2003 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #18

Chicago enters this series with one of the most feared pitching rotations in the league. Led by Pedro Martinez (coming off a 2002 season with a 2.26 ERA and 239 Ks) and the legendary Roger Clemens, the Demolition have the arms to shut down any lineup. They also feature Jason Schmidt and Kevin Millwood, giving them four legitimate “aces” to throw at the Quakes.

Offensively, the Demolition are built for run production. Carlos Delgado (33 HR, 108 RBI in ’02) anchors the middle of the order, flanked by the veteran precision of Roberto Alomar and the power of Tony Batista. Keep an eye on Hideki Matsui, who adds a dynamic international flavor to a lineup that rarely has a weak spot.

California: Though their record is underwhelming, the Quakes possess several young stars who can change a game instantly. The spotlight is firmly on a young Mark Teixeira and Bobby Crosby, representing the future of the franchise. They are joined by the speedy Luis Castillo, who remains one of the toughest outs in the league due to his high contact rate and base-stealing threat.

On the mound, California will look to John Thomson and a young Cliff Lee to navigate the dangerous Chicago bats. If the Quakes can keep the games close into the late innings, they have a major weapon in the bullpen: Trevor Hoffman. If California can find a way to take a lead into the 9th, Hoffman is as “automatic” as they come.

Chicago’s offense ignited in the second inning when Bobby Higginson capitalized on an Andy Fox error to drive in the first run. The floodgates opened in the third as Carlos Delgado hit an RBI double, followed immediately by a towering three-run home run from Tim Salmon. Tony Batista added a sacrifice fly in the eighth to cap the scoring, while the Demolition bullpen secured the two-hit shutout.

Final Score: Chicago 6 – California 0

Win: Pedro Martinez 14-4 (1.39)
Loss: Brandon Duckworth 5-12 (4.86)

Schmidt earned the win, allowing just one run—a solo homer to Mark Teixeira—over 6.1 innings. The Quakes struggled to find rhythm, managing only four hits as Chicago’s bullpen slammed the door to secure the win.

Final Score: Chicago 7 – California 1

Win: Jason Schmidt 12-4 (2.13)
Loss: John Patterson 1-10 (7.18)

Chicago’s Jamey Wright earned the win, pitching 5.1 innings of one-run ball. The Demolition finished with 18 hits, while California managed only six in the lopsided affair.

Final Score: Chicago 23 – California 1

Win: Jamey Wright 1-0 (1.69)
Loss: Damian Moss 4-8 (7.64)

California fought back in the fifth with RBI doubles from Andy Fox and Luis Castillo, but Tony Batista delivered the decisive blow in the bottom of the sixth—a two-run home run that extended the lead to 6–2. Mark Teixeira added a solo shot for the Quakes in the eighth, but Billy Wagner entered to shut the door, securing his 22nd save.

Final Score: Chicago 6 – California 3

Win: Roger Clemens 10-4 (3.56)
Loss: John Thomson 4-12 (4.77)
Save: Billy Wagner #22

Chicago responded in the fifth as Shannon Stewart delivered a clutch two-run double, scoring Phil Nevin and Edgar Renteria to take the lead. California threatened in the ninth, putting two runners on against the bullpen, but Brendan Donnelly entered to secure the final three outs and preserve the win for Kevin Millwood.

Final Score: Chicago 2 – California 1

Win: Kevin Millwood 8-8 (3.03)
Loss: Jeriome Robertson 4-13 (4.51)
Save: Brendan Donnelly #3

The floodgates opened in the eighth after a crucial catcher’s interference error loaded the bases, setting the stage for Mark Teixeira to blast a massive grand slam. California added two more insurance runs via RBI singles from Carlos Guillen and Ryan Freel to seal the victory.

Final Score: California 7 – Chicago 0

Win: Brandon Duckworth 6-12 (4.54)
Loss: Pedro Martinez 14-5 (1.38)

Throughout the set, Hideki Matsui and Roberto Alomar provided consistent run production, while Tony Batista and Tim Salmon flashed the veteran power that has made this lineup so feared. California’s struggling squad found few answers against the Chicago onslaught, though young star Mark Teixeira remained a bright spot, launching three home runs over the six-game stretch.

The Quakes (31-73) finally found salvation in the series finale, snapping Chicago’s winning streak with a stunning 7–0 shutout. Brandon Duckworth outdueled Pedro Martinez with eight scoreless innings, and Teixeira punctuated the upset with a dramatic eighth-inning grand slam. While California showed late life, the series belonged to Chicago, whose relentless offense and deep rotation kept them firmly in the hunt for the league’s top seed.

In the 4th, Stinnett knocks in 2 runs for Winnipeg and Redmond gets a sac fly. Winnipeg ties it in the 5th.
Michigan retakes the lead with 4 in the 5th. Penny gets taken out of the game after giving up 2 in the 6th.

Michigan holds on and wins.

Michigan 9 Winnipeg 8

Winnipeg scores one in the first. Winnipeg loads the bases in the 2nd, but doesn’t score.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Bret Boone hits a grand slam. Nick Johnson triples in 2 runs in the 6th for Michigan.

Michigan 7 Winnipeg 1

In the 3rd, Byrd doubles in a run for Winnipeg. Michigan responds with 4 runs in the bottom of the inning. Bret Boone hits his 24th homer in the 5th. Boone hits his 25th in the 7th.

Michigan 7 Winnipeg 3

Bret Boone goes 4 for 4 with 2 homers.

Alex Gonzalez drives in a run for Winnipeg in the first. Victor Martinez adds a second on a single. Michigan responds with 3 in the 2nd. Winnipeg gets 4 in the 3rd as they hit well off of Clement. Bret Boone responds with a 2 run bomb in the 3rd. Michigan ties it in the 6th.

Jim Edmonds breaks the tie in the 7th with a homer.

Malaska comes in to get the save.

Michigan 8 Winnipeg 7

Edmonds scores and drives in a run on a triple in the 1st. Winnipeg gets one back in the 2nd. Aaron Boone hits a homer for Michigan in the 3rd. Winnipeg responds with 4 in the 4th.

Winnipeg adds some runs down the stretch and takes the game easily.

Winnipeg 10 Michigan 4

Marlon Byrd hits a 2 run homer in the 5th for the first score of the day. Bernie Williams puts one on the board in the 5th on a RBI single. Bret Boone continues his hot streak with a 3 run homer in the 6th.

In the 9th with 2 outs, Lofton hits a 2 run homer and so does Guiel.

Winnipeg out-hits Michigan 14-5.

Winnipeg 7 Michigan 4

Play Ball!!!

Maulers gain a 1 run victory after trailing 3-1, and then scoring 3 in the bottom of the 4th and holding on as the bull pen shuts the door over 3.1 IP.

W: John Riedling 7-8
H: Justin Speier (4)
S: Ray King (3)
L: Jon Garland 9-6

MVM Highlight:
Vladimir Guerrero
1-2, HR(10), RBI (43)

CBL
Alex Rodriguez
1-5, HR(27), RBI (64)

Bootleggers return the favor with a one run extra inning victory. Salomon Torres upgrades to a 16 but tires in the 10th, being left in longer that he should have been, and he gives up the game winner. Damaso Marte approaching 30 saves at the half way point.

W: Ugeuth Urbina 4-1
BS: Tom Martin (2)
S: Damaso Marte (28)
L: Salomon Torres 4-13

MVM Highlight:
Jason Varitek
2-2, HR(15), RBI (53)
Michael Ryan
1-2, HR(2), RBI (5)

INJ: MVM – Coco Crisp 11 days

W: Dontrelle Willis 9-8
H: Julian Tavarez (10)
S: Ray King (4)
L: Steve Trachsel 12-7

MVM Highlight:
Vladimir Guerrero
1-3 HR(11), RBI 2(45)
Troy Glaus
2-2 HR 2(14) RBI 3(32)

CBL Highlight:
Jason Giambi
1-3 HR(21) RBI 2(55)

Corktown uncorks a blast of runs as their bats finally wake-up vs the tepid MVM starting pitchers. 6 batters with a multi-hit game but only one yard shot.

W: Miguel Batista 9-6
L: Kyle Snyder 7-10

CBL Highlight:
Eric Young
3-4 HR(10), RBI 2(38)

MVM
Alfonso Soriano
1-4 HR(15), RBI 2(50)

The Bootlegger whooping continues…The pathetic Mauler pitcher staff submits.

W: Freddy Garcia 8-6
L: Jorge Sosa 4-3

CBL Highlight:
Scott Rolen
2-4, HR(15), RBI(51)
Alex Rodriguez
1-4 HR(28), RBI 2(66)

Bootleggers with a cherry on top Maulers woes continue…

W: Jose Lima 1-1
H: Todd Percival (5)
S: Damaso Marte (29)
L: John Riedling 7-9

CBL Highlights:
J Cruz
1-3 HR(11), RBI 2(38)
Jason Giambi
2-5 HR 2(23), RBI 5(62)
Jon Olerud
2-5 HR(7), RBI (49)

MVM Highlight:
Doug Mientkiewicz
3-5, HR(6), RBI(27)
Jose Hernandez
1-4 HR(6), RBI(25)

Bootleggers take 4 of 6. The Maulers played CBL tough the first 3 games then the Bootleggers had enough of that and walked all over MVM taking the last 3 in decisive manor for a series victory. Maintaining their reputation as a top division leader in the League of Winter Midwesterners.

The City of Southlake is buzzing this week. The Mayor and City Council threw a rally down at City Hall on Friday night featuring a live performance by Beyonce and Jay-Z who sang their number one hit “Crazy in Love”. The entire series is sold out with tickets going for over $2500 in the secondary market.

Fort Worth has run away in the Western Division and holds a 6-game lead in the American League over Central leading Southlake.

Fort Worth offense is nearly perfect. They lead practically every offensive category possible. Gary Sheffield is making a claim for league MVP. His .341 batting average is the best in the AL. He is top 5 in every offensive category except runs scored where is a lowly 6th place. In other words, he is dynamic in every facet of the game.

In case you thought the Panthers were a one-dimensional team they take care of business on the bump as well. They have not one, not two but three legitimate Cy Young candidates in Kevin Brown, Hideo Nomo and CC Sabathia. If you have a hot pitcher who can somehow hold the Panthers in check, their staff will simply match you pitch for pitch.

The Stealers play well on the home field and are coming into this series hot, having one 17 of their past 18 games. They have gotten stronger with their starting pitching thanks to the recent additions of Sydney Ponson and Wade Miller who have been acquired via trade; but they continue to lean into the strength of their bullpen using their “Pitching Chaos” theory. The bullpen has a combined record of 22-10 with 30 saves and an ERA of 2.38 with opponents batting just .173 against them as a unit.

Their offense continues to be middle of the pack in the American League, but it is seeing signs of heating up with the summer weather. Carlos Beltran has risen his batting average by nearly 30 points in the past few weeks with Nomar leading the AL in RBIs.

Fort Worth took 5 of 6 games the last time they met. If they do the same again this week they will practically wrap up home field advantage throughout the playoffs in the American League.

The trade to get Ponson looks like a stroke of genius for the Stealers. He gives up 6 hits on the day as he tosses his second complete game shutout since joining the Stealers.

Encarnacion and Baerga hit solo homeruns to give Southlake enough offense to take game one.

Final Score: Stealers 3-0
WP: Ponson (10-5)
LP: Redman (8-5)

The Stealers strike first, with a Blalock single, he advances to second on a WP and scores on a LeCroy hit. The lead is short lived as in the top of the third inning Arillia hits a solo shot to tie it up.

The Panthers extend the lead in the 4th inning on a single, a triple by Rivas and an error on LeCroy. Encarnacion would cut the lead in the 6th on a Sac fly. Then before Fort Worth could settle down, light hitting Marlon Anderson would tie the game on a solo shot.

Rich Arillia would stay hot as he hit his second home run of the game in the top of the 7th off Paul Shuey. Fort Worth then loaded the bases thanks to three walks and appeared poised to put the game away. But Darren Holmes would come in to leave them loaded.

Fort Worth had the lead and went to their bullpen. As we said in the preview Carlos Beltran’s bat was starting to heat up, and it was warm enough to hit his 9th home run of the season to tie up the game.

To extra innings we would go. Nomar would lead off the bottom of the tenth with a towering pop up on the infield. The Panther thirdbaseman would drop the ball. Nomar would steal second and move to third on a bunt from White. An intentional walk to Blalock would set up a potential inning ending double play with Encarnacion at the plate.

The Southlake manager would pinch run for Blalock. With the crowd buzzing, Desi Relaford would take off for second base. Pudge made the throw and Nomar broke for home. The ball was cut off by the shortstop but his relay back to the plate was not in time and the double steal brought home the winning run.

Final: Stealers 5-4
WP: Hasegawa (3-1)
LP: Borowski (2-2)

Neither starter would pitch like a Cy Young Candidate. Cabrera would put double home two runs in the second inning to start things off. Juan Encarnacion would give the Stealers the lead in the bottom of the second inning with a three-run blast. Melhuse would answer with a three-run shot of his own in the top of the third for a quick 5-3 lead.

Anderson would bring one runner home in the bottom of the third on a single and a Melhuse error would allow Southlake to tie the game at 5 after just three innings.

Both bullpens would tighten up and keep the score tied through 7 innings. With one out in the 8th inning, Anderson would steal second. With two outs catcher Diaz would single to Sheffield. Anderson would ignore the third base coach and head full steam toward the plate. Sheffields throw would be wild, and the Panther catcher could not reach it. It would be scored an error on Gary, and the unearned run would give Southlake the lead.

The Panthers would put the tying run on in the 9th inning, but Smoltz was able to escape the jam and secure his 20th save in closing out the Stealer victory.

Final: Stealers 6-5
WP: Mota (5-1)
LP: Herges (7-1)
S: Smoltz (20)

After winning the first three games of the series, Manager Sarge makes a last-minute decision to hold Prior back from the start. The Panthers in desperate need for a win stick with Brown.

Fred McGriff hit a two-run shot in the second inning to give Brown and the Panthers an early lead. The Stealers get the first two outs in the third but doubles by Martinez, Sheffield and Pudge lead to two more runs. Another run in the fourth inning and with Brown on the mound the lead was pretty much unsurmountable.

By the time Kevin Brown’s day was over he had put in another worthy Cy Young performance. He went seven innings, yielding no runs on just two hits as he lowered his ERA to 1.92.

Final Score: FWP 6-3
WP: Brown (13-3)
LP: Dubose (6-5)

Suzuki would lead off the bottom of the first with a single on the first pitch he saw from Nomo. The second pitch Nomo would throw would end up in the left field bleachers thanks to Rondell White. Two pitches into the game and it was 2-0 Stealers. But then Nomo settled down and put up goose egg after goose egg on the scoreboard.

Wade Miller would match Hideo pitch for pitch through the first seven innings. Things tightened up when Aurilia single homed Hillenbrand to cut the lead to 2-1. Hasegawa would get the final out in the 8th to keep it that way.

The Stealers had Hasegawa begin the 9th inning but after a long fly ball from Sheffield for out number one, Pudge would single and Beltran would misplay the ball putting the tying run on second base.

Southlake went to their Closer John Smoltz. Smoltz would freeze Guillen on a backdoor slider, bringing up yesterday’s hero in the Crime Dog Fred McGriff. On a 2-2 count, Smoltz got McGriff out front on a changeup for a lazy fly ball and a Stealers Victory.

Final Score: Stealers 2-1
WP: Miller (6-6)
LP: Nomo (13-3)
S: Smoltz (21)

Both teams would fail to score in the first two innings. McGriff walked to start the third inning. He would move to second on an infield single from Cabrera. It looked like Prior would work out of the jam after getting the next two batters but a single by Aurilia would give the Panthers the lead 1-0.

It would stay that way until the sixth inning. After getting the first two batters back-to-back doubles by Martinez and Sheffield suddenly saw the Panthers up 2-0.

Meanwhile, game one starter Redman looked like he wanted his name to be in Cy Young consideration as well. He had given up just one hit and one walk until with two outs in the 7th inning Blalock deposited one into the seats to halve the lead.

In the 8th inning, Morris would lead off with a double. Crawford would single putting guys on the corners. Crawford would steal second base, but the Stealers didn’t throw down keeping Morris at third base. Now with first base open the Stealers elected to intentionally walk Aurilia loading the bases with no outs.

The Stealers could have gone to the pen but elected to stay with their ace. With the infield in, Prior was able to sneak strike three past Edgar Martinez for out number one.

Now the infield has moved back to double play depth on MVP candidate Gary Sheffield. Shef would hit a rocket to third base. Blalock stepped on the bag but couldn’t get Sheffield at first and the run scored. It was now 3-1 Panthers.

After a scoreless bottom of the 8th and top of the 9th the league leader in saves Borowski would be called upon the shut the door the rest of the way.

Suzuki would lead off with a single. With the righty on the mound Beltran would flip sides and bat from the lefties box. We talked earlier about Beltran heating up, especially when batting lefty. He stayed hot and deposited the pearly white ball deep into the right field stands and incredibly it was a tie ball game. His second ninth inning home run to tie the game this series.

Holy Cow, it looks like Extra Innings for the series finale. Hank Blalock says, “Not so face boys, I have a hot date to get to and I ain’t got time for Extra Innings.” Instead, Blalock deposited his second home run of the game well past the 420ft marker in centerfield. Holy Cow indeed, three runs in the 9th inning and the Stealers take game 6.

Final Score: Stealers 4-3
WP: Prior (16-2)
LP: Borowoski (2-3)