W - Pavano (2-2) L - Piniero (1-1)
MMD: Pavano: CG (4), ER
Piniero: 5 IP, 7 ER
MMD: Zaun: 2-4, HR (4), 2B, BB, 3 RBI (17)
MMD: Chavez: 3-5, HR (9), BB, 2 RBI (20)
MMD: Williams: 3-5, HR (1), RBI (6)
In a game with very little meaning, both teams send their ace pitchers to the mound, both of which happen to be former CY Young award winners. While MMD starter Carl Pavano looked like a Cy Young winner from the get go, former Zachrian Joel Piniero stumbled right out of the gate, getting whacked by Eric Chavez for a two run shot, his tied for the league leading ninth of the year. The MMD struck again in the third, when catcher Gregg Zaun crushed a Piniero fastball to deep center, bringing home three more runs. Piniero managed to limp through the fifth inning, but only after a small rally tacked on another two runs, one thanks to a Bernie Williams solo shot and a Scott Hatteberg RBI single. On the other side of things, Pavano pitched one of his best games of the year, only really getting into trouble in the sixth when Alyxian Omar Vizquel knocked in a run. Otherwise Pavano went the distance, pitching nine strong innings with relative ease against the Darkpaws pathetic offense. MMD is playing some of their best baseball right now, especially with an offense that is considered one of the hottest in the league. Combine that with an always deadly pitching staff, this team is in tip top shape for their playoff run. In their most recent four game win streak, they have outscored their opponents 25-7, lead by the very hot Eric Chavez and Gregg Zaun. At this point they will most likely be the number 3 seed in Division 1, but they can still sneak into the number 2 spot and secure home field advantage with another win and a Bobian sweep of the Z-Slayers.
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MEL - 9 TEN - 1 F
W - Moyer (2-2) L - Beckett (3-1)
MEL: Moyer: CG (1), ER
TEN: Beckett: 6 IP, 8 ER
MEL: Jeter: 3-4, 2 HR (3), 4 RBI (9)
MEL: McGriff: 4-5, HR (3), 3 RBI (13)
MEL: Rolen: 3-5, HR (4), 2 RBI (11)
Although the Marauder's playoff hopes were killed a long while ago, this game found their opponents in the midst of a desperate playoff push. The game started off with two veteran dueling aces, stalwarts Jamie Moyer and Josh Beckett, both coming out of the gate rather strong. The Green Sox drew blood first in the third thanks to clutch hitting from Edgar Martinez Jr., his tenth RBI of the year. But Dr. Vindaloo's Marauders answered back with two bombs; Fred McGriff taking Beckett deep for three in the fourth and then Scott Rolen tacking on another two in the fifth with a long ball of his own. The Marauders were not finished though; shortstop Derek Jeter delivered yet another blow when he dropped a three run bomb in the sixth. He would go on to add a solo shot in the ninth. As for Moyer, he navigated through the very dangerous Tenbil Town lineup but did not give up any more runs. He seemed to get better as the night went on and dominated in the last third of the game, earning his first complete game of the year. Although Josh Beckett had not pitched all that bad in this game, he made three big mistakes that resulted in eight earned runs and easily his worst start of the season. It couldn't have come at a worse time for the Green Sox. In theory, the Green Sox can still lose their next game and make the playoffs (with two Maxion losses) but obviously a win in their last game would be a big help to their cause. As for the Marauders, I think someone forgot to tell them that they have been eliminated. The usually moribund offense has uncharacteristically outscored their opponents 20-1 over the past two games.
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LIN - 4 QEY - 3 F/13
W - Orosco (1-0) L - Spooneybarger (1-1)
LIN: Beckett: 7 IP, 3 ER, QS (4)
QEY: Mulder: 7 IP, 3 ER, QS (5)
LIN: Cirillo: GW RBI (8)
LIN: Mientkiewicz: 2 2B, RBI (8)
QEY: Catalanotto: 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI (11)
In a game with almost no meaning for either team, Queynos starter Mark Mulder stumbled badly out of the gate, surrendering a three run rally before recording a single out. The big hit came in the form of a bases loaded double from Lindsyan slugger Rondell White. Mulder did settle down after that and actually cruised through the next seven innings with relative ease. Although Mulder will in all likelihood not make the all star team, he did a very solid job this season of heading up the Warriors rotation. The same could be said for Lindsyan Josh Beckett, who was equally strong in his last start of the year. Instead of stumbling at the beginning of his evening, Beckett surrendered a three run rally at the end of his. The always clutch Frank Catalanotto lined a shot into the left centerfield gap and brought home two runners in scoring position. Two batters later, Sean Casey singled and brought Catalanotto home to tie the game. The began a battle of bullpens. For the Lindsyans, Steve Karsay pitched two strong innings before handing things over to Braden Looper who kept the Warriors off the board for three innings. After Looper, Lance Painter pitched two scoreless innings of his own. As usual, the Lindsyan bullpen lived up to its reputation as one of the better in the league. For the Warriors, Mike Timlin pitched one inning and was followed by a four inning performance by Sean Lowe. The always solid Tim Spooneybarger took over in the top of the 12th and pitched shutout baseball, but things didn't go that way in the 13th. After a lead off single by Brian Roberts, leadoff man Shannon Stewart doubled and Roberts wisely held at third with nobody out. He was brought home by a single from the next batter, Jeff Cirillo. Lindsyan reliever Jesse Orosco earned his first win of the year by finishing the bottom of the thirteenth. With this win, the Lindsyans guarantee a fourth place finish in Division 1. Unfortunately that's not a playoff spot, but with a win in their final game they can finish the season at .500. Oddly enough, a finish at 11-11 might have been good enough to have won Division 2, to put things in perspective. As for the Warriors, they are only playing for pride at this point (and to avoid the dishonor of finishing last).
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