1972 OPENING DAY
Toppers Muffle Singer
Atlanta Opens Title Defense with Shutout
ATLANTA (April 1) -- Rookie manager Fully Fry could not have scripted a better debut if he were a Hollywood writer/editor/producer.  The Atlanta skipper pushed all the right buttons as the Hilltoppers cruised to an easy 8-0 win over Chicago behind six shutout innings by ace Ron Reed.  Atlanta put up a 3-spot in the first, added a fourth run on Joe Morgan's solo homer in the second, and never looked back.  Joe Torre homered and drove in three runs, and Sal Bando had a pair of doubles, as Bill Singer was tagged for 8 hits and 7 runs and left after just four innings.

Elsewhere around the league on Opening Day, Manhattan edged Brooklyn in a 32-hit slugfest at the Frank, Washington won in 12 innings, and L.A.'s Larry Dierker anchored a five-hitter to beat Pedro Ramos and Detroit.  Full coverage below:

St. Louis 12, Dallas 5 Pengiun Ices Texans Ron Cey's 3-run pinch homer in his first major league at bat put the exclamation mark on a 12-5 rout at Turnpike Stadium in Arlington.  The Maroon's 6-7-8 hitters combined for 8 of their 12 hits, including 3-for-4 games for Tim McCarver, in his debut, and Curt Flood.  Cesar Cedeno and Rod Carew each had two singles and a double. Manhattan 13, Brooklyn 9 Crosstown Slugfest Pete Ward and Ron Swoboda each homered twice in a 32-hit crosstown slugfest, and Johnny Grubb had 4 hits and 5 RBIs in his UL debut.  Brooklyn's Vida Blue was tagged for 8 runs but hit a pair of doubles and outlasted Phil Niekro, and supposedly weak-hitting Davey Lopes homered in his first major league at bat.   Los Angeles 5, Detroit 1 Dierker Dykes Detroit Larry Dierker stuck out eight with no walks and allowed just one run and Ken Singleton drove in two runs without getting a hit as the Outlaws downed Detroit at Arroyo Seco in Pasadena.  Tom Haller's solo homer in the seventh was the Griffins only run, and loser Pedro Ramos looked rusty, hitting a batter, balking, and letting in four runs in seven innings.

San Francisco 7, Boston 3 Moose and Stingray What do you get if you cross a moose and a stingray?  If you are Bob Moose and Jim "Sting" Ray on Opening Day, you get a 10-strikeout start and a five-out save.  Big John Mayberry homered in his first at bat of the year, off Jerry Koosman, and went on to a 4-for-4 day.  Rocky Colavito was 0-for-3 in his Fenway homecoming. Washington 5, Cleveland 4, 11 inn. Dramatics in D.C. Ray Fosse singled home Cito Gaston with two outs in bottom of the 12th to seal an dramatic victory for a club with an ever-growing reputation for dramatics.  Cleveland went ahead 4-3 in the seventh when Jerry Kenney scored on an Andy Messersmith wild pitch.  But Richie Hebner tied it up with a solo shot in the eighth, sending it to extra innings.  Hal McRae was Player of the Game after homering in his first major league at bat.

Moose Egg ATLANTA (Apr. 11) -- Bob Moose no-hit the Atlanta Hilltoppers today, no small feat in the league's best hitter's park.  Three of the last five no-hitters have been authored by Spiders hurlers, including Jim Maloney's in 1964 and Dick Bosman's perfect game in 1969.  Moose took doubles honors in 1968, winning both the Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards with a 17-6 record an 1.71 ERA at the tender age of 20.  He suffered a major back injury on Sept. 18 that sidelined him for all but three starts in 1969, but the righthander from Demont, Pa. consolidated his role as a rotation staple but putting together back-to-back 17-win seasons in 1970 and 1971, with ERAs around 2.50.   Mantle Hits #600 SAN FRANCISCO (Apr. 15) -- Mickey Mantle added to his list of UL superlatives today, crushing his 600th career home run, a three-run blast in the third inning off Mike Hedlund.  Mantle, 39, who joined St. Louis on a two-year $10 million per year contract this offseason, is the all-time league leader in games, at bats, runs, hits, total bases, home runs, and RBI.  The Mick leads the league in home runs and VORP and is second in RBI.