The defending Champs dragged a sick-making 10-16 mark into their pre-break series with Forbes Field, knowing that anything less than taking two out of three would result in the gallows for the three-peat.
Game 1 - Woody Williams vs. Odalis Perez
The Cons, no-hit by the Woodman on Opening Day, were demoralized further by the fact that Williams opened with three perfect innings, but Junior Spivey led off the fourth with a single and eventually came around to score on a two-out base hit by Ellis Burks. The Norsemen tied the game immediately, as Woody himself stroked a one-out double in the fifth, and Pokey Reese went back-to-back with him.
Barry Bonds went deep to lead off the 6th and put Forbes Field up 2-1, and Williams and Juan Acevedo held the 'Boids to just one hit the rest of the way.
Norsemen 000 011 000 2 6 0
Jailbirds 000 100 000 1 5 1
Norsemen:
Pitching - WWilliams (W) 7.1, Acevedo (SV) 1.2
Catching - Posada 9
Home Runs - Bonds (off Od. Perez, 6th inn., 0 on, 0 out)
Injuries - None
Limits - None
Jailbirds:
Pitching - Od. Perez L (1-4) 7, Rhodes 2
Catching - Piazza 9
Home Runs - None
Injuries - None
Limits - Michaels (1 ABR)
Night game, 60s, Partly Cloudy, Light Wind, normal ump
.
Game 2 - Joel Pineiro vs. Elmer Dessens
Pineiro was the only Norse starter the Cons really got to in Forbes Field's season-opening sweep, so the "birds came in not completely defeated. It was Mike Lamb's turn to power up in this one, he left the yard in the third, a solo shot to open the scoring. In the bottom of the fourth, with a walk aboard, Todd Zeile booted an easy grounder by Eric Hinske, and Ramon Santiago followed with a single to centre. Jim Edmonds challenged the arm of Quinton McCracken and paid for it as the score remained 1-0. Then Mike Piazza came to the plate and got what might have been the Jailbirds' first clutch hit of the season, stroking a two-run double to give Mizzou the lead.
The next inning, Pineiro walked the bases loaded and Hinske decided it was time to hit his first ever home run in the FEBC, a Grand Slam. Zeile homered in the 7th, but that hardly made up for his miscue.
The Norsemen brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the 8th, but Armando Benitez got Chris Woodward to ground into an inning-ending double play.
Norsemen 001 000 100 2 6 1
Jailbirds 000 240 00x 6 9 1
Norsemen:
Pitching - Pineiro (L) 5, Karsay 1, GWhite 2
Catching - Posada 8
Home Runs - Lamb (off Dessens, 3rd inn., 0 on, 2 out), Zeile (off Dessens, 7th inn., 0 on, 1 out)
Injuries - None
Limits - None
Jailbirds:
Pitching - Dessens W (2-1) 7, Benitez SV (5) 2
Catching - Piazza 7, Widger 2
Home Runs - Hinske (1, off Pineiro, 5th inn., 3 on, 1 out)
Injuries - None
Limits - OPalmeiro (4 ABR)
Night game, 80s, Clear, Light Wind, normal ump
.
Game 3 - Tim Wakefield vs. Pedro Martinez
Pitching on short rest for the second consecutive outing, Pedro started strong, striking out the first two hitters he faced, but Brian Giles turned him around to give the Norsemen the early lead in the rubber match.
It didn't take long for the Cons to answer, though, as Wakefield paid for back-to-back first-inning walks when Shannon Stewart belted one into another area code, giving Missouri a 3-1 lead. It stayed that way until the 7th, when Pedro gave up his next hit, a Bonds single to lead the inning off. McCracken tripled The Barry home, and stood 90 feet away as the tying run. But Pedro reached back. He struck out Jorge Posada, who had murdered the Cons with 10 RBIs in the season-opening sweep, and rung up Woodward as well, before getting Neifi Perez to fly out to end the threat.
In the 8th - insurance. With two out, Stewart and pinch-hitter Orlando Palmeiro drew back-to-back walks against reliever Gabe White. A two-base error by Lamb on a hard hopper by Burks scored one run, and Piazza drove in the other two with a double. Despite getting just four hits, the Cons got the win that kept them alive.
Norsemen 100 000 100 2 6 1
Jailbirds 300 000 03x 6 4 0
Norsemen:
Pitching - Wakefield (L) 7, GWhite 1
Catching - Posada 8
Home Runs - Giles (off Dessens, 1st inn., 0 on, 2 out)
Injuries - None
Limits - Lombard? (if so, 1 ABR)
Jailbirds:
Pitching - P.Martinez W (4-3) 8.2, Benitez SV (6) 0.1
Catching - Piazza 8.2, Widger 0.1
Home Runs - Stewart (3, off Wakefield, 1st inn., 2 on, 1 out)
Injuries - None
Limits - None
Night game, 70s, Clear, Light wind, small ump
Josh Phelps was active for this series, Brandon Larson, not so much. All FFN percentage limits were inactive.