Between them,
Birmingham and
Memphis had only managed 4 wins on the young season. Something had to give as they faced off for 5 games.
Behind a good start from
Roger Clemens, Memphis carried a 5-2 lead into the 7th inning, but then it fell apart as the Black Barons put a crooked number on the scoreboard:
Eddie Mathews led it off with a solo HR, and after 3 walks from Clemens,
Billy Southworth sent a pitch deep into the night for a grand slam.
Mookie Betts and
George Scott hit HRs in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn't enough, and Birmingham held on for
the 8-7 victory.
Dean Chance won game 2 for Memphis to tie the series at 1 game each, throwing 6.2 IP without allowing an earned run (Birmingham scored 3 times, helped by an error by Memphis SS
Vern Stephens).
Tim Wakefield and
Jon Papelbon completed the game without allowing a hit.
The final score was 4-3, with Chance moving to 2-0 on the year.
Game 3 was another 1 run affair, this one going to Birmingham by
a score of 3-2.
Alejandro Pena got his first win of the year, moving to 1-2 and hanging a tough loss on Memphis'
Nixey Callahan, who pitched well enough to win. Mathews' 2nd HR of the series--a solo shot in the top of the 7th inning--proved the decider.
Birmingham's
Scott Baker allowed only 4 hits in 7 IP, and the Black Barons' bats woke up in the 4th game of the series as they eased to
a 9-2 win.
Frank Isbell went 3-for-5 with 2 RBI's and
Chipper Jones and
Hank Aaron went deep as both
Sadie McMahon and Wakefield got hit hard, giving Birmingham a 3-1 edge in the series.
Warren Spahn came into the 5th and final game of the series with an ERA over 20. After allowing no runs over 7 inning of 5 hit ball, it had been cut nearly in half: still an embarrassing double-digit number, but a good sign for Birmingham fans. Memphis'
Jon Lester was nearly as good, allowing only 1 run in his 7 innings, but it was all the Black Barons needed, as Spahn was followed by
Juan Rincon and
Carlos Diaz in near-perfect relief.
Birmingham won the game 1-0, taking 4 of 5 games in the series as well.
There wasn't a ton of offense in the series: in fact, only 2 players really performed well at the plate across the 5 games. For Birmingham, Isbell was on fire, going 8-for-19 with 4 RBIs in his 4 games. Betts had 5 hits for Memphis, including 2 HRs, making an argument for additional playing time.
The result leaves both teams at 4-10, tied for the worst record in the league.