Yankees vs. Twins
At New York, the Twins won 3-1 vs. the Yankees to end a 13-game losing streak against New York. Game Two is played on Thursday.
The Twins took the lead in the third inning when Cristian Guzman reached on an infield-hit, advanced on a single by Shannon Stewart, then beat the throw from centerfielder Bernie Williams after a sac-fly by Luis Rivas. The Yankees were held scoreless by starter Johan Santana, who left after four innings with cramp in his right leg. But the Twins-bullpen was also succesfull. The Yankees had nine hits in the game, including three in the ninth inning. In the fifth Rick Reed took over for Santana and got two quick outs but then Alfonso Soriano doubled. J.C. Romero relieved Reed and ended the inning with a grounder. Minnesota increased the lead with two runs in the sixth inning. Matt LeCroy led off with a single, then Torii Hunter tripled with one out. As the ball went by Bernie Williams, LeCroy scored. Williams threw the ball back to Alfonso Soriano, who then made a bad throw to third trying to get Hunter, who then went on to score on the throwing error.
In the seventh, the Yankees had runners on first and third but then the next two batters struckout. The Yanks scored their run in the ninth off of closer Eddie Guardado. Bernie Williams led off with a single and advanced on a one-out double by Aaron Boone. With two outs, Williams scored on a infield-single by Alfonso Soriano, before Nick Johnson grounded out to end the game. Losing pitcher was Mike Mussina, who was 20-2 in his career vs. the Twins.

Giants vs. Marlins
At San Francisco, the Giants shutout Florida, 2-0. Jason Schmidt went the distance and pitched a 3-hitter. Game Two is to be played on Wednesday.
The Giants opened the score with a run in the fourth inning. Rich Aurilia walked, then powerhitter and homerunking Barry Bonds was walked intentionally. A bunt by Edgardo Alfonzo ended in a throwing error and the first run.
In the eighth inning, the Giants made it 2-0 when Bonds again was walked intentionally. With two outs and the bases empty, Barry Bonds got a free pass. After he stole second base, Bonds scored on a double by Edgardo Alfonzo.

Braves vs. Cubs
At Atlanta, the Cubs came from behind and defeated the Braves, 4-2.
Kerry Wood was the man of the game. The National League-strikeout leader (266) struck out eleven batters in 7 1/3 inning and hit a 2-run double to break a 1-1 tie.
Atlanta had taken the lead on a homerun by Marcus Giles, but the Cubs tied the score and took the lead in the sixth inning. The bases got loaded on consecutive singles by Moises Alou, Aramis Ramirez and Eric Karros. A run was then scored on a grounder by Paul Bako, bringing pitcher Kerry Wood to bat, who then connected for a 2-run double to give the Cubs a 3-1 lead.

(September 30)

Giants vs. Marlins
At San Francisco, the Marlins trailed 4-1 after the fourth inning against the Giants, but turned around the game in the sixth and went on to win 9-5 to even their Series.
Trailing 4-1, the Marlins tied the score in the fifth inning on an RBI-single by Juan Pierre, an RBI-grounder by Luis Castillo and an RBI-single by Ivan Rodriguez.
The Giants retook the lead in the fifth when pinch-hitter Pedro Feliz led off with a triple and scored on a single by J.T. Snow, but then the Marlins decided the game with a 3-run sixth. Juan Encarnacion hit a one-out homerun to tie the score, later followed by a 2-run double by Juan Pierre, who went 4-for-5, scored three runs and had three RBI's.
In the seventh, the Marlins added a run on a grounder by Jeff Conine and another run in the eighth when a grounder went through the legs of first baseman J.T. Snow.

Braves vs. Cubs
At Atlanta, the Cubs scored twice in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie and win 5-3 vs. the Braves, resulting in a 1-1 tie in their Division Series.
In the first inning, the Cubs took a 2-0 lead. After two walks, the Cubs scored on a double by Sammy Sosa. Cubs-Manager Dusty Baker argued that the hit was a homerun, because it hit the outfield-fence above the yellow line, but it remained a double. Next, Moises Alou followed with an RBI-grounder. Braves-pitcher Mike Hampton then recovered and struckout six consecutive batters, setting a postseason record.
Atlanta answered with a run in the home first, then tied the score in the fourth inning. In the sixth, the Cubs got the bases loaded, but then Mark DeRosa struckout. In the home sixth, the Braves took a 3-2 lead. Marcus Giles, who didn't start because of an injury, delivered a pinch-hit RBI-single on which Javy Lopez scored the Braves' third run.
The Cubs tied the score again in the eighth inning. Eric Karros singled and was replaced by pinch-runner Doug Glanville, who moved to third on a pinch-hit single by Antillian Randall Simon. Glanville then scored on a sac-fly by Tom Goodwin. In the home eighth, the Braves decided the game on a double by Mark DeRosa, who struckout with the bases loaded two innings before and played instead of injured Marcus Giles. DeRosa hit a 2-out, 2-run double, which gave the Braves a 5-3 lead.

A's vs. Red Sox
At Oakland, the A's decided a 4 hours and 37 minutes, 12-inning thriller with a 2-out, basesloaded squeeze to take a 1-0 lead in their Series vs. the Red Sox. The squeeze gave the A's a 5-4 victory.
Boston took a quick lead when Todd Walker homered in the first inning, but Oakland then scored three runs in the third inning on a 2-run double by Erubiel Durazo and an RBI-single by Miguel Tejada. The Bosox came back with a run in the fifth inning when Jason Varitek homered, then took a 4-3 lead in the seventh on a 2-run homerun by Todd Walker, his second homer in the game.
In the ninth, Oakland tied the score on a 2-out, RBI-single by Erubiel Durazo, forcing the game to go into extra innings.
In the twelfth inning, Oakland got the bases loaded, but had two outs, when Ramon Hernandez got to bat. Oakland-Manager Ken Macha decided to give a surprising signal, which eventually resulted in the victory. With the Boston-third baseman playing back, Hernandez put down a bunt down the third base-line, enabling Eric Chavez to score the winning run, while Hernandez reached on a bunt-single.
Eleven pitchers were used in the game, who threw 435 pitches combined.

(October 2)

A's vs. Red Sox
At Oakland, the A's won its second team vs. the Red Sox, 5-1 and scored all runs in the second inning.
In the second, Jose Guillen walked with one out and advanced on a passed ball. He then scored when Ramon Hernandez followed with an RBI-single. Next, Jermaine Dye was hit by a pitch, before Eric Byrnes delivered a 2-run double to give the A's a 3-0 lead. Moments later, with two runners on base and two outs, a grounder by Eric Chavez appeared to be the final out, but instead second baseman Todd Walker made a throwing error, enabling two more runners to score a run.
Boston scored its only run in the third inning on back-to-back doubles by Doug Mirabelli and Johnny Damon. Following hitter Nomar Garciaparra walked, but the threat ended when the next two batters grounded out to end the inning.
Winning pitcher Barry Zito struckout nine batters in seven innings.
The Series now will go to historical Fenway Park in Boston, where the Red Sox won 53 games this season. Their 53-28 home record was the second best in the American League. Only three teams in history were able to come back from a 0-2 deficit in the Division Series to win it.

Yankees vs. Twins
At New York, the Yankees broke a 1-1 tie in the seventh and defeated Minnesota 4-1 to even their Series.
The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Alfonso Soriano scored on a sac-fly by Bernie Williams, but the Twins came alongside in the fifth inning when Torii Hunter homered. He hit his homer off starter Andy Pettitte, who dominated and struckout ten batters in seven innings, while giving up only four hits.
Twins-starter Brad Radke also pitched a good game, but the Yankees started a rally off him in the seventh. Radke hit lead-off hitter Nick Johnson, who advanced on a sac-bunt by Juan Rivera. Radke was relieved by LaTroy Hawkins, but he was greeted with an RBI-grounder by Alfonso Soriano, which gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. Derek Jeter then reached second base on a throwing error by Hawkins on his grounder, followed by a 2-run single by Jason Giambi, which increased the lead to 4-1. That was all for Hawkins, who was relieved by J.C. Romero, who gave up a single to Bernie Williams, but the got two groundouts to end the inning.
Mariano Rivera took over for Pettitte in the eighth and pitched two scoreless innings to earn a save.

(October 3)

Marlins vs. Giants
At Miami, the Marlins took a 2-0 lead, then the Giants tied the score and took the lead in the eleventh, but in the bottom half, the Marlins scored twice to win 4-3. All Miami-runs were produced by Ivan 'Pudge' Rodriguez, who had four RBI's.
More then 61.000 spectators saw Ivan Rodriguez hit a 2-run homerun in the first inning to give the Marlins an early 2-0 lead, but the Giants tied the score in the sixth. In that inning, Barry Bonds led off with an infield-hit, followed by a single by Edgardo Alfonzo. The two advanced on a grounder by Andres Galarraga, then the bases got loaded when Benito Santiago walked. Next, a fielder's choice grounder by José Cruz forced Santiago at second, but enabled Bonds to score a run. Pedro Feliz followed with an RBI-single to tie the score.
In the top of the eleventh inning, Rich Aurilia led off with a walk and advanced to third base when Barry Bonds reached on an error. Edgardo Alfonzo then followed with an RBI-single to give the Giants a 3-2 lead. Bonds and Alfonzo moved on a sac-hit by Yorvit Torrealba and then Neifi Perez was walked intentionally to load the bases. The Giants left the bases loaded, as Bonds was forced out at the plate on a grounder to first by José Cruz and J.T. Snow grounded to second to end the inning.
In the bottom of the eleventh inning, Jeff Conine reached on an error in rightfield, then Alex Gonzalez walked. Miguel Cabrera then laid down a sac-bunt to move the runners, followed by an intentional walk for Juan Pierre. With the bases loaded, Luis Castillo grounded to the pitcher, who forced Conine at the plate. With two outs and the bases still loaded, next batter Ivan Rodriguez had two strikes when he hit a 2-run single to give the Marlins a 4-3 lead to end the game.

Cubs vs. Braves
At Chicago, playing in the historic Wrigley Field, the Chicago Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the first inning en route to a 3-1 victory vs. the Braves. Mark Prior pitched an outstanding game for the Cubs and outduelled Greg Maddux, who set a Major League-record last week by becoming the first pitcher in history to win at least 15 games in 16 consecutive seasons.
The Cubs did the damage right away in the first inning. Kenny Lofton led off with a single, followed by a single by Mark Grudzielanek. Two outs later, the two were at third and second base when Antillian Randall Simon from Curaçao delivered a 2-run single to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead it never relinquished.
The Braves came back with run in the eighth when Mark DeRosa doubled and scored on a sac-fly by Marcus Giles, who singled in the third for the only other hit allowed by dominating Cubs-pitcher Mark Prior. The 23-year old Prior went the distance, struckout seven and pitched only the second 2-hitter in Play-Off history. The other was thrown by Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan on October 6, 1981 when he was pitching for the Houston Astros. The is the first postseason complete game by a Cubs-pitcher, since Claude Passeau did it in Game Three of the 1945 World Series!
In the home eighth, the Cubs made it 3-1 when Moises Alou singled, stole second and scored on a 2-out double by Aramis Ramirez. Braves-starter Greg Maddux, who started his career with the Cubs, left after six innings, in which he gave up six hits and struckout one batter.

(October 4)

Marlins vs. Giants
At Miami, the Marlins clinced a spot in the National League Championship Series by defeating the Giants, 7-6.
The Giants took a 1-0 lead in the second on a sac-fly, but the Marlins scored the tying run in the home second on an error, then took a 3-1 lead in the next at bat. In the third, Luis Castillo walked and Ivan Rodriguez doubled to put two runners in scoring position. Derrek Lee then produced an RBI-single, which led to a pitching change. Miguel Cabrera greeted the new pitcher with an RBI-double to make it 3-1. In the fourth, the Marlins again scored twice. Pitcher Dontrelle Willis led off with a single, followed by a single from Juan Pierre. With two outs, the bases got loaded when Derrek Lee walked, followed by a 2-run single by Miguel Cabrera.
Trailing 5-1, the Giants came alongside in the sixth inning, scoring four runs. Ray Durham and Jeffrey Hammonds singled, followed by an RBI-double by Rich Aurilia, a sacrifice fly by Barry Bonds and an RBI-double to deep leftfield by Edgardo Alfonzo. After a pitching change, J.T. Snow hit a one-out RBI-single to tie the score, but later was picked off from first base.
In the eighth, the Marlins re-took the lead, scoring two runs. With two outs, Ivan Rodriguez singled and Derrek Lee was hit by a pitch. Next, Miguel Cabrera hit a 2-run single to bring his RBI-total in this game to five.
The Giants almost tied the score in the ninth inning. Pinch-hitter Neifi Perez led off with a double and scored on an RBI-single by J.T. Snow. Marlins-closer Ugueth Urbina then struckout Pedro Feliz and Benito Santiago flied out, but Ray Durham was hit by a pitch. Next, Jeffrey Hammonds singled to left on which J.T. Snow tried to score the tying run, but was thrown out at the plate to end the game and the Series.

Cubs vs. Braves
At Chicago, the Braves evened their Series by winning 6-4. The teams now will fly back to Atlanta to play Game Five on Sunday.
Both Chipper Jones (Braves) and Eric Karros (Cubs) hit two homeruns, but Jones did it with a runner on base. In the third, the Cubs took a 1-0 lead on a 2-out, RBI-double by Moises Alou. The Braves tied the score in the fourth, then scored three runs in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead. In the fourth, Chipper Jones hit a 2-run homerun, then Vinny Castilla added a 2-out, RBI-single.
Chicago scored its second run in the sixth inning when Eric Karros hit his first homerun, but the Braves increased their lead with two runs in the eighth inning when Chipper Jones hit a 2-out, 2-run homerun, this time from the right side. He hit his first from the left side. In the home eighth, Eric Karros homered again, then the Cubs threated again in the home ninth when Braves-closer John Smoltz ran into problems. Randall Simon led off with a double and scored Chicago's fourth run on a double by Damian Miller. Smoltz got two outs, but then Sammy Sosa almost tied the score with a 2-run homerun, but centerfielder Andruw Jones caught the ball in front of the fence to end the game.

Twins vs. Yankees
At Minneapolis, the Yankees took a 2-1 lead in their Series by winning 3-1 vs. the Twins.
The Yankees scored their runs early in the game. In the second inning, Bernie Williams doubled, then Hideki Matsui hit a one-out, 2-run homerun to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. In the third, Juan Rivera singled, advanced on a one-single by Derek Jeter and scored the third New York-run on a 2-out, RBI-single by Bernie Williams.
The Twins scored their lone run in the home third on a homerun by A.J. Pierzynski off of Yankee-starter Roger Clemens, who pitched seven strong innings. He struckout six and allowed only five hits. Mariano Rivera pitched the last two innings, struckout three and earned a save.

Red Sox vs. Athletics
At Boston, the Red Sox avoided elimination by defeating the A's 3-1 in eleven innings in an exciting game with strange and usual plays.
Boston scored its first run in the second inning on an umpire's decision and poor Oakland-defense. Kevin Millar reached on an infield-single. Jason Varitek then looked to hit into a double play, but short stop Miguel Tejada made an error. Next, a grounder by Gabe Kapler also looked to end into a double play, but this time Oakland-third baseman Eric Chavez made the force out on third and the made a throwing error to first on which Varitek was able to reach third base. Damian Jackson followed with another grounder to third where Varitek was caught up in a rundown. As Varitek was running back, third baseman Eric Chavez awaited the throw from the catcher, obstructing Varitek to reach base. Varitek was awarded home on the plate by the third base umpire.
In the sixth, Eric Byrnes led off with a single, stole second and advanced to third on a grounder. Miguel Tejada then grounded to pitcher Derek Lowe, who threw to catcher Jason Varitek, but missed him. As Byrnes slid, he hurt his ankle, but missed tagging home plate. Varitek ran towards the backstop to pick up the ball and tagged out Byrnes. Later in the inning, Oakland had two runners on base when an error was committed on a grounder by Ramon Hernandez, enabling Erubiel Durazo to score the tying run. The ball was thrown back to the infield and Miguel Tejada ran into third baseman Bill Mueller on his way to home, trying to score the go-ahead run, but he suddenly stopped running and was tagged out by catcher Varitek. But Tejada already had been called out on interference with Mueller and the inning was over.
Finally, the game was decided in the eleventh inning when Doug Mirabelli singled with one out, followed by a pinch-hit, 2-run, walk-off homerun by Trot Nixon, which gave Boston a 3-1 win.

(October 4)

Braves vs. Cubs
At Atlanta, the Cubs defeated the Braves 5-1 to win their Division Series. It was the first postseason-series won by the Cubs since they won the 1908 World Series. Since then, the team lost nine consecutive postseason Series and never reached the World Series since 1945!
The Cubs laid the foundation for their victory right away in the first two innings. In the first inning, Kenny Lofton led off with a double to deep rightfield and advanced to third on a one-out wild pitch. After Sammy Sosa walked, Lofton scored the opening run on a single by Moises Alou. In the next inning, Alex Gonzalez led off with a homerun to give the Cubs a 2-0 lead.
Chicago decided the game in the sixth inning when the lead was increased to 4-0. With one out, Moises Alou reached on a infield-single, followed by a 2-run homerun from Aramis Ramirez.
Cubs-pitcher Kerry Wood, who also won Game One, threw another great game and only gave up a run in the sixth inning. Rafael Furcal walked and advanced on a single by Marcus Giles. Next, Gary Sheffield hit the ball to centerfield where it looked that centerfielder Kenny Lofton made a great catch and threw the ball to second base for a double play where Furcal had left on the hit. It was ruled, however, that the ball wasn't caught, therefore only resulting in a force out at second base (Giles). Sheffield reached on a fielder's choice, while Furcal, who had continued running towards home, scored the lone run for the Braves.
In the ninth, the Cubs added an insurance run on a 2-out double by pinch-hitter Tom Goodwin to make it 5-1. In the home ninth, Joe Borowski took over for starter Wood and saw Chipper Jones hit a deep fly ball to rightfield, before striking out the next two batters and end the game.
The Cubs open the best-of-seven NLCS on Tuesday at home vs. the Florida Marlins.
Twins vs. Yankees
At Minneapolis, the Yankees scored six runs in the fourth inning en route to an 8-1 win vs. the Twins. With the victory, the Yankees won their Division Series 3-1 and clinched a spot in the American League Championship Series.
In the fourth inning, the Yankees had six hits, including four doubles. The four doubles in one inning are a record. With one out, Jason Giambi and Bernie Williams hit back-to-back doubles, resulting in the first Yankee-run. Jorge Posada then singled, followed by another RBI-double by Hideki Matsui. Next, Aaron Boone popped out. Juan Rivera then was walked intentionally to load the bases. Nick Johnson made it 4-0 with a 2-run double, which marked the end of starting pitcher Johan Santana. Juan Rincon took over, but gave up a 2-run single to Alfonso Soriano and walked Derek Jeter en Jason Giambi to re-load the bases. Rincon was relieved by Eric Milton, who gave up an inning-ending force play grounder to Bernie Williams.
In the home fourth, the Twins scored their only run on an RBI-single by Michael Cuddyer. The Yankees added a run in the eighth on a throwing error and another one in the ninth when Derek Jeter homered. David Wells pitched 7 2/3 inning for the win. The Yankees open the best-of-seven ALCS Wednesday at home.

Red Sox vs. A's
At Boston, the Red Sox evened their Series vs. the A's by winning 5-4. The teams flew back to Oakland after the game to play Game Five on Monday-evening. The winner of that game clinch the ALCS and has to fly back again to the east coast, as that Series will open on Wednesday in New York.
Oakland took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a basesloaded single by Jermaine Dye, but the next three batters were retired on three pop-flies, including one on foul territory. In the home third, the Red Sox scored twice. Jason Varitek reached base on a fielder's choice, then scored on a 2-run homerun by Johnny Damon.
The A's re-took the lead in the sixth inning when the team scored three runs. Scott Hatteberg hit an infield-single, then scored on a one-out triple by Adam Melhuse, which was followed by a 2-run homerun by Jermaine Dye, which appeared to give Oakland a deciding 4-2 lead. The Bosox answered with a run in the home sixth on a lead-off homerun by Todd Walker, narrowing the gap to 4-3.
In the home eighth, Nomar Garciaparra doubled with one out and advanced on a 2-out single by Manny Ramirez. David Ortiz then decided the game with a 2-run double, giving Boston a 5-4 victory.

(October 5)

After three scoreless innings, Oakland opened the score with a run in the fourth inning. With two outs, Scott Hatteberg walked, then scored on a double by José Guillen, who was himself thrown out on third base, trying to stretch it into a triple.
Then, in the sixth inning, Boston struck, scoring four runs and taking a 4-1 lead. Jason Varitek led off with a homerun to tie the score. Next, Johnny Damon walked. With one out, Todd Walker was hit by a pitch, followed by a 3-run homerun by Manny Ramirez.
In the home sixth, Oakland got one run back when Erubiel Durazo doubled with one out and scored on a 2-out double by Miguel Tejada. In the seventh, Boston lost its centerfielder Johnny Damon after a scary collision with second baseman Damian Jackson trying to catch a pop-fly. The two banged their heads and Damon remained lying down on the ground for nine minutes. He had to be carried off the field in an ambulance and suffered a concussion. In the home eighth, the A's narrowed Boston's lead to 4-3 when Chris Singleton doubled and scored on a pinch-hit single by Billy McMillon.
In the ninth, the Atletics got a big scoring opportunity to tie and even win the game. Boston-reliever Scott Williamson started the inning by walking Scott Hatteberg and José Guillen and was relieved by Derek Lowe. Both runners advanced on sac-bunt by Ramon Hernandez. With the two runners in scoring position, pinch-hitter Adam Melhuse was called out on strikes, before Chris Singleton walked to load the bases. But then another pinch-hitter, Terrence Long, also struckout looking, ending the game.
Boston-ace Pedro Martinez pitched seven strong innings to earn the win.

(October 7)

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