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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL | 1975 SEASON REPLAY

NEW YORK, N.Y. - (Aug.3 ) - The first weekend of August baseball has concluded and things have tightened up all over the major league map. The once-unbeatable Cincinnati Reds have seen their lead shrink to under 10 games as the Dodgers have been red-hot, the Oakland Athletics, once given up on, have soared back to tie the Kansas City Royals in the AL West, the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles are within a half-game of each other with the Boston Red Sox right on their heels in the AL East and the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies are neck-and-neck in the NL East and are trying to hold off the New York Mets and surging St. Louis Cardinals.

In the NL East, the Cardinals have won four games in a row and are within 12 games of the Pirates. Winners of six of their last 10 games (the same record as Pittsburgh over the same stretch), St. Louis is the hottest team in the division. However, there is no hotter team in baseball than the Los Angeles Dodgers. Los Angeles has won nine of their last 10 games with most of them coming against the first-place Reds. Once 16.5 games behind the Reds, the Dodgers have crept within 9.5 of Cincinnati as the Big Red Machine has lost eight of 10 games.

The Orioles and Yankees have been battling back-and-forth since the All-Star break and now the Orioles are a half-game up on New York. Both teams have won six of 10 with the Orioles having won four straight and New York two straight games. However, the hottest team in the division over the last 10 games is the Boston Red Sox. The Bosox are 7-3 and have climbed to within six games of the lead and recently took three of four games from the Yankees in New York.

Nobody is hotter in the American League than the Oakland Athletics who have won six games in a row. Just over the past week, the A's have picked up 5.5 games and after winning seven of 10 games, they have moved to the top of the AL West as they are tied with the struggling Kansas City Royals. The rest of the division isn't backing off as the Minnesota Twins, also winners of seven of their last 10 games are 3.5 games behind while the White Sox are still hanging around at 4.5 games behind. 

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - (July 27) - The National League Eastern division is shaping up to be a two-team race with both of those teams coming from Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies are going back-and-forth in the NL East and with less than two months left in the season it looks like this state-rivalry will not end until the final pitch of the season is thrown.

The Pirates and the Phillies are within one-half games of each other as both teams have eclipsed the 100-game mark. Currently, the Pirates hold a one-half game lead in the division and have a game in hand over the Phillies.

The Pirates (56-44, .560) have won a major-league best five games, yet it is the Phillies (56-45, .554) who have won seven of their last 10 games, a game better than Pittsburgh over the same stretch.

"We don't care who we are competing against," said Dave Parker of the Pirates. "We just want to win the pennant, if that means beating Philadelphia, New York or whoever then we'll do it. Our goals are the postseason and winning the World Series and we won't let nay team stand in our way. Now if we happen to beat the Phillies along the way, even better." 

The Phillies and the Pirates have split 10 games so far this season with the Phillies taking 2-of-3 in Pittsburgh and the Pirates winning 4-of-7 in Philadelphia. The teams will play eight more times this season beginning with an three-game series this week in Pittsburgh. The two play twice in Philadelphia on Sept. 17 and 18 and conclude their regular season meetings on Sept. 23-25 at Three Rivers Stadium.

The Pirates have outscored the Phillies, 43-33, in 10 games in a series that has been equal in many aspects, if not in a per game basis. The Phillies won the first two meetings with the Pirates coming back to win the next two games. The Phillies ran off three straight wins before the Pirates won the last three meetings. Only one game was decided by one run, the Phillies too a 5-4 meeting in the first game of the teams last four game series at Veterans Stadium. The teams are also nearly the same in games within the division. Pittsburgh has a 32-20 mark while the Phillies are 31-21 within the NL East.

"We don't just compete against the Pirates," said Mike Schmidt, the Phillies third baseman. "We have to compete day in and day out against all the teams in the east, not just Pittsburgh. Plus we also have to play the west. It isn't going to be an easy road and the Pirates will be a major part it looks like, but before it comes down to final few weeks, we are going to compete against whoever is on the schedule that day."

NEW YORK, NY (July 13) - The All-Star break has come and the major league season has had a tremendous amount of drama, and excitement. A no-hitter, two players hitting for the cycle, a tremedous amount of individual accolades and one team that is on pace to have the greatest season in the history of baseball. In addition, three races are still up in the air with both New York teams in contention.

The Cincinnati Reds have 70 wins at the All-Star break and will have six players start in the All-Star Game on Tuesday evening in Milwaukee. Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Joe Morgan, Dave Concepcion, Pete Rose and George Foster will all start as the Reds will have the entire starting infield for the first time in history. The only starters not represented by the Reds will be Al Oliver and Dave Parker of the Pittsburgh Pirates. Bob Watson of the Houston Astros will make the start as the National League's designated hitter.

In the American League, seven teams will be represented in the starting lineup with the Boston Red Sox and New york Yankees having two starters. Boston will field Jim rice and Fred Lynn while the Yankees will start Thurman Munson and Graig Nettles. John Mayberry of the Kansas City Royals will start at first base while Rod Carew of the Minnesota Twins will be the starting second baseman and Toby Harrah of the Texas Rangers will make the start at shortstop. The Baltimore Orioles Ken Singleton will start in right field while Reggie Jackson of the Oakland Athletics will be the designated hitter.

The National League East sees the Pittsburgh Pirates holding a half-game lead over the Philadelphia Phillies with the Mets just four and one-half games behind. The Reds lead the west by 14.5 games over the Dodgers and 19 over the Giants as the Big Red Machine seemingly will coast into the playoffs. In the American League, the New York Yankees are making things difficult on the Orioles. New York is just 1.5 games behind as the east is turning into a two-team race. The Royals are beginning to seperate themselves in the American League West as they hold a 6.5 game lead over the A's and a seven game lead over the Twins.

Major League Leaders
Batting
NL - Bob Watson, Houston, .347
AL - Rod Carew, Minnesota, .372
Home Runs
NL - Johnny Bench, Cincinnati, 23
AL - Bobby Bonds, New York, 18
Runs Batted In
NL - Johnny Bench, Cincinnati, 88
AL - John Mayberry, Kansas City, 77
Stolen Bases
NL - Joe Morgan, Cincinnati, 39
AL - Mickey Rivers, California, 41

NEW YORK, NY (July 6) - Major League Baseball and the offices of the National and American Leagues announced the pitching staffs for the 1975 All-Star Game. The National League also announced that Don Sutton of the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the starting pitcher while the American League siad they will send the Oakland Athletics left-hander Ken Holtzman to the hill for the mid-summer classic to be played at County Stadium in Milwaukee, Wisc. on July 15.

Sutton, who has one start left before the game, has a league-leading 13 wins including six straight wins. The right-hander is coming off a five-hit shutout against the Padres, his third of the season. He also blanked the Mets with a 10-strikeout effort on May 26 and tossed a four-hit shutout against the Braves on April 28.

Holtzman is tied with Sutton for the major league win total and has won 13 of his last 14 decisions. The left-hander has six complete games and one shutout which came at County Stadium when he blanked the Brewers on June 11 with a four-hit effort. 

A pair of Naltional League teams will have two representatives as Sutton will be joined by Dodger teammate Mike Marshall. The Cincinnati Reds will be represented by starter Don Gullett and Rawly Eastwick. The visiting National League All-Stars will have the league's leader in ERA, Woodie Fryman of the Montreal Expos, Tom Seaver of the New York Mets and Steve Carlton of the Philadelphia Phillies. Relievers Dave Guisti of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Al Hrabosky of the St. Louis Cardinals and Gary LaValle of the San Francisco Giants were also selected as was starter Randy Jones of the San Diego Padres.

The Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox each have two representatives. Jim Palmer and Doyle Alexander will represent the first-place leading Orioles while Bill Lee and reliever Dick Drago represent the Bosox. Sparky Lyle of the New York Yankees and Doug Bird of the Kansas City Royals will be joined by Detroit Tigers bullpen ace John Hiller. Jim Kaat of the Chicago White Sox and the Cleveland Indian's Dennis Eckersley will also join the staff.

The American League has announced 10 members of their staff with the final member to be named later this week with the final pitchers for consideration being Pat Dobson of the Yankees, Frank Tanana and Nolan Ryan of the California Angels, Steve Busby of the Kansas City Royals and Dave Goltz of the Minnesota Twins. 

1975 All-Star Game
July 15, 1975 at County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisc.
National League (Don Sutton, 13-4, 2.93) vs. American League (Ken Holtzman, 13-2, 2.11)

NEW YORK, NY (June 29) - With Sunday's win by the Kansas City Royals over the Chicago White Sox, the American League Western Division saw it's fourth division leader already this season. The Royals join the White Sox, Minnesota Twins and the Texas Rangers as leaders of what is being known around the majors as the wild, wild west.

With the Royals leading the division, it seems like another team may make a run at the division lead as the Oakland Athletics. Oakland has won seven straight games and has soared to within two and one-half games of the lead in the west. While an 8-2 record over their last 10 games has Oakland moving towards the top of the division, the Rangers are headed in the opposite direction.

The Rangers have lost nine of their last 10 games and are in the midst of an eight game losing streak as they now stand eight games out of first place. five games under the .500 mark. Over the past 11 games, the Rangers, who never had a problem scoring runs earlier in the year, scored just 18 runs and only once scored over four runs.

"There isn't any fancy reason why we haven't been winning," said Mike Hargrove. "We aren't hitting or scoring any runs. We have been pitching well, but we just haven't been able to punch any runs across the plate." 

Overall, Texas has lost 12 of 13 games and have been shutout three times in their last 10 games. Their enemic streak of offense contiinued recently as they scored just two runs over a four-game stretch, being outscored, 21-2, in sweeps at the hands of the White Sox and Twins. 

Meanwhile the division has tightened up with two and one-half games seperating the top four teams in the division. The Athletics have been the hottest team in the league and hasn't lost a series since dropping two of three games to the Cleveland Indians at the end of May. Since dropping two straight games to the Royals, the A's have won seven games in a row.

The A's pitching has been a major reason for their recent success as three of their five strtaers have earned run averages under 3.00 as Ken Holtzman (224), Dick Bosman (2.27) and Vida Blue (2.74) have contributed to the A's move to the top of the west.

"We knew we had a good team, but we got off to a slow start," said Blue. "We are beginning to jell and I think once things get to where they should be then things will be in order. Until we are in first place at the end of September we won't be satisfied.

St. LOUIS, Mo. (June 22) - The Cardinals enjoyed first place in the National League Eastern Division for the better part of the first two months of the season and began June atop the perch of the eastern nest. However, a rough June has pushed the Cardinals not only out of first place, but are currently in third place and are looking anything but first rate.

The Cardinals are 6-14 in the month of June and recently fell under the .500 mark for the first time since April 10. At 31-32 they have seen their two game lead which they held at the end of May vanish as they currently sit in third place, only a half game ahead of the fourth place New York Mets.

The Redbirds alternated loss and wins for the first six games iof June before a horrific streak in which they lost 10 of 11 games beginning with the final game of a three game series at the Astros. The loss kicked off a six-game losing streak which included defeats to Atlanta, two at Cincinnati and two at home against the Astros.

"The six game slide was rough," said Ted Simmons. "We had some rainouts in Atlanta that I thought would help us straighten up, but it just seemed to make us more lethargic."

After a win over the Astros to salvage the final game of the three game series, things got worse for the Cards. With a 29-27 record and only a half game out of first place, the Cardinals seemed ready to get over the hump with as a visit to Pittsburgh could have helped St. Louis get back near the top of the division. The Pirates swept three games from the Redbirds and after the weekend, the Cardinals found themselves in fourth place, three and one-half games out of first place.

In June, the Cardinals have scored four or fewer runs 14 times, while almost in a direct opposite, the Redbirds pitching staff has surrenderred four or more runs 15 times.

"We haven't put ourselves in position to win," said manager Red Schoendienst. "It's as simply as that. When we hit, which is rarely, we don't get good pitching and vice versa. But, it's a long year and things will turnaround. We'll make sure of it." 

One person who hasn't slipped in June is future Hall of Famer. Lou Brock. The Cardinals speedy outfielder, who has 26 stolen bases, began the month hitting .293, but has raised his average to .304 and is currently in the midst of a nine game hitting streak. Ted Simmons is still leading the National League in batting at .358 has never slowed down since the beginning of the season and is a major reason the Cardinals haven't slipped further in the standings.

"Nobody does it all at this level," added Simmons. "We have a solid squad and we showed that when things are going well we have one of the best clubs in the league. We just have to get back to what we were doing earlier in the year." 

LOS ANGELES - The Philadelphia Phillies moved into first-place in the NL East in spectacular fashion as Wayne Twitchell no-hit the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon, 2-0.

Things were not easy for Twitchell (3-3, 2.10) as he overcame a pair of errors and five walks. Three of the walks he issued came in the fifth inning when passes to Ron Cey, Steve Yeager and Ivan DeJesus jammed the sacks with just one out. However, Twitchell got pinch-hitter Leron Lee to ground into a double play.

"I just can't believe it," said Twitchell. "It is so hard to put into words.  There was so much going on, it was an interesting game. But, i am so happy and proud of everyone, it was truly a team effort."

After scoring runs in the fourth and fifth innings, focused turned to Twitchell. The right-hander retired the side in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings. He strcuk out nine Dodgers including Tom Paciorek in the eighth inning with Davey Lopes on second base.

The ninth inning provided even more dramatics as Jimmy Wynn was a strikeout victim to begin the inning. Steve Garvey went down on strikes, but the third strike scooted away from Larry Cox, who replaced Bob Boone after he was injured after getting hit by a pitch in the sixth inning.

"I never prayed as hard as I did when that pitch got away from me in the ninth," said Cox, who let a third strike against Steve Garvey scoot away from hiim in the ninth inning. "Thank goodness for Terry [Harmon]."

As the crowd stood, Ron Cey stepped to the plate and after running the count to 2-2 Cey lined a shot to the shortstop side of second base where Terry Harmon, subing for Larry Bowa, dived to his left making a spectacular play and then doubling off Garvey at first base to give Twitchell his mark in history.

"I wish I could say something memorable," said Harmon. "But, all I did was react and thank God I came up with the ball."

Summer Heating Up in the Majors
What a week in major league baseball as a number of memorable games took place in the last week...on June 8, Willie McCovey hit three home runs and John Grubb hit for the cycle in the same game...Frank Tanana tied the major league mark for strikeouts with a 14 strikeout night against Milwaukee...Wayne Twitchell pitched the season's first no-hitter...Leroy Stanton hit for the cycle.

CHICAGO, Ill. (June 8) - The New York Yankees sauntered into the Windy City in first place in the American League Eastern Division. They left town a half-game out of first place in the East and were mercifully left flat at the heels of the Chicago White Sox as the surging Chisox gave the Yankees and old fashion beat down at Comiskey Park.

"They got on us fast on Friday and we couldn't get things corrected all weekend," said New York's captain Thurman Munson. "We have a great road record, better than we have at home, yet we just had no answer's for them. It's as simple as that."

Interesting enough, the Yankees had just as many hits as the White Sox (32) even though they lost a trio of games, 11-2, 5-3 and 4-3, during a weekend in which the Bombers left 34 runners on base while committing six errors.

"We couldn't get things done in the clutch," said first baseman Chris Chambliss. "We had our opportunities, but we always came up a hit or two short. We didn't field well and while we were close on Saturday and Sunday we were never really in control at any point during the weekend."

The Chisox on the other hand were not intimidated by New York and moved up in the AL West to two games behind the first -place Minnesota Twins. Chicago trailed only once throughout the weekend trailing on Sunday, 3-0, as Graig Nettles hit a three-run home run before a rally which led to a 4-3 win. Chicago held New York at bey with solid pitching as they outscored New York, 20-8, over the weekend.

"We still aren't playing as well as we can be," said White Sox manager Chuck Tanner, who still doesn't have a player hitting over .300 this season. "But, this weekend we did alot of good things that I believe will carry us for a little bit. We needed to play well and we did."

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (June 1) -  As the major league baseball season snters the month of June the weather isn't the only thing that is heating up.  So is Minnesota Twins second baseman Rod Carew.

The Twins future all-star is flirting with the .400 mark as he enters the third month of the season with a .389 average. The left-handed hitting Carew had his average up as high as .395 last week as the Red Sox took a weekend series from the Boston Red Sox.

Carew has been a mjor reason for Minnesota's success as the Twins lead the ultra-competitive American League West Division. The Twins are a game ahead of the Kansas City Royals and are riding the hot-hitting Carew early in the year.

"The way Rod is hitting has carried over to the rest of the lineup," said Steve Braun. "People say hitting is contagious, but it is more than that. The way Rod is swinging the bat is making it very hard on opposing pitchers and I think they are getting a little frustrated." 

Carew just saw his 19-game hitting streak end against the Red Sox this afternoon. Carew began the streak hitting .307 and amazingly entered Sunday's game with a .395 mark as he went 41-for-87 during the streak. 

"I have been seeing the ball well and that's important," said Carew. "I have been patient and staying back, just doing all the things I have always done and it just sems like now things are beginning to fall my way. More important though is how well we have been playing and how well Lyman (Bostock) and Steve (Braun) have been hitting as well. Last week the three of us had hitting streaks over 10 games." 

The odds of Carew hitting over .400 are long to say the least. Right now he is hitting 11 points under the mark which means that even if he hit 10-for-25 (.400) over his next four or five games his average would only move to .390, up one point. However, the smooth-swinged Carew has raised the interest, now he just needs to continue to raise his average. 

NEW YORK, NY (May 27) - Look out Baltimore Orioles, here come the New York Yankees. After leading the American League's East Division since the beginning of the season, the Orioles are trying to kick the Yankkes off their heels as New York is just one-half game behind Baltimore heading into June.

A day after blowing a big lead in Kansas City, New York defeated the Royals as the Orioles dropped their second straight game to the Oakland A's as the Orioles are in danger of falling out of first place for the first time this season.

"The last time I checked we were still in first place," barked Orioles manager Earl Weaver after Baltimore lost its second straight game to Oakland. "And if I remember right the season lasts through September, not May."

While the Orioles have been struggling, the Yankees have been playing consistently well, even though they have split their last eight games, the Yankees are 10-5 over the last 15 games, cutting the Orioles lead from four and one-half games on May 1 to even in the loss column.

The Yankees stand nine games over .500 even though they have received sub par performances from Catfish Hunter and Doc Medich. Hunter is 3-4 while Medich is two games under .500 and is the only starter without a complete game. However, Rudy May and Pat Dobson have combined to win 10 games and are doing it in a dominating manner.

May (5-2, 1.48), has allowed just 44 hits in 60.2 innings while Dobson (5-1, 2.72) has surrendered only 29 hits in 59.2 innings giving New Yuork a one-two punch equally to Baltimore's aces. Out of the bullpen, Sparky Lyle (2-1, 0.53) and Tippy Martinez (0-1, 1.17) have lived up to their billings. Lyle has a team-high six saves while Martinez has two saves and was impressive in two spot starts.

Hitting .262 as a team, the recently weak hitting Yankees have started out strong. Three Yankees are in the top 10 in hitting. Walt Williams leads at .343 while Graig nettles is right behind at .338 and team captain Thurman Munson is smacking the horsehide around at a .333 clip.

"We haven't been playing as well as we can and to be right in contention is good right now," said Munson. "But to think that anything is settled is foolish. We still need to hit better and once our pitching gets going then we'll see what happens." 

The Bronx Bombers have power in the form of Bobby Bonds and 10 home runs. The switch-hitter is only hitting .245, but is second in the American League in long balls. Nettles has seven homers and Williams has six as New York has hit 34 homers in 41 games. 

NEW YORK, NY (May 23) - A battle of first-place teams highlight Memorial Day Weekend around the major leagues as the summer unofficially kicks off this weekend around 12 stadiums throughout the country.

The Baltimore Orioles, first-place in the AL East, travels to Missouri to battle the AL West leading Royals. A traditional holiday takes special meaning in massachusetts and the Red Sox will be part of the celebration as they battle the California Angels over the weekend at Fenway Park. The White Sox are also home as they tangle with the Tigers at Comiskey Park.

The Milwaukee Brewers host their region-rivals, the Minnesota Twins, at County Stadium while the Cleveland Indians play host to the Oakland A's for a four-game series which concludes with a Sunday doubleheader. The New York Yankees, playing at Shea Stadium while the "New" Yankee Stadium is completed, will host the Texas Rangers.

In the National League, the west division teams will all be home as the Giants host the Cubs, the second-place Dodgers battle the first-place Cardinals and the Padres play the Pirates. The Astros will battle the Expos in Houston while the Mets will travel to Atlanta and the first-place Reds will host the surging, second-place Phillies.

Memorial Day sees the schedule change up with the Phillies (Giants), Cardinals (San Diego), Mets (Los Angeles), Pirates (Houston) and Cubs (Atlanta) all coming home while the Reds host the Expos in a doubleheader. In the AL, Oakland (Baltimore), California (Cleveland) and Texas (Boston) are all home as are Milwaukee (Chicago), Detroit (Minnesota)and Kansas City (Yankees).

MLB Notes The Reds are the only team in baseball with single-digit losses...the American League has just two teams over .500 (Yankees and Orioles) while the NL East has five of their six teams with .500 or better records...Gary Matthews (Giants) and Don Money (Brewers) have each hit two grand slams this season...the Mets Rusty Staub has the longest hitting streak this season at 16 games.

ST. LOUIS (May 18) - The Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies have been playing over .700 baseball recently as the race in the National League Eastern Division has tightened up with the St. Louis Cardinals lead trimmed to one game and five teams are within four games of the lead.

The Cubs (18-15) have won eight of their last 10 games while the Phillies (19-15) have gone 7-3 to close in on the Cardinals. St. Louis has played .500 ball over their last 10 games as has divison rivals Pittsburgh and New York.

The Cardinals (19-13) remain in first place, holding a one-game lead over the Phillies, winners of five in a row, and a one and one-half game advantage over the Cubs. Only the reeling Montreal Expos (10-21) have begun to fade out of the race. The Expos have lost five in a row and eight of their last 10 games and sit eight and one-half games behind.

St. Louis has been atop of the National League East since the first week of the season and now have the task of snapping a two-game losing streak as the dropped the final two games of a weekend set at San Francisco.

"Our division is tough," said Lou Brock. "Everyone knew coming into the season that the division would be up for grabs. We're just glad to get out to a good start and we look forward to playing well throughout the season."

The Cardinals (.594) are the only division leader to have a record under .600 as four teams in the division are playing over .500 ball. Ted Simmons is atop the leaders in hitting at .364, ironically trailing only the Cubs Bill Madlock, who is hitting a robust .372 on the year.

A key to the Redbirds success has been a pair of five-game winners in Bob Forsch and John Curtis. The pair has done well in helping overcome the slow start by the aging Bob Gibson. The future Hall of Fame right-hander is 1-4 with a 4.62 earned run average, but has pitched well in two of his last three starts. Al hrabosky has been stellar in the bullpen, already recording nine saves with a 1.20 ERA.

DETROIT (May 11) - The hottest team in baseball is Billy Martin's Texas Rangers and the Aamerican League West is seeing the landscape of the preseason predictions changing by the minute.

As the preseason favorite Oakland A's continue to swoon and the one-two punch of Frank Tanana and Nolan Ryan falter, the Rangers have served notice with an 11-game winning streak, including a three-game weekend sweep of the Tigers in Detroit, that has put them in a tie for first-place with the Minnesota Twins.

How are the Rangers winning? In every way possible. Texas is scoring runs when they need, getting good pitching when they need it and are winning late. Over the 11 game stretch, Texas has outscored their opponents 72-31, won three one-run games and has scored five or more runs in eight games, including 32 runs in their last three games. Meanwhile Martin's pitching staff has held tgheir opponents to fewer than three runs in six games.

"Hey, we're winning because we are outscoring who we play," quipped Billy Martin. "There are a lot of factors that go into a winning streak, just like there are a lot of factors that go into a losing streak."

A big part of the reason for the Rangers success is the emergence of Roy Smalley. Since cracking the starting lineup, Smalley is hitting a scorching .450 with 27 hits in 60 at-bats. Only he and Toby Harrah are the only Rangers hitting over .300 on the year, but the Rangers have a slew of batters hitting between .260 and .280 as they are tied for the AL lead in batting and home runs.

Even more amazing is the fact that Texas has lost a pair of starting pitchers to injury as Fergie Jenkins and Bill Hands each went down with injuries. Jenkins only missed two starts while Hands, who was 4-1, will be out of the rotation until late June.

"Injuries are a part of the game and it's apart we have to adjust to right now," said Martin. "We have good arms to get us through, but you need offense as well as we have been getting the big hit when we need it and Roy [Smalley] and Toby [Harrah] have helped."

The Rangers will host Milwaukee and Detroit as they look to increase their major-league leading 11-game winning streak.

11- Game Winning Streak
Date     Teams        Score
May 11  @ Detroit   16-2
May 10  @ Detroit   8-4
May 9    @ Detroit   8-3
May 8    @ KC         2-1
May 7    @ KC         5-2
May 6    @ KC         5-2
May 5    @ KC         3-2
May 4    California     5-4
May 3    California     4-2
May 2    California     6-3
May 1    Chicago      10-6

NEW YORK (May 9) - After playing within the division since Opening Day, Major League Baseball will see the beginning of interdivisional play this weekend in both the American League and National League.

There will be no bigger series this weekend than the battle between the East leading Baltimore Orioles and West leading Minnesota Twins at Memorial Stadium. The Orioles, who have the best record in the majors, have the AL"s top ERA (2.42), more than a point ahead of the Twins (3.84), although the Orioles and Twins are 1-2 in opponents batting average. The Orioles are holding their opponents to a slim .291 mark while opponents are hitting just .229 against the Twins.

Meanwhile, the Twins (14-7) are holding a lsim advantage over the Orioles (18-5) in batting as Minnesota is leading the American League with a .276 average compared to the Orioles .270 mark. Baltimore, however, has hit a league-leading 26 home runs compared to 20 for the Twins.

The Orioles-Twins series will also feature the top hitters in the American league as four of the top 10 batters will take the field in Baltimore. Tommy Davis (2nd), Ken Singleton (4th) and Don Baylor (7th) lead the Orioles while Rod Carew (8th) leads the Twins.

In other American League battles the California Angels host the Boston Red Sox, the Cleveland Indians host the Chicago White Sox, the Milwaukee Brewers travel to Kansas City Royals, the Oakland Athletics host the New York Yankees and the surgung Texas Rangers travel to Detroit to battle the Tigers.

In the National League, most of the attention will be focused on Shea Stadium as the second-place New York Mets will host the first-place Cincinnati Reds. The Montreasl Expos play host to the Houston Astros, the Pittsburgh Pirates will host an intriguing match-up with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Philadelphia Phillies travel to Atlanta to play the Braves, the San Diego Padres visit the Chicago Cubs and the NL East-leading St. Louis Cardinals battle the San Francisco Giants at Busch Memorial Stadium.

Minnesota Twins at Baltimore Orioles | Memorial Stadium - Baltimore, Md.
Friday, 8:00 p.m.
Goltz (3-0, 3.13) at Grimsley (1-1, 6.75)
Saturday 2:00 p.m.
Corbin (1-1, 6.85) at Alexander (1-0, 3.68)
Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Game 1 Butler (1-2, 5.57) and Blyleven (3-1, 2.,41) at Palmer (5-0, 1.56) and Torrez (2-1, 1.67)

LOS ANGELES (May 4) - Before giving way to the Cincinnati Reds, the boys from Los Angeles may offer The Big Red Machine a fight or two as the Dodgers won their sixth straight game after sweeping the San Diego Padres at Dodger Stadium.

After losing back-to-back one run games at San Francisco, the Dogers swept a three-game series from Atlanta before downing San Diego on the heels of tremdnous pitching efforts. The Dodgers allowed three runs against Atlanta and six runs against San Diego as the Dodgers have not allowed more than three runs in a game since a 5-4 win at San Diego on April 23, a span of 10 games.

Since April 20, the Dodgers have won 12 of 14 games, but have only cut the Reds lead in the National League West by only one half game. The Reds are 21-5 and have the best record in the NL and the second best in the majors behind only the Baltimore Orioles (17-4) of the American League.

Los Angeles, who has the longest winning streak in the majors, has won eight of its last 10 games, but has still lost a game in the standigs to the Reds, who have gone 9-1 over the same span.

"I can't say it's not a little frustrating," quipped Los angeles skipper Tommy Lasorda. "But, at the same time it's only 25 games into the season andas far as I can remember the pennant has never been won in the second month of the season."

Don Sutton (4-2, 4.58) and Doug Rau (5-0, 2.04) have come together recently as they are currently the only two starters with a winning record. Burt Hooton, Andy Messersmith and Rick Rhoden have a 4-8 combined record. Mike Marshall (1-0, 1.23) as appeared in 10 of the Dodgers 26 games and leads the National league with seven saves.

The Dodgers will host the Astros for a three-game series in the begiining of the week before heading off to Pittsburgh for the year's first battle with the National League East Divison.

ARLINGTON, Texas (April 30) - Brian Downing had three hits and Bob Gogolowski held off another Texas rally as the White Sox defeated the Rangers, 8-7, in 15 innings at Arlington Stadium on Wednesday evening.

In a wild Texas shootout that included five lead changes and four ties, the White Sox (10-10) held on, scoring two runs in the top of the 15th inning before the Rangers answered with a run and had the tying run on base.

Chicago scored three runs in the first inning only to see the Rangers chip away with a run in the first and two runs in the second inning to tie the game. It was in the sixth inning when the teams began to fire back-and-forth at each other.

The Rangers (7-11) took the lead on a solo home run by Jeff Burroughs. The White Sox answered in the top of the eighth inning when Deron Johnson (2-for-7), who drove in two runs in the first inning, hit a solo homer to tie the game at four. Willie Davis (2-for-6) quickly put the Rangers back on top with a 397-foot home run to right-center field.

The White Sox would tie the game once more in the top of the ninth inning when Jorge Orta (2-for-8) led off the inning with a triple and scored on a fly ball to left field by Bill Melton.

The game would stay tied until the 14th inning when Ken Henderson (2-for-4) led off with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nils Nyman. Texas again roared back, scoring in the bottom of the inning when Toby Harrah (2-for-7) led off with a single and scored one batter later when Bill Fahey (1-for-2) tripled to tie the game.

An error in the top of the 15th inning led to the Rangers demise as Downing reached on a miscue by Fahey. A single by Jerry Hairston (1-for-4) put runners on the corners before Orta emptied the bases with a double down the right field line.

The bottom of the 15th saw the pesky Rangers fight back again as Lenny Randle (1-for-6) led off with a double to left-center field. With two outs and runners on first and second, Harrah singled scoring Randle and moving Mike Hargrove (2-for-3) to third base before Roy Howell flied out to the warning track in left field to end the game.

Gogolowksi (1-1, 1.29) picked up the win with two innings owf work while Steve Thomas (0-1, 2.31) suffered the loss after working five and one-third innings.

PHILADELPHIA, Pa.. (April 29) - Dave Cash singled home Larry Bowa with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Phiadelphia Phillies defeated the Montreal Expos, 12-11, in a wild affair at Veterans Stadium on Tuesday evening.

In a game that saw four lead changes, the Phillies (8-9) came out ahead in as the game featured 12 runs scored in the sixth inning and five scored in the ninth inning as Montreal came from four runs behind to tie the game in the top of the final frame. Six players had multi-hit games and eight players had multi-RBI games led by the Phillies Greg Luzinski, who drove in four runs for Philadelphia including a first-inning home run.

Philadelphia led after Luzinski's solo blast in the first inning and the Phillies would add two more in the third on a two-run single by Jay Johnstone after three straight walks loaded the bases. Montreal answered with two runs in the fourth on back-to-back bases loaded walks to Tim Foli and Larry Lintz. The teams combined to walk 14 batters in the game, nine by the Expos pitchers and five by the Phillies staff.

The sixth inning saw the Expos briefly take control of the game as they scored five runs. Back-to-back doubles by Gary Carter and Larry Parrish tied the game at 3-3 before an error by Mike Schmidt gave Montreal the lead. Rich Coggins' two-run double made the scored 6-3 and Pepe Mangual's groundout made the score 7-3 in favor of the visiting Expos.

The bottom of the inning saw the Phillies score seven times to take a, 10-7, lead as the Phills used four singles, three walks, a douible and an error to regain the lead. A walk to Johnstone and back-to-back hits by Jim Essian and Bowa loaded the bases before a walk to Tim Hutton scored the first run of the inning. A sacrifice fly by Cash scored the second run before another walk, the eighth of the game by Montreal, loaded the bases. Luzinski followed with a double to the gap in the left-center field scoring three runs. Dick Allen drove in a run with a single and Johnstone drove in the innings final run with a single over shortstop.

After scoring a run in the bottom fo the eighth to make the score 11-7, Montreal raced right back with four straight hits to start the ninth inning. Mike Jorgenson and Carter singled before Parrish and pinch-hitter Jose Morales doubled to make the score 11-10 with nobody out. A sacrifice bunt by Lintz put the tying run on third base before Barry Foote tied the game with a base hit.

BALTIMORE, Md. (April 28) - The American League's leading hitter, Ken Singleton, hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning off John Hiller as the Orioles defeated the Detroit Tigers, 2-1, at Memorial Stadium on Monday evening.

The Orioles (12-2) Mike Torrez, Grant Jackson and Doyle Alexander (1-0, 3.68) combined to limit the Tigers to a pair of hits without allowing an earned run as they won their ninth game in a row.

Leron LaGrow pitched a solid game for Detroit, throwing nine innings with the lone blemish coming from Don Baylor's fifth home run of the year in the bottom of the sixth inning. John Hiller came in the game in the tenth inning and retired four straight batters, three by strikeout, before Singleton launched his fith home run of the season over the right-field fence.

The Orioles have the best record in baseball and have increased their lead over the New York Yankees by four and one-half games as they have won nine of their last 10 games. The Tigers fell seven games behind the O's and are just one-half game ahead of the celler-dwelling Cleveland Indians.

ANAHEIM, Cal. (April 27) - The Oakland A's needed a sweep of the last place Angels to move into first place in the American League West Division. It seemed like a simple enough plan, with the exception of one thing. Nobody told California of Oakland's plan as the Angels swept a doubleheader from the A's , 4-2 and 7-6, at Angel Stadium on Sunday.

In the opener, the teams sat through a 70-minute rain delay after each teams scored two runs in the opening frame. Nolan Ryan picked up the win after struggling through five and one-third innings. The right-hander and American League leader in strikeouts, allowed just three hits, but walked six batters before giving way to Mickey Scott with a 3-2 lead.

Dick Lange pitched the final two innings, allowing just a hit and a walk as he earned his first save of the year. Dave Chalk, Bruce Bochte and Mickey Rivers had two hits each for the Angels while Bert Campaneris had two hits for Oakland. Rivers also added to his league-leading stolen base total when he swiped his 10th bag of the year in the second inning.

In the nightcap, the skies stayed clear in a back-and forth game that saw four lead changes that culmintaed with a two-run, ninth inning rally lifting the Angels to the sweep. The Angels (6-12) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning before Gene Tenace hit a two-run home run in the top of the second inning. California scored three runs in the second inning with RBI singles by Bruce Bochte and Joe Lahoud.

Oakland (11-9) chipped back with solo runs in the sixth and seventh innings to cut the deficit to 5-4 before Tenace lifted Oakland once again. After two outs in the eighth, Joe Rudi (1-for-4) singled and Tenace followed with a 387-foot blast over the left field wall to give the A's a 6-5 lead. The home run chased Frank Tanana who struck out a season-high 11 batters before leaving with two outs in the top of the ninth inning.

However, the lead would only last an inning as the Angels would rally back. Rollie Fingers (0-1, 4.76), who came into the game to get the final out of the eighth inning, allowed a singles to Tommy Harper (2-for-3) and Bruce Bochte (2-for-3). After getting Dave Chalk struck out, Joe Lahoud (3-for-5) singled in his second run of the game to draw the Angels even. Mike Egan, who is hitting just .143 on the year, promptly singled home the winning run.

BALTIMORE (April 26) - Ken Singleton, Don Baylor and Lee May hit back-to-back-to-back home runs to highlight a five-run first inning and Ross Grimsley pitched a complete-game, two-hitter as the Orioles blanked the Cleveland Indians, 7-0, in the first game of a doubleheader sweep at Memorial Stadium. Baltimore would take the nightcap, 8-1, as they won their tenth game of the year. 

Grimsley (1-0, 8.40) was nearly unhittable as he carried a no-hitter through seven innings before pinch-hitter Rico Carty doubled to left-center field, breaking up the no-hit bid. The Indians (3-8) would get another hit as Jake Ellis led off the ninth inning with a single. Grimsley retired the first six batters of the game before walking Frank Duffy to lead off the third inning only to pick him off as he went on to face the minimum number of batters until walking George Hendrick with two outs in the seventh.

Brooks Robinson, who has been struggling at the plate, had a single and a double and drove in two runs. Mark belanger also had a pair of hits for the Orioles (10-2) as Baltimore ripped Gaylord Perry for 11 hits and six earned runs in seven and one-third innings of work.

In the second game, Mike Cuellar (3-0, 1.28) shut down the Tribe on eight hits and Singleton ripped his fourth home run, a three-run blast in the fourth inning. Singleton is leading the American League in hitting with a .400 average. Bobby Grich had four hits as every Baltimore starter had at least one hit.

SAN FRANCISCO (April 25) - Los Angeles Dodgers starter Doug Rau stayed perfect on the season as his eight and two-thirds innings of work was enough to lift the Dodgers over the San Francisco Giants, 6-3, at Candlestick Park on Friday afternoon in the first game of a three-game series.

The Dodgers (10-8) are still four and one-half games behind the Cincinnati Reds in the National League Western Division. The Giants (8-9) fell a game under .500 with the loss.

Los Angeles spotted Rau a pair of runs in the top of the first inning as Jimmy Wynn and Steve Yeager had back-to-back RBI singles. The Giants chipped back with a run in the bottom of the first as Gary Matthews was induced into a double play, scoring Von Joshua who led off with a walk, stole second and moved to third on a Bobby Murcer single.

Yeager was hit by a pitch by Mike Caldwell with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and Tom Pacoriak drove in the Dodgers fourth run with a weak grounder to second base as Los Angeles led, 4-1, after three innings. The Dodgers would add two more runs in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run double by Rick Auerbach. The six-through-eight batters in the Dodgers lineup combined to go 4-for-8 with five runs batted in.

Meanwhile, Rau was in control. The left-hander, who struck out a season-high seven batters, allowed hits in the first three innings before retiring nine batters in a row. Rau allowed a run on two hits in the seventh before he left the game with two outs in the eighth inning in favor of Charlie Hough.

Rau has been masterful in his first four starts of 1975 as he has handed the Reds half of their four losses while also defeating Giants twice. Rau (4-0, 2.35) has pitched eight or more innings in three of his his first four starts. He threw six innings against the Giants at Dodger Stadium on April 20 when he left after allowing five runs on seven hits.

Mike Caldwell (1-2, 2.86) took the loss for San Francisco, pitching seven innings before giving way to Randy Moffitt. The teams will continue their three-game series on Saturday afternoon when the teams meet at Candlestick Park at 2:00 p.m.