New York Daytraders (Mets) 2nd NL Alpha (3rd Seed)
Daytraders vs Atlanta Bananas (Braves)
Game 1 at Fulton County Stadium Atlanta
The Daytraders began their quest to return to World Series Glory with Roger Nelson facing Catfish Hunter and in the first Atlanta put a run on the board after a Billy Williams Single was followed by a Caesar Cedeno double Williams beat Stargell’s throw allowing Cedeno to get to 3rd but after an intentional walk to Ralph Garr retired Dick Billings to escape with a single run. NY got it right back with a Ted Simmons solo shot in the 2nd and took the lead in the 3rd when Willie Stargell’s double plated Willie Mays who reached on an Alomar error. Those two runs would hold up as Nelson would only give up two more hits the rest of the way while a rare Aurelio Rodriguez error would set up a successful suicide squeeze by Leo Cardenas in the 9th for insurance that accounted for the final score
Daytraders 3 Bananas 1
WP Nelson (1-0) LP Hunter (0-1) HR none
Game two at Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta
Atlanta fans were treated to a spectacular pitchers duel as Steve Carlton and Ferguson Jenkins each only gave up a single run over 8 and 8 2/3 inning respectively. The Daytraders blew a great opportunity when Cardenas attempt to squeeze in Norm Cash in the 2nd failed and Tito Fuentes managed to catch up to an OF flare that would have plated Ted Simmons from 3rd. Atlanta struck in the 6th on a Billy Williams HR and NY’s tied it in the 9th on a Norm Cash one out double in the 9th that tied things up Rollie Fingers came in to get the game into extras and pitched into the 12th. In the bottom part of the inning the Daytraders turned to starter Tom Seaver in the 12th who promptly gave up a leadoff triple to Aurelio Rodriguez and a double to Dick Billings to even up the series.
Atlanta 2 NY 1 WP Reynolds (1-0) LP Seaver (0-1) HR Williams (1)
Game three at Shea Stadium NYC
Things started strong for the Bananas as Ralph Garr started the game with a single and Dusty Baker doubled him home. A Craig Nettles error got Baker to 3rd where he scored on a fielders choice to give them a 2-0 lead. Unexpectedly after retiring the Daytraders in order in the 1st Atlanta unexpectedly pinch hit for starter Dave McNally forcing them to go to the bullpen to the delight of NY fans, but not for long as four different Atlanta pitchers held the brokers to a single run while Billy Williams would hit 2 Home runs and Caesar Cedeno one more on the way to a solid 5-1 victory. Starter Mike Cuellar would pitch the final three for a save
Atlanta 5 NY 1 WP Montgomery (1-0) LP Niekro (0-1) Sv Cuellar (1) HR Williams 2 (3), Cedeno (1)
Game four at Shea Stadium NYC
With the season on the line the traders went to game one winner Roger Nelson who would go head to head against Catfish Hunter for the entire game. Atlanta threatened in the 1st getting runners on 1st & 3rd with one out before Nelson k’d Cedeno and got Fuentes to foul out. The Daytraders took the lead in the bottom of the frame on a Wayne Garrett solo shot but Atlanta instantly answered on an Aurelio Rodriguez single and an error by Garrett which put runners on the corners for Ralph Garr who would stroke a bases clearing double to give them the lead. Nelson would aid his own cause with a leadoff double drilled down the line and and would score on a one out double from Leron Lee to tie the game and the Daytraders would regain the lead on a leadoff 4th inning homer to right center from Cash that was simply crushed. That would be all she wrote and both Nelson and Hunter bore down and shut down the opposition, the difference being that Nelson had the lead when it happened.
New York 3 Atlanta 2 WP Nelson (2-0) LP Hunter (2-0) HR Garrett (1) Cash (1)
Game 5 at Fulton County Stadium Atlanta
The series finale would feature the same matchup as game 2 Carlton vs Jenkins but not the same result. While Carlton again pitched a gem giving up but a single run in the 8th the Daytraders got to Jenkins early scoring 2 in the first thanks to a Wayne Garrett double and another key error by Rodriguez that put him on 3rd and Mays on 2nd with nobody out. Jimmy Wynn would single in Garrett and Willie Stargell would plate Mays on a sac fly. In the 2nd Atlanta again too a chance with two on and two out pinch hitting for starter Jenkins with Cleon Jones who would strike out looking leaving a pair on. Dave McNally who was pulled early in his start came in. He walked Mays and Jimmy Wynn stuck again driving a ball over the head of Cedeno that landed just out of his reach scoring Mays and getting the fleet footed Wynn to 2nd who would move to 3rd on a grounder and score on a Ted Simmons Sac fly. A Tito Fuentes error led to a 5th run and the Daytraders would add one more before the Bananas got onto the board too little too late sending giving NY a chance for their 2nd Pennant in 4 years.
Daytraders 5 Bananas 1 WP Carlton (1-0) LP Jenkins (0-1) HR none
Daytraders win 3-2
San Francisco Giants 1st place NL Beta (1st seed)
Game 1 at Candlestick Park San Francisco
Game one was a battle of Aces and it showed. Giants pitcher Jim Palmer pitched a solid 8 innings giving up only two runs on a single to George Scott scoring Rod Carew in the 1st and a solo shot by Johnny Briggs in the 7th, but Gaylord Perry was dominated the Giants lineup surrendering only 4 hits while striking out 11 while holding them 0-2 with runners in scoring position.
Pirates 2 Giants 0 WP Perry (1-0) LP Palmer (0-1) HR Briggs (1)
Game 2 at Candlestick Park San Francisco
Giants fans were treated to another pitchers duel as Mickey Lolich (6 IP 4 H 1 R ) and Steve Blass (7 IP 2 H 1 R) mowed the opposition down Kison singling in Rod Carew who had lead off with a double in the 2nd for their run while the Giants got a double from Chris Speier scoring Tony Taylor who had hit for Lolich but Ron Woods nailed Rick Monday on a perfect throw cutting him down and keeping the score even. But the key swing of the game didn’t only went a few inches when Darryll Evans would foul the first pitch off of Pirates Catcher Bill Freehan. He would leave the game and would be out for the rest of the series and Tom Haller would replace him and would be behind the plate in the bottom of the 11th when Steve Barber would come in with runners on 2nd and 3rd and one out and would throw a breaking ball to pinch hitter Tommie Agee that would be in the dirt, a ball that Freehan might have handled but Haller could not. It went to the backstop and pinch runner Gary Matthews who came in for Ellie Rodriguez who led off the inning with a double would come in with the winning run.
Giants 2 Pirates 1 WP Gusti (1-0) LP Marshall (0-1)
Game 3 at Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh
The series came to Pittsburgh and the Giants went after Bill Singer right away. Rick Monday singled to start the game. He moved to 2nd on a one out Darrell Evans grounder and scored on a Bobby Bonds single. In the bottom of the 1st starter Dock Ellis walked leadoff hitter Johnny Briggs, Rod Carew singled to right sending Briggs to 3rd and moved to 2nd on a Aaron grounder. Joe Lahoud singled in Briggs and to everyone’s surprise manager Kevin Hazan pulled Ellis apparently seeing something he didn’t like. He liked it less when shortstop Chris Speier misplayed a ball hit by pinch hitter Scott giving Pit a 2-1 lead.
It would stay that way till the bottom of the 7th when Bill Russell singled off of Steve Stone an Coco Laboy hit for Jim Colborn and hit a ball that just cleared the left field fence to make it 4-1. San Francisco threatened in the 9th vs Mike Marshall. Bonds led off with a single. Killebrew got just under a Marshall fastball for the first out at the warning track. Ellie Rodriguez drew a walk to put the tying run at the plate with one out but Marshall would strike out Garry Maddux looking and would retire rookie pinch hitter Dave Kingman on a grounder to 3rd giving Pittsburgh a chance to clinch at home.
Pirates 4 Giants 1 WP Singer (1-0) LP Ellis (0-1) SV Marshall (1)
The Pirates put Cy Young favorite on the mound for game 4 to try to win it all at home while the Giants needing two to save their season threw Jim Willoughby on the mound to save their season. Willoughby rose to the occasion striking out 12 while giving up only 6 hits and one run on a Rennie Stennett single although he had some defensive help as Terry Harmon made a great play in the 2nd to save a run Meanwhile Perry was victimized by Bobby Bonds who scored on a groundout in the 2nd and a Killebrew single in the 6th. The score was 2-1 in the 7th when Darrell Evans hit took a ball that cleared the left field fence by just a few feet scoring 3 to give San Fran a solid 5-1 lead and the win.
San Francisco 5 Pittsburgh 1 WP Willoughby (1-0) LP Perry (1-1) HR none
Game 5 at Candlestick Park San Francisco
The last game of the series was the wildest. Ace Jim Palmer starting for the Giants against Bruce Kison. The Bucks wasted no time with Joe Lahoud singling in Johnny Briggs for a 1-0 lead but Hank Aaron with two on and no out hit into a 4-6-3 DP and Tom Haller grounded out to end the threat. In the bottom of the inning Bobby Bonds would give the Giants the lead driving in Rick Monday (single) and Darrell Evans (walk) with a double and going to 3rd on a Lahoud throwing error ready to score on the Harmon Killebrew single. Down two runs against Palmer Pittsburgh pinch hit for Kison in the 2nd and called on Jim Colburn to hold SF down. He retired the first two he faced when Rick Monday tripled and Chris Speier walked but young shortstop Bill Russell rushed a throw to first for an error that scored Monday for the 3rd run and putting two men on for Bobby Bonds who doubled to left to drive in two more and when Harmon Killerview homered to right center driving in Bonds The Giants had an 8-1 lead with Palmer on the mound which is as close to a sure thing as you can get.
Or so everyone thought but nobody told Hank Aaron who after Palmer walked Carew and Lahoud back to back in the 3rd with one out hit a 424 foot shot to cut the lead to 8-4 and in the 4th Jose Cruz lead off with a double to right and only a nice play by Garry Maddox kept him from scoring, at least temporarily. Ellie Rodriguez would give up a passed ball but it wouldn’t matter as George Scott would would triple to right center scoring Cruz making the score 8-5 and chasing Palmer. Steve stone would come in and walk Johnny Briggs and after getting a critical fly out from Carew would give up another single to Joe Lahoud scoring Scott and now it was 8-6 with Hank Aaron representing the tying run up next. Stone remained in the game long enough to intentionally walk Aaron putting runners on 1st and 2nd for John Strohmayer who would come in to face Tom Haller who flied to right ending the inning but now it was 8-6 with no Jim Palmer. But while Palmer was out of the game Killerbrew was not and pulled a ball out to left off of Bob Johnson to get the lead back to 3. The question was could the Giants Bullpen hold? Strohmayer gave way to Phil Hennigan and Hennigan to Eddie Watt and while Pirate pitchers from Mike Marshall to Ramon Hernandez dodged bullets and Jose Cruz threw out Bobby Bonds at the plate the Pirate batters would not have another batter reach base after the intentional walk to Aaron.
Giants 9 Pirates 6 WP Stone (1-0) LP Kison (0-1) SV Watt (1) HR Killebrew 2 (2) Aaron (1)
Series 1 April at Shea Stadium NY
Game one looked like it was going to be a battle of pitching titans Steve Carlton vs Jim Palmer but Carlton faced 9 batters in the top of the first giving up 5 earned runs and Palmer left after four batters and 2/3 of an inning with arm stiffness after already giving one run back. Furthermore the Daytraders had their own 5 run inning in the bottom of the fifth sending 8 to the place the big bash being a Norm Cash granny to take the lead. A solo shot by Rick Monday tied it at six and there it remained till the top of the 12th when rookie Dave Kingman put a Ray Sadecki fastball into the left field stands for a 6-5 win in 11 for SF. Game 2 was another close game that went to extras but this time the starting pitchers delivered. Jim Willoughby pitched 7 plus innings for the Giants giving up 3 runs while Phil Niekro gave up the same 3 over 10 full innings including another Kingman longball but this time it was the Traders turn to win in extras as Joe Hague hit the first pitch of the 10th out to right center to even the series. In the 3rd series it was billed as another epic matchup with Dave McNally going for SF vs Tom Seaver but it was a slaughter as the Giants put 9 on the board over the first three innings and added a 10th in the 6th as Seaver gave up 3 homers (including another to Kingman) on 9 hits before God had mercy on the Daytraders and sent the rain to end things in the bottom of the 6th.
Series 2 June at Candlestick Park SF
The Daytraders evened the season series in game one as Steve Carlton pitched a complete game 5 hitter giving up an RBI triple to Killebrew and a long ball to Dave Kingman for his 4th HR in 4 games vs New York but Dock Ellis lasted only 3 1/3 innings Giving up a two run shot in the first to Stargell and 2 Rbi singles in the 3rd (Stargell and Norm Cash). Ted Simmons would deliver 2 more runs in the 4th by which time the brokers had a 7-1 lead which would be enough to hold off the Kingman power surge. Game two earned the Giants a split thanks to seven strong innings from Steve Stone, Bobby Bonds who drove in 3 and a solid 9th from closer Dave Giusti
Series 3 July at Shea Stadium NY
It was a battle of Complete games with Phil Niekro again coming out ahead shutting out the vaunted Giants offense on four hits while hard luck loser Mickey Lolich also pitched a complete game giving up only 7 hits but alas for his one of those hits was a two run shot by Graig Nettles in the 8th. The Daytraders completed the two game sweep the next day as Roger Nelson repeated Niekro’s feat albeit only over seven innings while Dave Lemonds kept the Giants scoreless for the final two while the Mets bats went to work with Nettles, Norm Cash, Leron Lee and Willie Stargell all going yard for a 6-3 final.
Series 4 September at Candlestick Park SF
With the Daytraders still fighting for a division title and the Giants having safely clinched you might have expected SF to be less motivated but Ron Bryant (7 innings 3 hits) and Eddie Watt (2 innings 2 hits) shut down the Brokers bats while twenty game winner Tom Seaver would get his 15th loss with Dave Kingman hitting his 24 and Garry Matthews adding his 2nd off reliver Rojn Perranoski in a 5-0 win. The Daytraders retook the season series lead in game two with Jimmy Wynn starting with a two run shot off Les Cain in the first. The Giants would tie it in the 3rd with a pair of their own including yet another Kingman long shot, but NY would take the lead in the sixth off of John Strohmayer on a Ted Simmons single and add 4 more in the 8th for a 7-2 win. The Giants would take the rubber game on the arm of Dock Ellis (7 innings 2 R) and the bats of Darrell Evans (3 run shot in the 3rd) and Dave Cash who would each drive in 3
Season Series 5-5
If you told me that both the Daytraders and the Giants would win their series in five with both Tom Seaver and Jim Palmer going 0-1 I wouldn’t have believed you. This series is likely going to be one of the most exciting series we will see with two solid teams with great rotations and nasty offenses. The Giants were unable to beat Phil Niekro in three starts but the Daytraders only faced Jim Palmer for 2/3 of an inning all season so that’s a wild card. Both managers have led teams to the world series (daytraders 69 Giants 70) And the Giants seem to hold a lot of cards and had the best record in the NL but with Niekro’s dominance and Carlton and Seaver to back him up I just can’t see the Giants even with a Jim Palmer beating these guys 4 times. It will be close and tough but barring a spectacular injury or suspension I say the Daytraders are heading for the series once again.
NY in 7
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