RobKirkpatrick.com

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Posts Tagged ‘National League’

SEAVER WINS 7TH STRAIGHT START, METS’ MAGIC NUMBER SHRINKS TO 3; TWINS WIN THE WEST

Monday, September 22, 1969

Is there any better pitcher on the planet right now than Tom Seaver?

Working on three days’ rest, the man they call The Franchise notched his seventh victory in seven starts - all complete games – and his ninth in his last nine decisions.  Seaver allowed just one run on four hits to the visiting St. Louis Cardinals, and he also drove in a run with his seventh-inning single.  Art Shamsky had an RBI single and Jerry Grote went 2 for 3 for New York.

With the Cubs idle on Monday, the Mets’ magic number for clinching the division is down to 2. 

Mets 3, Cardinals 1.  W: Seaver (24-7)  L: Briles (15-13)

NL EAST                               W    L    T   PCT    GB    M#
New York Mets                   94   61    0  .606     -     3
Chicago Cubs                     89   66    1  .574   5.0    -

BONUS GAME

The Minnesota Twins claimed the crown in the American League West with a 4-3 victory over the Royals in Kansas City. Leadoff man Cesar Tovar went 3 for 5 and drove in two runs. Veteran hurler Bob Miller carried a three-run lead into the ninth, but an Ed Kirkpatrick single and a double from Lou Piniella brought the tying run to bat with no outs. On came reliever Al Worthington, who got Joe Foy on a fly to center for out number one. Jerry Adair and Buck Martinez punched one safely into rightfield, but a quick-thinking Tony Olivia fired to second to nab pinch-runner Scott Northey. Worthington then got Paul Schaal to ground to first base for the final out.

Twins 4, Royals 3.  W: Miller (5-4)  L: Rooker (4-15)

Elsewhere in the majors, the Baltimore Orioles have clinched the American League East and the San Francisco Giants hold a slim half-game lead over the Atlanta Braves in the National League West.

AL WEST                          W    L    T   PCT    GB
Minnesota Twins                 92   61    0  .601     -
Oakland Athletics               81   71    0  .533  10.5
California Angels               68   85    1  .444  24.0
Chicago White Sox               64   88    0  .421  27.5
Kansas City Royals              64   89    1  .418  28.0
Seattle Pilots                  60   93    1  .392  32.0

Greetings from Rob

Thanks for visiting my web site! Throughout 2009, I'll be turning back the clock by 40 years to revisit key events from that exciting year of 1969. Keep checking back for updates to my blog on 1969: The Year Everything Changed, as well as stories related to my new books on Bruce Springsteen and baseball star Cecil Travis.