The Nashville Predators (82-80)
AT
The Denver Broncos (107-55)
Once more, the Broncos had to go up against
Mose Urick. This time, it was do or die. Win, and they would move on. Lose, and start heading south and west for the warmer golf courses.
For three innings, Urick and
Robert McNett matched each other, putting up zeros. In the fourth, however, the Predators squeezed out a run. The game remained 1-0 through the bottom of the fourth. And through five innings. Six innings. Seven innings. In the top of the eighth inning, McNett left the mound, having allowed just 5 hits and the 1 run in 7 1/3 innings pitched.
Finally, in the bottom of the eighth inning,
Asbel Fuentez came through with a run-scoring groundout to tie the game up. In the ninth inning, Urick headed for the showers, having pitched 8 2/3 innings, with only 5 hits and 1 run alllowed.
The game headed to extra-innings. In the top of the tenth, Nashville could manage nothing. In the bottom of the tenth inning,
Ellis Bolling stepped to the plate with two runners aboard. He had done little in the series previously, but if he could just manage a base hit, it would probably win the game. But Bolling doesn't do base hits. Bolling does bombs. And that's just what Ellis Bolling did- blast a pitch over the fence for a game and series-winning, three run homerun.
Around the league:
The final game between two very good teams turned out to be somewhat anticlimactic. Back to back homeruns in the first inning by
Roy Springs and
Dennis Fernandez helped the Dolphins surge to a 3-0 lead right off the bat. Another run in the second inning made it 4-0. Tucson got on the board with a run in the fifth inning, but Miami scored two runs apiece in the sixth and seventh innings, rolling to 8-1 victory in Game 7. Miami banged out 17 hits in the game. Springs finished with 3 hits and 4 RBI. The 41 year old
Jim Miller showed that he still has something left, tossing 8 innings of 4-hit ball, with 6 strikeouts. The Dolphins will face off against the Broncos to decide the AL pennant.
In a bit of irony, San Diego's bullpen, widely believed to be the team's biggest weakness, stepped up and preserved a close lead over Pittsburgh to win the series. The Padres got on the board early, scoring a run in the first inning, but the lead didn't last long. In the bottom of the first, Pittsburgh scored twice to go ahead. In the sixth inning, however, the Padres struck for three runs to take a 4-2 lead. The Pirates got one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth, but then the San Diego bullpen took over.
Samuel Rodriguez and
Juan Donato combined to throw 2 1/3 innings of no-hit, no-run, no-walk ball, with 3 strikeouts, to preserve the 4-3 lead. Once more,
Andrew Burdick delivered, collecting 2 hits and 2 RBI to help lead San Diego to the NLCS, where they will face San Jose.