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.