The Mudville Spiders, now 10-14 on the year, returned home for a three-game set with the Longmeadow Lightning (11-13). Having lost 8 of their last 9 games, the Spiders needed some wins badly. They would be battling a team that had made numerous changes since the last time they met.
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Roy Halladay vs. Dave Burba (Game 1 &Mac246; Day 27)
Todd Greene stroked a bases-loaded, bases-clearing double in the 2nd inning, with two out no less, as Longmeadow jumped out to a 4-0 lead.
In the bottom of the 2nd, Mudville struck back for a pair, with Burba delivering a double to drive a run home.
Longmeadow would pad their lead in the 7th, on a solo shot from Greene, then tack on two more in the 8th.
The Spiders would answer with a two-spot in their half of the 8th, but, in general, Halladay would keep the arachnids in check for the complete game win.
The essentials:
Longmeadow 040 000 120 &Mac246; 7 10 0 LOB: 11
Mudville 020 000 020 &Mac246; 4 8 0 LOB: 5
Longmeadow Data:
Pitching &Mac246; Halladay (W) 9
Catching &Mac246; Ausmus 9
Home Runs &Mac246; Greene (7th, off King, 0 on)
Stolen Bases &Mac246; Damon
Injuries &Mac246; None
Ejections &Mac246; None
Limits Used &Mac246; (A) Greene
Mudville Data:
Pitching &Mac246; Burba (L) 5, King 1.1, Stechschulte 1.2,
Coggin 1
Catching &Mac246; Lo Duca 9
Home Runs &Mac246; None
Stolen Bases &Mac246; None
Injuries &Mac246; None
Ejections &Mac246; None
Limits Used &Mac246; Bragg 0/1, (I) Banks, Hudson, and Infante
Other Info:
Night game, Temperature &Mac246; 65, Cloudy,
Wind right-to-left at 10-19 mph, Home ump - Marsh (N)
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Carlos Hernandez vs. Vicente Padilla (Game 2 &Mac246; Day 28)
The Spiders took out all of their frustrations over losing 9 of their last 10 starts on Hernandez and three Lightning relievers, cruising to an easy win.
Mudville pushed across an unearned run in the 2nd, then Andruw Jones launched a 3rd-inning two-run blast to put the Spiders up, 3-0.
Mudville scored two more in the 5th, but the Lightning responded in the top of the 6th, as Todd Greene drilled a two-out, two-run homer to make it 5-2.
The Spiders then iced it in the last of the 6th, scoring five times before an out was recorded, three coming home on another Jones homer.
Eli Marrero would homer to start the Longmeadow 7th, but that was it for the visitors. Mudville, meanwhile, would enjoy another big inning in the 8th, scoring four times, three coming home on bases-loaded walks.
The essentials:
Longmeadow 000 002 100 &Mac246; 3 8 1 LOB: 6
Mudville 012 025 04x &Mac246; 14 16 1 LOB: 16
Longmeadow Data:
Pitching &Mac246; C. Hernandez (L) 4, Riske 1, Redding 0.2,
Alvarez 2.1
Catching &Mac246; Greene 8
Home Runs &Mac246; Greene (6th, off Padilla, 1 on),
Marrero (7th, off Padilla, 0 on)
Stolen Bases &Mac246; None
Injuries &Mac246; None
Ejections &Mac246; None
Limits Used &Mac246; (A) Greene
Mudville Data:
Pitching &Mac246; Padilla (W) 9
Catching &Mac246; Lo Duca 9
Home Runs &Mac246; Jones (3rd, off C. Hernandez, 1 on),
Jones (6th, off Redding, 2 on)
Stolen Bases &Mac246; Guerrero, Jones
Injuries &Mac246; None
Ejections &Mac246; None
Limits Used &Mac246; Romano 1/0, (I) Banks, Hudson, and Infante
Other Info:
Night game, Temperature - 89, Cloudy,
Wind right-to-left at 10-19 mph, Home ump &Mac246; Morrison (N)
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Pedro Astacio vs. Jason Schmidt (Game 3 &Mac246; Day 29)
"Check the bats! Check the bats!" That was the cry from the Mudville dugout as the Lightning enjoyed a homer festival at Fenway Park.
Fred McGriff's two-run shot got things started for the Lightning in the 1st. He then added a 3rd-inning sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 in favor of Longmeadow.
It would stay that way until the 7th, when pinch-hitter Carlos Pena wouldlaunch a solo blast.
In the Mudville 7th, the Spiders would rally, sort of. They would score two runs to slice the deficit in half, but, with the bases juiced and two out, JoseVidro would ground out to second and the rally was cut short.
The Lightning would then add solo shots in the 8th and 9th frames, the first from Todd Greene, the second from Eli Marrero, to insure that the Spiders' hopes of a comeback were dashed.
The Spiders are now 11-16 on the year. They have lost 10 of their last 12, and are a team that is quickly falling out of even the wild-card race. The gloom hanging over the club is palpable.
The essentials:
Longmeadow 201 000 111 &Mac246; 6 7 0 LOB: 4
Mudville 000 000 200 - 2 7 1 LOB: 5
Longmeadow Data:
Pitching &Mac246; Astacio (W) 6, Henriquez 1, F. Rodriguez (S) 2
Catching &Mac246; Greene 7, Ausmus 2
Home Runs &Mac246; McGriff (1st, off Schmidt, 1 on),
Pena (7th, off Stanton, 0 on),
Greene (8th, off Dotel, 0 on),
Marrero (9rh, off Dotel, 0 on)
Stolen Bases &Mac246; None
Injuries &Mac246; None
Ejections &Mac246; None
Limits Used &Mac246; (A) Greene
Mudville Data:
Pitching &Mac246; Schmidt (L) 6, Carrara 0.1, Stanton 0.2, Dotel 2
Catching &Mac246; Lo Duca 9
Home Runs &Mac246; None
Stolen Bases &Mac246; None
Injuries &Mac246; None
Ejections &Mac246; None
Limits Used &Mac246; (I) - Banks, Hudson, and Infante
Other Info:
Night game, Temperature - 77, Cloudy,
Wind right-to-left at 10-19 mph, Home ump &Mac246; Hernandez (N)