[Questdog]

Friday, August 31, 2001

Syracuse Sycamores (77-56 .579 1.5 GB in 2nd place in the Northern Division) at
Jacksonville Jays (44-87 .336 30 GB in 8th (last) place in the Southern Division)

SYR: Jim Hosack (29-R) (1-0 1.00 ERA 9 IP, 6 H, 0 HR, 3 BB, 4 SO) Rookie vs.
JAX: Mackie Reed (29-R) (6-10 4.78 ERA 147 IP, 174 H, 17 HR, 51 BB, 58 SO)

This will be Hosack's 2nd Major League start. His 1st was a CG 6 hitter where he only allowed 1 run.

Reed is 0-6 in his last 7 starts. The only one he did not lose, he only faced 1 batter. He gave up 6 runs on 9 hits and 2 walks and with strikeouts in 3.1 innings last time out.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
SYRACUSE
1: 2B Bill Crystal (27-S .229-279-9-33-.653-17-B+) ex-Jay
2: CF Frank Bates (29-R .274-508-26-74-.851-30 C) All-Star
3: 1B Don Bruns (31-R .308-438-9-57-.800-7 C+)
4: C Lee Dean (28-L .254-390-9-54-.746-0 C)
5: LF Jeff Garrigus (32-R .245-503-16-62-.736-19 A)
6: SS Buddy Elliott (31-R .267-333-6-41-.724-1 B)
7: RF Dave Bess (25-R .241-469-4-50-.643-6 B+)
8: 3B Sal Esquivel (33-R .201-324-11-50-.602-4 B+)
9: P Jim Hosack (29-S .250-4-0-0-.500-0 B) Rookie

JACKSONVILLE
1: SS Leander Gooding (30-R .278-281-0-26-.670-13 B)
2: RF Joe Roberts (30-L .300-430-1-41-.714-28 B)
3: LF Cal Doty (24-L .277-499-2-44-.699-17 B+)
4: C Garrett Bender (27-R .256-297-5-39-.698-0 B+)
5: 1B Tony Becerra (32-L .237-350-13-40-.684-5 A+)
6: CF Danny Stewart (30-L .221-86-0-11-.552-2 C+)
7: 2B Frank Roadman (26-R .213-366-5-29-.570-34 B)
8: 3B Bobby Scrogham (25-R .221-122-1-7-.621-3 C) Rookie
9: P Mackie Reed (29-R .163-43-1-3-.521-0 D+)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Connie Mack Stadium
Weather: 76 F, Partly Cloudy, with a 7 MPH wind blowing out to right
Attendance: 4,745

Top of the First:
Bill Crystal, the ex-Jay, who was scheduled to be our cleanup hitter before he developed a bad personality this Spring and was traded to Syracuse for CF Danny Stewart, swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses! Frank Bates grounds out to 2nd. Don Bruns grounds a hit to right. Lee Dean doubles off the wall in center and Bruns scores... 1 to 0, Sycamores. Jeff Garrigus flies out to right.

Bottom of the First:
Leander Gooding swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to center. Joe Roberts swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses... Gooding steals 2nd. Cal Doty walks on 4 pitches. Garrett Bender swings at a 3-1 pitch and clears the bases with a double down the left field line and ends up on 3rd!! 2 to 1, Jays! Tony Becerra flies out to deep right and Bender tags up and scores. 3 to 1, Jays! Danny Stewart swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to the pitcher...

Top of the Second:
Buddy Elliott and Dave Bess lead off with back to back hits and the Sycamores have runners at the corners with no outs. Sal Esquivel grounds into a force at 2nd, 5-4, and Elliott scores. 3 to 2, Jays. P Jim Hosack lays down a bunt and beats it out for a hit... Bill Crystal takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4 to load the bases up with 1 out... Frank Bates grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and Esquivel scores. Tie Game: 3 to 3.

Top of the Third:
Lee Dean swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to center. Jeff Garrigus swings at the first pitch and doubles to right... The Bullpen is up. With the infield in, Buddy Elliott swings at the first pitch and grounds a hit up the middle and both runners score... 5 to 3, Sycamores. The next three make outs.

Bottom of the Third:
Leander Gooding walks on 4 pitches and then steals 2nd and then goes to 3rd on a deep fly ball. Cal Doty swings at a 3-2 pitch and flies out to deep center and Gooding trots home. 5 to 4, Sycamores.

Top of the Fourth:
Bill Crystal grounds a hit to center. The Bullpen is up. P Mackie Reed is tied for the team lead in wins with the dearly departed Victor Espinoza (36-R), but he cannot get anybody out anymore.... Pia! A train ticket! A wild pitch sends Crystal to 2nd. The next three make outs! Yes, I still want the train ticket. He has given up 9 hits and 5 runs for goodness' sake!

Bottom of the Fourth:
With 2 outs, Frank Roadman lines a hit to left center and then steals 2nd. Bobby Scrogham grounds a hit up the middle and Roadman beats the throw home! Tie Game: 5 to 5!

I look at the sheet to see who is available to pitch in relief today and I see RP Barry Finney (26-R) listed.... Pia! I though we bought him a train ticket yesterday! Turns out she did buy him a train ticket but, I never gave it to him... We will rectify that tonight....

Bottom of the Fifth:
On the Hill: Pete Graham (32-L), after getting the final out of the 4th. Leander Gooding swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds a hit to right. Joe Roberts grounds into a force at 2nd, 3-6. Cal Doty pops one up to shallow right that everyone stands around watches drop for a hit! Garrett Bender lines a hit to left center and Roberts beats the throw home! 6 to 5, Jays! The next two make outs.

Bottom of the Seventh:
With 2 outs, Cal Doty beats out an infield hit, but is hurt.... He dove in head first and 1B Don Bruns whacked him real hard on the back with the tag.

Top of the Ninth:
On the Hill: Bill Grant (30-L), after two scoreless innings. The Bullpen is ready to go. Top of their order up. Bil Crystal strikes out on 3 pitches! Frank Bates swings at an 0-2 pitch and lines a hit to center. Don Bruns takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4.... Lee Dean, a lefty and the reason P Grant was not pulled, swings at a 3-2 pitch and lines a hit to right and Bates beats the throw home.... Tie Game: 6 to 6. Call to the Bullpen: Gary Adamson (35-R). Junior Danielson (30-R) is in to play short in a double switch. Leander Gooding moves to 2nd. Jeff Garrigus is pulled down. PH Octavio Garcia (25-S), who was 2 for 5 with a run and an RBI yesterday, strikes out! Okay, we are on to the bottom of the 9th! What? Only 2 outs? Crud.... I sure just jinxed it.... Buddy Elliott, 4 for 4 on the day, clears the bases with a double over the 3rd base bag.... 8 to 6, Sycamores. Dave Bess swings at a 3-2 pitch and flies out to deep center.

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Ron Hutchins (30-R), their All-Star closer, with 20 SV and a 1.43 ERA in 75.2 IP. Bobby Scrogham grounds a double over the 3rd base bag! Junior Danielson grounds a hit to right! Leander Gooding grounds into a force at 2nd, 6-4, and Scrogham scores. 8 to 7, Sycamores. Gooding steals 2nd! Joe Roberts takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. LF Mike Volkman (33-L) hits one to deep right! But it is caught... Gooding tags up and goes to 3rd. A wild pitch, please! Garrett Bender rips a liner back through the box, but P Hutchins spears it somehow...

Lost - 8 to 7

We are officially eliminated from the pennant race.

We had 10 hits and made no errors
Syracuse had 15 hits and made no errors

Mackie Reed went 4 innings, allowed 5 runs, 9 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. He threw a WP.
RHP Roger Wallace went 2 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 2.
LHP Bill Grant (L 4-3, BS 4) went 2.1 innings, allowed 3 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk and struck out 3.
RHP Gary Adamson got 2 outs and gave up a hit and struck out 1.

Jim Hosack went 3.2 innings, gave us 5 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks and struck out 3. At bat, he had a hit.
LHP Benny Martineau (W 5-8) pitched a perfect inning with 1 strikeout.
RHP Ron Hutchins (SV 21) went 1 inning, gave us 1 run, 2 hits and 1 walk.

SS/2B Leander Gooding had 2 hits and a walk, stole 3 bases, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. LF Cal Doty went 2 for 2 with a walk, scored a run and had an RBI. C Garrett Bender had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had 3 RBI. 3B Bobby Scrogham had 2 hits with a double, scored a run and had an RBI. PH Frank Wendell drew a walk, but got caught stealing. SS Junior Danielson had a hit in his only at bat.

For Syracuse, C Lee Dean had 3 hits with a double, scored 2 runs and had 2 RBI. SS Buddy Elliott went 5 for 5 with a double, scored a run and had 4 RBI.

Trudy's report on Cal Doty is a bruised back that should bother him for about a week.

By the way, opponent pitchers hit .250 in August with 10 runs scored and 8 RBI in 76 AB. They are hitting .231 on the season....