BOB 8, TYC 0 F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
BOB 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 4
TYC 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
W – Burkett (2-0) L – Lopez (0-1)
Both streaks continue for the Bobians: a five game win streak as well as an eight game quality start streak. Through the first five innings both pitchers worked in and out of trouble, most notably with Albie Lopez picking up a clutch triple play to stop the bleeding at one run in the second inning. The top of the Bobian order manufactured a run in the fifth thanks to excellent baserunning as always from Juan Pierre and a clutch hit from Luis Aparicio. Then stepped up to the plate the hottest bat in the league, wielded by none other than Ichiro Suzuki. He then proceeded to crush his second homerun of the year and rack in his seventh RBI of the season. That puts him in the top ten for the entire league, but remember, he was not on the Bobian roster for the first couple of series. The Bobians went on to double their score in the ninth when reliever Luther Hackman had a meltdown in only his second appearance of the season. John Burkett did not surrender a single run through six, the veteran following up his very good first start against the Maxions with an even more impressive performance. With the departure of Jamie Moyer, Burkett now leads the team in starts, wins, and quality starts. Reliever Rollie Fingers entered the game and pitched two solid innings before giving way to the always solid Buddy Groom who wrapped up the ninth. After the game, commentator John Kruk had the following to say: “This game was eerily similar to the Bobians last contest against the Darkpaws: a very close one in the early innings, but broken wide open in the later innings. There is one key difference here. We are talking about a win over a first place team, not just the Darkpaws. I think that’s really impressive.” Impressive indeed, but the Tycoons have to be very disappointed with their performance here. All three Tycoon pitchers (Lopez, Ryan, Hackman) struggled at one point or another, and the offense just looked totally impotent. There were a few opportunities when a runner made it into scoring position, but absolutely no follow-through to speak of. No comment came from the Tycoon management; despite being in first place in Division 2, this is a team that has come under a barrage of criticism from fans and the media as of late. With the prospect of facing Tom Seaver in enemy territory, the Tycoons have a tough fight ahead of them in Game 2.
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TEN 6, QEY 7 F/11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8______9_____10____ _11
TEN 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 2
QEY 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
W – Lowe (1-2) L – Foulke (0-2)
When you are building a team, the obvious strengths to focus on are hitting and pitching. Lately there has been a trend to renew focus on fielding and defense, but there is a further dimension to teams that often get overlooked, and that is baserunning. Throughout the season, any given team has games that are won or lost due to their ability or inability to run the basepads effectively. This is a skill that the Warriors have employed effectively since Game 1, and really came into the spotlight in this one. In the top of the first, Warrior Cliff Floyd hit a double with runners on first and second; Carlos Guillen scored easily from second, but thanks to very smart running, centerfielder Ellis Burks was able to make it home all the way from first. Floyd hit a solo homerun in the third, which was followed up by a Frank Catalonotto single. Catalonotto then advanced to second on a steal, and then was able to score when first basemen Sean Casey singled. Although these were all excellent calls and execution from the Warriors, the Green Sox have to be disappointed given that this was the first game for catcher Brent Mayne, a defensive upgrade who was supposed to stop things like this from happening. Things were looking very comfortable for the Warrios, but their 4-0 lead was cut in half when starter Jimmy Haynes surrendered a 2 run double to Jorge Posada. The coaching staff considered going to the bullpen in the sixth, but made the mistake of sending out Haynes again; he allowed the tying run home on a two run homerun by Green Sox thirdbaseman Adrian Beltre, who has been batting very well of late. Thus it became a battle of bullpens, for which both teams got nervous: The Green Sox because their bullpen was quite frankly exhausted after a 14 inning marathon against the Aces and the Warriors because most of their losses have come from bullpen snafus. The late innings of regulation were relatively tame, with relievers Tim Spooneybarger and Paul Shuey taking care of business for their respective team. When the Green Sox pitcher Danny Graves finished the ninth without giving up any runs, the game went to extra innings. Fast forward to the top of the eleventh, where reliever Sean Lowe was booed vociferously by the hometown crowd by blowing yet another game; this time in the form of a 2 RBI triple to Omar Vizquel, his league leading third of the year. Heading to the bottom of the inning, the Green Sox turned to their closer Keith Foulke who was clearly exhausted after having pitched more than four innings last game against the Aces. This decision proved disastrous. Foulke struggled horribly, loading the bases with only one out. With no one else to turn to, Foulke remained on the mound. After walking in not just one run, but two, Frank Catalonotto put Keith Foulke and the Green Sox out of their misery with a rocket into the left field corner that ended the game. Both teams now sport a 3-5 record and are in fifth place in their respective division. Game 2 will be a huge matchup for the Green Sox, who desperately need first starter Joel Piniero to eat up some innings and give the bullpen some much needed rest. ----------------------------------------------------------
STL 16, ZSY 7 F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
STL 2 0 5 0 1 0 0 0 8
ZSY 3 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
W - Ankiel (1-0) L - D'Amico (0-2) S - Isringhausen 04 (2)
When you don't invest a whole lot into your number 4 starter, or a bullpen for that matter, you get games like this one. Tuldarian starter Jeff D'Amico struggled every minute of the 4 and 2/3s innings he pitched, giving up big hits to basically every hitter in the Cardinals lineup. His pitching opponent, Rick Ankiel, didn't fare much better in his painful five innings, with the big blow coming in the form of an Albert Pujols grand slam. Both starters might have been pulled earlier in this root canal of a game if it weren't for the state of both team's overworked bullpens. At the end of five, the Cardinals enjoyed a precarious 8-7 lead. But who knew that the Cardinals were only halfway done with their scoring. In the top of the ninth, they rallied for a season high eight runs, tearing through three different Z-Slayer pitchers. The offense was lead as always by Larry Walker, but this time he was supported by great performances by the top of the lineup, with Placido Polanco, Edgar Rentaria, and Orlando Cepeda all having multi RBI games. Jason Isringhausen 04 bizarrely earned his second save of the season, since he began pitching in the eighth when the lead was only 1 run. As for Game 2 of this series, we will see if the Z-Slayer All Out Offense model can redeem itself with a little bit more of a favorable pitching matchup when the very solid Kip Wells takes on Bud Smith. Although the Z-Slayers relievers are in slightly better shape, both teams bullpens are badly in need of rest and will really need a solid performance from their ace starters. 
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