Stat break: Padres 87

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Bochy                11     0    2     1        0    0     0     0      0    .182
C Brown            10     1    2     1        0    0     0     0      0    .200
Cora                     2     1    0     0        0    0     0     1      2    .000
Flannery              5     0    0     0        0    0      0     1      0    .000
Gwynn               27     5    9     0       1    0     0      5      5    .333
Jefferson              4    0    3      0       0    1     0      0      0    .750
Kruk                  28     2    5     3       0    0     0      5      0    .179
Mack                 18     2    5     2        0    0     0      2      0    .278
C Martinez        27     2    4     2       2     0     0      1      0    .148
Ready               28      3    7    5        2     0     0      3      0    .250
Salazar             17      0    3     1       1      0     0      0      0    .176
Santiago           19     0     1     0        0    0     0       0     0    .053
Templeton        24     4     4    4       2    0     0        4     0     .167
Wynne              11    2     5     2       0     0     1       1     0     .455

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Booker                2      0      1.3       1     0      0      0      0        0     0     0    0.00

Comstock           4      0      5.6       4     1      1      2      3        1     0     0    1.59

M Davis             3      2     11.3     14     7      7      9      6        0     0    1    5.56

Gossage             3      0       3          2     0      0      1      3       1      0    0     0.00

M Grant             2      0      4           4     1     1       0      1       0     1     0     2.25

J Jones               2      0      4           3     0      0      2      1       0      0     0    0.00

McCullers          3      0     7           5     1      1      2      8       0      1     1     1.29

Nolte                  1      1      5.3       7     2     2       5      4       0      0     0     3.38

Show                  2      2    12        12    6      6       4      2       0      0     1     4.50

Whitson             2      2     10        13    9      9       3      4       0      1     1     8.10

Stat break: Cardinals 87

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
J Clark               21     6    7     2        1    0     1     9      0    .333
V Coleman        25     3    6     1        0    0     0     6      8    .240
Driessen              5     0     0     0        0   0     0     0      0    .000
Ford                  11     1     3     1        1    0     0     0      2    .346
Herr                   26     3    9     8        1    0     0     3      0    .000
L Johnson            3     0    1     2       0    0     0      1      0    .333
Lindeman            2    0     0      0       0    0     0      0      0    .000
McGee              29     3    8     5        1    2     0      2      0    .276
Morris                 4     1    3     1        0    1     0      0      0    .750
Oquendo             9     1    3     1        0    0     0      2      0    .333
Pena                 28      2    6     1        1     0     0      1      0    .214
Pendleton         28      2    9     4       0      1     0      2      0    .321
O Smith           33      2    5     0        0     0     0       3     0    .152

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

D Cox                 2      2    14        15     6      6      5      9        0     1     1    3.86
Dawley               3      0      3.3       6     3      3      0      0        0     0     1    8.11

Dayley               2      0       3          2     0      0      0      3        0     0     0    0.00

B Forsch             2      0      7.3       3     0      0      3      6        0     0     0    0.00

Horton               3      0       3.6       1     1      1      3      0       0      0     1    2.45

Magrane             2      2    11.6       9     3      3      6      8        0     1     0    2.31

Mathews             2      2    11          9    7      6      4      8       0      1     0     4.90

Tudor                 1      1       5          6     2     2      3      3       0      0     0     3.60 

Tunnell               1      0      0.6       3     2     2       0      0       0      0     0   26.87

Worrell               3      0      4          2    0      0       1      3       2      1     0     0.00

Ringo bracket: Cardinals (87) defeat Padres (87) in seven games

Game One: Cardinals 7, Padres 6 (11 innings)
WP: Worrell (1-0)
LP: McCullers (0-1)

Game Two: Padres 7, Cardinals 4
WP: Whitson (1-0)
LP: Cox (0-1)
Save: Gossage (1)
HR: Wynne 1)

Game Three: Padres 5, Cardinals 2
WP: Grant (1-0)
LP: Dawley (0-1)
Save: Comstock (1)

Game Four: Padres 3, Cardinals 2 (10 innings)
WP: McCullers (1-1)
LP: Horton (0-1)

Game Five: Cardinals 2, Padres 1
WP: Mathews (1-0)
LP: Show (0-1)
Save: Worrell (1)

Game Six: Cardinals 6, Padres 1
WP: Cox (1-1)
LP: Whitson (1-1)
HR: J Clark (1)

Game Seven: Cardinals 4, Padres 1
WP: Magrane (1-0)
LP' Davis (0-1)
Save: Worrell (2)

On the brink of elimination after four games -- and definitely outplayed by the lowly San Diego Padres -- the St. Louis Cardinals shut down the Padres lineup in the final three games to advance.

Game One proved a microcosm for the series as a whole. The Padres scored five runs in the first inning and another in the third to chase Greg Mathews, while Eric Show opened with three perfect frames.

But the Cardinals scored two in the fourth and two more in the fifth. Show was done after six innings. Bob Forsch and Bill Dawley held San Diego scoreless through nine innings, and the Cards broke through in the ninth against Mark Davis and Goose Gossage to tie it the bottom of the ninth. Todd Worrell threw two more scoreless innings for St. Louis, and in the 10th Tom Herr singled home Curt Ford for the decisive run.

Marvell Wynne led off Game Two with a home run -- the only dinger San Diego would hit in the series -- but Ed Whitson gave the lead right back in the bottom of the first. St. Louis led 3-2 going into the seventh, but Tony Gwynn led off the inning with a single and Carmelo Martinez doubled him home to tie it. After John Kruk walked, Lee Tunnell relieved Danny Cox and surrendered RBI doubles to Randy Ready, Garry Templeton and Whitson. The five-run inning carried San Diego to the win.

The Padres turned to Davis for Game Three in a surprise move, and the lefty shut out the Cardinals for five innings before weakening in the sixth. By the time Greg Booker got the Padres out of the inning, the score was tied at 2. It remained there until the Padres plated three runs off Dawley in the bottom of the eighth, which made a winner of Mark Grant, who was originally scheduled to start but threw two scoreless innings of relief.

Sane Diego came up with another lefty to start Game Four, Eric Nolte. He too threw five scoreless innings and gave up two runs in the sixth, with Booker relieving to preserve the 2-2 tie. After Jimmy Jones -- another displaced starter -- escaped the seventh, Lance McCullers threw three shutout innings, and the Padres stung Ricky Horton for the game-winner in the 10th.

Vince Coleman stole four bases without scoring a run. Bruce Bochy, catching for San Diego because of an injury to Benito Santiago, did throw out three Cardinal basestealers (Terry Pendleton twice, Willie McGee once).

One win from upsetting the best team in the 1987 National League but without another lefty to start, the Padres went back to rotation mainstay Show for Game Five. Show pitched well, allowing just six hits and two runs in six innings, and Keith Comstock and Gossage added three more scoreless frames. But Mathews was even better, allowing just three singles and one run over eight innings, and Worrell pitched around a one-out double by Ready in the ninth to nail it down.

Back in St. Louis, Cox wasn't as efficient in Game Six as Mathews was in Game Five -- the Padres had two baserunners in five of his eight innings -- but the ultimate result was the same: eight innings, one run allowed. The Cardinals plated five runs off Whitson in the first two innings. Jack Clark added a sixth run with a seventh-inning homer off Grant, the only homer of the series for St. Louis.

Joe Magrane got the ball for Game Seven, despite an inclination to go with Forsch, and the lefty did not disappoint. He too allowed just one run, although he needed relief help earlier than Mathews and Cox did. Dawley got the final out of the seventh, Horton worked a perfect eighth and Worrell allowed only a harmless walk in the ninth.

The Cardinals scored three runs off Davis in the fourth inning, with  McGee doubling home one run and Pendleton singling home two more.

Pitcher availability: Magrane and Cox cannot pitch until Game Three. Mathews and Tudor will be fully rested for the start of the second round. The bullpen has not been overworked and is fully available. Projected rotation: Mathews-Tudor-Cox-Magrane-(Mathews)-(Tudor or Forsch)-(Cox)

Stat break: Blue Jays 87

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Barfield              18     3    5     4        1    0     1     1      0    .278
G Bell                19     5    6     4        0    0     3     0      0     .316
T Fernandez       18    2    7      1        1    0     0     1      2    .389
C Fielder             6     2    2     3        0    0      2     1      0    .333
Gruber               13    1    2      1        0    1     0      1      0    .154
G Iorg                  7    0    2      0       2     0     0     0      0    .286
M Lee                  3     0    1     1       0    0     0      0      0    .333
McGriff               8     0    0     0        0    0     0      2      0    .000
C Moore              5     1    2     2       1     0     0      1      0    .400
Moseby             16      3   5    0        2     0     0      3      0    .313
Mulliniks          10     3    5     3       0      0     3      0      0    .500
Upshaw            14     2     1     2        0    0     0       3     0    .071
Whitt                10     1     3    1        0    0     0       0      0    .300

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Clancy                1      1      6          9     5      4      2      5        0     0     0    6.00

Eichorn              3      0       4.6       4     0      0      0      2        0     0     0    0.00

Henke                3      0      3           4     0      0      0      4        2      1    0    0.00

Key                    1      1      5.3        7     5      5      1      4       0      1    0     8.44

Musselman         2      0      4          3     0     0       1       3       0     1     0     0.00

P Niekro            1      1      7           5     1      1      1      3       0      1     0    1.29

J Nunez             1      0       2          0     0      0      1      3       1      0     0     0.00

Stieb                  1      1      6          8     3      2      2       8       0      0     0     3.00

Stat break: White Sox 87

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Baines                16     1    4    2        1    0     0     2      0     .250
Boston                17     1    2    2        1    0     1     0      0    .118
Calderon             18    1    6     2       1    0      1     0      0    .333
Fisk                    18    2    3     1       1     0     1     0      0    .167
Guillen              16     2    5     4       1    3     0      0      1    .313
J Hairston            1     0    0    0        0    0     0      0      0    .000
Hill                    13     1    4    0        0    1     0      0      0    .308
Hullet                  4     1    1     1        0    0     1      0      0    .250
Lyons                14     1    4    0        1    0     0      0      0    .286
Manrique             3    0    1    0        1    0     0      0     0     .333
Redus                17      2    4    1       1    0     0      2     1     .235
Walker              15     2     5    1       2    0     0      2     0     .333
K Williams        4       0    0    0        0    0     0      0     0    .000

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

F Bannister         1      1      5           8     7      7      3      2        0     0     1  12.60

DeLeon              1      1       7.6       5     4      3      5      7        0     0     1    3.52

Dotson                1      1      6.3       9     4      4      1      5        0      0    0    5.69

James                 2      0       3.6       0      0      0     1      1       0      0    0     0.00

LaPoint              1      1      7           9     3       1     1      2       0      0     1     1.29

Long                  1       0      3          1     0      0      0       0       0      0     0    0.00

Searage              1      0      1.3        3     1      1      0      1       0      0     0     6.77

Thigpen             1      0      2           3     1      1      0       1       0      0     0     4.50

Winn                  1      0      1.6        3     3     3       2       0      0      0      1  16.17

Ringo bracket: Blue Jays (87) sweep White Sox (87)

Game One: Blue Jays 7, White Sox 5
WP: Key (1-0)
LP: F Bannister (0-1)
Save: Henke (1)
HR: G Bell 2 (2), C Fielder 2 (2), Hulett 1

Game Two: Blue Jays 8, White Sox 5 (12 innings)
WP: Henke (1-0)
LP: Winn (0-1)
HR: Barfield (1), G Bell (3), Boston (1)

Game Three: Blue Jays 5, White Sox 3
WP: Musselman (1-0)
LP: DeLeon (0-1)
Save: Henke (2)
HR: Fisk (1), Calderon (1)

Game Four: Blue Jays 3, White Sox 1
WP: P Niekro (1-0)
LP: LaPoint (0-1)
Save: Nunez (1)

An impenetrable Toronto bullpen provided 13.6 shutout innings in the Blue Jays sweep of the Chicago White Sox.

George Bell and Cecil Fielder each clubbed a pair of home runs in the opener against Floyd Bannister, going bck-to-back in the third inning. Jimmy Key pitched into the seventh but was touched for five runs. Mark Eichorn got him out of the seventh with a double play.

Chicago led Game Two 5-2 after three innings, but the Jays chipped away while Jeff Musselman fred three scoreless innings in relief of Jim Clancy. The Jays tied it in the ninth off Bobby Thigpen when Ozzie Guillen couldn't get the double play on Rance Mulliniks. Eichorn threw two shutout innings, then Henke added another before Jesse Barfield clubbed a three-run homer off Jim Winn in the bottom of the 12th.

The series shifted to Old Comiskey for Game Three, and a pair of fifth-inning homers from Ivan Calderon and Carlton Fisk gave the Sox a 3-1 lead against Dave Stieb. But Toronto scored twice in the sixth, aided by Jose DeLeon's error, and broke through for single runs in the eighth and ninth. Musselman, Eichorn and Henke combined for three innings of one-hit, no-run relief.

The Jays turned to venerable knuckleballer Phil Niekro for Game Four, and he threw seven scoreless innings. Toronto broke through against lefty Dave LaPoint for three runs in the fourth, with a Guillen error proving crucial in the rally. Guillen knocked Niekro out with an RBI triple in the eighth, but Jose Nunez entered to strand Guillen at third. Nunez stuck out three and allowed just a walk in two innings for the save and the sweep.

George Bell hit three homers in the series, and Guillen hit three triples at the bottom of the Chicago order, but the players of the series were the four Toronto relievers: Musselman, Eichorn, Henke and Nunez.

Pitcher availability: All Toronto pitchers will be fully rested for the second round. Projected rotation: Key-Clancy-Stieb-XX-(Key)-(Clancy)-(Stieb). Original plan was to replace Niekro with Mike Flanagan in the second round; Niekro may now remain in the rotation.

Stat break: Orioles 87

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Burleson             6     1    1    0        1    0     0     1      0     .167
Dwyer                3     0    0    0        0    0     0      2      0    .000
Gerhart             21    0    3     1        1   0     0      1      0    .143
Kennedy           21    3    4     0       3     0     0     1      0    .190
Knight              17     2    5     5       1    0     0      3      0    .294
Lacy                   7     1    2    1        0    0     1      2      0    .286
Lynn                23      3    7    4        3    0     1      2      0    .304
Murray            22     2    5     1        0    0     1      3      0    .227
B Ripken           4     0    2    0         0    0     0      0      0    .500
C Ripken         22    3     5    5        0    0     2       3     0     .227
Sheets              18   1     3     3        2    0     1       0      0    .167
Wiggins           11   1     1     0        0    0     0       1     1     .091
Young              15    1     2    0        0    0     0       1      0    .133

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

E Bell                 2      2    10.3      12     7      7      4      6        0     1     1    6.10

Boddicker           2      2   17         14     7      4      6    14        0     0     2    2.18

Dixon                 1      0      2           3     1      1      0      0        1      0    0    4,50

Hayban               1      0     4           1      1      1      1      1       1      0    0     2.25

McGregor          1      1      7           7     3       2     1      3       0      1     0     2.57

Niedenfuer        1       0      1.6       4     2      2      1       1       0      0     1   10.77

D Schmidt         1      1       8          3     3      0      4      3       0      1     0     0.00

Williamson        2      0      2          1     1      1      1       1       0      0     0     4.50

Stat break: Twins 87

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Baylor                 8     2    2    1        0    0     1     1      0     .250
Brunansky         22     2    5    3        2    0     1     1      0     .227
Bush                    6     0    3    2        0    0     0     0      0     .500
Davidson             1     0    0     0       0    0     0     0      0     .000
Gaetti                 22     3    5     3       1    0     1     3      0     .227
Gagne                21     2    6     2       1    1     0     0      0     .286
Gladden             22     3    5     0       0    0     0     3      1     .227
Hrbek                 21     6   7     7        0   0      3      3      0    .333
Larkin                  3     0   0     0        0    0     0      1      0    .000
Laudner              19    2    4     1       1    0     1      1      0    .211
Lombardozzi      13    1    2    0        1    0     0      2     0     .154
Newman               2    0    0     0       0    0     0      1      0    .000
Nieto                     1   0     0     0        0    0     0     0     0     .000
Puckett               24    4     6    5        0    0     2       1      0    .250
Smalley                7    0     0     0       0     0     0      0     0     .000

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Atherton             3      0      3.3        4     3      3      0      0        0     0     0    8.11
Berenguer           1      0      2           1     0      0      1      2        0     0     0    0.00

Blyleven             2      2   11.6         8    8      7      5     10        0     1     1    5.40

Carlton                1      1     5           4     3      3      8       1        0     0    1    5.40

Frazier                2      0     4           2      1      1      3      3        0      0    0    2.25

Niekro               1      1      7           5     1       1     0        5       0      1     0   1.29
Reardon             3       0     3.3        1     1       1     0       5        3      0     0   2.70

Schatezder        1       0      0.6       1     0       0     0       1         0      0     0   0,00

Viola                 2      2      16        13    2      1      4      9         0      2     0     0.56

Ringo bracket: Twins (87) defeat Orioles (87) in six games

Game One: Twins 3, Orioles 1
WP: Viola (1-0)
LP: Boddicker (0-1)
Save: Reardon (1)
HR: Hrbek (1)

Game Two: Orioles 7, Twins 4
WP: E. Bell (1-0)
LP: Blyleven (0-1)
Save: Habyan (1)
HR: Lynn (1), Puckett (1), C. Ripken (1)

Game Three: Twins 4, Orioles 1
WP: J. Niekro (1-0)
LP: Schmidt (0-1)
Save: Reardon (2)
HR: Laudner (1)

Game Four: Orioles 6, Twins 4
WP: McGregor (1-0)
LP: Carlton (0-1)
Save: Dixon (1)
HR: Lacy (1), Puckett (2)

Game Five: Twins 4, Orioles 2
WP: Viola (2-0)
LP: Boddicker (0-2)
Save: Reardon (3)
HR: Hrbek (2), C. Ripken (2), Sheets (1)

Game Six: Twins 6, Orioles 2
WP: Blyleven (1-1)
LP: E. Bell (1-1)
HR: Hrbek (3), Murray (1), Brunansky (1), Baylor (1), Gaetti (1)


The Twins bopped nine homers in the six games to overcome a pesky Orioles starting rotation that was repeatedly undermined by shoddy defense. The Twins benefited from seven unearned runs in the series, accounting for 28 percent of their runs.

Game One pitted Frank Viola and Mike Boddicker in a tight duel. Baltimore took the initial lead with an unearned run in the fifth, but in the bottom of the sixth Kent Hrbek unloaded a three-run homer. The Orioles led off the top of the ninth with a pair of singles off Viola, but Jeff Reardon entered to strike out Terry Kennedy, Billy Ripken and Fred Lynn to end the threat and the game.

Bert Blyleven opened Game Two with four hitless innings (although the Orioles manafactured an unearned run in the third), But the Birds erupted for five runs in the fifth, punctuated by a Lynn three-run homer. Ray Knight also doubled home a pair of runs. Eric Bell shut out the Twins through five innings, but was relieved after loading the bases to open the sixth. Kirby Puckett greeted John Habyan with a grand slam, but Habyan didn't allow another hit the rest of the way.

The Twins turned to Joe Niekro for the first game in Memorial Stadium, and the ancient knuckleballer was superb, tossing seven shutout innings. He ran into trouble in the eighth, but Dan Schatzader and Reardon held the damage to one run. The Twins, meanwhile, were held to just three hits in eight innings by Dave Schmidt, but picked up three unearned runs in the fourth inning. Tim Laudner homered in the ninth off reliever Mark Williamson for the final margin.

Baltimore's Scott McGregor outdid Steve Carlton in Game Four's matchup of fading southpaws. Carlton walked eight men in five innings. McGregor held the Twins to three runs, two earned, in seven innings, before Ken Dixon finished up.

The pivotal Game Five again paired Viola and Boddicker, and Viola was again victorious. Boddicker allowed four runs, but just one was untainted by errors. The Orioles got a pair of solo homers, one by Larry Sheets off Viola and the other by Cal Ripken off Reardon. Hrbek's two-run homer in the ninth followed a two-out error by Mike Young.

Baltimore got to Blyleven early in Game Six, with Eddie Murray hitting a two-run homer in the first. But the Twins got homers from Don Baylor (second inning), Hrbek and Brunansky (sixth inning) and Gaetti (seventh inning) to build a cushion. Juan Berenguer went two innings to wrap it up.

Pitcher availability: Niekro and Carlton will be replaced for the second round by Les Straker and Mike Smithson. Blyleven can pitch Game Two with the penalty, Game three without.

Projected rotation: Viola-Blyleven-Straker-Smithson-(Viola)-(Blyleven)-(Straker)

Stat break: Expos 87

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Brooks              18     4    8    6        5    0     0     0      0     .444
Candele            12     1    4    2        1    0     0      2      1    .333
Engle                  2     0    0    0        0    0     0      0      0    .000
Fitzgerald         10    1     3    1        1    0     0      1      0    .300
Foley                  9    1     5     0        1   0     0      0      0    .555
Galarraga         19    1    5     0        0    0    0       0      0    .263
W Johnson       10    0    3    1         1    0     0      2      0    .300
Law                  18   3      7    1        1    1     0       1      1    .389
Nichols              7   1     2     1        1    0     0       0      0    .286
Raines              25   6     8     6        2    0     3       2      0    .320
Reed                13    2     4     1        1    0     0       1      0    .308
Wallach           23    5   11     6        4    0     2       2      0    .478
Webster           26    3     5     5        1    1     0       1      1    .192
Winningham   16    2     5     1        1    0     0       1      0    .313

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Burke                 2      0      2          1      0      0      0      1        1     0     0    0.00

Heaton               2      2    14.6      15     4      4      2      4        0     2     0    2.45

Martinez            2      2    13         18     7      7      5      5       0      0     1    4,84

McClure             2      0     1.3        1      0      0      0      0       0      0    0     0.00

McGaffigan       2      0      4           2     0       0     0      1       1      1     0    0.00

Parrett               2       0      1           1     1      1      1      0       0      0     1     9.00

Perez                 1      1       5           4     2      2      1      4       0      1     0     3.60

Sebra                 2      0       3          2     0      0      0       0       0      0     0     0.00

B Smith             1      1       6          9     4      4      0       0       0      0     0     6.00

St. Claire           2      0       3          4     1      1      0       1       0      0     0     3.00

Stat break: Cubs (87)

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Davis               17    2     5    2        0    0     1     1      0    .294
Dawson           25    3     5    2        0    0     0     1      0    .200
Dayett                7    1    4     0        1    0     0     1      0    .571
Dernier              8     0    1    0       1    0     0      0      0    .125
Dunston          23     2    5     1       0    1     0      0      0    .217
Durham           21    2     6     0       0    0     0      2      0    .286
Da. Martinez   16    1     3     0       1    0     0      2      0    .188
Moreland         25    1     2    2        1    1     0      0      0    .080
Mumphrey       10    1     5    1       2    0    1       2      0    .500
Noce                  2    0     1    0       0    0     0      0      0    .500
Palmeiro          11    2    4     5       0    0    2       0       0    .366
Sandberg          26    1     8    3      0     0     0      0      0    .308
Sundberg           3    1    2    0       0     0    0       2      0    .667
Trillo                 8    2    3     3       1   0     1       0      0    .375
C. Walker         1    0    0     0        0    0     0       0      0    .000

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

DiPino                1      0      1         1      0      0      0     0        0      0     0     0.00

Lancaster           2      0      5          5      0      0      5      1       0      0     0     0.00

Lynch                2      0       3          7     5      4      0       0       0      0    1   12.00

Maddux             2      2      11       14     7      7      7      4      0       0    2      5.73
Moyer               1      1        7          6     2      2      0      6       0      1    0     2.57

Noles                 2     0       3           5     3       2     0      1       0      0     0    6.00

Sanderson         1     0        2          6     3      3      0      0      0      0    0     13.50
L. Smith            3     0       4          5      1      1      0      1      2      0    0       2.25
Sutcliffe            2     2      12       11      4      4      1      6       0      1    0      3.00
Trout                 1     1       5          9      7      7      1      1      0       0    1    12.60

Ringo bracket: Expos (87) defeat Cubs (87) in six games

Game One: Cubs 7, Expos 4
WP: Sutcliffe (1-0)
LP: De. Martinez (0-1)
Save: L Smith (1)
HR: Palmeiro (1), Durham (1)

Game Two: Expos 5, Cubs 3
WP: Heaton (1-0)
LP: Maddux (0-1)
Save: McGaffigan (1)
HR: Raines (1), Trillo (1)

Game Three: Cubs 5, Expos 4
WP: L Smith (1-0)
LP: Parrett (0-1)
HR: J Davis (1), Wallach (1)

Game Four: Expos 10, Cubs 2
WP: Perez (1-0)
LP: Trout (0-1)
HR: Raines (2), Palmeiro (2), Wallach (2)

Game Five: Expos 5, Cubs 1 (10 innings)
WP: McGaffigan (1-0)
LP: Lynch (0-1)
HR: Raines (3)

Game Six: Expos 3, Cubs 1
WP: Heaton (2-0)
LP: Maddux (0-2)
Save: Burke (1)

Pitching depth told in the end for the Montreal Expos, as the Chicago Cubs just didn't have enough front-line hurlers to compete.

The Cubs plated four runs in the first three innings against Dennis Martinez in the opener. Les Lancaster provided three innings of shutout relief when Rick Sutcliffe left after just five innings. The big blow came from Rafael Palmeiro, who hit a three run homer in the third.

Les Expos evened the series in the second game with a heavily left-handed lineup against the rookie Greg Maddux. Tim Raines homered in the first inning, and Neal Heaton was strong through six innings before yielding a two-run pinch-hit homer to Manny Trillo in the seventh. Andy McGaffigan held the Cubs hitless in the final two frames to nail down the win.

The series moved to the friendly confines of Wrigley Field. Jamie Moyer turned a 4-2 lead over to the bullpen after seven innings, but Dickie Noles, after getting two outs in the top of the eighth, gave up a homer to Tim Wallach, a single to Vance Law and a game-tying double to Hubie Brooks. But Montreal reliever Jeff Parrett was greeted in the bottom of the ninth by Jody Davis's game-winning homer.

In Game Four, the Expos landed Steve Trout with a five-run fourth inning, and scored in six of the nine frames. Brooks smacked three doubles, and Mitch Webster drove in three runs. Four Expos pitchers combined to hold the Cubs to two runs.

The pivotal Game Five was quite the contest. Sufcliffe threw five perfect innings to open the game, and Martinez kept the Cubs off the board himself until the seventh, when Jim Sundberg opened the inning with a base hit and Shawon Dunston singled him to third. With no outs, the Expos played for the double play, and got it from pinch-hitter Palmeiro, but the run scored.

Lee Smith entered in pursuit of a two-inning save and worked around a hit and an error to escape the eighth. The big fireballer got the first two men in the top of the ninth as well, but then Wallach singled and Law doubled him to third. Brooks singled home Wallach to tie the score. Dave Martinez threw out Law at the plate to end the inning, but Smith was done. After McGaffigan tossed a scoreless ninth for Montreal, Ed Lynch relieved for the Cubs, and the Expos clubbed him for four runs, capped by Raines' two-run homer.

The Expos wrapped up the series in Game Six. Maddux again struggled against a lefty-laden lineup, allowing three runs in the first three innings. Heaton held the Cubs scoreless through seven, and Bob McClure got him out of an eighth-inning jam. Tim Burke nailed it down with a scoreless ninth.

Wallach had a huge series, going 11-for23 with six RBIs and five runs and six extra base hits for player of the series honors.

Pitcher availability: Heaton cannot pitch until Game Three. All other Expos pitchers will be available for the start of the second round.

Projected rotation: De. Martinez-B. Smith-Heaton-Perez-(Martinez)-(Smith)-(Heaton)

Stat break: Royals 87

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Balboni             6    2     3    1        0    0     1     2      0    .500
Brett               18     2    4    2        0    0     0      1      0    .222
B Jackson           17     0    4    5       0    0     0      1      0    .235
R Jones             1     0    0     0       0    0     0      0      0    .000
Owen              11    3     3     1       0    0     0      1      0    .273
Pecota               4    0     1    0        0    0     0      0      0    .250
Quirk                5    0     0     0        0    0    0       0      0    .000
Salazar              9    1    4    2         2    0     0      1      0    .444
Seitzer            15     5    6    7       1     1     1       2      0    .400
L Smith            8    2    3     1        1    0    0       1       0    .375
D Tartabull    18   4    6     2        2   0     0       1       0    .333
White             17    2    5     3        0    0     0       0      0    .294
W Wilson       18   4    6     3        2    0     0       1      1    .333

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Black                 1      0      3.6        1      0      0      2     1        0     1     0     0.00

J Davis               1      0      1          3      3      2      2      0       0      0     0  18.00

Gubicza             1      1       8          6     3      2      6       5       0      1    0    2.25

D Jackson          1      1       4.3       6     8      8      5       5      0       0    0  16.63
Liebrandt           1      1       8          5     2      2      2      6       0      0    0     2.25

Quisenberry       4     0       5           4     1       1     0      2       2      2     0    1.80

Saberhagen        1     1       7           8     5      4      2      6      0      0    0      5.14

Stat break: Brewers (87)

Hitters

Name              AB   R   H   RBI  2B  3B  HR  BB  SB  Avg,
Braggs              5     2    1     0        1    0    0      2      0    .200
Brock             15     0    6      5        1    1    0      0      0    .400
Cooper             7     0    1      0        0    0    0      0      0    .143
Deer               12     3    2     1        1    0    1       6      0    .167
Felder               8     3    3     0        0    0    0      1      2    .375
Gantner          15     1    0     0        0    0    0      2      0    .000
Manning           6     2     3    0         2    0    0      2      0    .500
Molitor           12     3     5    1         1    0    0       2      0    .417
Paciorek           3     0    0     0         0    0    0      0      0    .000
Riles                 7     1     1     0        0    0    0      0      0    .143
Schroeder       12     1    2     0        1    0    0       0      0    .167
Surhoff             1    0    0     0        0    0    0       0      0    .000
Sveum            17    4    4     6        0    0     2      2      0    .235
Yount             17    2    4     2        0    0     0       1     0    .235

Pitchers

Name                G    GS   IP        H    R    ER   BB    K     Sv.   W    L   ERA

Aldrich              1      0      1          0      0      0        0     0       0       0     0     0.00

Barker               1      0      2           2     0      0        2     2       0       0     0     0.00

Clear                 2      0      4          1      1      1        2      2       0      0     1     0.00

Crim                 2      0      6.6        6     2      2        1      1        0      0     1     2.70

Higuera             2      2     9         20   16     14       3      7        0      0     1   14.00

Nieves               1      1     5          8      6       3       1      7        0      0     1    5.40

Wegman            1      1    7.3        8      2       2       2      3       0      0     0    2.46

Ringo bracket: Royals (87) sweep Brewers (87)

Game One: Royals 9, Brewers 8
WP: Quisenberry (1-0)
LP: Clear (0-1)
HR: Deer (1), Balboni (1)

Game Two: Royals 3, Brewers 2 (10 innings)
WP: Quisenberry (2-0)
LP: Crim (0-1)

Game Three: Royals 6, Brewers 4
WP: Gubicza (1-0)
LP: Nieves (01)
Save: Quisenberry (1)
HR: Sveum (1), Seitzer (1)

Game Four: Royals 9, Brewers 8
WP: Black (1-0)
LP: Higuera (0-1)
Save: Quisenberry (2)
HR: Sveum (2)

In a series of shaky starting pitching and even shakier glove work, the Kansas City Royals got the better relief work and all four wins.

The opener pitted Milwaukee's Teddy Higuera against Kansas City's Bret Saberhagen, two of the better starters in the American League in 1987. But the game quickly deteriorated into a sloppy slugfest, with the Brewers committing two errors resulting in unearned runs and the Royals charged with three errors and two unearned runs.

Higuera staggered through eight innings, giving up six earned runs on 11 hits. Saberhagen went seven innings, allowing four earned runs on eight hits. A three-run lead for the Royals in the eighth disappeared behind two walks, three hits and two errors with John Davis on the mound for Kansas City.

With the score knotted at 8 in the ninth inning, Steve Balboni homered off Mark Clear, and Dan Quisenberry entered to retire the Brewers in order in the ninth. As the only effective hurler for the Royals, Quisenberry was awarded the win rather than the save.

Charlie Leibrandt and Bill Wegman were much sharper in the second game. Wegman went 7.1 innings for the Brewers, allows two runs on eight hits. Leibrandt took a three-hit shutout into the ninth. But Ernie Riles led off the bottom of the ninth with a base hit, and Mike Felder followed with a double. Quisenberry entered in relief but could not keep the two runs from scoring. Greg Brock tripled home the tying runs.

The Royals struck back in the top of the 10th. George Brett singled to lead off, Kevin Seitzer drew a walk, and Bo Jackson drove home Brett with a two-out single. Quisenberry wrapped up the game with another 1-2-3 inning for his second W.

The series shifted to Kansas City, and Mark Gubicza gave the Royals eight innings of three-run ball in Game Three. Light-hitting Angel Salazar gave the Royals a 4-1 lead with a two-run double in a three-run fourth inning -- a big inning made possible by a Dale Sveum error. Three of Kansas City's first four runs were unearned. The Brewers were charged with three errors in the game, two of them by third baseman Molitor. Quisenberry gave up a meaningless run in the ninth en route to the save

The Brewers, on the brink of elimination, went back to Higuera on short rest for Game Four. It couldn't have gone much worse for the Brew Crew. Higuera retired only three hitters and was charged with eight runs by the time Chuck Crim got out of the second inning -- all of them earned.

The Brewers got back into the fray with a third inning grand slam by Sveum off Danny Jackson, and when the Kansas City starter walked three straight men with one out in the fourth, Bud Black got the call.

All three inherited runners scored, in part because of a Salazar error, but Black slammed the door for three innings after that. Crim and Clear shut out the Royals for the final five innings, but the Royals had just enough runs to clinch the series. with Quisenberry getting the final three outs.

The Brewers were hampered by an injury to catcher B.J. Surhoff that limited their top backstop to just one at-bat in the series. He would have returned to action had the series reached Game 6.

Player of the series: With acknowledgement to Quisenberry's relief work, Kevin Seitzer is player of the series for his five runs, seven RBIs performance. He hit .400 for the series with a double, triple and home run.

Pitcher availability: All Royals pitchers will be on full rest when the second round opens.