Thanks to Steve for the writeup.
In a series dominated by pitching The Minnesota Nice beat the defending champion Lonesome Dove Legends in 6 games. The composite hitting lines show how tight the series was, and how inept both offenses were. Minnesota hit .219/.293/.313, with Lonesome Dove at .221/.289/.333.
Nearly every game was a tense battle, the exception being the Legends 6-1 win in game 5. Lonesome Dove had a couple more bullpen breakdowns than the Nice, and that probably was the difference.
The big hitting stars for each team fizzled. Albert Pujols put up a .227/.370/.409 line, while Manny Ramirez was at .240/.240/.360. Carlos Beltran of the Legends and David Wright of the Nice were two other stars who put up poor overall numbers, though each delivered a game-winner.
I’d say Roy Halladay was the most valuable player as he pitched brilliantly in both Legend wins, but the award usually goes to someone on the winning team so that would be Jayson Werth, who went 7 for 18 with 5 walks and was in the middle of every key rally.
Game 1 – Minnesota (Beckett) @ Lonesome Dove (Halladay)
After retiring the first two hitters, Beckett hits Albert Pujols. Dan Murphy is safe on an error, and Ryan Doumit drives Pujols in with a double. Chase Utley hits a solo shot in the 3rd to make it 2-0 Legends.
Minnesota responds with four hits in the 5th, including a single by Beckett. That inning ends with a 2-2 tie.
The managerial wheels start turning in the 6th, as Pujols leads off with a walk and moves to 3rd on a double by Murphy. After Doumit lines out, the Legends send up righty-killing pinch hitter Chris Denorfia, and the Nice respond by lifting Beckett for lefty Scott Downs. That brings in lefty-killer Edgar Renteria to hit for Denorfia, and Downs is told to put him on intentionally to load the bases with one out. Relief ace Joey Devine is summoned from the pen, and Anderson Hernandez hits for Rick Ankiel. Downs induces a 5-4 double play to get out of the inning. Both managers chewed up a ton of resources just to get out of the 6th!
The bullpens start dominating at that point, as neither team gets a runner past 2nd through the 10th inning. In the bottom of the 11th Maicer Izturis lines a one-out single off Manny Delcarmen, the steals 2nd. That steal is critical as he gives Lonesome Dove the win by scoring on a 2-out single by Carlos Beltran.
Minnesota 0 Lonesome Dove 1
Game 2 – Minnesota (Mussina) @ Lonesome Dove (Hamels)
The Legends jump on Mussina in the 2nd, scoring one on a single by Ankiel and another on a double by Renteria. The Nice respond in the top of the 3rd as Hamels walks three, and they all score.
Lonesome Dove raps three straight one-out singles in the 5th to load the bases, and scores the tying run on an error by David Wright. But Mussina escapes with no further damage to leave game tied at 3.
Again the Nice respond immediately, retaking the lead on a solo homer by Alfonso Soriano. Then they explode against three Legend relievers in the 8th to take a 7-3 lead.
But that lead doesn’t even survive the inning, as Lonesome Doves chews through 3 Nice relievers to tie the game at 7. The inning ends with Izturis unsuccessfully attempting to steal home and the game off Devine.
The game heads to extra innings again, and Minnesota scores two on a 10th inning homer by Chris Iannetta off Brian Fuentes. This time Delcarmen shuts down the Legends and the Nice even the series with a 9-7 win.
Minnesota 1 Lonesome Dove 1
Game 3 – Lonesome Dove (Santana) @ Minnesota (Marcum)
On to Minnesota, and the return of the DH. This time Minnesota jumps out to the 1st inning lead on a 2-run double by Nomar Garciaparra. That lead lasts about a minute and Izturis drives home two in the next half-inning to tie the game at 2. Then the scoring settles down. Neither starter dominates as both teams get their first two men on base multiple times, but thanks to some good pitching and timely double plays neither teams scores again through the 7th.
Santana is lifted for Jose Valverde to start the 8th, and the Nice get two on. With two outs David Wright launched a 3-run shot to put Minnesota up 5-2. Scott downs gets three ground outs in the 9th to make that the final score.
Minnesota 2 Lonesome Dove 1
Game 4 – Lonesome Dove (Volquez) @ Minnesota (Volstad)
Lonesome Dove jumps on Volstad, with a leadoff single by Beltran followed by a home run by Utley. Volquez cruises through 4, but the Nice load the base with no outs in the 5th. But they can only score one, that on a double-play grounder.
The score remains 2-1 until the bottom of the 7th, when Edmonds lead off with a walk followed by a Jayson Werth triple. That ties the game and chases Volquez. Clayton Kershaw faces one batter, pinch-hitter Soriano. His single put the Nice up 1 run. Chad Billingsley comes in and just doesn’t have it, and he walks the first hitter then gives up doubles to Iannetta and Ramon Santiago. That makes it 6-2, and the Minnesota bullpen makes that the final score.
Minnesota 2 Lonesome Dove 1
Game 5 - Lonesome Dove (Halladay) @ Minnesota (Beckett)
Once again Halladay is on, but this time Beckett is not. The score is 1-1 after 4, when Utley and Pujols blast back-to-back homers to put the Legends up 3-1. It could have been worse, as Micah Hoffpauir follows the homers with a double but is out trying to make it a triple.
Beckett doesn’t take advantage of the reprieve, giving up a 2-run triple to Ivan Rodriguez in the 6th, who later scores to make it 6-1 Lonesome Dove. Halladay rolls with that lead into the 9th, where Francisco Rodriguez rescues him from a bit of trouble to close out the win.
Minnesota 3 Lonesome Dove 2
Game 6 – Minnesota (Mussina) @ Lonesome Dove (Hamels)
Mussina wants no part of Pujols, as he walks him intentionally with 2 outs and nobody on in the 1st.
Neither team threatens through 3 innings, but Werth leads off the Minnesota 4th with a double. He scores on a two-base throwing error by 3rd baseman Carlos Guillen.
Again Mussina intentionally walks Pujols with two outs and nobody on in the 6th. That brings up pinch-hitter Denorfia, and Mussina yields to Downs. Denorfia scratches out an infield single to extend the threat, and the maneuvering begins. Jose Guillen replaces Ankiel to face the lefty, which brings on Devine to replace Downs. Murphy steps in for Guillen, and Devine gets him on a grounder to 2nd.
Santiago leads off the Nice 8th with a pinch-single, but Asdrubal Cabrera unsuccessfully tries to bunt him along. But Billingsley uncorks a wild pitch to the next hitter to move Santiago to 2nd. That’s critical because he scores on a Werth single to add the insurance run. Again the Minnesota bullpen makes that stand, with Delcarmen getting the final two outs for the save.
Minnesota 4 Lonesome Dove 2
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