfuer.  Chicago had 12 hits to the Orioles 9 but the Orioles scored five of their six runs on home runs.  This would be Boddicker's final start at home for the Orioles and his final victory in a Baltimore uniform.

The nightcap didn't go as well for the Birds.  The Orioles batters could get nothing going against White Sox starter Bill Long, who held them to four hits and two walks.  Only one Baltimore base runner made it into scoring position - Murray singled in the fourth with one out and moved to second on a ground out by Larry Sheets - Jim Traber left him stranded there when he flew out to end the inning.

Meanwhile the White Sox were only faring a little better against Orioles starter Jay Tibbs.  Lyons reached to lead off the fourth on an error by Traber at first base.  Baines singled to move Lyons to third and Lyons came in to score when Dan Pasqua ground into a double play.  The White Sox added a second run on a solo home run from Baines in the ninth, the only extra base hit of the game for either team.  Final score was 2-0 White Sox.

Wednesday July 6 at the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 1-4
Streak: L1
Record: 25-58
Rank: 7th
GB: 26

Not much to say about this one.  Mike Boddicker started for the Birds and didn't pitch terrible but the team didn't hit - they only had four hits the entire game and half of them were in the ninth inning.  Greg Walker got the White Sox on the board in the second with a solo home run and Fred Manrique added another run later in the same inning with an RBI double.  Gary Redus had an RBI triple in the fifth to make it 3-0 and a Dan Pasqua sacrifice fly in the eighth made it 4-0.  Fred Lynn hit a solo home run in the top of the ninth for the Orioles' sole run in the game.

Tuesday July 5 at the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: W
Score: 5-1
Streak: W1
Record: 25-57
Rank: 7th
GB: 25

This game was pretty much a mirror image of the previous day's game.  This time the Orioles got out to a 5-0 lead on a Jim Traber sacrifice fly in the first, a bases loaded walk to Cal Ripken in the fourth and an RBI single by Bill Ripken and two run home run by Cal in the sixth.  The White Sox scored their one run on a sacrifice fly by Gary Redus in the bottom of the sixth.  Orioles starter Jose Bautista had one of the best outings by a Baltimore starter that year - he had a complete game victory, striking out six while giving up one run on only five hits and no walks.

Monday July 4 at the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 1-5
Streak: L1
Record: 24-57
Rank: 7th
GB: 26

The Orioles hit the halfway point of the season on Independence Day and celebrated by dropping the series opener in Chicago.  Mark Salas got the White Sox on the board with a solo home run in the second and Dan Pasqua made it 2-0 in the third with an RBI single that scored Harold Baines.  The White Sox put up three more in the sixth when Pasqua and Daryl Boston kicked off the inning with back-to-back doubles and when Gary Redus hit a two RBI single with the bases loaded four batters later.  The Orioles got their lone run in the eighth when Eddie Murray hit an RBI single that scored Joe Orsulak and chased White Sox starter Melido Perez from the game. 

May 9 vs the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 0-3
Streak: L1
Record: 4-26
Rank: 7th
GB: 15.5

In a season this bad, you look for little victories.  After being shut out three times in their first 11 games, the Orioles had managed to score at least one run in each of their next 18 games.  That streak ended tonight.  Jerry Reuss, who had had some big years with the Pirates and Dodgers in the 1970's and early 1980's, and Bobby Thigpen combined to keep the Orioles off the board, holding their offense to just four hits and one walk.  It was Reuss's 200th career win, making him the second pitcher in MLB history (after former Oriole Milt Pappas) to win 200 games without ever winning 20 in a season.  Mike Boddicker took the loss, dropping his record to 0-7 in as many starts.  Dan Pasqua did all the damage for the White Sox this evening, driving in the first run of the game in the top of the second with a sacrifice fly that scored Greg Walker.  Two innings later Pasqua brought Walker in again as well as himself with a two run home run.

The only other significant thing about this game besides Reuss's 200th win was that it was the Oriole debut of catcher Mickey Tettleton.  Tettleton would take over the regular catching duties from Terry Kennedy for much of the rest of the season and would be a major contributor to the Orioles magical 1989 season.  But of course we didn't know that at the time.

I was at this game (it was "Three Buck Night" after all) and I remember almost nothing about it.  This was the fourth game I had gone to this season and it was the third one that I'd seen Boddicker start in - I was starting to notice a pattern.

Since I was at the game, I saved the game story from the next day's Washington Post:

The Orioles' woeful season had been going on long enough that they had time to make it to the comic's page.  Here's this day's Tank McNamara strip dedicated to the team:

May 8 vs the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: W
Score: 6-5
Streak: W1
Record: 4-25
Rank: 7th
GB: 15

This game was a bit of a roller coaster, featuring the Orioles getting ahead early, falling behind mid-game, going ahead late but then blowing the save but then winning the game in extra innings.  The Birds took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Cal Ripken hit a home run (his sixth of the year) with his brother Bill on base.  The White Sox cut the lead in half in the top of the second on a Daryl Boston RBI double and then went ahead two innings later when Boston had a two run home run.  Harold Baines led off the fifth with a solo home run which pushed Chicago's lead to 4-2. 

But the Orioles fought back in the bottom of the seventh.  With one out, Carl Nichols and Rick Schu hit back-to-back singles and Pete Stanicek hit a double that brought Nichols in to score.  Pinch hitter Fred Lynn hit a sacrifice fly that scored Schu and moved Stanicek to third.  That heads up base running by Stanicek paid off when White Sox pitcher Jon Davis uncorked a wild pitch and brought him in with the go-ahead run.

Unfortunately Doug Sisk couldn't hold the lead in the top of the ninth.  Ivan Calderon led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a passed ball by catcher Terry Kennedy, who had just come into the game as a pinch hitter for Nichols in the bottom of the eighth.  Greg Walker then hit a game tying single.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the tenth when Cal Ripken led off with a walk.  Eddie Murray followed up with a single to push Ripken into scoring position and then both runners moved up when White Sox pitcher Bobby Thigpen balked while pitching to Ken Gerhart.  With runners now on second and third manager Frank Robinson decided to pinch hit for Gerhart with Keith Hughes.  The White Sox countered by intentionally walking Hughes to load the bases.  Joe Orsulak then hit a single scoring Ripken with the game winning run.  Improbably the Orioles now had two walk off wins in their last three games.  Two of the their four wins on the season so far were walk offs.  And the Orioles actually had a winning week - they were 3-2 in the space from Monday, May 2nd (Fantastic Fans night) to Sunday, May 8th.  It would not be a sign of better things to come but it was a rare good week for the team.

May 7 vs the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 7-11
Streak: L1
Record: 3-25
Rank: 7th
GB: 16

This one was not pretty.  The Orioles came out of the gate swinging, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first of RBI doubles by Cal Ripken and Larry Sheets and a run producing groundout by Keith Hughes.  The White Sox tied it up in the top of the fourth on an RBI double play by Dan Pasqua and a two run home run by Ken Williams.  But the Orioles came back with four runs in the bottom of the frame on a two run home run from Hughes and a bases loaded double by Eddie Murray.  Unfortunately for the Orioles, their offense stopped at this point - they only got two hits and three walks the rest of the game against the White Sox bullpen (Bill Long, John Davis and Bobby Thigpen) and a caught stealing and two double plays made it so that trio of pitchers only faced two batters over the minimum.  Meanwhile the White Sox offense mounted a comeback in the top of the fifth - a pair of two run home runs by Harold Baines and Carlton Fisk tied the game back up and an RBI double from Donnie Hill put the ChiSox up for good.  They added three more runs in the top of the sixth when Greg Walker hit a double that scored two runs and Williams had an RBI groundout.

May 6 vs the White Sox - Rained Out

For the second straight day the Orioles game was rained out.  This game against the White Sox was made up as part of a double header on July 19th.

May 1 at the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 3-7
Streak: L2
Record: 1-23
Rank: 7th
GB: 15.5

The Orioles streak of scoring first that had gone on for five consecutive games ended early in this game.  For the second time in three outings, Orioles starter Mike Morgan was unable to get out of the first inning.  Lance Johnson led off the bottom of the first with a double.  Ozzie Guillen laid down a bunt to move Johnson to third but he ended up beating it out for an infield single.  Harold Baines grounded a single up the middle to bring in Johnson and Ivan Calderon followed up with a three run home run (his second home run against the Orioles in as many days).  Morgan stuck out Greg Walker for the first out of the inning but was lifted after Dan Pasqua singled and was replaced by Bill Scherrer.  Scherrer got the Orioles out of the inning without giving up any more runs but ran into problems in the bottom of the third.  A walk to Calderon and a single by Walker started the inning.  With one out Mark Salas doubled to knock in Calderon and Ken Williams followed up with a single that brought in Walker and Salas.  The score was now 7-0 after three innings.  The Orioles were able to claw back a little, scoring one run in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Keith Hughes to bring in Eddie Murray and two more in the seventh on a single by Fred Lynn and back to back doubles by Hughes and Terry Kennedy.

April 30 at the White Sox

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: L
Score: 1-4
Streak: L1
Record: 1-22
Rank: 7th
GB: 15.5

For the fifth consecutive game the Orioles scored first although unlike the previous four games they didn't do it until the second inning.  Tito Landrum hit a one out triple and then scored on Carl Nichols' sacrifice fly.  The lead didn't last long - Ivan Calderon led off the bottom of the second with a home run to tie the game up and a double by Greg Walker and a single by Carlton Fisk but the White Sox up 2-1.  The White Sox scored their third run two innings later when Ken Williams tripled and Dan Pasqua reached on an error by second baseman Pete Stanicek which brought Williams in with an unearned run.  Chicago scored their fourth and final run in the bottom of the eighth when Gary Redus hit a triple (the third one of the game between the two teams) and Ozzie Guillen brought him in with a sacrifice fly.

The Orioles wrapped up the month of April with a 1-22 record.  They were outscored by their opponents 133 to 54.

April 29 at the White Sox - Hallelujah At Last

Opponent: Chicago White Sox
Outcome: W
Score: 9-0
Streak: W1
Record: 1-21
Rank: 7th
GB: 15.5

In the end it was a laugher.

It might be hard to tell from the fact that I'm writing a blog about the Orioles but my favorite team actually is the Boston Red Sox.  The Red Sox famously went 86 years  between World Series Championships.  Before they won in 2004 I always assumed that when they did finally win the Series that it would be in a tight, hard fought Series that would go the full seven games.  Instead it was almost anti-climatic - they won in a four game sweep in which they never trailed in any game.  (The ALCS that year was a different story however.)

For the Orioles the first win of the 1988 season was also anti-climatic although I'm sure no one was complaining.  For the fourth consecutive game the Orioles scored in the top of the first - Eddie Murray had a two run home run - but this time they kept the other team from scoring at all.  The O's made it 3-0 in the fifth when Pete Stanicek scored on a wild pitch and then exploded for four runs in the top of the seventh when the White Sox experienced the kind of pitching and defensive lapses that the Orioles were unfortunately familiar with.  Joe Orsulak led off the inning with a walk and Stanicek doubled to knock him in and White Sox starter Jack McDowell out of the game.  Reliever John Davis hit Bill Ripken with a pitch - apparently hard enough to put Ripken out of the game as Tito Landrum came in to pinch run for him.  Cal Ripken then hit a grounder to third base which Ken Williams committed a throwing error on bring Stanicek in to score and moving Landrum to third.  Murray hit a grounder to first for a fielder's choice that resulted in Landrum being thrown out at the plate.  After Fred Lynn walked to load the bases, Larry Sheets reached on what was scored as a fielders choice but I have no idea what actually happened.  Ripken scored and no outs were recorded.  Terry Kennedy brought in Murray with a sacrifice fly before Craig Worthington grounded out to end the inning.  The Orioles scored four runs on one hit, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and an error.  The Orioles capped their scoring with two in the top of the ninth on a solo home run by Cal and an RBI single by Terry Kennedy.  Mark Williamson and Dave Schmidt combined to shut out the White Sox on four hits and no walks.

Here's the play that ended the game:



At WIYY in Baltimore, Bob Rivers, who had been on the air now for 258 hours "uncorked champagne and drank deeply from his Orioles souvenir cup, cued up “I’m Free” by The Who and screamed into the mike, 'I’m going home!'"