2003 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #26
| NAME | TEAM | AVG | SLG | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | K | W | IW | SB | CS | HBP |
| CAMERON,Mike | DEW AL | .526 | .842 | 6 | 19 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| NAME | CLUB | G | W | L | S | ERA | IP | R | ER | H | K | BB | IBB | WP | BK | HB | HR |
| MILLER,Wade | SSS AL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NAME | TEAM | AVG | SLG | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | K | W | IW | SB | CS | HBP |
| EDMONDS,Jim | MIC NL | .385 | 1.308 | 4 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| NAME | CLUB | G | W | L | S | ERA | IP | R | ER | H | K | BB | IBB | WP | BK | HB | HR |
| VAZQUEZ,Javier | GLG NL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.06 | 17 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
Iowa Giants @ Corktown Bootleggers |
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| Series Summary: | Iowa and Corktown split the late-season series of six. They will continue their series in Iowa next week. |
Fort Worth Panthers @ Castle Rock Hounds |
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| Series Preview: | Castle Rock, hanging on to some slim playoff hopes, welcomes 1st place Fort Worth into the friendly confines. |
| Game #1: | Castle Rock gets a great start out of Joel Pineiro and a save from Quantrill to sneak away with a 2-1 victory in the series opener.
WP: Pineiro (18-9) |
| Game #2: | Keyed by back-to-back-to-back homers from Bonds, Luis Gonzalez, and Hammock in the 5th and another excellent start from Pettitte, the Hounds take this one 9-0. Sabathia struggles for the Panthers, giving up 7 runs in 5 IP.
WP: Pettitte (17-6) |
| Game #3: | Kenny Rogers is up 1-0 going into the top of the 8th, until Aurilia hits a two-run homer to give Fort Worth the 2-1 lead. Castle Rock can’t plate another run, and that’s how it ends.
WP: Brown (20-3) |
| Game #4: | This one is more of a slugfest, and although Castle Rock is able to get the tying run at the plate in Bonds in the bottom of the 9th, they can’t complete the comeback, and Fort Worth evens the series with an 8-5 victory.
WP: Nomo (21-4) |
| Game #5: | Fort Worth jumps out to an early 2-0 lead and doesn’t look back in a 6-3 victory. Jolbert Cabrera is lost for 15 days for the Panthers.
WP: Redman (13-6) |
| Game #6: | Randall Simon goes 3-4 with a HR and two RBI to lead the Hounds offense in a 6-4 victory in the series finale.
WP: Pineiro (19-9) |
| Series Summary: | Castle Rock comes out winning the first two games, but can only manage a series split with Fort Worth. With 12 games left to play, the playoff chances are looking slimmer. |
Flora-Bama Mullets @ Manhattan Gas Hornets |
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| Series Preview: | Flora-Bama comes in with the best record in the MWWL and has clinched the NL East. Manhattan is fighting for the 2nd Wild Card spot in the NL and has a slight edge over 3rd place (NL East) Baltimore as the week begins (those two teams close out the season in a couple of weeks in Baltimore). For Manhattan, this is their final home series – a 6 pack with the Mullets with a double header on day 5 – and then we get to go there for SIX more! Oh boy.
Stay tuned, this series had a lot stuff….. |
| Game #1: | Randy Wolf vs. Byung-Hyun Kim – Kim has been moved to the rotation down the stretch and he’s slated for 2 starts – both vs. Wolf!! Series starts off with a lead-off homer (15) from John Vander Wal! Treating his old team rather rudely. 3rd inning, Gas Hornets score twice taking advantage of a 1 out Kent error. Graffanino singles in 1 and Durham doubles in the other. A leadoff single and walk in the top of the 4th is snuffed when Huff grounds into a DP.5th inning proved disastrous for Flora-Bama. Sierra leads off with a walk and then McEwing loops one to RF and Kent and Gonzalez collide going for it – single, runner to 3rd. But the two Mullets are helped off the field with Kent going to miss 6 days and JuanGon missing 10! Probably helps the Gas Hornets. With 1 out, Kendall hits a SF and it’s 3-1 after 5.Top 6 and Vander Wal leads off with a double, Berkman follows with a single. No outs and Javy Lopez doubles them both home but Lopez is nailed at 3rd stretching it. (Trading out for the run). Tie game, 3-3. Tied until the bottom half that is. Durham leads off with a double (4 for 4 game!). Anderson singles him to 3rd. 1 out and Conine laces one off the wall scoring both Durham and Anderson. Wolf leaves, Strickland in. Antonio Perez grounds Conine to 3rd, 2 down. McEwing then bombs one off the wall for an rbi and a 6-3 lead after 6. Make it 8-3 when Manhattan scores 2 more in the 8th – with runners on the corners Anderson grounds one that Palmeiro scoops and fires into left field, 1 run scores. Then a Cordero SF drove in the other. A Kendall error in the 9th leads to another Mullet run on a wild pitch bringing the final scores to 8-4 Manhattan! FNA 4- 9-2 LP Wolf (17-11) MGH 8-11-1 WP Kim (9-6) |
| Game #2: | Horacio Ramirez vs. Matt Morris Garrett Anderson homer (32) in the 2nd started the scoring. It was matched in the 5th when John Vander Wal singles and then huffs and puffs his way around the basepaths to stay ahead of Angel Berroa when he triples him home. In the 6th the Mullets pull ahead 2-1 when Aubrey Huff singles with 2 down scoring Lance Berkman from 1st! Morris leaves in the 7th after a great start, but Ramirez was better over 6 – 3 hits and just the homer. 4 Mullets relievers give up 2 walks and nothing else for the final 3 innings to preserve the win. FNA 2-5-0 WP Ramirez (14-6) S Strickland (1) MGH 1-3-0 LP Morris (12-9) |
| Game #3: | Curt Shilling vs. Tim Wakefield This game had a little of everything (except bloody socks and injuries). Starts with Wakefield plunking Adam Kennedy. Berkman singles, Lopez moves Kennedy to 3rd on a fly out, and Aubrey Huff drives him home on a SF. Bottom half, Kendall opens with a single, Jeter in decked! But it takes a 2 out single from Wil Cordero to tie the game at 1-1 after 1. 2nd inning starts with a Vander Wal double. Tom Goodwin moves him to 3rd on a single but somehow Goodwin is cut down trying to steal 2nd and Vander Wal is stranded after Rivera whiffs. Bottom half errors by Rafael Palmeiro and Curt Schilling allow 2 base runners and with 2 outs, Ray Durham drives home Manhattan’s 2nd run in the game for 2-1 lead. 3rd inning Adam Kennedy draws a lead off walk. 1 out Javy Lopez singles him to 3rd, Huff walks to load them up and Palmeiro hits a SF to tie the game. 4th inning miracle – Goodwin singles with 1 out and AGAIN he’s nabbed trying to steal 2nd! Then Ruben Rivera pops out – but no, Kendall drops it and he gets all the way to 2nd – always hustle, you never know he’s going to blunder! And it was worth it as Adam Kennedy follows with an rbi double to put Flora-Bama up 3-2. Bottom half, Ty Wigginton leads off with double and moves to 3rd on a Kendall ground out. Jeter again makes an out and then Ray Durham singles for the rbi and again we have a tie game, 3-3. 5th inning – Lead off walk to Lopez and then Huff takes one on the elbow – trainer yanks him for the game (but he’ll be back tomorrow). Somehhow however, Wakefield gets the next three guys – no scoring. So we move to the 6th still tied – until Rivera hits a solo homer (2) way over Anderson’s head in CF to put the Mullets back on top 4-3! Bottom half it’s a 1 out walk to Wigginton that starts things. Kendall singles him to 3rd and Jeter brings him home with a SF, game tied AGAIN! 4-4 7th inning starts with a Javy Lopez single and the removal of Wakefield. Cal Eldred in, he gets his 2 guys and Lopez gets to 3rd. Gabe White in face Vander Wal and he whiffs him for the final out. I brought that up because the 8th starts with White facing Angel Berroa. Berroa should have been out but Wigginton drops a foul pop up. Then White hits Berroa – EJECTION! And Berroa leaves the game (he’ll be back tomorrow as well). So Halama comes in to pitch, Cody Ross in to PR. And Goodwin then gets his 3rd single of the day moving Ross to 3rd. Still NO OUTS. Halama leaves, Lance Carter comes in. Damian Rolls into PH for Rivera – whiff! Kennedy up, the grounder to the mound, off his glove, only play is at 1st, 2 down but the run scores and it 5-4 Mullets in the 8th. No more damage. Bottom half, Ricky Stone on the mound – came in in the 7th with 2 outs and stays for the 8th. Tino Martinez leads off with a double and Graffanino comes in to PR (oh-boy, we’re going to lose the DH when this inning is over). Then in a rare Manhattan move, the sacrifice is called for with Wigginton up. It’s so rare that the Mullets didn’t see it coming and Wigginton ends up on 1st with a single and Graffanino moves to 3rd. Kendall follows with a game tying SF. Jeter then grounds out with Wigginton moving to 2nd. Durham follows with a double (3rd hit and 3 rbi of the game) scoring Wigginton and the Gas Hornets grab a 6-5 lead! So that sets the stage for Flash Gordon to flash some brilliance on the mound seeking the save in the 9th. Lopez starts with a single! Torii Hunter in to PR. Joe Crede bunts and sacrifices him to 2nd. Palmeiro then singles to RF, Hunter rounds 3rd but he’s held there! Vander Wal up, 1 out, runners on the corners – he swings at one in the dirt, strike 3! 2 outs. OK – Ross up, but Vance Wilson is called on to PH (another former Gas Hornet). The pitch, it’s roped, Durham stabs for it – OUT, game over, Manhattan wins, 6-5! FNA 5-11-2 LP Stone (2-2) MGH 6-10-2 WP Carter (5-4) S Gordon (46) |
| Game #4: | Jamie Moyer vs. Brian Tallet This game has little to report if you’re a Mullets fan, except how could the Gas Hornets win one with Tallet starting. Maybe because Tallet got pulled in the 3rd because he had given up 6 hits! (and a walk). But hey, he had a 5 run lead when he left? What, a 5 run lead in the 3rd? Yes – Oh, and the game actually started on a leadoff double from Adam Kennedy, but he was stranded. Bottom half stated with 2 outs when Ray Durham singles, Garrett Anderson doubles him home and Wil Cordero blasts a 2 run homer (12). 3-0! 2nd inning – Berro a 1 out single. Hunter a 2 out single, runners on 1st and 2nd – Kennedy flys out. Bottom half, Joe McEwing singles, steals 2nd. Kendall a 1 out walk. Jeter whiffs, Durham doubles in 2 for a 5-0 lead!. Exit Moyer for Kiko Calero! Top of the 3rd 1 out and Javy Lopez homers (54) – fifty four!! Then an infield hit for Huff and a walk to Palmeiro and that’s it for Tallet, he’s scary, so in come John Halama (and his 5.91 era). You can just see this gift lead evaporating. Vander Wal up – infield fly rule out. Berroa then hits a foul pop out, threat over! And in the 4th, the game was essentially ended when Manhattan jumped all over Calero for 5 runs. After 1 out, he gives up 2 walks and a 2 run double to Jeter (yes, he finally comes through). A few hits later (and a HBP to Tino Martinez, who PH for Cordero – ouch that was almost a big mistake, but he stayed in the game) and well, we scored 3 more runs. Mullets get single runs in the 6th and 8th, but the low rated relievers were able to finish the game (Painter and Belisle 5.2 innings, 6 hits, 2 walks and only 2 runs – thank goodness). FNA 3-12-1 LP Moyer (22-5) MGH 10-10-0 WP Halama (7-5) (he did reduce his era to 5.85 and Belisle gets save #1! |
| Game #5: | The excitement continues with a Double Header for the final day. Josh Beckett vs. Brian Anderson Mullets storm back from yesterday’s debacle to take the opener of the DH – and rather handily, BUT it was not without cost. Adam Kennedy leads off and is hit by Anderson, but after 13 plunks, he shrugs it off, just another day in the office. And he’s quickly removed on DP – but then Javy Lopez hits his 55th homer of the season and it’s 1-0 Mullets. Stays that way through 2 (Beckett is scattering hits, but no threats). Top 3 – Torii Hunter a 1 out single, Kennedy singles him to 2nd. Lance Berkman singles scoring Hunter and moving Kennedy to 3rd. Lopez then sends one deep to RF – Baltimore Special? Nope, it’s caught at the wall, but Kennedy scores (SF) and it’s 3-0 after 3. Bottom half looked like out chance when Orlando Palmeiro leads off with a single and reaches 2nd on a Berkman error. Kendall follows with a walk, but 3 STRAIGHT pop up – Jeter pop foul behind 3rd, Durham pop foul behind 1st and Anderson Pops out to 1st – at least his was fair. 4th inning starts with Rafael Palmeiro homering (41) for a 4-0 lead. Game stays this way for then next three innings as both teams get some hits, but they get negated with double plays and savvy pitching. We move to the bottom of the 8th – Vance Wilson in to catch, 4-0 Mullets, Beckett on the mound. Kendall leads off with a single. 2 outs later Garrett Anderson homers (33) and it’s 4-2. Conine up, Beckett still on the hill – wait! He’s walking off the mound – apparently that homer pitch caused a tweak. Yup, he’s leaving the game and we won’t see him again until late in the Mullets 1st playoff series – 17 day injury!!! That’s the big news on the day – he was effective, though not sharp. 7.2 ip, 7 hits, 2 run, 3 walks, 5 ks and the because Tim Spooneybarger was effective, he gets the W. Oh – Kennedy gets a 2 run homer (9) in a 3 run Mullets 9th so it ends up a big 7-2 win, but …. FNA 7-12-1 WP Beckett (19-2) S Spoonbarger (13) MGH 2- 8-1 LP Anderson (9-9) |
| Game #6: | Well, if you’ve made it this far we are in for the night cap to the DH and the finale for the series with Manhattan holding a surprising 3-2 lead in the series. Randy Wolf vs. Byung-Hyun Kim rematch (game 1 of the series as a surprising 8-4 MGH win) Wolf looking for revenge. 1st inning was remarkable in that both teams fail to get a runner on base! That ends in the 2nd when John Vander Wal singles but that ends with a 2 out fly out to the wall in RF by Tom Goodwin. Manhattan then gets their 1st hit in the bottom half on a lead off double off the wall by Garrett Anderson. Cordero walks and then Tino Martinez is decked for the 15th time and the bases are juiced. Jeff Conine (former Mullet) then WALKS! 1-0 But Wigginton pops out for the 1st out. Joe McEwing then hits a broken bat fly to left field that drops in and bounces off the chest of Lance Berkman. He then picks it up and makes a wild throw to 3rd and Manhattan scored 3 runs on the play – 4-0 and McEwing ended up on 2nd. Still 1 out. Then with 2 outs Jeter doubles him home for a 5 run 2nd!! And that was the end of the day for Wolf and Chris Hammond is called on to get this inning over. Wolf (1.2 ip, 3 hits, 2 walks, HBP, 5 runs (3 ER). But these are the Mullets and down 5-0 doesn’t necessarily mean the games in the bag so on to the 4th and with 2 outs John Vander Wal (he seems to be mentioned a LOT this week) doubles. Then Angel Berroa triples him home. Then Tom Goodwin fists a single for another run and suddenly its 5-2. We’re staying with shaky Kim! Ruben Rivera then smokes one to right, but Conine runs it down, whew! Bottom half McEwing gets a 1 out double and Kendall follows with a walk off Hammond. Jeter then bounces one past Palmeiro but Adam Kennedy stops it, but it’s an infield single. 1 out, bases loaded and Ray Durham up (having a series to remember) – he WHIFFS!! So who does that bring up – Garrett Anderson (teams MVP the last few years!). He grounds one that just gets past Berroa at short and rolls into LF and 2 runs score making it 7-2. Thank you Mr. Anderson! 2 runs seems to be a theme. Bottom of the 5th, Ty Wigginton hits a 2 run homer (3) making it 9-2! Bottom of the 6th, Ricky Stone in to pitch. Cordero a 1 out walk and then Tino Martinez drills a 2 run homer (10) and it’s 11-2. Now we are starting to breath and “maybe” relax. NOPE! These are the Mullets. Top 7 – lead off batter Rivera fans and Kim is pulled after a nice outing. 6.1 innings, 2 runs! Enter Billy Traber who faces 3 batters. Kennedy draws a wallk. Damian Rolls to PH for Berkman doubles. Javy Lopez does the Lopez things and homers (56) for 3 runs. Exit Traber, enter Willis Roberts. After a whiff, with 2 outs Rafael Palmeiro homers (42) and it’s 11-6. John Vander Wal steps in – another homer (16) and it’s 11-7. Still breathing room, right? Please tell me it’s going to be OK. Angel Berroa up, Roberts still hurling (so is the manager) and Berroa flies out. But its 11-7 and still 6 outs to get. Mullets getting serious again and Scott Strickland is brought in and he is perfect in the 7th. 8th inning, 1 out Ruben Rivera up – belted to RIGHT, near the pole, FOUL! Next pitch – CENTER, can’t go foul there and it’s ANOTHER Mullets homer (3) and it’s 11-8! 40% of their hits have been homers! 50% were doubles (and a triple) – 1 single….Oh, and we did actually bring in better pitching for this inning – Lance Carter. But we only give up 1 in the 8th so it’s on to the 9th. Flash Gordon to pitch (he was kinda, sorta expecting this might happen, even when it was 11-2). Lopez leads off – and DOESN’T homer! What?, in fact, he whiffs, 1 down. Huff – flies out to shallow LF. Rafael Palmeiro does not go down quietly, he draws a walk so that we can face John Vander Wal again. Gordon the pitch, Vander Wal the swing – no, he’s called out on strikes!! Final out, series over, Gas Hornets win another one! FNA 8-10-1 LP Wolf (17-12) MGH 11-12-1 WP Kim (10-6) S Gordon (47) |
| Series Summary: | Not sure how this series ended up 4-2 Gas Hornets – we were hoping for maybe 2 wins, but what a lot of weird situations and clutch hitting. Durham was great until the final game (0 for 5 and 3 Ks) but Jeter who was quiet most of the time, picked up the slack with 3 hits in the finale. Javy Lopez, seemed liked he was homering A LOT! Vander Wal was all over the place! The Beckett injury should not be a major problem – with a bye to start the playoffs, he should be sharp for the opening series. Well, the teams move to Flora-Bama for a rematch, expecting a pay back, but thrilled to get through this week. We finish with 12 straight on the road, FNA and then the season finale with Baltimore. And our bullpen just lost Marc Guthrie and Gabe White! |
Hollywood Vampires @ Long Beach Titans |
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| Series Preview: | Hollywood comes south to Long Beach with a 1-game lead in the NL West. |
| Game #1: | Long Beach takes the first game behind a Lee 2-run 2B and a Phillips 2-run HR in a 5-1 win. Franklin went 6 innings to pick up his 18th win, and the bullpen threw 3 scoreless innings to close it out. |
| Game #2: | Hollywoof got a 3-run HR from Millar, and a 2-run shot from Konerko and rolled to a 6-2 win. |
| Game #3: | Hollywood took an early 5-0 lead and went on to an 8-2 win. Furcal and Alonzo led the offense with 3 hits each. Oswalt threw 6 strong innings for his 13th win. |
| Game #4: | Burnitz broke a 2-2 in the 9th with a 2-run HR, and Hollywood won 4-2. |
| Game #5: | This game was tied 4-4 in the bottom of the 9th when Matos singled in the winning run as Long Beach won 5-4. The Titans were behind 4-1 when they scored 3 runs in the 7th to tie the game. |
| Game #6: | Hollywood took a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the 9th when Long Beach scored 5 runs for their second walk-off win of the day. After Eckstein was hit by a pitch and Vidro walked to start the inning, Matos doubled in a run. Payton followed with a run-scoring single, and then Lee hit a walk-off 3-run HR for the 7-6 win. |
| Series Summary: | The teams split 6 games, and Hollywood still has a 1-run lead in the division. |
Hampton Huskies @ Baltimore Blue Crabs |
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| Series Preview: | Division rivals Hampton (75-70) and Baltimore (77-68) meet up. The N.L. East is the MWWL’s best division with all 4 teams above .500. |
| Game #1: | Tim Hudson goes the distance to propel Baltimore to a 5-4 win in the opener. All 4 Huskies’ runs come compliments of the long ball, 2 by J.D. Drew and a 2-run shot by Alex Gonzalez. Geoff Jenkins and Preston Wilson go deep for Baltimore. Jenkins had a perfect, 4-for-4 day.
HUSKIES 4 / 4 / 0 |
| Game #2: | Hampton bounces back, scoring 4 in the first inning and not looking back to win it, 9-2. Alex Gonzalez homers again, knocking in 3, and Aramis Ramirez had 3 RBIs for the Huskies. Jorge Posada and Adam Dunn homered for the Crabs.
HUSKIES 9 / 10 / 0 |
| Game #3: | Vincente Padilla pitches a gem, shutting out Hampton on 2 hits. Miguel Tejada had a single and a pair of doubles to lead the Crabs’ offense.
HUSKIES 0 / 2 / 0 |
| Game #4: | Baltimore jumps out to a 5-0 lead after 4 and holds on for the 5-2 victory. Joe Randa singled, doubled, knocked in 3, and Matt Kata had 2 hits, scored twice, and collected 2 RBIs for the Crabs.
HUSKIES 2 / 6 / 1 |
| Game #5: | Baltimore hits 5 homeruns: Joe Randa, Miguel Tejada, Preston Wilson, and Rey Ordonez (2) to score 11 in the opener of the double header. Alex Gonzalez homered for the 3rd time in the series for Hampton.
HUSKIES 2 / 9 / 1 |
| Game #6: | It’s all Crabs in game 2 of the double header, as Baltimore scores 10 to win it 10-1. Bobby Estalella and Miguel Tejada went deep in the win. Marcus Giles hit his 38th longball of the year for Hampton. It was a costly victory, however, as Barry Zito was yanked after only 2 and 2/3 innings pitched, and he will miss the next series.
HUSKIES 1 / 5 / 0 |
| Series Summary: | A big 5-1 series win, but probably too little too late for a Baltimore team that struggled at home recently. Baltimore outscored Hampton 21 -3 and out-hit the Huskies 32-14 in the series-ending double header. Crabs now prepare to hit the road, where they’re a .500 team this season, to visit the Huskies and see if they can maintain the momentum. |
Valdosta Bombers @ Michigan Marauders |
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| Series Preview: | Michigan plays its last home series of the season against Valdosta. |
| Game #1: | Cornejo vs. Radke
Radke out-pitches Cornejo. Radke goes 8 innings and gives up 1 run. Castilla and Gerut each hit 2 run homers. Manny Ramirez hits a solo homer for the Bombers. Michigan 6 Valdosta 2 |
| Game #2: | Chen vs. Penny
This was an absolutely incredible offensive game. Manny Ramirez and Steve Finley hit grand slams for Valdosta. But Mike Piazza has an amazing four-home run game. He knocks in nine runs. Late in the game, Jim Edmonds hits a pinch-hit grand slam as well. Michigan 18 Valdosta 9 |
| Game #3: | Hendrickson vs. Sheets
Valdosta gets ahead early and stays on top. Manny Ramirez with a homer and 4 RBI. Hendrickson gets his 2nd win. Sheets drops to 12-9. Valdosta 6 Michigan 3 |
| Game #4: | Gil Meche vs. Livan Hernandez
Hernandez gives up one run and three hits and tosses a complete game. Brian Schneider and Cristian Guzman each have two RBI. Meche drops to 10-13. Hernandez goes to 9-12. Michigan 4 Valdosta 1 |
| Game #5: | Ohka vs. Clement
Jim Edmonds hits 2 homers and 5 RBI. Bret Boone adds a homer. Sexson and Chavez hit a homer early for the Bombers. Ohka falls to 12-11. Clement goes to 14-7. Michigan 9 Valdosta 3 |
| Game #6: | Brian Lawrence vs. Brad Radke
Radke gets hit hard in the first inning and gives up 3 homers. Valdosta ends up hitting 5 homers and wins easily. Lawrence goes to 12-8. Lawrence, with the win, goes to 12-8. Manny Ramirez with 4 RBI. Five different bombers hit homers. Valdosta 14 Michigan 5 |
| Series Summary: | Michigan wins 4 of 6 from Valdosta. |
DeWitt Tigers @ Houghton Penguins |
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| Series Preview: | The Dewitt Tigers are looking to beat up on the Penguins and move into 2nd place in the AL East to end the season. The Houghton Penguins are fighting to stay ahead of the California Quakes for the worst record in the AL. |
| Game #1: | Houghton’s ace, Mark Buehrle, tries to salvage his season, which started well but has headed downhill in the 2nd half of the year. Pete Walker takes the hill for the Dewitt Tigers. Walker is looking for his first win of the year. Houghton goes down 2 runs early, and they cannot get anything going until the 6th inning when Pat Burrell hits a bases-loaded triple to put the Penguins up 3-2, and they end up tacking on a few more insurance runs. Mark Buehrle goes the distance, giving up only 1 earned run as Houghton wins 6-2. WP: Buehrle (10-13) LP: Walker (0-5) |
| Game #2: | The game started badly for the Penguins and stayed that way the entire game. The Tigers hit 4 bombs off Scott Downs in the first 2+ innings, driving him from the game after giving up 6 runs. Benoit does an honorable job giving up 1 earned run over the next 5 innings, but Silva surrenders a 3-run homerun in the 9th inning for the final score of 11-4. WP: Dempster (7-11) LP: Downs (2-6)Homeruns: Tigers: Spiezio, Sosa (2), Mora, Cameron Penguins: Rios |
| Game #3: | Houghton jumps out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but the Tigers tie it up in the 2nd. Then the Tigers padded their lead in the 4th and 5th innings. The Penguins tried to make it close with one more run in the 7th to pull with 3, but the game the run back in the 8th, and K-Rod came in to shut things down in the bottom of the 9th to preserve the 7-3 victory for the Tigers. Scott Spiezio homers in a 2nd consecutive game. WP: Colon (11-10) LP: Oliver (7-16) SV: Rodriguez (27)Homeruns: Tigers: Spiezio Penguins: Dellucci |
| Game #4: | This next matchup defines the importance of run support. Ted Lilly enters the game going for his 6th win of the season for the Penguins, while the Tigers send Greg Maddux, who is going for his 14th win of the season. Lilly has a 1/2 a run better ERA than Maddux, but Lilly has 21 losses versus Maddux’s 10. The Penguins jump on Maddux early with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Dewitt doesn’t waste time as the hit barrage starts in on Lilly in the 2nd inning as the Tigers score 4 runs. It mostly quiets down from there. Maddux only gives up 2 more hits and 1 walk the rest of the game. Lilly gives up 1 more run, in what may be Lilly’s final game of the season. Dewitt and Maddux win, 5-1. WP: Maddux (14-10) LP: Lilly (5-22) |
| Game #5: | This game was the most exciting game of the series. Houghton starts the bottom of the first inning with a single by Chone Figgins, and then Miguel Cabrera hits the ball on a line for a home run on a hit-and-run play. Albert Pujols goes deep after Cabrera, and then Jimmy Rollins hits a home run after Pujols. So, the Penguin hitters start the game with a single and then back-to-back-to-back homeruns to jump out to a 4-0 lead after the first. Both teams beat up on the starting pitchers and the second pitchers. Houghton had an 8-5 lead going into the 7th inning, but Dewitt plated 3 runs in the 7th to tie the game up. It stayed tied at 8, but with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th and K-Rod pitching, David Dellucci pinch-hit a double. The next batter, Chone Figgins, ripped a walk-off single to end the game. Both teams end up with 15 hits. The Tigers had no extra-base hits, while the Penguins had 4 doubles and 4 home runs. Albert Pujols had the line of the game going 4/5 with 2 Runs, 4 RBIs, and 2 HRs. K-Rod picks up his 7th loss of the season to go with his 29 Saves. Houghton pulls out the 9-8 victory with their last batter. WP: Silva (2-0) LP: Rodriguez (1-7)Homeruns: Penguins: Cabrera, Pujols (2), Rollins |
| Game #6: | It appears that Houghton ran out of gas and used up all the magic in the previous game. Pete Walker came out for the Dewitt Tigers and threw 6 shutout innings, giving up 4 hits and striking out 5 batters for the win. Scott Downs started out fairly well, but the wheels came off in the 5th inning, and the bleeding really never stopped. Dewitt finished with 11 runs on 17 hits, while Houghton had 0 runs on 5 hits. Mike Cameron went 4/4 with 2 Runs, 3 RBIs, and a home run. Juan Pierre went 2/3 with 3 runs, 3 RBI, 1 3B, and 2 BB. Carlos Pena went 2/3 with 2 Runs, 2 RBIs, Homerun and 2 BB. David Dellucci was the only bright spot for the Penguins, going 2/4 with a double. WP: Walker (1-5) LP: Downs (2-7)Homeruns: Tigers: Cameron, Pena |
| Series Summary: | The Dewitt Tigers come into Houghton and take 4 of 6 from the Penguins. However, with Houghton taking 2 games in the series, it may be enough to lock Dewitt into 3rd place in the division. Houghton may have also moved up enough games on California to remain out of the cellar. We’ll find out as the Penguins leave the Nest to follow the Tigers across the bridge and downstate to Dewitt. Once again regretting that the Penguins are a flightless ballclub. |
California Quakes @ Dondero Oaks |
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| Series Summary: | Dondero sweeps California in 6, handing Cliff Lee the first loss of his career (12-1). |
Monroeville Maulers @ Southlake Stealers |
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| Series Preview: | After taking care of business in Chicago last week, the Stealers return to Southlake with a chance to win the division crown in front of the home crowd. Their magic number to win the AL Central is down to just 8 games. They also remain in the hunt for the overall number one seed trailing Fort Worth by a game.
Monroeville meanwhile has played well this season against the east and west but unfortunately, they are in the tough central division which looks as if they will have 3 teams in the post-season this year. Monroeville, however, won’t be one of those three. |
| Game #1: | The Stealers score early and often and don’t look back in the series opener. Hank Blalock starts the scoring with a solo shot, his 41st of the year, as he extends his lead in Runs Batted In this year. Little used Shane Spencer is the offensive star going 3 for 3 with 3 runs batted in.
Mark Prior continues to shine in his bid for the AL Cy Young. He has six strong innings in securing his league leading 22nd win of the season. Final Score: Stealers 8-2 |
| Game #2: | Southlake starter Tejera can’t get an out before being pulled in this game. A base hit, a walk, and another base hit loaded the bases for Jacque Jones who quickly unloaded them for a Grand Slam and a 4-0 Monroeville lead. When the next batter also singled that was the end of the day for Tejera.
This meant the Stealer Bullpen had to do what they do best. It was a challenge they were up to as 7 relief pitchers went 9 innings giving up just 5 hits and no additional runs. The Stealers’ offense went to work on chipping away at the lead. A two-run shot by Nomar in the first, a sac fly by Anderson in the fourth, and an RBI single from Jordan in the 7th tied the game at 4-4. Things fell apart for Snyder and his Monroeville teammates in the 8th. Blalock led off with a walk and Macias came in to pinch run for him. Encarnacion would bang a double down the line and Macias raced home. The throw from Jones arrived just as there was a collision at the plate, but Varitek held onto the ball for the first out. Varitek was shaken up on the plate and had to leave the game. Snyder would hit the next batter pinch hitter Rondell White. Homeplate umpire Country Joe West felt it was in retaliation for the play at the plate and he ejected Snyder immediately. Monroeville called upon Tavarez. Having limited warm-ups Tavarez walked the first batter to load the bases with just one out. Shane Spencer hit a long sacrifice fly to bring home the go-ahead run. Brian Jordan would continue having a good season as he hit a single scoring two more Stealers. Nomar would match that by doubling home two more runs as well making it a 9-4 Stealers lead. Final Score: 9-4 Stealers |
| Game #3: | With Tejera only going five batters yesterday, the Stealers gave him the ball to start today as well. Jacque Jones greeted Tejera with a double, but he was able to get out of the inning unscathed.
Nomar would hit a two-run shot in the second inning to overtake Blalock for the lead in RBIs in the American League. Blalock would have none of that as he would bring home two on a bases loaded single the very next inning to tie his teammate in the RBI category. Having done his job by keeping Monroeville off the board early, the Stealers would once again lean into the strength of their team, The Bullpen. Eight Stealer pitchers would throw the final 8 innings of the game giving up just one more hit, no walks and seven strikeouts in securing the combined effort two-hit shutout. In the first three games of this series, the bullpen has thrown 20 innings giving up just 9 hits and 3 walks for a combined 0.60 WHIP. Final Score: Stealers 6-0 |
| Game #4: | Sydney Ponson has been the ace of the staff since being acquired mid-season. He hardly looked like it today. He was shaky from the beginning, giving up a run on three hits in the first. He looked as if he had things under control with a 1-2-3 second inning. When Mat Franco gave him a 2-1 lead on his 6th homerun of the year things looked bright.
A Soriano two run shot in the top of the third gave Monroeville the lead back. After giving up two more hits in the third, that was the end of the day for Ponson. Could the bullpen do it for a fourth consecutive day? The vaunted Stealers bullpen finally saw some flaws. After closing out the third and fourth innings, things went south. After Mahay gave up a single with one out, Mateo entered the game. He immediately gave up back-to-back singles allowing Monroeville to finally put a run on the board against the bullpen. The very next inning, Mateo would put runners on the corners with one out. Lopez was brought out of the pen and like Mateo he failed. A Guerrero double emptied the bases and a Jones double one out later would extend the lead to 7-2. The Stealers would need to chip away to get back into this game. On the mound for Monroeville, Reidling was spectacular in shutting down the Stealers and not allowing that to happen. He pitched a complete game, giving up 9 hits, one walk and just three runs. He only had two strikeouts but both came in crucial spots when the Stealers were threatening. Final: Monroeville 7-3 |
| Game #5: | The boys will be busy today as they are partaking in a twilight day/night doubleheader in Southlake.
The Stealer bullpen has been strong in this series; however, the fact is they are also taxed and worn down. They need Wade Miller to go deep in game one if they are going to have any success on the day. Miller, who was acquired near the trade deadline, told the boys to jump on his shoulders as he would do the heavy lifting in game one. He absolutely took charge, going a full 9 innings, giving up just three hits and two walks while striking out 9 in getting the shutout victory. For the Stealers, having been shut down offensively the day before, they also stepped up. Blalock had a pinch-hit single adding two to his RBI lead. Lecroy who has been disappointing this year, blasted a three-run homerun. And Carlos Beltran went 4-4, scoring three times in the win. Final: Stealers 11-0 |
| Game #6: | With a full bullpen available the Stealers start Tejera for the third time this series. And for the second time in those three starts he stunk the place up. He gave up hits to the first three batters and was pulled having gotten no outs and losing by two. Monroeville added a third run in the inning on two Stealer errors.
Having no available starters to pitch, the Monroeville manager gave the ball to reliever Tavarez to begin the game. His defense let him down in the second inning, when two errors of their own led to three unearned runs and a time game. The Stealers would take the lead in the fourth inning when Nomar went deep for his 36th blast of the year. It looked like the bullpen magic was going to work again. But with one on and one out in the 6th inning, Mota would come in and surrender three more hits, allowing three runners to score, giving up the lead. Meanwhile, Tavarez was effective for Monroeville. He gave up 13 hits over 8 innings but some poor baserunning by Southlake kept them off the board. They had 2 runners gunned down at the plate, 1 runner nailed at second trying to tag up on a fly ball and one runner gunned down trying to steal. Monroeville went to Wheeler in the 9th inning. He would give up two more hits, but once again the Stealers had a runner gunned down at the plate trying to score. With runners on the corners and the winning run at the plate in the form of Blalock, the Monroeville fans were in fear. But Wheeler got him to fly out harmlessly to get the save. Final: Monroeville 6-4 |
| Series Summary: | The Stealers punched their ticket to the postseason. Champagne is reserved only for winning a division or better. The Champagne will stay on ice as Southlake fails in their bid to clinch the AL Central at home taking only 4 of 6 from Monroeville.
However, with Fort Worth splitting their series with Castlerock, the Stealers were able to jump into a tie with them for the number one seed in the AL. Going from Worst to First in one year is a possibility for the Stealers. With eleven games to go, all on the road, the Stealers have a lot to still battle for. However, their manager will be smart enough to rest a few guys and to get their rotation set heading into the playoffs. Both teams go at it again, next week for a 5 game series in Monroeville. |
Chicago Demolition @ Yucaipa Badgers |
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| Series Preview: | Mobsters looking to beef up their stats. |
| Game #1: | YUC 5-4 |
| Game #2: | YUC 2-1 13 innings Helton ties it in the 9th and wins it in the 13th |
| Game #3: | CHI 4-0 Martinez 2 hit shut out |
| Game #4: | CHI 14-4 |
| Game #5: | YUC 4-1 |
| Game #6: | CHI 3-1 |
| Series Summary: | Series Split |
Danbury Mad Hatters @ Gladstone Gladiators |
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| Series Preview: | The fading Gladstone Gladiators, watching their one-time playoff hopes evaporating, host the Danbury Mad Hatters. |
| Game #1: | FINAL SCORE: GLA 4 – DMH 1 |
| Game #2: | FINAL SCORE: GLA 2 – DMH 1 |
| Game #3: | FINAL SCORE: DMH 7 – GLA 5 |
| Game #4: | FINAL SCORE: DMH 4 – GLA 1 |
| Game #5: | FINAL SCORE: DMH 10 – GLA 1 |
| Game #6: | FINAL SCORE: GLA 9 – DMH 2 |
| Series Summary: | Series split, 3 games to 3. |
Winnipeg Goldeyes @ Blarney Drive Bandits |
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| Series Summary: | Winnipeg takes 4 of 6 in a series with hits galore. |