THIS DAY IN SP78 HISTORY
May 12, 2013

A threat of rain at Shea Stadium in New York didn’t stop the Reds from jumping out to a 5-0 lead against the Mets (thanks in part to a Rick Auerbach grand slam) and cruising to a 5-2 win, making a winner of Paul Moskau (7-6) and helping Doug Bair to his 16th save. Run-scoring hits from Elliott Maddox and Tom Grieve put New York on the board in the eighth, but it wasn’t enough to prevent NY starter Nino Espinosa from losing his seventh of the season. The game was played in the morning at site AZ8, while I listened to Huey Lewis & The News on my record player.  (Game #1299,  7/25/78)

September Preliminary Report: Cubs

• After a solid start to the SP78 season, where they stayed within reach of the division-leading Phillies for three months, the Cubs have lost 35 of their last 57 games, dropping from three games out on July 1st to 21½ games out on August 31st. And with just 30 games remaining on their schedule, only a comeback miracle could send them to a first-place finish in the NL East.

• The Cubs will stick with the 5-man rotation they used in August: Rick Reuschel, Ray Burris, Dennis Lamp, Mike Krukow, and Dave Roberts. Reliever Manny Seoane will be recalled from the Wichita Aeros to supply backup in the bullpen.

• With his next stolen base, shortstop Ivan DeJesus will tie Hall-of-Famer Frank Chance for the all-time Cubs record for thefts in a season, with 67; third baseman Rodney Scott is close behind, with 62. Chance has held the record since 1903.

• The Astros-Cubs doubleheader at Wrigley Field on September 3rd will not only feature the final NL East vs NL West game of the regular season, but Game 1 will be the 15,000th game played in Cubs history, dating back to the formation of the National League in 1876. The Cubs hold the record for the most games played continuously by a professional baseball team in one city.

• Slugging outfielder Dave Kingman needs just twelve RBI to reach 100 for the season, the first time in his career he would achieve that milestone.

• AAA players making their season debuts during the September call-ups will be catcher Mike Gordon, third baseman Mike Sember, outfielder Scot Thompson, and infielder Rudy Meoli. For Gordon and Sember, it will be their last season in the major leagues.

• The Cubs will play 17 of their final 30 games at at home, with the September 3rd twinbill slated to be televised on C-SPAN.

September Preliminary Report: Braves

• With a record of 52-79, the last-place Braves have the worst won-lost total in the National League, and at 25½ games back with 31 games remaining, have a slim-to-none chance of claiming the NL West pennant. They’ll play out the season string and assume the role of spoiler against the front-running Dodgers, Padres, and Giants, playing 14 games against them during the first half of September.

• The starting pitching will remain the same as it did in late August, with a 4-man rotation consisting of Phil Niekro, Larry McWilliams, Preston Hanna, and Frank LaCorte. Manager Bobby Cox plans to use Mickey Mahler, Eddie Solomon, and Tommy Boggs as spot starters.

• Slugging outfielder Dale Murphy, who was moved up to the clean-up spot in the lineup on August 26th, will remain there when the season resumes September 1st. Though batting just .233 for the season, Murphy leads the club with 28 home runs and 61 RBI.

• Players from the AAA Richmond Braves who will be making their SP78 debuts during the September call-ups include relief pitchers Mike Davey and Duane Theiss, and outfielder Eddie Miller.

• Shortstop Darrel Chaney is currently the only Braves player hitting over .300, with a .303 average over 121 games played.

• After spending seven years out of baseball, and returning to start seven games for the Braves in June and July, veteran pitcher Jim Bouton has announced his retirement, effective after the Richmond Braves end their regular season on September 4th. Bouton will not be included on the Braves 40-man roster, and will end his month-long major league comeback stint with a record of 2-4 and an ERA of 4.89.

• The Braves will open the month with a scheduled doubleheader against the Pirates in Pittsburgh, part of a four-game weekend series at Three Rivers Stadium. All four games will be televised in Atlanta on WTCG 17 and nationally on C-SPAN.

TWISP Notes #83

TWISP Notes
March 16, 2024

• The month of August has ended, with 372 games played — including rainouts and exhibitions — between August, 2014 and December, 2023. Overall, there have been 1,767 games played over 43 years, with 352 regular season games remaining in September before the postseason begins in October.

• Also, I played just 26 SP78 games in 2023, exactly half of the 52 I played in 2022. The low number can be attributed to the schedule having just a few dates remaining for August, limiting the amount of games available for me to play before the year was out.

• The much-anticipated fourth and final match-up of the year between Ron Guidry of the Yankees and Jim Palmer of the Orioles ended in anti-climactic fashion, after Guidry was ejected in the sixth while protecting a 1-0 lead. The O’s then bombed three NY relievers for six runs over the next two innings, good for a 6-1 final and a sweep of their 3-game month-ending series. With the win, Palmer took the head-to-head series against Guidry two games to one, with one no-decision.

• In the same game, hot-hitting O’s outfielder Carlos Lopez extended his hitting streak to 17 games, connecting for a single in the sixth off Yankees reliever Sparky Lyle. It’s the ninth longest streak in the AL this season, and 15th longest overall.

• Rosters for each SP78 team will expand up to 40 players beginning September 1st, with some call-ups delayed several days due to post-season games being played in the International League, the American Association, and the Pacific Coast League.

• A Barry Evans triple with nobody out in the last of the ninth scored Dave Winfield from first with the winning run, giving the Padres a 3-2 victory over the Expos and allowing them to wrap up August in a first-place tie with the Dodgers in the NL West race. Not far behind are the dark-horse Giants, at 3½ games out.

• The Cardinals finished August with a record of 19-10, by far their best monthly won-lost mark of the SP78 season. Only a 5-hit shutout performance against them by Cincinnati’s Fred Norman on August 31st, good for a 2-0 win, kept them from a milestone 20 wins.

• With his next strikeout, Astros ace J.R. Richard will be the first SP78 pitcher to reach 200 K’s this season; during the actual 1978 campaign, he finished the year with 303, leading both leagues. He’ll make his next start against the Cubs on September 3rd.

• Gaylord Perry of the Padres is also closing in on a milestone strikeout: with five strikeouts in his last outing, Perry is now just nine away from the 3,000th of his career.

• September preliminary reports for each team will begin posting this month, starting with the Braves and wrapping up sometime this summer with the Blue Jays.

Attention Fans!
Be there when the Braves and Pirates open the month of September
with a Friday night twinbill at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh!

Game Site History Added: CA2

It’s been nearly 40 years since my friend Steve P and I traveled to Oakland to attend the 1987 All-Star Game, and just as long since we played our last SP78 game there, at a small motel south of of the Bay Area. Click here to read about that game, and the site where it was played.