[Joy in Mudville]

Bolstered by a 21-8 record in August, the New York Yankees have trimmed the Baltimore Orioles lead to five games in the American League West.

The Yankees feature the AL's top pitching staff. New York has a strong possibilty of having four 20-game winners. Right-handers Fritz Peterson (25-9, 2.49 ERA) and Mel Stottlemyre (24-7, 2.19) anchor the rotation. Steve Kline (17-11) and Stan Bahnsen (17-5) appear likely candidates to win 20.

New York and Baltimore will face each other five times in September. Three of those games will be at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles hold an 8-5 season series advantage. The Yankees have sliced off five games from a 10-game Baltimore advantage in July.

Bobby Murcer, the AL's reigning MVP, has taken over the batting race lead from Oriole rookie Johnny Grubb. Yankee catcher Thurman Munson and outfielder Roy White have also gotten hot down the stretch.

Baltimore posted an 18-10 record in August. The Orioles lead the AL in nearly every offensive category. However, the Baltimore bullpen has been shaky of late, and the Orioles failed to pull off a deadline trade to strengthen it.

Diamond JIM Notes: Recent amateur draft picks Ken Griffey of Cincinnati and Dave Parker of Cleveland won the Rookie of the Month Awards for August. That broke a four-month string by Pittsburgh catcher Milt May and Baltimore outfielder Johnny Grubb . . . Pittsburgh slugger Willie Stargell won the NL Player of the Month for the second straight time . . . New York's Bobby Murcer took home the AL hardware; Texas' Graig Nettles won it for July . . . For the second consecutive month a California Angel won the AL Pitcher of the Month. This time around it was Clyde Wright; last month it was Andy Messersmith . . . Montreal right-hander Rick Reuschel was the NL recipient. Reuschel, the All-Star Game MVP, has become the first Montreal pitcher to win 20 games . . . The July NL Pitcher of the Month went to Houston's Don Wilson . . . Pittsburgh outfielder Willie Stargell appears a solid bet to break the single-season home run record held by Atlanta's Hank Aaron. The mark is 44; Stargell has 40 entering September . . . Houston Astro second baseman Joe Morgan missed 10 games with a strained quad muscle . . . San Francisco's Ron Hunt has shattered his own hit-by-pitch record. Hunt has been plunked 30 times this season . . . Minor leaguers Marcel Lachemann, Bill Plummer, Adrian Garrett and Minnie Mendoza all announced their retirements, effective at the end of the season.

Major League 1970 09-01-1972 Standings Report

American Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Baltimore Orioles 96 37 .722 - 99-34 -3 49-18 47-19 8-1 16-17 24 L1 5-5 New York Yankees 92 43 .681 5.0 94-41 -2 43-25 49-18 10-12 25-20 L1 6-4 Boston Red Sox 64 65 .496 30.0 62-67 2 30-33 34-32 11-8 21-22 L3 4-6 Milwaukee Brewers 51 80 .389 44.0 47-84 4 24-44 27-36 9-11 17-22 W1 3-7 Detroit Tigers 50 82 .379 45.5 58-74 -8 33-33 17-49 5-8 16-31 L3 2-8 Cleveland Indians 46 88 .343 50.5 47-87 -1 22-46 24-42 8-8 18-26 L1 6-4 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Texas Rangers 86 47 .647 - 72-61 14 42-23 44-24 8-6 39-13 15 W1 6-4 Oakland Athletics 70 62 .530 15.5 71-61 -1 33-31 37-31 5-6 24-18 W1 6-4 California Angels 61 71 .462 24.5 61-71 0 31-33 30-38 7-8 25-32 W4 6-4 Chicago White Sox 60 72 .455 25.5 62-70 -2 29-39 31-33 5-11 20-20 W3 7-3 Kansas City Royals 59 73 .447 26.5 60-72 -1 34-34 25-39 9-9 24-25 L1 4-6 Minnesota Twins 58 73 .443 27.0 56-75 2 29-35 29-38 9-6 25-24 W1 5-5

National Standings

Eastern Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Pittsburgh Pirates 80 51 .611 - 76-55 4 44-22 36-29 9-5 22-21 21 W3 7-3 Philadelphia Phillies 69 62 .527 11.0 63-68 6 36-31 33-31 9-6 32-20 W1 6-4 New York Mets 65 65 .500 14.5 63-67 2 37-29 28-36 9-10 25-20 L1 3-7 St. Louis Cardinals 62 69 .473 18.0 69-62 -7 25-39 37-30 7-7 17-19 L2 6-4 Chicago Cubs 62 70 .470 18.5 62-70 0 34-30 28-40 7-9 20-24 W1 4-6 Montreal Expos 53 78 .405 27.0 52-79 1 24-42 29-36 5-8 23-29 W1 4-6 Western Division Team W L PCT GB Pyt.Rec Diff Home Away XInn 1Run M# Streak Last10 Houston Astros 93 42 .689 - 94-41 -1 47-19 46-23 9-1 26-15 8 L1 7-3 Los Angeles Dodgers 69 62 .527 22.0 66-65 3 35-31 34-31 3-9 19-25 L1 6-4 Atlanta Braves 65 72 .474 29.0 65-72 0 32-35 33-37 8-13 27-22 L1 6-4 Cincinnati Reds 62 70 .470 29.5 66-66 -4 32-33 30-37 4-3 23-27 W1 4-6 San Diego Padres 58 75 .436 34.0 58-75 0 31-37 27-38 10-7 26-26 L4 2-8 San Francisco Giants 56 78 .418 36.5 59-75 -3 27-42 29-36 6-8 11-23 W2 5-5