Now here's the National League Report for Wednesday, September 14. We begin with Desmond in the East:
Montreal 11, NY Mets 5
W - Jeff Fassero (10-7)
L - Mauro Gozzo (7-7)
HR - MTL: Moises Alou (35), Vladimir Guerrero (1)
NYM: Jeff Kent (19)
The Expos took their fifth straight game. Guerrero is a rarity, as he was called up from the Rookie Leagues so that the big club can see how he's progressing.
Philadelphia 8, St. Louis 7 (11 innings)
W - David West (6-11)
L - Bryan Eversgerd (3-4)
HR - STL:Greg Jefferies (grand slam; 16)
PHI: Milt Thompson (4), Jim Eisenreich (walk-off; 7)
This game ended with a dramatic eleventh inning. In the top half, the Cardinals took a 7-6 lead when Todd Zeile singled in Ozzie Smith. In the bottom half, Thompson led off with a walk, followed by a first-pitch home run from Eisenreich.
Now for my Central report:
Dodgers 5, Cubs 2
Mike Piazza homered twice and drove in all five Dodger runs as they put away the Cubbies to stay three and a half back in the NL West. He doubled home two in the first, hit a two-run homer in the third, and hit a solo shot in the ninth to close things out. Delino Deshields was his chief assistant, going three for four, and Raul Mondesi had two hits and scored twice. The Cubs got RBIs from Tuffy Rhodes and Derrick May. Orel Hershiser got the win for the Men in Blue, with Jim Gott earning the save in place of Todd Worrell.
I'm not sure when it happened officially. but the Cubs have been eliminated from the Wild Card race.
W- Hershiser (8-8)
S- Gott (4)
L- Morgan (4-12)
HR- LA: Piazza 2 (38)
Rockies 8, Reds 6
The Rox won't go away quietly in the West, either; they scored twice in the ninth to stun the Reds again at Riverfront. Eric Young's home run off of Hector Carrasco was the game-winning blow, but the Central leaders also gave up home runs to Dante Bichette and Nelson Liriano, and Charlie Hayes also knocked in three runs. Bichette scored a total of four runs on the evening, and Liriano crossed the plate twice. Roberto Kelly, Reggie Sanders, and Eddie Taubensee all went deep for the home squad, but losing two in a row to a team that's under .500 is raising plenty of flags in the Ohio Valley. If the Astros can beat the Braves tonight, they'll be just four and a half games back with two and a half weeks to play. They're not pressing the panic button yet in the Queen City, but they're starting to search for it just in case.
W- Munoz (9-7)
S- Ruffin (20)
L- Carrasco (5-7)
HR- COL: Liriano (5), Bichette (35), Young (6)
CIN: Sanders (23), Taubensee (12), Kelly (5)
Braves 8, Astros 5 (ESPN alternate: Bob Carpenter, Reggie Jackson)
The Braves took control with a six-run sixth and pushed the Astros one game closer to extinction in the NL Wild Card race. A bases- loaded walk to pinch hitter Jose Oliva, batting for starter John Smoltz, and an error on Astros shortstop Andujar Cedeno gave the Bravos the lead, and Ryan Klesko's bases-clearing double put the game away. Smoltz struggled through five innings, but still picked up the win.
In other news, Fred McGriff smacked Number 51 in the fourth to put the Braves on the scoreboard. He's four behind Matt Williams. but a hot streak could put him at the front of the Maris chase in a hurry. As for the Stros, time is running out; they finish with the Braves tomorrow night, then have to go to San Francisco to face a Giants team looking to nail down the NL West. If they can't win three out of these next four, any realistic playoff hopes will be gone.
W- Smoltz (8-11)
S- McMichael (29)
L- Kile (11-7)
HR- ATL: McGriff (51)
Pirates 9, Marlins 2
The Bucs showed that there's still a little bit of fight left in them by pounding the Fish at Three Rivers. Leading the way offensively was catcher Don Slaught, who went two for three and drove in four runs. Dave Clark got the start in right field and added a two-run homer and three runs scored, while Orlando Merced had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice. Jon Lieber pitched six satisfactory innings before turning things over to the Pirate bullpen. Kurt Abbott homered for the Fish, and Orestes Destrade added the other RBI. Starter Ryan Bowen lasted just two and a third innings despite only giving up one hit; he walked five and gave up five runs. The series, as well as Bill Virdon's term as interim Bucco manager, conclude tomorrow night.
I forgot to mention earlier that the Marlins have officially been eliminated from Wild Card contention.
W- Lieber (8-6)
L- Bowen (1-7)
HR- FLA: Abbott (10)
PIT: Clark (12)
Now to Joe Ray in the West:
Padres 6, Giants 2
W: Sager (3-5)
L: Portugal (11-11)
S: Hoffman (29)
HR- SD: E. Williams (16), Shipley (6)
SF: Patterson (4)
Gwynn: 0-1, 221-542 (0.4077)
The Padres earn a huge win at Candlestick. Craig Shipley's three-run homer in the fourth inning gave the Padres a lead for good, and Eddie Williams added a double in the sixth that scored Billy Bean, who got the start in right in place of Tony Gwynn. Shipley then doubled in Williams to give the Friars a 5-2 lead. Williams homered in the eighth to close the scoring , and Trevor Hoffman zipped in and out of trouble in the ninth, allowing a hit and a walk but only needing nine pitches to get the save. John Patterson's two-run homer in the second was the only scoring for the Giants, whose fans, needless to say, are not impressed by today's outing.
Both teams take tomorrow off before heading back home for huge series. The Padres face the Cubs, while the Giants play the Astros, who are fading in the Wild Card race.
The standings in the East to the moment:
Expos: 87-59
Braves: 85-61- 2 GB
Mets: 73-73- 14 GB
Phillies: 72-73- 14.5 GB
Marlins: 61-84- 25.5 GB
In the Central:
Reds: 84-60
Astros: 79-66- 5.5 GB
Cubs: 66-80- 19 GB
Cardinals: 61-84- 23.5 GB
Pirates: 55-91- 30 GB
In the West:
Giants: 76-70
Padres: 75-73- 2 GB
Dodgers: 73-72- 2.5 GB
Rockies: 71-77- 6 GB
In the Wild Card:
Braves: 85-61
Astros: 79-66- 5.5 GB
Next: We look at September 15.
Thoughts?
Montreal 11, NY Mets 5
W - Jeff Fassero (10-7)
L - Mauro Gozzo (7-7)
HR - MTL: Moises Alou (35), Vladimir Guerrero (1)
NYM: Jeff Kent (19)
The Expos took their fifth straight game. Guerrero is a rarity, as he was called up from the Rookie Leagues so that the big club can see how he's progressing.
Philadelphia 8, St. Louis 7 (11 innings)
W - David West (6-11)
L - Bryan Eversgerd (3-4)
HR - STL:Greg Jefferies (grand slam; 16)
PHI: Milt Thompson (4), Jim Eisenreich (walk-off; 7)
This game ended with a dramatic eleventh inning. In the top half, the Cardinals took a 7-6 lead when Todd Zeile singled in Ozzie Smith. In the bottom half, Thompson led off with a walk, followed by a first-pitch home run from Eisenreich.
Now for my Central report:
Dodgers 5, Cubs 2
Mike Piazza homered twice and drove in all five Dodger runs as they put away the Cubbies to stay three and a half back in the NL West. He doubled home two in the first, hit a two-run homer in the third, and hit a solo shot in the ninth to close things out. Delino Deshields was his chief assistant, going three for four, and Raul Mondesi had two hits and scored twice. The Cubs got RBIs from Tuffy Rhodes and Derrick May. Orel Hershiser got the win for the Men in Blue, with Jim Gott earning the save in place of Todd Worrell.
I'm not sure when it happened officially. but the Cubs have been eliminated from the Wild Card race.
W- Hershiser (8-8)
S- Gott (4)
L- Morgan (4-12)
HR- LA: Piazza 2 (38)
Rockies 8, Reds 6
The Rox won't go away quietly in the West, either; they scored twice in the ninth to stun the Reds again at Riverfront. Eric Young's home run off of Hector Carrasco was the game-winning blow, but the Central leaders also gave up home runs to Dante Bichette and Nelson Liriano, and Charlie Hayes also knocked in three runs. Bichette scored a total of four runs on the evening, and Liriano crossed the plate twice. Roberto Kelly, Reggie Sanders, and Eddie Taubensee all went deep for the home squad, but losing two in a row to a team that's under .500 is raising plenty of flags in the Ohio Valley. If the Astros can beat the Braves tonight, they'll be just four and a half games back with two and a half weeks to play. They're not pressing the panic button yet in the Queen City, but they're starting to search for it just in case.
W- Munoz (9-7)
S- Ruffin (20)
L- Carrasco (5-7)
HR- COL: Liriano (5), Bichette (35), Young (6)
CIN: Sanders (23), Taubensee (12), Kelly (5)
Braves 8, Astros 5 (ESPN alternate: Bob Carpenter, Reggie Jackson)
The Braves took control with a six-run sixth and pushed the Astros one game closer to extinction in the NL Wild Card race. A bases- loaded walk to pinch hitter Jose Oliva, batting for starter John Smoltz, and an error on Astros shortstop Andujar Cedeno gave the Bravos the lead, and Ryan Klesko's bases-clearing double put the game away. Smoltz struggled through five innings, but still picked up the win.
In other news, Fred McGriff smacked Number 51 in the fourth to put the Braves on the scoreboard. He's four behind Matt Williams. but a hot streak could put him at the front of the Maris chase in a hurry. As for the Stros, time is running out; they finish with the Braves tomorrow night, then have to go to San Francisco to face a Giants team looking to nail down the NL West. If they can't win three out of these next four, any realistic playoff hopes will be gone.
W- Smoltz (8-11)
S- McMichael (29)
L- Kile (11-7)
HR- ATL: McGriff (51)
Pirates 9, Marlins 2
The Bucs showed that there's still a little bit of fight left in them by pounding the Fish at Three Rivers. Leading the way offensively was catcher Don Slaught, who went two for three and drove in four runs. Dave Clark got the start in right field and added a two-run homer and three runs scored, while Orlando Merced had two hits, drove in two runs and scored twice. Jon Lieber pitched six satisfactory innings before turning things over to the Pirate bullpen. Kurt Abbott homered for the Fish, and Orestes Destrade added the other RBI. Starter Ryan Bowen lasted just two and a third innings despite only giving up one hit; he walked five and gave up five runs. The series, as well as Bill Virdon's term as interim Bucco manager, conclude tomorrow night.
I forgot to mention earlier that the Marlins have officially been eliminated from Wild Card contention.
W- Lieber (8-6)
L- Bowen (1-7)
HR- FLA: Abbott (10)
PIT: Clark (12)
Now to Joe Ray in the West:
Padres 6, Giants 2
W: Sager (3-5)
L: Portugal (11-11)
S: Hoffman (29)
HR- SD: E. Williams (16), Shipley (6)
SF: Patterson (4)
Gwynn: 0-1, 221-542 (0.4077)
The Padres earn a huge win at Candlestick. Craig Shipley's three-run homer in the fourth inning gave the Padres a lead for good, and Eddie Williams added a double in the sixth that scored Billy Bean, who got the start in right in place of Tony Gwynn. Shipley then doubled in Williams to give the Friars a 5-2 lead. Williams homered in the eighth to close the scoring , and Trevor Hoffman zipped in and out of trouble in the ninth, allowing a hit and a walk but only needing nine pitches to get the save. John Patterson's two-run homer in the second was the only scoring for the Giants, whose fans, needless to say, are not impressed by today's outing.
Both teams take tomorrow off before heading back home for huge series. The Padres face the Cubs, while the Giants play the Astros, who are fading in the Wild Card race.
The standings in the East to the moment:
Expos: 87-59
Braves: 85-61- 2 GB
Mets: 73-73- 14 GB
Phillies: 72-73- 14.5 GB
Marlins: 61-84- 25.5 GB
In the Central:
Reds: 84-60
Astros: 79-66- 5.5 GB
Cubs: 66-80- 19 GB
Cardinals: 61-84- 23.5 GB
Pirates: 55-91- 30 GB
In the West:
Giants: 76-70
Padres: 75-73- 2 GB
Dodgers: 73-72- 2.5 GB
Rockies: 71-77- 6 GB
In the Wild Card:
Braves: 85-61
Astros: 79-66- 5.5 GB
Next: We look at September 15.
Thoughts?
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