Sorry, I went out, had dinner with friends, and actually had a life for a change. Did I miss anything?
Hmmm, I missed two home runs from Carlos Delgado, which means Chris Carpenter got knocked around. I came home in the top of the seventh, only to watch New York blow a two run lead by giving up a single and a walk to Albert Pujols and Jim Edmonds with two outs, only to watch Scott Spezio – the same Scott Spezio that was cut by Seattle last year – drill an 0-2 pitch over the right field wall, but Shawn Green got enough glove on it to keep it in play and limit him to a triple. Boom, tie game.
Cut to the top of the ninth and the Sandman, Billy Wagner. He falls behind to So Taguchi (2006 postseason stats: 1-1, HR, RBI) with Pujols on deck, so he grooves him a high fastball with a 3-2 count. Pow. So Taguchi, who had two home runs all year, has two more home runs in the playoffs. His slugging percentage at the moment is 2.000. Not too shabby.
The wheels would fall off Wagner after that. Pujols would double (it was actually a single, but Endy Chavez’s throw was so wide that Pujols took an extra base), Edmonds would knock him over on a grounder to second, and then Spezio – again, Spezio – drilled a double past Delgado down the first base line. Juan Encarnacion would then knock a base hit up the middle, scoring Spezio. Ball game.
Tony LaRussa had the luck of the Leyland tonight. Every person Leyland has inserted into the game has come through for him. LaRussa puts Taguchi in as a defensive replacement, and he hits a home run. Yeah, that’ll work.
Gamer 3: Steve Trachsel vs. Jeff Suppan
