Coming off a sweep of the Blue Suede on the road, the Spiders returned home for a six-game homestand against the Doughnuts and the Mafia. They were hoping for better results than their last homestand, a sweep at the hands of Da Bronx.

Aaron Harang vs. Jason Schmidt (Game 1 – Day 8)
Freezing cold. Bitter wind. Ice cream sales were down. Hot chocolate sales were stratospheric.

Rod Barajas contributed to the chilly atmosphere with a three-run bomb in the 2nd, which put the arachnids down early. They quickly bounced back with two in their half, and optimism returned.

In the 5th, Ray Durham walks, steals second and third, and scores on Rafael Palmeiro’s single, making it 4-2, in favor of the visitors. However, Jeff Bagwell comes through with a huge, two-run dinger in the 7th to knot the score.

Then, in the 8th, back-to-back walks open the inning for Mudville. Vladimir Guerrero then laces a single to center field and Vidro gets the green light. Kerry Robinson nails him at the plate, and the game is still tied. A walk to Bagwell follows. Then, Andruw Jones lofts a fly ball to medium left field. Alex Ochoa tags and challenges the arm of Frank Catalanotto. He beats the throw home, and Mudville takes their first lead of the game, 5-4.

Mike Stanton, who had come on in the 8th, pitches a 1-2-3 9th to finish off the Spiders’ first home win of the season.

The essentials:
New York 030 010 000 – 4 11 2 LOB: 13
Mudville 020 000 21x – 5 10 0 LOB: 7

New York Data:
Pitching – Harang 5, Worrell (L) 3
Catching – Barajas 8
Home Runs – Barajas (2nd, off Schmidt, 2 on)
Stolen Bases – Durham 2
Injuries – None
Ejections – None
Limits Used – Hafner (I)

Mudville Data:
Pitching – Schmidt 6, King 0.2, Banks 0.1, Stanton (W) 2
Catching – Lo Duca 9
Home Runs – Bagwell (7th, off Worrell, 1 on)
Stolen Bases – None
Injuries – None
Ejections – None
Limits Used – Bragg 0/1, Romano 0/1, Banks (A), Hudson (I), Infante (I)

Other Info:
Night game, Temperature – 30, Partly cloudy,
Wind left-to-right at 20-29 mph, Home umpire - Barrett (N)

Livan Hernandez vs. Mike Maroth (Game 2 – Day 9)
The visitors strike first again, this time in the 3rd, on a single by Hernandez and a one-out triple from Frank Catalanotto. On the hill, Hernandez is solid through five. In the 6th, the wheels come off.

Two singles, two doubles, a walk and two errors produce five runs for the Spiders. Although two of the runs are unearned, they count nonetheless and Mudville is up, 5-1, after six frames.

The Spiders tack on single runs in the 7th and 8th innings for Maroth, who is sailing along until two are out in the 9th. He hits the wall at that point, and Ray King is summoned to get the final out.

Tomorrow, the Spiders put their modest five-game win skein at risk against Randy Johnson.

The essentials:
New York 001 000 002 – 3 7 2 LOB: 7
Mudville 000 005 11x – 7 11 0 LOB: 6

New York Data:
Pitching – Hernandez (L) 6, Silva 2
Catching – Lopez 8
Home Runs – None
Stolen Bases – None
Injuries – None
Ejections – None
Limits Used – Hafner (I)

Mudville Data:

Pitching – Maroth (W) 8.2, King 0.1
Catching – Lo Duca 9
Home Runs – None
Stolen Bases – None
Injuries – None
Ejections – None
Limits Used – Banks (A), Hudson (I), Infante (I)

Other Info:
Night game, Temperature - 47, Partly cloudy,
Wind light at 0-9 mph, Home umpire – Marquez (N)

“The Unit” vs. Brett Tomko (Game 3 – Day 10)
The Spiders come out swinging against Randy Johnson. Three 1st-inning singles load the bases with one out. However, Paul Lo Duca then smashes a ball to shortstop Rich Aurilia, who turns it into a 6-4-3 double play.

In the 2nd, Andruw Jones rips a double and Aramis Ramirez goes yard with one out, to give the home team a 2-0 lead. Johnson then shuts the door, allowing no more hits during his stint on the hill.

Meanwhile, Tomko is doing his best Randy Johnson impersonation. Through 6 1/3 innings, he allows only two hits and no runs. Then, suddenly, his lead is gone. Aurilia singles and Aaron Boone follows with a two-run jack and the game is tied.

It remains that way into extra frames. In the 11th, New York takes the lead on a two-out, run-scoring triple by Boone. However, the Spiders come back in the bottom half of the inning. Jose Vidro doubles and scores on a single by Vladimir Guerrero to knot the score at three apiece.

In the 12th, it finally ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper. Rafael Furcal is hit by a pitch and then steals second. It's a close play and Aurilia vehemently objects to the call, prompting his ejection. After the next two batters are retired, Furcal stands 90 feet away from victory. The Doughnuts decide to intentionally walk the dangerous Vidro. Then, Alex Ochoa coaxes a walk to load the bases. Jeff Bagwell steps in and he watches four pitches miss the dish, driving in the winning run. A run without a hit. A very tough way to lose a great game like this one.

The essentials:
New York 000 000 200 010 – 3 9 1 LOB: 6
Mudville 020 000 000 011 - 4 7 0 LOB: 9

Two outs when winning run scored.

New York Data:
Pitching – Johnson 9, Worrell 1, Mesa (L) 1.2
Catching – Barajas 11.2
Home Runs – Boone (7th, off Tomko, 1 on)
Stolen Bases – None
Injuries – None
Ejections – Aurilia (12th, arguing safe call at 2nd base)
Limits Used – Hafner (I)

Mudville Data:
Pitching – Tomko 6.2, Banks 0.2, Stanton 1.2, Dotel 2, Carrara (W) 1
Catching – Lo Duca 9, Kreuter 3
Home Runs – A Ramirez (2nd, off Johnson, 1 on)
Stolen Bases – Furcal
Injuries – None
Ejections – None
Limits Used – Kreuter 0/2, Banks (A), Hudson (I), Infante (I)

Other Info:
Day game, Temperature - 65, Cloudy,
Wind in at 10-19 mph, Home umpire – Rippley (N)