September 22, 2006: The Mighty Miguel

Entering its last regular-season homestand, Fleetwood looked to extend it 19-game winning steak. Doing so would not be easy, though, as the team faced the playoff-bound Maine Black Flies. Both teams sent their aces to the mound: lefty Johan Santana for Maine and righty A.J. Burnett for Fleetwood.

Things looked good early for the Walkers. They scored two quick runs in the 1st, highlighted by a Miguel Cabrera solo home run. Maine rebounded in a big way, though, scoring once in the 2nd, twice in the 3rd, and once more in the 4th. The Black Flies now led 4-2 heading into the bottom of the 4th.

Facing a two-run deficit, Cabrera once again came though for Fleetwood. He hit his second homer of the game versus Santana -- his 34th home run of the season -- and pulled his team within one run.

In the top of the 7th, Maine's Ruben Gotay led off with a single. Alex Gonzalez followed with a double, and the Black Flies had 2 runners in scoring position with nobody out. In a bind, Fleetwood manager Rube Foster called on Arthur Rhodes. Rhodes continued his amazing season, retiring the next three batters in order without allowing an inherited runner to score.

In the bottom of the 7th, Fleetwood mounted a rally of its own. After one out, Bobby Crosby hit a double. With the tying run on second, Maine relieved Santana with stud reliever Kyle Farnsworth. Fleetwood's David DeJesus was not intimidated, though, driving a Farnsworth fastball into the outfield for an RBI single. After 7 inning, the game was tied 4-4.

Both bullpens pitched scoreless innings in the 8th and 9th innings. In the top of the 10th, Fleetwood mid-season pickup Kelvim Escobar pitched a scoreless inning. In the bottom of the frame, Fleetwood rookie Ryan Zimmerman continued his sizzling September with a lead-off double. After a Luis Matos sacrifice bunt, Maine brought in Ryan Dempster to relieve Farnsworth. It did not matter to Fleetwood's Derrek Lee, who hit a walk-off single to end the game.

Fleetwood had completed the comeback win, and extended its dazzling winning streak to 20 games.

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BOXSCORE: 2006 Maine Black Flies At 2006 Fleetwood Walkers          9/22/2006
Gm 1: A matchup of aces turns into a matchup of bullpens; Cabrera hits 2 HRs.
 
  Black Flies        AB  R  H RBI AVG     Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Rollins SS        5  0  1  0 .297     R.Zimmerman 3B      5  1  2  0 .491  
  M.Anderson DH       5  1  2  0 .293   D-J.Guillen PR        0  1  0  0 .282  
  P.Konerko 1B        5  0  0  0 .252     D.Wright DH         2  0  1  0 .299  
  K.Griffey Jr CF     5  2  3  2 .289   A-B.Bonds PH          0  0  0  0 .233  
  P.Burrell LF        5  0  1  0 .279   B-L.Matos PR,DH       0  0  0  0 .292  
  A.Castillo C        3  1  0  0 .071     D.Lee 1B            5  0  1  1 .300  
  O.Palmeiro RF       4  0  2  1 .308     M.Cabrera LF        4  2  3  2 .328  
  R.Gotay 2B          4  0  2  1 .333     J.Edmonds CF        4  0  0  0 .252  
  A.Gonzalez 3B       4  0  2  0 .230     M.Giles 2B          4  0  0  0 .277  
                                          R.Castro C          3  0  0  0 .285  
                                        C-J.Valentin PH,C     1  0  0  0 .329  
                                          B.Crosby SS         4  1  1  0 .310  
                                          D.Dejesus RF        4  0  2  1 .271  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      40  4 13  4                 Totals      36  5 10  4
 
A-Pinch Hit For Wright In 7th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For Bonds In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Castro In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Ran For Zimmerman In 10th Inning
 
Black Flies..... 0 1 2  1 0 0  0 0 0  0 -  4 13  0
Walkers......... 2 0 0  1 0 0  1 0 0  1 -  5 10  1
 
Black Flies (96-49)      IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
J.Santana                 6 1/3   7   4   4   1   6   2   3.08  A1 C8
K.Farnsworth L(11-2)B(5th 3       2   1   1   1   3   0   1.46  C9 E2
R.Dempster                0       1   0   0   0   0   0   3.74  E3
Totals                    9 1/3  10   5   5   2   9   2
 
Walkers (115-45)         IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
A.Burnett                 6      10   4   4   2   3   1   3.42  A1 C9
A.Rhodes                  1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.22  D1 D3
F.Cabrera                 2       2   0   0   0   2   0   1.78  D4 E2
K.Escobar WIN(4-0)        1       1   0   0   0   2   0   2.84  E3
Totals                   10      13   4   4   2   8   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 36,163 DATE- Monday, September 22nd 2006 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
T- 3:39
LEFT ON BASE- Black Flies: 8  Walkers: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Black Flies: 1  Walkers: 2
ERRORS- R.Castro
DOUBLES- P.Burrell(9th), A.Gonzalez-2(14th), R.Zimmerman-2(19th),
         M.Cabrera(52nd), B.Crosby(23rd)
HOME RUNS- K.Griffey Jr(20th), M.Cabrera-2(34th)
STOLEN BASES- J.Rollins(45th), M.Anderson-3(9th)
CAUGHT STEALING- M.Anderson
SACRIFICE HITS- L.Matos
WALKS- A.Castillo-2, D.Wright, B.Bonds
STRIKE OUTS- M.Anderson, P.Konerko-2, P.Burrell, A.Castillo-3, A.Gonzalez,
             D.Wright, D.Lee, J.Edmonds-2, M.Giles, R.Castro, J.Valentin,
             B.Crosby, D.Dejesus
GIDP- O.Palmeiro, A.Gonzalez, D.Lee
WILD PITCHES- J.Santana-2, A.Burnett