Gold League Division Series: (1) Diamond vs. (4) Chuckanut Bay

Game 1: Chuckanut Bay 4 at Diamond 7
The Diamond Gems defeated the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by a score of 7 to 4 at Coors Field. Diamond had 4 runs cross the plate in the bottom of the 6th inning when they had 5 base hits. The key offensive moment was provided by Alfonso Soriano who made the Diamond fans a happy lot when he doubled bringing in two baserunners. Diamond out-hit Chuckanut Bay for the game, 13 hits to 5. Pat Neshek (1-0) got credit for the victory, pitching 1 inning and allowing no runs. J.J. Putz recorded the save, his 1st. The losing pitcher was Livan Hernandez (0-2). He was hit hard and gave up 9 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings.

Game 2: Chuckanut Bay 2 at Diamond 1
Kevin Millwood went 8 strong innings as the Chuckanut Bay Tubas defeated the Diamond Gems by the score of 2 to 1 at Coors Field. Chuckanut Bay took the lead for good in the 3rd inning plating an isolated run utilizing 2 base hits. Chuckanut Bay had only 6 hits for the night. The victory was credited to Millwood (1-1) who went 8 innings, allowing no runs. Takashi Saito earned his 2nd save. Josh Johnson (0-1) took the loss.

Game 3: Diamond 14 at Chuckanut Bay 6
Lance Berkman ripped 4 homeruns and had 9 RBI as the Diamond Gems outscored the Chuckanut Bay Tubas 14 to 6. Berkman really lit it up for Diamond. The Chuckanut Bay fans let him have it for what he did to their boys. He belted a three-run homer in the 1st inning, blasted a two-run home run in the 2nd inning, smashed a bases-empty 'big-fly' in the 3rd inning and lofted a three-run bomb (his 4th of the post-season) in the 7th inning. Diamond finished with 15 hits while Chuckanut Bay ended up with 7. Chris Capuano (1-0) got the win allowing 4 runs in 5 innings. John Maine (1-1) suffered the loss. He served up 4 homeruns in his 5 innings. 'They made a couple of mistakes and I took full advantage,' Berkman said 'next time I'm sure they'll pitch me tougher.'

Game 4: Diamond 7 at Chuckanut Bay 1
In a lop-sided win the Diamond Gems ripped the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by a 7 to 1 count. Scott Rolen had a good evening at the plate. He doubled bringing in two baserunners in the 1st inning and bombed a two-run dinger (his 1st of the post-season) in the 3rd inning. For the game Diamond out-hit Chuckanut Bay 12 to 5. Chien-Ming Wang (1-0) picked up the victory, allowing 1 run in 5 innings. Livan Hernandez (0-3) absorbed the loss. He allowed 10 hits and 5 walks in 5 innings.

Game 5: Diamond 7 at Chuckanut Bay 8
In an exciting finish the Chuckanut Bay Tubas pulled out a win over the Diamond Gems by a score of 8 to 7 at Busch Stadium. The deciding run was scored by Chuckanut Bay in the 9th. After an out was recorded, Geoff Jenkins blasted a solo shot (his 2nd of the post-season) giving
Chuckanut Bay the win and sending the home town fans into a frenzy. Chuckanut Bay managed 12 hits in their victory. Takashi Saito (1-0) picked up the victory, allowing 3 runs in 1 inning. Adam Wainwright (0-1) was charged with the loss in relief. Dave Dick was just happy to get a win, 'We've had such a bad streak of games -- boy, it's great to get the monkey off our back. Now maybe we can relax a little and play the kind of baseball of which we are capable.'

Game 6: Chuckanut Bay 9 at Diamond 2
The Chuckanut Bay Tubas had very little trouble at Coors Field downing the Diamond Gems. The score was 9 to 2. Chuckanut Bay came up with 5 runs in the top of the 2nd inning when they had 4 base hits. The early run support proved sufficient for Paul Byrd (2-0) and Chuckanut Bay. That was all the run support Byrd required. Chuckanut Bay had 8 hits for the night. Josh Johnson (0-2) was given the loss. He allowed 5 runs and 4 hits in 1 and 2/3 innings.

Game 7: Chuckanut Bay 9 at Diamond 1
In an embarrassing outing for the Diamond Gems pitching staff, Chuckanut Bay Tubas flexed their collective muscle amassing 9 runs as Livan Hernandez (1-3)with help from the bullpen held Diamond to 1 run. Chuckanut Bay set the tone of the game in the first inning when they tallied 2
runs on 1 hit. The early run support proved sufficient for Hernandez and Chuckanut Bay. That was all the run support Hernandez required. Chuckanut Bay had a total of 8 hits for the game. Chris Capuano (1-1) absorbed the loss. Chuckanut Bay scored big getting 4 runs off him in 2 and 1/3 innings.

This series was one in which one team got a lot of luck and as a result won the game. Both teams scored 39 runs in the series, showing how even the matchup really was despite some lopsided scores. Game 7 really could have gone either way, but I seemed to get good luck in the form of home run splits and Vaughn was getting bad luck in the form of two errors by a 2e6 shortstop, hitting into a lineout DP to kill an early rally, KRod giving up two bases-loaded walks, etc.

Honestly, if these teams played another 20 games, I bet Diamond wins around 14 out of 20. I just happened to catch a couple of breaks. Chuckanut Bay looks forward to matching up with Green Bay or Plainsfield in the next round.