It took a loss to Tampa Bay, ending a long winning streak, but the
Punxatawney Groundhogs got back down to business today, winning both ends of
a doubleheader against Tampa Bay while Houston split with Springfield.
Punxatawney's lead is now two games with only six remaining on the schedule.
The day opened just after 1:00, as Tony Saunders faltered early, allowing
two runs in the first three innings while Punxatawney's Bobby Thomas was on
top of his game once again. Tampa trailed 2-0 after the first two innings,
and was kept off the scoreboard the entire game. Two later runs in the 7th
inning made the score 4-0, and it would end that way.
The offense was well distributed across the entire team, as all Hogs had at
least one hit. Dan Wilson hit a solo homerun while Alex Ochoa got 3 hits.
Thomas notched his 14th victory, tossing 7 1/3 scoreless innings while
allowing just 4 hits and 1 walk while striking out 7. Tim Worrell closed it
out.
"It felt good to win," said Thomas. "The second half of this season has
been amazing for me, and we had to win today to prove to Houston that we
weren't done winning."
The second game was far more exciting, one of the most interesting in recent
weeks. Scott Rolen hit a first inning 3-run homerun which looked to put
Tampa out of the game, but reliever Scott Hayes replaced the Mets starter
after just 1 inning, holding the Hogs at bay. Tampa responded with two runs
in the 4th, notching one more in the 6th to tie the game.
Punxatawney was not kept behind for long. They pushed two more runs across
in the 6th, taking a 5-3 lead. Rocky Coppinger gave up a 7th inning solo
shot to Rick Wilkins, but Bobby Munoz, Ricky Bottalico, and Tim Worrell
finished the game out, keeping the Mets scoreless through the final two
innings. The final score, 5-4, gave the Hogs a 2 game lead as the
Hellraisers had split their series earlier in the day.
Now begins the most crucial series of the season for both teams.
Punxatawney awaits the Hellraisers in Pennsylvania, having won their last
six straight against Houston. With a two game lead, the Hogs can clinch a
division victory with a series sweep. Their magic number is 4 to tie, 5 to
win.
Each team now has three games left against eachother, and Punxatawney
finishes their season with three against Springfield while Houston finishes
against Tampa Bay.
"We want at least two wins against Houston," said Shapiro. "If we can pull
that off, we should win the division."
The final Punxatawney-Houston series features the following matchups:
Lieber (10-10, 2.92, 18/31 QS) vs. Rivera (15-7, 2.80, 21/32 QS)
Bergman (15-7, 2.71, 17/31 QS) vs. Eldred (12-12, 4.81, 13/32 QS)
Yoshii (9-14, 3.76, 17/28 QS) vs. Glavine (7-11. 7.14, 4/25 QS)
STATS 'N STUFF
With this final push over the last weeks of the season, the Punxatawney
offense is now one of the best in the game. Their team average of .296 is
worse than only Houston at .298. They have the 3rd most runs scored, tied
for the most doubles, 3rd most homeruns, 2nd most RBI, tied for 2nd highest
OBP, tied for the highest SLG, and 2nd most steals.
In addition, their pitching staff has improved and is now one of the best
out there. Their ERA is 4th best with the 4th best opposing average. They
also have the best average against lefties.
Still, the only stat which really matters now is a 2 game lead. If they can
maintain a lead over Houston, they will most likely face the potent
Binghamton Mets in round one. Binghamton boasts Jeff Bagwell, Mark McGwire,
and Ken Caminiti, a potent trio of .300 hitters with 40 or more homers. The
rest of the team not nearly as strong, but those hitters, combined with the
pitching of Andy Ashby, Frank Rodriguez, and David Cone, make sure a very
dangerous opponent.
