Mike Parker brings his St. Louis Sliders bunch to town for a three game set against the Stouts. The two teams are heading in the opposite direction in the standings coming into play. St. Louis is hot of late, winners of eight of their last 11. They are currently five games back of both Seatlle and Colorado in the Expansion League's Western Division. Baltimore, on the other hand, is in a bit of a mini-slump, having lost seven of their last 11. They sit only two games behind Continental Division leading Milwaukee despite bringing a 19-23 record into play.Game 1
Memorial Stadium
May 17, 2014 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| St. Louis Sliders (21-22) | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 0 | |
| Baltimore Stouts (19-24) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 2 | |
| W: L. Hernandez (3-4) L: K. Rueter (3-2) SV: B. Koch (9) | |||||||||||||
HR: T. Helton (10, 1st inning off L. Hernandez 1 on, 1 out), E. Perez (3, 8th inning off L. Hernandez 2 on, 0 out)
The Sliders Mark McGwire wastes no time announcing his arrival in town, launching his MBL leading 19th home run of the season in his very first at-bat. Todd Helton responds in turn, belting a two-run blast of his own in the bottom of the 1st to tie the game at two apiece. That was the end of the drama as St. Louis pushed two more across in the 3rd off of Stouts starter Kirk Reuter, then another two in the 5th to take a commanding 6-2 lead, one that they would never relinquish. Livan Hernandez pitched into the 8th inning to pickup his third win on the season. Billy Koch threw 1.2 innings in relief to notch his 9th save. Eric Owens, playing for the injured Larry Walker in right field, went 4-5 with a double for the losers.Game 2
Memorial Stadium
May 18, 2014 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| St. Louis Sliders (22-22) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 | |
| Baltimore Stouts (19-25) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 0 | |
| W: M. Remlinger (3-1) L: A. Embree (1-3) SV: B. Koch (10) | |||||||||||||
Game two of the series was a back-and-forth affair. St. Louis jumped out in front in the 3rd when Doug Mirabelli drove home Alex Ramirez with a two out double. The Stouts responded in their half of the inning, scoring a single run to tie the game. The Sliders went up a run in the 5th when Greg Vaughn knocked home Ken Caminiti with a two out single. Baltimore strikes right back once again, scoring another single run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game back up. With the game now in the bullpen's hands, the Sliders went on the offensive, scoring two in the 7th and another in the 8th to take a commanding 5-2 lead. Lance Berkman belted his 8th homer in the 8th to cut the lead to two. Billy Koch came in for the Sliders in the 9th, and despite putting the tying runs on second and third, he recorded the save by getting Eric Owens to strike out to end the game. Mike Remlinger wins the game in relief. St. Louis looks for the series sweep in the finale.Game 3
Memorial Stadium
May 19, 2014 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| St. Louis Sliders (22-23) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | 0 | |
| Baltimore Stouts (20-25) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | X | 11 | 17 | 0 | |
| W: B. Rekar (2-3) L: J. Witasick (1-2) | |||||||||||||
HR: T. Helton (11, 5th inning off J. Witasick 2 on, 2 out), A. Belle (3, 8th inning off L. Painter 2 on, 1 out)
Baltimore was looking to avoid the series sweep in this one, but once again the Sliders strike first when Alex Ramirez hit a solo homer in the 4th. The Stouts respond in their half of the inning. Todd Helton and Lance Berkman opened with singles. Eduardo Perez then knocked a single of his own to plate Helton. With runners on first and third with nobody out, Garret Anderson flew out to center. Berkman tried to score but was nailed at the plate on a strong throw by Ramirez. Berkman would be thrown out by Ramirez later in the game as well. Robert Fick grounded out to end the inning, and the Sliders had escaped giving up only one run.
The Sliders got back at it once again, going up 2-1 off a solo blast by Jose Valentin in the 5th. But to the delight of Stouts fans everywhere, the Baltimore bats finally awoke in the bottom of the inning when Todd Helton launched a three-run blast to give them their first lead of the series. The Stouts scored one more in the 6th, another in the 7th, then five more in the 8th to blow the game open 11-3.Antonio Alfonseca, of course, made it interesting in the 9th inning. He faced four batters, all of which recorded hits. Jose Valentin's hit was a three-run homer to cut the lead to five. Armando Benitez was brought into the game in a non-save situation to secure the victory. The Stouts avoid the sweep, and got their offense in gear in the process, smacking 17 hits in the contest.
Next up, a trip out west to battle the MBL's best team, the San Francisco Quakers. Hopefully the Baltimore bats stay hot.
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