United League of American Base B

Detroit Ends Barons' Win Streak at 13
CLEVELAND (August 2) -- The best outing of the year by the best pitcher of the year was not enough to extend Cleveland's 13-game winning streak, as Detroit edged the Barons 1-0 at Municipal Stadium in the best pitcher's duel of the season. Johnny Podres tossed a two-hitter, striking out 11, but the three baserunners he allowed could not have been timed worse, and the defense didn't do him any favors. Podres walked Lee Walls (his only walk of the game) to lead off the fourth, but when Walls bolted for second on a steal attempt, Johnny Roseboro's throw sailed into center field. Catcher Johnny Edwards then doubled home Walls. Edwards had both of Detroit's hits, having also doubled in the second. Meanwhile, Pedro Ramos scattered five hits for his first shutout and 13th win of the year.
While everyone has been focusing on Cleveland's rise to the top, few have noticed that the hottest team in the league over the last month and a half is actually Detroit. On June 13, the Griffins were 25-45 and mired 26 games back. Since then, they are 31-8 and they have sliced the gap to 14 games and are a game out of third place. The offense has come to life in July, with Dick Allen (.330-6-28), Frank Howard (.305-8-24), and Johnny Edwards (.299-3-22) combining for 74 RBI in 27 games, and Pedro Ramos (7-0, 2.13) and Joey Jay (5-0, 1.86) combining for 12 wins without a loss in 14 starts.
There must have been something in Ramos' NyQuil. After missing two weeks with the flu, Ramos has won eight straight decisions, posting a 1.83 ERA. Jay meanwhile is 8-1 since June 8, and his ERA has dipped from 3.80 to 3.05 during that span.

Mantilla Hits Hat Trick
DALLAS (Aug. 2) --
There have been two dozen homer hat tricks in UL history, but probably none as dramatic as Los Angeles third sacker Felix Mantilla's on Aug. 2 against Atlanta. The former Superba hit solo shots off three different pitchers, including a game-tying and game-winning taters in the 9th and 11th innings. Mantilla touched 'em all with blasts off Catfish Hunter in the sixth, Joe Grzenda in the ninth, and Dave Morehead in the 11th. He becomes just the third player in UL history with multiple hat tricks, having performed the feat in 1961 as a Louisville Colonel. The other multi-hat-trickers are Gus Zernial (3 times) and teammate Frank Robinson (2 times). Out of 24 hat tricks, Mantilla's was only the fourth composed entirely of solo homers. (see Milestones section below)

Tommy Harper Hits for the Cycle (Aug 6)

Barons Sweep Bas for 2.5 Game Lead

Perry Tosses 13-Inning CG
DALLAS (Aug. 2) -- Dallas starter Gaylord Perry went the distance for a complete game in the Texan's 2-1 victory over Chicago. Perry allowed six hits and two walks over 13 innings, striking out seven. Roberto Clemente hit a game-winning RBI single off Russ Kemmerer with two outs in the 13th, scoring Joe "Who" Azcue.

Spiders Beat Maroons in 17 Innings
ST. LOUIS (Aug. 4) -- It was the kind of day pitching coaches dread, as one by one the bullpens were decimated during a five-hour marathon at Sportsman's Park. The game was tied 3-3 after nine, and both teams scored in the 10th (Rocky Colavito bases-loaded walk, Frank Torre HR), before Bobby Brown took Phil Mikkelsen out of the park in the top of the 17th.
St. Louis used up five relievers in the loss, while San Francisco managed with just three, as Gerry Arrigo pitched 4.2 innings.
On the same day, Chicago beat Dallas in 14 innings to extend their leave over the Maroons to six games. Ernie Banks ended that game with his 31st home run, a two-run blast off Tony Phillips.

DOUG AITON: THE SPORTING NEWS INTERVIEW

The Sporting News talks to Washington skipper Doug Aiton about the "retooling" project in the nation's capital..

TSN: What direction are the Monuments headed?
DA: Well, one cycle has ended, so to speak. The plan always was to assemble enough talent that when guys like Romano and Hansen, or latterly Santo and Yaz, became major-league stars, we'd be well poised for a championship. Ironically, had we pitched in '64 like we did in '65, or hit in '65 like we did in '64, that might have happened. As it is, we simply don't have the budget (especially with the Mays contract) to hang onto the veterans for very long. So now we need to plan for the next cycle, and that means bringing in a few younger faces.

TSN: How do the recent trades help get the club in that direction?
DA: We had an asset - quality veteran starting pitching - and a weakness - lack of depth and young talent. Time and again, a player's gone down and we've had no replacement, or we can't trade for an important piece without giving up one of our starting position players. We needed to get a few younger players in, we really badly needed an OF who would be about for the next few seasons (and we like Floyd Robinson for that) and we need to have a good draft. It hurts to give up guys like Brunet, Shaw, and of course Whitey Ford, but what other chips do we have? It would be criminally negligent to sleepwalk towards more 95 loss seasons over the next five years. So we're about getting a better balance and retooling in the draft - not a full rebuild, but just some flexibility.

TSN: Who is the biggest surprise this year? Biggest disappointment?
DA: The biggest disappointment is obviously Yaz's injury - this was his breakout year, and fracturing his knee probably will negatively impact his whole career from here on in. It's left us with a huge hole in LF, and worse, a huge hole in the long-term plans for the franchise. It's not really a surprise, but it's nice to see Ron Santo come round this year. People forget what a bad park for hitters Griffith Stadium is, and this campaign really has been impressive.

TSN: Is Dick Howser the new Granny Hamner?
DA: I suppose if I was to choose a biggest surprise, it would have to be the continued greatness of Dick Howser. League offense is down, but Howser will again hit over .350, steal 60 or more bases and have an OBP over .450 with gold glove defence. Obviously, Hamner is the great one, but you can make a strong case that these last few Dick Howser seasons have been as good as any in UL history - all this from a 5'8 Floridian who looks like he won't hit better than .250.