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Message #: 29469
Up to now the unluckiest team in the majors had been at least able to tread water in road games while underachieving by mammoth proportions at home, but this week whatever disease afflicts us in Cincinnati came along for the ride to Los Angeles. All the team doctors can say is that the disease is apparently carried by gophers.... Game 1: Woeful Bobby Ayala was pitching on even terms with Ramon Martinez until Eric Karros nicked him for a surgical split card ballpark gopher in the 4th. That lone run would be enough by itself for the Reds to lose, but Ayala took no chances and allowed a second surgical split card ballpark gopher to the same batter two innings later that made the score 3-0. Scott Service, adequately representing the Cincy bullpen, choked up an obligatory run before even retiring a batter in the 8th, making it a 4-0 final. Aside from the two low-probability (against any other team) ballpark homers, Ayala's pitching line looked pretty decent as he allowed just 7 hits, no non-gopher-related runs at all, and he fanned 9 Dodgers while walking just 3. ============================================================ Game 2: The Reds got a couple of good split cards of our own (!) and built a 3-run lead via home runs from Joe Oliver and Reggie Sanders. HAL let us get away with the first one, but his wrath came down hard -- and immediately -- after the second one. Tim Belcher was dragged onto the operating table and dismembered by a lengthy string of singles, interrupted only by a critical 2-base error with -- naturally -- the opposition's .041-hitting pitcher at the plate. When the dust cleared our 3-0 lead was suddenly a 4-3 deficit. Belcher, though just about mortally wounded, somehow survived. But not for long. Belcher and one of our ever-helpful relievers combined to allow 6 consecutive baserunners in the L.A. 6th, not one of the hits greater than a single, and this time the patient died during surgery. The 8 unanswered runs resulted in an 8-3 final. ============================================================ Game 3: Over the final two contests, the Reds offense would come to life, but that fact was illustrated mainly by our astronomical 22-9 advantage in the LOB column. Of course that lack of clutch performance would be costly. With a man on in the first (thanks to a cheap bunt single), Dodger catcher Mike Piazza stepped up and rolled in his 2-column. Since he was facing the Reds, Piazza was not about to miss a home run. Dodgers 2, Reds 0. It took 4 hits including a 2-out single by the .297-hitting John Smiley (apparently miscast as a pitcher) but we quickly tied it up. With a man on in the third (thanks to a timely blown-x play), Dodger receiver Mike Piazza stepped up and rolled in his 2-column. Since he was facing the Reds, Piazza was not about to miss a home run. Dodgers 4, Reds 2. The Reds were racking up LOB galore and were well on our way to even more -- or possibly even scoring some runs! -- when with 2 men on in the Cincy seventh Sanders hit an x-grounder to Scott Fletcher at third base. What does a 4 with a high e-rating do in that situation? If the Reds are his opponent, he calmly draws a fantastic split card and turns a DP. Inning over. Then, seconds later.... With two men (for a change) on in the seventh, Dodger backstop Mike Piazza stepped up and rolled in his 2-column. Since he was facing the Reds, Piazza was not about to miss a home run. Dodgers 7, Reds 2, and since Piazza had no further at-bats that's how it ended. ============================================================ Game 4: Cincy LOBbed 13 today (LOBbed 'em loaded in 2 of the first 3 frames and quickly trailed 1-0) but somehow Jose Rijo -- he of the fantastic card and bottom of the barrel luck -- was somehow able to overcome that and win the game, though just barely. The Reds accidentally tied in up in the third before adding 3 to our LOB count, and we eked out a narrow lead in the 6th when Felix Jose's single plated Jeff Branson from second. Clinging to that 2-1 lead, the Dodgers opened up the bottom of the 8th with a single and double and then Rijo got a break (someone note the date and time) when the home team inexplicably stopped even trying to hit the ball. Both of the next 2 L.A. batters tried to bunt the runner on third home, and both times the runner was erased at the plate (automatically; no split card required, thankfully). A couple of insurance runs in the 9th helped our cause, but we had miraculously weathered the worst of the storm already. Reds salvage one win out of the four game series, by the score of 4-1. Rijo went the distance and pitched well as we outplayed the Dodgers by a wide margin, but thanks to our clutch chokers Rijo came just a couple of bunt plays away from seeing the Dodgers nail down the sweep. Alan |
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