The Grizzlies took a trip to Springfield Tuesday afternoon, winning one of? three games, but it could've, maybe even should've been, more. St. Louis hit into seven double plays over the three game set, all but one of the twin killings coming with runners in scoring position.
The first-place Isotopes got off to a fast start in Game 1. The division's leading hitter, Tim Raines (.364 BA), banged out three hits, Kent Hrbek cracked a two-run home run and Scott Fletcher singled to drive in a pair. Springfield led 6-1 after four and was cruising behind starter Curt Schilling (4-0, 2.03) until St. Louis rallied in the later innings, clawing back single runs in the seventh and eighth innings to narrow the deficit to three. After Chris Sabo reached base to start the ninth inning, the Fish brought in Mike Perez to close the deal. Instead, the right-hander gave up back-to-back doubles to Marquis Grissom and Mark Grace, making the score 6-5 and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of slugger Rob Deer. With a sellout Springfield War Memorial Stadium crowd looking on nervously, the shaky Perez retired Deer for the final out of the game, in the process securing his third and perhaps ugliest save of the year.
Game 2 was knotted at one apiece when the Grizz loaded the bases against Springfield's Jose Guzman with one out in the top of the fifth. St. Louis third baseman Dave Hollins leaned into a Guzman fastball, drawing a HBP to plate the go-ahead run. The Fish escaped further damage when the next batter, David Justice, grounded into an inning-ending double play. St. Louis immediately regretted their wasteful ways in the bottom of the inning when the 'Topes took a 3-2 lead on a Hrbek sac fly and Todd Zeile's two-out RBI single.?
The Grizzlies opened the top of the sixth with back to back singles, but the first and third situation proved very temporary when the next batter, Greg Olson, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. The tying run scored on the play, but once again, the Fish re-took the lead in the bottom of the inning thanks to Raines' two-run single. St. Louis, trailing 5-4 in the eighth inning, rallied, putting two on with one out with Olson once again at the plate. With one swing of his bat, Olson effectively killed the rally, and the game, hitting into his second double play. The Fish escaped with a 5-4 victory. Reliever Bryan Harvey got the W, and Perez looked better than he did in Game 1, working a 1-2-3 night to notch his fourth save.?
Game 3 was all St. Louis, although it didn't look that way at the start. The Grizz left the bases loaded in the first, and Mike MacFarlane grounded into a double play to extinguish a promising rally in the second. But the visitors put up four in the fourth, two coming on a MacFarlane single and another on a bases loaded walk. The Grizzlies were just getting started, scoring three more in the fifth to make it 7-0, two coming on Hollins fourth dinger of the year. Frank Viola (4-1, 2.87) was solid again, giving up just two runs in six innings. The final score was St. Louis 8, Springfield 4, the Grizzlies securing the much needed win after dropping the first two. At 11-7, St. Louis is in third place, two games behind the Isotopes and Zephyrs, both at 13-5.
