On Monday, Motor City pushed the series to a sixth game but last night Galena won in spectacular fashion on a 3-run home run by Jeff Cirillo in the bottom of the ninth, to make the final 7-5. So far, Cirillo has four in the playoffs, compared to only 15 all season.
The team was, to the say the least, in high spirits after the game, but hold off the victory parade. The Hamsters, the best team in baseball during the season, will have to play the hottest team in baseball, the Washington Sea Dogs who are currently on a 6-game winning streak in the playoffs. The only game they lost was to Phoenix was on October 6th, due to two untimely errors by second baseman Chuck Knoblauch.
"I'd say, the only thing going for us right now is that we have more experience in the playoffs," said man-of-he-hour, Jeff Cirillo.
"Our pitchers have been the real heroes in these two series," said Galena DH Reggie Jefferson. "They had to stave off Higginson and Ray Durham, then a lineup with Sosa, Griffey and Burks."
In the second and third wins of the series, Hamster pitching let up 0 and 1 runs respectively. Jaime Navarro pitched the complete game for the win. In the fifth game, the only damage against Kevin Appier was a run scoring double by Todd Hollandsworth. Kile, a 17-game winner during the regular season, has been frustratingly ineffective. Gonzalez was surprisingly selected the number-two starter, but got rocked for 5 runs against Tucson. In short, when the Hamster pitching comes up big, they win big.
The Washington Sea Dogs, despite having demolished Phoenix and having bulldozed the Vero Beach Bums, are still the underdogs in this series. Sometime, either sooner or later, their weaknesses have to show through. Instead, the Pound has twisted the hand of fate. Almost anything unexpected has been bound to happen.
Leefenhaufenhauz, only 18-years old, was designated the number one starter for the playoffs, but he couldn't hold off Phoenix hitters in his first start, giving up 4 runs over 8 innings. But the youngster didn't take those frustrations to his next starts--against the Bums, he pitched 8 innings of 2-hit ball, leading the Sea Dogs to a 12-4 victory over the hapless Bums.
Lance Johnson, known for his speed, not his power, hit three home runs in the series against Vero Beach. Two of them ended up being winning runs in identical 5-4 finals.
Chuck Knoblauch played in 136 games for the Sea Dogs during the season and commited only 4 errors, but he equalled half of that total in the team's only loss in the post season.
In another uncanny game, Nigel Fernandez, a reliever, pitched as many innings as the starter Ogea, and ended up with the win.
"Everything has been coming together for us since August," said game #2 hero Lance Johnson. "The whole team has been on an emotional high since then. We can't stop now--we're on cruse control."
Only one little problem: Galena's standing in the way.
