A 'must win' if there ever was one, with a twist or two along the way...
FRONTIER LEAGUE GAME 3
Chicago (Richard Cox 0-1 1.80)
@
Columbus (Will Cannon 0-1 8.10)
Both starters work through the first 2 innings pretty easily. Cannon perfectly and Cox around a 2 out walk to Gomez in the 1st and a leadoff single to Schall in the 2nd that is erased on a 6-4-3 by Griffin. 0-0 after 2 full, Coz at 28 pitches, Cannon 22.
Feliz singles, steals 2nd and scores on a Gutierrez RBI single in the 3rd.
Cox gives up a leadoff double to McDermott but clutches up and retires the next 3, to hold the 1-0 lead into the 4th.
A 3 up 3 down 4th for us and Gomez singles to start the bottom half. Moves to 2nd on an Eric Hudson passed ball. Cox gets Strong to pop up, and then punches out Schall looking. Working very carefully, not caring if he walks him Cox screws up big time and Griffin drills a game tying double. Cox then drills Jesus Sanchez but gets McDermott to ground out to end the 4th, 1-1. (FWIW if any of you OOTP guys are reading this, the “Pitch Around” needs to be seriously changed. I would tell you, and it obviously depends on the pitcher, but if I pitched around 100 hitters about 90 of them would be walks, maybe less depending, but not many. Think of it as an unintentional intentional walk. It would be a GREAT place for good pitchers to do better than bad ones, and for undisciplined hitters to make outs when good hitters with good eyes, would walk.
With 1 out in the 5th Paul Riggs draws a walk… Eric Hudson singles and Riggs goes to 3rd.
Hudson takes off and an errant throw into center allows Riggs to walk home, Hudson continues on to 3rd.
On a 1-2 count Ernesto Gutierrez slams a 2 run homer to make it 4-1 Iron Pigs. Chartier then singles but Collins and Alexander go quietly.
With 1 out Brian Lambert singles. Jeffrey Hudson flies out and Angelo Gomez walks after Lambert steals 2nd. Cox pitches carefully, too carefully, to Strong and walks him to load the bases. He misfires on the first pitch to Schall and the wild pitch scores Lambert to make it 4-2.
2 pitches later Schall lines a ball down the right field line that bounces off the top of the wall, into the stands for a 3 run homer and a 5-4 Columbus lead…..
Cox gets Hall and McDermott to start the 7th.
At 115 pitches it’s a night for him as he goes (6.1-6-5-3-6). Torres comes in and gets the last 2 after drilling Jeff Hudson.
Torres starts the 8th, and gets Schall swinging. Griffin then doubles and van Bodegraven comes on to face the right Sanchez. He gets him on a 6-3 and Pennington comes in for the lefty McDermott and he goes 3-1 to end the 8th. Onto the 9th trailing 5-4 and possibly being down 3-0.
Dixon PH’s for Lorenzelli and grounds out to start the 9th. Clipper closer Ivan Lopez is in the game.
Raul Feliz singles bringing Paul Riggs to the plate. Ron Miller is called on to PH, given his outstanding eye and ability to get on, not being able to sac here I need a runner.
He ground to second leaving Eric Hudson with the tying run at 2nd, 2 outs.
OMG! OMG!
Hudson lines a ball right at RF Michael Griffin who clanks it! Feliz comes around to tie the game! And Hudson rolls into 2nd standing. Ernesto Gutierrez is now up….
And he grounds out on the 1st pitch to end the 9th, all tied up 5-5.
A fatigued Dave Winston enters the game to pitch to PH Haqverdi Hamidov and hopefully Lambert, both righties. He gets them, and with all my lefties spent walks Hudson and gets Gomez on a FC to end the inning. I have few options to go a long time, will have to resort to a starter next if this drags out, but this is as ‘must win’ as it comes. I don’t think I have the SP to win 4 straight.
Alexander drills a 2 out single but Wes Morgan k’s to end it. 5-5 bottom 10.
Winston gets them in order in the 10th, onto the 11th tied at 5.
Angel Lopez drills a 1 out single but Hudson grounds back to the pitcher to end the top of 11.
Winston clutches up huge, getting Sanchez, McDermott and Myers in a perfect 11th. To the 12th tied at 5.
A leadoff single by Gutierrez, and Chartier bunts him over. Hugh Collins comes to the plate….
And drills a double to right center, plating Gutierrez with the go ahead run, Cruz is up and warming!
Bill Alexander follows with a single to right center, Collins motors home to no throw, 7-5 Chicago….
Cruz on to close it out….
Lambert ground to first for one out.
Hudson hits the second pitch he sees for a 6-3.
And Cruz punches out Angelo Gomez on an 0-2 fastball, looking, to end it!
CHI 7 COL 5
W Winston (1-0) L Dejesus (0-1) S Cruz (3)
HR CHI Gutierrez (2) COL Schall (3)
Columbus leads the series 2-1
COASTAL LEAGUE GAME 3
Pittsburgh (Tomas Villanueva 0-1 0.75)
@
Tulsa (Antonio Rodriguez 0-0 4.05)
Ony Kamyshinsky drilled a solo HR in the bottom of the 2nd to put Tulsa up 1-0.
Pittsburgh answers quickly. Ross Tunstall hits a 2 run homer to put the Bulldogs on top 2-1, and Jose Cabral singles in Sanders and Morales for a 4-1 lead after 3.
Ambrose Cox gets 1 back in the 4th with an RBI single, 4-2 Pittsburgh after 4.
In the top of the 5th Jose Cabral hits an RBI double (he’s 3-3 with a double and 3 RBI’s), 5-2 in the 5th.
Game stayed 5-2 into the 6th when Ross Tunstall got his 4th hit of the game and Ken Sanders followed with another post season HR, to make it 7-2 Dawgs after 6.
7-2 Pittsburgh after 7.
Bottom 8 7-2 Pittsburgh, Tulsa goes quietly. To the 9th Bulldogs by 5.
Kris Wright has just homered (2-4 2B HR RBI) to make it 8-2.
PIT 8 TUL 2
W Villanueva (1-1) L Rodriguez (0-1)
HR PIT K Wright (2) Tunstall (2) Sanders (2) TUL Kamyshinsky (1)
Pittsburgh leads the series 3-0