1999 AMERICAN LEAGUE WILD CARD ROUND
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| PREVIEW – It’s a wildcard series between two familiar foes as the Hounds visit the Quakes in a battle of AL West rivals. The Quakes held the 13-9 advantage in the regular season and hold a definite pitching advantage in this one. It was played over Zoom and was a collegial affair! |
| GAME #1 – Scott Elarton 4-4 (4.07) vs. Paul Abbott 8-2 (3.13)
The Quakes jump out to a 3-0 lead in the 2nd inning, with singles from Nomar Garciaparra, Matt D. Williams, a double by John Olerud and a 2-RBI single from Gerald Williams. This is all that Paul Abbott would need, as he cruises through six innings, and Ramon Martinez and Brad Clontz do the rest. There were no homers in the game. Mike Sweeney doing his best to play himself out of playing catcher ever again, commits two errors allowing extra bases on steals. This allows California to extend its lead out to 6-0. California scatters 13 hits, including 3 from Nomar Garciaparraand two from Tim Salmon, Gerald Williams and Damian Miller. The game was never really in doubt as the Quakes take this one, 6-0. Final Score: CAL 6 – CRK 0 Win: Paul Abbott 1-0 (0.00) |
| GAME #2 – Kenny Rogers 14-11 (4.77) vs. Ron Villone 15-7 (3.23)
The Hounds have their backs up against the wall, and they are sending The Gambler, Kenny Rogers, to the mound to see if he can hold off the Quakes. Kenny does just that. He pitches a masterpiece, allowing just 2 hits and one walk over a complete game shutout, facing just 31 batters. He could do no wrong. Ron Villone pitched well for California, but not well enough. He allowed 2 runs over 6.2 IP. Barry Bonds was the offensive hero for Castle Rock, getting 3 hits (2 doubles) and a walk. The Hounds offense did just enough to win the game, scoring a single run in the 6th, 7th and 8th. And, while Mark Sweeney managed to commit another error, it did not impact the team. Final Score: CRK 3 – CAL 0 Win: Kenny Rogers 1-0 (0.00) |
| GAME #3 – Dustin Hermanson 15-10 (4.93) vs. Alex Fernandez 15-7 (2.93)
We are in the decisive Game 3, and Castle Rock sends Dustin Hermanson to the mound to face off against Alex Fernandez. Once again, California has the pitching advantage on paper. But, Hermanson, is motivated by Rogers’ showing, and decides to one-up him. Hermanson goes 9 full as well, facing just 30 batters, allowing just 3 hits and 1 walk. When it was a 1-0 game, Jermaine Dye manages to throw out Luis Castillo at home after Castillo lead off the inning with a triple. This preserves the 1-0 lead for Castle Rock. Castle Rock adds a couple more and then explodes for three runs in the top of the 9th off of Trevor Hoffman and Danny Graves. Both J.T. Snow and Dave Hansen provided homers for the Hounds. The final is 6-0, Castle Rock, a reverse of Game 1. Final Score: CRK 6 – CAL 0 Win: Dustin Hermanson 1-0 (0.00) |
| SUMMARY – After winning Game 1, the Quakes are unable to plate any runs over the last 18 innings of the series, as Kenny Rogers and Dustin Hermanson combined to hold California scoreless in back-to-back games. This came out of nowhere, as both pitchers had regular season ERA’s north of 4.70. The Hounds offense did enough to get the W’s.
Congratulations to George on a great season in a very tough division. Castle Rock is looking forward to the next round and feels like it is playing with house money at this point! |