Ken Griffey, Jr. of Goldendale was named A to Z League player of the week for the week ending June 19. Griffey led the loop in home runs with four, runs scored with seven, and RBI with nine while hitting .333 (7-for-21). Other top contenders included Frank Robinson, who hit .500 (10-for-20) for the week while driving in six runs; Lou Gehrig, who hit .450 with three home runs; and Javier Vazquez, who went 2-0 in two starts with one shutout and just one run on seven hits in 16 innings of work (0.56 ERA).
Ken Griffey, Jr.
Some highlights for the week:
June 13
Doyle Alexander pitched a six-hitter and Dick Allen went 4-for-4 with a pair of homers and four RBI and Aberdeen beat Pasco 6-3. Graig Nettles hit a two-run homer to cap a three-run rally in the top of the ninth and North Bend won at Long Beach 8-5. John Wetteland snuffed out a three-run rally in the bottom of the ninth and Wenatchee held on to beat Ephrata 6-5. Gehrig and Griffey both hit a pair of homers and Junior drove in five runs, but Moses Lake scored seven in the top of the eighth, getting key hits from Thurman Munson and Mickey Mantle in a comeback, 10-7 win at Goldendale. Jim Kaat allowed just one run on six hits in 8 1/3 innings and Craig Kimbrel got the last two outs as Kelso won at Quincy 2-1.
June 14
Vazquez pitched seven strong innings and Vancouver scored three in the bottom of the third and rolled to a 4-1 win over Aberdeen. Robin Yount hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the first and Yakima led all the way in a 3-2 win over Forks. Jim Bunning scattered nine hits in a complete game and Bainbridge Island thumped Hoquiam 8-1. Joe Torre singled to plate Pie Traynor in the bottom of the 14th with the game winner as Tumwater outlasted Cashmere 5-4. David Wells faced just five batters and all of them scored in the top of the first, but Wenatchee battled back, getting a grand slam from Larry Walker in the third on the way to a 9-5 victory over Davenport. Del Ennis and Dwight Evans homered as Ephrata outslugged Goldendale 8-6. Andy Pettitte improved his record to 6-3 with a five-hit complete game and Pasco beat Quincy 5-1.
June 15
Henry Aaron and Joe Adcock both had three RBI as Aberdeen whipped Vancouver 8-3. Ben Zobrist hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth and Yakima beat Forks 4-2. Waite Hoyt pitched a four-hit shutout and Hoquiam beat Bainbridge Island 2-0. Randy Jones pitched a four-hitter and David Justice homered as Jefferson County topped North Bend 4-0. Rick Reuschel pitched seven strong innings and earned his first win as Renton topped Long Beach 5-3. Hiromitsu Ochiai knocked in two with a single in the top of the ninth and Ocean Shores won at Snoqualmie 3-2. Clay Carroll walked Christobel Torriente with the sacks full in the bottom of the eleventh and Tumwater beat Cashmere 5-4. Bobby Doerr knocked in four runs and Bill Dickey and Chili Davis had three hits each as Davenport routed Wenatchee 11-3. Goldendale scored five in the bottom of the seventh, three of them on a bases-loaded triple by Vladimir Guerrero, and the G's outscored Ephrata 9-5. Pedro Martinez improved his record to 8-1, allowing just one run on five hits in eight innings as Moses Lake topped Kelso 4-1. Jim Palmer pitched a seven-hitter and Pasco edged Quincy 2-1.
June 16
Aaron and Adcock each drove in a run and Pete Alexander improved his record to 8-1 with eight strong innings and Aberdeen beat Vancouver 2-1. Whitey Ford allowed just one hit--a first-inning single by Zobrist--and Forks blanked Yakima 6-0. Jim Bottomley hit a pinch single in the bottom of the ninth to plate Carlos Beltran as Bainbridge Island edged Hoquiam 4-3. North Bend scored three in the bottom of the eighth on five singles and an error and beat Jefferson County 8-5. Long Beach scored three in the top of the ninth on homers by Derrek Lee and Ernie Lombardi and held on to beat Renton 8-7. Ochiai led off the top of the ninth with a homer and Ocean Shores beat Snoqualmie 2-1. Tumwater scored four in the bottom of the eighth, helped by an error and a wild pitch, and beat Cashmere 8-5. Davenport scored five in the top of the ninth, three on a homer by Carlos Delgado, and beat Wenatchee 6-1. Ephrata clubbed four homers in a 10-5 win at Goldendale. Sandy Koufax pitched a four-hitter and fanned 10 and Kelso blanked Moses Lake 2-0. George Uhle pitched a six-hitter and Juan Uribe homered as Quincy beat Pasco 3-0.
June 17
Bill Freehan snapped a tie with a two-out homer in the top of the ninth and Forks added another tally on an RBI double by Frankie Frisch and beat Yakima 4-2. Tommy Bridges pitched a six-hitter and drove in three runs with a single and a pair of sacrifice flys as Bainbridge Island bombed Hoquiam 11-1. Mike Napoli homered with two out in the bottom of the tenth to give North Bend a 3-2 win over Jefferson County. Cal Ripken, Jr. hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth to give Renton a 3-2 win over Long Beach. Cashmere scored four in the top of the 15th and beat Tumwater 5-2. Lefty Gomez pitched a seven-hitter and Josh Gibson belted a pair of homers as Goldendale blanked Ephrata 4-0. Clayton Kershaw allowed just one run on four hits over eight innings, fanning 10 and improving his record to 8-3 as Kelso topped Moses Lake 3-1. Satchel Paige allowed just one run on three hits over seven innings and drove in a run with a double as Pasco beat Quincy 3-1.
June 18
Randy Johnson pitched a complete game seven-hitter and fanned 10 in his return from the injured list, and Justice drove in four runs as Jefferson County thumped North Bend 8-3. Warren Spahn pitched seven solid innings and Snoqualmie scored six in the bottom of the seventh to put away Ocean Shores 10-4. Moses Lake got homers from Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Stan Musial, Eddie Murray, and Rabbit Maranville in an 11-6 romp over Kelso.
June 19
Bainbridge Island scored three in the top of the second, two of them on a double by Lou Brock, and led all the way in a 6-4 win at Forks. Irv Noren had four hits and Nettles and Katsuya Nomura homered as North Bend edged Hoquiam 6-5. Chipper Jones had three hits and Justice, Andruw Jones, and Derek Jeter had two each in Jefferson County's 8-2 win over Renton. Snoqualmie scored five in the seventh, four on George Sisler's grand slam, and won at Long Beach 8-5. Frank Thomas hit a two-run homer in the third to put Tumwater ahead to stay in its 4-3 win over Ocean Shores. Eddie Collins and Joe Cronin hit home runs and David Cone pitched eight strong innings as Cashmere topped Wenatchee 5-1. Vazquez pitched a three-hitter and knocked three singles, scored a run, and drove home another and Vancouver blanked Quincy 6-0.
Injuries
Fernando Valenzuela left his June 15 start with a sore shoulder and will be out for a couple of weeks. Justin Verlander was recalled to take Fernando's spot on the roster. Jim O'Toole left his June 18 start early with a sore wrist and is expected to be out for a couple of weeks. Russ Ortiz was called up to take his spot in the rotation. Hilton Smith left his June 19 start in the second inning because of elbow pain and will be out for a few weeks. C.C. Sabathia was called up to cover Smith's spot in the rotation.