Impossible Dream???

[bigpapi]

July 12,13,14 at Kansas City Royals (8-82)

July 12-Boomer Scott hit a solo HR and Jim Lonborg pitched 7 solid innings as Boston won a squeaker over the Royals 4-3. (56-32)
W-Larry Maxie (6-1) L-Gary Neibauer (0-5) S-Sparky Lyle (28)

July 13-Bill Lee pitched a complete game, scattering 9 hits and allowing just 2 runs and Joe Foy hit a 2 run HR as Boston beat KC 5-3. (57-32)
W-Bill Lee (7-1) L-Jonah Stickles (2-14)

July 14-Ted Simmons went 3-4 with 4 RBI and Joe Moeller survived 7 innings as Boston swept the pesky Royals, winning 6-5. (58-32)
W-Joe Moeller (4-1) L-Tim Abbott (1-12) S-Sparky Lyle (29)

July 15,16,17 at Oakland Athletics (49-38)

July 15-Dennis Ribant helped his own cause, going 2-3 with 3 RBI and pinch hitter Earl Battey had a 2 run single as Oakland beat Boston 7-3. (58-33)
W-Dennis Ribant (12-3) L-Steve Carlton (2-5)

July 16-Ted Simmons hit a 2 run HR and Rico Petrocelli added a solo shot as Boston evened the series, beating the A's 4-2. (59-33)
W-Lee Stange (7-4) L-Paul Linblad (0-6) S-Sparky Lyle (30)

July 17-Reggie Jackson hit a bases clearing double in the 8th inning, and Bob Allison gave Oakland the lead with a single as the A's came back from a 3-0 defecit to win 4-3. (59-34)
W-Greg Washburn (5-3) L-Jim Lonborg (9-7) S-Pete Mikkelsen (8)

Around the MLB:

The Red Sox made two deals to try to get a little more offense over the last week. First Boston sent OF Ken Berry to the Washington Senators for OF Fred Rico. Rico was hitting .257 2-12 for the Senators, and Berry was hitting .269 1-15 for Boston.

The second deal was to send Jesus Alou to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for veteran Leon Wagner. Wagner was hitting .302 11-34 for the Indians at the time of the trade, and adds a solid bat to the lineup for Boston. Alou was hitting .311 0-16 for the Sox when traded.

A couple of other deals went down over the last week, one of them a biggie.

Atlanta sends P Tom House, P Dave Campbell and 1B Bob Beall
Washington sends P Pete Richert
Edge Atlanta as Richert moves right into the starting rotation.

St. Louis sends LF Leron Lee 3B Bill Stein 1B Skip James 2B Pedro Garcia
Pittsburgh sends LF Willie Stargell
I'm not sure about this deal as Pittsburgh acquires 3 players with peaks in the mid 80's, but they give up "Pops", who had hit 175 career homeruns for the Pirates, including 15 this year.

Up next for the Sox is a 3 game set in Baltimore against the Orioles followed by 3 at home against the Oakland A's.

[bigpapi]

July 18,19,20 at Baltimore Orioles (61-34)

July 18-Ted Simmons hit a 3 run HR accounting for all the Red Sox runs, but it was enough as Bill Lee scattered 9 hits over 6 innings in a 3-2 Boston win. (60-34)
W-Bill Lee (8-1) L-Steve Barber (9-9) S-Sparky Lyle (31)

July 19-Reggie Smith homered and drove in 3, and Leon Wagner added a pair of RBI as Boston outlasted Baltimore 9-7. (61-34)
W-Joe Moeller (5-1) L-Jim Palmer (14-2) S-Sparky Lyle (32)

July 20-Frank Robinson hit a 2 run HR as Baltimore avoided the sweep, beating Boston 4-1. (61-35)
W-Wally Bunker (11-3) L-Steve Carlton (2-6) S-Bill Landis (6)

July 21,22,23 v Oakland A's (53-40)

July 21-Boomer Scott hit a 3 run HR and Leon Wagner added a solo shot as Boston beat Oakland 6-2. (62-35)
W-Lee Stange (8-4) L-Chuck Dobson (3-6)

July 22-Jim Maloney pitched 8 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing just 2 hits, striking out 7 as the A's beat Boston 2-0. (62-36)
W-Jim Maloney (6-6) L-Jim Lonborg (9-8) S-Pete Mikkelsen (11)

July 23-Rico Petrocelli hit a 3 run HR, and Bill Lee won his 9th game, as Boston took 2 of 3 from Oakland, winning 6-3. (63-36)
W-Bill Lee (9-1) L-Dennis Ribant (13-4) S-Sparky Lyle (33)

Around the MLB:

Big trade news out of Boston as the Red Sox and Cubs complete a blockbuster trade. Boston sends injured P Luis Tiant to the North Side of Chicago in exchange for 3B Ron Santo. Tiant had gone 10-1 2.46 so far this year, but wasn't going to pitch until next season. Santo was hitting .319/.398/.513 15-56 this year and is a career .290 hitter with 290 career homeruns. He will move into the 5th spot in the order and cause young Don Money to learn how to play 2B when he comes back from injury.

Atlanta sends P Ron Scheuler P Mike McQueen
Cleveland sends P Horatio Pina
Edge Atlanta here as Pina is the superior pitcher to each of the two they sent.

Philadelphia sends P Bob Terlecki P Carlos Velazquez
Cleveland sends LF Deron Johnson
Edge Philly here as Johnson is a very solid bat and they don't give up much.

Willie Mays of the San Fransisco Giants collected his 3000th hit, a single off Cincinnati's Gary Nolan in a 2-0 Giants win. Below is the boxscore and play by play of the moment:

Cincinnati Reds at San Francisco Giants
July 4, 1969

                     1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 +  R  H  E
          Reds (CIN) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0  0  5  0
        Giants (SFG) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2  2  7  2

CINCINNATI           ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
P. Rose (2B)          4  1  1  0  0  0  2  0    .290
F. Robinson (RF)      4  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .269
V. Pinson (CF)        4  2  0  0  0  0  1  0    .333
T. Perez (1B)         5  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .282
H. McRae (LF)         4  1  0  0  0  0  0  0    .320
J. Bench (C)          1  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .260
 L. May (P)           1  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .244
 J. Edwards (C)       1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .286
C. Ruiz (3B)          4  0  0  0  0  0  0  1    .250
D. Chaney (SS)        4  1  0  0  0  0  1  0    .225
G. Nolan (P)          2  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .125
 D. Demeter (P)       1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .293
 J. Pena (P)          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .333
TOTALS               35  5  3  0  0  0  8  1


      CINCINNATI   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
        G. Nolan  8.0  4  5  0  0  0  5 106   3.90
         J. Pena  1.1  3  2  0  2  2  1  38   4.50
          TOTALS  9.1  7  7  0  2  2  6 144

SAN FRANCISCO        ab  h bb  r hr bi  k sb     avg
J. Hiatt (1B)         4  1  1  1  0  0  0  0    .312
D. Marshall (RF)      4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .255
T. Fuentes (SS)       4  2  1  1  0  0  1  0    .295
W. Mays (CF)          2  1  3  0  0  0  0  0    .338
T. Haller (C)         5  1  0  0  0  2  0  0    .284
K. Henderson (LF)     3  2  1  0  0  0  0  1    .313
C. Rojas (2B)         3  0  0  0  0  0  1  0    .232
B. Etheridge (3B)     2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .298
 W. McCovey (1B)      0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0    .309
 M. Shannon (P)       1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .224
G. Perry (P)          2  0  0  0  0  0  2  0    .109
 G. Tenace (P)        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .224
 L. McDaniel (P)      0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0    .000
TOTALS               31  7  7  2  0  2  6  1

   2B:  T. Fuentes (20)
   CS:  W. Mays

   SAN FRANCISCO   ip  h bb hr  r er  k pit    ERA
        G. Perry  9.0  5  2  0  0  0  7 134   2.34
     L. McDaniel  1.0  0  1  0  0  0  1  13   3.82
          TOTALS 10.0  5  3  0  0  0  8 147

     WP: L. McDaniel (5-4)
     LP: J. Pena (2-5)

     Temperature: 64F
     Wind: 6 MPH (in from right)
     Attendance: 34,736
     Time: 3:18

BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Willie Mays hit an infield single to short. <--1>
Tom Haller lined out to the pitcher. <--1>
Willie Mays was caught stealing second. <--->
Ken Henderson singled to left field. <--1>
Cookie Rojas flied out to center. <--1>
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, the game is tied at 0.

Ending July and leading into the Trade Deadline is 6 games at home against the Cleveland Indians.

[bigpapi]

July 25,26,27 v Cleveland Indians (39-60)

July 25-Boomer Scott and Leon Wagner each hit solo HR's, and Tony C. added a pair of RBI as Boston beat Cleveland 5-2. (64-36)
W-Joe Moeller (6-1) L-Gary Boyd (1-5) S-Sparky Lyle (34)

July 26-Leon Wagner homered for a 2nd straight day, and Tony C. hit his 23rd of the year as Boston held off the Indians 5-4. (65-36)
W-Larry Maxie (7-1) L-Ron Law (3-3)

July 27-Lee Stange pitched a complete game, scattering 9 hits, allowing just 1 run and striking out 7 as Boston swept the Indians, winning 4-1. (66-36)
W-Lee Stange (9-4) L-Tom Kelley (8-8)

July 29,30,31 v Cleveland Indians (39-63)

July 29-Ron Santo went 3-4 with 3 RBI and Ron Hunt, who has taken the 2nd base job from Mike Andrews, went 4-4 with 2 RBI as Boston beat Cleveland 6-2. (67-36)
W-Jim Lonborg (10-8) L-Jerry Koosman (1-9)

July 30-Rico Petrocelli hit a 3 run HR, his 18th of the year, and Reggie Smith added 2 RBI as Boston beat the Indians 6-3. (68-36)
W-Joe Moeller (7-1) L-Chuck Estrada (2-12) S-Sparky Lyle (35)

July 31-Rico Petrocelli, Joe Foy and Boomer Scott each had a pair of RBI, and Steve Carlton pitched his first complete game and first shutout for the Red Sox, allowing 8 hits while striking out 5 in the 10-0 Boston win. (69-36)
W-Steve Carlton (3-6) L-Gary Boyd (1-6)

Around the MLB: (Trade Deadline edition)

Baltimore sends P Paul Gilliford
Montreal sends OF Merv Rettemund
I guess Montreal is stocking up on minor league pitchers with hope that at least a couple pan out.

Cleveland sends P Ron Law
Chicago AL sends P Mike Thompson
Big edge here to the Sox as the get a pitcher rated in the mind 80's for one who's peak is just 80.

Washington sends P Joe Sparma
San Fransisco sends 3B Al Gallagher C John Harrell
Push here as Sparma was Washington's best pitcher, but Harrell could end up being a real solid catcher.

And in response to our acquisition of Ron Santo, the Baltimore Orioles made the following move:
Baltimore sends OF Al Bumbry LF Dick Smith
Pittsburgh sends C Manny Sanguillen
Sanguillen was hitting .338/.375/.457 2-34 for the Pirates this year, is only 25 and a huge upgrade over the combo of Phil Roof/Ellie Hendricks. The Pirates receive two very solid prospects though in Bumbry, who is ripping up AA hitting .384/.442/.527 8-86 and Dick Smith, who also in AA was hitting .339/.411/..491 8-66.

After the up to date team stats, leading off August for Boston is 3 more against the Indians followed by a trip to Chicago to face the White Sox.

[bigpapi]

Complete Team Batting Stats Through July 31-(team leaders in bold)

1969 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Scott, George             BOS  105  .253   419  106  13   1  24   41   90    0   0   59   70  .461  .320
Smith, Reggie             BOS   99  .259   394  102  12   3  19   59   56   12   7   70   57  .449  .361
Petrocelli, Rico          BOS  102  .321   390  125  13   2  19   50   69    0   0   60   72  .510  .398
Santo, Ron                BOS  101  .319   386  123  24   1  16   48   69    3   2   60   62  .510  .399
Simmons, Ted              BOS   93  .256   336   86  16   2   6   31   23    0   0   38   49  .369  .316
Conigliaro, Tony          BOS   84  .296   334   99  16   1  24   35   67    0   0   70   71  .566  .364
Andrews, Mike             BOS   76  .217   304   66  11   0   3   37   46    0   0   36   19  .283  .305
Wagner, Leon              BOS   85  .295   241   71  11   1  14   34   34    1   0   46   39  .523  .381
Rico, Fred                BOS   63  .254   232   59  11   0   2   27   41   10   4   41   12  .328  .337
Foy, Joe                  BOS   81  .243   222   54   7   4   5   37   36    5   2   34   25  .378  .357
Lewis, Allan              BOS   61  .280   207   58  17   0   5   12   33    9   9   26   21  .435  .318
Hunt, Ron                 BOS   60  .305   187   57   6   0   0   20   18    5   3   21   15  .337  .379
Mathews, Eddie            BOS   63  .238   151   36  10   0   5   31   32    3   0   22   29  .404  .370
Money, Don                BOS   30  .270   115   31   2   2   1   10   25    0   0   15   16  .348  .331
Lonborg, Jim              BOS   22  .085    47    4   0   0   0    5   24    0   0    2    3  .085  .170
Lee, Bill                 BOS   17  .077    39    3   1   0   0    2   15    0   0    4    3  .103  .119
Moeller, Joe              BOS   16  .211    38    8   0   0   0    2   17    0   0    2    2  .211  .250
French, Jim               BOS   15  .182    33    6   3   1   0   11    3    0   0    4    4  .333  .400
Stange, Lee               BOS   16  .121    33    4   0   0   0    4   12    0   0    4    1  .121  .216
Carlton, Steve            BOS   16  .290    31    9   0   0   0    2    9    0   0    1    2  .290  .333
Nen, Dick                 BOS   13  .125    16    2   1   0   1    0    3    0   0    2    3  .375  .125
Santiago, Jose            BOS    5  .214    14    3   0   0   0    1    6    0   0    3    1  .214  .267
Gibson, Russ              BOS    4  .300    10    3   0   0   1    0    0    0   0    2    1  .600  .300
Lahoud, Joe               BOS    3  .333     9    3   0   0   0    2    0    0   0    0    1  .333  .455
Baylor, Don               BOS    1  .500     4    2   1   0   0    1    1    0   0    0    2  .750  .600
Maxie, Larry              BOS    0  .667     3    2   1   0   0    0    1    0   0    1    0 1.000  .667
Fingers, Rollie           BOS    0  .000     2    0   0   0   0    1    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .333
Stephenson, Jerry         BOS    0  .000     1    0   0   0   0    0    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .000

Complete Team Pitching Stats Through July 31-(team leaders in bold)

1969 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Maxie, Larry              BOS   39.2  1.82   29   0   7   1   0   34   16  9.98
Lyle, Sparky              BOS   41.1  2.18   43   0   1   2  35   32   12  9.80
Moeller, Joe              BOS  127.2  2.47   26  16  11   3   0   83   37  9.31
Lonborg, Jim              BOS  160.1  2.53   22  22  10   8   0  106   33  9.37
Lee, Bill                 BOS  118.1  2.74   17  17   9   1   0   59   28  9.66
Stange, Lee               BOS  109.1  3.13   16  16   9   4   0   73   24 10.70
Carlton, Steve            BOS  108.1  3.49   19  16   3   6   0   81   41 12.13
Santiago, Jose            BOS   57.1  3.92   23   5   5   4   0   41   17 11.62
Fingers, Rollie           BOS   58.1  4.32   46   0   4   7   1   34   17 12.50
York, Jim                 BOS   14.2  6.14   11   0   1   0   0    9    9 15.95
Stephenson, Jerry         BOS   16.1  8.27   12   0   0   0   1   13    8 17.08

[bigpapi]

American League Standings Through July 31-

[bigpapi]

National League Standings Through July 31-

[bigpapi]

August 1,2,3 v Cleveland Indians (39-66)

August 1-Pinch hitter Ron Hunt drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning, giving Boston 7 straight wins over the Indians in a 5-4 victory. (70-36)
W-Larry Maxie (8-1) L-Larry Burchart (1-3)

August 2-Tony C. (26), Reggie Smith (21) and Ron Santo (2) each hit homeruns as Boston beat Cleveland 4-1. (71-36)
W-Jose Santiago (6-4) L-Jim Hardin (0-1) S-Sparky Lyle (36)

August 3-Rico Petrocelli and Ron Santo hit solo HR's and Jim Lonborg pitched a complete game, allowing just 4 hits, 1 run while striking out 6 in a 3-1 Sox win. (72-36)
W-Jim Lonborg (11-8) L-Jerry Koosman (1-10)

August 4,5,6 at Chicago White Sox (60-45)

August 4-Rico Petrocelli hit a 2 run HR, and Joe Moeller pitched 8 solid innings, allowing just 2 runs in a 4-2 Red Sox win. (73-36)
W-Joe Moeller (8-1) L-John Buzhardt (4-5) S-Sparky Lyle (37)

August 5-Pete Ward hit a 2 run HR, and Tommy John helped his own cause going 2-3 with 2 RBI as the White Sox beat the Red 5-4. (73-37)
W-Tommy John (12-8) L-Steve Carlton (3-7) S-Dennis Higgins (16)

August 6-Rico Petrocelli and Ron Santo each hit 2 run HR's as Boston took two of three from Chicago, winning 4-2. (74-37)
W-Lee Stange (10-4) L-Gary Peters (9-6) S-Sparky Lyle (38)

Around the MLB:

Willie Mays, hit his 30th HR of the year, a 2 run shot. It was his 653rd HR of his career, which leaves him 61 HR's shy of tying Babe Ruth's all time record. He is 38 years old now, but he's got a shot if he can play for about 3 more seasons.

Curt Simmons of the Chicago Cubs retired this week at age 40. He pitched for Philadelphia, St. Louis and Chicago in his career and ended with a record of 207-204 over the span of 22 seasons.

Up next for the Red Sox is 3 games in Cleveland, to play the Indians once again. Following that is a trip to the nations capital to play the Washington Senators.

[bigpapi]

August 8,9,10 at Cleveland Indians (40-71)

August 8-Ron Santo went 2-3 with 3 RBI and Bill Lee pitched a complete game, allowing just 2 runs and 6 hits in a 5-2 Boston win. (75-37)
W-Bill Lee (10-1) L-Jerry Koosman (1-11)

August 9-Jim Lonborg pitched a complete game shutout, allowing 4 hits while striking out 8, and Rico Petrocelli homered and drove in 4 as Boston blanked the Indians 7-0. (76-37)
W-Jim Lonborg (12-8) L-Chuck Estrada (2-14)

August 10-Tony Conigliaro homered and drove in 4, and Boomer Scott and Rico Petrocelli added 2 run shots as Boston swept the Indians, winning 10-4. (77-37)
W-Joe Moeller (9-1) L-Gary Boyd (2-7) S-Jose Santiago (1)

August 11,12,13 at Washington Senators (42-72)

August 11-Tony Conigliaro had 2 hits and 2 RBI and Steve Carlton pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball as Boston beat Washington 5-3. (78-37)
W-Steve Carlton (4-7) L-John Miller (2-3) S-Sparky Lyle (39)

August 12-Boomer Scott homered and drove in 3, and Tony C. added a 2 run shot as Boston blasted the Senators 9-2. (79-37)
W-Bill Lee (11-1) L-Johnny Podres (0-5)

August 13-Carl Morton pitched 8 shutout innings, as Washington avoided the sweep, beating up on the Sox 7-0. (79-38)
W-Carl Morton (9-15) L-Jose Santiago (6-5)

Around the MLB:

Following a 13 game winning streak, the expansion Seattle Pilots currently hold the lead in the AL West with a 68-49 record. They lead Chicago and Minnesota by 1 game, and Oakland by 2 1/2 games.

Next for the Sox is a 3 game set in Detroit against the Tigers followed by 3 more in Cleveland against the Indians.

[bigpapi]

August 14,15,16 at Detroit Tigers (57-60)

August 14-Jim Lonborg pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits while striking out 8 and helping his own cause with an RBI single in the 2-1 Boston win. (80-38)
W-Jim Lonborg (13-8) L-Jim Rooker (5-14) S-Sparky Lyle (40)

August 15-Pat Dobson pitched 8 solid innings, and 4 different Tigers drove in runs in a 4-3 Tiger victory. (80-39)
W-Pat Dobson (6-6) L-Joe Moeller (9-2) S-Fred Gladding (16)

August 16-Ron Santo, Joe Foy and Reggie Smith each hit homeruns, as Boston beat Detroit 5-3 in 11 innings. (81-39)
W-Sparky Lyle (2-2) L-Daryl Peterson (4-8)

August 17,18,19 at Cleveland Indians (40-77)

August 17-Ron Santo had a pair of RBI and Bill Lee pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball as Boston beat Cleveland 4-1. (82-39)
W-Bill Lee (12-1) L-Jerry Koosman (1-12) S-Jim York (1)

August 18-In a wild game, Boston took an 8-0 lead after two only to watch the Indians score the next 9 runs to take a 9-8 lead into the 7th, Boston then scored the next 4, including a 3 run Rico Petrocelli HR in a 12-9 Boston win. (83-39)
W-Jerry Stephenson (1-0) L-George Culver (2-3) S-Sparky Lyle (41)

August 19-Ron Santo hit a 2 run HR and Tony Conigliaro hit a solo shot as Boston swept the Indians to remain two games up on 2nd place Baltimore in a 8-3 victory. (84-39)
W-Jim Lonborg (14-8) L-Jim Hardin (0-2)

Around the MLB:

In a potentially crippling injury for the Boston Red Sox, P Lee Stange suffered a possibly career ending rotator cuff tear and will miss up to 12 full months. Stange was the veteran leader of the Sox rotation and had put up a line of 10-4 3.02 this year, and since joining the Sox was 52-30 in just about 3 full seasons.

The American League West is shaping up to be quite a race, below are the current AL West Standings:

Seattle 71-52
Chicago 67-50 1.0
Oakland 68-52 1.0
Minnesota 68-53 2.0
California 66-57 5.0

Next for Boston is 3 at home against the Washington Senators followed by 3 in Detroit to face off against the Tigers.

[bigpapi]

August 20,21,22 v Washington Senators (47-76)

August 20-Roger Repoz hit a 3 run HR, and rookie Jerry Reuss pitched a complete game, allowing 9 hits and 3 runs in the 6-3 Senators victory. (84-40)
W-Jerry Reuss (4-7) L-Joe Moeller (9-3)

August 21-Bill Lee pitched 8 innings of 2 run ball and 3 Sox hit homeruns as Boston beat up on Washington 9-2. (85-40)
W-Bill Lee (13-1) L-John Miller (2-5)

August 22-Bernie Allen went 4-4 with 4 RBI and Joe Coleman scattered 10 hits over 7 innings as Washington beat Boston 9-2. (85-41)
W-Joe Coleman (7-8) L-Steve Carlton (4-8)

August 23,24,25 at Detroit Tigers (59-64)

August 23-Denny McClain pitched a complete game shutout, allowing just 5 hits and striking out 3 as the Tigers blanked Boston 3-0. (85-42)
W-Denny McClain (14-6) L-Jose Santiago (6-6)

August 24-Norm Cash homered and drove in 4, and Detroit held off a Boston comeback to beat the Sox 8-7. (85-43)
W-Mickey Lolich (10-9) L-Jerry Stephenson (1-1) S-Fred Gladding (17)

August 25-Norm Cash hit a 2 run HR and Pat Dobson pitched a complete game, allowing just 1 run, as the Tigers completed the sweep of the Red Sox, winning 3-2. (85-44)
W-Pat Dobson (7-6) L-Jim Lonborg (14-9)

Ending up August for the Sox is 3 games in Cleveland against the Indians followed by 3 games at home against the Kansas City Royals.

[bigpapi]

August 26,27,28 at Cleveland Indians (40-86)

August 26-Rico Petrocelli hit a 3 run HR and Tony Conigliaro added a 2 run shot as Boston plastered the Indians 9-2. (86-44)
W-Bill Lee (14-1) L-Tom Kelley (8-10)

August 27-Joe Moeller pitched 2 hit ball over 8 innings, and Fred Rico hit his first HR as a member of the Red Sox, as Boston beat Cleveland 4-2. (87-44)
W-Joe Moeller (10-3) L-Jerry Koosman (1-14) S-Sparky Lyle (42)

August 28-The Red Sox completed the sweep of Cleveland as Jose Santiago pitched 6 innings of 1 run ball and 4 different Sox drove in runs in the 4-1 victory. (88-44)
W-Jose Santiago (7-6) L-Chuck Estrada (2-15) S-Sparky Lyle (43)

August 29,30,31 v Kansas City Royals (17-115)

August 29-Ron Santo and Boomer Scott hit 3 run HR's and Joe Foy added a 2 run shot, and Steve Carlton pitched a complete game shutout allowing just 4 hits, as Boston beat up on the Royals 10-0. (89-44)
W-Steve Carlton (5-8) L-Jonah Stickles (4-18)

August 30-Vic Roznovsky hit a solo HR in the top of the 12th inning as the Royals surprised the Red Sox by winning 4-3 in 12 innings. (89-45)
W-Gary Neibauer (2-9) L-Larry Maxie (8-2) S-Ward Earles (4)

August 31-The Red Sox hit 5 homeruns, including Tony C.'s 32nd of the year, a 3 run shot as Boston blasted the Royals 11-4. (90-45)
W-Bill Lee (15-1) L-Bobby Clement (0-22)

Next for the Sox is a 3 game set in the Bronx against the Yankees followed by 3 at home against the Detroit Tigers. First will be complete team stats.

[bigpapi]

Complete Team Batting Stats Through August 31-(team leaders in bold)

1969 Batting             Team    G   AVG    AB    H  2B  3B  HR   BB    K   SB  CS    R  RBI   SLG   OBP
Scott, George             BOS  135  .268   538  144  18   3  30   51  111    0   0   71   90  .480  .332
Smith, Reggie             BOS  129  .276   521  144  19   6  26   76   64   17  10   95   73  .486  .373
Petrocelli, Rico          BOS  132  .329   511  168  23   3  32   64   95    0   0   88   99  .573  .404
Santo, Ron                BOS  131  .324   500  162  28   5  25   64   84    3   2   83   91  .550  .405
Conigliaro, Tony          BOS  114  .297   468  139  25   1  32   38   89    0   0   90   99  .560  .350
Simmons, Ted              BOS  117  .241   423  102  16   2   6   39   32    0   0   44   54  .331  .303
Andrews, Mike             BOS   78  .216   305   66  11   0   3   37   46    0   0   36   19  .282  .304
Foy, Joe                  BOS  102  .249   293   73  10   4   9   46   40    5   3   45   35  .403  .356
Lewis, Allan              BOS   82  .280   289   81  21   1   5   19   48   12  12   39   29  .412  .325
Wagner, Leon              BOS   97  .270   278   75  12   1  14   37   40    1   0   50   40  .471  .354
Rico, Fred                BOS   79  .254   260   66  12   0   3   29   45   10   5   47   14  .335  .333
Hunt, Ron                 BOS   74  .297   232   69   8   0   0   24   24    5   3   22   18  .332  .376
Mathews, Eddie            BOS   66  .235   153   36  10   0   5   32   32    3   0   23   29  .399  .369
Money, Don                BOS   30  .270   115   31   2   2   1   10   25    0   0   15   16  .348  .331
Lonborg, Jim              BOS   28  .111    63    7   0   0   0    5   33    0   0    3    4  .111  .174
French, Jim               BOS   26  .183    60   11   4   1   0   15    7    0   0    6    6  .283  .359
Lee, Bill                 BOS   23  .107    56    6   1   0   0    2   23    0   0    6    3  .125  .136
Moeller, Joe              BOS   21  .180    50    9   0   0   0    2   22    0   0    3    2  .180  .212
Carlton, Steve            BOS   21  .244    45   11   0   0   0    2   10    0   0    1    2  .244  .277
Stange, Lee               BOS   18  .108    37    4   0   0   0    4   13    0   0    4    1  .108  .195
Santiago, Jose            BOS   10  .125    24    3   0   0   0    3   11    0   0    4    1  .125  .222
Nen, Dick                 BOS   13  .125    16    2   1   0   1    0    3    0   0    2    3  .375  .125
Gibson, Russ              BOS    4  .300    10    3   0   0   1    0    0    0   0    2    1  .600  .300
Lahoud, Joe               BOS    3  .333     9    3   0   0   0    2    0    0   0    0    1  .333  .455
Baylor, Don               BOS    1  .500     4    2   1   0   0    1    1    0   0    0    2  .750  .600
Maxie, Larry              BOS    0  .500     4    2   1   0   0    0    2    0   0    1    0  .750  .500
Fingers, Rollie           BOS    0  .000     2    0   0   0   0    1    0    0   0    0    0  .000  .333
Stephenson, Jerry         BOS    1  .000     2    0   0   0   0    0    1    0   0    0    0  .000  .000

Complete Team Pitching Stats Through August 31-(team leaders in bold)

1969 Pitching            Team     IP   ERA    G  GS   W   L  SV    K   BB   R/9
Maxie, Larry              BOS   55.2  2.10   39   0   8   2   0   39   24 10.19
Lyle, Sparky              BOS   52.1  2.24   52   0   2   2  43   40   14  9.11
Lonborg, Jim              BOS  208.1  2.29   28  28  14   9   0  148   43  8.99
Lee, Bill                 BOS  165.1  2.61   23  23  15   1   0   72   37  9.36
Moeller, Joe              BOS  162.2  2.71   31  21  14   5   0  107   47  9.63
Wenz, Fred                BOS    3.0  3.00    2   0   0   0   0    4    0  6.00
Stange, Lee               BOS  122.1  3.02   18  18  10   4   0   80   29 10.89
Carlton, Steve            BOS  140.2  3.45   24  21   5   8   0  110   53 12.16
Santiago, Jose            BOS   88.2  3.86   29  10   7   6   1   61   31 11.98
Fingers, Rollie           BOS   69.1  4.28   55   0   4   7   1   44   22 12.59
York, Jim                 BOS   26.1  6.49   21   0   1   0   1   19   11 15.04
Stephenson, Jerry         BOS   26.0  6.92   16   1   1   1   1   18   17 16.96

[bigpapi]

September 1,2,3 at New York Yankees (72-63)

September 1-Joe Moeller pitched 8 shutout innings, and Ron Santo drove in the only run of the game with an RBI single in the 8th as Boston blanked New York 1-0. (91-45)
W-Joe Moeller (11-3) L-Dooley Womack (4-4) S-Sparky Lyle (44)

September 2-A 4 run 8th inning capped by pinch hitter Willie Smith's 3 run HR gave New York the victory in a wild 11-10 game. (91-46)
W-Jack Aker (5-6) L-Sparky Lyle (2-3)

September 3-Roy White and Horace Clarke each hit solo HR's as the Yankees took two of three from Boston, winnint 3-1. (91-47)
W-Fritz Peterson (8-9) L-Jim Lonborg (14-10) S-Dooley Womack (3)

September 4,5,6 v Detroit Tigers (64-68)

September 4-Ron Santo hit a solo HR and Bill Lee pitched 7 solid innings as Boston beat Detroit 5-3. (92-47)
W-Larry Maxie (9-2) L-Fred Lasher (10-4) S-Sparky Lyle (45)

September 5-Rookie Don Baylor, playing in place of the injured Tony Conigliaro hit the first 2 homeruns of his career, and Boomer Scott added a solo shot as Boston beat the Tigers 5-1. (93-47)
W-Joe Moeller (12-3) L-Camilo Pascual (5-7)

September 6-A 7 run 8th inning, capped by a bases clearing double by Willie Horton gave Detroit a 10-1 shellacking of the Red Sox. (93-48)
W-Pat Dobson (8-7) L-Steve Carlton (5-9)

Around the MLB:

Pennant Race Update:

AL East:
Baltimore 94-44
Boston 93-48 2.5

AL West:
Seattle 81-57
Minnesota 77-60 3.5
Chicago 75-60 4.5
Oakland 76-61 4.5
California 75-62 5.5

The National League is all but locked up as St. Louis (87-51) has an 11 1/2 game lead and in the West the San Fransisco Giants have baseballs best record at 98-40 and a 17 game lead over 2nd place Houston.

Next for Boston is a 3 game set in Detroit to finish the home and home series followed by a 3 game series in Seattle against the surprising Pilots.

[bigpapi]

September 7,8,9 at Detroit Tigers (65-70)

September 7-Norm Cash homered twice, including a 2 run shot off Sparky Lyle in the bottom of the 12th inning giving the Tigers a 6-4 win. (93-49)
W-Mike Marshall (3-4) L-Sparky Lyle (2-4)

September 8-Ike Brown hit a 2 run HR in a 5 run 5th inning and the Tigers made it hold up in the 5-4 victory. (93-50)
W-Mickey Lolich (12-9) L-Jim Lonborg (14-11) S-Fred Gladding (18)

September 9-Bill Freehan and Al Kaline hit 2 run homeruns, and Norm Cash added a solo shot as the Tigers completed the sweep, winning 7-5. (93-51)
W-Daryl Patterson (5-8) L-Larry Maxie (9-3) S-Fred Gladding (19)

September 10,11,12 v Seattle Pilots (82-59)

September 10-Rico Petrocelli and Ted Simmons hit 2 run HR's, and Joe Moeller pitched 6 strong innings as the Red Sox beat the Pilots 4-2. (94-51)
W-Joe Moeller (13-3) L-Tug McGraw (14-6) S-Sparky Lyle (46)

September 11-The Red Sox hit 4 homeruns, including a 3 run shot by Rico Petrocelli and a 2 run HR by Don Baylor as Boston outlasted Seattle 8-7. (95-51)
W-Steve Carlton (6-9) L-Juan Pizarro (17-9) S-Sparky Lyle (47)

September 12-Adolfo Phillips hit 2 homeruns, including a solo shot in the bottom of the 13th inning off Sparky Lyle giving Seattle the last game of the series, winning 6-5. (95-52)
W-Bob Moose (4-0) L-Sparky Lyle (2-5)

Around the MLB:

Pennant Race Update:

AL East:
Baltimore 97-45
Boston 95-52 4.5

AL West:
Seattle 83-61
Oakland 80-61 1.5
Chicago 79-61 2.0
California 78-63 3.5
Minnesota 78-63 3.5

38 year old Willie Mays of the San Fransisco Giants is having the best year of his Hall of Fame career, currently in line to win the Triple Crown. He is hitting .347/.426/.667 41-124, and currently sits at 664 career HR's, just 50 behind Babe Ruth.

Next up for the Red Sox is 3 in Minnesota against the Twins followed by a 3 game set at home against the Detroit Tigers.

[bigpapi]

September 13,14,15 at Minnesota Twins (78-63)

September 13-Mack Jones hit an RBI double in the bottom of the 9th inning, giving Minnesota a 3-2 win over the Sox. (95-53)
W-Charlie Waters (8-11) L-Jose Santiago (7-7)

September 14-Joe Foy drove in a pair of runs, and Joe Moeller pitched 7 solid innings as Boston beat the Twins 6-4. (96-53)
W-Joe Moeller (14-3) L-Jim McAndrew (5-3) S-Sparky Lyle (48)

September 15-Dean Chance pitched 8 innings of 1 run ball, outdueling Steve Carlton, who allowed just 2 runs in 7 innings as the Twins beat the Red Sox 2-1. (96-54)
W-Dean Chance (13-10) L-Steve Carlton (6-10) S-Tom Hall (21)

September 16,17,18 v Detroit Tigers (71-73)

September 16-Don Baylor and Tony Congiliaro went back to back in the 4th inning helping Boston to a 3-1 win over the Tigers. (97-54)
W-Jim Lonborg (15-11) L-Mickey Lolich (12-11)

September 17-Ron Santo drove in the only run of the game with a sac fly, and Bill Lee pitched 8 shutout innings as Boston blanked Detroit 1-0. (98-54)
W-Bill Lee (16-1) L-Jim Rooker (5-17) S-Sparky Lyle (49)

September 18-Norm Cash hit a 2 run HR and Ike Brown drove in 3 as Detroit avoided the sweep, beating Boston 6-3. (98-55)
W-Fred Lasher (11-4) L-Rollie Fingers (4-8) S-Fred Gladding (21)

Around the MLB:

Pennant Race Update:

AL East:

Baltimore 99-48
Boston 98-55 4.0

AL West:

Seattle 87-62
Chicago 82-64 3.5
California 82-64 3.5
Minnesota 82-65 4.0
Oakland 81-66 5.0

The final 9 games of the season for the Sox are all in Fenway, 3 vs Twins, 3 vs the Pilots and ending with 3 vs the Tigers.