Game 1 -- Leiter v. Rueter
Before we begin it should be noted that with the exception of the Pelicans' win on Opening Day this year, this franchise (with all its owners and names) has never been over .500 in three years. Their record going into this game is 6-6.
Now, a pitchers' duel breaks out at the Re-Met, with each team getting a run in the 2nd, and the Eagles getting another run in the 3rd. It could have been worse for the homeboys, but two Eagle baserunners were nailed at the plate in the first three innings to keep it close.
The Pelicans tie the game in the 6th on a Shane Halter single, but Mo Vaughn's two-out homer in the top of the 7th gave the Eagles the lead again at 3-2.
Then the Pelicans' clutch hitting took over:
* Bottom 7, Jeter on 2nd, 1 out, stranded.
* Bottom 8, 1st & 2nd, 2 out, stranded
* Bottom 9, Jeter triples with one out, then 2nd & 3rd, 2 out, stranded.
This (once again) lowers the Pellies to a sub-.500 level, and it's also the SEVENTH one-run game for the Pelicans so far this year. That's more than half their games. They're 3-4 in one-run games so far this season.
AET 011 000 100 -- 3 8 0
NOP 010 001 000 -- 2 6 0
Eagles info:
Pitching -- Leiter (W) 7 IP, Santana .2, Cerda .1, Williams (Sv) 1
Catching -- Santiago 9
HR -- Vaughn (solo, 2 out off Rueter in 7th)
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- Cerda (%) active for series
Pelicans info:
Pitching -- Rueter (L) 6.2 IP, Yan 1.1, Borbon .1, Mecir .2
Catching -- Kendall 9
HR -- None
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- Zaun 1 AB v. R, Merloni 1 AB v. L
Player of the game: Fat Fuckin' Mo Vaughn hits the game winning homer in the 7th, stealing the heroics from David Bell, who went 2-for-4 with an RBI double in the 2nd and bases-loaded RBI single in the 3rd.
Anti-player of the game: Anyone who came up to bat for New Orleans in the last three innings with a runner on base and did not drive in the tying run. That sure narrows it down.
Note from this game: The Eagles, due to their partying with Tupelo fans on Bourbon Street and subsequent mass arrest after this game, have a "special bond" with their fans, therefore they get a universal clutch rating for the next two home series.
Game 2 -- Trachsel v. Suppan
Soup dropped a stinky-ass bomb in his first start of the year against the Foofy Dogs, and it was looking like he had to go back to AAA Kent after the first two innings of this game. The Eagles loaded the bases in the top of the 1st but only got one run, and then they got some two-out magic (meaning a walk and a double in the gap) to make it 2-0 early.
The Pelicans take a pair of doubles and an error on Soriano and use those to tie the game at 2. Then Soup settled down, allowing only three baserunners the rest of his time in the game, retiring the last 8 batters he faced in the process. He was pinchhit for in the 7th, right after Shane Halter's single brought Sean Casey home with the go-ahead run.
Let's mention that the Pelicans made Steve Trachsel look like a good pitcher between the 3rd and 6th innings, squandering two more Eagle errors and just pissing Notch off in general.
Okay, since the Pelican starting pitcher was pinchhit for, you know what THAT means, right?
Here comes Hasegawa, promptly walking Nomahhhh to lead off the 8th but then getting out of that unscathed.
To the 9th, Hasegawa going for the two-inning save, in part because he's the closer and also in part because Rick Queary decided his best chance for success is to be able to count all his left-handed hitters on his roster on one hand. That would disqualify Notch's three lefty relievers of various quality, leaving Esteban Yan and Jim Mecir.
So Hasegawa it is. Strike three to T-Long leading off the 9th. Galarraga then pinchhits and doubles. Then Santiago pinchhits for Mike Williams and singles up the middle, and you could already smell Notch's skin burning as the Big Fatass Cat rounds third and chugs home to tie the game at 3. Oh, that Pelican bullpen.
After that, you just know:
* that the Pelicans would go down 1-2-3 in the 9th, forcing their FOURTH extra-inning game so far this year
* that Ichiro would be standing on 3rd with no out in the bottom of the 10th (single, steal, e2) and then Jeter would line out, Griffey would pop up, and Burrell would strike out
* that Hasegawa would implode in his fourth inning of work, giving up two walks and an RBI single to Soriano.
So let's recap. 14 games, half of them one-run games, and four games in extra-innings. At least they've been exciting this year. At this rate Notch's nervous breakdown will occur right before the FEBC All-Star break.
AET 110 000 001 02 -- 5 8 4
NOP 020 000 100 00 -- 3 8 1
Eagles info:
Pitching -- Trachsel 7.2 IP, Paronto .1, Williams (W) 2, Heredia (Sv) 1
Catching -- Barrett 11
HR -- None
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- Cerda (%) active this series
Pelicans info:
Pitching -- Suppan 7 IP, Hasegawa 3.1 (L), Plesac .2
Catching -- Blanco 10, Zaun 1 (Blanco ejected in the top of the 11th for strike zone debate)
HR -- None
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- Merloni 1 AB v. R
Player of the game: For the second straight game, the Eagle driving in
the game-winning run wins this. Soriano was 2-for-5, doubling and
scoring in the 1st, walked and scored in the 2nd, and singled home
T-Long in the 11th.
Anti-player of the game: Hasegawa blows the save in the 9th and gives up the winning runs in the 11th.
Note from this game: After figuring out that they won a game in which they committed four errors, the Eagles celebrated at the "office" of a local voodoo priestess after the game, then they went for drinks and nipple piercings. All this frivolity caused a 20 point increase in their chemistry.
Game 3 -- Haynes v. Schilling
Curt Schilling is guaranteed to end the losing streak or your money back. Other than his Opening day start, his starts have come after a three-game losing streak, another three-game losing streak, and now a two-game losing streak.
No one got refunds today, as the Pelicans go to 4-0 in games started by Curtis. That would mean they are 3-8 in games started by anyone else, but hey, you, get off of my cloud.
AET 000 000 110 -- 2 10 1
NOP 052 000 00X -- 7 10 1
Eagles info:
Pitching -- Haynes (L) 2 IP, Paronto 2, Heredia 2, Cerda 2 (looks like a spring training game)
Catching -- Santiago 8
HR -- None
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- Cerda (%) active this series
Pelicans info:
Pitching -- Schilling (W) 9 IP
Catching -- Kendall 9
HR -- None
Injuries/Suspensions/Ejections -- None
Limits -- None
Player of the game: Jason Kendall (2-for-3, 2 RBI) and Shane Halter (1-for-4, 3 RBI) busted it open in the second, especially Halter's bases-loaded double past a drawn-in David Bell that cleared the bases.
Anti-player of the game: When you combine his "performance" in this game with his display in yesterday's game, this belongs to Eagle scrub outfielder Benny Agbayani while he still has a job. Yesterday he grounded out to short and then struck out twice. Today he got the golden sombrero in the 7th and the platinum sombrero in the 8th. 0-for-7 with 6 straight K's in the series. The Eagle pitchers were a combined 1-for-7 with 4 K's.
The 7-8 Pelicans get a day off before embarking on a six-game road trip against the two teams that have by far the best records in the OE, the Hitmen and the Norsemen.