Stat break: 69 Pilots

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,
Comer                85   14   30   19       5    0      3     11      3     .352
T Davis               39     4   12     8       4    0      1       2      1     .307
Donaldson          67   11   19     7       2    1      0     11      0     .284
Gil                       29     2     3     1       0    0      0       3      0     .103
Goossen            21     4     5     1       2    0      0        2      0     .238
Harper              116   28   34   14       5    0      3     18    14      .293
Hegan                84    14  22   22       3    1      6      25      2     .262
Hovley                63     7   24     8       5     0      0       6     5      .381
Kennedy            61     5    11     3       4     0     1       6      2      .180
McNertney         56      6   16     7      4     0      0      2      0       .286
Mincher              92   14   22    16      3     1     4       8      3      .239
Oyler                  88   11   14      9      1     0     4     13      0      .159
Pagliaroni          52     7     9    11       4    1      2       5     0       .173
Whitaker           60     7    12      6       0    0      3      5      0      .200

Pitchers

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

Barber               7      1     16.3    21   14    10      6    13        0      0     0      5.51
Bouton            12      2     27.6    22   14    11     13    18        1      2     1      3.58
Brabender         8      7     34       33   27   26     17    24        0      2     4      6.88
Brunet               6      5     28.6    31   15   12       9     17        0     2     1       3.77
Gelnar               7      4     29.3    25   11     6       3     16        0      3     0      1.84

Locker               9      0     11         8     5      5      3      7        3      0     2       4.09
Marshall            8      1     36       36   15    12    10    13        1      0     1       3.00

O'Donoghue     8      0       9.3      6     6      6       4     8        1      4     1       5.79

Pattin                8       2    12.6    21   14    11       9      8        0      0    1       7.81

Segui                7      5     36       38   26    21     12    27       1      1     2       5.25

Paul bracket: Reds (09) defeat Pilots (69) in six games

Game One: 69 Pilots 11, 09 Reds 8
WP: Segui (1-2)
LP: K Wells (2-2)
Save: Locker (4)
HR: Mincher (4), Oyler (4)

Game Two: 09 Reds 8, 69 Pilots 5
WP: Harang (2-1)
LP: Brabender (2-3)
Save: Cordero (9)
HR: Hegan (6), L Nix (4), Bruce (4)

Game Three: 09 Reds 8, 69 Pilots 4
WP: Rhodes (1-0)
LP: O'Donoghue (3-1)
HR: Harper (1)

Game Four: 09 Reds 5, 69 Pilots 1
WP: M Maloney (1-0)
LP: Marshall (0-1)
HR: Bruce (5)

Game Five: 69 Pilots 15, 09 Reds 11
WP: O'Donoghue (4-1)
LP: Rhodes (1-1)
Save: Bouton (1)
HR: T Davis (1), Al Gonzalez (3), Bruce (6), Votto (6), Pagliaroni (2), Harper (2)

Game Six: 09 Reds 7, 69 Pilots 3
WP: Harang (3-1)
LP: Brabender (2-4)
Save: Cordero (10)
HR: Bruce (7), Votto (7), Harper (3)

The 2009 Cincinnati Reds had a grand time of it, hitting three grand slams and taking advantage of 13 Pilots errors to win this unlikely matchup for the Paul bracket title.

Game One, played in Cincinnati's Great American Park, was a slugfest that went to the Pilots. The Pilots scored three runs on four hits in the first inning; the Reds retaliated with two in their half of the inning and tied it in the second, The Pilots retook the lead with a five-run top of the third, Ray Oyler clubbing a three-run homer. That inning chased Bronson Arroyo, but he was taken off the hook by his teammates as they scored twice in their half of the inning, two more in the fourth and one more in the sixth, all off Diego Segui. With the score tied at 8 entering the seventh, Kip Wells relieved for the Reds. He retired the leadoff hitter, but then Tommy Harper walked and stole second. Mike Hegan doubled him home, and out out later Don Mincher homered for a three-run lead. John Gelnar and Bob Locker combined for three innings of scoreless relief. Mincher was 5-for-5 with three runs, three RBIs and a steal.

Hegan's two-run homer put the Pilots ahead in Game Two before Aaron Harang retired a batter, but the Reds took the lead off Gene Brabender in the bottom of the inning on Laynce Nix's grand slam. The two teams traded runs in the fourth, and Jay Bruce homered in the fifth for a 6-3 lead. The Pilots scored twice in the sixth, but the Reds added single runs in the sixth and seventh. Nix had five RBIs, while Brandon Phillips, Bruce and Ramon Hernandez each scored twice.

The tied series moved to Seattle and Sick's Stadium for Game Three. Cincy starter Johnny Cueto walked five men in the Pilots' three-run third and nine (plus a hit batter) in his five innings of work. George Brunet carried a 4-2 lead into the seventh, when his own error put two one with two outs for reliever John O'Donoughue. It didn't work. Joey Votto singled home one run, and the tying run scored on a passed ball by Jim Pagliaroni. Phillips and Johnny Gomes walked to load the bases, Jerry Hariston Jr. singled for two runs and Bruce doubled in two more. Jared Burton and Wells combined for three innings of one-hit ball to wrap up the comeback win.

Matt Maloney, activated for the first time, had the best start of the series in Game Four, allowing four hits in the complete game win. The Pilots reached him for a first inning run (John Kennedy walked, stole second and scored on Wayne Comer's single) but got only two other men in scoring position. Bruce hit a three-run homer in the fifth off Mike Marshall, who was the eighth starter deployed by the Pilots in the series.

The Reds looked for much of Game Five as if they were about to wrap up the series. The Pilots started Gelnar, who entered the game with a 1.32 ERA for the tournament, but the Reds tattooed him for six runs in the first inning, climaxed by a grand slam by Alex Gonzalez. (Two Pilots errors meant four of the runs were unearned). The Pilots scored one in the bottom of the first and two in the second on Tommy Harper's homer. The Reds bombed Steve Barber for four more runs in the fourth to make it 10-3, with Phillips plating two runs with a single and Bruce following with a homer. But Harper and Comer drove in three runs in the home half of the inning to make it 10-6. Votto's solo shot in the sixth gave the Reds an 11-6 lead, but John Donaldson singled in two runs in the bottom the seventh to make it 11-8. Arthur Rhodes entered for the eighth inning. Steve Whitaker led off with a single, Harper reached on an error by center fielder Chris Dickerson. Mike Hegan singled home Whitaker, and Comer plated Harper with a sac fly.  Tommy Davis homered to put Seattle ahead, Steve Hovley walked and Pagliaroni homered for a cushion.

The Reds had to go back home to clinch, and that they did. For only the second time in the series, neither team scored in the first inning. Indeed, Brabender and Harang matched scoreless frames for five innings, with Brabender hold the Reds hitless for 17 outs. Alex Taveras walked with one out in the bottom of the sixth, stole second and went to third on Votto's ground ball. Phillips tripled for the Reds first hit and the go-head run, and Bruce homered for the fourth time in the series and for the third straight game. Barber relieved for the seventh inning, but a pair of errors helped load the bases with two outs for Votto, and he hit a grand slam for a 7-0 lead. The Pilots scored three in eighth to chase Harang, but Rhodes and Cordero got the final four outs without further damage.

Player of the Series: Jay Bruce was 11-for-22 with seven runs and 13 RBIs, including four homers.

Player availability: Harang cannot start until Game Three. Maloney will not be active.

Projected rotation: Arroyo-Cueto-Harang-Owing or Bailey-(Arroyo)-(Cueto)-(Harang).

Stat break: 69 Pilots

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,
Comer                62   12   21   12       2    0      3       7      3     .339
T Davis               29     2     9     5       3    0      0       1      1     .310
Donaldson          54   10   16     2       1    1      0       6      0     .296
Gil                       25     1     3     1       0    0      0       2      0     .120
Goossen             17     4     5     1      2    0      0       2      0     .294
Harper                90   18   24     8       5    0      0     15    11     .266
Hegan                64      9  14    18      2    1      5      21      2     .219
Hovley                52     7   21      7      5     0      0       4     4     .404
Kennedy            56     4    11     3       4     0     1       4      0      .196
McNertney         40      4   13     5       4     0      0      2      0      .325
Mincher              72     9   17    13       3     1     3       6      2      .236
Oyler                  67     8   11      6        0    0     3     10      0      .164
Pagliaroni          44     6     8      8       4    1      1       2      0      .181
Whitaker           47     3     8      6        0    0      3      5      0      .170

Pitchers

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

Barber               5      1     12.3     14    6      6      4    10        0      0     0      4.38
Bouton              9      2      23.6    22   14   11     12    13        0      2     1      4.41
Brabender         6      5     23       26   18   18     11    14        0      2     2       7.04
Brunet               5      4     22       25    11   10      8     14        0     2     1       4.09
Gelnar               5      3     25.3    20     5      4      2    14        0      3     0       1.42

Locker               7      0       9         7     5      5      3      5        3      0     2       5.00
Marshall            7      0     30       29   10      7      8    11        1      0     0       2.10

O'Donoghue     5      0       7         3     2      2       2     7        1      3     0       2.57

Pattin                6       2      9.6    19   12      9       4      7        0      0    1       8.38

Segui                5      4     27       23   17    14       9    19       1      0     2       4.67

Paul bracket: Pilots (69) defeat Astros (69) in seven games

Game One: 69 Astros 9. 69 Pilots 2
WP: Billingham (1-0)
LP: Bouton (2-1)
HR: J Morgan (2)

Game Two: 69 Pilots 5, 60 Astros 2
WP: Brunet (1-1)
LP: D Wilson (1-1)
Save: Segui (1)

Game Three: 69 Astros 8, 69 Pilots 4
WP: Dierker (6-0)
LP: Brabender (2-2)
HR: Oyler (2), Edwards (1), J Morgan (3)

Game Four: 69 Pilots 5, 69 Astros 4
WP: Gelnar (3-0)
LP: LeMaster (0-2)
Save: O'Donoghue (1)
HR: Menke (1), Wynn (5)

Game Five: 69 Pilots 6, 69 Astros 5 (10 innings)
WP: O'Donoghue (3-0)
LP: Ray  (1-2)
HR: Hegan (4), Wynn (6), Oyler (3)

Game Six: 69 Astros 7, 69 Pilots 3
WP: Bouton (1-0)
LP: Barber (0-1)
HR: Pagliaroni (1)

Game Seven: 69 Pilots 13, 69 Astros 6
WP: Brunet (2-1)
LP: D Wilson (1-2)
HR: Mincher (3), Hegan (5), J Morgan (4)

The unlikely saga of the 1969 Seattle Pilots continues with a third straight Game Seven victory. Indeed, the Pilots are 7-0 in elimination games in this tournament.

Game One, in the Astrodome, was the much-anticipated Bouton vs. Bouton matchup. Houston's Jim Bouton left after five innings, trailing 2-1 on a pair on RBI hits by Don Mincher. But after Seattle's version of Jim Bouton struck out Jimmy Wynn to open the bottom of the sixth, the Astors racked up three straight hits, followed by a Ray Oyler two-base error to take a 4-2 lead. Marty Pattin then relieved and gave up a walk, a single and a three-run homer to Joe Morgan to blow the game open.

The Pilots evened the series in Game Two, with George Brunet allowing just one unearned run in six innings and Diego Segui another unearned run in three innings of relief. The Pilots trail 1-0 after six but knocked Don Wilson out of the box with a three-run seventh and added two more off Dooley Womack in the eighth.

The series shifted from the cavernous Dome to cramped Sick's Stadium, and the Astros feasted early in Game Three off Gene Brabender. A sixth-run first inning began with a Joe Morgan homer and was capped by Johnny Edwards' grand slam. Mike Marshall threw seven shutout innings in relief of Brabender, but the Pilots couldn't catch up against Larry Dierker.

The Pilots bounced back in Game Four. John Gelnar threw seven innings of two-run ball, and Greg Goosen scored three runs on three hits, two of them doubles. Wynn and Denis Menke each had a two-run homer for the Astros.

The Astros led Game Five 5-0 half way through after Wynn's homer in the top of the fifth. But Pattin, Brabender and John O'Donoghue combined for five scoreless frames as the Pilots chipped away with one in the fifth, one in the sixth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth. In the bottom of the 10th, Steve Hovley had a one-out single. Tommy Harper and Mike Hegan walked to load the bases, and Fred Gladding relieved to get pinch-hitter Goosen to ground into a force play at the plate. But Mincher followed with a long single to score Harper with the winning run.

The series returned to Houston for Game Six, and Dierker turned a 3-1 lead over to Bouton in the eighth inning. With two outs, John Kennedy singled and Jim Pagliaroni hit a fly to left-center that fell between Tommy Davis and Wynn. The two outfielders collided, and the plodding Pagliaroni got an inside-the-park homer to even the score. The Astros immediately rallied for four runs off Bob Locker, however, so the only effect of the bizarre play was to deprive Dierker of his seventh "W".

Game Seven rematched Brunet and Wilson, and the Astros starter had nothing. Mincher hit a two-run homer in the first. Errors by Menke and Doug Rader helped the Pilots score three more in the second, and Oyler and Harper drove in runs in the third for a 7-0 lead. Brunet gave up three runs in the fifth, his final frame, but the Pilots added six more runs in the final three innings, including a three run homer from Hegan. Bouton and Marshall threw two innings apiece to mop up. Mincher scored three runs, and Harper was 5-for-6.

Player of the series: Tommy Harper went 16-for-32 with four doubles and four walks. He stole five bases, scored seven runs and drove in three while playing five different positions in the seven games (second base, third base and all three outfield spots.

Player availability: Brunet and Steve Barber cannot pitch until Game Three. All other pitchers are eligible to pitch, although Marshall can't start the opener. Bouton should not start again in the tournament. No injuries are carrying over.

Projected rotation: What rotation? The Pilots used six starters against the Astros and have deployed seven different starters in the tournament. A rough draft: Brabender-Segui-Brunet-Pattin-(Gelnar)-(Brabender)-(Segui).

Stat break: 69 Pilots

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,
Comer                37     8   13     9       2    0      3       4      2     .351
T Davis               17     2     5     1       2    0      0       1      1     .294
Donaldson          32     4     8     1       1    1      0       5      0     .250
Gil                       21     1     2     0       0    0      0       2      0     .095
Goossen             11     1     2     0       0    0      0       2      0     .182
Harper                58   11     8     5       1    0      0     11      6     .138
Hegan                45      6  10    13       0    1      3     12      1     .222
Hovley                37     6   14      5      3     0      0       3      1     .378
Kennedy            47     3      9     2       4     0     1       2      0      .191
McNertney         33      3   11     5       4     0      0      2      0      .333
Mincher              46      5   10     7       1     1     2       4      1      .217
Oyler                  42      5     8     3        0    0     1       5      0      .190
Pagliaroni           23     3     4     4        3    1      0      1      0      .174
Whitaker             32     3     5     6        0    0      3      4      0      .156 

Pitchers

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

Barber               4      0        7         7     3      3      3      6        0      0     0      3.86
Bouton              7      1      16.3    14     8      8      9     6         0      2     0       4.41
Brabender         4      4      19       19   10   10      8     11       0      2     1       4.74
Brunet               3      2      11       14     7      7     3      7        0      0     1       5.73
Gelnar               4      2      18.3    13     3      2      0   12        0      2     0       0.94

Locker               6      0       7         3     1      1       1      5        3      0     1      1.29
Marshall            5      0     21       18     7      4       4      8        1      0     0       1.71

O'Donoghue     3      0       3         1     0      0       1      3        0      2     0       0.00

Pattin                3      2       5.3    11     8      8       2      3        0       0    1     13.58

Segui                3      3     19       13   11      9       8    13        0      0     2       3.79

Paul bracket: Pilots (69) defeat Braves (69) in seven games

Game One: 69 Braves 5, 69 Pilots 2
WP: P Niekro (2-0)
LP: Segui (0-2)
Save: Upshaw (4)
HR: F Alou (1), H Aaron (1)

Game Two: 69 Braves 7, 69 Pilots 4
WP: Reed (2-0)
LP: Pattin (0-1)
Save: Upshaw (5)
HR: Whitaker (2)

Game Three: 69 Braves 7, 69 Pilots 5
WP: Jarvis (2-0)
LP: Brabender (1-1)
Save: Upshaw (6)
HR: Oyler (1), Gonzalez (3), Whitaker (3), Cepeda (3)

Game Four: 69 Pilots 4, 69 Braves 3
WP: O'Donoghue (2-0)
LP: Britton (0-1)
Save: Locker (2)
HR: Comer (2), H Aaron (2), Carty (2)

Game Five: 69 Pilots 2, 69 Braves 1 (10 innings)
WP: Bouton (2-0)
LP: Neibauer (0-1)

Game Six: 69 Pilots 2, 69 Braves 0
WP: Gelnar (2-0)
LP: Reed (2-1)
Save: Locker (3)
HR: Comer (3)

Game Seven: 69 Pilots 8, 69 Braves 0
WP: Brabender (2-1)
LP: Jarvis (2-1)
Save: Marshall (1)
HR: Hegan (3), Mincher (2)

Down three games to none, the expansion team Pilots held the Braves of Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda and Rico Carty to just four runs over the final four games, including two shutouts and advanced to the third round.

Phil Niekro helped get the homestanding Braves off on the right track with eight innings of five-hit ball in the opener. Both runs he allowed were unearned. Felipe Alou hit a three-run homer off Diego Segui in the fourth inning, and after the Pilots used a Clete Boyer error to pull within a run in the top of the eighth, Aaron hit a two-run homer off Jim Bouton to widen the margin.

The second game opened with lots of runs. Steve Whitaker's two run homer capped a three-run first for Seattle against Ron Reed. The Braves struck back with four runs off Marty Pattin, with Alou hitting a leadoff triple. The first five hitters Pattin faced reached. The Braves had three sac flies in the game, two by Aaron. Reed settled in for six scoreless inning after the first to get the win.

The series shifted to Sick's Stadium for Game Three, and Gene Brabender was battered for two runs in the first, two in the second and three in the third. Tony Gonzalez led off with a home run, and Orlando Cepeda added another in the third. The Pilots did manage a 4-4 tie in the second on a pair of two-run homers by Whitaker and Ray Oyler, but mounted little threat to Pat Jarvis and the Atlanta bullpen after that.

Facing elimination, the Pilots turned to George Brunet for Game Four. The lefty held the Braves to one run in five innings before leaving for a pinch-hitter. He held a 2-1 lead at the time, courtesy of a Wayne Comer homer and a pair of doubles by Greg Goossen and Jerry McNertney. Bouton entered in the sixth and yielded solo homers to Aaron and Carty. Seattle immediately tied it on singles by Tommy Harper and Tommy Davis followed by a Comer sac fly. Bouton and John O'Donoghue held the Braves down in the seventh and eighth; in the bottom of the eighth, Davis and Comer hit back-to-back doubles off Jim Britton for the go-ahead run. Bob Locker had a perfect ninth inning for the save.

Niekro and Segui's rematch in Game Five was quite the pitcher's duel, with two of the three runs unearned. Segui allowed just two hits in nine innings; the one run Atlanta mustered off him game when Mike Hegan committed a three-base error on the leadoff hitter in the eighth. Pinch-hitter Mike Lum followed that with a sac fly, which tied the score at 1. (Jim Pagliaroni had tripled home Comer in the sixth inning.) Bouton threw a 1-2-3 10th inning for Seattle. In the bottom of the 10th, pinch hitter Steve Hovley singled with one out. He advanced to second on Harper's walk and scored when Carty muffed pinch-hitter Goossen's fly ball in left.

Back in Fulton County Stadium for Game Six, the Pilots got a four-pitcher shutout from John Gelnar, Bouton, Pattin and Locker. Gelnar went six innings, allowing five singles and no walks. Bouton got five outs, Pattin one and Locker worked through a jam in the ninth. Comer scored both runs for the Pilots, homering in the fourth off Reed and starting a three-single rally for a run in the sixth.

The Pilots got their one and only easy win of the series in the finale, although it wasn't until Jarvis left for a pinch hitter that they blew it open. Don Mincher tripled to lead off the second inning and scored on John Donaldson's single to open the scoring. Brabender and Jarvis kept the game at 1-0 through five innings. Pappas relieved in the sixth and quickly gave up a two-run homer to Mincher. Seattle blew the game wide open with a four-run seventh, highlighted by Hegan's three-run homer. The Pilots hit for Brabender during that rally, and Mike Marshall threw three innings on one-hit ball to wrap up the win and the series.

Player of the series: Wayne Comer played a key offensive role in three of the Pilots' four wins. He was 7 for 16 with two homers, four runs and four RBIs despite making only four starts in the series.

Player availability: Neither Gelnar nor Brabender may pitch until Game Three. Marshall should not be used in Game One.

Projected rotation: Up in the air. The third round matchup with the Astros offers the possibility of a Bouton vs Bouton matchup, and that will happen. The one other certainty is that Brabender will start Game Three and Game Seven if the series goes that far.

Stat break: 69 Pilots

Hitters

Name                AB   R   H   RBI   2B  3B   HR   BB   SB   Avg,
Comer                20     4     6     5       1    0      1       4      1     .300
T Davis                 7     1     3     1       1    0      0       1      0     .429
Donaldson          18     3     1     0       0    0      0       4      0     .056
Gil                       11     1     2     0       0    0      0       0      0     .182
Goossen               6     1     2     0       0    0      0       0      0     .333
Harper                30     8     4     3       1    0      0       8      3     .133
Hegan                22      4    6    10       0    0      2     10      0     .273
Hovley                23      4    8      4      3     0      0       2      0     .348
Kennedy             15     2     7     2       3     0     1       1      0      .467
McNertney         15      3     6     3       3     0      0      1      0      .400
Mincher              23      3     5     4       1     0      1      3      0      .217
Oyler                  20      2     4     0        0    0      0      2      0      .200
Pagliaroni           16     2     3     3        3    0      0       0      0      .188
Whitaker             16     1     2     1        0    0      1       1      0     .125

Pitchers

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

Barber               2      0       3         5     3      3      1      5        0      0     0       9.00
Bouton              3      1      10.6     9      4      4      9     6         0      1     0      3.37
Brabender         2      2       8         8     3      3      3      4        0      1     0       3.38
Brunet               2      1       6       10     6      6      1      5        0      0     1       9.00
Gelnar               2      1       9.3      7     3      2      0      8        0      1     0       1.93

Locker               4      0       5         2     1      1       0      3        1      0     1      1.80
Marshall            3      0     13       14     5      3       3      6        0      0     0       2.08

O'Donoghue     2      0       2         1     0      0       1      2        0      1     0       0.00

Pattin                1      1       2         3     3      3       1      1        0       0    0     13.50

Segui                1       1      6         8     7      6       3      4        0       0    1       9.00

Paul bracket: Pilots (69) defeat Brewers (09) in seven games

Game One: 69 Pilots 6, 09 Brewers 2
WP: Bouton (1-0)
LP: Gallardo (0-1)
HR: Mincher (1), Kennedy (1)

Game Two: 69 Pilots 4, 09 Brewers 1
WP: Brabender (1-0)
LP: Looper (0-1)
Save: Locker (1)
HR: Comer (1), P Fielder (1)

Game Three: 09 Brewers 9, 69 Pilots 6
WP: Suppan (1-0)
LP: Brunet (0-1)
Save: Hoffman (1)
HR: Braun (1). P Fielder 2 (3)

Game Four: 09 Brewers 5, 69 Pilots 4 (11 innings)
WP: Hoffman (1-0)
LP: Locker (0-1)
Save: Stetter (1)
HR: P Fielder (4), Comer (2)

Game Five: 09 Brewers 10, 69 Pilots 4
WP: Gallardo (1-1)
LP: Segui (0-1)
HR: Cameron (1), P Fielder (5), Whitaker (1)

Game Six: 69 Pilots 9. 09 Brewers 5
WP: O'Donohue (1-0)
LP: Narveson (0-1)
HR: Counsell (1)

Game Seven: 69 Pilots 9, 09 Brewers 3
WP: Gelnar (1-0)
LP:  Suppan (1-1)
HR: Hegan 2 (2)

The 1969 Seattle Pilots used six different starting pitchers and got only eight innings total from the one who started twice, but they still managed to beat the 2009 Milwaukee Brewers. The road team won every game.

The Pilots started nominal reliever Jim Bouton in the opener, and the knuckleballer gave them 6.6 innings of five-hit, two-run ball. John Kennedy and Don Mincher homered off Yovani Gallardo in the third inning, and the Pilots added three more runs in the fifth on four doubles (Bouton, Tommy Harper, Steve Hovley and Mincher). When Bouton loaded the bases in the seventh, John Gelnar got out of the jam, and he and Bob Locker wrapped the game up without allowing a hit.

The Pilots got another big third inning in Game Two. Wayne Comer capped a four-run outburst with a three-run homer off Brandon Looper. Gene Brabender allowed just two hits in five shutput innings; he left for a pinch-hitter in a failed attempt to add to the lead. Mike Marshall allowed one run in three innings of relief, and Locker handled the ninth.

The series moved to Seattle's old Sick's Stadium for Game Three, and Brewers stars Ryan Braun and Prince Fielder feasted in the bandbox. Braun went 4-for-5 with a homer and double and scored four times; Fielder hammered a pair of homers, singled and scored three times. The Pilots made the score respectable with a pair of three-run innings, but the Brewers lead was too big.

Game Four also went the Brewers' way, but not without a struggle. Pilots starter Marty Pattin was pulled after just two innings, and Marshall worked eight innings in relief, allowing one run while his teammates chipped away at the lead. Trevor Hoffman was entrusted with a 4-3 lead in the ninth, but the first four Pilots either singled or walked. Hoffman wriggled out of the jam with a tie, and the Brewers won when Mike Cameron tripled and Jason Kendall doubled in the 11th.

The Brewers completed their sweep of the games in Seattle by shelling Diego Segui for seven runs and adding three more against Steve Barber in Game Five. The Brewers returned to Milwaukee and Miller Park with a 3-2 series lead.

Brabender, making his second start for the Pilots, gave up three runs in three innings and was pulled for a pinch hitter in the fourth. Tommy Davis came through with an RBI double as the Pilots took a 5-3 lead. Bouton held the lead for two innings but gave up two runs in the sixth for a 5-5 tie. But the Pilots pounded out four runs on five hits and a walk in the eighth, and John O'Donohue and Locker combined for three hitless innings to send the series to a seventh game.

The Pilots took a 2-0 lead two batters into the game as Mike Hegan homered. They piled on six runs in the fifth inning to chase Jeff Suppan,with Hegan hitting a grand slam. Starter John Gelnar  allwed three runs, one unearned, in eight innings.

Player of the series: Hegan's .272 batting average isn't that impressive, but he had 10 RBIs and drew 10 walks for a .500 OBP.

Player availability: Jim Pagliaroni is injured; if active for the second round, he cannot play until Game Three. Gelnar cannot pitch until Game Three, and Brabender can start Game Two with penalty, Game Three without.

Projected rotation: There is no true rotation, Brabender will start Game Three and Game Seven should the series go that far. Game One and Game Two can go to any of Barber, Bouton, Brunet, Marshall, Pattin or Segui.