A.J. Burnett (10-7, 3.92 ERA) vs. Joe Blanton (12-10, 4.44 ERA)
Game 5 of the NL Wild Card Series truly was a must-win situation for Springfield. The Isotopes had fallen in 3 of the first 4 games of the series, and now looked to extend the series and send it back to Fleetwood for a Game 6. To do so, the young Joe Blanton would need to outduel Fleetwood veteran A.J. Burnett.
Things looked bleak for Springfield very quickly, however. Jason Bartlett led off the game with a double, and David Wright and Barry Bonds followed with singles. When Miguel Cabrera drew a walk, the based were loaded with nobody out and the Walkers appeared ready to break the game wide open.
Showing great moxie, Blanton battled back. First, he struck out Carlos Beltran. He then retired Conor Jackson on a sacrifice fly for the inning's second out. The run had given Fleetwood a 2-0 lead, but Blanton prevented further damage by retiring Nick Markakis on a fly out to end the inning.
Springfield answered back quickly in the 2nd inning. With two out and a runner on 1st, Ray Durham drew a walk. Former Walker David Ross then hit a single to load the bases. Tony Graffanino, a hero in Game 3 of this series, came through again with a two-out, two run single. The game was now tied.
Burnett would struggle again in the 3rd inning. With two outs, Moises Alou smacked a double into the gap. Burnett then uncorked a wild pitch, sending Alou to third. And when Burnett misplayed a Justin Morneau ground ball into an error, Springfield had grabbed a 3-2 lead.
The score remained unchanged in the 4th and 5th innings as both pitchers settled into a groove. Fleetwood broke through in a big way in the 6th inning, though. After lead-off singles by Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Beltran, Nick Markakis followed a Derrek Lee line out with a deep 3-run homer to straight-away center field. What had been a 3-2 Springfield lead quickly turned into 5-3 run deficit.
The Isotopes looked to battle back in the 7th inning when Orlando Cabrera and pinch-hitter Ryan Garko delivered one-out singles. With the go-ahead run coming to the plate in Moises Alou, Fleetwood manager Rube Foster made an early call to his relief ace Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman responded by striking out both Alou and Justin Morneau to end the threat.
Perhaps inspired by Hoffman's performance, Fleetwood added an insurance run on an 8th-inning sacrifice fly from Mike Redmond. The Walkers now lead 6-3, and the Isotopes were down to their last 6 outs.
Hoffman made quick work of Springfield in the 8th, setting the site down in order. After a scoreless top of the 9th inning, the Isotopes neeed a 3-run rally to keep their season alive.
Hank Blalock led off versus Hoffman, but grounded out. Having thrown more than his typical number of pitchers, Fleetwood manager Rube Foster reluctantly patted Hoffman on the back and brought in Keith Foulke to finish the job.
Things started well for Foulke when he retired Mike Cameron on a fly out. Red-hot Orlando Cabrera was next, though, and he delivered again with a single. Springfield needed one more baserunner to send the tying run to the plate.
A wild pitch by Foulke added to the drama, but Foulke retired reserve outfielder Ben Johnson to end the game. Springfield's season was over, but not without a valiant fight. Meanwhile, Fleetwood had earned a ticket to Bloomington where they will face the Bees in a National League Divisional Series.
MVP honors were extended to Fleetwood pitcher Ervin Santana (2-0, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 3 BB, 14 K), wit honorable mention going to Fleetwood's Miguel Cabrera (8-18, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI) and Springfield's Orlando Cabrera (9-19, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI).
Final score: Fleetwood 6, Springfield 3.
W: Burnett (1-0). L: Blanton (0-1). SV: None.
HR: Markakis (1).
Game 5 of the NL Wild Card Series truly was a must-win situation for Springfield. The Isotopes had fallen in 3 of the first 4 games of the series, and now looked to extend the series and send it back to Fleetwood for a Game 6. To do so, the young Joe Blanton would need to outduel Fleetwood veteran A.J. Burnett.
Things looked bleak for Springfield very quickly, however. Jason Bartlett led off the game with a double, and David Wright and Barry Bonds followed with singles. When Miguel Cabrera drew a walk, the based were loaded with nobody out and the Walkers appeared ready to break the game wide open.
Showing great moxie, Blanton battled back. First, he struck out Carlos Beltran. He then retired Conor Jackson on a sacrifice fly for the inning's second out. The run had given Fleetwood a 2-0 lead, but Blanton prevented further damage by retiring Nick Markakis on a fly out to end the inning.
Springfield answered back quickly in the 2nd inning. With two out and a runner on 1st, Ray Durham drew a walk. Former Walker David Ross then hit a single to load the bases. Tony Graffanino, a hero in Game 3 of this series, came through again with a two-out, two run single. The game was now tied.Burnett would struggle again in the 3rd inning. With two outs, Moises Alou smacked a double into the gap. Burnett then uncorked a wild pitch, sending Alou to third. And when Burnett misplayed a Justin Morneau ground ball into an error, Springfield had grabbed a 3-2 lead.
The score remained unchanged in the 4th and 5th innings as both pitchers settled into a groove. Fleetwood broke through in a big way in the 6th inning, though. After lead-off singles by Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Beltran, Nick Markakis followed a Derrek Lee line out with a deep 3-run homer to straight-away center field. What had been a 3-2 Springfield lead quickly turned into 5-3 run deficit.The Isotopes looked to battle back in the 7th inning when Orlando Cabrera and pinch-hitter Ryan Garko delivered one-out singles. With the go-ahead run coming to the plate in Moises Alou, Fleetwood manager Rube Foster made an early call to his relief ace Trevor Hoffman. Hoffman responded by striking out both Alou and Justin Morneau to end the threat.
Perhaps inspired by Hoffman's performance, Fleetwood added an insurance run on an 8th-inning sacrifice fly from Mike Redmond. The Walkers now lead 6-3, and the Isotopes were down to their last 6 outs.
Hoffman made quick work of Springfield in the 8th, setting the site down in order. After a scoreless top of the 9th inning, the Isotopes neeed a 3-run rally to keep their season alive.
Hank Blalock led off versus Hoffman, but grounded out. Having thrown more than his typical number of pitchers, Fleetwood manager Rube Foster reluctantly patted Hoffman on the back and brought in Keith Foulke to finish the job.Things started well for Foulke when he retired Mike Cameron on a fly out. Red-hot Orlando Cabrera was next, though, and he delivered again with a single. Springfield needed one more baserunner to send the tying run to the plate.
A wild pitch by Foulke added to the drama, but Foulke retired reserve outfielder Ben Johnson to end the game. Springfield's season was over, but not without a valiant fight. Meanwhile, Fleetwood had earned a ticket to Bloomington where they will face the Bees in a National League Divisional Series.
MVP honors were extended to Fleetwood pitcher Ervin Santana (2-0, 1.84 ERA, 14.2 IP, 3 BB, 14 K), wit honorable mention going to Fleetwood's Miguel Cabrera (8-18, 2 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI) and Springfield's Orlando Cabrera (9-19, 2 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI).
Final score: Fleetwood 6, Springfield 3.
W: Burnett (1-0). L: Blanton (0-1). SV: None.
HR: Markakis (1).
BOXSCORE: 2007 Fleetwood Walkers At 2007 Springfield Isotopes 10/2/2007
Walkers AB R H RBI AVG Isotopes AB R H RBI AVG
J.Bartlett SS 3 1 1 0 .250 M.Cameron CF 5 0 0 0 .095
D-W.Aybar PH 1 0 0 0 .200 O.Cabrera SS 5 0 2 0 .474
E-B.Crosby SS 0 0 0 0 .000 R.Ibanez LF 3 0 0 0 .167
D.Wright 3B 4 1 2 1 .316 F-R.Garko PH 1 0 1 01.000
B.Bonds LF 3 0 1 0 .400 G-B.Johnson LF 1 0 0 0 .000
C-M.Cabrera LF 2 0 1 0 .333 M.Alou RF 4 1 2 0 .263
M.Cabrera DH 3 1 2 0 .444 J.Morneau 1B 4 1 1 0 .222
C.Beltran CF 5 1 1 0 .190 J.Willingham DH 3 0 1 0 .176
C.Jackson 1B 1 0 0 1 .100 H-S.Choo PH 1 0 0 0 .000
A-D.Lee PH,1B 2 1 1 0 .400 R.Durham 2B 3 1 0 0 .188
N.Markakis RF 5 1 2 3 .308 D.Ross C 3 0 2 0 .222
M.Giles 2B 4 0 0 0 .000 I-D.Ward PH 1 0 0 0 .500
J.Valentin C 2 0 0 0 .250 J-M.Lieberthal C 0 0 0 0 .375
B-M.Redmond PH,C 1 0 0 1 .250 T.Graffanino 3B 3 0 1 2 .556
K-H.Blalock PH 1 0 0 0 .000
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 36 6 11 6 Totals 38 3 10 2
A-Pinch Hit For Jackson In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Valentin In 6th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Bonds In 6th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Bartlett In 7th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Aybar In 7th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Ibanez In 7th Inning
G-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Garko In 8th Inning
H-Pinch Hit For Willingham In 8th Inning
I-Pinch Hit For Ross In 8th Inning
J-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Ward In 9th Inning
K-Pinch Hit For Graffanino In 9th Inning
Walkers......... 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 - 6 11 1
Isotopes........ 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 3 10 0
Walkers (4-1) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
A.Burnett WIN(1-0) 6 1/3 8 3 2 1 8 0 2.84 A1 D2
S.Downs 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 D3 D3
T.Hoffman HOLD(1st) 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 1.93 D4 D9
K.Foulke 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 18.00 E1
Totals 9 10 3 2 1 10 0
Isotopes (1-4) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
J.Blanton LOSS(0-1) 5 1/3 7 5 5 2 2 1 8.44 A1 C7
B.Bray 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.75 C8 C9
C.Ray 1 2 1 1 1 1 0 4.50 D1 D6
J.Walker 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 10.80 D7 E2
D.Weathers 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 8.10 E3
Totals 9 11 6 6 5 4 1
ATTENDANCE- 42,224 DATE- Tuesday, October 2nd 2007 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 3:41
LEFT ON BASE- Walkers:10 Isotopes: 9
DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 0 Isotopes: 0
ERRORS- A.Burnett
DOUBLES- J.Bartlett(1st), M.Cabrera(1st), M.Cabrera(2nd), M.Alou(1st)
HOME RUNS- N.Markakis(1st)
SACRIFICE FLIES- C.Jackson, M.Redmond
WALKS- B.Crosby, D.Wright, M.Cabrera-2, D.Lee, R.Durham
STRIKE OUTS- M.Cabrera, C.Beltran-2, M.Giles, M.Cameron, R.Ibanez-2, M.Alou-2,
J.Morneau, J.Willingham, R.Durham, D.Ross, T.Graffanino
WILD PITCHES- A.Burnett-3, K.Foulke
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