PLAYER / PITCHER OF THE WEEK #13

Bottom of 2nd – Molitor leads off with single & steals second base. Joe Carter singles in Molitor to tie the game up. Joe Carter steals second on Pat Border’s arm. Rafael Ramirez hits an RBI single to score in Carter for the go ahead run. Tigers 2, Quakes 1

Top of 3rd – Ozzie leads off with a single. Eric King issues his 3rd walk of the game already, walking Willie Randolph once again. King loads up the bases, walking George Brett. One out, Dale Murphy laces a single to right, scoring in Smith to tie it up 2-2, Randolph holds, as the relay comes in to Pete O’Brien. Pat Borders smacks one to right, Randolph scores, Brett rounds third, the relay comes into O’Brien who cuts it off to second to catch Borders trying to stretch it to two, Murphy moves down to third. Quakes lead 4-2 after three innings.

Top of the 4th – The Tigers make a pitching change for Ken Dayley, Eric King was just out of sync, he walked 4, allowed 4 runs & 5 hits in only 3 innings (only 1 strikeout).

Bottom of the 5th – Lead-off double by Tim Raines, Johnny Ray follows up with a double of his own to score in Raines. The Quakes would get the other batters to go down in order, as Tigers shave the Quakes lead down to a 4-3 lead.

Bottom of the 7th – Lead-off triple by Raines, Johnny Ray is unable to get him grounding out to second. Dave Stieb strikes out Pete O’Brien, can Dave Winfield get the tying run across the plate? RBI single as the ball gets past a diving Terry Pendleton, Raines scores easily.

Bottom of the 9th – Lead off single for Rafael Ramirez, which ends the night for Dave Stieb, who went 8 innings, striking out 4, while allowing 12 hits. Dan Pleasac comes in for the Quakes with a 2.95 ERA & 8 Saves.

Top of the 11th – still tied 4-4, Juan Agosto comes in to relieve Brian Holton after three innings of relief. Darryl Strawberry gets walked earlier, and moves to second on ground out. With one out, Dale Murphy hits an RBI double for his 3rd hit & 3rd RBI of the ballgame.

Dan Pleasac stays in the game & finishes off T.C., as California breaks up the Tigers’ 10-game winning streak!

FINAL SCORE: California 5, Traverse City 4 (11 Innings) Game #2: Starting off as a pitcher’s duel between Traverse City’s Dave LaPoint & California’s Jack Armstrong.

Bottom of the 6th – Two-out single for Pete O’Brien, with Dave Winfield coming up to the plate. The Tigers pinch-run Felix Fermin for Pete O’Brien. Winfield connects with classic hit & run, now runners are on the corner for Paul Molitor. Molitor delivers a single to right, Fermin scores, Winfield decides to not force it on a run to third, stays at second. Wild pitch by Jack Armstrong, who was pitching a dandy entering this inning, runners advance one base. Carter hits it up the middle, Armstrong settles his nerves & tosses the ball to first, side retired. Tigers lead 1-0.

Top of the 7th – George Brett gets walked by LaPoint. Glenn Braggs hit one to the wall in right, that could be trouble, but Carter picks it clean, Brett back to first. Pat Borders executes the hit & run, as the Quakes now have runners on the corners with one out. The Tigers decide to have the lefty LaPoint stay in the game to face Pendleton hitting from the right side. Big mistake, this ball is over Barfield’s head in center, caroms off the bottom of the wall, Brett scores easily, Borders is going for home, he scores in standing up, Pendleton now goes for third, and he’s safe. Score this as a two-run double, Quakes lead 2-1. Runner on 3rd, with only one out — and the Tigers will go to the pen. LaPoint pitched 6.1 innings, 4 hits, 1 run so far, with 2 K’s & a walk. Tigers will go with Scott Terry. Dale Murphy hits it deep to Ramirez at short, Pendleton goes for home, Ramirez decides to go for lead runner, and Pendleton is safe! The Tigers would get out of the mess, but they are down 3-1 to the Quakes.

Bottom of the 7th — With 2 outs, Johnny Ray draws a free pass, which Rafael Ramirez smacks a single to left, Ray holds second. Armstrong then loses the count to Mookie Wilson, bases are now loaded for a visibly upset pitcher, with Nick Esasky stepping up. The struggling Esasky strikes out — big K for Armstrong! Quakes still lead 3-1.

Top of the 8th – The Tigers elect to go to Jose Rijo for some relief work, as Terry sits down after 2/3 of an inning. One-out single for Darryl Strawberry, who then steals his 13th base of the season on Bob Boone’s strong arm. Tigers get out situation.

Bottom of the 8th – The Quakes keep Armstrong out there, and he issues his 5th free pass to Dave Winfield. Paul Molitor executes the hit & run for his 3rd hit of the game, as Winfield makes it to third, no outs. Joe Carter appeared to have a walk, he tosses his bat down & makes a stride towards first, and the ump calls a strike — he struck out, Carter gives the ump a disgusted look, as he walks back to the bench. Bob Boone steps up to the plate, strike, and Molitor is off and running, and he’s safe (his 15th steal of the season). Boone flies to left, but no advancing runners. Jesse Barfield hits a ball sharply down the 3rd Base line, and Pendleton snags it, fires to first! Out! Tigers come up empty. Quakes still lead 3-1.

Top of the 9th — Tigers opt to go with Brian Holton & his 2.67 ERA, they got what they wanted out of Rijo. The Quakes will pinch-hit Rick Leach for Pat Borders to counter the righty with his left-hand bat.

Bottom of the 9th – Jeff Bittinger comes in for the Quakes to close out the game, with a 2.25 ERA. Armstrong pitched 8 innings, 7 hits, 3 K’s & 5 walks. Bittinger issues a two-out walk to Mookie Wilson, Wilson then steals second. Nick Esasky hits one to the left-center gap, Pettis’ arm will not get Mookie as he scores, Esasky is on first. Dave Winfield hits a ball into the left corner, Strawberry is up with it, Esasky rounds third, coming to the plate & he’s safe! Tie game at 3-3, winning run on 2nd. Bob McClure comes in for relief & intentionally walks Paul Molitor. Joe Carter flies out to right, end of the inning, but not before the Tigers knotted things up, another game going to extras between these two teams.

Top of the 10th – Otis Nixon pinch-hits for Willie Randolph. Nixon grounds out for the 2nd out. The Tigers elect to have Juan Agosto come in to face Darryl Strawberry. Agosto pulls the string. Ron Washington would come in the bottom of the 10th to field in Randolph’s spot.

Top of 11th – George Brett is safe at first on a throw by Ray that pulls Esasky off the base to lead off the inning. Brett tries to steal second on his former Royal teammate’s arm, and he’s out! A bloop single over second baseman Ray’s head, as Glenn Braggs gets himself a single. Carlos Martinez comes in to pinch-run for Braggs at first. The Quakes decide to test Boone’s arm out again, and Martinez is out!

Bottom of the 11th – Rafael Ramirez leads off with single. Mookie squares, and moves the potential winning run to second. Scott Garrelts comes in to try to get the Quakes out of trouble. The Quakes intentionally walk Esasky to face the much more dangerous Dave Winfield. Garrelts gets Winfield to hit it to Washington, Washington shuffles the ball to second for one, Ozzie to first — Double-play & Quakes are out of the inning!

Top of 12th – Agosto rakes up a strike out, but then walks Murphy. Quakes pinch-hit Glenn Wilson for Terry Pendleton. Wilson is on with a single, go-ahead run is on second, with one out. Ron Washington delivers a ball into the left-center gap, Winfield’s throw is late, as the Quakes take the lead 4-3. Wilson at 2nd, Washington at first.

Bottom of the 12th – Strawberry moves to center, Glenn Wilson is in left, and a defensive upgrade with Tom Foley at second, Garrelts will try to lock this one up for the Quakes. Molitor leads off with his 4th hit of the ballgame, as the Quakes head to the bullpen & calls on Trevor Wilson. Molitor steals second for his 2nd steal of the game, as Joe Carter is up to the plate. Carter grounds out, and fails to advance the runner. Bob Boone strikes out, and it’s all up to Jesse Barfield. Or is it? Tigers trying to stir up some magic, with Tim Raines coming up to the plate, Barfield has been 0-for-5 in this one. Raines grounds it deep to first & Brett hustles over, steps on the base & the Quakes win another one in extras!

FINAL SCORE: California 4, Traverse City 3 (12 Innings) Game #3:

Top of the 1st — Tigers’ pitcher Luis Aquino walks the first two runners (Ozzie Smith &Willie Randolph). Darryl Strawberry grounds it to Rafael Ramirez, which he only had a play at first, runners advance. George Brett hits one deep to second, Ray goes home with it for a fielder’s choice, and Smith scores! Runners on 1st & 3rd, one out. Bringing up Dale Murphy, who has been a pain in the butt for the Tigers this series with five hits. Murphy hits it hard to Molitor, Molitor looks at third, throws to second for the force, Randolph decides not to go for home, two outs now with runners on the corners. Pat Border gives the Quakes a bigger cushion by hitting a double over Jesse Barfield’s head, two runners score, and Borders advances safely to third. Quakes lead 3-0.

Bottom of the 1st — Johnny Ray wraps a solo shot around the left field foul pole to trim the lead to 3-1. The next batter, Paul Molitor, reaches first on a error by Willie Randolph. With 2 outs, Molitor steals second base. Joe Carter hits an infield single, putting runners on the corners, Tigers threatening. Bob Boone got a hold of this one, the ball is starting to drift — foul! Nearly a three-run homer. Instead Boone delivers a RBI single that scores in Molitor, Carter holds second. Jesse Barfield ties it up with an RBI single, scoring in Carter. Esasky strikes out for final out, Neal Heaton needed that! The score is tied up 3-3.

Bottom of the 3rd — One-out double by Joe Carter advances Dave Winfield to 3rd. Tigers take the lead 4-3, with a RBI single by Bob Boone, Carter moves to 3rd. Sac fly by Jesse Barfield adds to the lead 5-3.

Top of the 4th — The Quakes rumble back with a one-out single by Ozzie Smith, Aquino issues his 5th walk of the game to Willie Randolph. Strawberry would shave into the Tigers’ lead with an RBI single, scoring in Smith. A deep fly by George Brett, Barfield catches it, and the Quakes don’t tag up.Murphy strikes out for final out. Tigers have the slight edge 5-4.

Bottom of the 4th — Felix Fermin reaches first on a rare error by Ozzie Smith, Johnny Ray follows that with his 2nd hit of the game. Paul Molitor hits an RBI single to score in Fermin, Ray moves to third, one out. Dave Winfield knocks it out of the park on the new reliever Jeff Bittiger. Tigers lead 9-4!

Top of the 5th — Quakes are threatening with two outs, bases loaded, Aquino walked his 6th & 7th batter, as Ozzie Smith reached first with a deep single to short. Tigers go to the pen for Scott Terry; Aquino also had allowed 6 hits, in 4 2/3 innings. Big K for Terry! Quakes come up empty.

The Tigers would add to their lead, and get contributions throughout the game as they combined for 17 hits. Johnny Ray, Dave Winfield & Joe Carter each had three hits, while Bob Boone had a big day, going 4-for-5 with 4 RBI.

FINAL SCORE: Traverse City 12, California 5

Game #4: Legend Nolan Ryan takes the mound for the Quakes, while the Tigers send their young phenom Greg Maddux to the mound.

Bottom of the 3rd — With two outs, Paul Molitor reaches first on a single. The Tigers hit & run as Johnny Ray sends it to the left-center gap, Molitor’s wheels are rolling, as he makes it all the way home to put the first run on the score board. Tigers 1, Quakes 0

Bottom of the 4th — Tim Raines gets his 6th HR of the season, a solid-contact solo shot to the stands in right. Tigers 2, Quakes 0

Top of the 6th — Ozzie Smith is thrown out at 3rd, trying to stretch a triple, great throw from Raines to Ramirez for the relay… which pretty much killed the momentum in that inning for California.

Top of the 7th — Tom Foley comes in to pinch-hit for Pat Borders, and draws a walk. Maddux will have to face the lefty Rick Leach. Leach singles to right, the Quakes are looking to shake things up. The Tigers decide to call it a day for Maddux after 6.2 innings, allowing 3 hits (but 3 walks), while striking out only two batters; Tigers will go with lefty Juan Agosto 5-4, with a 2.43 ERA — to face off against the switch-hitting Terry Pendleton. Agosto fires it passed him, as Pendleton flails the air. Score remains 2-0.

Bottom of the 7th — Nolan Ryan for the Quakes (only allowing four hits to this point) records strikeouts #7 & #8 as he keeps going strong.

Top of the 8th — Tigers make a change for Brian Holton, after 2/3 innings for Agosto. Holton comes in with a 3-1 record, 2.48 ERA, he has plenty of holds this season for T.C.

Bottom of the 8th — Paul Molitor gets on board with his 2nd hit, with two outs. Johnny Ray steps up to the plate & gets plunked. The Quakes decide to take Nolan Ryan out, who had a fine performance with 9 K’s in 7 2/3 innings — they call on Dan Pleasac to face Pete O’Brien. Quakes get out the brief jam.

Top of the 9th — Doug Jones steps in with a 1.35 ERA, seven saves in his last seven opportunities, as Brian Holton pitched 2/3 of an inning. After two strikeouts to Darryl Strawberry & George Brett, Jones misses the outside corner & gives up a free pass to Dale Murphy. The Quakes call for a pinch-hitter, and call on Carlton Fisk to step in for Mark Parent. Fisk grounds it to the mound, Jones over to O’Brien, and that’s the ballgame folks. Doug Jones record his 19th save.

Greg Maddux is starting to rack up the wins now, as he enters the break with 7, he had a slow start in that category with a lack of run support & just bad luck.

FINAL SCORE: Traverse City 2, California 0 Game #5: Bob Knepper takes the mound for Traverse City, he comes in with an excellent record of 7-2 & a 1.95 ERA, and recently came off a stint on the D.L.; He will have to face off the surprising Jose Bautista with his 7-7 record, 2.93 ERA for the Quakes.

Top of the 2nd — George Brett hits a double to right with one out, nearly hit that one into the stands. Glenn Braggs hits one, over & beyond 3B-Paul Molitors glove into left, Brett holds third and thinks wisely of not testing Jesse Barfield’s arm. Terry Pendleton hits one to short, Ramirez throws it to first, Brett holds third, Braggs down to second, two away. Bringing up Dale Murphy, who had a great start to this series. The runners take their leads, the pitch from Knepper (breaking ball), Murphy hooks this down the left field line, it’s fair, over his head, Barfield chases it down, the runners will score easily, Murphy puts on the after-burners & stretching it for a triple, and he’s safe! Pettis would line out to second, but the Quakes strike first with 2-0 lead.

Bottom of the 2nd — T.C.’s first hit of the game comes off a single to left by Dave Winfield to lead off the inning. Tigers couldn’t do anything as Molitor pops up, and Bautista turns around for back-to-backs K’s against Joe Carter & Jesse Barfield.

This theme would continue for another few innings, as Traverse can’t get anything going.

Bottom of the 7th — Pete O’Brien draws a lead off walk against Bautista. Tigers will pinch-run for O’Brien, going with Felix Fermin. Dave Winfield strikes out. Paul Molitor hits a deep single to second in which Randolph was unable to do anything with it, Fermin is at second. Bautista misses low, and issues only his 2nd walk of the game, a free ticket for Joe Carter & the bases are now loaded for Jesse Barfield. Tigers decide to bring in the better hitter in switch-hitting, but aching Mookie Wilson, trying to stir up some magic. Bautista fires it, down the middle, big strikout for Bautista, as Mookie heads back to the bench. It’s up to Ron Hassey. The pitch, it’s smacked to right, Fermin scores easily, Murphy has it fires it in to the diamond, Molitor is well round third, and he’ll score, tied up 2-2. Carter holds at second, Hassey on first. The Quakes will go with Scott Garrelts. Garrelts gets the Quakes out of the mess by striking out Rafael Ram irez.

Top of the 8th — Pinch-hitter Otis Nixon (for Gary Pettis) leads off with a Texas Leaguer to left, the base-stealing threat & go-ahead run is on first, with Bob Knepper still on the mound for the Tigers. Otis Nixon steals second. The batter Ozzie Smith squares & does his job by bunting down the first base line, Esasky will get Ozzie at first, as Nixon moves down to third. The Quakes pinch-hit for Randolph, right hander Pat Borders steps to the plate, the Tigers decide to give Eric King a chance to go righty vs. righty. Knepper pitched 7.1 innings, 5 hits & 2 runs allowed, while striking out 6. The Quakes counter the move with Rick Leach against Eric King. The pitch, and Otis Nixon is stealing home! High strike, Hassey places the tag & he’s out! Oh, what a gamble! Leach sends this one to right-center, Carter is after it, Leach is digging, and he’s safe at second with a double, oh what could have been if Nixon was still on third. The Tigers ask for th e ball from King, and will have the lefty Ken Dayley face off against Darryl Strawberry. Strawberry laces one to right, Raines is up with it, Leach is coming home, the play at the plate, but Leach scores in standing, the Quakes have taken the lead! Strawberry steals second for his 14th steal of the season. Dayley strikes out Carlton Fisk for the final out of the inning. Quakes 3, Tigers 2

Top of the 9th — Tigers keep Ken Dayley out there to face lefty George Brett, the pitch this one is going, it’s over Carter’s head in center & it’s long gone! Now the T.C. manager is walking out to the mound, he will call on Jim Acker to face right-hander Glenn Braggs — Acker enters with a generous 7.71 ERA & is likely playing for the one out. The pitch, and Braggs got a hold of this one, and it’s daja vu for Carter as he watches this one go over the center field wall! Back-to-Back taters for the Quakes, 5-2! Tigers are giving the itchy John Candelaria a little relief work, and he strikes out the switch-hitting Terry Pendleton.The Tigers go to the pen & bring in their closer Doug Jones. Jones finishes the bleeding.

Bottom of the 9th — Dan Pleasac comes in with 8 saves, text book pitching of recently with 6 consecutive saves in 6 save opportunities.

FINAL SCORE: California 5, Traverse City 2

Series Summary *

The Quakes win the series 3-2, and it’s manager Shawn Baier’s first series loss since taking over the reigns. The Quakes’ record doesn’t reflect the way they played against the Tigers, and can head into the break, a bit on the positive side.