May 6, 1969...GAME 24 (BOS 7, SEA 4)

Brabender had a 3-2 lead going into the 9th. He looked to be tiring, but no call went the bullpen. In the blink of an eye the Bosox scored 4 and had a 5 run lead. Yaz hit a big 2 run shot after Thomas had tripled home 2. The Pilots fought back to score 2 in the bottom of the 9th only to see Mincher strike out with runners on to end it. Nobody gives any grief to the "good ole boys".

May 4, 1969...GAMES 22/23 (OAK 11, SEA 4) & (SEA 3, OAK 1)

First game of a twi-light double header. This one was a blow out. 11-4 read the final and it probably could have been worse. Down 7-4 after 7, Aker came on and gave up 4 runs to put it firmly out of reach. Jack hasn't gotten anyone out all season. Two errors did not help our cause either. Tommy Harper went 3 for 3 with 2 Ribbies as he raised his avg to .307. Hegan got 1 hit and his avg dropped to .339.

The second game of the twin bill was a must for Seattle. Losing this one would have meant gettin swept in 4 games by the A's. Brandon started and gave the team 7 solid innings of 5 hit 1 run ball. In fact both teams scored 1 in the 1st and posted goose eggs all the way through. One Jim Bouton cam on and threw a scoreless 8th to notch the win as the Pilots scored 2 in the 9th and Segui cam on for the save. The 8th inning wasn't pretty as Bouton hit Blue Moon Odom, Oakland's pitcher, to start things off. With 2 outs Reggie walked and the Bulldog snuck a 84 mph fastball by Sal Bando to keep the game in check. Seattle scrapped to score 2 in the 9th after Harper led off with a walk and promptly stole 2nd. Odom paid too much attention to Harper and wound up walking Hegan. Comer laid down a beautiful bunt to make it 2nd and 3rd with only one out. Old reliable, Tommy Davis singled to center to score Harper and Mincher singled to right to score Hegan. The win ended a 3 game losing steak.

May 3, 1969...GAME 21 (OAK 7, SEA 0)

The final score reads 7-0 Oakland and all one can think about is, "damn, Seattle go blown out". That's the furthest from the truth. Going into the bottom of the 8th the score was 3-0. Marshall was certainly being crafty and getting by on guile. The floodgates opened in the 8th when Oakland scored 4 runs on 5 hits. The big blow was a double by Jim "Pags" Pagliaroni their backup catcher. If he keeps doing stuff like that Marvin Milkes will probably acquire him !

May 2, 1969...GAME 20 (OAK 3, SEA 2)

We know it rains in Seattle, but who would have guessed that it would rain in Oakland. There was a 16 minute rain delay in the 4th, but it did not have an affect in the outcome of the game. Steve "my arm is not sore" Barber went 5 and gave up only 1 run, which looked like it might hold up until the Pilots tied it in the top of the 9th. Rollie Fingers got Rich Rollins to fly to Reggie in right to lead off the inning. Ranew singled and Kennedy came on to run for him. McNertney, the bachelor, doubled to make it 2nd and 3rd with only 1 out, but Oyler was up. Now we all love Oyler, but his batting average isn't even on the interstate, so Steve Whitaker pinch hits and hits a sac fly to right to tie it. In the 10th Seattle scores again to take the lead as Wayne Comer hit a bullet to left. Unfortunately Segui couldn't get anyone out and Danny Cater doubled home two to give Oakland the loss.Even in a heartbreaking loss some good can be found. Bouton threw 3 scoresless innings in relief of Barber and the knuckleball was twisting.

May 1, 1969...GAME 19 (SEA 1, SEA 0)

Ding Dong Bell went 7 scoreless innings and the Bulldog pitched a scoreless 8th, but the game still went 11 and Diego Segui was in there to get the win and increase his record to 4-0. Perranoski, the closer of the 60's gave up the winning run in the bottom of the 11th, when Steve Whitaker led off with a triple. Tommy Davis was called on to pitch for Don Mincher, who was not ecstatic about being removed from such a clutch situation. Tommy is a fantastic hitter when he see's lefthanded pitching and Mincher is not. Still Mincher is a veteran who still hold a grudge against the Twin organization for trading him to the Angels in 67 for a player to be named later and Dean Chance. Mincher wanted to get a bit of revenge, but he had to sit and watch Davis get an intentional walk instead. In a strange twist of fate Rich Rollins, another Twin castoff, lofted a sac fly to Greg Nettles in LF to plate Whitaker as the go ahead run. Segui got the Twins to go 3 up and 3 down in the home half and the Pilots stole a 1-0 win in 11. This was the third consecutive game the Pilots scored just 1 run. Consider them lucky to have won 1 of those 3.

Joe Schultz quote of the day: "Hey, I want to see some el stikos thrown around here."

Interaction with Maglie:

Bouton: Sal I've made some decisions about my knuckleball adn I's like to talk them over with you:

Sal: Mblvckd ?

Bouton: Yes, Well, I think I've got to throw the knuckleball all the time and forget about my other pitches.

Sal: Of course, Christ, if you don't do that you won't get anybody out. That's your bread and butter.

Bouton: Another thing, I've got to throw the ball for about 15 minutes before the game to get the feel of it. I don't worry about tiring my arm. Strength means nothing to me.

Sal: Certainly, Absolutely, otherwise you can't stay sharp with it.

Permission granted for the Bulldog to do it his way.

April 30, 1969...GAME 18 (MIN 3, SEA 1)

Second loss in a row. Brabender gave up 3 in the first 3 innings and the anemic Pilot offense was never able to recover. Bouton tossed a scoreless 8th and recorded one "K" of Johnny Roseboro. When you hold that All-Star Twin lineup to 3 runs you should be able to win, but this was not in the cards for the Pilots. Hall and Perranoski combined for a 4 hitter. The lone Pilot run came in the 5th when Jose Vidal stole home on a unique triple steal attempt while Brabender was up with 2 outs. Lots of confidence being shown in Brabender's bat with that play call.

April 29, 1969...GAME 17 (CAL 2, SEA 1)

Mary Pattin pitched a complete game gem and only gave up 2 runs. Unfortunately for the Pilots California's Jim McGlothlin gave up 1 run and outdueled Marty. Jay Johnstone homered in the 1st to start the scoring. No one scored after Reichardt singled Davillio home in the 3rd. Foul mouthed Oyler knocked in the Pilots only run. Hegan is still over .400, but most importantly one Jim Bouton was called up from Vancouver after holidaying in balmy Hawaii. The bulldog never got into the game, but had a fantastic dialogue with pitching coach Maglie:

Sal: Hi, what time did you get in

Bouton: 8 yesterday morning from Hawaii

Sal: Humglmpf

And they say coaches aren't articulate...