Ty Cobb has been named the A to Z League player of the week for the week ending August 14. Cobb batted .500 (15-for-30) with two home runs, two triples, and a double. He scored 12 runs and drove in eight, and amassed an OPS of 1.412 for the week. Others in contention for the award were Ken Griffey, Jr., who batted .545 (12-for-22) and had an OPS of 1.752, hit three home runs, scored 10 runs and drove in seven; Derek Jeter, who hit .500 (13-for-26), scored five runs and drove in six; Jimmie Foxx, who hit .433 with four homers and nine RBI; and Tom Glavine, who won both of his starts for the week, allowing just three earned runs on 10 hits in 17 1/3 innings (1.56 ERA).
Ty Cobb
Cashmere, Moses Lake, and Wenatchee are in a three-way tie for the lead in the East Division with records of 68-44. Aberdeen has lost three in a row and has fallen into a tie with Hoquiam in the Coast Division. Goldendale has opened up a 14-game lead over Pasco in the South. Bainbridge Island continues to lead Snoqualmie by four games in the Puget Division; both teams have gone 4-6 over their last ten contests.
Some highlights for the week:
August 8
Cobb went 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI, Roberto Clemente also homered and drove in three, and Cashmere defeated Aberdeen 9-3. Joe DiMaggio hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the tenth and Davenport edged Forks 4-2. Howard Ehmke pitched a six-hitter and Mark Ellis drove in two runs as Ephrata blanked Hoquiam 4-0. Paul Molitor, Joe Medwick, and Thurman Munson had three hits each, leading a 16-hit attack as Moses Lake thumped Jefferson County 8-3. Willie Upshaw drove in two with a bases-loaded single, capping a three-run eighth as Quincy beat Long Beach 4-3. Bombs away! Ocean Shores pounded 19 hits, including five home runs, in a 19-5 drubbing of Yakima. Jeff Bagwell doubled with two out in the bottom of the 12th, and Johnny Bench followed with a single to plate the winning run as Bainbridge Island beat Wenatchee 6-5. Griffey went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, and five RBI to lead Goldendale to a 7-3 win over North Bend. Babe Ruth hit a three-run homer during Renton's five-run fifth, and Johnny Romano hit a pair of homers, including a leadoff shot in the bottom of the eighth that gave the R's the lead in a 7-6 win over Kelso. Tom Seaver pitched a six-hitter, and Mike Schmidt and Willie Stargell homered, and Snoqualmie beat Pasco 6-1. It was a wild back-and-forth battle in Tumwater, which scored four in the bottom of the ninth to beat Vancouver 13-12.
August 9
Eddie Collins went 3-for-3, scored three runs and drove in six, and Cashmere survived a four-run rally in the ninth by Aberdeen to win a wild one, 10-9. Bob Feller, John Franco, and Rollie Fingers combined on a three-hitter and Ron Fairly drove in both Forks runs with a homer and a single, and the F's beat Davenport 2-0. Johnny Edwards hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh and Scott Erickson and Ephrata beat Hoquiam 3-1. Pedro Martinez allowed just six hits over eight innings and Willie Mays and Dale Murphy homered as Moses Lake beat Jefferson County 4-1. Monte Irvin went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run and Quincy beat Long Beach 4-2. David Ortiz singled to score Hiromitsu Ochiai with the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth, and Ocean Shores prevailed over Yakima 4-3. Bobby Bonds homered in the fourth, and Bainbridge Island scored two in the fifth on an error and a double play ball and held on to beat Wenatchee 3-1. Goldendale committed five errors that led to five unearned runs, and North Bend scored four in the eighth and three more in the ninth to drub the G's 10-2. Frank Robinson hit a two-run double to cap Renton's three-run ninth and beat Kelso 7-6. Vada Pinson hit a three-run homer to break open a close game in the ninth and Albert Pujols also went deep as Pasco beat Snoqualmie 6-2.
August 10
Clemente's seventh-inning single plated Cobb with the go-ahead run and Cashmere held on to beat Aberdeen 5-4. Whitey Ford pitched an eight-hitter and Carlton Fisk and George Foster both had home runs and three RBI as Forks blasted Davenport 11-2. Dock Ellis allowed just one run on four hits over eight innings, Luke Easter hit a pair of homers, and Jim Edmonds also had a solo shot as Ephrata beat Hoquiam 3-1. Eddie Mathews hit a three-run homer as Moses Lake scored four in the first on the way to a 6-3 win over Jefferson County. Tony Lazzeri went 4-for-4 with two home runs and three RBI and Long Beach topped Quincy 5-3. Cy Young pitched a six-hitter and Yakima topped Ocean Shores 4-2. Early Wynn, Hoyt Wilhelm, and Billy Wagner combined on a four-hitter and Bernie Williams went 3-for-3 with a homer as Wenatchee edged Bainbridge Island 2-1. Hal Newhouser had a shutout going until Curtis Granderson hit a pinch two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, but Tom Niedenfuer closed the game and North Bend beat Goldendale 3-2. Cal Ripken, Jr. had a home run and three RBI and Renton beat Kelso 5-3. Hilton Smith drove in a pair of runs with a triple in the bottom of the eighth and took an 8-0 lead into the ninth, then survived a furious rally and Snoqualmie beat Pasco 8-6. Vancouver scored four in the top of the sixth on a two-run single by Robin Ventura and a two-run homer by Bobby Veach and beat Tumwater 6-4.
August 11
Roberto Alomar drove in seven runs with a grand slam in the fifth and a three-run homer in the seventh, and Pete Alexander pitched seven strong innings, improving his record to 14-1 as Aberdeen routed Davenport 10-3. Both clubs had 15 hits, but Ephrata pushed across two runs in the top of the 12th and beat Forks 11-9. Rogers Hornsby drove in four runs with a homer and a double, but it was Billy Herman who drove in the winning run with a pinch double in the 12th as Hoquiam edged Moses Lake 5-4. Reggie Jackson and Chipper Jones homered to back Fergie Jenkins, who won his 12th as Jefferson County topped Qunicy 4-2. Joey Votto homered twice, including a tie-breaker in the top of the ninth in Vancouver's 3-2 win over Long Beach. Cashmere made three errors and nearly frittered away an 8-2 lead, but held on to beat Ocean Shores 8-7. Adam Wainwright allowed just one run on six hits in 8 1/3 innings and Wenatchee beat North Bend 4-1. Goldendale broke a tie with three in the bottom of the seventh on RBI singles by Josh Gibson and Lou Gehrig and held on to beat Renton 7-5. Ron Santo went 3-for-3 with two home runs and five RBI, and Snoqualmie chased Clayton Kershaw with five in the second and rolled to an 11-2 win over Kelso. In a pitcher's duel between Cuban greats neither Camilo Pascual nor Luis Tiant, Jr. were around for the decision; Frank Thomas singled in Mike Trout with the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth and Tumwater bested Pasco 2-1. Dmitri Young drove in five runs; his two-run triple in the bottom of the eighth capped a three-run rally that gave Yakima a 6-5 win over Bainbridge Island.
August 12
Davenport took the lead with three in the sixth on RBI singles by Doug DeCinces, Martin Dihigo (who went 4-for-4), and John Donaldson, and held on to beat Aberdeen 4-3. Forks rapped out 18 hits, including three each by Foxx, Ron Fairly, and Tony Fernandez, in an 11-5 romp over Ephrata. Carl Hubbell scattered nine hits, singled, and scored a run and Hoquiam blanked Moses Lake 4-0. Randy Johnson pitched a three-hitter and struck out 12, and Charles Johnson drove in four runs with a bases-loaded triple and a solo homer as Jefferson County bombed Quincy 11-0. Mickey Lolich pitched a two-hitter and Ernie Lombardi smacked a three-run homer in the sixth as Long Beach defeated Vancouver 5-1. Cobb went 4-for-5 with a homer and scored three runs, and Oscar Charleston and Miguel Cabrera both drove in three as Cashmere thumped Ocean Shores 9-3. Honus Wagner doubled in the bottom of the ninth to plate Dave Winfield with the winning run as Wenatchee edged North Bend 4-3. Goldendale scored four in the bottom of the eighth on home runs by Gehrig and Nomar Garciaparra, then withstood a three-run shot by Jackie Robinson in the ninth to win a wild one from Renton, 12-11. Kelso got sacrifice flys in the eighth from Jeff Kent and Charlie Keller and edged Snoqualmie 5-4. Satchel Paige pitched a two-hitter and Pasco got homers from Brandon Phillips, Kirby Puckett, and Pujols in a 6-2 win over Tumwater. Barry Bonds hit two home runs and Bagwell and George Brett also went deep as Bainbridge Island beat up on Yakima 10-2.
August 13
DeCinces hit a pair of homers and drove in four runs to lead Davenport to a 9-4 win at Aberdeen. Willie Foster pitched a five-hitter and Foxx hit a pair of homers and drove in three runs in Forks's 7-1 win over Ephrata. You don't expect a slugfest when Christy Mathewson and Roy Halladay square off on the mound, but that's what happened at Hoquiam as Moses Lake pounded 20 hits, including home runs by Eddie Murray, Mathews, Joe Mauer, and Rabbit Maranville in a 14-9 win. Quincy got 11 hits, three each from Ichiro and Justin Upton, and beat Jefferson County 11-5. Al Oliver drove in four runs and Fritz Ostermueller pitched seven solid innings as Ocean Shores rolled over Cashmere 8-1. Bucky Walters allowed just one run on three hits over eight innings and Wenatchee beat North Bend 5-1. Glavine pitched a three-hitter and Gehrig hit a three-run homer in the seventh as Goldendale ripped Renton 7-1. Kelso came from behind with three in the seventh on a two-run triple by Al Kaline and a sacrifice fly by Kent and beat Snoqualmie 5-4. Bobby Thigpen walked Buster Posey with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to force in the winning run as Pasco beat Tumwater 3-2. Bainbridge Island scored four in the top of the eighth on RBI doubles by Brett and Wade Boggs and a two-run homer by Bench and beat Yakima 7-4.
August 14
Dizzy Dean allowed just one run on four hits over seven innings, and Bill Dickey drove in both Davenport runs with a home run in the fourth and a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and the D's beat Aberdeen 2-1. Matt Holliday hit a three-run pinch homer off Randy Myers in the bottom of the ninth and Hoquiam beat Moses Lake 6-3. Chipper had a home run, a double, and drove in two as Jefferson County racked up a dozen hits during a 7-4 win over Quincy. Shane Victorino drove in three runs to lead Vancouver to a 6-3 win at Long Beach. Bartolo Colon allowed just one run on five hits in seven innings and Rod Carew had three hits as Cashmere bested Ocean Shores 7-1. David Wells allowed just one run on six hits in 8 2/3 innings, getting last-out relief help from Billy Wagner in Wenatchee's 3-1 win over North Bend. Rick Reuschel pitched a five-hitter, Brooks Robinson drove in three with a bases-loaded double in the sixth, and Renton ripped Goldendale 6-1. Tumwater broke open a close contest with five runs in the seventh and went on to beat Pasco 7-4. Richie Zisk hit a grand slam during a five-run third and Yakima beat Bainbridge Island 7-4.
Injuries
Three pitchers were hurt when Kelso played at Renton August 9. One of them was Babe Ruth, who left with major indigestion in the second inning of his start. Later Dave Righetti departed in the eighth inning with tonsilitis. Both will be out two weeks or so. Eppa Rixey and Ron Reed were called up to take their roster spots. Meanwhile Kelso lost reliever Brandon Kintzler in the seventh inning because of an earache that is expected to sideline him for three weeks. Ron Kline was called up to join the K's pen.