May 1, 1976
STANDINGS
EAST W L GB Last
|
Blomberg Slugs Mons to Top
WASHINGTON (May 1) -- Ron Blomberg took Batter of the Month honors, batting .339-10-28 in April and leading the Washington Monuments to a first-place tie in the competitive East Division. Doug Aiton's crew have leveraged the second-best offense and third-best starting rotation into an 18-10 record. Blomberg, 27, was a second round pick of the Monuments in 1971 and hit .323 in his rookie season after a short stint at Triple-A Baltimore. The Atlanta native has compiled a .296 average in five seasons, and a .316 average since 1974. Second baseman Art Howe has emerged as an offensive threat, at .296 batting a full 46 points above his career average, and Al Oliver is on pace for a career year. Meanwhile, the rotation has proven itself solid and consistent, combining for a 17-7 record and 3.35 ERA. Mike Torrez has been the surprising revelation of a star-studded staff that includes career 100-game winners Don Wilson and Andy Messersmith. The 28-year-old righthander is 4-1 with a 1.10 WHIP and a club best 2.63 ERA. Highlights of the Mons' current 12-4 run include a sweep of West Division leaders Los Angeles Apr. 14-16, with Torrez, Clay Kirby, and Messersmith--the 3-4-5 pitchers, getting the wins. Messersmith stuck out 11 in a 2-hit gem in the finale. Blomberg homered twice and Eric Soderholm added three RBIs in a 8-2 rout at Cleveland Apr. 18, and Vida Blue anchored a four-pitcher shutout by committee on Apr. 29 against Denver. 
Texans No More, Seattle Welcome Rainiers
SEATTLE (Apr. 23) -- The ballclub formerly known as the Seattle Texans unveiled a new logo and uniforms today, less than a month as the last-minute move of the franchise from Dallas. After playing their first 20 games with the incongruous moniker and road uniforms still emblazoned with "Dallas" across the chest, the club emerged from their Kingdome locker rooms as the Rainiers, with sparkling new duds and a new logo and color scheme. The name references the highest mountain in the Cascades and the Rainier Brewing Company, whose owner Emil Sick, bought and renamed the Pacific Coast League Seattle Indians in 1938. Seattle (13-15) has seen some progress over last year. The Rainiers boast the league's best bullpen and have seen solid individual performances by Bob Boone (.315-2-14) and Ron Schueler (4-2, 2.76). The club's Triple-A affiliate moved from Memphis to Portland and will play as the Portland Beavers. The move forced San Francisco to moved their AAA club to Las Vegas.
|
EAST DIVISION
Tom Seaver won Pitcher of the Month and leads the league in ERA (1.41), wins (5), and VORP (19.2). . . Chet Lemon has 3 HR in his last 5 games... Greg Luzinski (.394-9-27) is 2nd in batting and 2nd-T in RBI. . . League best 13-5 road record includes sweeps at CLE and STL and series wins at DEN, CHI, and SEA.
The club that led the league in both runs and fewest runs allowed last year has been positively mediocre (8th-T and 7th). The biggest culprit in VORP terms is George Brett (.207 / .235 / .232), but nine players are batting under .250 and Ernie McAnally is the only SP under 3.00 ERA, and he's injured for 3-4 months.
Ranks 2nd in HR but 11th in runs -- Dick Allen has 9 HR but only 13 RBI. . . Jerry Mumphrey (.399 OBP in 48 games last year) is struggling in the leadoff spot, with just 5 walks and a .286 OBP in 23 games. . . Otto Velez (.327-10-21) is tied for 1st in HR and is only starter batting over .300.
|
Ron Blomberg took Batter of the Month honors with a .339-10-28 April. . . Bernie Allen notched his 1,000th career run on 4/28, ranking 25th all-time. . . Mike Torrez is emerging as one of the breakout pitchers of the year, going 4-1, 2.63 with a 1.10 WHIP in his first six starts.
Ken Tatum (1-0, 0.00, 5 SV) has a 20-game save streak. . . Leads league in runs and home runs -- offense led by 3-4 hitters Tom Grieve (.265-9-27) and Steve Garvey (.291-6-27). . . Five-game win streak Apr. 14-21 including sweep at Atlanta.
|
The Cepeda watch is entering its final phase. The 38-year-old hit 9 HR in April, second most in the league, putting him on pace to surpass Mickey Mantle's career record of 634 by the All-Star Break... Jim Palmer hurled a two-hit 10-inning shutout in a 1-0 win over Washington 4/19.
Worst starters ERA (4.77) and second fewest runs scored. . . Blyleven, 9-20 last year, is 4-0 in his first 5 starts. . . Tony Soltaita Player of the Week 4/26, batting .519 (14-27), 3 HR, and 7 RBI.
|
WEST DIVISION
League best 8-2 in one-run games. . . Larry Dierker is 3-0, 1.29 with a 50/6 K/W ratio in his last five starts. . . Dierker's 174 wins leads all active pitchers and far exceeds Bob Moose's 105 for the most wins for pitchers under 30.
Wayne Simpson struck out a season-high 12 in a 3-hit complete game effort in a 3-2 win over Brooklyn on 4/29. . . Rod Carew is 2-26 (.077) in his last 7 games, after hitting .324 in his first 8.
Joe Torre is batting .519/.606/.852 in his last 7 games. . . Lost 13 of last 15, giving up 10+ runs three times, before an 11-1 win at Brooklyn on 4/30. . . 1-6 in extra innings
|
Second fewest runs allowed. . . Jenkins and Moose are a combined 6-2, 2.34 with 85 K in 12 starts. . . Jim Rice (.246-4-12) and George Foster (.216-4-14) have been a lackluster 3-4 combo, contributing to third worst offense.
Gene Clines is 1-22 (.045) in his last 9 games. . . Billy Grabarkewitz .364-5-7 in 22 AB in Close/Late situations. . . SS Robin Yount out six weeks with elbow sprain suffered 4/22. . . Dave Boswell (0-4, 4.46) one of two remaining winless aces (Jerry Reuss, DET is the other).
|
Graig Nettles is 13-22 (.591) with 8 RBI in his last 8 games... The experiment that is Nolan Ryan as closer is working (0.66, 8 SV, 15.1 K/9)... The experiment that is Geoff Zahn as a starter is not (1-4, 7.09).
Scored two or less runs in 10 of 28 games. . . Johnny Bench (.297-5-13) only batter with more then 3 HRs. . . Vern Ruhle (3-2, 2.31) is 9th in ERA, first 14ers pitcher to appear on any pitching leaderboard ever.
|
BATTING LEADERS
BATTING AVERAGE
|
HOME RUNS
|
RUNS BATTED IN
|
VORP
|
PITCHING LEADERS
EARNED RUN AVERAGE
|
WINS
|
STRIKEOUTS
|
VORP
|
|
FIELDING LEADERS ZONE RATING
|
