Series 6 Finale!

TYC 9, MEL 2 F

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
TYC	4	0	0	4	0	0	0	1	0
MEL	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0

W – Trachsel (2-1)                   L – Redman (1-2)

So apparently the Tycoons had failed to score a single run for four games straight - because they were saving them for this game. They jumped all over Marauder starter Mark Redman right from the get-go; a rally in the first yielded RBIs from both Giambi brothers, Fred Mcgriff, and Joe Mauer, all of whom had been on a very cold streak. The Tycoons unleashed another fury in the fourth, culminating in an Edgar "I'd Like to Rent a Ria" Rentaria grandslam, his first RBI's of the season. Tycoon starter Steve Trachsel had his best performance of the season, going six innings and only having trouble in his last inning of work when he gave up a two run homer to Brandon Larson, his third of the year. After Buddy Groom covered the middle innings for the Marauders, Cliff Politte took the mound and had his second straight disappointing performance, surrendering a homerun to Jason Giambi and narrowly working through the rest of the game unscathed. Chuck Knoblauch also had three stolen bases for the Tycoons. This win keeps the Tycoons in second place, while the Melmegetians fall back a game out third place. The Tycoons will at least have some momentum heading into next series against the Z-Slayers. Dr. Vindaloo's Marauders have a golden opportunity to pick up some wins next week against the struggling Darkpaws.  

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LIN 1, MMD 2 F/12

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
LIN	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
MMD	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1

W – Foulke (1-1)                   L – Karsay (2-2)

A true pitching duel from the get-go, with both pitchers looking dominant. Esteban Loaiza did get out of a bases loaded jam in the second, but otherwise cruised through the Meow Meow Dui lineup, looking very strong until the seventh, when he surrendered a run in the form of a Ryan Freel RBI single. Kenny Rodgers was equally magnificent, only giving up a handful of hits until a Lindsyan mini rally yielded an RBI single from Rondell White, his eleventh RBI of the year which ties him for second place in the entire league. It’s been good for the Lindsyans that he’s picked up the offensive slack as of late, since Manny Ramirez has significantly cooled off after looking like an MVP candidate early in the season. He was 0-2 with runners in scoring position in this game. Despite the no-decision, both starters pitched a gem of a game and very deservedly earned their league leading third quality start of the season. Loaiza, who despite having 3 quality starts, still holds a 0-0 record. The game progressed to the later innings with the score tied at one, and both teams turned the game over to their respectively spectacular bullpens. Kevin Gregg went three strong innings for Coach Taklamente’s club, while Steve Karsay continued his strong season by mowing down Meow Meow Dui batters for four innings. Keith Foulke entered the game in relief of Gregg and pitched a very strong top of the 12th. In the bottom of the inning, Karsay attempted to start his fifth inning of work, but allowed the leadoff man on base. That leadoff man eventually came around to score off a Mark Ellis single (his first RBI of the year), tagging Karsay with the loss despite another great performance on his part. His two losses both reflect valiant efforts thwarted in a manner such as this. This is a tough pill to swallow for the Lindsyans, who had a golden opportunity to pick up some ground against the elite teams of Division 1. But things are not all looking down for the Jerky Queen;  they have one of the easiest schedules in the league for the next several series. They will next face off against the hapless Bombers, then go to Alyxia to face the struggling Bombers, before finally taking on the Tenbil Town Green Sox. Jerky Queen should surely expect to come out of these six games with a winning record and hopefully up a notch or two in the standings. As for Meow Meow Dui, this win certainly cements them as one of the three elite teams in Division 1. Things look good for this first year team if they can just keep ahead of the Lindsyans and Queynos Warriors down the stretch, although surely Coach Taklamente is aiming for his team to capture the Division Championship. His team next faces the Green Sox; the week after will be a long awaited Divisional series against the Spartans of Bobia.
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QEY 0, BOB 5 F

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
QEY	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
BOB	0	0	4	0	1	0	0	0	0

W – Glavine (2-0)                   L – Morris (0-1)

Both teams were trying to keep pace in this one: the Spartans trying to keep their step ahead of the Z-Slayers and Meow Meow Dui, while the Warriors trying to not fall too far behind in Division 1. Both starters were sharp early, but Warrior Matt Morris ran into trouble first. The Bobians batted around in the bottom of the third with the big hits coming in the form of a Juan Pierre RBI double and an Edgar Martinez 2 RBI double. Morris ran into trouble again in the fifth and was pulled before the close of the inning. Credit to Mike Timlin and Tim Spooneybarger for four innings of keeping the Bobians off the board. In his second career appearance, Tom Glavine SS almost repeated his incredible performance in his first start, throwing four 1-2-3 innings and only surrendering 4 hits through eight innings. During that time, the Warriors got runners in scoring position only three times throughout the game, and three times they were all stranded.  Glavine faltered for a moment in the eighth, when the Warriors strung together a couple of hits, most notably Edgardo Alfonzo's second double of the game. But a very nifty play by Luis Aparicio lead to a double play that killed that rally. Glavine again had problems in the ninth, loading the bases with only one out. This time the Spartans could not turn the double play to end the game, despite a plea from Charles "Last Ditch Effort CJ" Johnson to the umpire about interference. When the umpire dismissed Johnson's request, the crowd held their breath as Edgardo Alfonzo stepped to the plate, who was easily the Warriors best hitter this series. Glavine kept his cool, and struck out Alfonzo to complete the win, shutout, and sweep. Next up the Warriors have the displeasure of taking on yet another Division leader, the Red Clay Aces. The Spartans face off against the wily Cardinals, which have looked like a different team in nearly every game they've played.