The Mallards

[Muskies]

“Good Morning, Folks,” I sighed as I started the meeting. “Who would have thought we would go 5-2 for the week and we would look a game in our division lead. Columbus has gone 16-3 thus far for month of August to our 11-8 certainly narrowing the gap.”

“We received notice this week from SP John Barnwell that he is looking to stay in town. We moved him into the rotation to but Alan Gilbert back in the pen. For the year he is 4-2, 3.52, with 2 saves. He is looking for 3 years at $4.6 million per year. A decent price but after Nishikawa we are off of extensions until the off season.”

“Tina, what do you have for us?”

“We have a big week this week. First we wrap up the 2 games @ Jacksonville (50-80), followed by 3 vs. Columbus (78-52) and 1 @ Baltimore (74-56). As you all know by the end of the week we will likely either be in second place or have a larger lead in the division.” Replied Tina

“Thanks Tina, anyone have anything else?”

“The Venom remain in first place in the Rookie League Power rankings. They are 41-12 and in First Place. Also AAA Louisville is in first place with a record of 70-41.” Answered Dwight.

“We also had two players in the minor league earn player of the week honors.” Dwight continued. “Bob Stone C in AAA was player of the week .538 and 3 RBI and Miguel Sanchez CF in AA was player of the week .444, 3 HR, 7 RBI.”

“Finally, we are working on weeding through some of the expiring minor league contracts to see if there are any we should not be extending.”

“Thanks Team, have a good week and let’s take care of business.”

[Muskies]

Record: 82-54, .603
Position: 2nd (1 GB Columbus), 1st in WC (5 game lead over Washington)
OBP: .352 (2nd in NL)
Starter ERA: 4.21 (2nd in NL)
Bullpen ERA: 4.41 (11th in NL)
Defense: .700 (3rd in NL)
Fan Interest / Owner Mood: 100 / Ecstatic
Power Ranking: 105.5 --, 6th in ABL

Week: (2-4), 1-1 vs. Jacksonville, 1-2 vs. Columbus, 0-1 vs. Baltimore

8/22: JAC 5, MAD 4
WP: Jackson (3-8, 7.31), LP: Juarez (6-12, 3.90), SV: Estes (26)
HR: Lee (18), Hubbard (26)
POG: Lee 2-4, R, 3 RBI, HR

8/23: MAD 5, JAC 4
WP: Campbell (14-3, 4.39), LP: Melanson (8-15, 5.31), SV: Tavares (28)
HR: Moreno (9), Lee (19)
POG: Moreno 2-5, R, RBI, HR

8/24: MAD 9, COL 1
WP: Polledo (14-2, 4.20), LP: Ramos (3-1, 3.08)
HR: Benson (9), Hubbard (27)
POG: Hubbard 3-3, 2R, 3 RBI

8/25: COL 6, MAD 5
WP: Silva (9-3, 3.16), LP: Tavares (7-5, 2.24), SV: Limon (38)
HR: Trent (13), Watts (25), Meneders (3), Chamings (16)
POG: Watts 2-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
Mallards had 5-4 lead in the ninth and Tavares blew the save and lost the game in the top of the ninth.

8/26: COL 4, MAD 3
WP: Suarez (5-4, 3.10), LP: Gilbert (7-8, 4.00), SV: Limon (39)
HR: Watts (26), Colon (25), Nishikawa (46)
POG: Colon 2-4, R, RBI, HR
Mallards had a 3-2 lead heading into the 8th and lost 4-3 due to the bullpen.

8/28: BAL 6, MAD 4
WP: Higgins (17-2, 3.68), LP: Juarez (6-13, 4.08), SV: Miller (6)
HR: Ryan (9), Nishikawa (47), Martinez (8), Davis (15)
POG: Davis 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI

Around the league
8/24: Memphis lost starting second baseman Domingo Perez for 3 weeks with a strained oblique.
8/28: Kansas City manager Christian Page was fired. Kansas City is 63-72 for the season. It was Pages second year as skipper of Kansas City.

Players of the Week
NL: Jorge Montoya (MES) .455, 3 HR, 6 RBI (1x)
AL: Jorge Lucero (CLE) .464, 5 HR, 14 RBI (9x)

Who are the heaviest players in the ABL:
Duane Drews, SA, 275 lbs
Eric Chapman, DET, 270 lbs
Ken Smith, KC, 270 lbs
Kevin Kelly, NOR, 270 lbs
Andres Rodriquez, QUE, 265 lbs

[Muskies]

“Well, I must say I am more than a little disappointed,” I sighed as I sat down at the table, “but I also realize that I must take a certain level of responsibility for where we are at. I have been unable to put together a quality bullpen to allow us to take that next step. Despite my pressing desire to mortgage the future to win now, I am going to stick to my guns and play for the future. Still view it as my number one priority to build a consistent winner, not to buy a championship.”

“Kage, I for one am happy with the progress that you have made,” answered Dwight. “I have only been here a year, but I think we have the building blocks in place.”

“Thanks Dwight, we will see.” I replied. “We are a couple days away from roster expansion maybe we can bring up some talent to help out in the bullpen.”

“What do you have for us Tina?”

“Sure thing Kage,” answered Tina, “Next week we wrap up 2 games with Baltimore (80-56), 3 games vs. Detroit (69-67), 2 games @ Mesa (73-63). It would appear we have to run the gauntlet to the end of the season.”

“Thanks Tina, what about you Dwight?” I responded.

“As you mentioned earlier, we get to expand our rosters this week.” Dwight responded. “I have gotten together with Robles and we would like to bring up some of the prospects from AAA, however they are also hunt for the post season so anyone we call up will certainly affect their potential. However, I feel we definitely need to bring up Faria, Hinton and Huporkorny to bolster the bullpen. We could also bring up Schaefer and Osorio in the outfield, but I think we can hold off on them.”

[Muskies]

Record: 86-57, .601
Position: t1st with Columbus, 3 game lead in the WildCard over Washington
OBP: .351 (2nd in NL)
Starter ERA: 4.20 (2nd in NL)
Bullpen ERA: 4.40 (11th in NL)
Defense: .702 (2nd in NL)
Fan Interest / Owner Mood: 100 / Ecstatic
Power Ranking: 105.3 -, 7th in the ABL

Week (4-3), 1-1 vs. Baltimore, 2-1 vs. Detroit, 1-1 vs. Mesa

8/29: BAL 5, MAD 1
WP: MacNamara (9-9, 4.57), LP: Campbell (14-4, 4.47)
HR: Hubbard (28), Takeuchi (11)
POG: MacNamara 9 IP, 6 H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K – Game Score 73

8/30: MAD 7, BAL 1
WP: Polledo (15-2, 4.01), LP: Williams (3-7, 3.40)
HR: Ruiz (14)
POG: Polledo 7.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 5 K – Game Score 75

8/31: DET 6, MAD 3
WP: Bly (7-13, 5.64), LP: MacFadden (11-11, 4.57), SV: Santoya (22)
HR: Blankenship (8), Ward (43), Menenders (4)
POG: Blankenship 1-4, R, 3 RBI, HR

9/1: MAD 17, DET 15 (10)
WP: Tavares (8-5, 2.16), LP: Reeves (2-2, 6.86)
HR: Townsend 2 (24), Donovan (17), Hansen (20), Ruiz 2 (16), Hubbard (29), Nishikawa 2 (49)
POG: Townsend 3-5, 3 R, 5 RBI, 2 HR

9/2: MAD 3, DET 2
WP: Juarez (7-13, 3.95), LP: Martin (4-3, 3.86), SV: Tavares (29)
POG: Juarez 8 IP, 4 H, ER, 8 K – Game Score – 78

9/3: MAD 4, MES 2
WP: Polledo (16-2, 3.93), LP: McGee (14-8, 3.46), SV: Zhao (2)
HR: Ryan (10), Kouno (28)
POG: Polledo 6 IP, 4 H, ER, 3 BB, 6 K (Game Score 63)

9/4: MES 1, MAD 0
WP: Burton (7-3, 4.17), LP: Campell (14-5, 4.34), SV: Salazar (35)
POG: Burton 8 IP, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K (Game Score 72)
A Gem by Campbell ( 7 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 7 K) for naught.

Around the league
8/30: Won-ho Song (CHA) hit for the cycle

Players of the Week
NL: Ryan Hawk (DET) .444, 3 HR, 9 RBI (5x)
AL: Pedro Leyva (NAS) .500, 3 HR, 10 RBI (3x)

Who holds the single season record for ERA:
Rodrigo Valencia, -, 1.568, 2000
Rodrigo Valencia, -, 1.959, 2002
Jose Rivas, -, 1.973, 1997
Jeff Campbell, KC, 1.980, 2007
Luis Castillo, DAL, 2.037, 2010

[Muskies]

“Well folks it looks like it is going to be dog fight to the finish.” I sighed as I sat down at the table. “Knock on wood at least we have health on our side this year. Last year we were struggling to field a team down the stretch. We also have the disadvantage of playing in the toughest division this year. Kansas City is in sixth place with record of 70-73.”

“What do we have coming up this week Tina?”

“As you know Dave Hanson agent called again this week about staying in Madison. His agent indicated that he is looking for a six year deal at $57 million.” Replied Tina.

“My stance on that hasn’t changed, even though he is hitting .311 for us this year, we have some depth in the outfield and that money if we can free it up would be better spent on the bullpen. Anything else?”

“This week we have 1 game @ Mesa (74-69), 3 vs. San Francisco (69-74), and 2 @ Charlotte (60-74).” Finished Tina.

“Thanks. As you all know we called up Farias and Huporkorny; for the stretch run. We were going to call up Hinton, but he went down for 4 to 5 months with shoulder inflammation. How about you Dwight?’”

“The call up of the relievers has hurt Louisville chances at a playoff run, they have fallen 4 games behind, but the player understand begrudgingly. Minneapolis has qualified for the playoff’s with a record of 48-17. That is all I have for today.”

[Muskies]

Batter of the Month
NL: Ryan Ward (DET) .346, 9 HR, 26 RBI (2x)
AL: Juan Gomez (LA) .359, 9 HR, 34 RBI (2x)

Pitcher of the Month
NL: Domingo Gonzalez (WAS) 6-0, 2.27 (1x)
AL: Julio De La Rosa (BOS) 5-2, 4 SV, 1.97 (1x)

Rookie of the Month
NL: Edward Townsend (DET) .286, 6 HR, 19 RBI (1x)
AL: Joe Bass (NAS) .380, 4 HR, 20 RBI (1x)

[Muskies]

Record: 87-62, .584,
Position: 2nd (1 GB Columbus), Wild Card (1 GB Washington)
OBP: .349 (3rd in NL)
Starter ERA: 4.18 (2nd NL)
Bullpen ERA: 4.49 (11th in NL)
Defense: .703 (2nd in NL)
Fan Interest / Owner Mood: 100 / Ecstatic
Power Ranking: (101.1+, 5th in ABL)

Week: (1-5), 0-1 vs. Mesa, 1-2 vs. San Francisco, 0-2 vs. Charlotte

9/5: MES 8, MAD 7 (10)
WP: Aquino (2-6, 3.79), LP: Tavares (8-6, 2.54)
HR: Ruiz (17), Valentin (6)
POG: Ruiz 2-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, HR
Farias and Tavares combined for the blown save by allowing three runs in the bottom of the 10th inning.

9/6: SF 7, MAD 5
WP: Alvarado (7-0, 3.55), LP: Varela (7-5, 4.17), SV: Jaramillo (16)
HR: Hayes (34), Alvarez (26), Martinez (9), Menenders (5), Chamings (17), Nishikawa (50)
POG: Hayes (SF) 2-5, R, 2 RBI, HR
Mallards hit BACK to BACK to BACK to BACK home runs in the fifth inning (Menenders, Martinez, Chamings an Nishikawa)

9/7: SF 3, MAD 0
WP: Parslow (1-0, 1.88), LP: Juarez (7-14, 3.84), SV: Jaramillo (17)
HR: Raines (1)
POG: Parslow (SF) 8.1 IP, 3 H, BB, K

9/8: MAD 3, SF 2
WP: Gilbert (8-8, 3.84), LP: Hirata (2-9, 5.09)
HR: Hayes (35)
POG: Jim Hayes (SF) 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR:

9/8: CHA 2, MAD 0
WP: Hunter (8-13, 4.98), LP: Varela (7-6, 4.32), SV: Cruz (25)
HR: Ojeda (11)
POG: Hunter 8.1 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K
Campbell struck out 10 in a no decision

9/9: CHA 8, MAD 7
WP: Jackson (13-9, 3.71), LP: MacFadden (11-12, 4.86), SV: Hunt (1)
HR: Conley (3), Ferguson (28)
POG: Ferguson 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, HR

Around the league
9/6: Hollis Lee (NAS) hit his 500th career home run; currently he is #3 on the all time list.
9/7: John Lee (TAM) collected his 3000th hit; currently #2 on the all time list, 200 hits behind Dave Christian

Players of the Week
NL: Curt Cannon (MES) .435, 2 HR, 6 RBI
AL: Victor Andres (SJ) .609, 3 HR, 9 RBI

Who leads the ABL in games started while playing First Base:
Steve Bender, IND, 149
Claude Boucard, AUS, 149
William Lee, JAC, 149
Katai Nishikawa, MIL, 149
Carl Scott, SAC, 149

[Muskies]

“Wow, this is turning to an epic collapse, it would appear that our offense has already left for the season. Two shut outs in the same week. Ironically our bullpen has kept us competitive. At this point there isn’t must more for me to say. What do we have next week Tina?”

“Given our current position in the Wild Card we actually have a very big week. After we wrap up the series against Charlotte (74-75), we have 3 games vs. Washington (88-61), and 3 games vs Tampa. As you all know we trail Washington in the Wild Card by 1 game.” Replied Tina.

“Thank’s Tina. Do you have anything Dwight?”

“I was in Asia this last week”, Dwight stated, “and I found a promising 16 year old starting pitcher, Ipo Akaula in Palau. Other than that we have signed all of our free agent minor league free agents to new minor league contracts so we won’t have to worry about that in the offseason.”

[Muskies]

Record: 92-64, .590
Position: 1st (tied with Columbus), WildCard 1 game lead over Washington and Baltimore
OBP: .350 (2nd in NL)
Starter ERA: 4.17 (3rd in NL)
Bullpen ERA: 4.43 (11th in NL)
Defense: .702 (2nd in NL)
Fan Interest / Owner Mood: 100 / Ecstatic
Power Ranking: 113.2++, 2nd in ABL

Week: (5-2) 0-1 vs. Charlote, 2-1 vs. Washington, 3-0 vs. Tampa

9/12: CHA 4, MAD 3
WP: Hernandez (13-7, 4.61), LP: Barnwell (4-3, 4.16), SV: Peterson (3)
POG: Hernandez 7 IP, 7 H, ER, BB, 3 K
Ruiz was injured running the bases.

9/13: WAS 9, MAD 4
WP: Fuller (11-11, 4.76), LP: Juarez (7-15, 4.04)
HR: Martin (8)
POG: Martin 2-4, 2 R, 5 RBI, 2B, HR (GRAND SLAM)

9/14: MAD 8, WAS 1
WP: Polledo (17-2, 3.73), LP: Stewart (13-12, 6.02)
HR: Benson (10), Chamings (18)
POG: Polledo 9 IP, 5 H, ER, 8 K – Game Score - 81

9/15: MAD 6, WAS 5
WP: Campbell (15-5, 4.20), LP: Gonzalez (14-10, 4.35), SV: Gilbert (2)
HR: Melton (14), Hubbard (30)
POG: Roberts 2-3, R, 2 RBI
Kouno was ejected in the 8th inning for arguing a call

9/16: MAD 6, TAM 5 (10)
WP: Tavares (9-6, 2.70), LP: Flores (7-6, 2.60)
POG: Shaffer 3-4, 2 R, RBI, 2 2B, Sacrifice Fly in the bottom of the 10th.
Alan Gilbert was injured pitching

9/17: MAD 6, TAM 1
WP: Barnwell (5-3, 4.01), LP: Johnston (10-7, 4.36)
HR: Chamings 2 (20)
POG: Chamings 2-2, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB

9/18: MAD 3, TAM 2
WP: Polledo (18-2, 3.67), LP: Hansson (1-3, 4.93), SV: Tavares (30)
HR: Chamings (21)
Gerardo Martinez was injured running the basis


Around the league
9/13: Jorge Sanchez (BOS) collected his 2000th hit of his career
9/17: Stanley Davis (WAS) tied the single season record for Home runs at 55
9/18: Stanley Davis (WAS) set the single season home run record at 56
9/18: Ryan Ward (DET) hit his 300th home run

Players of the Week
NL – Israel Colon (COL) .469, 3 HR, 6 RBI (6x)
AL – Alberto Garza (Ft.W) .455, 5 HR, 13 RBI (1x)

Who leads the ABL in runs
Stanley Davis, WAS, 126
Jorge Lucero, CLE, 126
Juan Gomez, LA, 117
Ryan Ward, DET, 117
Katai Nishikawa, MIL, 116

[Muskies]

“Well Folks, this season is going to come down to the Wire for the entire league. With days left in the season, no one has clinched a spot in the playoff’s and in only one division does the leader have more than a one game lead in the division. I have asked Tina to prepare a listing of the division races with one week to go. Tina..”

“Thanks Kage” replied Tina.

NL Eastern
Washington Birds (91-65)
Baltimore Pinnacles (91-65)

NL Central
Madison Mallards (92-64)
Columbus River Dragons (92-64)

NL Western
Mesa Monarchs (79-77) Magic #6
San Francisco Greyhounds (78-78)

NL WildCard
Madison Mallards (92-64) Magic #7
Columbus River Dragons (92-64) Magic #7
Washington Birds (91-65)
Baltimore Pinnacles (91-65)


AL Eastern
Philadelphia Towers (85-71) Magic #6
Cleveland Ventures (84-72)

AL Central
Ft Worth Lords (96-60) Magic #6
Nashville Delta Rays (95-61)
Houston Copperheads (93-63)

AL Western
Los Angeles Madhouse (80-76) Magic #4
San Jose Sloops (77-79)

AL Wild Card
Nashville Delta Rays (95-61) Magic#5
Houston Copperheads (93-63)

“This week we have 3 games @ Phoenix (69-87) and 3 games vs. Austin (76-80). Attendance for the year is up 3.5% over last year.”

“Thanks Tina. Fernando, what can you tell us about the rash of injuries that we experienced this week? I must say it will certainly make our push for the playoff’s more difficult.”

“Well, “ replied Fernado, “Alan Gilbert is out for about a week with a mild shoulder sprain, Gerardo Martinez is out for about a week with a sprained ankle and Ruiz is out for about 3 more weeks with an abdominal strain. Unless we go far in the playoffs Ruiz will likely be done for the season. I can’t explain this string of injuries given how well we made it through the season.”

“Good Luck folks and let’s hope that in a week we are celebrating making it to the playoff’s.”

Editors Note: I understand turning down the injuries to low after September 1st.

[Muskies]

Record: 95-67, .586
Position: t 1st with Columbus, Wild Card (1 game lead over Washington)
OBP: .348 (3rd in NL)
Starter ERA: 4.20 (4th in NL)
Bullpen ERA: 4.44 (11th in NL)
Defense: .701 (2nd in NL)
Fan Interest / Owner Mood: 100 / Ecstatic
Power Ranking: 108.6 - / 4th in ABL

Week: (3-3), 2-1 vs. Phoenix, 1-2 vs. Austin

9/19: MAD 8, PHO 7 (10)
WP: Tavares (10-6, 2.89), LP: Booker (3-5, 3.39), SV: Davila (4)
HR: Gibbs (25), Mora (2)
POG: Mora 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 3B, 2 HR

9/20: MAD 6, PHO 3
WP: Juarez (8-15, 4.01), LP: Lopes (15-12, 4.43), SV: Farias (9)
HR: Nishikawa (51), Gibbs (26)
POG: Nishikawa 2-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR

9/21: PHO 6, MAD 1
WP: McGinnity (12-16, 3.38), LP: MacFadden (11-13, 4.83)
HR: Wilson (16), Miller (10)
POG: McGinnity 9 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 BB, 6 K
Los Angeles clinched the AL Western Division

9/23: AUS 2, MAD 1
WP: Lopez (7-7, 3.86), LP: Barnwell (5-4, 3.95), SV: Duke (23)
HR: Boucard (44), Hubbard (31)
POG: Lopez 8 IP, 7 H, ER, 7 K
Ft. Worth clinches the AL Central

9/24: MAD 6, AUS 4
WP: Polledo (19-2, 3.67), LP: Barnes (12-9, 4.21), SV: Tavares (31)
HR: Boucard (45), Nishikawa (52)
POG: Nishikawa 3-4, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR
Philadelphia clinches the AL Easter
Mesa clinches the NL Western

9/25: AUS 10, MAD 3
WP: Young (11-5, 3.38), LP: Campbell (15-6, 4.39),
POG: Myers 4-5, R, 2 RBI
Baltimore clinches the NL Eastern on the last day of the season

Around the league
9/20: San Antonio manager Mike Wheeler was fired today. For they year San Antonio was 74-83 after finishing first in the division last year. Wheeler has been a manager for the last five years and made the playoff’s four of those years, winning the championship in 2008 with Mesa.

Who is the active leader in the ABL in career sacrifice hits:
Goitom Chatuluka, AUS, 115
Francisco Valdes, SJ, 114
Chris Richards, NB, 101
Owen Trent, SH, 101
Kiyonobu Murakami, SP, 99

[Muskies]

“Good morning folks, 162 games and the title of NL Central Division Champion comes down to a one game playoff. The “good news is that the loser of the game will qualify for the Wild Card spot. It is Juarez spot in the rotation for the start, however, given that we will have another series starting immediately after I will go with MacFadden (11-13, 4.83) for the start. I think we are better off looking forward to the playoff’s than one game with Columbus for the title.”

[Muskies]

One game playoff for the NL Central Crown

MAD 6, COL 4
WP: MacFadden (12-13, 4.74), LP: Ramos (5-4, 4.23), SV: Tavares (32)
HR: Hansen (21), Nishikawa (53), Holliday (11), Corrigan (8)
POG: Nishikawa 2-5, R, 2 RBI, HR

Key Moments:
- MacFadden pitched 7.1 innings allowing 4 hits and 2 earned runs
- Mallards scored 5 runs in the first two innings
- Bullpen allowed three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to make it interesting

[Muskies]

Round 1 Matchups

Madison (96-67) vs. Mesa (83-79)
Columbus (96-68) vs. Baltimore (95-67)
Ft. Worth (100-62) vs. Los Angeles (84-78)
Houston (99-64) vs. Philadelphia (89-73)

2011 ABL Divisional Playoff Series
Madison Mallards (96-67) vs. Mesa Monarchs (83-79)

Mesa won the NL Western Division. Both their offense is ranked 7th in the NL and their pitching is ranked 3rd, allowing 4 ½ runs per game. Mesa’s starting rotation is anchored by John Conway (18-12, 3.92) and Dan McGee(17-8, 3.28). The head to head record between Madison and Mesa was 6-6 this year.

GAME 1 @ Madison: Jose Polledo (19-2, 3.67) vs. John Conway (18-12, 3.92)

Key Moment: Conway took the mound and only allowed 3 hits. Polledo lasted 6 1/3 innings with no runs but threw 96 pitches

MES 1, MAD 0
WP: Conway (1-0, 0.00), LP: Gilbert (0-1, 3.38), SV: Salazar (1)
POG: Conway 8.2 IP, 3 H, BB, 6 K – Game Score 83

Mesa leads the series (1-0)

Other Games:
HOU 6, PHI 1 (Houston leads 1-0)
BAL 11, COL 3 (Baltimore leads 1-0)
Ft.W 8, LA 2 (Ft. Worth leads 1-0)

[Muskies]

Editors Note: Life always gets in the way, swamped at work and getting the kids ready for school and to all their activities. It was a killer to have to put the game aside as I am finally getting to the playoffs. Now I am ready for the stretch run.

[Muskies]

2011 ABL Divisional Playoff Series
Madison Mallards (96-67) vs. Mesa Monarchs (83-79)

GAME 2 @ Madison: Kenny Campbell (15-6, 4.39), Dan McGee (17-8, 3.28)

Key Moment: Tavares took the mound with a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth and allowed 3 runs on three hits for the loss.

MES 5, MAD 3
WP: Rivera (1-0, 0.00), LP: Tavares (0-1, 40.54), SV: Salazar (2)
HR: Patterson (1)
POG: Valentin 2-5, R, 2 RBI, 3B (triple in the 9th with 2 on and 2 outs)

Mesa leads series 2-0

Other Games
HOU 6, PHI 1 (Houston Leads series 2-0)
BAL 6, COL 1 (Baltimore leads series 2-0)
Ft.W 4, LA 2 (Ft. Worth leads series 2-0)

[Muskies]

2011 ABL Divisional Playoff Series
Madison Mallards (96-67) vs. Mesa Monarchs (83-79)

GAME 3 @ Mesa: Tony Wilson (8-10, 5.19), Pancho Juarez (8-10, 4.01)

Key Moment: Benson HR in the top of the 13th and Tavares earned the save despite allowing 2 base runners. We loaded the bases in the first, second, sixth and tenth came away with two runs. MacFadden pitched 4 innings of brilliant relief just when we needed it. 4 innings, 3 hits and 6 strikeouts.

MAD 3, MES 2 (13)
WP: MacFadden (1-0, 0.00), Salarzar (0-1, 3.86), SV: Tavares (1)
HR: Benson (1), Montoya (1)
POG: Benson 3-5, 2 R, RBI, BB, HR
Mesa closer Salazar was injured pitching and will be out 4 weeks with a strained bicep. Salazar was the second best closer in the ABL with 38 saves on 1 blown save.

Mesa leads the series 2-1

Other Games
HOU 8, PHI 7 (Houston wins the series)
BAL 6, COL 2 (Baltimore wins the series)
LA 8, Ft.W 2 (Ft Worth leads the series 2-1)

[Muskies]

2011 ABL Divisional Playoff Series
Madison Mallards (96-67) vs. Mesa Monarchs (83-79)

Game 4 @ Mesa: John Conway (1-0, 0.00), Jose Polledo (0-0, 0.00)

Key Moment: Bases loaded in the top of the 8th inning and Mesa’s Aquino (yes the same one) walked in the winning run.

MAD 3, MES 2
WP: Gilbert (1-1, 1.59), Aquino (0-1, 1.59)
HR: Patterson (2)
POG: Clyde Patterson 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR

The Mallards “potent” offense has been stagnant this series. It has been the pitching and the bullpen that has really come through. Hopefully they can break out of it soon. Ironically thus far in the series the road team has won every game.

Series tied @ 2

Other Games:
LA 12, Ft.W 2 (Series tied @ 2)

Other News:
Dwight Hamm discovered a 16 year old starting pitcher in Puerto Rico, Gustavo Hernandez.

[Muskies]

2011 ABL Divisional Playoff Series
Madison Mallards (96-67) vs. Mesa Monarchs (83-79)

Game 5 @ Madison: Kenny Campbell (0-0, 3.00), McGee (0-0, 3.18)

Key Moment: The Mallards went down 3-0 in the top of the first, but he offense exploded for 7 runs in the 6 through 8 innings.

MAD 8, MES 4
WP: Campbell (1-0, 3.46), McGee (0-1, 4.38), SV: Gilber5 (1)
HR: David 2 (2)
POG: Don David 3-4, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2 HR

Madison wins the Series (3-2)

Other Games
Ft.W 3, LA 2 (Ft. Worth wins the series 3-2)

[Muskies]

“Congratulation’s folks, that was quite a series. What a comeback!! I can’t believe we pulled it off despite the offense being anemic. Congratulations to you and your staff Robles, you really had the pitching staff firing on all cylinders. It was nice to see the offense pick up the last game; hopefully it can carry forward into the next game. Good Luck folks and keep it up.”