Editor’s note: Tournament games are played with Strat-o-Matic cards and dice. Three-man pitching rotations will be used for starting pitchers. Injuries are in-game only during this single elimination event.
Phil Niekro had a successful day with his knuckle-ball as the Atlanta Braves downed the San Francisco Giants 4-1 in the first round of the 1972 Strat-o-Matic Tournament.
In a complete game effort, Niekro (1-0) allowed a run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts as the Braves advanced to the second round to earn a trip to face the Cincinnati Reds.
The only real blemish for Niekro was a solo homer by Dave Kingman in th fourth inning. Chris Speier led off the affair with the single, while Garry Maddox picked up singles in the second and seventh.
After Kingman’s blast, the Braves tied the game in the bottom of the fourth against San Francisco starter Ron Bryant on a RBI single by Dusty Baker.
Atlanta took the lead in the fifth, Felix Millan and Marty Perez had back-to-back singles with one out. With Perez at third, Niekro lifted a ball to right field that was deep enough to be a sacrifice fly and it was 2-1.
In the eighth, the Braves added their final runs. Darrell Evans smacked a solo homer before a walk to Hank Aaron ended the contest for Bryant.
Randy Moffitt took over on the mound and fanned Baker, but Rico Carty followed with a double to put runners at second and third. After Earl Williams was unable to advance the runners on a grounded out.
Moffitt threw a wild pitch that had Aaron coming home with the final tally.
Bryant (0-1) worked seven innings giving up all four runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts.
The Braves will have Ron Reed getting the start in the second round against Cincinnati, while the Reds counter with Gary Nolan.
1972 Tournament Schedule
Second Round Pairings
NL East Bracket
(4) St. Louis Cardinals at (1) Pittsburgh Pirates
(6) Philadelphia Phillies at (2) Chicago Cubs
AL East Bracket
(5) Cleveland Indians at (1) Detroit Tigers
(3) Baltimore Orioles at (2) Boston Red Sox
AL West Bracket
(5) California Angels at (1) Oakland A’s
(3) Minnesota Twins at (2) Chicago White Sox
NL West Bracket
(4) Atlanta Braves at (1) Cincinnati Reds
First Round Results and Pairings
NL East Bracket
(1) Pittsburgh Pirates, bye
(4) St. Louis Cardinals 5, (5) Montreal Expos 3
(6) Philadelphia Phillies 3, (3) New York Mets 0
(2) Chicago Cubs, bye
AL East Bracket
(1) Detroit Tigers, Bye
(5) Cleveland Indians 7, (4) New York Yankees 0
(3) Baltimore Orioles 4, (6) Milwaukee Brewers 0
(2) Boston Red Sox, bye
AL West Bracket
(1) Oakland A’s, Bye
(5) California Angels 1, (4) Kansas City Royals 0
(3) Minnesota Twins 3, (6) Texas Rangers 0
(2) Chicago White Sox, bye
NL West Bracket
(1) Cincinnati Reds, Bye
(4) Atlanta Braves 4, (5) San Francisco Giants 1
(6) San Diego Padres at (3) Los Angeles Dodgers
(2) Houston Astros, bye