I really needed some success after Laramie's brutal performance against HDT...
G1 - Carpenter vs. Johnson. Cy Young favorite Johnson was predictably dominant, allowing only 5 baserunners. However, 3 of those were in the 5th inning and Randa's single drove in a run. Meanwhile, the allegedly mighty SOS offense scattered their 7 baserunners and failed to score against Carpenter or Gonzalez. Elysian Fields won the opener 1-0. Also, Marcus Giles was injured and will be out until G5. Well, maybe that nasty playoff curse doesn't apply only to Laramie...
G2 - Beckett vs. Glavine. ELY jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, but the SOS offense finally awoke to tie it in the 4th. It stayed that way until the 8th, when Rincon provided no relief for SOS. He walked 2 and then allowed an RBI single to Mienkiewicz. That lead didn't last long as PH Branyan crushed one into the seats to start the bottom of the 8th. SOS got 2 more baserunners that inning, but Gonzalez stopped them. ELY went down 1-2-3 and with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th, Bagwell launched one just over the wall to win it 5-4 for SOS! Take that, playoff curse!
G3 - Thomson vs. Morris. The series moved to Elysian Fields and SOS teed off on Morris. I don't have the box in front of me, but I'm pretty sure SOS was up 7-0 by about the 5th inning on 4 or 5 homers. Thomson cruised along until the 7th when ELY started to show some signs of life. Their late rally brought the tying run to the plate in the 9th, but Dotel got a DP from Cabrera to escape. SOS won 7-4.
That's all for now. SOS is up 2-1 with the series scheduled to resume and probably conclude on Sunday.
Well, it's not over yet. G4 had a big rain delay...caused by me buying a car earlier than expected. However, the series is scheduled to resume and hopefully conclude on Tuesday. So Travis can sit back and enjoy his dramatic CLDS victory for a little while longer.
Elysian Fields and Soda Springs finally resumed their series tonight.
G4: Brown vs. May. SOS gambled here by passing over Johnson to start Kevin Brown. That would leave Johnson available for a rematch with Carpenter in G5, but it would also prevent the Big Unit from starting G7 if the series lasts that long. That decision looked good early as SOS jumped all over the hapless May in the 1st. After 1 out, May gave up 2-run homers to Werth and Saenz. He was quickly replaced with Eyre, who soon yielded a 2-run homer of his own to Edmonds. Mateo allowed a 7th run to score, but finally ended the inning. Okay, so this probably would have been a waste for Johnson. Brown made me nervous by allowing a leadoff single and then following the trend by giving up a 2-run homer to Abreu. However, he settled down after that and SOS won rather easily, 9-3.
G5: Johnson vs. Carpenter. Okay, so now SOS had Randy Johnson on the hill to close out the series. In case you've forgotten, the dude was 26-5 with a 2.61 ERA during the regular season. So there's just no way he can lose twice in one series. SOS wasted little time exceeding their G1 output against Carpenter. DeJesus doubled to lead off the game and scored after a Mienkiewicz GG error and a WP. It remained 1-0 until the 5th, when Randy's nemesis Randa had an RBI single. SOS quickly regained the lead on a Wilson RBI single. ELY threatened in the 6th, but Edmonds made a great throw to nail Sheffield at the plate. Would that be the difference in the game? Nope. In the 7th, Abreu walked, stole 2nd, advanced on a grounder, and scored on a fly ball by Joe Randa...of course! It went to extra innings tied at 2. ELY replaced Carpenter with Blowtallico and he struck out PH Hollandsworth. However, DeJesus walked and PR McEwing stole 2nd. Klesko hit a weak fly ball, but B. Giles drew a walk to bring up Edmonds. He hit a deep fly...but it was caught at the wall. Uh-oh, look who's leading off the bottom of the 10th...Joe Randa! Would SOS dare to leave Johnson in there? Yes, but Randy couldn't resist the opportunity to rid the world of his nemesis. After a 99-mile fastball to the head, Randa is out for 15 games! Mienky hit a weak grounder, but advanced the runner. That brought up Jamie Burke, who was only playing due to the Molina injury in G3. Would he make Johnson pay for killing his teammate? YES! He delivered with a huge RBI double! ELY wins 3-2 to stay alive in the series. Clearly these guys aren't impressed by the Big Unit mystique. Molina returns for G6 in SOS, but Randa certainly does not.
G6: Beckett vs. Glavine. The G2 matchup between these 2 wasn't decided until Bagwell launched one in the bottom of the 9th. This time, there would be considerably less drama. For the 3rd time in this series, the SOS bats teed off early and often. Brian Giles walked and scored on a Klesko double. After 1 out, SOS got a single and walk. DeJesus hit a fly ball to left that Cabrera misplayed into a SI+E that scored 2 more runs. A walk and HBP loaded the bases for Wilson, who cleared them with a triple! Atchison quickly allowed the inherited runner to score and loaded the bases again, but struck out Young to stop the bleeding at a mere 8 runs. Okay than, SOS obviously cruised to an easy victory. Well, it wasn't so easy. ELY took advantage of 2 errors to score a pair of runs in the 2nd. They added another run in the 3rd and it was 8-3. Edmonds drove in a run in the 5th, but Hollandsworth injured himself striking out. Luckily it was only for 2 games. Kent led off the 6th with a homer and 2 singles chased Glavine. Rincon relieved and more sloppy defense allowed 2 more runs to score. Uh-oh, it's 9-6 with 2 outs and the bases loaded. This is getting a bit scary now...but Cabrera popped up and the SOS fans breathed a huge sigh of relief. SOS tried to add an insurance run, but Young was thrown out at home. It didn't matter as Rincon shut down ELY the rest of the way and SOS did get a couple insurance runs in the 8th. Therefore, SOS clinched the series by winning 11-6.
Congrats to Jeff for a fine season and a hard-fought series. Elysian Fields deserves mad props for beating Johnson twice, but their non-Carpenter starters just weren't up to the challenge. I'll make Jack Wilson my surprise MVP for hitting over .400 at the bottom of the order with 5 RBI. The big bats all had a big hit or two, but their overall numbers don't look so good. Carpenter and Randa were the obvious heros for Elysian Fields.
