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TWO FIVE-HIT PERFORMERS IN APBL ON TUESDAY
EXCELSIOR LF GODIN & GOTHAM RF STRACHAN BOTH BELT FIVE HITS IN WINNING EFFORTS

BROOKLYN & NEW YORK CITY (June 24, 1873) – The opening day of Week Eight of the APBL season saw two standout performances by batsmen in the six games that were on offer.

The first one occurred in Brooklyn, where Excelsior beat visiting Kings County 9-1 behind 6 Strikeouts by Jim Creighton. As good as Creighton was, Player of the Game honors went to Greenhorn LF Carl Godin:

• B2: Leadoff Double to CF off J. Doherty
• B4: Leadoff Single past 1B off J. Doherty
• B6: Infield Single off J. Doherty (R)
• B7: 1-run Single past 2B off J. Doherty
• B8: 1-run Single past SS off T. McNaughton (R)
• TOTAL: 5/5, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, 6 TB

Godin, who had been struggling mightily with a .207 average (.448 OPS) entering last Sunday’s game versus Knickerbocker, is 9/10 over his last two outings, a sure sign that the Greenhorn has finally adapted to APBL-level pitching.

Over in New York City, Knickerbocker & Gotham were playing another one of their classic series as the two elder “statesclubs” of baseball, and Gotham leadoff man Clive Strachan was the star in a 13-9 win:

• T1: Leadoff Single to CF off W. Marrs (SB, R)
• T2: Single past SS off W. Marrs (SB)
• T4: 1-run Single past SS off W. Marrs (SB)
• T6: Leadoff Single past 2B off W. Marrs (CS)
• T8: Single past 2B off W. Marrs
• T9: Reached via error by W. Verstegen
• TOTAL: 5/6 (all 1B), 1 R, 1 RBI, 3 SB

Strachan’s afternoon raised his average to .367 (.868 OPS), with 33 Runs Batted In, 36 Stolen Bases, and 2.1 WAR through 43 games in 1873, making a third consecutive APBL All-Star Game appearance very likely.

Both Excelsior & Gotham are in the bottom half of the Metropolitan Conference standings. Excelsior is 17-26 and in 5th place, while Gotham is 19-24 and in 4th place. Placing & records might not matter, as it currently looks like nobody will be able to catch the white-hot, 32-11 American BC.