(AP) VERO BEACH, FL--As the scene returned to the home of last year's DL
champs, everyone expected the reigning monarchs to begin to reassert their
power.
Instead, Washington rookie Mackenzee Leefenhaufenhauz put a hurting on the
Vero Beach Bums, shutting them out for seven innings as the Sea Dogs
jumped all over the Vero Beach pitching staff for seven extra-base hits.
The final score, 12-4, wasn't even an accurate representation of the final
score.
"We just beat them early and beat them often," said Washington second
baseman Chuck Knoblauch, who went 3-5 and led the team with 4 RBI.
Washington rained hits on Vero starter Willie Adams for the first two
innings, tagging 8 hits and seven runs on him, all earned.
"Adams is a tremendous pitcher, has just had a great year," said third
baseman Bill Mueller, who hit his second homer of the series. "Somehow,
we managed to be reading his pitches perfectly."
The outburst was even more impressive because the Sea Dogs' other two
stars, Lance Johnson and Barry Larkin, combined for only one hit in nine
at bats.
"It was a complete team effort out there today," Sea Dog manager Aaron
Weiner said. "I mean, when your team leader in everything has no hits and
you're still scoring in bunches...it was bloody out there today."
Leefenhaufenhauz, who collected his second playoff win, said that the
shutout performance, in which he allowed only two hits and no walks,
wasn't as easy as it seemed.
"Well, I was really shaking all over while I was warming up," the
first-year pitcher said. "After I got through the first inning okay, I
got a little confidence, and then we put up five runs in the 2nd...I was
totally confident."
Leefenhaufenhauz, who was 17-10 with a 2.20 ERA in the regular season, had
given up five runs in a game only twice this season, so he had a lot of
reason for confidence. He acknowledged that fact after the game.
"Well...I'm just a rookie, but everyone's been showing the spotlight on me
all year," said Leefenhaufenhauz, who won the Pitcher of the Month for
July. "I guess I'm kinda getting used to pitching well and getting
noticed."
With a 3-0 lead in the series, it might seem that Washington's got it all
going for them. But according to Ernie Young, this win doesn't mean the
series is in the bag.
"Until we win this series, we're still the underdogs," Young said. "We
know those guys can beat anybody on any day."
Notes and Quotes:
"We knew we could play with anyone. We didn't know we could toy with
them."
-Sea Dogs fan
* * *
Shawn Estes will be starting Game 4 - with a full bill of health.
"We're extremely fortunate that Shawn's shoulder problems seemed to have
vanished the day he was scheduled to start against Vero Beach," Weiner
said.
Estes said that pitching against the Bums was the biggest incentive.
"Well, I really wanted to pitch against Vero Beach," Estes said. "I was
hoping to go up against Willie Adams today to show them what kind of a
mistake they made, but I guess I don't mind Mack doing the work for me."
Estes and Washington right fielder Ernie Young were traded for Willie
Adams, the Game 3 loser, and Marquis Grissom last year.
"It was one of those deals that benefits both sides," GM Aaron Weiner
said. "We got the guy we wanted in Estes, and they got some super talent
over there too."
* * *
With all the luck that the Sea Dogs have had in this series, from
home-field advantage to Vero Beach's mistakes and Estes's return, one
might think they're a team of destiny.
However, starting pitcher Mackenzee Leefenhaufenhauz has a different
explanation - voodoo.
"Well, I've got a friend back in Jamaica that does voodoo,"
Leefenhaufenhauz, who has a Jamaican mother and a German father, said.
"And he gave me a lucky baby alligator tail which he said he'd blessed
that would bring me luck."
Leefenhaufenhauz said that he carried the tail around his neck all
throughout Game 3.
