In what amounts to a true rarity in the JKSA, a Detter led team - The Big Hebs (West) - won a three-game series from a Scott Norris led squad - After the Snow. The first place Snow club sees their first place lead narrow to one game, while the Hebs pull within two game of the AL West lead. The fact that the Hebs have been able to play above .500 ball despite teh mass of injuries is surprising in and of itself. Entering this series with Vladimir Guerrero out for a couple more games, they promptly lost 2B Mark Ellis and C Rob Bowen in the first game, both for a trio of contests. That leaves Orlando Cabrera, Jose Guillen, and Jerry Owens as the only regulars to have not missed at least three games to injury.
GAME 1 After the Snow - 6; Big Hebs - 4
WP: J. Washburn (4-1)
LP: K. Millwood (3-2)
Sv: H. Street (8)
Jarrod Washburn made yet another statement as the league's best number three starter by posting his fourth win of the season. He was cruising along with a 6-1 lead until the eighth inning when a couple baserunners chased him from the game and Jim Thome hit a pinch-hit three-run homer off of reliever Leo Nunez. The Hebs made a play to make it interesting, but without the injured Guerrero and Ellis, there wasn't quite enough punch in the lineup to overcome Jermaine Dye's two homers and four RBI. Huston Street pitched a quiet ninth for his eighth save.
GAME 2 Big Hebs - 10; After the Snow - 8
WP: W. Eyre (1-0)
LP: M. Guerrier (2-1)
Sv: J. Speier (3)
The HIGHLY maligned Gary Matthews Jr. channelled his inner father to play hero for the Hebs once again. Just three games removed from a game-winning homer against the Big Mistakes, Matthews carried his club to yet another dramatic victory. The speedy centerfielder hit a pair of homers, including a seventh inning grand slam that turned a 8-6 deficit into a 10-8 lead. Matthews' heroics helped starting pitcher Willie Eyre overcome a gruesome start that saw him give up seven runs in the first three innings - including two more homers off the bat of Dye - and pick up his first victory. A quartet of Big Heb relievers combined to throw the final four shutout innings, with Justin Speier earning the save.
GAME 3 Big Hebs - 4; After the Snow - 1
WP: K. Davies (1-1)
LP: J. Contreras (2-1)
Sv: D. Oliver (2)
It was another pitching masterpiece for the Big Hebs as they picked up their fourth straight series victory. Starter Kyle Davies surrendered only a first inning unearned run over five solid innings and handed the ball off to the bullpen, who continued its masterful work. Joaquin Benoit struck out the first four batters he faced en route to 3.2 frames of shutout baseball, while Darren Oliver retired the only batter he faced to secure his second save. Thome hit a solo blast - his sixth - as part of a pair of hits, hiking his average to .449 on the year and Jared Saltalamacchia had two hits of his own, raising his average to .360.
Series Notes:
* Benoit came into the series with a 13.94 ERA, allowing 16 earned runs over 10.1 innings. In his two outings against the Snow, Benoit threw 6 shutout innings, striking out nine, lowering his ERA to 8.82.
* After the Snow's Ichiro went 5-for-13 to raise his average to a league-best .393 while swiping four more bags to run his season total to 27, also the most in the circuit.
* Dye hit four of his nine homers in the first two games of this series.
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