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BRACKET A QUARTERFINALS

No. 10 2003 Marlins vs. No. 1 1927 YANKEES

At New York, Yankee Stadium

GAME ONE: Marlins 4, Yankees 1 — Derrek Lee crushed a 3-run homer off Yankees reliever Bob Shawkey in the top of the eighth inning to snap a 1-1 tie. The 2003 Marlins stuck to left-handed pitching for eight of the nine innings. Starter Mark Redman went 6.2 innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits with 3 walks and 8 strikeouts. Lefty Dontrelle Willis relieved with 1.1 innings of hitless relief. Yankee legends Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig went a combined 0-for-6 with 5 strikeouts.

GAME TWO: Yankees 10, Marlins 2 — Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig continued to struggle to catch up to Marlins’ pitching. They combined for 5 more strikeouts in 8 at-bats. But Ruth made solid contact with one pitch. In the bottom of the third, Ruth hit a high drive into the left-centerfield gap that caromed off the bottom of the wall. Ruth circled the bases for a 3-run inside-the-park home run, giving the 1927 Yanks a 4-1 advantage. Later, Bob Meusel smacked a low line drive over the wall in short right field for a grand slam, and the rout was on. ... Yankee starter George Pipgras got the win. His line: 5.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 H, 3 W, 5 K. ... Wilcy Moore and Urban Shocker combined for 3.1 innings of 1-hit relief to close it out.

At Miami Loan Depot Park

GAME THREE: Yankees 5, Marlins 4 — Babe Ruth homered, tripled, and drove in 3 runs for the 1927 Yankees. The Babe’s heroics backed a solid effort by LHP Herb Pennock, who gave up 3 runs on 6 hits over 6 innings. The teams traded the lead twice. Ruth tripled in a run during the top of the first inning, then scored on Bob Meusel’s single as the Yanks took a 2-0 lead. The Fish tied the score on Jeff Conine’s 2-run single in the bottom of the third, then briefly took a 3-2 lead on 3B Mike Lowell’s solo homer in the fourth. Ruth struck again in the top of the fifth, belting a 2-run, 435-foot bomb over the wall in left-centerfield to make it a 4-3 Yankees lead. Tony Lazzeri doubled home Meusel in the top of the eighth to increase the lead to 5-3. A homer by Derrek Lee pulled the Fish within 5-4 in the bottom of the eighth, but reliever Urban Shocker allowed nothing more. He pitched the final three innings to earn the save. ... Marlins starter Carl Pavano lasted just 5 innings. He gave up 4 runs on 8 hits, with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts. ... Lou Gehrig continues to struggle. After three games, the “Iron Horse” is 0-for-11 with 9 strikeouts.

GAME FOUR: Marlins 3, Yankees 2 — Alex Gonzalez waited until the last possible moment. With the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Gonzalez lined a single to left, scoring the winning run and pulling the 2003 Marlins even at two games apiece. ... Florida had led 2–1 since the third inning, but the 1927 Yanks would not go quietly. In the top of the ninth, Mark Redman struck out Babe Ruth to start the frame, then surrendered a bloop single to Lou Gehrig—snapping Gehrig’s 0-for-14 skid. Jim Leyland went to closer Ugueth Urbina, and Bob Meusel immediately drilled a double to deep center. Gehrig raced home from first with the tying run. Urbina intentionally walked Tony Lazzeri but escaped without further damage. ... The Marlins answered fast. Three of the first four hitters reached against Wilcy Moore, setting the stage for Gonzalez’s line drive to left. ... Murderer’s Row struck first when Earle Combs tagged Redman’s opening pitch for an opposite-field homer. Juan Pierre helped flip the game, singling and scoring in both the first and third innings to give Florida its 2–1 edge. ... Redman pitched brilliantly but was denied the win. His line: 8.1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 W, 7 K. ... Hoyt also pitched exceptionally well: 7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 0 W, 8 K.

GAME FIVE: Yankees 11, Marlins 6 — The Marlins hoped the momentum of the previous day’s walk-off win would carry into Game Five. Instead, the 1927 Yankees ambushed starter Josh Beckett with 7 runs on 8 hits in just the first inning. A 3-run homer by No. 9 hitter Pat Collins was the big blow. It was no contest after that. The Yanks led 11-2 after eight innings, and the Marlins scored 4 late runs off tiring starter George Pipgras and seldom-used reliever Myles Thomas. ... Yankees 2B Tony Lazzeri went 5-for-6 with a homer and 2 runs scored.

At New York Yankee Stadium

GAME SIX: Yankees 9, Marlins 1 — A pair of 3-run homers set the tone as the 1927 Yankees cruised into the bracket semifinals. Bob Meusel hit a 3-run inside-the-park homer in the bottom of the first inning to start the scoring. Babe Ruth capped it with a 3-run jolt over the right-field wall in the bottom of the fifth. New York starter Herb Pennock carried that 9-0 lead into the ninth but lost the shutout on an RBI groundout. Pennock went the distance: 9 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 W, 3 K, to earn his second win of the series. ... Both Earle Combs and SS Mark Koenig went 3-for-4 at the top of the Yanks’ lineup with a combined 5 runs scored. ... The 1927 Yankees will next face the winner between the 1953 Dodgers and the 1995 Indians. ... The1927 YANKEES WIN the series, 4 games to 2, outscoring the 2003 Marlins, 38-20.

MVP-1: Yankees CF Earle Combs: 14-for-26, HR, 1 triple, 3 doubles, 3 RBI, 10 runs scored, .571 OBP.

MVP-2: Yankees OF/DH Bob Meusel: 10-for-26, 2 HR, 1 double, 12 RBI, 3 runs scored.

MV-Pitcher: Yankees LHP Herb Pennock: 2-0, 15 IP, 4 R, 4 ER, 12 H, 2 W, 6 K.

2003 MARLINS TEAM STATS: Batting: (.244, 50-of-205); Extra-Base Hits: 10 (2 triples, 5 doubles, 3 HR); Stolen Bases-Caught: 8-0; Double Plays-Errors: 3-1; Walks-Strikeouts: 13-36 (-23).

1927 YANKEES TEAM STATS: Batting: (.294, 62-of-211); Extra-Base Hits: 20 (4 triples, 8 doubles, 8 HR); Stolen Bases-Caught: 2-0; Double Plays-Errors: 4-5; Walks-Strikeouts: 25-57 (-32).