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QUARTERFINAL ROUND October 22-24, 2004 |
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The Force took a 1-0 lead in the top 1st of Game 1 when Michael Ryan (who had two homers in Second Round action) struck again, lifting the first pitch he saw from Nessmen starter Carl Pavano. into the stands in right-center for a two-out solo shot. Ryan would later leave the game in the top 3rd with a Cup-ending injury. Pavano ran into more trouble in the top 5th, walking Richie Sexson and Jason Varitek to start the inning. Then Gerald Laird fumbled Force starter Sidney Ponson's sac bunt attempt to load the bases with nobody out. Jose Vidro grounded into a double play to plate Chicago's second run, and Bill Mueller followed with a two-out triple to make it a 3-0 game. In the top 6th, Alex Rodriguez hit a leadoff single and Luis Gonzalez hit a fly to left that Reggie Sanders dropped. Magglio Ordonez then lined an RBI single to center to increase the Force lead to 4-0. In the top 8th, the Force made it a 5-0 contest when Gonzo hit a leadoff homer to end Pavano's stint and bring in Mike Neu. Ordonez greeted Neu with a single, and Sexson followed with a two-run blast to left to make it 7-0. Raul Mondesi beat out an infield single two batters later, and after Vidro ground into a force, Mueller brought Vidro home with a two-out double for Chicago's final run. The Nessmen saw a glimmer of hope in the bottom 8th when Brian Boehringer replaced Ponson (who had thrown seven innings of four-hit ball) after the latter suffered a Cup-ending elbow tweak, and Brooks Kieschnick and Kenny Lofton led off with singles, but Carlos Guillen grounded into a DP and Gary Sheffield grounded out, and the Force went on to an 8-0 whitewashing. The Nessies got off to a flying start in Game 2, as Lofton hit a leadoff single off Jake Peavy, stole second and advanced to third on Mark Johnson's throwing error, and scored on a Guillen RBI single to give L.A. a 1-0 lead. The Force grabbed the run right back in the bottom frame, as Tike Redman hit a leadoff single off Eric DuBose, moved to second on a Vidro grounder and scored on a Brian Jordan RBI single. The Nessmen retook the lead in the top 4th when Sanders hit a two-out solo homer, but the Force tied the game again in the bottom 6th as Johnson hit a one-out single and scored on a two-out RBI pinch-double by Gonzo. It was still 2-2 in the bottom 8th when Gonzo and Vidro started the frame with back-to-back singles off Mariano Rivera. Enrique Wilson laid down a sac bunt to move both into scoring position, and Rivera gave A-Rod a free pass to load the bases with one out for Sexson. Sexson watched as Rivera missed the strike zone four times in a row, then calmly jogged to first as Gonzo came across home plate as the go-ahead run. The Force failed to score another, leaving the bases juiced, but Force reliever Matt Mantei came on to pitch in the top 9th and struck out Sanders, Adrian Beltre and Ken Griffey in order to give the Force a 3-2 win and a sweep of the Nessmen to advance to the Semifinal Round. G1: FOR 8 @ NES 0 G2: NES 2 @ FOR 3
Game 1 saw the Cardinals take a 1-0 lead in the top 1st when Randy Winn led off with a single off Miguel Batista, Tino Martinez walked and Bobby Abreu hit an RBI single before an out had been recorded. The Quicksteps evened the score in the bottom 4th, as John Burkett plunked Jose Guillen with one out, Aubrey Huff doubled and Bernie Williams hit into an RBI ground out. The Steps took a 2-1 lead in the bottom 6th on a one-out solo homer by Ryan Klesko, but the Cards matched the run in the top 7th when Moises Alou and Wilson Delgado hit back-to-back doubles with one out. Burkett was still pitching in the bottom 8th when Placido Polanco hit a leadoff single and Guillen singled two batters later to put the potential go-ahead run in scoring position. Mike Remlinger came on in relief for the Cards, and Huff slapped his second pitch up the middle for an RBI single to give Wilmington the lead. Derrick Turnbow pitched a scoreless 9th to nail down the save, and the Quicksteps had a 3-2 victory. Game 2 looked to be another low-scoring affair, as Steps starter Zach Day threw seven innings of three-hit ball and Cards starter Matt Kinney pitched 6.2 innings of shutout ball himself, as Wilmington squandered several excellent scoring opportunities, stranding 12 men over the first eight frames. In the top 9th, Remlinger took the hill for his second inning of work, and the Steps' Erubial Durazo hit a leadoff double. Pinch-hitter Julio Franco drew a walk one out later, and Remlinger was pulled in favor of Billy Traber. Jose Guillen grounded Traber's first pitch through the hole on the left side to load the bases, and Huff then hit into an RBI grounder for the second out, plating Durazo to register the first run of the game. Williams was intentionally walked, and then the floodgates opened. Todd Hundley hit a two-run single to make it 3-0. Traber threw a wild pitch to Julio Lugo on a 1-2 count, then walked him intentionally to reload the bases. Pinch-hitter Chris Michaels walked to force in another run. Hector Mercado was brought in to pitch and walked Durazo on four pitches to extend the lead to 5-0. Polanco singled to make it 6-0. And Franco jerked a 1-0 Mercado offering over the fence in left-center for a grand slam to cap a 10-run inning. The Steps' Phil Norton pitched the bottom 9th, walking Jose Leon with two out and the bases loaded to break up the shutout, but Chris Magruder then flied out to left, and the Steps had a 10-1 win and a ticket to the Semifinal Round. G1: CAR 2 @ QUI 3 G2: QUI 10 @ CAR 1
Game 1 was a tight contest until late in the ballgame. The Crown Royals took the lead in the bottom 3rd, as A.J. Pierzynski hit a one-out double off David Wells and Alex Escobar followed with an RBI single. Miguel Tejada hit a two-out single to keep the inning alive, and Joe Vitiello came through with an RBI double to give the Royals a 2-0 advantage. Royals starter Roy Oswalt took a four-hitter into the top 7th, but Casey Blake hit a one-out double and Juan Encarnacion hit a two-out RBI single to cut the lead in half at 2-1. And so it stayed until the bottom 8th, when Wells issued a leadoff walk to Rafael Palmeiro and Travis Driskill was brought in to relieve. Tejada singled and Frank Catalanotto hit an RBI double to make it a 3-1 game. Andruw Jones then hit a grounder to first, and Bulldogs first baseman Derrek Lee was late to the plate as Mike Lamb (running for Tejada) came across to extend the lead to 4-1. Tony Batista followed with an RBI single to chase Driskill and bring in Denny Stark, and pinch-hitter Karim Garcia took Stark deep down the right-field line for a three-run homer to put the game out of reach, as the Royals went on to an 8-1 victory. The Royals jumped in front early in Game 2, as Andruw Jones hit a solo homer off Mike Hampton with one out in the top 1st to start the scoring. Toronto made it 3-0 in the top 4th when Todd Greene delivered a two-out, two-run single. The Bulldogs got back into the game in the bottom 4th, as Derrek Lee drew a leadoff walk from Jamie Moyer, Manny Ramirez singled to move Lee to third and Chris Woodward hit a sac fly to give Chicago its first run. But in the top 5th, Batista, Moyer and Luis Castillo started the inning with singles to load the bases for the Royals. Hampton struck out Jones for the first out, but Escobar hit a two-run single to make it a 5-1 game. Palmeiro then hit a grounder to second, the Bulldogs again chose to go home with the throw, and again they failed to catch the runner at the plate. Hampton then walked Tejada to reload the bases, and Steve Sparks was brought in to try to contain the damage. Catalanotto grounded into a force at home for the second out, but Todd Greene laced a two-run single into left to give Toronto an 8-1 cushion. The Bulldogs eked out a run in the bottom 5th on an RBI grounder by Sparks, but they managed just two more hits over the final four, as the Royals went on to a 9-2 win to earn passage to the Semifinal Round. G1: BUL 1 @ CRO 8 G2: CRO 9 @ BUL 2
The most hotly contested series in the Quarterfinal Round saw the Finns, champions of the Senior Circuit, battling the Meat Possums, who had to win in the Relegational Series just to keep their spot among the Seniors for '05. Game 1 saw the Possums take a 2-0 lead in the top 2nd as Manhattan starter Jarrod Washburn and center fielder Carlos Beltran delivered RBI singles with two out against Woody Williams. The Finns halved the lead in the bottom frame on a leadoff homer by Jim Edmonds off Washburn. In the bottom 3rd, Mark Loretta hit a leadoff single, Edgar Renteria followed with a walk and Sammy Sosa drew a one-out walk to load the bases. Dmitri Young ripped a two-run single to give the Finns a 3-2 lead, and Brook Fordyce followed with a single to add another run. Williams went on pitch perfect ball for the next four innings to maintain the lead, but in the top 8th, the Meat threatened against Aquilino Lopez when Albert Pujols hit a two-out single and Matt Lawton followed with a grounder that handcuffed Renteria to put the potential tying run aboard. It was for naught, as Lopez then struck out Greg Myers to end the frame, then pitched a 1-2-3 top 9th to give the Finns a 4-2 victory. Back in Manhattan, the Possums took a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom 1st of Game 2, as Beltran hit a leadoff single off Darrell May, Rich Aurilia hit an RBI double and Larry Walker followed with an RBI single. The lead was short-lived, as the Finns started the top 2nd with a leadoff double by Edmonds off Hideo Nomo, Sosa hit an RBI single and Dave Ross jacked a two-run homer to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead. But the Possums answered in the bottom 2nd, as Troy Glaus drew a leadoff walk, moving to second on an Alex Cora grounder and advancing to third on a passed ball before Nomo drew a walk to put men on the corners with one out. Beltran hit a sac fly to tie the game, and Aurilia cranked a 1-0 pitch over the wall in left-center to stake the home team to a 5-3 lead. Both starting pitchers were gone by the 3rd inning, and in the bottom 3rd, Finns reliever Paul Abbott got two quick outs before Mike Sweeney lined a double down the left-field line. Abbott then walked Glaus, and #8 hitter Cora was given a free pass to load the bases. The Meat sent Tomas Perez to the plate, the Finns countered by pulling Abbott for Jose Acevedo, the Possums saw that move and raised it by bringing Perez back to the bench and sending Robb Quinlan in his place, and Quinlan delivered a clutch two-run single up the middle. Possums' reliever Matt Roney gave up a leadoff single to Keith Ginter in the top 4th, but that would be the last hit the Finns got in the game, as five Manhattan relievers combined to shut down the Finns over the final six innings to protect a 7-3 win and send the series back to St. Louis. The visitors grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top 2nd of Game 3 as the Possums' Sweeney drew a leadoff walk from John Thomson and Aurilia followed one out later with his second homer of this series. It was the only hit Thomson would allow, as he was pulled for a pinch-hitter in the bottom 3rd. The Finns cut the lead to a single run in the bottom 4th against Wilson Alvarez, as Barry Bonds, Sosa and Young hit consecutive one-out single, with Bonds scoring on Young's hit. Alvarez was pulled after D'Angelo Jimenez hit a single to start the bottom 5th and Chad Moeller was sent to the plate as a pinch-hitter. The Meat brought in Travis Harper, and the Finns pulled Moeller back in favor of Brad Fullmer, who singled to put men on the corners. Loretta then hit into a 6-4-3 DP, but Jimenez scored on the play to tie the game at 2-2. Both bullpens held firm, and the game headed into extra frames. In the top 10th, the Finns sent Jason Marquis to the hill, and he lasted just one batter as Beltran hit a leadoff single. Lopez came in to pitch, and Lou Merloni sacrificed to move Beltran into scoring position for Walker. Walker slapped a 2-2 pitch between first and second for a single, and Beltran raced home with the go-ahead run. The Possums held their breath as they sent Eddie Guardado back to the mound in the bottom 10th and Renteria hit a leadoff single to bring the meat of the Finns' order to the plate. Bonds popped out harmlessly in foul territory and Sosa hit a grounder back to the mound to move Renteria into scoring position with two out. That left it up to Dmitri Young, who grounded out to second to end the Finns' Cup run and send the Meat Possums into the Semifinal Round with a 3-2 victory in 10 innings. |
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