Yuma----With the 2007 BARB World Series knotted at two games apiece, the visiting Darwin Finches had to overcome five fielding errors (including two in one inning by 3B Chipper Jones), but a glaring John Smoltz (1-1, 0.69) pitched around four of the miscues and limited the host Firebirds to just three hits in eight frames to win his rematch with Yuma ace Roy Halladay (1-1, 1.56), who was a 3-1 winner in the Series opener against Smoltz.
The veteran was only 7-8 in the regular season, and seemed often unable to pitch past the fifth without a big inning. But Smoltz showed no such lack of stamina in his second post-season start, and was no doubt aided by the fact that he only faced 30 batters in that stretch, and (if the truth be known) helped by some over-aggressiveness on the basepaths by the Yuma nine.
Darwin took a 1-0 lead in the first when David Ortiz stroked a two-out solo shot over the wall in right on the first pitch he saw from Halladay. It was the third homer of the Series for 'Big Papi' !
Yuma’s big righty settled down, however, retiring 16 of the next 18 batters he faced. Unfortunately for the Firebirds, Smoltz was even better during that stretch, allowing only one hit (a soft single by Raul Ibanez in the third) and inducing a double-play ball when Vladimir Guerrero reached on an error by SS Carlos Guillen. So it was that in the seventh Darwin gained an insurance run to lead 2-0 on singles by Mike Jacobs and Aaron Rowand.
As it turned out, Darwin would need that insurance run! For, in the bottom of the eighth, Miguel Tejada singled to shallow center. With Adam LaRoche pinch-hitting for Ibanez, Tejada stole second rather easily off Finches C Johnny Estrada. LaRoche slapped a one-hopper at Chipper Jones, who let it kick away from him to deep short, Tejada taking third to put runners at the corners with nobody out. But here Yuma may have overplayed their hand on the bases. Shane Victorino pinch-ran for LaRoche and the Firebirds called for a delayed double steal. THIS time, Estrada was able to make the play when the relay came back home from second, and Tejada was OUT!
But Darwin wasn’t out of the inning yet! Russell Martin flied harmlessly to short center, but Yuma got runners at the corners again with two out when Brian Roberts’ line drive went through the legs of Jones at third, his SECOND error of the inning! Curtis Granderson then hit an easy ground ball to Polanco, but the veteran inexplicably threw low to first, the batter was safe and Victorino had scored Yuma’s first run of the game----on a THIRD error!What more could go wrong for the Finches? Huffing and puffing, Smoltz would face Vladimir Guerrero with two runners on and two out, as big an opportunity for Yuma’s cleanup hitter as you could ever expect. But Smoltz got Guerrero to fish for a ground ball, and (THIS TIME) Guillen made the play, throwing out Vlad at first to end a weird inning. In the ninth, Trevor Hoffman came on and made short work of the crestfallen Firebirds for his first save of the weird post-season. Darwin, which led all of BARB with 93 wins in the regular season, now had a 3-2 Series lead and, headed back to Australia, could be forgiven for thinking that now they had Yuma right where they wanted them. Win just one of the next two games at home, and the Unnatural Selections would be the World Champs!
But doubts remain: how in the world could Darwin keep committing so many errors in the field, and expect to triumph? For there were five errors in this contest alone, and already eight in the Series? Darwin manager PZ Myers was blunt: "We may have to sit one of our bats. If Jones and Guillen can't field their positions, then this becomes a game of who puts the ball in play the most. And I don't think that's our game."
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