OOOOOK, I've been busy trying to work through one important thing, preparing for other important things, and also other crap, so let's do two games today, two tomorrow, and get truckin' on this bad boy again. Sorry for all the delays, but this silly jive had to take a backseat.
The Dukes of Earl 13, Reganomics 3
The Dukes of Earl lead the series, 2-1
WP: Mike Cuellar (1-0) ... LP: Scott Erickson (0-1)
HR: Frank Robinson, DoE (3) ... Boog Powell, DoE (2) ... Paul Blair, DoE (1) ... Harold Baines, R (1)
Summary: The '95 Birds took a 2-1 after the first inning, but the Dukes got after Scott Erickson in the second frame. Erickson got two of the first three batters out (Davey Johnson doubled in between), but then all hell broke loose. Buford was given the free pass, Belanger made them pay with an RBI single, Frank scored Buford with a single, Powell walked, Merv Rettemund: DH singled in two more, and then Blair doubled in another pair. 7-2 Dukes.
It was 13-2 into the ninth, when Harold Baines hit a rally-killing two-out solo homer to make the game 13-3. Cuellar went the full nine, allowing six hits, walking two, and striking out five.
The Dukes of Earl 11, Reganomics 9
The Dukes of Earl lead the series, 3-1
WP: Jim Palmer (3-1) ... LP: Armando Benitez (1-1) ... SV: Dick Hall (1)
HR: Frank Robinson, DoE (4) ... Davey Johnson, DoE (1) ... Merv Rettemund, DoE (1) ... Rafael Palmeiro, R (2) ... Jeff Manto, DoE (3)
Summary: Another fast start, with the game tied at two after one. Rettemund led off the fourth with a solo shot, and Buford scored Blair on a fielder's choice later in the inning. The '95 club struck back in the bottom of the inning for four runs, with Barberie driving in Kevin Bass and Palmeiro hitting a three-run homer.
Frank led off the fifth with his fourth home run of the tournament, making it 6-5. Davey put the Dukes of 7-6 with a two-run shot in the sixth inning. The seventh saw the Dukes take the lead for good, piling on four nickel-and-dime runs to go up 11-6. Jeff Manto's three-run shot in the bottom of the inning made it a game again, but Dick Hall closed it out to give the Dukes a 3-1 series lead.
Davey's Goliaths 4, The Richards-Harris Express 2
The Richards-Harris Express lead the series, 2-1
WP: Jesse Orosco (1-0) ... LP: Billy Hoeft (0-1) ... SV: Randy Myers (4)
Summary: In a 2-0 hole heading home, the '97 Birds faced a must-win in game three, with scheduled game four starter Scott Kamieniecki bumped up thanks to scheduled game three starter Scott Erickson having to throw four innings of relief in the 20-inning game two marathon.
Kamieniecki pulled a mini Derek Lowe and stepped it up big, giving the Goliaths five strong innings before turning it over to the bullpen, with his team trailing 2-0. Davey's bullpen shut the Express down the rest of the way, and they dinked in two runs in the sixth to tie it up. In the bottom of the eighth, Geronimo Berroa doubled in Robbie Alomar, and with two out, Cal was clutch and made it a two-run lead by scoring Berroa. Randy Myers notched his tournament-leading fourth save to get the Goliaths back into the series.
Davey's Goliaths 3, The Richards-Harris Express 2
Series tied, 2-2
WP: Mike Mussina (2-2) ... LP: Chuck Estrada (1-1) ... SV: Randy Myers (5)
HR: Jackie Brandt, RHE (1) ... Mike Bordick, DG (2)
Summary: Ace Mike Mussina stepped into game four to try and even it up, and even though Jackie Brandt solo homered in the first, that's just what he did. Mussina went six, giving up two earned on three hits with a walk and five Ks. Mike Bordick's second-inning, two-run home run was the difference in the game. I guess technically the difference was Bordick's fourth inning RBI single. Either way, all the runs came off the bat of the No. 9 hitter. The '97 O's couldn't hit Estrada (3 H in 6 IP) but did work 10 walks off of him.
The Oatesimate Warriors 4, The Advantageous Advancement of Altobelli 1
The Oatesimate Warriors lead the series, 2-1
WP: Rick Sutcliffe (2-0) ... LP: Mike Flanagan (0-1)
HR: Brady Anderson, OW (1) ... Leo Gomez, OW (2)
Ed-die! Ed-die!: Eddie went 0-for-3 with a walk. The team is 0-2 when Eddie doesn't get a hit this tournament. He has singlehandedly won almost all their games, anyway. Eddie's now hitting .552 (16-for-29) with seven homers and 18 RBIs.
Summary: Rick Sutcliffe gave up a run in the first inning and made a promise on the mound from that point forward he wouldn't suck so bad. He went the rest of the way allowing just four more hits, and holding Eddie Murray in check with his destructive glare. He struck out seven and walked two.
Gomez tied it at one with a third inning homer, and the go-ahead runs were scored on Brady's two-run shot in the sixth. Billy Ripken blooped in Chris Hoiles in the eighth for insurance. When asked if he wanted the closer to finish it out, Rick Sutcliffe threatened to eat Johnny Oates' arm should he signal to the bullpen.
The Oatesimate Warriors 9, The Advantageous Advancement of Altobelli 4
The Oatesimate Warriors lead the series, 3-1
WP: Alan Mills (1-0) ... LP: Storm Davis (1-1)
HR: Eddie Murray, AAA (8) ... Chris Hoiles, OW (2)
Ed-die! Ed-die!: Eddie's team is a game away from elimination, but he did what he could, going 2-for-4 with a solo homer. He's now hitting .545 (18-for-33) with eight home runs and 19 RBIs.
Summary: The Warriors pounded out four runs in the bottom of the second, but a Disco Dan Ford triple and a Cal Ripken single made up for three of them in the top of the third. Badass Chris Hoiles smoked a two-run homer in the third, though, putting the Warriors up 6-3.
Eddie did his job with a home run in the fifth, cutting it to 6-4, but the Warriors poured on three more in the eighth to seal the deal. The '83 champs are now on the brink of elimination. There's only so much a man can do.
Devil Ray's Team 8, The Bauer-y Boys 5
Devil Ray's Team lead the series, 3-0
WP: Arthur Rhodes (1-1) ... LP: Eddie Watt (1-1) ... SV: Mike Timlin (2)
HR: Cal Ripken Jr., DRT (4) ... Mike Bordick, DRT (2) ... Albert Belle, DRT 2 (2) ... Jeff Conine, DRT (2) ... Frank Robinson, BB (5) ... Boog Powell, BB (6)
Summary: Srsly, WTF? The '99 team is just slugging past the '66 champs. Boog hit a three-run homer in the first inning and it mattered not at all. Albert Belle ended his power outage with his first two homers of the tournament, and I just don't know how to explain this.
The hero, though, was not Belle. Heading into the bottom of the eighth, the '99 club was down 5-4. The '66 champs got Bordick and Baines out to start the inning. Belle walked, Surhoff singled, and Conine scored Belle on a single. Then Ripken came up.
Two out, tie game, bottom of the eighth. Dick Hall in to face Ripken. Three run shot down the left field line. 8-5 for Ray Miller's inexplicable, improbable Cinderella bums.
Is it...over?
The Bauer-y Boys 8, Devil Ray's Team 3
Devil Ray's Team lead the series, 3-1
WP: Wally Bunker (1-1) ... LP: Jason Johnson (0-1)
HR: Andy Etchebarren, BB (1) ... Boog Powell, BB (7) ... Davey Johnson, BB (1)
Summary: Kinda feel bad that Boog, who is now keeping pace with Eddie in homers, doesn't get his own section. He just didn't jump out so ridiculously.
Anyway, NOTHIN'S OVER. This one was a cakewalk; the '99 team scored two of their three in the eighth and nobody went yard, so they couldn't win. Davey Johnson had three hits.