A.L. DIVISION SERIES #1
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| PREVIEW – The Monroeville Maulers (92-70) advances from the Wild Card Series to face the American League West Division leader, California Quakes (118-44). California enters the series with the overall advantage in every key category. The Quakes led the Maulers in defense, with a .987 fielding percentage and 55 unearned runs versus the Maulers’ .980 fielding percentage and 99 unearned runs; the Quakes pitched to a 4.42 ERA versus the Maulers’ 4.95 ERA; and the Quakes batted .330/.411/.536 with 267 home runs and a 7.8 R/G versus the Maulers’ .284/.361/.491 line with 254 home runs and 5.9 R/G. The Maulers will need a big series from their stars, V. Guerrero and T. Glaus. |
| GAME #1 – Andy Ashby 11-16 (5.04) vs. Bruce Chen 14-2 (3.35)
The Maulers jump to an early lead with a no-out 2-run D. McCarty home run in the top of the first inning. The Quakes respond quickly, putting a three-spot on the board in the bottom half of the inning with the help of an E. Alfonso double, T. Salmon single, and N. Garciaparra home run. The Quakes would hold it at 3-2 until the bottom of the 7th, when M. McGwire adds some insurance by swatting his first home run of the ALDS. The Quakes bullpen goes 3 shutout innings to hold the Maulers at 2 runs and giving the Quakes a 6-2 Game 1 victory. 2B: V. Guerrero, E. Alfonzo Final Score: California 6 – Monroeville 2 Win: Bruce Chen 1-0 (3.00) |
| GAME #2 – Brian Tollberg 11-4 (3.53) vs. Carl Pavano 13-4 (3.28)
Again, the Maulers jump to an early lead off a T. Glaus RBI single in the 1st and, again, the Quakes respond. Down 0-1 in the bottom of the 2nd, JD Drew knocks in D. Segui with an RBI single to tie it up. Then, in the bottom of the 3rd, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, D. Erstad singles to center to bring in both runners. The Quakes take the lead, 3-1, and would add to it in the 4th and 8th with two home runs by M. McGwire. Down 6-1, V. Guerrero gets a sac fly in the top of the 9th make it 6-2, where it would stay. The Quakes sweep the homestand, and head to Monroeville with a 2-0 series lead. 2B: F. Catalanotto, N. Garciaparra 3 Final Score: California 6 – Monroeville 2 Win: Carl Pavano 1-0 (1.50) |
| GAME #3 – Britt Reames 1-1 (3.53) vs. Jon Lieber 19-9 (3.36)
The Quakes can’t seem to hold the Maulers down in the 1st inning. This time, F. Catalanotto bangs a leadoff home run to give the Maulers the 1-0 lead. Instead of sitting quiet, the Maulers continue to bang out home runs, with a T. Hollandsworth 2-run home run in the 3rd and a V. Guerrero 2-run home run in the 7th. The Capitals get a couple home runs of their one, but only of the solo variety, and the Maulers secure their first win of the series, 5-2. Thus far, bullpens have been fairly inconsequential, with starting pitchers going at least 6 and deciding the games on their own. 2B: E. Alfonzo (2), T. Fryman, Final Score: Monroeville 5 – California 2 Win: Jon Lieber 1-0 (2.45) |
| GAME #4 – Bruce Chen 14-2 (3.35) vs. Scott Schoeneweis 14-11 (6.13)
The game gets off to a very rocky start with B. Chen giving up 2-run home run to V. Guerrero with one out in the 1st before walking off the mound with a shoulder injury. For the first game this series, the bullpen was going to play a big role in this one. The Quakes bring in D. Graves to limit the damage, and he proceeded to give up three runs over the next inning and a half. Down 5-0 in the 3rd, the Quakes begin to claw back, scraping together three runs to close the gap 5-3. The Quakes take a brief lead in the top of the 5th with three more runs, but down 6-5 in the bottom of the 6th, the Maulers tie it back up 6-6. There it would stay for another 5 innings. With both teams taxing their bullpens, the Quakes have the advantage with a much deeper bullpen. In the top of the 11th, the Quakes put the nail in the Maulers’ coffin with RBI doubles by D. Fletcher and T. Salmon. The Quakes take the game 8-6 and J. Franco gets the win from the pen. The Quakes lead the series 3-1. 2B: V. Guerrero (2), T. Glaus, J. Veritek, J. Hernandez, W. Gonzalez, T. Salmon, N. Garciaparra (4), T. Fryman (2), D. Fletcher Final Score: California 8 – Monroeville 6 (11 Innings) Win: John Franco 1-0 (0.00) |
| GAME #5 – Gil Meche 6-3 (6.02) vs. Andy Ashby 11-16 (5.04)
This time, the Quakes get the early lead with a M. McGwire solo home run in the top of the 1st, his 5th home run this series. And, for the first time this series, the Maulers do not score in the first, though they do tie the game with back-to-back doubles by W. Gonzalez and F. Catalanotto in the bottom of the 3rd. With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the 5th, the Quakes begin their onslaught. T. Salmon walks, M. McGwire gets an infield hit (yes, you read that right), D. Erstad hits a RBI double, and T. Fryman bloops a 2-RBI single to put up three and take the lead 4-1. The Maulers answer back with a R. Sanchez RBI single in the 6th, but the Quakes add to their lead with five more runs in the 8th and 9th innings for the 9-2 win. The Quakes take the series 4-1. W – G. Meche 1-0 (3.00 ERA) 2B: D. Erstad, F. Catalanotto (2), B. Trammell, W. Gonzalez (2) Final Score: California 9 – Monroeville 2 Win: Gile Meche 1-0 (3.00) |
| SUMMARY – The Quakes advance to the ALCS, outmatching the Maulers on all fronts. California outscored the Monroeville 31-17 behind solid pitching, with the Quakes pitching to a 3.33 ERA versus the Maulers’ 5.00 ERA, and defense, with the Maulers giving up 6 unearned runs off 6 errors and California giving up zero unearned runs and zero errors. California batted .305/.393/.505 with 11 doubles and 9 home runs over 5 games, while the Maulers batted .209/.312/.355 with 10 doubles and 5 home runs. The star of the series was M. McGwire, who slugged .450/.577/1.200 with 9 hits, 5 walks, 5 home runs, 8 runs, and 8 RBI over 20 AB across 5 games. |