Orioles 9 Phillies 1, Orioles 10 Phillies 9
The Orioles are back on top.
For the second time in three seasons, the Orioles swept the Phillies to
win the MetroWest ABL championship. The Orioles won game one easily, 9-1, as
Steve Saraceno won his third nine-inning complete game in three weeks. After
winning game one, he came on to save game two, a nail-biter that went to the
Orioles 10-9. A ninth-inning, back to the diamond, over-the-shoulder catch
on the warning track by the Orioles left fielder Mark Knowlton may have been the difference.
Saraceno scattered nine hits in game one, fanned eight, and only
struggled in inning five. Trailing 5-0, the Phillies produced a run on four
singles by Rick Huckins, Rob Meader, Pat Chieffalo, and Mark Rogers. On
Rogers' rbi-single, however, the Orioles center field threw a one-hop strike
to catcher Jeff Merzel to get Meader by a half-step.
The Orioles had built their lead on a single run in the first and four
in the fourth. A Bob Galvani single, a walk, and an error produced the first
run. In the fourth, Rob Shaw led off with a double. With two outs, Bunky
Smith singled him home, Brendan Doyle grounded a single to center, and they
both scored as Tom Galvani went downtown to straight away center.
The seventh inning put it out of reach. A Merzel walk started the rally.
B. Doyle singled, Tom Galvani doubled, Mark Strickney, Mark Knowlton and
Saraceno singled, and it was 9-1. It would have been 10-1 but for a fine
throw by center fielder Steve Myers to cut down Knowlton at home.
Tom Galvani, Brendan Doyle, and John Malone had two hits for the O's,
while Chieffalo had two for the Phillies.
The Phillies bats' came alive in game two, but the Orioles kept on
hitting in return. A nightmarish sixth inning erased a Phillies' lead, a lead
they were never able to regain.
The Orioles opened with a quick two in the first. An error, a Merzel
double, a B. Doyle single, and a sac fly by Tom Galvani produced the runs.
The Phillies answered with three, and had a chance to make it more. Ibarguen,
Meader, Chris Decatur, and Chieffalo singled to start the first and make it
3-2. After a fly to left, a walk and a Pat Dayton single loaded the bases.
Orioles starter Rob Shaw came up big, though, fanning two to leave the bases loaded.
Decatur singled Ibarguen home in the fourth to make it 4-2, where it stood as the O's
came to bat in the top of the sixth. By the time three outs were recorded, the O's led
8-4 on a mix of line drives, flairs, and Phillies' errors.
Eight straight Orioles reached base to start the inning. Knowlton, Aubrey Doyle, Saraceno,
and Malone singled. Dick Scullary was hit by a pitch. Rob Shaw followed with a single, and
it was 5-4. The Phillies then committed two errors on one play, while still managing to get
an out, and it was 7-4. A Merzel single brought the eighth run home.
Instead of hanging their heads and quitting, the Phillies came right
back with two. Myers and Demian Gage singled. Following an out, Brian "The
Quiet Man" Gibbons lined a double to left to score them both and make it 8-6.
In the top of the seventh, the O's scored two key runs. Tom Galvani was
hit by a pitch to start the innning. An error and a Knowlton single made it
9-6, and a wild pitch allowed another run to score.
The heart of the Phillies' order struck in the seventh. A one-out walk
by Huckins started the rally. With two out, Meader doubled off the wall in
left-center for a run. Decatur lined a double to deep left for another, and
Chieffalo doubled to make it 10-9. Saraceno relieved and got the third out.
The Phillies had a great chance to tie it in the bottom of the eighth.
Craig Bagley lined a double to deep center to start the inning. After an out,
Myers singled to make it first and third with only one out. Working his
tenth inning of the day, Saraceno used a bit more savvy and got two infield
pop-ups to leave it at 10-9.
Gibbons singled to start the bottom of the ninth. Dave Randa followed
with a high fly ball to deep left. The drive looked like it might have
home-run distance. The Orioles left fielder turned his back to the
infield and ran straight towards the wall. As he came to the warning track,
he extended his glove and hauled it in for a jaw-dropping catch. Shades of
Willie Mays in 1954. A fly ball to right and a comebacker to Saraceno ended
it and put the Orioles back where they so often have been.
Hitting stars in game two were many. The top four in the Phillies
line-up went a combined 9-12 with six runs scored. Ibarguen, Meader, and
Chieffalo had two hits, while Decatur was 3-3. Gibbons and Myers also had two
hits for the Phillies. For the Orioles, Merzel, Knowlton and Aubrey Doyle had
two hits.
Best wishes for a full recovery to Oriole third baseman Barry Bennett.
He stumbled and separated his right shoulder in game one, one day before he
was to have knee surgery. Hope to see you back next season.
The Phillies wish good luck to two teammates who won't be back next
season. Rob "The Hit Man" Meader and Pat Dayton are leaving the Boston area.
They leave big holes in the team, and will be missed as teammates and friends.
Remember all you over 30 dudes, do plenty of stretching over the winter.
The last week of April, 2002, will be here soon (we hope).
Round 2, 09/23/2001, Game 3
Orioles 4 Red Sox 3
Steve Saraceno went all 9 innings for his third straight victory over the Red Sox and his
third win of the playoffs. Saraceno gave up 3 runs, 2 earned, while scattering 10 hits,
walking one and striking out 4. The Red Sox had at least one base runner in 6 of 9 innings
but Saraceno was aided by great defense and timely pitching. Jeff Merzel threw out two base
stealers and Barry Bennett made the play of the game in eighth inning. With runners on first
and third and one out and the Sox leading 3-0, Bennett made a diving stop of a Brendan Mahoney
smash down the third baseline. Bennett was able to hold the runner at third and got the force
at second. Saraceno then struck out Ostrow for the third out stranding the runner at third.
Kevin Marden Jr. had lead off the eight with a long double to center and was moved to third on
an infield single by Mark Hauglie.
In the second inning the Sox put up their first run starting the inning with a leadoff single
from Brendan Mahoney (2-3). Mahoney scored on a single by Johnson. After a single from Alex
Denucci put runners on first and third with one out, Saraceno struck out Ed McGuire and Tom
Galvani made a running, over the head catch of a Boermeister bloop to left center to end the inning.
The Sox added single runs in the fourth and sixth to run their lead to 3-0. Things looked bleak for
the O's as Bob Boermeister was cruising having allowed just 2 hits through 7 1/3 innings, retiring
22 of the 24 batters he faced. The eighth started much like the previous 7 innings as Boermeister
struck out Dick Scullary. C. Galvani then punched a single to right but was erased at second on a
fielders choice from Rob Shaw. T. Galvani then singled and both runners moved up a wild pitch.
Brendan Doyle then came through with a single to center to score both Shaw and Galvani and cut the
lead to 3-2. Bunkie Smith then reached on an infield single and both runners again moved up on a
wild pitch. With runners on second and third and two outs B. Galvani hit a hard shot to second base
that Will Creighton made a good play on. But his throw got through the web of the first basemen
and both runners scored to give the O's a 4-3 lead.
Saraceno got the side in order in the ninth and retired the last seven batters he faced to seal the win.
Phillies 4 Cubs 3
It is a cliche, but sometimes it is a shame someone has to lose. The
Phillies and Cubs played 27 innings the past two Sundays, and entering the
27th, game three was tied 3-3, and the runs scored by each team for the
series totaled 14 apiece. With Pat Dayton and Tom Barnes throwing well, it
looked like extra-innigs might be in store. But the Phillies had an extra
Pat at their disposal. Pat Chieffalo lined a two-out ninth-inning single to
deep right field to score Rob Meader and send the Phillies to the league
championship next week in Sudbury.
Dayton went the distance for the Phillies, allowing only six hits and
only one walk, perhaps the key to his success on the day. He fanned five.
Dayton was helped by some slick fielding by shortstop Chris Decatur who made
several fine throws, none prettier than a ninth-inning off-balance throw from
the hole to retire the leadoff hitter. Tom Barnes took the loss despite 8 and
2/3 top-notch innings. He allowed eight hits and also fanned five.
The Cubs struck first with a pair in the top of the fourth. Tom Jette
singled and stole second. He moved to third on Andy Schultz' single to left.
A stolen base put runners at second and third, and the always pesky Dan Gould
brought them both in with a single to center.
The Phillies quickly tied it in the bottom of the fourth, as the bottom
third of the order was able to push two runs across. Dave Randa reached
second on an error. Jeff Langan bunted, and Randa beat the throw to third,
making it first and third with no outs. Hot-hitting Tim Orcutt stroked an
rbi-single to center. Langan then scored when Orcutt was caught in a rundown
between first and second after a pick-off by Barnes.
The Phils moved ahead in the fifth as leadoff man Keith Ibarguen did
his thing, reaching base on a single to center. He stole second, moved to
third on an error, then scored on a Chieffalo line drive single to left.
The bottom of the Cubs order struck in the seventh. Rich Schwarz lead
off with a single. He moved to second on an sac bunt by Andy Luckhardt.
With two outs, Mark Grogan hit a clutch single to tie it at 3.
Dayton's finest moment may have come in the eighth. With one out and
runners at first and second, he struck out the Cubs' clean-up hitter for a
huge out. An infield error then loaded the bases. Dayton was up to the task,
getting a foul pop to first to end it.
The Phillies felt confident in the ninth, as the top of their order was
due. As he has so often this year, Ibarguen started a rally, drawing a
one-out walk. Meader then reached on a fielder's choice. He eventually made
his way to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch (and some, ahem,
aggressive running). Decatur walked spelling the end for Tom Barnes day. Andy
Luckhardt came in with two outs and runners at second and third. Chieffalo lined
the first pitch into right for the 4-3 final.
Round 2, 09/16/2001
Orioles 5 Red Sox 2, Red Sox 9 Orioles 3
No recaps available.
Cubs 3 Phillies 1, Phillies 10 Cubs 8
Game one belonged to the pitchers, game two to the hitters. But after
eighteen innings of baseball, the right to play in the League Championship
belonged to neither the Cubs nor the Phillies. A deciding third game will be
played Sunday 9/23 at Medway at 9:30AM.
Earl Carpenter's seven-hitter lifted the Cubs to a 3-1 victory in the
opener. Carpenter was just a bit better than Pat Dayton, who also allowed
seven hits in seven-plus innings. The difference in this one was the
Phillies' defense letting Dayton down late in the game, while the Cubs were
playing nearly flawless defense.
The Phillies went ahead 1-0 in the first on hits from Keith Ibarguen
and Rob Meader and a two-out error. As the seventh began, it was still 1-0,
and it might have stayed that way if the Phillies hadn't briefly come unglued
in the seventh and eighth. Tom Jette singled to lead off for the Cubs. He moved
to second on a sac bunt by Mark Grogan. An error on an Andy Schultz smash to first
made it first and third with one out. Rich Schwarz hit a hard, low one-hopper to
second baseman Tim Orcutt, who made a nice pick-up. The force at second was made,
but in his haste to throw to first, the Phils' shortstop lost his grip on the ball
as the tying run scored. In the eighth, Eddie Murray led off with a single. The
Phillies then made errors on the next three plays, and it was suddenly 3-1 Cubs.
Dave Randa tripled with one out in the Phils' eighth, but he was stranded. Consecutive
great defensive plays helped to end the eighth. Cubs catcher Paul Sonnett made a
terrific sliding catch on one knee in front of the Phillies dugout to record the second out.
First baseman Tom Barnes made a terrific stretch on a throw from in front of
the plate by Earl Carpenter to end the inning. With two out and none out, Ibarguen and Meader
singled again for the Phils in the ninth. Carpenter caught a soft flair
to the mound to end it. Carpenter and Dayton each fanned eight. Meader and
Ibarguen had two hits, as did Murray.
Game two was a wild one, with many clutch hits, umpiring controversies,
and five lead changes. The Phillies were able to walk off the field 10-8
winners thanks in large part to big hits from Meader and Demian ("Don't Call
Me Damian") Gage.
Meader's seventh-inning two-run triple put the Phillies ahead 8-7. He
scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-7. The Cubs came right back to add one
in the eighth on singles by Sonnett and Shaver and an error. Dave Randa's sac
fly in the ninth gave reliever Chris Decatur a little wiggle room, and he
closed the door without allowing any runs the last two innings. A
controversial out-of-the baseline call near second ended the Cubs' ninth.
Meader's triple came after the Cubs had moved ahead 7-6 in the sixth on
Murray's sac fly and an Earl Carpenter triple(Carpenter caught game two after
hurling nine innings). Those clutch hits gave the Cubs back a lead they had
lost in the fifth on a majestic two-run homer to right field by Gage (his
second playoff homer in three seasons, both towering drives). Gage hit the
homer after feeling he'd been robbed of extra bases on a drive along the foul
line a pitch or two earlier.
The Phils came out hungry, moving ahead 3-0 by the second. Meader and
Ibarguen got things going in the first on a hit and walk. An error and a Pat
Chieffalo sac fly brought them home. Brian Gibbons singled Gage home in the
second.
The momentum went the Cubs' way during a five-run, six-single second.
Barnes, Sonnett, Shaver, Fontecchio (3-3 3RBIs), Jette, and Grogan had hits in the inning.
The last two runs of the inning scored on a wild pitch. The Phils closed to 5-4 in the
fourth on Decatur's single and stolen base followed by Chieffalo's rbi-single.
Heavy hitters for the game included Cubs Carpenter, Sonnett, Shaver, and
Fontecchio, all with at least two hits. Gibbons, Orcutt and Meader had two hits for the
Phils. For Meader, it was his twelfth two-hit game in the nineteen games he's
played this season. Mr. Consistency, indeed.
Chieffalo went seven gritty innings for a much deserved win.
The Cubs made two diving catches in the outfield during game 2 to help keep the game
close. Andy Luckhardt made a full-out diving catch in left, and Mark Grogan stole a line drive
hit from Rick Huckins in right.
Round 1, 09/09/2001
Orioles 9 Indians 2
No recap available.
Red Sox 15 Yankees 2
No recap available.
Phillies 10 Cardinals 2
With contributions from up and down the batting order, and strong pitching from starter
Pat Cheffalo and four relievers, the Phillies moved to the National League finals with a
10-2 win over the Cardinals in Medway. The Phillies and the Cubs meet for two next Sunday.
The Phillies jumped ahead with a two-out rally in the first and remained in control the
rest of the way. Hitting highlights included two-out hits in the first by Chris Decatur
(single) , Chieffalo (rbi-single) and Mark Rogers (a two-run double); a triple to deep
left by Dave Randa in the third, followed by Randa scoring on a wild-pitch; and a five-run
fifth launched by a Mark Rogers' homer to center. The homer was followed by seven straight
singles. On the day, Sean Boardman had three hits for the Phils, while Rogers, Chieffalo,
Brian Gibbons, and Jeff Langan had two.
The Cards made it 4-1 on a fifth-inning triple by Tim Ryan and a two-out double by Tom Dowey.
Catcher Matt Sandock crushed a home run to deep center in the eighth to make it 10-2. Cards'
reliever Dowey did a nice job with his knuckler, allowing no runs over the final three innings.
Chiefffalo pitched a fine game, using the outside corner with great skill while allowing only
one run in five innings. Relievers Rick Huckins, Steve Myers, Pat Dayton, and Chris Decatur held
the Cards to one run over the final four. Myers escaped unscathed from a bases-loaded, no-out
jam in the seventh with the help of an unusual 5-4-2 double play.
Cubs 6 Braves 3
The Cubs won the right to go to the National League Championship Series with a 6-3 win over the Braves.
The Cubs are the first third place team to win their first round playoff game since the current playoff
format was adopted 5 years ago!
The story of this game was the complete game pitched by Earl Carpenter. He was on top of his game allowing
just 6 hits and 1 earned run which was a controversial run in the final inning. Earl was also incredible
defensively with 6 assists from the mound! For the Braves, Jim Callaghan started and went four and two
thirds innings and allowed the six runs although many of those runs were unearned. Mike Connor came in
relief and allowed just 3 hits and no runs.
The Cubs played a great game on defense. The Cubs only made 1 error and that could have been ruled a clean hit.
Eddie Murray had a great game in right with 4 putouts and shortstop Dennis Fontecchio had 5 assists and one
great catch of a line drive to his right. Bruce Sher made a nice play ranging far to his right from
his second base position and then throwing out the Braves runner.
The Braves defense made some great plays including 2 by Paul Chiodo in center. Paul made a fantastic play
on the first batter of the game with an over the shoulder catch of a deep fly ball. He also made a nice
running catch of a liner in the right center field gap. Mike Mangano started a double play by snaring a
bullet off the bat of Tom Barnes and throwing to second to beat the runner back.
The second inning
turned out to be the critical inning of the game. The Cubs plated 4 runs which would turn out to be
enough to win. The inning started with Earl hitting a high fly to shallow right that fell for a hit. Then,
with Earl stealing second, Tom Barnes hit a roller to short that was thrown away putting runners on second
and third with no outs. Paul Sonnett hit a clutch game breaking two run single to center. Then with two
outs, Rich Schwarz hit a soft one hopper that the shortstop didn't field cleanly allowing Rich to reach and
Paul to score from second. After a stolen base, Tom Jette followed with a grounder to third that was thrown
away allowing the fourth run of the inning to score.
The Cubs extended the lead to 6-0 in the fifth with two runs. Mark Kujawski led off with a single to right center and
then Dennis Fontecchio hit a hard grounder in the shortstop hole that Mike Mangano made a another great diving
stop on. However, his throw to first was off the mark which put runners at second and third. A cheap
infield single loaded the bases. Tom Jette followed with
a grounder to Jim Callaghan who threw home to force Mark Kujawski, but the throw from the catcher to first hit Tom
in the back allowing Dennis to score. A walk to Andy Schultz loaded the bases and set up a great at bat
for Chris Greig. Chris got two strikes quickly and battled back with several foul balls before drawing the
RBI walk. The Cubs would not score again.
The Braves put runners on first and third with one out in the fifth. On a ground ball in the shortstop hole,
Dennis Fontecchio made a great play to field the ball and throw home to keep the shutout in tact! The Braves
broke through for 2 runs in the seventh when they put
runners on second and third with one out. After a strike out for the second out, Jim Callaghan hit a two run
single to center. That hit scored Jack Bernadenelli who had singled and Mike Callaghan.
In the bottom of the ninth, the first two Braves batters were retired. The Braves showed a lot of grit and
tried to mount a comeback. Kevin Bryson took a wicked 3-2 knuckle ball for a walk. A pinch runner came
in and stole second and then third. Jack Bernadenelli then hit a high foul ball behind the plate that Paul
Sonnett was trying to camp under when he had to dive towards the infield to catch. Paul ended up deflecting
the ball in the air and a hustling Earl dove to catch the ball and end the game with an amazing catch. However,
the umpire ruled the ball had hit the backstop so there was no catch. With a new life, Jack reached on an infield
hit driving in the third run. The next batter hit a fairly deep line drive to right that Eddie
Murray made a nice catch on to finally end the game.