Series 4 Part 3

STL 1, MEL 12  F

                1              2              3              4              5              6              7              8              9

STL         0              0              0              0              0              0              0              0              1           

MEL       5              0              5              0              0              0              2              0              0              

W – Redman (1-1)                   L – Morris (1-1)                 

It was open season on Cardinals starter Matt Morris, who was knocked around for 10 runs just through three innings, the worst starting performance thus far this season. Half of the runs came from a cha-cha line of base hits and walks with the bases loaded, while the other five were contributed by an Adam Kennedy double followed by a Scott Rolen three run homer. Morris was pulled in the third, which did not bode well for the already overworked Cardinals bullpen. That being said, the combined effort of Dave Veres, Russ Springer, and Jason Isringhausen finished the next six innings only surrendering two more runs. For the Marauders, starter Mark Redman was decent but not spectacular through seven, but still managed to keep the Cardinals off the board despite various opportunities. In the top of the ninth, the Cardinals were able to load the bases with nobody out, but only managed to score one run before the game ended. Doctor Vindaloo stated after the game that his Tikka Mesala party will only happen in the event of a sweep (to the strong disappointment of John Kruk). He also announced that Melmegetia Municipal Stadium will be unveiling a giant Shiva Nataraja statue just beyond the right-center field wall that will light up with actual fire whenever a Marauder hits a home run. For the Cardinals, things have been eerily and uneasily silent. The team’s general manager is currently managing from prison while awaiting trial, so it is unsure exactly what he is thinking. In any case, his team has been the most inconsistent in the league, looking like potential champions one day and helpless idiots the next. While they are tied for fewest homeruns in the league, they are the only team in which only one player, Larry Walker, accounts for all their team’s homers.

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ZSY 7, LIN 3  F

                1              2              3              4              5              6              7              8              9

ZSY         0              1              2              0              0              0              0              0              4           

LIN         0              0              0              3              0              0              0              0              0              

W – Rincon (1-0)                   L – Karsay (2-1)                 

Unbelievably, the Z-Slayers are now tied for the league lead in quality starts, although at the time of this writing they have played one game more than the Spartans of Bobia. This has been perhaps the biggest surprise of the season thus far; three members of the rotation (Kip Wells, Runelvys Hernandez, and Zach Day) are all having career years for a team that was expected to be near the bottom in terms of pitching. In this game Zach Day worked with a lead for most of the game after the Z-Slayers collected on a 3B Jeff Cirillo solo shot in the second and a 2 run top of the order rally in the third. Day surrendered three runs in the fourth, two of which came off of a Rondell White homer. Day left the game upon completing the six without giving up any other runs, which matched the effort put in by the crafty Lindsyan starter Esteban Loaiza, and surely delighted the Z-Slayer faithful. Loaiza also recovered nicely after trouble in the second and third, and looked just as good as he did when he faced the Bobians in his first start. The Z-Slayers must have been nervous when it became apparent that this game was going to be a test of bullpen strength; Tuldarian long reliever Ricardo Rincon entered in the seventh and pitched two excellent innings, but it wasn’t immediately clear who the Z-Slayers would be able to turn to next. For the JELLY QUEEN DREAM TEAM, the best reliever in the league thus far took the mound in the form of Steve Karsay. He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, but ran into trouble in the top of the ninth. With runners on first and second, Z-Slayer Carl Crawford brought both baserunners home with his first triple of the year. Following the big hit, Steve Karsay appeared to have an argument with his catcher Victor Martinez, as they apparently were mixing up signs. Karsay was visibly frustrated, and threw something of a tantrum in front of the whole stadium. But this didn’t resolve anything; Jack Wilson stepped up to the plate and Karsay threw his first pitch without bothering to follow his catcher’s signals. Wilson hit the high fastball all the way over the furthest point of the centerfield wall, adding another two runs to his team’s lead and another two RBI’s to his MVP-like STATS. Rincon pitched his third scoreless inning in the bottom of the ninth to earn the win. Overall a very tough loss for the JELLY QUEEN DREAM TEAM, the sweep by a division rival raising some questions about internal team morale. The Z-Slayers improve their division record to 2-1, and have scored four or more runs in five of their seven games. As stated earlier, the surprise performance by the pitching staff has made this a team to watch, but there are rumors that they are on the free agent market and actively looking for trades. Is there a possible GM assignment or coaching staff addition on the horizon as well?
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TYC 6, MAX 3  F

                1              2              3              4              5              6              7              8              9

TYC         0              1              1              0              3              0              1              0              0           

MAX       1              1              1              0              0              0              0              0              0              

W – Trachsel (1-1)                   L – Franklin (0-2)                 S – Kolb (2)                 

After a very disappointing first performance, newest Tycoon Steve Trachsel made his team very nervous in the early innings of this one. He walked away from a no out bases loaded jam only giving up one run in the first, thanks to very great defensive play. He was basically equally shaky for the rest of the game and was assburned twice by Richie Ashburn, who drove in two of the three Bomber points, in addition to notching his league leading sixth stolen base. Although Trachsel earned the win, he did not get the quality start because he was pulled at 5 1/3 innings after the speedy Delino “Delicious” Deshields reached scoring position.  For the Bombers, Ryan Franklin was his typically mediocre self; actually pitching well most of the game but making several huge mistakes that eventually cost the Bombers the game. He surrendered the first homeruns of the year to both Giambi brothers, who heretofore had been very quiet this season: Jason was a solo shot in the second inning, while the reigning MVP Jeremy Giambi took Franklin long for three RBI’s in the fifth. After that, the Tycoons never looked back. All Star reliever Shingo Takatsu entered the game and made the Bomber lineup look foolish for 2 and 2/3 innings. Danny Kolb got back on track after blowing the save in Game 1 of the series by going 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth. Interesting to note that this was the first game that the Maxion closer Mariano Rivera made an appearance in; he has not had a save opportunity yet. Six straight losses will do that to a closer.