July 27, 1982
Game1:
Atlanta Braves 9 (W: Walk, 9-7)
San Diego Padres 2 (L: Lollar, 10-5)
Game 2:
Atlanta Braves 8
San Diego Padres 6
10 innings
59-37
1st place
7 games ahead
HUBBARD HOMER, MURPHY CATCH GIVE BRAVES SWEEP;
RYAN WINS 200TH WITH 13 Ks;
RANGERS FIRE DON ZIMMER
Glenn Hubbard may have been hurt, but he wasn't too hurt enough to end an extra-inning game with a home run. After sitting out Atlanta's 9-2 win in the opening game of a doubleheader with the San Diego Padres, Hubbard asked, begged, and pleaded to play in the nightcap, saying he could play the field because "it only hurts when I swing." Hubbard then proceeded to go 3-for-5, the last hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the 10th that scored Hubbard and baserunner Jerry Royster to give the Braves an 8-6 win and a sweep in the twin bill. It was a fun day for the Braves, who started the opener with a run in the second and ended the nightcap with a game winner from the little guy. The wins extend Atlanta's lead in the NL West to 7 games and got the homestand off to a good start.
Tim Lollar may have been snubbed at the All-Star Game two weeks ago, but he was anything but in the opener. He faced 14 hitters and gave up two walks and six hits, one of them a two-run homer by Dale Murphy, and left in the 3rd with the Padres down, 4-0. Immediately after Murphy homered, Bob Horner was hit by a pitch. Singles by Rufino Linares and Bob Watson loaded the bases with nobody out, when Bruce Bendict hit into a bizarre double play that scored Horner. Third baseman Luis Salazar forced Linares at third and then threw home, where catcher Terry Kennedy apparently forgot the out at third removed the force play. Kennedy tagged the plate - but not Horner - and retired Benedict at first for what he thought was a triple play but was instead a double play that scored a run. Then in the 5th, the Braves put the game virtually out of reach.
Murphy singled and Horner walked before Salazar's error loaded the bases with nobody out. Watson hit one back to the pitcher that forced Murphy at home - for real this time - and the bases remained loaded when Horner walked to force in a run and build the lead to 5-0. Jerry Royster then hit a sacrifice fly that extended the lead to six runs and starting pitcher Bob Walk, who scattered five hits and made but one bad pitch, singled home another run to extend the lead to 7-0. Perhaps the baserunning tired Walk as he immediately gave up a single to rookie Tony Gwynn and then a two-run shot to shortstop Garry Templeton. But he settled down and allowed no runs and just one more hit and got support from a homer by Rafael Ramirez in the 8th. In a year where he has been erratic, Walk had his best game of 1982. In the nightcap, however, the Padres were more competitive.
Joe Pittman began the second game with a single, stole second, and came home on a single by Gwynn, who moved to third on a single and scored on a sacrifice fly by Kurt Bevacqua, giving the Padres a quick 2-0 lead. Hubbard quickly got one run back when he doubled with one out, moved to third on a wild pitch by Eric Show and then scored on a sacrifice fly. Leading 2-1, Gwynn led off the third with a single, stole his first career base, and cruised home on a home run by Sixto Lezcano, extending the Padre lead to 4-1. A Steve Swisher solo homer made it 5-1. But at that point, the Braves climbed off the deck and struck back.
Hubbard, who only hurt when he swung, singled leading off the fourth and moved to second on a passed ball. But he was thrown out at third when Claudell Washington grounded to shortstop and they got the lead runner. Murphy hit his second homer of the day to cut the lead to 5-3, and Salazar - just as in the first game - made an error that allowed Horner to reach base. Chris Chambliss golfed a Show delivery into the bleachers to tie the game, and Show gave way to rookie Dave Dravecky. He squelched the rally by retiring the next two hitters, and the game began afresh.
Gwynn went all the way to second on outfielder Larry Whisenton's error, moved to third on an infield out and then scored on a single by Rupert Jones to restore the lead, 6-5. But Whisenton giveth and Whisenton taketh away, as he socked a solo homer to tie the game in the 7th, where it remained until the 10th. Bevacqua drew a one-out walk and Rupert Jones hit a shot that for all the world looked like a two-run homer. But Murphy reached over the fence and caught the ball, preserving the lead, and Salazar forced Bevacqua at second to end the Padre threat. That's when Royster pinch-hit for Steve Bedrosian and walked before moving to second on a sacrifice bunt. Hubbard's game-ending home run followed, and the Braves had their sweep. Bedrosian got the win and Gary Lucas the loss.
Nolan Ryan notched his 200th win and struck out 13 Cincinnati Reds in Houston's 3-2 win over Charlie Leibrandt. He is only 107 strikeouts short of breaking Walter Johnson's major league record and at 35 years old can be expected to surpass it next season. Gary Carter's three-run homer in the first inning keyed Montreal in the Expos' 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs and gave Steve Rogers his 13th win. Three hits by Darrell Porter - his first homer since June 11 plus a single and a double - led a 13-hit attack by the St Louis Cardinals in a 9-4 win over the New York Mets and extended their winning streak to five games. Larry McWilliams and Rod Scurry combined on a three-hitter and Jason Thompson drove home two runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 4-0 shutout win over the Philadelphia Phillies. Joe Beckwith, recalled from the minors last week, allowed no hits in 5 1/3 innings of relief of Vicente Romo, who left with a knee injury, and Ron Cey belted a two-run homer to lead the Dodgers to a win over the Giants, 7-3.
In the junior circuit, the Yankees were leading, 5-4, and had the bases loaded with one out. Umpire Mark Johnson then called the first two pitches to Rick Cerone a "ball." When questioned by catcher Lance Parrish - who took off his mask and stood up - Johnson ejected Parrish and when pitcher Jack Morris and manager Sparky Anderson complained, they were tossed as well. Cerone then hit a sacrifice fly off of reliever Dave Tobik that proved to be the difference in a 6-5 win over the Detroit Tigers. Gorman Thomas had two homers and 5 RBIsin Milwaukee's 8-2 win over the Texas Rangers, who fired Manager Don Zimmer earlier in the day. Zimmer agreed to stay in place one more game. Luis Leal tossed a four-hitter for his third straight win in Toronto's 3-1 win over Boston, his sole bad pitch a solo homer by Jim Rice. Oakland drilled California pitching for 5 runs in the top of the first, but it was Don Baylor's RBI single scoring Bob Boone in the 13th that decided the Angels' 8-7 triumph over the Athletics. Dave Edler hit his first two homers of the season, including a grand slam, to lift the Seattle Mariners to a 9-7 win over the Minnesota Twins. Cal Ripken Jr's 2-run home run in the bottom of the 9th just four minutes prior to the mandatory curfew gave the Orioles a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox. The game ran up against the curfew thanks to a two-plus hour rain delay. Lee May and George Brett both drilled two-run homers and Kansas City lifted their season-long record against Cleveland to 7-1 with an 8-1 triumph over the Indians.
The Athletics released Fernando Arroyo, and the Braves released John D'Acquisto, who never appeared in a game for Atlanta despite three months on the roster. At 30 years old with a lifetime record of 34-50, his career is likely over.