Bainbridge up 2-0 in championship series after 4-3, 10-inning win over Goldendale

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, WA (GPS)--Craig Biggio doubled into the left field corner to score Bainbridge Island player/manager Lou Boudreau from first in the bottom of the tenth October 23 to give the Bees a 4-3 win over Goldendale and a 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven series for the A to Z League championship. Biggio, who went 3-for-5 with two doubles and also scored a run, has batted .600 in the first two games of the series.

Craig Biggio got the game-winning
RBI on a tenth-inning double and
is batting .600 in the series.

Lefty Grove, who missed the first-round playoff series because of a sore shoulder, got the start for Goldendale, his first action since October 6. He didn't show too many signs of rust, allowing just two hits and walking one in the first five innings, though one of those hits was a solo homer by Bobby Bonds that gave Bainbridge Island an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. 

Jim Bunning got the start for Bainbridge Island and hung up a string of zeroes, allowing just two hits in the first five innings and never allowing a runner to reach second. Goldendale broke through against him in the sixth with the help of several defensive miscues. Bunning fired one up and in on his first pitch to Gary Gaetti leading off the top of the frame and hit him, and after some choice words Gaetti took first. That brought up Grove, and Goldendale manager Clark Griffith called for the bunt. Grove missed the first pitch, fouled off the second, and with the count 0-2 Griffith gave the swing-away sign. Grove fought one off and dunked it into shallow right field for a base hit, and when Bonds booted the ball Gaetti took third and Grove raced to second and Goldendale had two on and nobody out. Back to the top of the order Charlie Gehringer grounded out to the shortstop, Boudreau, Gaetti scoring from third and Grove holding second, and it was 1-1. Tony Gwynn took a soft liner the other way to short left for a single, advancing Grove to third. That brought up Ken Griffey, Jr., who worked a 3-2 count and then smacked a sharp grounder to Biggio at second. They got the force on Gwynn at second, but Griffey beat Boudreau's relay to first, Grove scored, and Goldendale led 2-1.

Jim Bunning pitched
seven solid innings in 
Bainbridge Island's game-
two victory.

The inning wasn't over. Josh Gibson batted next and drilled a 3-1 pitch down the left field line for a single, and Griffey, running with two out, made it easily to third. That brought Lou Gehrig to the plate. Bunning threw his first pitch to the Iron Horse in the dirt and it got away from catcher Johnny Bench. Griffey hesitated and had to hold at third, but Gibson took second on the wild pitch. That made it an easy choice for Boudreau to call for the intentional walk to Gehrig, loading the bases for Goose Goslin. The strategy nearly worked. Goslin hit a routine grounder to third, but Wade Boggs couldn't find the handle, Griffey scored on the error, and it was 3-1. Bunning got Dick Groat on a fly  ball to center to finally end the inning.

The lead didn't last long. Biggio led off the bottom of the sixth with a single and, after an out, Barry Bonds clubbed one into the right field seats for a two-run homer, knotting the score at 3-3. It was the second time in the postseason that Barry and Bobby homered in the same contest. 

The score held until the tenth. Bunning pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, then was lifted for a pinch hitter in the bottom of the inning. Grove retired six of the seven batters he faced in the seventh and eighth. Zach Britton and Armando Benitez retired the six men they faced in the eighth and the ninth. Eric Gagne replaced Grove for the top of the ninth and put Bainbridge down in order. Benitez gave up a single in the top of the tenth but no runs.

Then came the bottom of the tenth. With Gagne on the mound, Boudreau led off with a single down the right field line, then sent Jim Bottomley out to bat for Benitez. Griffith countered with southpaw hurler "Everyday Eddie" Guardado. Boudreau called back the lefty Bottomley in favor of switch hitter Carlos Beltran. Beltran hit one right on the screws, but right to Nomar Garciaparra at short for the first out. Biggio then cracked one deep down the left field line for a double and Boudreau raced home with the game winner to put Bainbridge Island up two games to none in the series.

After taking the day off October 24, the series will resume the following day at Ekone Park in Goldendale. Griffith plans to start Tom Glavine on the hill, and Boudreau will go with Kevin Brown.

                      Game two box score, October 23
 
                       1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10     R  H  E   LOB DP
Goldendale             0  0  0  0  0  3  0  0  0  0     3  6  1     5  1
Bainbridge Island      0  1  0  0  0  2  0  0  0  1     4  7  2     5  0
 
G's                  AB  R  H BI   AVG    B's                  AB  R  H BI   AVG
Gehringer         2b  5  0  0  1  .222    Biggio            2b  5  1  3  1  .600
GwynnSr,T         rf  5  0  2  0  .222    Bell,CP           cf  4  0  1  0  .333
GriffeyJr         cf  4  1  0  1  .125    Bonds,Ba          lf  4  1  1  2  .375
Gibson,J          c   4  0  1  0  .125    Bagwell           1b  4  0  0  0  .000
Gehrig            1b  3  0  0  0  .333    Bench             c   4  0  0  0  .000
Goslin            lf  4  0  1  0  .143    Bonds,Bo          rf  4  1  1  1  .167
 Garciaparra      ss  0  0  0  0  .000    Boggs,W           3b  1  0  0  0  .000
Groat             ss  3  0  0  0  .000     Brock,L          pr  0  0  0  0  .000
 Granderson       ph  1  0  0  0  .000     Brett,G          3b  1  0  0  0  .200
 Gagne,E          p   0  0  0  0  .000    Boudreau          ss  3  1  1  0  .333
 Guardado         p   0  0  0  0  .000    Bunning           p   2  0  0  0  .000
Gaetti            3b  2  1  0  0  .000     Banks,E          ph  1  0  0  0  .000
 Guerrero,V       ph  1  0  0  0  .000     Britton          p   0  0  0  0  .000
 Glaus            3b  0  0  0  0  .000     Benitez          p   0  0  0  0  .000
Grove,L           p   3  1  1  0  .333     Bottomley        ph  0  0  0  0  .000
 Greenberg        lf  1  0  1  0  .500     Beltran,C        ph  1  0  0  0  .000
                     36  3  6  2                               34  4  7  4
 
G's                              INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Grove,L                          8.0  5  3  3  2  7 119  75  3.38
Gagne,E          L 0-1           1.0  1  1  1  0  0  13  10  9.00
Guardado                         0.1  1  0  0  0  0   7   3  0.00
                                 9.1  7  4  4  2  7 139  88 
 
B's                              INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Bunning                          7.0  5  3  2  1  6 118  78  2.57
Britton                          1.2  0  0  0  0  2  11  10  0.00
Benitez          W 1-0           1.1  1  0  0  0  2  21  16  0.00
                                10.0  6  3  2  1 10 150 104 
 
GOL: Granderson batted for Groat in the 9th
     Greenberg inserted at lf in the 9th
     Garciaparra inserted at ss in the 9th
     Guerrero,V batted for Gaetti in the 10th
     Glaus inserted at 3b in the 10th
BI : Brock,L ran for Boggs,W in the 7th
     Banks,E batted for Bunning in the 7th
     Brett,G inserted at 3b in the 8th
     Bottomley batted for Benitez in the 10th
     Beltran,C batted for Bottomley in the 10th
 
E-Goslin, Bonds,Bo, Boggs,W. 2B-Biggio 2(2). HR-Bonds,Ba(1), Bonds,Bo(1). 
RBI-Gehringer(1), GriffeyJr(1), Biggio(2), Bonds,Ba 2(3), Bonds,Bo(1). 
CS-Goslin. K-Gehringer 2, GwynnSr,T 2, Gibson,J, Goslin, Gaetti 2, Grove,L, 
Granderson, Bell,CP, Bonds,Ba 2, Bench 2, Bonds,Bo, Bunning. BB-Gehrig, 
Boggs,W 2. SH-Boudreau. HBP-Gaetti. HB-Bunning. WP-Bunning. 
GWRBI: Biggio