GOWDY 86: FINAL RACE TO THE PLAYOFFS

 

                                NOLAN RYAN LEADS ASTROS TO PLAYOFFS 

 
Regular Season Exciting Races Lead to Playoff Drama 

What a pennant race in the West !!

Minnesota started the round at 7-6 with a path to the playoffs.  Frank Viola picked up a win, hurling 8 innings and allowing 1 run for a 5-1 win over the Dodgers.  Neil Heaton did even better , going 10 innings while allowing only 1 run for a 2-1 win over the Padres.  The Twins were 9-7 until Oakland knocked them out of playoff contention in a 5-4 game. 

Houston managed to go 2-1 in the last round and give themselves a 9-7 record.  Nolan Ryan handed the Astros their 9th win, throwing  a 2 hit complete game shutout for a 6-0 victory over the Angels.  Things looked fine until the Astros flew to Arlington and faced the Rangers.

The Rangers ended up 7-7 on the season but they caused major havoc in the Western pennant race.  First, they knocked off the Astros 3-2.  Bobby Witt tamed his fastball, fanning 8 batters over 6 innings while allowing only 1 run.  Next, Charlie Hough and his floating knuckleball dazzled Giant hitters and Texas prevailed 5-1.  Just to add the finishing touch to their season, the Rangers downed the Twins 2-1 despite Bert Blyleven's impressive pitching.  Blyleven went the distance, fanned 9 and only allowed 2 runs.  Nevertheless, the Rangers' pitching held the Twins to only 1 run. 

The end result found the Astros, Giants and Padres all tied in first place with 9-7 records.   Under the tie breaker system, the team with the best winning percentage against the other two opponents takes the crown.  The Astros went 1-0, the Giants went 1-1 while the Padres went 0-2.  So, the Astros won the divisional crown while the Giants and Padres were left to wait for the Central and Eastern divisional rounds to be completed before their status in the national playoffs could be determined.


Meanwhile, out in the Central. .

Detroit ran away with the Central crown with a 14-7 record.  The Cardinals had a shot at a wildcard spot, picking up wins over the Indians and Royals but Floyd Bannister threw a complete game 3 hit shutout, leading the White Sox to a 3-0 win over St. Louis.  The loss left St. Louis with a 9-8 record, just short of the 9-7 record the Giants and Padres posted in the West.  

The Beasts in the East Go to War....

On paper, this is the toughest division in  Gowdy86.  After all, the Mets and Red Sox went to the MLB86 World Series, the Yankees have the best tradition in baseball, and the Phillies, Orioles and Blue Jays all had rosters filled with numerous All Stars.  Even the Braves looked like they could surprise you with a few wins.

The Mets started off the round with 3 straight wins over the Orioles, Red Sox and Yankees.  While the Mets pitching staff led the way in the previous rounds, the Mets hitters simply bludgeoned opposing pitching into submission until the Mets traveled to Philadelphia.

The Phillies showed the Mets why they call Philadelphia the city of brotherly love by handing them a 13-2 mauling.  Von Hayes hit 2 doubles, a homer and drove in 4 runs to lead the assault.  The Phillies then reeled off 3 more wins over Toronto, Montreal and Baltimore.  At the end of the day and the regular season, the Phillies won the East crown with a 13-6 record.


On to the playoffs....

Three divisional champs and 3 wildcard teams are seeded 1 through 6 based on their regular season records and divisional championships.  The first five slots are all filled:

1. Detroit 14-6
2. Philadelphia 13-6
3. Baltimore 13-7
4. New York NL 12-7
5. Houston 9-7
6.  TBD

Boston, San Francisco and San Diego will play a round robin tournament with the winner claiming the 6th slot.   Here is the schedule:

Boston at San Francisco
San Francisco at San Diego
San Diego at Boston

Time will tell if an additional round will be needed.
I will post the final regular season standings and a leader board shortly.

Enjoy the day.