Amigos Get Back To .500

In the unprecedented second Strat competition in one weekday for Biv, the visiting Santa Poco Amigos took the first and last games to claim a series victory over Clean-Sweep Kinnicks.


Game 1: Santa Poco 10, Clean-Sweep 8
W-C.Bootcheck (2-1), L-O.Perez (5-2). S-J.Putz (13)

Before the game even started, two comments were made:

• Kyle: "I can't beleive that Odalis Perez's ERA is that low."
• Biv: "This team is really awful offensively since Jack Cust is injured."

Well.....Odalis got knocked out in the 2nd inning after allowing 9 earned runs to the lefty-bashing Amigos lineup, capped off by Travis Buck's 2-run homer (5). Kyle didn't give up however as Amigos starter Matt Garza was chased in the 4th after allowing six earned runs on nine hits, including a three-run bomb by Adrian Beltre.

Things started to settle in when with two runners on in the bottom of the 6th, Joakim Soria entered the game to escape the jam. But HAL decided to show his ugly face again when Soria became fatigued with two outs in the 9th and allowed three straight doubles, making the score 10-8. J.J. Putz had to be called on to record the final out.

Game 2: Clean-Sweep 7, Santa Poco 2
W-M.Myers (1-0), L-E.Santana (3-4), S-S.Casilla (1)
A 2-2 tie in the 7th inning was blown open by two Amigos errors, the first by Alex Cintron and the back-breaker by Scott Podsednik. Boof Bonser's quality start helped the Kinnicks to victory while Shannon Stewart had three hits.

Game 3: Santa Poco 7, Clean-Sweep 0
W-G.Meche (3-4), L-J.Santana (5-4), S-J.Putz (14)
This pitchers duel featured Gil Meche scattering 4 hits over 6 2/3 innings versus Johan Santana's six strikeouts over the first 7 frames. But the 1-0 game came unraveled in the 8th after Shannon Stewart's error allowed two runs to score. Three batters later, Mark Grudzielanek hit a three-run homer to make the game seem more lopsided than it really was.

Next up:
Santa Poco Amigos (24-24) vs. Hawiian Organ Donors (26-22)
Clean-Sweep Kinnicks (23-25) vs. Big Hebs (27-21)