2003 PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #15
| NAME | TEAM | AVG | SLG | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | K | W | IW | SB | CS | HBP |
| BONDS,Barry | CRH AL | .450 | 1.500 | 6 | 20 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| NAME | CLUB | G | W | L | S | ERA | IP | R | ER | H | K | BB | IBB | WP | BK | HB | HR |
| OLIVER,Darren | HOU AL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.75 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| NAME | TEAM | AVG | SLG | G | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | R | RBI | K | W | IW | SB | CS | HBP |
| MACKOWIAK,Rob | HAM NL | .400 | .900 | 6 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| NAME | CLUB | G | W | L | S | ERA | IP | R | ER | H | K | BB | IBB | WP | BK | HB | HR |
| MOYER,Jamie | FNA NL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.53 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Yucaipa Badgers @ Castle Rock Hounds |
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| Series Preview: | At the halfway mark of the season we have two teams vying for wildcard positioning. |
| Game #1: | This is a typical early 2000’s game, as the ball is flying out of the park easily. It is 8-8 after four innings with Bonds and McMillon both hitting two homers for Castle Rock and Yucaipa going 11 for its first 22 at-bats. It is a tight game until the top of the 9th when Larry Walker hits a 3-run homer (the 18th hit for the Badgers) and Yucaipa takes the game by a final score of 12-9. Bonds did everything he could, hitting 3 homers for Castle Rock, but it was not enough.
WP: Cordero (1-0) |
| Game #2: | Yucaipa keeps hitting, but the Hounds bats go quiet as the Badgers take the game by a 6-1 final. Helton leads the way for Yucaipa, going 3-5 with a homer and 4 RBI.
WP: R. Hernandez (2-5) |
| Game #3: | Kyle Lohse, who already has a perfect game this season, doesn’t give up a hit until the 5th, but Yucaipa cobbles together a 3-run inning on walks, a wild pitch and a broken bat 2-RBI single to take a 3-1 lead. They extend the lead to 6-1 in the 8th. In the bottom of the 8th, Castle Rock loads the bases for Bonds and Yucaipa brings on Gagne to face him. He gets Bonds to ground out to end the rally and keep the score at 6-1. Wood gets the win for the Badgers, going 7.2.
WP: Wood (8-6) |
| Game #4: | Castle Rock better turn things around quickly if they want to salvage even a series split. Mike Bordick of all people gets the first runs of the game in the top of the 5th with a 2-run homer off of Doug Davis. Castle Rock does manage to come back though, with Bonds tying the game in the bottom of the 8th with a solo shot off Mussina. Mussina stays on to pitch the 9th and he gets Luis Gonzalez to ground out to end a threat in the bottom half to send it to extra innings tied at 2. Grissom walks, steals second and scores on an Alex Sanchez single to make it 3-2, Yucaipa. Gagne comes on for the Badgers. He gets the first two batters but Placido Polanco sneaks a single to bring up Bonds as the winning run. Barry gets a single to move Polanco to scoring position, but McMillon pops out to end the game and preserve the series clinching win for Yucaipa.
WP: Mussina (10-3) |
| Game #5: | It’s a back-and-forth game, with Yucaipa holding a 5-3 lead going into the bottom of the 9th. Naturally, they bring on Gagne to try to secure his 3rd save in as many games. But, with one out, Mayne gets a single up the middle and Bonds hits a homer to tie it at 5-5. Gagne does manage to get Gonzalez and Sweeney to send it to extras. Neither team can muster anything unitl Robert Fick takes Jose Contreras deep in the top of the 12th to give Yucaipa a 6-5 lead. Gagne stays out for the bottom of the 12th. He faces 19 batters across 4.1 IP but he secures the victory despite allowing two runners in that inning.
WP: Gagne (3-2) |
| Game #6: | Castle Rock manages to salvage some dignity with a 9-5 victory in the series finale. Wilkerson, Bonds and Hammock go deep for the Hounds and Pettitte gets his 11th win.
WP: Pettitte (11-2) |
| Series Summary: | The Badgers run the Hounds ragged and take 5 out of 6 to really narrow things in the AL wildcard races. |
Danbury Mad Hatters @ Manhattan Gas Hornets |
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| Series Preview: | Just before the break the Gas Hornets host Danbury in what turns out to be a big but costly series 3 big game injuries plus a pitcher blowing out his arm!! At least we get a few days off for some recovery….. |
| Game #1: | Welcome to the Casey Fossum show – who? He gives a single in the 1st and 2nd and then a double to Roger Cedeno late – a 3 walks during the game – and that’s it! A rare CG for Manhattan (bullpen happy!). And on the offensive side of things Jason Kendall socks a 3 run homer (6), Matt Stairs 3 hits and a solo homer (14). 4 others with 2 hits apiece in a big 8-0 win to open the home stand. BUT – Ruben Sierra crashes into the wall preserving the shutout – but will miss 14 days (maybe more). DMH 0- 3-2 LP Adam Eaton (5-7) MGH 8-12-0 WP Fossum (3-5) |
| Game #2: | Manhattan keeps pouring on the offense, Danbury injures our player – not nice! A 4 run Gas Hornets first offsets a Jim Thome solo homer (31). Then back to back homers from Ken Griffey (6) and Moises Alou (8) in the 4th make it 4-3, but Manhattan comes back with 3 runs in the bottom half. The teams swap 2 runs each in the 6th before Gas Hornets score another in the 7th to salt it away, 10-5. Matt Stairs (15), Tino Martinez (5) and David Bell (1) go deep. But Tony Graffanino is beaned and will miss at least 24 days!! And as the game progressed, Ben Howard kept saying “let me stay out there”, so we did – and he gets another MGH CG – but it was costly. He blew out his arm and who knows, if we make the post season, he might be back, otherwise, he’s totally done for the season. The silver lining (if you are stretching it) is the bullpen however, gets another day off! DMH 5-10-0 LP Jason Jennings (0-1) MGH 10-14-1 WP Ben Howard (5-1) |
| Game #3: | Danbury strikes for 2 in the 1st as Griffey gets 1 of his 4 hits and drives in 1 followed by and Moises Alou rbi double. Gas Hornets get 1 in the 2nd and then take the lead with 2 in the 3rd. But it’s a short lead as Jim Thome doubles in 2 and Ken Griffey knocks in another run in a 3 run 5th for a 5-3 Mad Hatters lead. A single Gas Hornets run in the 6th cuts the deficit to 5-4 and then a 5 run 8th, keyed by a Garrett Anderson 3 run homer (16) off Pat Mahomes blows the game open for a Gas Hornets victory. DMH 5-11-1 LP Mahomes (0-1) BS (1) MGH 9-15-1 WP Kim (3-2) |
| Game #4: | Another wild game that sees Jesse Orosco tossed in the 6th for beaning Wil Cordero (miss 6 days, most of that will be the break). Cordero was 2 for 3 with 2 runs, rbi and double, but Orosco was getting back at Manhattan for 10 hits an 8 runs off starter Garrett Stephenson (who had previously hit Tino Martinez). But the game, sort of a barn burner. 3 runs in the top of the 3rd for Danbury made it 3-1 Mad Hatters – but Manhattan scores 4 in the bottom half. Then Danbury comes right back with 2 in the 4th to tie the game! Craig Biggio a 2 run double, Jim Thome 2 hits and a rbi, Geoff Blum (against his former team) drives in 1. Manhattan then erupts for 3 runs in the 6th precipitating Orosco’s HBP! Jeff Conine was the big guns in this one for the Gas Hornets with a 3 hits and a 3 run homer (13) off Stephenson. Tim Wakefield survives the onslaught and 2 unearned runs and the bullpen shuts down any threats. DMH 6- 9-1 LP Stephenson (1-8) MGH 8-13-1 WP Wakefield (9-6) S Tom Gordon (24) |
| Game #5: | Late inning drama keeps this game active to the finish. Jason Kendall drives in 2 in the 2nd for an early Manhattan lead. Then Danbury ties it up with single runs in the 3rd and 5th. Lance Carter comes in in the 7th with 2 runners on and gets the Mad Hatters out preserving the lead but in the 8th he gets 2 outs but gives up a hit to Craig Biggio who steals 2nd. Out goes Carter, in comes Kim (this year that’s been a who knows what you’ll get). Biggio then scores on a PH double by Tomas Perez to tie the game! Kim blows another one! Bottom of the 8th Travis Driskill one for his 2nd inning and wallop – Jason takes him deep for a 2 run homer (6) and his 3rd and 4th rbis of the game and the Gas Hornets get back on top. But it’s not over yet. Top of the 9th, Kim stays on, Ken Griffey says YES – and he mashes one over the wall (7) and it’s 5-4. Then a walk, but then, rollng the dice, or crossing the fingers, or clutching a rabbit’s foot, whatever, Kim gets the final out to get Manhattan their 5th win of the series. DMH 4-11-1 LP Driskill (0-3) MGH 5-10-1 WP Kim (4-2) |
| Game #6: | Well here comes Casey Fossum again – who? Really? Well, it seemed like, the start was just like game 1. Singles in the 1st and 2nd then nothing – well nothing until the Mad Hatters capitalized on a Carl Everett double and a SB and groundout rbi to grab a 1-0 lead. Adam Eaton was pitching well, but in the bottom of the 5th Manhattan strings together a couple of hits with Kendall and Conine driving in single runs to give the Gas Hornets a 2-1 lead. Another run in the 8th gives us a bit of breathing room and Tom Gordon makes it stand as he closes out the 9th for the sweep. DMH 1-4-0 LP Eaton (5-8) MGH 3-7-0 WP Fossum (4-5) S Gordon (25) |
| Series Summary: | Manhattan gets the much needed sweep – though it was costly injury wise. Plus we lose probably our best starter for the rest of the season. But still 6 wins goes a long way – but now after the break we head to power house Long Beach for what will be a ROUGH, TOUGH series.
INJURY STATUS: |
Michigan Marauders @ Hampton Huskies |
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| Series Preview: | A couple of sub-.500 teams flailing their way through the lynx days of winter. Somebody somewhere must care. |
| Game #1: | Bret Boone and cheatin’ bastard Rafael Palmeiro went back-to-back off Kent Mercker in the top of the 11th to help Michigan to a 7-5 win over Hampton. It was Big Pharma’s 2nd homer of the game with the first one coming off recently-acquired Joe Kennedy in the 4th inning. Lesser Boone (Aaron) also homered in the game. Travis Harper got seven outs to get the W for Michigan with Dan Plesac getting save #12. Alleged Grade 22 reliever and Joe Nathan combined to blow the game for the Huskies in the 9th when they combined to give up three hits in the inning capped by Brian Schneider‘s RBI single. |
| Game #2: | Cristian Guzman drove two runs in with a triple in the top of the 9th and then Nick Johnson followed up with a two-run ozone cracker as the Marauders mauled Raffy Soriano for the second straight day in a 6-4 win for Michigan. Dan Plesac picked up his 13th save. |
| Game #3: | Travis Hafner and Aaron Boone homered as the Marauders came from behind with four unanswered runs over the 7th and 8th innings for their third straight victory over Hampton 6-5. Hafner also had a single and drove in three runs in the game. Once again, Mr. Plesac successfully did what appears to elude all Hampton relievers and saved a game. |
| Game #4: | The Huskies homered four times as they finally managed to win a game 11-2. We can only assume the hitters were inspired to do whatever they could to avoid Hampton having to use anything resembling a closer. Marcus Giles homered, stole a base and drove in three runs for Hampton. |
| Game #5: | Scott Linebrink sucked donkey balls yet again and gave up back-to-back homers in the 5th inning to Mike Lieberthal and Jim Edmonds in an easy 7-3 Michigan win. Corey Patterson hit two doubles and drove in two runs. |
| Game #6: | In the WTF category of games, plucky Grade 3 lefty Joe Kennedy went the distance and held the Marauders to just five hits in a 3-2 Hampton win. Vinny Castilla drove in both Michigan runs with a homer in the 2nd inning while Marcus Giles homered and doubled and drove in a run and Rob Mackowiak drove in two with a triple in the 7th. |
| Series Summary: | Michigan gives Hampton what-for and takes four of six. They head home to host the mouth-breathers from Flora-bama while Hampton’s players flee town in the middle of the night to face Danbury. |
Long Beach Titans @ Baltimore Blue Crabs |
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| Series Preview: | Baltimore (46-35) N.L. East 2nd place hosts N.L. West division leader Long Beach (55-26) |
| Game #1: | Trot Nixon‘s 2 hits and 2 RBIs supports a strong outing by Mike Hampton, who holds Baltimore to just 2 runs on 3 hits over 6 2/3 innings, as Long Beach takes the opener, 4-3.
TITANS 4 / 10 / 1 |
| Game #2: | Baltimore jumps on Jake Peavy for 6 runs in 1+ innings of work, and then fends off a Long Beach comeback attempt to hold on for a 7-6 win. Preston Wilson led the Crabs’ offense with a single, triple, and 2 RBIs. The Titans hit 3 homeruns in the game, Greg Myers (4), Carlos Lee (11), and Raul Mondesi (18).
TITANS 6 / 7 / 3 |
| Game #3: | Great pitcher’s duel between Esteban Loaiza and Tim Hudson as both hurlers go 9, but the game would be settled in 11, as the Titans prevail, 5-4. J.T. Snow doubled, homered, and knocked in 3 for Long Beach. Geoff Jenkins went deep for Baltimore.
TITANS 5 / 6 / 0 |
| Game #4: | For the second straight game, we go extra innings … this time it takes 15 innings before the Crabs come out on top. Geoff Jenkins produced all of the offense for Baltimore, clubbing 3 homeruns, including game tying shots in the 4th and 13th, and the game-winner in the 15th. Greg Myers and Raul Mondesi each homered for Long Beach.
TITANS 4 / 10 / 1 |
| Game #5: | Barry Zito tosses a 2-hit shutout, while Baltimore torches Ryan Franklin for 7 earned runs and 8 hits, to win it 7-0. Geoff Jenkins had 4 more hits in this one.
TITANS 0 / 2 / 0 |
| Game #6: | Mike Hampton and Woody Williams lock up in another doozy, until I leave Williams in 1-out too long and Long Beach scores 5 times in the 9th to break open a 1-1 game. Jose Vidro and Greg Myers each had 3 hits and Alex Cintron had a big 3-run double for the Titans.
TITANS 6 / 13 / 0 |
| Series Summary: | Nip and tuck series as the teams split 3-3 |
Dondero Oaks @ Monroeville Maulers |
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| Series Preview: | MVM welcomes the Oaks to Hammer & Steel Stadium at Mauler Park. DDO holding on to 3rd 37-44 in what looks like a runaway division crown for FWP. The Maulers fading fast in 4th place of the tough AL Central at 36-45. We shall see if one of the two evenly matched teams can take advantage of the other. |
| Game #1: | MVM 5-9-0 vs DDO 2-10-0
4-2 Maulers after 3 and then an insurance run in the 8th for the victory. Dontrelle willis scatters 9 hits and 2 runs over 7IP. W: Dontrelle Willis 8-8 MVM Highlight: |
| Game #2: | DDO 13-14-1 vs MVM 4-7-0
The Mighty Oaks blast 3 homers in an impressive offense performance. W: John Lackey 4-8 DDO Highlight: |
| Game #3: | MVM 6-5-0 vs DDO 5-9-1
After trailing 5-3, the Hammerin’ Time Bats wake up and plate 3 in the 6th to hold on for the win. Jorge Sosa 6IP and Julian Tavarez 2.2 of 1 hit relief for the save. W: Jorge Sosa 3-1 DDO & MVM Highlight: |
| Game #4: | DDO 4-9-0 vs MVM 0-0-1
A NO-NO Alert!!! – As Jason Varitek spoils the perfect game offering with his keen eye to gain a free pass in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Although DDO suffers an injury to Santana in the 8th evidently over throwing from the adrenalin losing the CG effort as Scott Sauerbeck and Danny Miceli make the record books in the combined No Hit effort. W: Johan Santana 7-4 DDO Highlight: MVM INJ: Johan Santana 5 games – Shoulder pain. |
| Game #5: | DDO 5-8-1 vs MVM 3-6-0
The Oaks plate back to back wins starting out with a 4-0 lead and holding on as the Maulers chip away making it close but fall short. The Oaks bull pen to the rescue once again. W: Kazuhisa Ishii 5-11 DDO Highlight: |
| Game #6: | MVM 4-8-0 vs DDO 1-5-0
Maulers take the night cap to salvage a series split. Jason Stanford 7.1 IP scattering 5 hits for his 4th win of the season. Alphonso Soriano and Jason Varitek provide the Mauler offense W: Jason Stanford 4-1 MVM Highlight: |
| Series Summary: | DDO 30-45-3 / MVM 22-35-1
Series Split nothing gained nothing lost except a combined No-No effort! But with an unfortunate twist for the Oaks as Johan Santana has to leave the game in the 8th with shoulder trouble. He’ll be out for 5 games. Both teams battled back and forth to gain their wins as they contend for one of the final playoff spots and Dondero maintains the edge. The Hammerin’ Time Bats pretty much kept quite through the series although managing 3 wins, with one of their most unimpressive offensive performances to date. |
1Southlake Stealers @ DeWitt Tigers |
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| Series Summary: | Dewitt welcomes Southlake to town and were gracious hosts handing a 6-0 sweep to Southlake. |
Hollywood Vampires @ Valdosta Bombers |
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| Series Summary: | It wasn’t the Vampires that sucked in this train wreck of a series. Horrific pitching and no offense adds up to a Hollywood sweep. |
Chicago Demolition @ Corktown Bootleggers |
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| Series Summary: | Chicago dominates the first three games, then the Bootleggers kick it in to gear and take the last three. |
Gladstone Gladiators @ Blarney Drive Bandits |
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| Series Summary: | Gladiators dominate in their 4 victories; Blarney wins two squeakers. |
Fort Worth Panthers @ Iowa Giants |
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| Series Preview: | Fort Worth Panther 54-23 Leading American come to Iowa who have won 11 of last 12 with a 40-41 record. |
| Game #1: | Iowa wins game one 3-1 Graves gets 8 win goes 5 inning allowi ng one run Jason Michaels 2 rbi’s Michael Young homer. |
| Game #2: | Kevin Brown 7 innings gets 11th win, Sheffield 3 hits homer 4 rbi’s Panthers win 8-2. |
| Game #3: | Nomo goes 7 innings no earned runs records his 10th win, Ivan Rodriguez and Hillendbrand both homer Panthers win 5-2. |
| Game #4: | J Weaver goes 6 innings Damon homer Giants win 6-3. |
| Game #5: | A exciting 10 inning game with Panthers taking a 9-8 win. |
| Game #6: | C.C. Sabathia gets 12 win Guillen 3 run homer in fifth sealed win foe Panthers |
| Series Summary: | Iowa fought hard winning two games against this Panther team was acceptable. |
Winnipeg Goldeyes @ Flora-Bama Mullets |
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| Series Preview: | The cold water Goldeyes swim south to battle the warm water Mullets. |
| Game #1: | Pitchers duel between Pavano and Ramirez. Gonzalez rbi double in the 4th and a Lopez pinch hit homer in the 8th gave the Mullets the victory. Flora-Bama 3-0 |
| Game #2: | Lopez’s two run homer in the 2nd was all Moyer needed. Mark Grace‘s solo in the 6th was one of only two hits given up by Moyer over 8 innings. Flora-Bama 6-1 |
| Game #3: | Piazza, Ross and Huff all homer in a blowout. Wolf went seven for the win. Flora-Bama 9-3 |
| Game #4: | Goldeyes put up a four spot in the 5th on three hits and lots of luck. Ross tripled with the bases loaded in the 6th to make it a one run game. Harvey slapped a rbi single in the 7th for some breathing room and Cordero picked up a two inning save. Goldeyes 5-3 |
| Game #5: | An error by Cirillo in the 7th allowed the Mullets to break a 1-1 tie. Flora-Bama 3-1 |
| Game #6: | Piazza’s rbi single in 1st and Vizquel’s sac fly in 5th was all Moyer needed. Berkman’s error in the 7th was the only blemish on Moyer’s complete game. Flora-Bama 3-1 |
| Series Summary: | Winnipeg could have used the all-star break at the 81 game mark. Most of their outfield was wornout and they needed the lite hitting infielders to provide coverage much of the series. The Mullets took advantage to win the battle of the fishes 5-1. Moyer won both games he started and only gave up one earned run over 17 innings. |
California Quakes @ Houghton Penguins |
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| Series Preview: | The worst teams in the American League, the California Quakes and Houghton Penguins, battle it out for bragging rights and becomes one of the early betting favorites for the top draft pick in the upcoming draft. The Penguins welcome the Quakes to the Colony with temperatures scheduled to be around a high of 12F with light snow, ice fog, and a brisk 20 mph wind blowing in during the afternoon games. Perfect Penguin baseball weather. |
| Game #1: | Houghton jumps out to a 3-0 lead through 3 and continues to steamroll the Quakes 12-4. The Penguins crank out 20 hits led by Shawn Wooten and Pat Burrell each going 4-5. Albert Pujols went 2-4 with 2 HRs, 3 Runs, and 5 RBIs. WP: D. Oliver (4-7) LP: C. Moss (4-5) SV: Hackman (1) (3 Innings)Homeruns: Houghton: Pujols (2) |
| Game #2: | The Quakes’ Robertson and Penguins’ Benson turn the second game into a pitcher’s duel. Shawn Wooten hits a clutch 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the 6th inning to give Houghton the only runs they will need to win as Kris Benson and 2 relievers combine on a 3-hitter and win 3-0. Benson went out after 6.1 with an injury and will miss the next series. WP: K. Benson (3-7) LP: J. Robertson (3-11) SV: Ramirez (2) |
| Game #3: | Houghton pitchers gone wild as they walk 8 batters and hit one on the way to a 5-3 loss to the Quakes. The Penguins’ Ted Lilly continues his historic run at the worst pitching record in team history with another loss. Nothing much interesting to report from either team. WP: B. Duckworth (5-9) LP: T. Lilly (2-13) SV: C. Politte (5) |
| Game #4: | As the Penguin fans sit in 23F degree ice fog, they are treated to extra innings as their home team Penguins go down 5-4 in 11 innings. To add insult to injury, Chone Figgins strikes out as a pinch hitter, goes into the outfield and then is injured for this series and the next. The cold is not helping the Penguins who are considering a move to South America. Ben Broussard hits 2 Homeruns for the Quakes. Jeff Kent goes deep into the fog for the Penguins. WP: M. Corey (1-1) LP: E. Ramirez (1-9) SV: C. Politte (6) |
| Game #5: | Houghton’ ace Mark Buehrle takes the mound and brings back a win for the Penguins in a 7-1 game. Buehrle improves to 8-7 for the worst team in the league. John Patterson is going the opposite direction for the Quakes and falls to 1-8. No team hit any homeruns. It was just another sloppy game in the mud. WP: Mark Buehrle (8-7) LP: J. Patterson (1-8) |
| Game #6: | Houghton takes the final game of the series 6-3. Darren Oliver wins his 2nd game of the series. Damian Moss taken his 2nd loss. Jeff Kent does the damage for the Penguins again goes 3-4, 1 2B, 2 HR, 3 Runs, 4 RBI. WP: D. Oliver (5-7) LP: B. Moss (4-6)Homeruns: California: Teixeira Houghton: Kent (2), Burrell |
| Series Summary: | Houghton wins the series 4-2. This may be their first series win this year. Nobody can tell, the official files have all been frozen in the caves beneath the stadium. We will find out in the spring. |