With two weeks to play in the A to Z League regular season two of the loop's divisions are fairly well locked up, while in the two others there are clear leaders, but the other contenders still have a chance.
The hottest team in the league is Aberdeen, which has won nine in a row and 13 of its last 15, including a sweep of Puget Division leader Bainbridge Island. The A's lead the Coast Division by 11 games over Hoquiam, and their magic number to clinch is four.
Before getting swept by Aberdeen, Bainbridge Island had won 14 in a row and 19 of 20 to build a big lead in the Puget. They're still 21-5 in their last 26 games and are 11 up on Snoqualmie. Their magic number is also four.
Moses Lake has won six in a row and built a four-game lead over second place Wenatchee in the East Division. The M's magic number is 11. Goldendale has seen a lead in the South Division that was once as much as 13 games to dwindle to just four over Pasco. The G's magic number also is 11.
If the playoffs started today, Aberdeen would play Bainbridge Island in the opening round and Moses Lake would take on Goldendale.
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| Edgar Martinez |
Some highlights for the week:
September 19
Jim Bunning allowed just five hits in seven innings and drove in what proved to be the winning run with a sacrifice fly in the fifth and Bainbridge Island won its 14th straight game, topping Forks 3-2. Moses Lake scored four in the top of the ninth to take a 4-1 lead, but Pujols, after errors by Martinez and Jeff Montgomery, hit a grand slam in the bottom of the inning and Pasco beat the M's 5-4. After the game manager Connie Mack was not talking about why he didn't bring in Eddie Mathews as a defensive replacement for Martinez in the ninth. Tom Candiotti pitched a four-hitter, Roy Campanella went 4-for-5 with a homer, double, and four runs scored, Rod Carew had three hits, Roberto Clemente drove in three, and Cashmere clobbered Wenatchee 10-3. The W's missed a chance to tie Moses Lake for the lead in the East Division. An error by Joe DiMaggio opened the door for Goldendale, which scored three in the bottom of the eleventh, the final two on a homer by Lou Gehrig, and the G's beat Davenport 3-2, remaining four games ahead of Pasco in the South Division. Johnny Antonelli and two relievers checked Yakima on eight hits in Aberdeen's 4-1 win that moved them nine up on Hoquiam in the Coast Division. Graig Nettles hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth and North Bend beat Hoquiam 3-2. Frank Robinson hit two home runs, and his fourth RBI of the game plated Jackie Robinson with the winning run as Renton scored four in the bottom of the ninth to beat Jefferson County 7-6. Ted Simmons hit a two-run triple during Snoqualmie's three-run third, and the S's bested Long Beach 4-2. Frank Thomas hit a three-run double to ignite Tumwater's five-run rally in the eighth and the T's beat Ocean Shores 5-4. Ephrata scored four in the top of the first with the help of three walks and led all the way in a 5-3 win at Kelso. Javier Vazquez pitched an eight-hitter and drove in two runs with a double in the second, and Vancouver beat Quincy 5-1.
September 20
Alexander pitched a three-hitter, Hank Aaron and Bobby Allison homered, and Aberdeen snapped Bainbridge Island's 14-game winning streak with a 3-0 shutout. Maddux pitched a five-hitter, Stan Musial had four hits, Mickey Mantle and Martinez knocked three each, and Moses Lake thumped Vancouver 8-1. Magglio Ordonez grounded a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the 12th and Ocean Shores beat Wenatchee 5-4, knocking the W's to two games back of Moses Lake in the East Division. Cashmere rapped 13 hits, led by three from Carew and two each by Ty Cobb, Miguel Cabrera, and Orlando Cepeda, and topped Goldendale 6-4. Luke Easter hit a pair of home runs, Jim Edmonds and Darrell Evans also went deep, and Ephrata topped Pasco 7-4, preventing the P's from gaining ground on Goldendale in the South Division. Forks took advantage of a couple of North Bend errors in the bottom of the eighth and scored three, logging a 5-3 victory. Todd Helton and Toby Harrah homered and Hoquiam edged Renton 4-3. Ryne Sandberg hit a two-run homer in the top of the 17th and Snoqualmie outlasted Jefferson County 4-2. Long Beach had 13 hits, including five home runs, in a 9-4 romp over Tumwater. Don Drysdale pitched an eight-hitter, Chili Davis led a 15-hit attack with four, and Davenport routed Kelso 9-1. BJ Upton singled with the sacks full in the bottom of the tenth to give Quincy a 2-1 win over Yakima.
September 21
Cobb's triple was a key hit as Cashmere scored three in the bottom of the eighth and came from behind to beat Goldendale 6-5. Tony Phillips scored three runs, Vada Pinson drove in four with a sacrifice fly in the second and a three-run triple in the fourth, and Pasco topped Ephrata 10-6, moving within two games of Goldendale in the South Division. Bobby Abreu had a homer and four RBI, Aaron scored three runs, and Aberdeen beat Bainbridge Island in a battle of division leaders, 7-2. Edgar Martinez drove in six runs with a pair of homers and a groundout, Pedro Martinez pitched a five-hitter, and Moses Lake beat Vancouver 6-3. Mel Ott broke a tie with a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh, and Ocean Shores held on to beat Wenatchee 5-3, dropping the W's three back of Moses Lake in the East Division race. Ron Fairly hit a two-run homer during Forks's five-run eighth and the F's beat North Bend 6-2. Felix Hernandez pitched a three-hitter, Keith Hernandez drove in four runs with a homer and a double, and Hoquiam blanked Renton 7-0. Bret Saberhagen pitched a two-hitter and fanned six as Snoqualmie won its eighth straight, beating Jefferson County 4-0. Javy Lopez hit a three-run homer in the second, drove in another run with a single in the fourth, and Long Beach topped Tumwater 4-1. DiMaggio drove in three runs; his RBI single in the seventh snapped a tie and propelled Davenport to a 5-4 win over Kelso. Ryan Zimmerman hit a three-run homer in the top of the 12th and Yakima bested Quincy 8-5.
September 22
Mays cracked a three-run homer to cap a four-run seventh and Moses Lake came from behind to beat Vancouver 5-4. Bucky Walters pitched a seven-hitter and Wenatchee took advantage of five Ocean Shores errors for an 8-3 win, keeping themselves just three behind Moses Lake in the East Division. Luke Appling went 4-for-5 to lead a 12-hit attack as Aberdeen beat Bainbridge Island 7-3. Josh Gibson hit a pair of two-run homers, Lefty Grove pitched eight solid innings, and Goldendale beat Cashmere 4-3. Ephrata piled up 18 hits, including three each from Jacoby Ellsbury, Dwight Evans, and Easter in an 11-6 win over Pasco, which fell four games behind Goldendale in the South Division. Frankie Frisch went 4-for-6 and Travis Fryman drove in five runs as Forks shellacked North Bend 15-3. Renton scored six in the eighth, when their first seven hitters reached on four singles and three walks, and the R's beat Hoquiam 6-4. Snoqualmie scored two in the eighth and three in the ninth for a comeback 9-7 win at Jefferson County. Dolf Luque balked the winning run home in the top of the 13th and Tumwater beat Long Beach 8-7. Rick Dempsey hit a two-run homer to cap a four-run rally in the sixth, and Davenport held on to beat Kelso 7-6. Quincy racked up 12 hits in a 10-4 win over Yakima.
September 23
Edgardo Alfonso singled in the bottom of the tenth to plate Luis Aparicio with the only run of the game as Aberdeen completed a four-game sweep of Bainbridge Island with a 1-0 victory. Bainbridge Island came into the battle of division leaders, and likely playoff opponents, with a 14-game winning streak. Mays had four hits, Musial and Eddie Murray knocked three each, and Moses Lake clubbed Vancouver 10-3 to finish a series sweep. Ted Williams singled to drive in Honus Wagner with the go-ahead run in the top of the tenth, and Wenatchee beat Ocean Shores 2-1 to remain three games behind Moses Lake in the East Division. Josh Gibson had three RBI and Ken Griffey, Jr. had two as Goldendale topped Cashmere 6-4. Satchel Paige pitched a three-hitter and Pasco routed Ephrata 9-0, keeping pace four games behind Goldendale in the South Division. Don Sutton and Rafael Soriano combined on a four-hitter and Snoqualmie topped Jefferson County 6-0 for its tenth straight win, and gained a game on Bainbridge Island in the Puget Division, though they're still ten out. North Bend scored four in the top of the second, two on a double by Bill North, and beat Forks 4-1. Carl Hubbell pitched a four-hitter and struck out 13, Rogers Hornsby hit two home runs, and Hoquiam blanked Renton 7-0. Danny Tartabull had three hits, including a homer, in Tumwater's 6-3 win at Long Beach. Carlos Delgado went 4-for-4 with a homer and three RBI, and Davenport bested Kelso 5-2.
September 24
Johnny Mize knocked in three runs and Mantle drove in two as Moses Lake topped Yakima 5-3. Dave Winfield hit a pinch, two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh and Wenatchee held on to beat Long Beach 5-4, remaining three games back of Moses Lake in the East Division. David Ortiz and Al Oliver both drove in three runs as Ocean Shores rolled over Goldendale 10-4. Ray Durham's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth brought home what turned out to be the winning run as Davenport edged Pasco 4-3, the P's missing a chance to gain ground on Goldendale in the South Division. Dick Allen, Moises Alou, and Allison all hit solo homers in the top of the fourth and Aberdeen won its seventh straight, beating North Bend 4-2. Bunning pitched a seven-hitter, Ernie Banks drove in four runs with a pair of triples, and Bainbridge Island beat Quincy 7-0 to break a four-game losing skid. Hoquiam edged Snoqualmie 2-1, snapping the S's ten-game winning streak and dropping them eleven back of Bainbridge Island in the Puget Division. Jackie Robinson hit a three-run triple in the fourth and a two-run homer in the sixth to lead Renton to a 6-5 win over Forks. Ted Trent pitched seven solid innings in his first start of the season and Tumwater bested Jefferson County 5-2. Harmon Killebrew slugged two homer, a triple, and drove in four runs, Sandy Koufax pitched a seven-hitter and fanned 11, and Kelso clubbed Cashmere 9-2. Dock Ellis improved his record to 18-7 as Ephrata beat Vancouver 4-1.
September 25
Maddux pitched a seven-hitter, Paul Molitor went 3-for-4 with a pair of home runs and three RBI, Mays, Mantle, and Edgar Martinez also went deep, and Moses Lake routed Yakima 11-2 for their sixth straight win. Wenatchee fell to four games back of Moses Lake in the East Division standings, losing to Long Beach 3-1 on a four-hitter by Luque. Ron Guidry pitched a five-hitter, Josh Gibson had a homer and three RBI, and Goldendale kept its four-game lead in the south division with a 7-1 win over Ocean Shores. Brandon Phillips, Pujols, and Buster Posey hit home runs, Andy Pettitte pitched eight solid innings in his return from the injured list, and Pasco topped Davenport 8-2 to remain four back of Goldendale. Aaron clubbed two homers and drove in five as Coast Division-leading Aberdeen bombed North Bend 12-2 for its eighth straight win. George Brett hit a three-run homer in the first and added an RBI single in the fourth as Bainbridge Island maintained its big lead in the Puget Division with a 10-4 win over Quincy. Todd Frazier hit a three-run homer during Forks's six-run fifth and the F's outscored Renton 9-7. Mike Schmidt went 4-for-4 with a homer to lead Snoqualmie to a 9-4 win over Hoquiam. Fergie Jenkins pitched a four-hitter and Reggie cracked a three-run homer during a five-run first as Jefferson County beat Tumwater 5-2. Clayton Kershaw pitched eight solid innings and drove in a couple of runs with a single in the sixth as Kelso beat Cashmere 7-3. Yutaka Enatsu pitched a four-hitter and Dwight Evans drove in all of Ephrata's runs with a homer and a sacrifice fly in a 3-0 win at Vancouver.
Injuries
Bartolo Colon had to leave his September 23 start with a sore shoulder and may be out for the rest of the season. Stan Coveleski was called up to take Colon's place in the Cashmere rotation. Dizzy Dean left his start that day with a sore toe and may miss a couple of starts. Larry Dierker was called up to take Dean's spot in the rotation.