[Questdog]

Monday, September 1, 2003

We are in Charlotte to play the 1st place Hornets a short 2 game set. They swept the Mules in 3 games at Memphis over the weekend and have won 6 in a row. We are 4-5 against them on the season and won 2 of 3 the last time we visited. They are 3rd in scoring with 4.29 runs per game (Jacksonville is tied for #5 with 4.00). Scoring is down in the MLB this season. Overall scoring average: 2001: 4.11; 2002: 4.08; 2003: 3.94. Editor's Note: I thought I compensated enough for lowering the number of errors, but maybe not. I will study the issue this off season and maybe raise the errors a little. We did cut them quite a bit. Maybe a little too much. The Hornets are 6th in fewest runs allowed with 3.78 per game (Jacksonville is up to #8 with 3.94). Their run differential is +66, 4th best in the MLB, and ours is +8, 8th best.

Jacksonville Jays (66-63 .512 6.5 GB in 4th place in the Southern Division) at
Charlotte Hornets (73-57 .562 1 GA in 1st place in the Southern Division)

JAX: Del Warwick (28-L) (11-11 2.66 ERA 189.1 IP, 184 H, 13 HR, 51 BB, 105 SO) Gold Glove vs.
CHAR: Rick Cox (32-R) (16-7 2.32 ERA 201.2 IP, 172 H, 9 HR, 54 BB, 12 SO) Ace(01)/All-Star(3: 01-03)

Warwick gave up 3 runs on 13 hits and 1 walk with 5 strikeouts in 6 innings last time out in a loss. The 13 hits allowed tied the Jays team record by a starting pitcher, shared with 3 scrub pitchers from 2001.

Cox is their #1 starter. We faced the League leader in losses yesterday and we face the League leader in wins today. The leader in losses shut is out, so what will the leader in wins do to us? Well, we faced him once this year, in June, and he shut us out on 5 hits and 3 walks with 3 strikeouts. In his career, he is 7-1 in 9 starts against us with a 1.45 ERA. He is 7-0 in his last 11 starts.

Lineups: Pos Name (Age-Bats BA-AB-HR-RBI-OPS-SB DEF)
JACKSONVILLE
1: 2B Junior Danielson (32-R .292-144-0-7-.667-12 B)
2: LF Cal Doty (26-L .290-466-3-47-.732-28 B+)
3: RF Ray McDonald (23-L .304-474-11-68-.837-17 B+)
4: 3B Marty Eades (32-R .294-446-20-85-.862-2 C) All-Star
5: 1B Jack Washburn (21-L .243-354-9-36-.713-23 B)
6: C Bert Swope (31-S .208-212-0-22-.546-1 B)
7: SS Bart Daw (31-R .245-380-9-50-.667-37 B+)
8: CF Gary McKellar (33-R .229-144-3-12-.652-0 B)
9: P Del Warwick (28-L .185-54-0-3-.367-0 C) Gold Glove

CHARLOTTE
1: SS Harold Evans (24-R .290-293-0-23-.716-13 A)
2: 2B Jim Sabin (35-R .290-31-0-5-.710-0 B)
3: 3B Larry Davis (28-S .349-482-4-67-.849-13 B) Silver Slugger(01)/All-Star(01)
4: RF Terry Graham (24-L .200-110-3-13-.608-0 A)
5: LF John Hartz (38-R .266-271-4-28-.747-14 C) All-Star(01-02)
6: 1B Tom Morris (29-R .176-216-3-18-.549-0 B)
7: CF Gabe Valdez (31-R .249-394-7-44-.639-0 B)
8: C Larry Griffin (31-S .268-231-7-33-.751-1 C+) All-Star(02)
9: P Rick Cox (32-L .079-63-0-3-.205-0 F) Ace(01)/All-Star(3: 01-03)

Game Start: 7:05 PM
Ballpark: Charlotte Municipal Stadium
Weather: 71 F, Partly Cloudy, with an 8 MPH wind blowing in from right
Attendance: 16,570

Top of the First:
Junior Danielson grounds out to 3rd. Cal Doty lines a hit to right. Ray McDonald swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and Doty goes to 2nd. Marty Eades pops out to right...

Bottom of the First:
Harold Evans flies out to left. Jim Sabin flies out to deep left. Larry Davis, the August Player of the Month, grounds a hit up the middle. He now has a 25 game hitting streak, the longest in the MLB this season and second longest of all-time. The record is 29 by Jerry Rafanello of New Orleans last year. Davis steals 2nd. Terry Graham swings at a 3-2 pitch and doubles to right and Griffin scores... 1 to 0, Hornets. They get a 2-out hit from their cleanup hitter and we did not... John Hartz draws a walk. Tom Morris swings at a 3-2 pitch and grounds out to 3rd.

Top of the Second:
Jack Washburn bunts his way aboard and goes to 2nd on a wild pitch. He steals 3rd! Bert Swope lines a double to left and Washburn scores! Tie Game: 1 to 1! The next three make outs...

Top of the Sixth:
With 2 outs, Bert Swope doubles to center. They walk Bart Daw intentionally to face Gary McKellar, who they walked intentionally earlier... McKellar bloops a hit to right and Swope beats the throw home! 2 to 1, Jays!

Bottom of Sixth:
Larry Davis doubles to left for his third hit of the game... The Hornets have 5 as a team. Terry Graham grounds out to 1st, unassisted, and Davis goes to 3rd. John Hartz flies out to deep center and Davis tags up, but Gary McKellar throws him out!!

Bottom of the Eighth:
The Bullpen is ready. PH Danny Pakan (27-L), batting .429 with 7 RBI in 42 AB, swings at the first pitch and beats out an infield hit, gets bunted to 2nd and goes to 3rd on a ground out. 2 outs and Larry Davis is up and he is a switch-hitter who is 3 for 3 today with a double and just won the Player of the Month award for August when he hit .491 and has a 25 game hitting streak going. A .200 hitting lefty is on deck. What would you do? We LOVE to walk batters intentionally except when it makes sense... Davis grounds a hit to left and Pakan scores... Tie Game: 2 to 2.

Top of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: Miguel Tejeda (25-R), their closer, who is 6-10 with 26 SV and a 3.48 ERA. 8-9-1 up for us. PH Danny Stewart (32-L), who will stay in to play center, pops out to 2nd. PH Mike Volkman (35-L) hits for P Robbie Hopley (29-R), who never actually faced a batter. Hopley came in to the game last inning with 2 outs and a runner was caught stealing. Volkman grounds out to 1st, unassisted. Junior Danielson swings at a 3-2 pitch and misses....

Bottom of the Ninth:
New Pitcher: 2-time All-Star Bill Grant (33-L), going for his 2nd loss in a row. He did not get a batter out yesterday in taking the loss. 5-6-7 up for the Hornets. PH Tom Barker (31-L), batting .254 with 8 HR and 29 RBI in 138 AB, strikes out looking! Tom Morris, the sub-.200 hitter, beats out an infield hit, his second hit of the game... Gabe Valdez flies out to center. PH Scott Damon (24-R), batting .256 with 10 HR and 44 RBI in 360 AB, strikes out!

Extras!

Top of the Tenth:
2-3-4 up for us. We go down in order....

Bottom of the Tenth:
9-1-2 up for them. They go down in order!

Top of the Eleventh:
New Pitcher: Mike Hall (34-R), who is 2-2 with 1 SV and a 3.66 ERA in 71.1 IP with 4 starts. We go down in order...

Bottom of the Eleventh:
After Larry Davis grounds out for his first out of the day, Terry Graham, the .200 hitter, grounds his third hit of the game up the middle... But the next two make outs!

Top of the Twelfth:
With 1 out, PH Dennis Brown (29-L) grounds out to 2nd and we go down in order for the fifth straight inning.... We have not had a base runner since 3-time All-Star P Rick Cox left the game after 7 innings....

Bottom of the Twelfth:
New Pitcher: Roger Wallace (28-R), pitching with back spasms. They go down in order!

Top of the Thirteenth:
New Pitcher: Mark Kyles (31-R), who is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in only 4.1 IP. He has a 5.56 career ERA in 100.1 IP. 2-3-4 up for us and if we go down in order again, then someone has put a hex on us.... With 1 out, Ray McDonald doubles to left! Marty Eades lines a 3-2 pitch to right for a hit and McDonald beats the throw home and Eades takes 2nd! 3 to 2, Jays!. Pinch-runner: Charlie Faber (32-R), who will stay in to play 3rd. They walk Jack Washburn intentionally. Bert Swope grounds into a force at 2nd, 4-6, and Faber goes to 3rd. Bart Daw clears the bases with a double lined to left!! 5 to 2, Jays! Danny Stewart doubles to right and Daw scores! 6 to 2, Jays! PH Ed Diskin (39-R) takes a 3-2 pitch for ball 4. Junior Danielson grounds out to 3rd.

Won - 6 to 2

We had 11 hits and made no errors
Charlotte had 11 hits and made 1 error

Del Warwick went 7.2 innings, allowed 2 runs, 8 hits, 1 walk and struck out 2. 121 pitches.
RHP Robbie Hopley got an out without facing a batter.
LHP Bill Grant went 3 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits and struck out 4.
RHP Roger Wallace (W 4-5) pitched a perfect inning with 1 strikeout.
LHP Hal Bradford went 1 scoreless inning, allowed 1 hit and struck out 1.

Rick Cox went 7 innings, gave us 2 runs, 7 hits, 3 walks (2 INT) and struck out 3. He threw a WP.
RHP Mark Kyles (L 1-2) went 1 inning, gave us 4 runs, 4 hits and 2 walks (1 INT).

LF Cal Doty had a hit and a walk. RF Ray McDonald had 2 hits with a double and scored a run. 1B Jack Washburn had 2 hits and a walk (INT), stole 2 bases and scored a run. C Bert Swope hit 2 doubles, scored 2 runs and had an RBI. SS Bart Daw hit a double, drew a walk (INT), scored a run and had 2 RBI. CF Gary McKellar had a hit and a walk (INT) and an RBI and threw a runner out at home. PH/CF Danny Stewart hit a double and had an RBI. PH Ed Diskin drew a walk.

For Charlotte, 3B Larry Davis had 4 hits with a double, stole a base, scored a run and had an RBI. RF Terry Graham had 3 hits with a double and an RBI.