MAX 0, STL 6 F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
MAX 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
STL 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 1 0
W – Morris (1-0) L – Franklin (0-1)
While it’s still too early to talk about big wins, this one must certainly feel good for the Cardinals. After getting shut out for two straight games, the St. Louis faithful saw their Redbird bats come alive, led by Larry Walker who homered twice (and was also intentionally walked twice). Bite mark covered Matt Morris pitched seven strong against the hapless Bombers, while reliever Russ Springer finished the last two innings almost flawlessly. It’s still too early to seriously be looking at standings, but this gives the Cardinals an early leg up when it comes to gaining tie breaker advantage. Things definitely are not so bright for the Maxions, who have lost two straight and have looked remarkably like their disastrously bad Season Five selves. Although Ryan Franklin’s performance was less than satisfactory, the offense seems to be the main cause of concern moving forward. 2B Jeff Kent in particular has struggled mightily, seeming to either strike out or ground out into a double play in every at bat. Former Cy Young winner Andy Pettite takes the mound next for the Bombers, but he will need some run support to help turn the ship around.
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AXN 3, QEY 4 F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
AXN 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0
QEY 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 0
W – Spooneybarger (1-0) L – Garces (0-1) Blown save - Garces (1)
This was an exciting one in Queynos. After a scoreless four inning pitching duel between Kerry Wood and Matt Morris, the Darkpaws struck first with an RBI double from Mike Cameron, his first RBI of the year. However the response was immediate; Geoff Jenkins notched his first homer in the bottom side of the inning, good for two RBIs. The lead jerked back to the Darkpaws when Brian Jordan hit a two run homer of his own in the seventh. Kerry Wood held the lead in the sixth and seventh; when the eighth rolled around, the Alyxian manager Gorrister had to decide which reliever to dial up. Komiyama and Hasegawa had looked shaky their last two appearances; Myers and Carter both have low control and wouldn't be ideal against the heart of the Warrior batting order. This was the logic for bringing in the veteran Rich Garces, who proceeded to give up an RBI double to Warrior first baseman Sean Casey. With two outs and the speedy Frank Catalonotto on third, 3B Edgardo Alfonzo stepped up to the plate. Garces delivered a breaking ball that Alfonzo looped out to center field. Despite it not being too deep, the Warriors made the decision to have Catalonotto to test Ken Griffey Jr.'s arm and tag. The throw was a good one, but came just a shade too late, allowing the Warriors to score the winning run. All Star Tim Spooneybarger dominated the Alyxian offense for three innings, not allowing any futher fluctuations in the lead. A good win for the Warriors, which will put them close to the top of Division 1 by the end of Series 2 and, more importantly, get their Division record off to a good start. For the Darkpaws however, you can feel a sense of desperation in the air after three losses and three bullpen meltdowns. Rumor has it that they are starting to look at free agents and potential trades, with the Red Clay Aces mentioned as a possible trade partner. Whatever they decide to do to upgrade the bullpen, it will require several moving pieces to fit perfectly for something to work; they have no wiggle room with their current roster adding up to 5000 points exactly. Points will need to be freed up by cutting from somewhere...
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TEN 6, TYC 1 F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
TEN 4 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0
TYC 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
W – Ishii (1-0) L – Trachsel (0-1)
Steve Trachsel struggled in his first performance as a Tycoon. He was rocked in the first by homeruns from Green Sox power bats Jorge Posada and David Ortiz. Trachsel had problems for the next five innings he pitched, although he only surrendered one more run in the fourth. Green Sox starter Kazuhisa Ishii, on the other hand, pitched well through seven innings, having trouble only in the fourth and seventh innings. He was aided by a solid defensive performance that was able to convert every double play opportunity that came along. Jorge Posada homered again in the seventh, which was more than enough for reliever Danny Paterson to pitch the last two innings and seal the win. After the game, the Ghost of Mao's reaction was muted (literally), but expressed the same dissatisfaction with his team's performance thus far that he had after their first two wins. The Green Sox, on the other hand, now sit atop Division 2 and have won two straight after losing to the Bobians on opening day. Next matchup will present their number 4 starter going up against the formidable Z Slayer offense.
Steve Trachsel struggled in his first performance as a Tycoon. He was rocked in the first by homeruns from Green Sox power bats Jorge Posada and David Ortiz. Trachsel had problems for the next five innings he pitched, although he only surrendered one more run in the fourth. Green Sox starter Kazuhisa Ishii, on the other hand, pitched well through seven innings, having trouble only in the fourth and seventh innings. He was aided by a solid defensive performance that was able to convert every double play opportunity that came along. Jorge Posada homered again in the seventh, which was more than enough for reliever Danny Paterson to pitch the last two innings and seal the win. After the game, the Ghost of Mao's reaction was muted (literally), but expressed the same dissatisfaction with his team's performance thus far that he had after their first two wins. The Green Sox, on the other hand, now sit atop Division 2 and have won two straight after losing to the Bobians on opening day. Next matchup will present their number 4 starter going up against the formidable Z Slayer offense. 
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