The 1990 A’s, 1962 Giants, 1940 Reds and the 1967 Cardinals each moved on to the semifinals of the Honus Wagner Bracket in the Press Room Pass Strat Madness Tournament.
Honus Wagner Bracket Results, Schedule and Round-Up
(9) 1990 A’s 3, (1) 1909 Pirates 1 (10)
(5) 1962 Giants 6, (4) 1953 Dodgers 2
(9) 1990 A’s at (5) 1962 Giants
- Oakland’s Mark McGwire supplied the power as the A’s defeated Pittsburgh 3-1 in 10 innings. The A’s trailed 1-0 when McGwire tied the contest with a solo homer in the top of the ninth. One inning later, McGwire blasted a two-run shot for the final margin with his fourth hit in the affair. Rick Honeycutt worked the final two frames to get the win in relief of Dave Stewart. Howie Camnitz went the distance for the Pirates. Fred Clarke had a RBI single for the Pirates in the sixth.
- San Francisco’s Juan Marichal tossed a complete game as the Giants beat Brooklyn 6-2. Orlando Cepeda drove in two runs for the Giants, while Willie McCovey had two hits. Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella hit solo homers for the Dodgers. Carl Erskine took the loss for Brooklyn.
(3) 1940 Reds 3, (6) 1934 Tigers 0
(2) 1967 Cardinals 4, (10) 1921 Yankees 1
(3) 1940 Reds at (2) 1967 Cardinals
- Cincinnati’s Bucky Walters scattered eight hits as the Reds blanked Detroit 3-0. Walters had just three strikeouts, but didn’t issue any walks. Lonny Frey knocked in the first run for the Reds with a single in the fourth before Frank McCormick followed with a two-run single in the fifth. Ernie Lombardi and Billy Werber led the Reds with two hits apiece. Tommy Bridges, who worked seven innings for the Tigers, was tagged with the loss. Pete Fox topped the Tigers with three hits.
- Lou Brock and Tim McCarver both hits two-run homers to lead St. Louis past New York 4-1. Bob Meusel‘s sacrifice fly in the top of the first gave the Yankees a 1-0 advantage, but Brock put the Cardinals in the lead for good at 2-1 with his drive in the third inning. McCarver hit his long ball in the sixth. Bob Gibson went the distance for the Cardinals as he fanned 11 to get the victory. Waite Hoyt suffered the loss for the Yankees.
IN REAL LIFE:
The well documented controversy that surrounds Mark McGwire had not become a focal point early in his career with the A’s.
McGwire was in his fifth season in 1990 as Oakland won its third straight American League pennant before the A’s fell to Cincinnati in the World Series. That season, the slugger hit 39 homers with 108 RBI as he led the league in walks with 110.
A 12-time all-star, McGwire made his fourth appearance in the mid-summer classic that season. He would also earn his only Gold Glove.
In his 16-year career with the A’s (1986-1997) and St. Louis Cardinals (1997-2001), McGwire hit 583 homers with a best of 70 in 1998. He was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1987 and won three Silver Sluggers.