This is a series on paper that you just had a feeling that would go the entire distance (all 5 games), with both teams having a flair for the dramatic.
Let's see if in the APBA world, if it plays out as such.
Game 1 (at St. Louis)
The Anaheim Angels decide to start
Jarrod Washburn (Grade B-Y) in Game 1 of the series, while the St. Louis Cardinals debated over their Game 1 choice. I finally decided to go with their actual ace
Joaquin Andujar (Grade B), who started 38 games for the Cards in 1985. If you are playing 'APBA-Ball' or playing in a face-to-fact APBA Tournament, you would likely go with
John Tudor (Grade A-YZ). The decision to start Andujar over Tudor will play a big factor for the remainder of the series.
The first two games are in St. Louis, while Game 3 & Game 4 (if necessary) would be played in Anaheim... and if the series moves beyond that, back to St. Louis.
Top of the 2nd - The Angels would draw first blood of the series, with RBI doubles by
Scott Spiezio and
Adam Kennedy, to give the Angels a 2-0 lead.
Bottom of the 3rd - Cardinals' starting pitcher
Joaquin Andujar would help his own cause by leading off the bottom of the inning with a single.
Vince Coleman would sacrifice himself with a bunt to move Andujar over to second, while
Willie McGee grounds out to deep short to move the runner over to third base with two outs.
Tom Herr hits an RBI double, to cut the lead in half. Angels' starter
Jarrod Washburn would accidentally plunk Jack Clark with a pitch, runners on 1st & 2nd. With two outs, Washburn would make a mistake pitch, allowing a three-run homer to
Andy Van Slyke over the right field fence. Terry Pendleton followed with a single, while Darrell Porter could do nothing with that, ending the inning, flying to left. Cardinals lead, 4-2.
Bottom of the 4th -
Ozzie Smith draws a lead-off walk.
Joaquin Andujar reaches base again, this time reaching second, due to a fielding mishap by Scott Spiezio at first. Runners on 2nd & 3rd, Vince Coleman is walked. Bases loaded, no outs,
Willie McGee draws an RBI walk, keeping the bases juiced while there was still no outs.
Tom Herr would hit into a fielder's choice, as the Angels would get the runner (McGee at second), but still manages to drive in a run.
Runners on 1st & 3rd & with no outs, the Angels'
Mike Scioscia had seen enough... calling on
Al Levine in an attempt to get out of the inning. Levine was not successful, allowing an RBI single to
Jack Clark, followed by a two-run double by
Andy Van Slyke -- giving Van Slyke 5 RBI for the day. Scioscia goes back to the pen, calls on
Scot Shields who gets the Angels out of the inning, but this game is as good as done, with 9-2 lead after four innings in the books.
Garret Anderson would go on to hit a solo home run in the 6th, while the Cardinals tacked a run on back in the 5th (RBI single by
Willie McGee), but the Angels lose the opener in a 10-3 thumping.
Joaquin Andujar (1-0) was not great by all means, allowing 6 hits, 3 runs & 2 walks through 6 innings of work, while striking out 4 Angels. Andujar reached base all three plate appearances (Single, 2nd on error & a walk).
Jarrod Washburn was lousy, going only 3.1 innings, while allowing 5 hits, 8 runs (7 earned) & 4 walks, plus 2 K's.
Game 2 (at St. Louis)
The Anaheim Angels send out
Ramon Ortiz (Grade B-Y) in an attempt to right the ship, while he will have his work cut out for him in the Cardinals'
John Tudor (Grade A-YZ).
Top of the 1st - The Angels would score first again, with a two-out, two-run homer by Troy Glaus off of Tudor. Garret Anderson followed with a double, but the Angels would strand him.
Bottom of the 4th - 3.1 innings through,
Ramon Ortiz has only allowed one hit up to this point, a lead-off double to
Vince Coleman in the 1st.
Tom Herr with one out, reaches first on a error by Angels' shortstop
David Eckstein. Ortiz would lose the count to
Jack Clark, as he reaches first by drawing a walk.
Andy Van Slyke would ground to deep second, moving the runners up to 2nd & 3rd. With two outs,
Terry Pendleton hits a two-run single, tying the game at 2-2 -- stealing second on the very next play.
Darrell Porter would strand Pendleton at second though.
Bottom of the 5th - With one out,
John Tudor helps his cause with a triple to left-center. Vince Coleman on the very next at-bat, knocks in Tudor with a triple of his own, trickling down the left field line and into the corner. Cardinals lead 3-2.
Tudor really hunkered down after that three-hit, two-run 1st inning, and would only allow 2 more hits for the next 7 innings (finishing the game with no walks).
Top of the 9th - With one out,
Troy Glaus steps up to the plate to face the Cardinals' closer
Jeff Lahti, Glaus was 2-for-3, with a double, HR & 2 RBI for the night... but would strike out for out number two. Still with the tying run at the plate, Lahti gets Garret Anderson to ground out to second for the final out of the game.
The Cardinals now lead the series, 2-0 (needing just one more win), while the Angels will see if they can channel their inner 'Rally Monkey' as they travel back to Anaheim for Game 3 and hopefully Game 4.
Game 3 (at Anaheim)
The St. Louis Cardinals send out their 3rd starter
Danny Cox (Grade B-Y) to face off against the Anaheim Angels' rookie starter
John Lackey (Grade B-Y).
The Angels made some adjustments to their lineup prior to Game 3, moving up
Garret Anderson from the 5th slot of the lineup to the 2nd slot of the lineup, while
Darin Erstad (1-for-8) was moved down to the 7th slot. The Angels get to use the designated hitter, plugging
Brad Fullmer in the 5th slot, while
Scott Spiezio remains in the 6th slot.
Adam Kennedy and
Bengie Molina also switched bottom slots, with Kennedy batting 8th & Molina 9th; Molina batted 7th, while Kennedy batted 8th, as the pitchers batted 9th in the first two games.
For the Cardinals,
Jack Clark moves from first base to designated hitter, while
Cesar Cedeno plays at first.
Both starters were excellent as they would both start the game by pitching 7 scoreless innings, with both pitchers getting APBA Grade Advancements from B's to A's.
Bottom of the 8th - With one out, the Cardinals'
Danny Cox would make the first mistake by allowing a double to
Bengie Molina. The Angels would send out
Alex Ochoa out to pinch-run for Molina -- in which Ochoa would steal third on the next pitch.
David Eckstein would hit a deep fly to left, as Ochoa would tag up to give the Halos a 1-0 lead.
Garret Anderson would hit a two-out double, but the Angels would not be able to tack on another run.
The Angels call on their closer
Troy Percival, who despite giving up a one-out single to Andy Van Slyke, would hold on for the save, while giving the Angels a much-needed win.
Game 4 (at Anaheim)
Joaquin Andujar (STL) vs
Jarrod Washburn (ANA) -- In a rematch of Game 1 starters, both teams hope for both of these starters to have much-better outings this time around.
Top of the 3rd -
Tom Herr collects his 2nd hit of the game with a two-out RBI single, scoring in
Willie McGee from second (who singled & stole second). Cards lead, 1-0.
Bottom of the 3rd - The Angels strike back with a two-out, game-tying solo home run by
Garret Anderson.
Both starting pitchers had excellent days.
Joaquin Andujar would go on to pitch 7.2 innings, allowing only 3 hits, 1 earned run, while walking two & striking out two.
Jarrod Washburn rebounded nicely from his Game 1 disaster, pitching 7 strong innings, allowing 6 hits, 1 earned run, while striking out 8 Cardinals & walking one.
Bottom of the 8th - With two outs &
Garret Anderson stepping up to the plate.
Whitey Herzog decides to call on reliever
Ricky Horton (Grade B-YZ - Grade A-YZ vs first batter) to face
Garret Anderson (since Garret hit the HR off of Andujar earlier). Horton would give up the go-ahead run, as Anderson hits his 2nd home run of the day, a home run to right.
Up 2-1, the Angels call on their closer
Troy Percival to close things out in the 9th, he relieves
Ben Weber, who pitched a scoreless 8th, while allowing a walk.
Cesar Cedeno pops up for out number one, with
Darrell Porter stepping to the plate. Whitey, not liking the match-up, not to mention Porter is 0-for-9 in the series, calls on pinch-hitter
Tito Landrum for his first at-bat of the series, and awards Whitey on his choice by hitting a solo home run to tie the game, 2-2.
Bottom of the 9th - The Cardinals keep reliever
Ricky Horton in as he gives up a lead-off single to
Troy Glaus. The designated hitter
Brad Fullmer steps up to the plate, and makes Horton pay with a walk-off blast to left....
GAME OVER! SERIES TIED!
We are heading back to St. Louis for the finale.
Game 5 (at St. Louis)
The St. Louis Cardinals have squandered a 2-0 series lead to the Anaheim Angels after a brilliant pitching performance by John Lackey in Game 3, a two home run day by Garret Anderson in Game 4, which led to the walk-off two-run homer by Brad Fullmer off of the Cardinals' Ricky Horton.
The Cardinals are not worried though, as they send out
John Tudor (Grade A-YZ). Tudor has a knack of showing up in big games, we'll see if he can try to duplicate his excellent Game 2 performance. The Angels will counter with
Ramon Ortiz (Grade B-Y). With home field advantage, and Tudor on the mound, the Angels are definitely at a disadvantage, but they'll take it, since they have stretched the series to five games.
Let's get to the action, shall we?
Top of the 2nd -
John Tudor walks the lead-off hitter
Troy Glaus.
Scott Spiezio puts a charge into the ball, as he reaches second on a double, Glaus not fast, is forced to stay put on third. No outs,
Darin Erstad (2-for-12) singles to left, driving in Glaus, while Spiezio holds at third. Erstad steals second, putting runners on 2nd & 3rd with no outs, while the Angels lead 1-0. Bengie Molina delivers a two-run single, making it a 3-0 game, while Tudor just does not look like himself out there. Cardinals' Manager
Whitey Herzog sends out pitching coach
Mike Roarke to see what is going on with Tudor.
The game resumes with
Adam Kennedy stepping up to the plate with
Bengie Molina on first base, Tudor delivers, and this one is skied to left, no doubt about it...
GONE! Whitey is going to keep Tudor out there to at least finish the inning. Tudor would give up two more hits, but no more runs, but the damage is done, the Angels lead 5-0 after the 2nd Inning.
Bottom of the 3rd -
Andy Van Slyke leads off with a single, two batters later he would score off of a
Terry Pendleton double; Angels lead 5-1.
Bottom of the 4th - With one out,
Willie McGee collects his 2nd double of the day, while
Tom Herr would knock him in with an RBI double, with Cards inching closer, trailing 5-2.
Bottom of the 5th -
Andy Van Slyke leads off with a double to right center. Terry Pendleton with one out, knocks in Van Slyke with a double of his own, cutting the lead down to only two runs, with the tying run at the plate in Ozzie Smith.
Terry Pendleton is having a strong series as he is now batting 7-for-17 (.412) which comes as a bit of a surprise since Pendleton only batted .240 in 1985, and was best known at this point of his career for his glove at third & his speed on the base paths. Pendleton's OPS was only .591 during the 1985 MLB Season, which in hitting standards is pretty lousy.
Back to the action, trailing 5-3 with a runner on 2nd,
Ozzie Smith flies out, with no advancement from Pendleton. The Cardinals go with the no-brainer by having
Tito Landrum pinch-hit for starting pitcher
John Tudor. Landrum &
Vince Coleman draw back-to-back walks, as Ramon Ortiz is struggling with his control. The Angels' pitching coach
Bud Black visits the mound, while the Angels have had
Ben Weber warming up in the bullpen since Pendleton's double. They could bring in Weber now, so they can finally get out of the inning, but appears to keep Ortiz in longer... the move was a big mistake. Already 2-for-2 with two doubles,
Willie McGee ties the game up with a two-run single, the Cardinals are showing they have a lot of fight. The Angels should have stuck with their first instinct and went with Weber.
They now call on Weber, as they get out of the inning, despite Weber plunking his first hitter (
Tom Herr) with a pitch.
Bottom of the 5th -
Andy Van Slyke, proving to be a spark plug in this game (and the series for that matter) draws a walk, that is now the third time he led off the inning this game by reaching base. Van Slyke steals second, while
Darrell Porter would ground out, advancing the runner to third.
Terry Pendleton [rolls a 33-7] knocking in Van Slyke on a sac fly, to give the Cardinals the 6-5 lead ... For Pendleton, that is his 3rd RBI of the game.
Bottom of the 7th -
Andy Van Slyke strikes again, with two-run home run off of reliever
Brendan Donnelly, as the Cardinals give themselves a nice 8-5 cushion.
Top of the 8th - With two outs,
Darin Erstad singles to right.
Bengie Molina hits RBI double off of Cardinals' reliever
Ricky Horton.
Alex Ochoa pinch-runs for Molina, and reaches third on a wild pitch by Horton.
Adam Kennedy, 2-for-3, with a HR and 2 RBI, falls short by flying out to right for final out of inning. Cardinals still lead, 8-6.
Top of the 9th - Cardinals call on their closer
Jeff Lahti. Lahti's first challenge is pinch-hitter
Brad Fullmer (Game 4's walk-off hero), who is hitting for the reliever
Scot Shields. Fullmer singles to right. Lahti follows that up by hitting
David Eckstein with a pitch, runners now on 1st & 2nd and no outs.
Garret Anderson steps up to the plate, batting 9-for-18 (.500) with 3 HR, 3 doubles & 3 RBI this series, and causes some damage.... by grounding into a 4-6-3 double play, runner advances to third. Two outs, runner on third, and with the tying run at the plate in
Tim Salmon, Lahti delivers, Salmon swings and strikes out.
The Cardinals come back from a five-run deficit in the 2nd inning, to claw back into the game, while finally taking back the game and series. The Cardinals and Angels did exactly what we thought they would do, give us a great, dramatic five-game series.
Andy Van Slyke earned MVP honors by going 8-for-19 (.421) with 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 runs & a steal.
The Cardinals' bullpen went 7 solid innings in Game 5, allowing 6 hits, one earned run, while striking out 6 Angels and walking none.
Ken Dayley was credited with the win in this one, while
Ben Weber got the loss.
No word yet on the Cardinals' next opponent, while the Angels go home.
