ZSY - 0 BOB - 2 F
BOB leads best-of-five series 1-0
W - Halladay (1-0) L - Wells (0-1)
BOB: Halladay: CG (1), 0 ER, QS (1)
ZSY: Wells: CG (1), 2 ER, QS (2)
BOB: Giles: 3-4, 2 2B, RBI (1)
BOB: Lowell: 3-4, RBI (1)
BOB: Aparicio: 2-4, 2 SB
It has been said that this series will be the real championship series, as the two best teams in the league face off for the Division 1 championship. This game did not disappoint and was very similar to the games played between these two teams in Series 12 during the regular season. A real pitcher's duel, Cy Young front runner Roy Halladay skillfully navigated through the Z-Slayers lineup, dominating especially in the early innings. Z-Slayers ace Kip Wells, also somewhat in the Cy Young discussion, also pitched an overall excellent game. He faltered however in the second inning, snake bit by a Marcus Giles double that drew first blood. However he settled down afterward and in the third inning managed to survive what has been called an "Aparicio triple", where Bobian leadoff man Luis Aparicio hits a single and then steals his way to third base. After an intentional walk to Travis Hafner, Wells was able to fly out Mike Lowell to end the inning. The Z-Slayers threatened in the fifth inning, with Jeff Cirillo hitting a leadoff triple. But with the heart of the Z-Slayer lineup failed to produce, with heavy hitter Albert Pujols grounding out on his own card. The Z-Slayers threatened again in the sixth, but Halladay got a clutch double play to quash that effort. Meanwhile the Bobian bats came alive in the seventh, with Mike Lowell atoning for stranding Aparicio in the third, this time with an RBI single. In the eighth inning, the pesky bottom of the Z-Slayers lineup put together a couple of hits but fell short of scoring when Luis Aparicio used his golden glove and proved why the Bobian defense is the considered the best in the league, turning a double play on runners Carl Crawford and Juan Pierre, perhaps the fastest one-two hitters in the league. In the top of the ninth, Halladay went through the 3-6 hitters of the dangerous Z-Slayers to shut them out and earn the W in Game 1. Game 2 will feature the matchup of Tom Seaver vs. Runelvys Hernandez. Seaver faced the Z-Slayers in Game 1 of Series 12, pitching a complete game and allowing 2 earned runs in the win. Hernandez pitched Game 2 of that series, going six innings and also allowing two runs. That was exactly his by-line against Meow Meow Dui in Game 2 of the Divisional Series, which he ended up taking the loss for.
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MAX - 6 TYC - 5 F
MAX leads best-of-five series 1-0
W - Lowe (1-0) L - Takatsu (0-1)
MAX: Pettite: 7 IP, 4 ER
TYC: Penny: 5 1/3 IP, 4 ER
MAX: Martinez: 3-4, 2 2B, HR (2), RBI sac fly, 3 RBI (4)
MAX: Kent: 2-4, HR (2), 2 RBI (5)
MAX: Ashburn: 2-4, SB (4), 2 R, 3B (2)
TYC: McGriff: 2-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (2)
The Bombers started off the game on the right foot; centerfielder Richie Ashburn tripled in the first at bat of the game and was then brought home two batters later with an Edgar Martinez sacrifice fly. Tycoon starter Brad Penny struggled in the second inning as well, giving up another run off the bat of Martinez, this one a solo blast to center field. The Bombers added yet another run
in the top of the third, extending their lead to three. Opposing starter and former Cy Young winner Andy Pettite didn't look very good early on either, and was the victim of a Tycoon four run rally in the third. Pettite survived the hell inning and pitched significantly better as the evening progressed, finishing strong in the seventh. Not so for Brad Penny, who could not protect the one run lead and was burned once more by a Richie Ashburn steal and a Edgar Martinez RBI. With a rather wild two thirds of the game behind them, both teams went to the bullpen. Bomber Sean Lowe entered in the eighth and pitched an uneventful inning; the same could be said for his Tycoon counterpart Shingu Takatsu. Come to the top of the ninth and both teams were thinking forward to extra innings. However, these thoughts were rendered unnecessary, thanks to a two run blast off the bat of Jeff Kent, his second homer of the postseason. It could not have been more clutch for the Bombers, giving them a two run lead into the bottom of the ninth. Lowe took the mound again in the ninth with the most dangerous part of the Tycoon lineup. After striking out both Giambi brothers, Lowe was taken deep by Fred McGriff, cutting the Bomber lead in half. Lowe ended the threat there, and retired the side with the next batter, getting the W in Game 1 and extending the Bomber's win streak to five straight games. Game 2 will feature the exciting pitching matchup of Roy Halladay against Randy Johnson.
