ALCS Game #1
Beartooth (Mark Buehrle 21-6, 3.25) @ Alabama (Randy Johnson 24-6, 2.58)
Alabama Wins 3-2
Beartooth wasted no time getting on the board to kick off the ALCS. In the first inning, the one-out showdown between Barry Bonds and Randy Johnson produced a towering home run to right field to give Beartooth the early 1-0 lead. The score held until the bottom of the third when Alabama’s Mike Lieberthal led off the inning with a solo shot of his own to tie the score at 1. In the bottom of the fourth, an Andruw Jones walk led off the inning. Buehrle then got Hank Blalock to fly out to left field for the first out. Jones was then forced out at second on a Jimmy Rollins ground ball with Rollins taking over at first base. He promptly swiped second off the unsuspecting Buehrle, putting him in scoring position with two outs. Alabama’s offensive hero of the game, Lieberthal, then stepped up and stroked a single to left, easily scoring the speedy Rollins to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Lieberthal found himself in the midst of another rally in the bottom of the sixth as a one-out single by Blalock preceded a two-out single by Lieberthal (his third hit of the game) to give the Braves runners on first and third with two outs. Again a Braves hitter came up big with two outs as Luis Castillo smoked a double down the line to plate Blalock and give the Braves a 3-1 lead. Buehrle then buckled down to retire Lance Berkman on a grounder to short to end the threat with runners on second and third. The score stayed the same for a couple of innings with both pitchers CRUISING. Johnson faced a tough test in the 9th though. That man – Barry Bonds – led off the frame. Johnson got the better of him this time, though, retiring him on a grounder to second baseman Luis Castillo for the first out. Anybody who has played Beartooth this year knows that Johnson wasn’t out of the woods yet. Alex Rodriguez then strolled to the plate (and in true real-life A-Rod fashion) popped up to the first baseman, Jim Thome for out number two. The crowd began to get rowdy as they could sniff the win with two outs in the 9th. Mark Teixeira was next up to face the Big Unit. He promptly blasted a towering drive into the left field seats, quieting the Alabama crowd and cutting the deficit to 3-2 with still one out to go. Alabama manager Chris Waye then decided that Johnson’s 111th pitch was his last of the day, calling on Billy Wagner to get the final out. Wagner was lights-out all year for the Braves, posting a 0.99 ERA while allowing only 30 hits in his 54.2 innings. Waye’s move was the right one this time as Wagner was able to retire Javy Lopez on a lazy fly ball to center fielder Andruw Jones to lock up the first win of the ALCS for the Braves.
Player of the Game: Mike Lieberthal, 3-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
Alabama Wins 3-2
Beartooth wasted no time getting on the board to kick off the ALCS. In the first inning, the one-out showdown between Barry Bonds and Randy Johnson produced a towering home run to right field to give Beartooth the early 1-0 lead. The score held until the bottom of the third when Alabama’s Mike Lieberthal led off the inning with a solo shot of his own to tie the score at 1. In the bottom of the fourth, an Andruw Jones walk led off the inning. Buehrle then got Hank Blalock to fly out to left field for the first out. Jones was then forced out at second on a Jimmy Rollins ground ball with Rollins taking over at first base. He promptly swiped second off the unsuspecting Buehrle, putting him in scoring position with two outs. Alabama’s offensive hero of the game, Lieberthal, then stepped up and stroked a single to left, easily scoring the speedy Rollins to give the Braves a 2-1 lead. Lieberthal found himself in the midst of another rally in the bottom of the sixth as a one-out single by Blalock preceded a two-out single by Lieberthal (his third hit of the game) to give the Braves runners on first and third with two outs. Again a Braves hitter came up big with two outs as Luis Castillo smoked a double down the line to plate Blalock and give the Braves a 3-1 lead. Buehrle then buckled down to retire Lance Berkman on a grounder to short to end the threat with runners on second and third. The score stayed the same for a couple of innings with both pitchers CRUISING. Johnson faced a tough test in the 9th though. That man – Barry Bonds – led off the frame. Johnson got the better of him this time, though, retiring him on a grounder to second baseman Luis Castillo for the first out. Anybody who has played Beartooth this year knows that Johnson wasn’t out of the woods yet. Alex Rodriguez then strolled to the plate (and in true real-life A-Rod fashion) popped up to the first baseman, Jim Thome for out number two. The crowd began to get rowdy as they could sniff the win with two outs in the 9th. Mark Teixeira was next up to face the Big Unit. He promptly blasted a towering drive into the left field seats, quieting the Alabama crowd and cutting the deficit to 3-2 with still one out to go. Alabama manager Chris Waye then decided that Johnson’s 111th pitch was his last of the day, calling on Billy Wagner to get the final out. Wagner was lights-out all year for the Braves, posting a 0.99 ERA while allowing only 30 hits in his 54.2 innings. Waye’s move was the right one this time as Wagner was able to retire Javy Lopez on a lazy fly ball to center fielder Andruw Jones to lock up the first win of the ALCS for the Braves.
Player of the Game: Mike Lieberthal, 3-4, R, HR, 2 RBI
posted by robo at 1:13 PM
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