Both pitchers start strong, early omens looked poor for BRK's first playoff appearance. A-Rod reached base in the first, only to be ignominiously picked off by Carpenter and then Jason Bay jumped on the first pitch of the 2nd inning to give Austin an early lead. BRK manufactured a run in the 3rd to tie it up, Alou drove in one in the top of the 4th to answer. A-Rod answered with his own leadoff home run in the bottom half. Brandon Webb was great the rest of the way - he went the distance, allowing only 2 hits and a walk after A-Rod's bomb gave them the lead for good. Ian Kinsler went yard to tack on an insurance run and BRK takes a 1-0 series lead.
Final score: 4-2 BRK
Game 2 Lowe vs. Mussina
BRK jumped out to an early lead, and put the game away with a 5th inning grand slam from Ian Kinsler. Mike Mussina pitched even better than Webb - throwing another complete game, giving up a lone run and striking out 9. Derek Lowe was gone in the second, while Austin emptied the bullpen before finally closing out a 14-1 loss in game 2.
Final Score: 14-1 BRK
Through 2, Bobby Abreu (.429 AVG) and Jason Bay (1 HR) were the only Assassins making any noise. Feared slugger Lance Berkman was still in search of his first hit. A-Rod (.700, 1 HR) Reyes (.750, 1 TR, 1 DO, 3 SB) and Kinsler (2HR 6 RBI) were the offensive stars for Brooklyn. Mussina and Webb appeared to be staking out early claims for series MVP.
Down 2 games Austin returns to the spacious confines of Assassin Park. After a 14 run outburst in game 2, Austin pitching is looking forward to the deep outfield fences.
game 3 - Schilling vs Willis. Webb and Mussina do a number on Austin hitting in games 1 and 2 allowing few hits and only 1 walk. Austin lived on a high OBP with key hits during the regular season. Prior to the game manager Bob Boone urges the team to be more patient at the plate and play their game. This appears to work as Austin loads the bases on walks in the top of first. With two outs catcher Dave Ross steps to the plate and crushes one over the left field wall for a 1st inning grand slam. Austin leads 4-0 after one. Zimmerman drives in Alou in the 3rd to send Austin up 5-0. With two outs and two on in the bottom of the 4th, Ross steps to the plate and drives a fly ball to RF tht Rivera drops for an error plating another run. Austin up 6-0 after 4. With 2 outs in the 6th, back to back doubles by Manny and Tex put Brooklyn on the board. Kinsler follows with a single to plate Brooklyn's second run of the game and Austin brings in Chad Qualls to stop the bleeding. In the bottom of the seventh an Izturis leadoff triple followed by a Bay double gets one back. Austin up 7-2 after 7. Qualls gives up one in the 9th, but stays in to finish the game and picks up the save for Schilling. Austin wins games 3 by a score of 7-3.
Brooklyn leading series 2-1. Webb vs Carpenter rematch. Austin has struggled against Webb both in the regular season and losing game one 4-2.
Game starts off as the expected pitcher's duel. After 2, Brooklyn has 1 baserunner on a walk and Austin's lone runner was an Alou double. In the 3rd, Pudge goes yard for a solo shot and a 1 run Brooklyn lead. Game goes scoreless until the 5th. Playing in to cut off a potential bunt hit by Reyes backfires as he swings away for a leadoff triple. One out later, Pudge drops a bunt down the line to score Reyes and Brooklyn is up 2-0. Webb scatters 2 hits and 3 walks over the last 5 innings and the vaunted Austin offense is shut out. Brookly takes a 3-1 lead in the series.
Rubbing salt into the wound, Maicer Izturis pulls a hammy running out a ground ball and will be lost for the next 15 days. Now I get to play Biggio with poor defense and a useless bat against righties. What else could go wrong?
Brooklyn leads series 3-1. Mussina vs Lowe rematch.
Brooklyn opens with 3 singles and a sac fly to go up 2 after 1/2 inning. Not looking good for Austin. In the 3rd, a Ross double and a single by the light hitting Biggio put Austin on the board, down 2-1. In the 4th, Berkman gets his first hit of the series when he drives a Mussina fastball over the right field wall for a solo shot, tying the game 2-2. Alou steps to the plate and takes a mighty swing, but the ball is a slow roller to short that most runners would beat out for a hit. When the dust clears, Alou is seen still standing in the batter's box nursing a sore ankle. Out for 4 days. A Zimmerman double, ARod error, Ross single, and Kinsler error lead to two more Austin runs in the inning. Austin leads 4-2 after 4. Abreu with a solo shot in the seventh stretches the lead to 5-2. K-Rod comes in in the 8th and shuts down Brooklyn for two innings. Austin wins the game 5-2.
Brooklyn leads series 3-2. Back to Brooklyn for game 6. Still alive.
Game 6 Burnett vs. Glavine (Willis having been taken out and shot)
Series returns to Brooklyn with the Blow Monkeys holding a 3-2 lead. Facing a must-win game with the so-far-dominant Webb available in Game 7, but with two key offensive players unavailable (Alou and Izturis) Austin turned to Burnett, while lefty Tom Glavine suited up for the first time for Brooklyn.
Both starters were on short leashes and were gone early. Joel Zumaya came in for Brooklyn in third and promptly allowed two of Glavine's runners to score but then threw up 4 scoreless. Qualls returned the favor in the fourth - allowing a double by Teixeira to drive in Burnett's runner and tie the game. Teixeira came around to score a go-ahead run on Benoit's watch. Cla Meredith closed out the game for Zumaya, with an insurance run from A-Rod.
Final score 4-2
BRK Takes the series in 6. Many thanks to Gary for an excellent run and good humor during what must have been trying games. Hitting .182 as Austin did is no way to win a series.
