2003 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #27

Hollywood struck first when David Ortiz ripped a double to score Everett in the 1st — the opening punch in a night full of body blows. Long Beach answered in the 2nd with a parachuting RBI single from J.T. Snow, knotting the game and signaling they weren’t going anywhere.

Then came the fireworks: Raúl Mondesí detonated a solo homer in the 4th, a towering blast that tied the game 2–2 and jolted the Titans’ dugout back to life.

But the game’s heartbeat moment came in the 6th, when Long Beach took a 3–2 lead on a double‑play grounder — only for Hollywood to unleash absolute chaos in the bottom half. Furcal stole third, Alfonzo blooped in the tying run, and then Craig Counsell delivered the dagger, a sharp single to left that sent Alfonzo barreling home. The throw came in… the slide… SAFE!
Hollywood took the lead 4–3, and the stadium nearly levitated.

Hollywood added a crushing insurance run in the 8th when Carl Everett doubled home Counsell, stretching the lead to 5–3 and sucking the oxygen out of Long Beach’s comeback hopes.

Jason Isringhausen slammed the door in the 9th, and Hollywood preserved its precious 1‑game division lead in a game that felt like October arrived early.

Long Beach struck first when Jason Phillips launched a moonshot in the 2nd, a towering blast that briefly stunned the Hollywood crowd. But the inning’s defining moment wasn’t the homer — it was the heartbreak.
With two outs, Russ Branyan smoked a double, and J.T. Snow was waved home. The throw… the slide…
OUT at the plate! A devastating kill‑shot to Long Beach’s momentum, and the first major turning point of the night.

Hollywood immediately counterpunched. In the 3rd, A.J. Pierzynski ripped a double down the line, scoring Floyd and then Everett on a daring send home — Everett sliding in SAFE on a bang‑bang play that detonated the stadium. Hollywood seized a 2–1 lead and never looked back.

Long Beach briefly surged in the 4th when Gabe Myers crushed a two‑run homer, flipping the score to 3–2. But Hollywood responded with a thunderclap:
Cliff Floyd’s three‑run blast in the bottom half — a no‑doubt rocket — flipped the game to 5–3 and sent Jake Peavy to an early shower.

From there, the Vampires tightened the screws. Kevin Millar added a solo shot, Furcal and Counsell kept grinding out baserunners, and in the 8th, chaos erupted when Paul Konerko was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, forcing in a run before leaving injured.

Hollywood’s bullpen — a parade of fresh arms — smothered every Long Beach spark. No rallies. No hope. No oxygen.

Final: Hollywood 7, Long Beach 3.

The tone shifted immediately. On just the third batter of the game, Trot Nixon detonated a two‑run homer to deep left — a no‑doubt blast that stunned the Hollywood crowd and put the Titans up 2–0 before many fans found their seats. Moments later, Gabe Myers ripped a double, and Raúl Mondesí followed with another, stretching the lead to 3–0 and forcing Roy Oswalt into damage control before the first inning even ended.

Hollywood tried to counter, and David Ortiz obliged, launching a solo homer in the 2nd to make it 3–1. But Esteban Loaiza settled into a rhythm, and the Vampires’ offense kept sputtering — inning after inning of loud outs, warning‑track flies, and missed chances.

The middle innings turned into a duel: Oswalt grinding through traffic, Loaiza carving through Hollywood’s lineup with strikeouts and soft contact. Hollywood finally broke through again in the 7th when Jeromy Burnitz crushed a solo homer, slicing the deficit to 3–2 and injecting life back into the ballpark.

But in the 8th, with tension rising, Gabe Myers struck again, obliterating a Kolb fastball to deep left center for a massive insurance homer — his second extra‑base hit of the night — pushing Long Beach ahead 4–2.

Hollywood never recovered. Loaiza came back out for the 9th and struck out the side, freezing Pierzynski to end it and sealing a desperately needed Titans win.

It started innocently enough — a Vidro blooper that fell between Furcal and Everett — but then the avalanche hit.
Jay Payton crushed a two‑run homer, and before the crowd could exhale, Carlos Lee launched another bomb, back‑to‑back shots that stunned Mulder and put Long Beach up 3–0 instantly.
From the document: “he watches it sail over the wall … home run for Jay … back‑to‑back homers for the TITANS!”

Hollywood tried to answer with a David Ortiz solo blast in the 2nd, but the Titans were nowhere near done.

In the 3rd, after a walk and a hit‑by‑pitch, Hollywood turned a double play to nearly escape — but Carlos Lee obliterated his second homer of the night, a towering shot that made it 5–1 and sent Mulder to an early shower.

Then came the inning that broke the game open and broke Hollywood’s spirit.

In the 6th, Long Beach unleashed a five‑run explosion:

Eckstein scored easily on a Miller double

Miller doubled again, driving in two

And then Vidro launched a tape‑measure homer to right, a three‑run exclamation point that pushed the lead to 10–1

Hollywood’s only dramatic moment came in the 5th — and it was disastrous.
With two outs, Alfonzo was waved home on a Burnitz flyout…
OUT at the plate!
He argued, got tossed, and the inning collapsed in chaos.

By the 9th, the Titans were pouring it on: Payton doubled home another run, Lee beat out an infield hit to score one more, and Long Beach walked off with a 12–2 annihilation.

Hollywood answered immediately — and violently.
After A.J. Pierzynski was drilled in the neck, Rafael Furcal unloaded a two‑run bomb, tying the game 2–2 and igniting the crowd.

But the 3rd inning belonged to Long Beach.
A hit batter, an infield single, and then Gabe Myers detonated a three‑run homer to deep right center, a towering blast that flipped the game to 5–2 and sent Wells to an early exit.

Hollywood refused to fold.
Cliff Floyd doubled, and Carl Everett crushed a two‑run homer to make it 5–4. The stadium shook. The momentum swung. And then came the moment that changed everything:

THE PLAY AT THE PLATE — EVERETT THROWN OUT TRYING TO TIE THE GAME
With Everett on second, Ortiz singled to center. Everett was waved home…
The throw… the slide…
OUT at the plate!
A perfect relay cut down the tying run and preserved Long Beach’s lead. Hollywood never fully recovered.

From there, the Titans leaned on pitching and defense.
In the 7th, Raúl Mondesí doubled, and Jason Phillips singled him home to push the lead to 6–4. The bullpen slammed the door, striking out Burnitz and freezing the final two hitters to end it.

Final: Long Beach 6, Hollywood 4.
Division: TIED.
6 games left.

But the Titans refused to die and the series flipped.

Long Beach stormed into Game 3 with urgency and attitude, demolition them in game 4 and held on to a squeaker in Game 5, and just like that the division is all the way back to even.

Long Beach leaves Hollywood with the division tied, and they now own the tiebreaker with a 12–10 season series lead.

Six games left.
Two teams deadlocked.
Everything still on the table.
Just the way this division likes it.

Chicago’s offense exploded in the fifth inning, sparked by RBI singles from Shannon Stewart, Carlos Delgado, and Tim Salmon, alongside a wild pitch that extended the lead to 4-0. Stewart capped the scoring in the sixth with a two-run triple off Jesse Foppert. Yucaipa finally broke through in the seventh on a Marquis Grissom RBI double, but the Demolition bullpen slammed the door to secure the win.

Final Score: Chicago 6 – Yucaipa 1

Win: Jason Schmidt 15-8 (2.85)
Loss: Jesse Foppert 5-8 (8.11)

Final Score: Yucaipa 7 – Chicago 5

Win: Ben Weber 9-0 (2.20)
Loss: Brendan Donnelly 6-5 (2.23)
Save: Eric Gagne #29

Chicago’s offense provided early support, starting with a Bobby Higginson RBI single in the third. Charles Johnson broke the game open in the fourth with a two-run homer, and Carlos Delgado delivered the final blow in the seventh with a massive three-run blast off Mike Mussina. Randy Winn added a late solo shot for Yucaipa in the ninth, but Arthur Rhodes closed out the victory.

Final Score: Chicago 7 – Yucaipa 2

Win: Pedro Martinez 21-7 (1.39)
Loss: Mike Mussina 18-8 (3.30)

The Demolition took control in the eighth as Hideki Matsui’s double and a passed ball allowed the go-ahead run to score, followed by a Phil Nevin RBI single. Yucaipa threatened in the ninth with an RBI double by Larry Walker, but Terry Adams entered to retire Todd Helton and secure his first save.

Final Score: Chicago 3 – Yucaipa 2

Win: Jim Brower 2-3 (3.06)
Loss: Ben Weber 9-1 (2.32)
Save: Terry Adams #1

In the tenth, Randy Winn singled and reached third before Grissom delivered again, lofting a sacrifice fly to drive in the go-ahead run. Eric Gagne then slammed the door in the bottom half, striking out Carlos Delgado and Hideki Matsui to secure his 30th save.

Final Score: Yucaipa 4 – Chicago 3

Win: Kerry Ligtenberg 2-1 (3.31)
Loss: Kazuhiro Sasaki 0-1 (4.26)
Save: Eric Gagne #30

However, the Badgers proved resilient, twice mounting late-inning comebacks to steal victories. Marquis Grissom was a thorn in Chicago’s side, delivering a clutch game-tying single in the fifth game and the decisive sacrifice fly in a 10-inning thriller to close the series. Eric Gagne remained perfect in high-leverage spots, slamming the door twice to preserve narrow leads. Ultimately, this divisional clash lived up to its billing, leaving both AL Central contenders deadlocked after five intense games of simulated action.