We're down to the last week of play in the A to Z League, and two division winners have been crowned while the other two races are coming down to the wire. Aberdeen and Bainbridge Island clinched pennants in the Coast and Puget divisions this past week. Goldendale leads the South by six games over Pasco and their magic number is two. Moses Lake is five up on Wenatchee in the East, and their magic number is three. Each club has seven games left to play for the regular season.
Mike Mussina was named player of the week for the week ending October 2. Mussina pitched a pair of shutouts to boost Moses Lake in its drive for the pennant. He allowed just nine hits in 18 innings, striking out 12 while walking just one. Other contenders for the recognition included Steve Rogers, who won both of his starts and allowed just two earned runs on eight hits in 17 innings for a 1.06 ERA; Joey Votto, who batted .481 with four home runs, 11 RBI, and nine runs scored; Harmon Killebrew, who slugged five homers and drove in 13 while scoring eight; and Nomar Garciaparra, who hit .407 with three home runs and three doubles, drove in six runs, and scored seven.
Mike Mussina
Some highlights for the week:
September 26
Ken Griffey, Jr. hit a one-out homer in the bottom of the 12th to give Goldendale a 10-9 win over Ocean Shores, maintaining the G's four-game lead in the South Division. Albert Pujols drove in four runs with a homer, a sacrifice fly, and a groundout and Pasco beat Davenport 4-2 to keep pace with Goldendale. Ben Zobrist and Yaz hit homers, Carlos Zambrano pitched eight lovely innings, and Yakima beat Moses Lake 5-1. Barry Larkin's RBI single in the top of the ninth snapped a tie and gave Long Beach a 3-2 win at Wenatchee, which remained four back of Moses Lake in the East Division. Joe Adcock's RBI single in the top of the ninth put Aberdeen ahead, and they bested North Bend 5-3 for their ninth win in a row. Monte Irvin, Chase Utley, and Juan Uribe hit home runs and Quincy topped Bainbridge Island 6-3. Nolan Ryan pitched a five-hitter and struck out nine, Babe Ruth homered, and Renton blanked Forks 4-0. A rare error by Ozzie Smith opened the door for Hoquiam to score two in the seventh and beat Snoqualmie 6-5. Randy Johnson couldn't get out of the second inning, as Tumwater scored three in the first and two in the second and rolled to a 5-2 win over Jefferson County. Jose Valentin hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 13th and Vancouver beat Ephrata 5-2.
September 27
Mussina pitched a six-hitter, Mickey Mantle hit a two-run homer in the fourth, and Moses Lake blanked Yakima 3-0, reducing its magic number to clinch the East Division to nine. Bob Watson drove in four runs, Wenatchee took advantage of five Long Beach errors to score seven unearned runs, and the W's kept pace with Moses Lake with an 11-4 win. Phil Niekro and Joe Nathan teamed up on a five-hitter, Tim Naehring singled to drive in a run in the eighth, and North Bend snapped Aberdeen's nine-game winning streak 1-0. Ruth and Cal Ripken, Jr. hit home runs and Renton beat Forks 4-2. Keith Hernandez hit a two-run pinch homer to break a tie in the top of the seventh and Hoquiam held on to beat Snoqualmie 5-4. Randy Jones pitched seven three-hit innings and Jefferson County topped Tumwater 5-1. Bob Knepper scattered seven hits and Kelso topped Cashmere 6-1. Gaylord Perry allowed just three hits over seven innings and Pasco topped Davenport 4-1. Andy VanSlyke doubled to score Shane Victorino with the winning run in the bottom of the eleventh as Vancouver beat Ephrata 7-6. Quincy scored two in the top of the first and never trailed in a 5-2 win at Bainbridge Island. Goldendale scored eight in the bottom of the eighth and beat Ocean Shores 9-2.
September 28
Bobby Bonds had a home run, a double, and four RBI as Bainbridge Island beat Moses Lake in a battle of division leaders, 6-4. The Bees reduced their magic number to clinch the Puget Division to one. Matt Williams went 3-for-4 with a homer, double, and two RBI and Wenatchee beat Jefferson County 5-2 to inch within three games of Moses Lake in the East Division. Lefty Gomez pitched an eight-hitter, Hank Greenberg had a home run, a double, and three RBI, and Goldendale tightened its grip on the South Division race with a 7-2 win at Long Beach. Tom Candiotti pitched eight solid innings, Miguel Cabrera homered, and Cashmere beat Pasco 3-1, dropping the P's to five games behind Goldendale in the South. Dick Allen had a homer and three RBI, Hank Aaron drove in two runs, and Aberdeen edged Renton 7-6 to reduce its magic number for clinching the Coast Division to one. Don Sutton pitched a three-hitter and Snoqualmie blanked Forks 3-0. Gabby Hartnett scored on a groundout in the bottom of the 12th and Hoquiam beat Tumwater 5-4. Al Kaline and Jason Kendall homered, Mike Krukow pitched six solid innings, and Kelso topped Ocean Shores 8-1. Carlos Delgado hit a two-out homer in the bottom of the tenth and Davenport topped Vancouver 4-3. Katsuya Nomura snapped a tie with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, and North Bend held on for a 4-3 win at Quincy.
September 29
Jack Morris allowed just one run on four hits over eight innings, Joe Morgan, Eddie Mathews, and Johnny Mize hit home runs, and Moses Lake drubbed Bainbridge Island 10-1 and reduced its magic number for clinching the title in the East Division to eight. Bernie Williams hit a two-run double to cap a six-run rally in the eighth, and Wenatchee came from behind to beat Jefferson County 13-11, keeping the W's three back of Moses Lake. Garciaparra hit a two-run homer in the top of the eleventh and Goldendale beat Long Beach 4-2 and reduced its magic number in the South Division to five. Stan Coveleski pitched a three-hitter and went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI as Cashmere beat Pasco 5-2, dropping the P's to six games behind Goldendale in the South. Matt Holliday hit a pinch single in the bottom of the seventh to plate Toby Harrah with the go-ahead run and Hoquiam kept its pennant hopes alive by beating Tumwater 3-2. Gary Sheffield and Ron Santo homered and Snoqualmie beat Forks 6-4. Harmon Killebrew hit two home runs and a double and drove in six runs, Sandy Koufax pitched a seven-hitter and struck out 10, and Kelso drubbed Ocean Shores 10-1. Vancouver scored four in the top of the first and led all the way in a 6-5 win at Davenport. Johnny Edwards went 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI, and Ephrata piled up 19 hits in a 16-1 rout of Yakima.
September 30
Earl Averill drove in five runs with a pair of homers and a single; his two-run shot off Mariano Rivera in the bottom of the eighth gave Aberdeen the lead in a 6-5 win over Renton that clinched the Coast Divsion pennant for the A's. Mickey Mantle went 3-for-5 with a homer, double, and four RBI, Marty Marion drove in three runs, and Greg Maddux won his 20th as Moses Lake thumped Bainbridge Island 10-5. It was the M's 100th win, best in the league, and reduced their magic number for clinching the East Division to six. Jefferson County scored two in the bottom of the ninth, beating Wenatchee 5-4 and knocking the W's four games behind Moses Lake. Snoqualmie kept hope alive with a 5-3 win at Forks, though they're nine games behind Bainbridge Island in the Puget Division with nine left to play. Long Beach kayoed Bob Gibson with four in the fifth and beat Goldendale 5-2. Roger Clemens allowed just one hit, a single by Vada Pinson in the fourth, and he drove in the game's only run with a single in the seventh as Cashmere topped Pasco 1-0. Hoquiam beat Tumwater 5-4 in eleven innings but was eliminated from playoff contention. Yakima scored seven in the top of the ninth to take a 10-6 lead, but Ephrata answered with five in the bottom of the frame to win a wild one 11-10. North Bend scored seven in the top of the ninth, the rally capped by Trot Nixon's three-run double, and beat Quincy 10-4.
October 1
Joe Mauer's second homer of the game, a three-run shot in the bottom of the eighth, snapped a tie and gave Moses Lake its winning margin in a 7-4 win over Bainbridge Island. Reggie Jackson homered and drove in three runs, David Justice and Charles Johnson also went deep, and Jefferson County bested Wenatchee 8-6, reducing Moses Lake's magic number for clinching the East Division to four. Garciaparra hit three solo homers, Hank Gowdy hit his first round-tripper of the season, and Lefty Grove allowed just three hits over eight innings as Goldendale thumped Long Beach 9-1 and moved its magic number for clinching the South Division to three. Ruth and Ripken homered and Renton topped Coast Division champ Aberdeen 4-3. Todd Frazier hit a couple of doubles and drove in two runs as Forks beat Snoqualmie 3-1. Danny Tartabull hit a three-run homer to cap a four-run rally in the top of the first and Tumwater led all the way in a 6-5 win at Hoquiam. Bob Ojeda pitched seven solid innings and Ocean Shores beat Jim Kaat and Kelso 3-1. Rafael Palmeiro hit a pinch two-run homer in the top of the eighth to snap a tie and Pasco beat Cashmere 4-2. Leon Day pitched a four-hitter and Davenport blanked Vancouver 3-0. Zobrist and Yaz both had three ribbies in Yakima's 8-5 win at Ephrata. Hideo Nomo pitched a four-hitter and fanned nine, Mike Napoli hit a two-run homer, and North Bend shut out Quincy 3-0.
October 2
Vladimir Guerrero and Troy Glaus homered and Goldendale topped Jefferson County 7-4, reducing their magic number for clinching the South Division to two. Pasco scored all of its runs in the seventh, getting the go-ahead tally on a pinch single by Mike Piazza, and beat Ocean Shores 4-3 to remain six games behind Goldendale. Mussina pitched a three-hitter and improved his record to 12-1 as Moses Lake blanked North Bend 3-0, reducing their magic number in the East to three. Bernie Williams hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth and Wenatchee kept their playoff hopes alive with a 4-3 win over Hoquiam. Mike Schmidt singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 12th as Snoqualmie beat Aberdeen 2-1. Bill Terry's pinch single in the bottom of the ninth plated the game-winner as Tumwater edged Forks 3-2. Killebrew hit a three-run homer in the first, and Kelso scored two in the bottom of the eighth to beat Long Beach 5-3. Votto drove in five runs with a homer and a double, but it wasn't enough as Cashmere got home runs from Roberto Clemente, Cabrera, Orlando Cepeda, and Joe Cronin in a 9-7 win over Vancouver. Jordan Zimmerman scattered nine hits in a complete-game effort and Kouji Yamamoto had a homer and drove in three runs as Yakima topped Davenport 7-4. Bobby Bonds had a homer and knocked in three and Bainbridge Island beat Ephrata 5-2. Rogers pitched a three-hitter, Frank Robinson homered, and Renton shut out Quincy 3-0.
Injuries
Clayton Kershaw left his start September 30 with a sore elbow and is out for the rest of the season. Kelso called up Jimmy Key to finish out the season in their rotation. Howard Ehmke left his October 2 start because of a sore shoulder that will finish his season.