Barry Bonds was named player of the week in the A to Z League for the week ending September 4. Bonds batted just .250 (7-for-28) but hit three home runs and a double, drove in 10 runs and scored nine. It is the second POTW award for Bonds; he joins Ken Griffey, Jr. and Ty Cobb in the two-timers club. Other contenders for the honor included George Sisler, who batted .526 (10-for-19) scored four runs and drove in three; Dwight Evans, who hit .462 with four homers and six RBI; Babe Ruth, who batted .320 with three home runs, eight RBI, and seven runs scored; and Rick Reuschel, who went 2-0 in two starts for the week, allowing just one earned run on 12 hits in 14 innings for an ERA of 0.64.
Barry Bonds
As the calendar turns to September a couple of division leaders are up by nine games, a pretty big margin with 35 games left to play, but the two are headed in different directions. In the Puget Division Bainbridge Island has won five in a row, including a sweep of Ocean Shores, seven of eight, and leads Snoqualmie by nine, a gain of three games over the past week. In the South Division Goldendale had a 13-game lead over Pasco a week ago, but the G's went 2-5 for the week, were swept by Coast Division-leading Aberdeen, while Pasco has won six in a row, eight of its last 11, and has pulled within nine games. Goldendale just got Bob Gibson and Lefty Grove back from injuries, which could help them cement their lead.
The tightest division race is the East, where Moses Lake has a one-game lead over Wenatchee. The W's picked up a game this week, going 5-2 while the M's went 4-3. Aberdeen and Hoquiam were tied for first in the Coast Division a week ago. The H's, however, have lost six in a row while the A's won 7 of 10 and Aberdeen now leads the division by four games. Jefferson County, which was four games out a week ago, has dropped six of seven and is eight games off the pace.
Some highlights for the week:
August 29
Ted Abernathy walked Bernie Williams to force in the go-ahead run as Wenatchee scored two in the top of the ninth to beat Aberdeen 4-3. George Foster drove in three runs with a home run and a double, and Chuck Finley allowed just two runs, one earned, in eight innings as Forks topped Cashmere 7-2. Rickey Henderson gave Hoquiam the lead with a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth and the H's held on for a 4-3 win over Davenport. Darrell Evans hit a three-run homer during Ephrata's four-run third, and pitcher Scott Erickson also went deep as the E's topped Jefferson County 6-3. It was a wild one in Long Beach, where the L's put up seven in the second, four on a grand slam by Fred Lynn, who had five RBI. Moses Lake fought back, getting four in the third, three on a home run by Mickey Mantle, and three in the sixth on long balls by Dale Murphy and Willie Mays, and the M's prevailed 11-10. Mike Ivie drove in four runs with a bases-loaded triple and a groundout to lead Quincy past Ocean Shores 8-4. Jeff Bagwell and Lou Boudreau homered and Bainbridge Island outscored Goldendale 10-5. Al Kaline drove in three runs and he and Ted Kluszewski homered as Kelso beat North Bend 4-3. Reuschel allowed just one run in seven innings and drove in two with a base hit in the second as Renton beat Pasco 4-1. Don Sutton pitched a six-hitter and Snoqualmie blanked Vancouver 3-0. John Tudor pitched a five-hitter, Gene Tenace homered and drove in three, and Tumwater bested Yakima 6-1.
August 30
Aberdeen chased Wilbur Wood early, scoring six in the first, three on a home run by Bobby Allison, and Aberdeen romped to an 11-5 win over Wenatchee. Dave Concepcion had four hits and Rod Carew knocked three as Cashmere racked up 15 hits in all in an 8-3 win at Forks. Joe DiMaggio hit a three-run homer in the top of the first and Davenport led all the way in a 6-3 win at Hoquiam. Jim Edmonds, Dwight Evans, and Luke Easter all hit solo homers off Walter Johnson in the first inning, and Ephrata and Dock Ellis beat Jefferson County 4-2. Johnny Mize hit a three-run homer that capped a four-run seventh that broke the game open as Moses Lake bested Long Beach 7-2. Willie Upshaw's pinch, two-run single capped Quincy's three-run eighth and the Quirks beat Ocean Shores 5-3. Tom Glavine pitched eight solid innings and Goldendale racked up 15 hits, three each by Charlie Gehringer and Tony Gwynn, in a 10-1 rout of Bainbridge Island. "Prince Hal" Newhouser allowed just one unearned run on five hits over eight innings and North Bend beat Kelso 3-1. Kirby Puckett hit a one-out homer in the bottom of the 14th and Pasco FINALLY prevailed over Renton 7-6. Vancouver scored three in the first and Frank Viola pitched an eight-hitter as the V's topped Snoqualmie 3-1. Tumwater scored eight in the top of the third in a rally helped by four errors, a passed ball, and a three-run double by starting pitcher Virgil Trucks. Mr. Trucks couldn't make it stand up, and his bullpen was no great shakes, and Mike Timlin surrendered a run in the ninth on a single by Steve Yeager and Yakima came all the way back to win 9-8.
August 31
Roberto Alomar had four hits and Joe Adcock and Allison notched three each as Aberdeen piled up 18 hits in a 6-3 win over Goldendale. Bob Friend pitched a six-hitter, Jimmie Foxx and Foster homered, and Forks beat Kelso 7-1. Camilo Pascual pitched a four-hitter, Andy Pafko homered, Rafael Palmeiro logged three hits, and Pasco beat Hoquiam 6-1. Jose Vidro hit his first home run of the season and had three RBI, Mo Vaughn also drove home three, and Vancouver beat Jefferson County 7-4. Yakima scored five in the bottom of the first and cruised to a 7-4 win over Long Beach. Lou Brock homered to start a four-run rally in the fifth and Bainbridge Island defeated Ocean Shores 5-2. Roy Campanella's two-run double keyed a three-run rally in the top of the eleventh and Cashmere topped North Bend 4-1. Robin Roberts got last-out relief help from B.J. Ryan as Renton edged Davenport 3-2. Bob Elliott and Dwight Evans homered to lead Ephrata to a 6-4 win at Snoqualmie. Rabbit Maranville had three hits to pace a 13-hit attack as Moses Lake pounded Tumwater 10-3. Ted Williams hit a three-run homer during a six-run third and Wenatchee waltzed to a 7-4 win over Quincy.
September 1
Goose Goslin hit a three-run homer in the first, but that was all of the scoring for Goldendale; meanwhile, Aberdeen fought back against Gibson, getting two in the fourth and two more in the eighth, the go-ahead run scoring on a bases-loaded walk by Luis Aparicio, as the A's beat the G's 4-3. Kaline hit a two-run homer in the third, and that was all Jim Kaat needed as Kelso topped Forks 2-1. Pasco scored six in the bottom of the seventh on five singles, three walks, and an error and beat Hoquiam 9-7. Randy Johnson pitched a five-hitter and struck out eight, Dave Justice and Chipper Jones hit two-run homers, and Jefferson County topped Vancouver 4-1. Buck Leonard hit a grand slam in the fifith, Greg Luzinski hit a go-ahead four-bagger in the eighth, and Long Beach tacked on two in the ninth to beat Yakima 8-5. Bainbridge Island player-manager Lou Boudreau sprouted a few more gray hairs this day. His Bees knocked out Bob Ojeda early and had a 6-1 lead after two; however Ocean Shores clawed its way back into it, getting two in the ninth with the help of four walks from Bainbridge relief pitchers, but BI held on to win 8-6. Bill North's RBI double in the seventh put North Bend ahead and proved to be the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over Cashmere. Babe Ruth drove in three runs with a single in the third and a homer in the fifth and Renton beat Davenport 4-3. Snoqualmie scored five in the eighth, taking the lead on Mike Schmidt's three-run homer and beating Ephrata 7-3. Moses Lake continued its roll, racking up 12 hits, including homers from Paul Molitor and Thurman Munson, and won it's ninth straight, topping Tumwater 8-5. Bob Welch and Wood teamed up on a six-hitter and Larry Walker drove in three runs with a home run and a double as Wenatchee beat Quincy 4-1.
September 2
Aberdeen scored three in the top of the eighth, getting the go-ahead run on a balk by Goose Gossage, and held on to beat Goldendale 6-5. Foster had a homer and two RBI and Foxx knocked in three as Forks beat Kelso 5-2. The late, great Gaylord Perry pitched a one-hitter, allowing just a single by Rogers Hornsby in the fourth, and Perry scored the game's only run in the third, reaching on an error by Hornsby and later coming home on a single by Albert Pujols as Pasco nipped Hoquiam 1-0. Pete Vuckovich and Randy Jones battled to a 0-0 tie through eight. Both teams scored a run in the ninth, then Joey Votto hit a three-run homer in the tenth to give Vancouver a 4-1 win over Jefferson County. Long Beach committed four errors, and ninth-inning miscues by Ernie Lombardi and Leonard contributed to Yakima's three-run rally for a 3-2 victory. Bobby Bonds singled with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, plating two and capping a five-run rally that gave Bainbridge Island a 5-4 win over Ocean Shores. Manny Ramirez slugged a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, Cal Ripken, Jr. also had two RBI, and Renton beat Davenport 6-2. Howard Ehmke pitched a seven-hitter and Mark Ellis went 4-for-5, including a two-run single during Ephrata's three-run first that started them on the way to a 5-1 win over Snoqualmie. Frank Thomas and Jim Thome hit home runs, and each had an RBI single in the bottom of the ninth as Tumwater scored two, beating Moses Lake 6-5 and snapping their nine-game winning streak. George Uhle pitched an eight-hitter, homered, and drove in two runs as Quincy topped Wenatchee 6-1.
September 3
Earl Averill hit a three-run, pinch-hit homer in the top of the ninth and Aberdeen came from behind to beat Goldendale 6-5. Frank Frisch hit a three-run homer in the top of the ninth; Charlie Keller answered with a two-run shot in the bottom of the frame, but Rollie Fingers came on to save a 4-3 win for Forks over Kelso. Dave Henderson hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, but it wasn't enough as Jonathan Papelbon and Ron Perranoski split the final two outs to give Pasco a 3-2 win over Hoquiam. Greg Vaughn hit a three-run homer in the top of the second and Vancouver led the rest of the way, beating Jefferson County 6-3. Ray Lankford hit a two-run homer off George Zuverink in the top of the tenth and Long Beach beat Yakima 8-6. Barry and Bobby Bonds both homered, the old man drove in three runs, and Bainbridge Island romped to a 9-4 win over Ocean Shores. Cashmere racked up 15 hits, including homers by Miguel Cabrera and Roberto Clemente, and pounded North Bend 10-3. Ruth and Ripken homered, Tim Raines had three hits, and Renton topped Davenport 4-2. Schmidt homered in the fourth, Edmonds tied the game with a solo shot in the sixth, and Sisler went deep in the eighth and scored what proved to be the winning run as Snoqualmie beat Ephrata 2-1. Danny Tartabull scored the game-winner on Tom Tresh's bases-loaded grounder to short in the ninth, beating Maranville's throw home as Tumwater edged Moses Lake 3-2. Four Wenatchee hurlers combined on a three-hitter and beat Quincy 3-2.
September 4
Sandy Koufax pitched a seven-hitter and went 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and two RBI as Kelso beat Aberdeen 5-1. Jim Palmer tossed a seven-hitter and Brandon Phillips homered as Pasco blanked Forks 5-0. Vancouver scored four in the top of the ninth on a two-run triple by Shane Victorino followed by a two-run homer by Andy VanSlyke, and beat Hoquiam 6-4. Richie Zisk hit a three-run homer in the top of the first and Yakima led all the way in a 5-2 win over Jefferson County. Barry Bonds drove in five runs with a two-run homer in the first and a three-run shot in the seventh and Bainbridge Island toppled Long Beach 8-3. David Ortiz drove in two runs, including the game-winner in the bottom of the tenth; his single scored Ken Oberkfell and Ocean Shores beat North Bend 5-4. Raines and Brooks Robinson had three hits each and Renton knocked out a dozen safeties in a 12-5 win over Cashmere. Larry Doby's two-run triple was the key hit during a five-run third and Davenport rolled to a 7-2 win over Snoqualmie. Jacoby Ellsbury went 3-for-4 and scored three runs as Ephrata bested Tumwater 5-3. Bernie Williams went 3-for-5 with four RBI; his three-run homer in the seventh broke open a close game and Wenatchee topped Moses Lake 8-3. Glavine pitched a five-hitter and Curtis Granderson hit a pair of homers and drove in three as Goldendale outscored Quincy 6-3.
Injuries
Tim Hudson left his August 29 start with a sore ankle and will miss a start. Waite Hoyt was called up to cover Hudson's spot in the Hoquiam rotation. Adam Wainwright left his August 31 start in the first inning because of a sore shoulder and will be sidelined for a couple of weeks. Lon Warneke was recalled to take Waino's spot in the Wenatchee rotation.