2000 NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
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| PREVIEW – The NLCS features the N.L. East winners, Manhattan Gas Hornets (89-67) vs. the Wild Card team from the West Long Beach Titans (98-58). Both teams have big offenses. Manhattan uses their speed and Long Beach hits the long ball. It should be a close series. |
| GAME #1 – Jeff D’Amico 10-9 (3.81) vs. Rick Reed 18-4 (3.02)
Manhattan jumped on Jeff D’Amico early and knocked him out in the 3rd on their way to a 6-0 win. Derek Jeter led off the game with a single, went to second on a groundout and scored on a Jason Kendall single. They added 2 in the 3rd on a Matt Stairs 2 run HR and 2 in the 3rd on a Garrett Anderson run scoring double and an Adrian Brown RBI single. From there Rick Reed was dominant giving up just 2 hits in 6 2/3 innings. The bullpen closed out the 5 hit shutout. Final Score: Manhattan 6 – Long Beach 0 Win: Rick Reed 1-0 (0.00) |
| GAME #2 – Rick Ankiel 12-8 (5.07) vs. Brian Anderson 12-11 (4.48)
This game was the exact opposite of game 1 as Rick Ankiel pitched 7 strong innings and Long Beach won 6-2. The Titans got all the runs they needed in the 3rd. With 2 outs and runners at 1st and 3rd Brad Fullmer hit an inning ending flyball to left that Garret Anderson dropped allowing 1 run to score. Jose Vidro followed with a 2 run double for a 4-1 lead. From there Rick Ankiel and the bullpen closed out the 6-2 win. Final Score: Long Beach 6 – Manhattan 2 Win: Rick Ankiel 1-0 (1.29) |
| GAME #3 – Rob Bell 10-10 (6.53) vs. Glendon Rusch 17-10 (4.24)
This was a close game for 5 innings before Manhattan exploded for 6 runs in the 6th and won easily 14-5. Going into the 6th the Gas Hornets had a 6-5 lead in the first close game of the series. With the bases loaded Rod Beck walked Ray Durham, then hit Jason Kendall. Garret Anderson followed with a grand slam and a close game was now 12-5. Garret Anderson hit another HR and ended up with 6 RBI as Manhattan takes a 2-1 series lead. Final Score: Manhattan 14 – Long Beach 5 Win: Mike Fyhrie 1-0 (3.00) |
| GAME #4 – Rick Reed 18-4 (3.02) vs. Jeff D’Amico 10-9 (3.81)
This was a really fun back and forth extra inning game. Manhattan scored single runs in the 1st, 2nd & 3rd while Long Beach took advantage of Manhattan fielding lapses to score 3 in the 2nd on a misjudged flyball and a passed ball for a 4-3 lead after 4. In the 5th Manhattan scored 2 on a Ray Durham 2 run blast for a 5-4 lead. Long Beach scored 2 in the 6th on a Jeffrey Hammonds 2 run single to retake the lead 6-5. They added a run in the 7th on a Brad Fullmer run scoring hit and led 7-5 going into the 9th. With 2 outs and a runner on 2nd, Tino Martinez hit a 2 run HR to tie the game at 7 and send it to extra innings. In the top of the 10th with 1 out Garret Anderson grounded into a fielders choice scoring a run giving the Gas Hornets a 8-7 lead. In the bottom of the inning Ben Petrick reached on a Ray Durham error to open the inning. After Jose Vidro popped out, Mitch Melusky followed with a 2 run walk off HR to give Long Beach a 9-8 win and even the series 2-2. Final Score: Long Beach 9 – Manhattan 8 (10 Innings) Win: Jose Jimenez 1-0 (4.50) |
| GAME #5 – Brian Anderson 12-11 (4.48) vs. Rick Ankiel 12-8 (5.07)
Brian Anderson gave up just 4 hits and no runs in 8 1/3 innings as Manhattan won 6-0 and takes a 3-2 series lead home for the final 2 games. He got all the runs he would need in the 3rd when Garret Anderson doubled in 2 runs and Tino Martinez doubled him in for a 4-0 lead. Brian Anderson cruised from there. Final Score: Manhattan 6 – Long Beach 0 Win: Brian Anderson 1-1 (1.46) |
| GAME #6 – Rob Bell 10-10 (6.53) vs. Glendon Rusch 17-10 (4.24)
Back home, Manhattan is looking to close out the series. Jeffrey Hammonds led off the game with a HR and the Titans scored another on a DP for a 2-0 lead. The Gas Hornets responded in the bottom of the inning when Jason Kendall singled in Derek Jeter. In the 2nd they took a 3-2 lead on an RBI single by Gary Bennett and a Derek Jeter SF. Long Beach tied the game in the 4th when Brad Fullmer finally found his power stroke and smacked his first HR of the series. They traded runs in the 6th on a David Justice HR and a Tino Martinez run scoring hit. Long Beach took the lead for good in the 8th when David Justice hit his second HR of the game. The Long Beach bullpen closed out the 5-4 win. After Rusch was knocked out in the 2nd the Titans bullpen threw 7 2/3 innings giving up just 1 run to force a game 7. Final Score: Long Beach 5 – Manhattan 4 Win: Dave Veres 1-0 (2.57) |
| GAME #7 – Jeff D’Amico 10-9 (3.81) vs. Rick Reed 18-4 (3.02)
There is nothing better than a game 7! In an evenly matched series, it comes down to a deciding game. Manhattan took a 2-0 lead in the first on solo HRs by Derek Jeter and Jason Kendall. Long Beach tied it with runs in the 2nd and 4th on Mitch Melusky and Brad Fullmer HRs. They took a 3-2 lead in the 5th when Brad Fullmer singled in Glenallen Hill. It was still 3-2 in the top of the 7th. It looked like we were headed to a tense finish until the Titans exploded for 4 runs in the 7th and 4 more in the 8th for an 11-3 lead. In the 7th Mitch Melusky singled in a run and Deivi Cruz crushed a 3 run HR. In the 8th, Jose Vidro, Brad Fullmer and Mitch Melusky had run scoring hits. It got a little sketchy in the bottom of the 9th, but Curt Leskanic got Garret Anderson to ground out to third for the last out of Long Beach’s 11-5 win sending them to the World Series! Final Score: Long Beach 11 – Manhattan 5 Win: Jose Jimenez 2-0 (3.18) |
| SUMMARY – This was a very competitive close series and Bill deserves a lot of credit for putting together a very tough, explosive team. Long Beach was able to take advantage of a few miscues and the heart of their lineup, David Justice, Brad Fullmer and Mitch Melusky, had timely hits in the last 2 games.
NLCS MVP: Jeffrey Hammonds 10 hits, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 323 BA, .944 OPS |