On a night when the Reds and Golden Marlins desperately wanted to win and still save their best pitchers for the upcoming Labor Day tournament or the 35+ playoffs, the two teams went to battle with seldom used starting pitchers.
The Golden Marlins led off the game against Reds' starter, Charlie Handford, with a 4 run first inning. A RBI double by Phil Gadomski put the first run on the board. Mike Ferraro and John Latorre knocked in the second and third runs with a RBI fielder's choices. Ted Poleto (in from California for the weekend) plated the 4th run on a RBI single.
The Reds would bounce right back against Dennis Scimeca with 6 runs, in the bottom of the 1st inning. They would combine 4 hits and 3 walks in the inning. Eddie Class, George Schillinger, and Will Ferguson had the big hits in the inning.
In the top of the second, Ron Lochner evened the score by driving in Gadomski and Girard with a 2 RBI double with two outs. Scimeca and the Marlins used a base running error to record a double play to get out of the bottom half without any further damage and a 6-6 tie.
The top of the 3rd inning saw the Fish load the bases with nobody out. Reds' manager, Dave Van Wormer, removed Handford in favor of his ace Joey Burns. Joey got a pop out to the infield and a fly ball to center. John Latorre tried to score on the flyball (bad advice from his coach: yours truly) and was out on a solid throw from Paul Miles. The Reds got two more hits off of Scimeca in the bottom half, but Dennis was able to wriggle off the hook unscathed, with the game still tied.
Randy Craft led off the top of the 4th with a single and a stolen base. Tom Maney was hit by a pitch and Gadomski singled to load the bases with no outs. Mike Girard followed with a single to knock in Craft and Maney. Joey Burns then induced a fly ball to right and recorded 2 strike outs to escape the jam with just a two run deficit.
Having just knocked in the go ahead runs, Mike Girard took the mound to try to make those two runs stand up. The Reds used a pair of walks, a stolen base, and a RBI fielders choice to plate one run in the bottom of the 4th.
After Mr. Burns retired the Marlins, in the top of the 5th without incident, the Reds were right back at it and looked like they might grab the lead in the bottom of the inning. Charlie Handford walked with one out. Ron Collins followed with a solid single to left, sending Handford to third with just one out. Girard then induced a hard grounder back to the box and wheeled to third throwing behind the runner. The throw was in time, and now there were runners on first and second with two outs. The next batter popped out to the pitcher and the Marlins escaped, clinging to a slim 8-7 lead.
With the daylight waning, the Fish had one big task in front of them. If they could come up with a prolonged rally against one of the league's top pitchers, there wouldn't be enough time for the Reds to answer back. Joey Burns' job was to get the Marlins out one more time, as quickly as he could, so that his team could try for a dramtic walk-off win. Randy Craft, Tom Maney, Phil Gadomski, Mike Girard, and Ron Lochner started the inning with consecutive singles. After an error and a strike out, Mike Clary came up with a two RBI single to give the Marlins five runs in the inning, two men on, and still just one out. Dave Van Wormer saw the handwriting on the wall and called off the dogs. The score reverted back to the last complete inning and the Golden Marlins walked away with the important 8-7 victory, handing Joey Burns his first loss on the season.
Phil Gadomski went 4 for 4, with 2 RBI's and 3 runs scored. Mash runs his consecutive hits streak to 10 in a row! He has made a joke of the batting title race with the streak, boosting his season average to .643! Mr. Gadomski has two more games left, and is 8-0 on the mound. This is a magical MVP-type season for a very classy ball player. I am just glad to be along for the ride! Way to go Mash!!!
-- Edited by mgirard11 on Saturday 3rd of September 2011 08:44:53 AM
-- Edited by mgirard11 on Saturday 3rd of September 2011 08:50:17 AM
Congratulations to the Marlins on an outstanding regular season, and to Mash for his MVP season! Marlins become the 3rd different regular season champion in the last three years, following the Thunder in 09, and the Giants in 10. The question is, will they break the 1st place jinx, and take home the title? The Thunder faltered in 09 after a 15-1 regular season, and the Giants lost in the finals last year. Good luck to all teams in what should be a very competitive playoffs! Now we just need some decent weather!
Thanks, Jonny! The Marlins have succeeded through injuries and outside circumstances (Treece, Scorsone, Coons, and Sohl) during the regular season (mainly due to the season Mash has had), but the effects of the injuries are starting to pile up! The Fish enter the final two games with just 11 active players on the roster, that also qualify for the playoffs. This past weekend, Ron Lochner pulled a quad muscle, while playing in the Labor Day tourney. If he is unable to go, that will put us at 10 players. I'm hoping this "winning the regular season" jinx goes away!!!
