Bagel Run
Moose-McGraw No-Hitter Starts
Spate of 16 Shutouts in 15 Days
WASHINGTON (July 16) - The St. Louis Maroons blanked Washington for the second day in a row, making it 16 shutouts in the UL in the last 15 days.  The bagel spree began on July 1, when San Francisco's Bob Moose, who threw a no-hitter last year, combined with closer Tug McGraw for the first joint no-hitter in league history.  San Francisco took a narrow 2-0 lead into the ninth, and Moose walked to first two batters he faced, putting the tying runs on base.  Being a save situation, Spiders manager Jeff Tonole put McGraw in the game, who walked the bases loaded before striking out Darrell Porter and getting Ron Santo to pop up to end the game.

Over the next two weeks, there were 15 other shutouts around the league, including back-to-back complete game shutouts by Manhattan rookie Steve Rogers and a pair of shutouts anchored by Chicago's Bill Parsons.  Washington's Don Wilson struck out 10 Feds and 9 Griffins in 4-0 and 1-0 wins in successive starts, and Jon Matlack and Joe Niekro shutout the Monuments in D.C. one after the next.  There were four 1-0 scores, including the Maroons win here on June 14 which was decided by a Mickey Mantle home run.

The league keeps no official statistics on such things (the contract with Elias Sports Bureau ran out several years ago due to lack of funds), but the league spokesman said "it seems high to me" when asked if 16 was an unusually high number of shutouts for two weeks.

1973 RIVALRY WEEK
Chicago def. St. Louis, 4-3 Game of the Series: Game 4 Bill Parsons and Joe Niekro battled to a 0-0 stalemate before Toby Harrah delivered the game-winning single in the bottom of the 10th to score Pete Ward, who had hit a leadoff triple.	Detroit def. Cleveland, 4-2 Game of the Series: Game 2 Hard luck doesn't come much harder.  Jim Palmer tossed a two-hit complete game but lost 1-0 to former Spider Roger Nelson, who anchored a five-hit shutout.
San Francisco def. Los Angeles, 4-3 Game of the Series: Game 1 Bob Moose and Tug McGraw pitched the UL's first combined no-hitter in a 2-0 win at Arroyo Seco.  Moose left the game two outs away from a no-hitter after walking the first two batters in the ninth.  McGraw walked the bases loaded but struck out Darrell Porter and got Ron Santo to pop up for the final out.	Boston def. Washington, 4-3 Game of the Series: Game 7 Don Wilson's 1-hit shutout in Game 5 was eclipsed by Game 7, which went to 19 innings and took five and a half hours to play.  Dave Cash had five hits in the game, including the game-winning double in the bottom of the 19th.
Atlanta def. Dallas, 6-1 Game of the Series: Game 6 Dallas hit a new low on July 6.  The day after shortstop Dave Concepcion was involved in a fight with a bouncer at a local club, the Toppers handed the Texans a 12-0 shellacking behind Bruce Dal Canton's 3-hitter and Terry Crowley's 5 RBIs.	Manhattan def. Brooklyn, 4-3 Game of the Series: Game 7 Bob Watson's pinch homer off Dick Kelley gave Brooklyn a 7-6 victory in a see-saw battle that saw the Bas blow 2-run and 4-run leads.

"Bahnsen Burner" Reignited
Chicago righthander Stan Bahnsen ranks 2nd in the league with a 2.10 ERA.  "The Bahnsen Burner" pitched in the 1968 World Series, just six regular season starts into his career, and suffered one of the worst World Series in league history, giving up 8 runs in the first inning of Game 1 and finishing the series 0-2 with a 12.27 ERA.  The following year, Bahnsen nearly won 20 games (19-12, 3.59) and he was 15-9 in 1970, but injuries cut short his 1971 campaign and he was dealt to the Colts.  He returned to double-digit wins last year (13-7), with a career-best 3.30 ERA, but '73 is shaping up to be the best year yet for the 28-year-old Iowan.  In addition to his second best 2.10 ERA, Bahnsen is 8-1 and boasts the best winning percentage on a staff that includes Bill Singer and Wilbur Wood.