2003 N.L. DIVISION SERIES #2

Baltimore enters the series with momentum after sweeping Long Beach 2-0 in the Wild Card Round. The Blue Crabs also held the edge in the regular-season matchup, winning the season series against Hollywood by a 7-5 margin.

The game remained scoreless through four innings. In the top of the fifth, Adam Dunn drew a two-out walk, stole second, and advanced to third on a wild pitch. After Chris Stynes walked to put runners on the corners, Joe Randa dropped a single into right field to bring Dunn home with the game’s first run.

The Vampires answered in the sixth inning. Cliff Floyd doubled, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Kevin Millar, and scored on an A.J. Pierzynski sacrifice fly to tie the game at 1-1.

The game stayed tied until the ninth, when Adam Dunn opened the inning with a solo home run over the right-center-field fence to give Baltimore a 2-1 lead. Brian Fuentes and Oscar Villarreal then combined for a scoreless bottom of the ninth to secure the opener for the Blue Crabs.

Final Score: Baltimore 2 – Hollywood 1
Series 1-0 Baltimore

Win: Kyle Farnsworth 1-0  (0.00)
Loss: Keith Foulke 0-1  (13.50)
Save: Oscar Villarreal #1

Baltimore seized control immediately. Joe Randa opened the game with a double to right-center, and Chipper Jones followed with a single, leaving runners at the corners with no outs. Dmitry Young then lined a base hit that scored Randa and moved Jones to second for a 1-0 Blue Crabs lead.

After Geoff Jenkins struck out, Preston Wilson drew a walk to load the bases. Jorge Posada followed with a single through the right side to score Jones and make it 2-0. Miguel Tejada then drove a double to deep center, bringing home Young and Wilson for a 4-0 advantage. That ended Roy Oswalt’s outing after just one out, though Kip Wells entered and prevented further damage.

Baltimore added to its lead in the third when Preston Wilson hit a solo home run. The Blue Crabs scored again in the seventh on a Geoff Jenkins sacrifice fly, then added two more runs in the ninth on RBI singles by John Flaherty and Miguel Tejada to stretch the margin to 8-0.

Padilla entered the ninth working on a three-hit shutout, but Dustan Mohr opened the inning with a solo home run to put Hollywood on the board and end Padilla’s day. He finished with 8+ innings pitched, allowing one run on four hits.

The Vampires made things tense by scoring four more times in the inning, including a two-run homer by Jeromy Burnitz. Woody Williams finally recorded the last out to preserve an 8-5 Blue Crabs victory.

Final Score: Baltimore 8 – Hollywood 5
Series 2-0 Baltimore

Win: Vicente Padilla1-0(1.13)
Loss: Roy Oswalt 0-1  (108.00)
Save: Woody Williams #1

The series shifts to Baltimore, where the Blue Crabs take the field with a 2-0 advantage.

Hollywood struck first in the opening inning when Cliff Floyd singled home Paul Konerko for a 1-0 lead. Barry Zito settled in after that, while Roy Halladay controlled the game through four innings before defensive trouble cost him in the fifth. Adam Dunn reached after being hit by a pitch, and he moved to second on a Matt Kata groundout. With two down, Chipper Jones hit a fly ball to left that Floyd dropped, allowing Dunn to score the tying run.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the eighth, when Geoff Jenkins opened the inning with a solo home run to put Baltimore ahead. Halladay then gave way to Keith Foulke, who struck out Preston Wilson before Jorge Posada singled and moved to second on a Miguel Tejada groundout. With two outs, Adam Dunn lined a double to right that scored Posada and pushed the lead to 3-1. Zito retired Hollywood in order in the ninth to complete a three-hit gem and move the Blue Crabs within one win of the league championship series.

Final Score: Baltimore 3 – Hollywood 1
Series 3-0 Baltimore

Win: Barry Zito 1-0  (1.00)
Loss: Roy Halladay 0-1  (1.29) 

Trying to finish the series with its ace on the mound, Baltimore grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first on a Preston Wilson RBI single. The Blue Crabs threatened again in the third when Chipper Jones doubled and moved to third on a Miguel Tejada groundout, but Carl Everett caught Geoff Jenkins’ fly ball in center and threw Jones out at the plate to keep it a one-run game.

Tim Hudson dominated from there, carrying a perfect game into the sixth before Rafael Furcal opened the inning with a game-tying home run to right. In the seventh, David Ortiz and Carl Everett followed with two-out, back-to-back doubles to put Hollywood ahead 2-1. Baltimore put the tying run on third later in the inning, but Scott Shields retired Joe Randa on a popout to preserve the lead.

Hollywood then broke the game open in the ninth, scoring six runs on five hits, two walks, and an error to turn a close contest into an 8-1 win and avoid the sweep. Everett finished 2-for-4 with a single, a double, and three RBIs.

Final Score: Hollywood 8 – Baltimore 1
Series 3-1 Baltimore

Win: Mark Mulder 1-0  (1.59)
Loss: Tim Hudson 0-1  (2.02) 

Coming off its Game 4 win, Hollywood struck first in the second inning. A.J. Pierzynski reached on a throwing error by Vincente Padilla, Carl Everett followed with a single, and Jeromy Burnitz hit into a 5-4-3 double play that moved Pierzynski to third with two outs. Edgardo Alfonzo then lined a two-run homer down the left-field line to give the Vampires a 2-0 lead. Baltimore answered in the bottom half when Miguel Tejada delivered a two-out, two-run homer to tie the game at 2-2.

With one out in the third, Rafael Furcal singled, and David Ortiz followed by driving a Padilla fastball over the right-field fence for a 4-2 lead. Padilla recovered to retire the next 12 batters, and Baltimore put runners on base in five of the final seven innings, but the Blue Crabs could not break through as Hollywood held on for the 4-2 victory.

Final Score: Hollywood 4 – Baltimore 2
Series 3-2 Baltimore

Win: Danny Kolb 1-0  (5.40)
Loss: Vicente Padilla1-1  (1.80)
Save: Jason Isringhausen #1

The series returned to Hollywood for Game 6, with the Vampires trying to finish their comeback after wins in Games 4 and 5. Baltimore, meanwhile, was looking for a road win to close out the series.

Baltimore struck first. With one out in the top of the first, Chipper Jones doubled, and after Dmitry Young lined out, Geoff Jenkins launched a two-run homer to deep right-center for a 2-0 Blue Crabs lead.

Hollywood answered in the bottom half. Cliff Floyd opened with a walk, stole second, and moved to third after Woody Williams also walked Rafael Furcal. David Ortiz then singled to load the bases, and Kevin Millar followed with an RBI single to make it 2-1. A.J. Pierzynski added another base hit to score Furcal and tie the game, but Williams escaped the bases-loaded, no-out jam by striking out Carl Everett, getting Jeromy Burnitz to foul out, and retiring Edgardo Alfonzo on a fly ball to right.

Baltimore regained the lead in the second. Roy Halladay walked Jorge Posada and hit Miguel Tejada to open the inning, then struck out Adam Dunn before Matt Kata lined an RBI single to right-center for a 3-2 edge. Joe Randa followed with a bloop single over Furcal’s head to score Tejada, and after another out, Dmitry Young singled to left-center to bring home Kata and make it 5-2.

The Blue Crabs added two more in the fifth on Miguel Tejada’s two-run double for a 7-2 lead. David Ortiz hit a solo home run in the eighth to trim the margin to 7-3, but Baltimore held on to win the game and clinch the series.

Final Score: Baltimore 7 – Hollywood 3
Baltimore Wins the Series 4 games to 2

Win: Woody Williams 1-0  (4.70)
Loss: Roy Halladay 0-2  (6.48) 

Congratulations to Steve for putting together a great team and for a 107-win season and a division title. This was not an appropriate way for such a strong, well-balanced team’s season to end.