Chipper Jones was named A to Z League player of the week for the week ending June 26. Chipper batted .348 with three home runs and 10 RBI. Other contenders for the recognition included Rogers Hornsby, who batted a robust .480 (12-for-25) with a homer and six RBI; Albert Pujols, who hit .345 (10-for-29) with four homers and six RBI; Chili Davis, who had four homers and nine RBI; and Bob Feller, who pitched 16 innings in two starts, allowing just eight hits and two runs (1.13 ERA) and striking out 10.
Chipper Jones
Some highlights for the week:
June 20
Justin Verlander was recalled from the minors and picked up his first win of the year, pitching an eight-hitter and striking out 10 as Vancouver beat Quincy 6-1. Dmitri Young ripped a two-run pinch triple in the top of the ninth and Yakima held on to beat Aberdeen 5-3. Jim Fregosi hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the ninth as Forks topped Bainbridge Island 5-2. Gabby Hartnett had three hits, including an RBI single that snapped a tie in the bottom of the seventh, and Hoquiam held on to beat North Bend 4-3. Renton took the lead with a run in the top of the tenth, but Jefferson County won it in the bottom of the frame 5-3 on a two-run shot by Chipper. Mike Schmidt and Ron Santo both homered and knocked in four runs as Snoqualmie routed Long Beach 11-5. Tumwater took the lead on a two-run double in the eighth by Danny Tartabull and held on to beat Ocean Shores 4-3. Lefty Grove improved his record to 7-0 with seven four-hit innings as Goldendale defeated Davenport 7-3. Luke Easter homered in the bottom of the tenth to give Ephrata a 6-5 win over Kelso. Christy Matthewson pitched a six-hitter and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly as Moses Lake doubled up on Pasco 6-3.
June 21
Richie Zisk hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth against Rick Aguilera and Yakima beat Aberdeen 4-3. Jim Bunning pitched a four-hitter with no walks and seven strikeouts as Bainbridge Island bested Forks 5-1. Virgil Trucks and Kent Tekulve combined on a two-hitter and Tumwater beat Ocean Shores 5-1. Bob Watson, Matt Williams, Honus Wagner, and Dave Winfield all homered during Wenatchee's six-run seventh and the W's went on to a 9-3 win at Cashmere. Goldendale scored four in the top of the ninth on a two-run double by Hank Greenberg and a two-run single by Nomar Garciaparra and the G's bested Davenport 5-2. Charlie Keller drove in four runs with a homer and a double and Kelso beat Ephrata 11-5. Willie Mays hit a one-out homer in the bottom of the ninth and Moses Lake edged Pasco 4-3. Quincy piled up 15 hits in an 11-3 romp against Vancouver.
June 22
Robin Yount snapped a 1-1 deadlock with a two-run homer in the eighth off Ted Abernathy, and Yakima tacked on a four-spot in the ninth to beat Aberdeen 7-1. Oddly, it was the first loss for Abernathy (7-1) and the first win for Tom Zachary (1-7), who hit a two-run homer in the ninth. Barry Bonds hit a pair of homers and drove in three, and Ernie Banks also went deep as Bainbridge Island topped Forks 6-3. Hoquiam knocked out Don Newcombe with six in the first, though five were unearned, and rolled to a 10-3 win over North Bend. Tim Raines hit a three-run homer in the third and Scott Rolen belted a two-run shot in the fifth and Renton outlasted Jefferson County 5-4. Dolph Luque pitched a seven-hitter to improve his record to 2-7 and Long Beach piled up 15 hits in a 13-2 rout of Snoqualmie. David Ortiz hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first and Ocean Shores led all the way, beating Tumwater 4-1. Willie Wells hit a two-run homer in the top of the 13th and Wenatchee beat Cashmere 3-1. Larry Doby had four RBI and Chili logged three as Davenport blasted Goldendale 11-3. Six Kelso pitchers combined on a three-hitter and the K's beat Ephrata 3-1. Greg Maddux allowed just one hit over seven innings--a fourth-inning homer by Pujols--and the Moses Lake bullpen survived another Pujols homer in the ninth and beat Pasco 4-3. Jason Varitek had four hits and Joey Votto and Andy VanSlyke had three each as Vancouver clobbered Quincy 11-3.
June 23
Ross Youngs hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the tenth and Yakima held on to beat Aberdeen 7-6. Joe DiMaggio, Doby, and Chili homered and Davenport bested Goldendale 5-3. Lou Gehrig hit a pair of homers for the losers and has 27 for the season. Bob Elliott homered off Ellis Kinder with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give Ephrata a 6-5 win over Kelso. Pasco scored three in the top of the ninth on a bases-loaded walk, an infield single, and a force play and beat Moses Lake 3-2.
June 24
Hideo Nomo allowed no runs on just two hits through seven innings and North Bend built an 8-0 lead over Forks. The F's scored seven in the top of the ninth against Fred Norman, Tom Niedenfuer, and Joe Nathan, who gave up a grand slam to Carlton Fisk but then fanned Carl Furillo for the final out as the N's won 8-7. Johnny Romano had three RBI and Frank Robinson two as Renton outlasted Hoquiam 7-6. Ryne Sandberg and Santo both drove in three runs and Snoqualmie knocked out Randy Johnson in the second inning on the way to a 9-4 win over Jefferson County. Lon Warneke allowed just one run on three hits over seven innings and Wenatchee thumped Ocean Shores 6-1. Bill Dickey and Andre Dawson homered to lead Davenport to a 9-4 win at Kelso. Satchel Paige pitched a three-hitter and Terry Pendleton homered as Pasco blanked Ephrata 3-0. Vancouver scored two in the third and Javier Vazquez, Felipe Vazquez, and Jose Valverde combined on a six-hit shutout in a 2-0 win over Moses Lake.
June 25
Aberdeen tied it on a homer by Bobby Abreu in the top of the ninth, then scored two in the tenth to beat Bainbridge Island 7-5. Feller pitched a four-hitter and George Foster hit a pair of homers as Forks whipped North Bend 8-1. Roy Halladay won his ninth game of the season and Rickey Henderson homered in Hoquiam's 5-2 win at Renton. Santo, Duke Snider, and Willie Stargell all homered in Snoqualmie's 9-4 win over Jefferson County. Long Beach scored two in the top of the ninth on a single by Buck Leonard and a sacrifice fly by Ray Lankford and beat Tumwater 5-3. Charlie Gehringer and Curtis Granderson homered during Goldendale's 10-4 rout of Cashmere. Kelso out-hit Davenport 11-4 but the D's got a two-run triple from Dickey in the seventh and won the game 2-1. Gaylord Perry spun a five-hitter and Vada Pinson knocked in four runs with a pair of doubles and Pasco blanked Ephrata 9-0. Mickey Mantle hit a two-run homer in the top of the tenth and Moses Lake beat Vancouver 9-7. Jordan Zimmerman pitched a three-hitter and fanned eight, and Yount hit a three-run homer in the fifth as Yakima beat Quincy 6-1.
June 26
Doyle Alexander pitched a three-hitter and Abreu drove in two runs as Aberdeen won at Bainbridge Island 3-2. Whitey Ford pitched seven solid innings and drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk in the second as Forks topped North Bend 3-1. Felix Hernandez allowed just one run on six hits over seven innings and Hoquiam bested Renton 4-1. Walter Johnson pitched an eight-hit shutout and Chipper hit a three-run homer in the first as Jefferson County led all the way in a 5-0 win at Snoqualmie. Barry Larkin and Fred Lynn both drove in two runs to lead Long Beach to a 5-3 victory at Tumwater. David Wells improved his record to 7-1 with seven solid innings and Matt Williams hit a two-run homer in the sixth to give Wenatchee the lead in a 3-2 win over Ocean Shores. Miguel Cabrera and Roberto Clemente both had four hits and Cashmere beat Goldendale 8-3, handing Grove (7-1) his first loss of the season. Sandy Koufax pitched a five-hitter and fanned nine, and Harmon Killebrew and Jeff Kent homered as Kelso blanked Davenport 7-0. Andy Pettitte pitched a six-hitter and Pujols, Tony Phillips, and Mike Piazza homered as Pasco defeated Ephrata 6-2. Mantle homered in the top of the eleventh to give Moses Lake the lead, but Bobby Veach hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the inning to give Vancouver the win, 4-3.
Injuries
George Uhle had to leave a June 21 start because of a sore toe and will miss a couple of weeks of action. Quincy called up Hisashi Iwakuma to take Uhle's spot in the rotation. Claude Osteen left his June 22 start after two innings because of a toothache, and a root canal may keep him out of action for a couple of weeks. Blue Moon Odom takes Osteen's spot in the Ocean Shores rotation. Zachary left the game June 22 with a sprained pinky on his non-pitching hand and will be out for two weeks. Curt Young replaces Zachary on the Yakima roster. Bucky Walters left his June 25 start early because of a twisted ankle and may be out for a couple of weeks. Smokey Joe Williams was called back up to take Bucky's spot in the rotation for Wenatchee.