SWEEEEEP! Takin' a broom in the Pujols - Torto vs. Keith series update

No - this series didn't take place in Johnson's Creek, despite the title of this post.  Nope, the venue was Morry's Bar in Beaver Dam. And it was the dreaded third time I would have to face the monstrous bat of Albert Pujols, thanks to the blockbuster trade at Lake Lawn.  I'd be lying if I said I wasn't irritated that I would have to see the best active player in baseball again this season. I had kept him in check vs. Butler, but for a third series?  Didn't like my chances.  Nothing I could do about it though, so roll the dice we did. 

Game 1:  J.Santana at J.Vasquez

Team Torto jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, on a Jason Werth 2-out double, scoring the speedy Juan Pierre.  Keith stopped the inning from getting worse by gunning down Werth at the plate while he tried to score on a Carlos Lee single. 2 more runs on a Jayson Werth 2-run shot in the 3rd extended the lead to 3-0.  Keith tied it up in the top of the 4th on a 2-RBI Raul Ibanez double, and an RBI ground out from Ramon Hernadez.  I counter punched with a 2-run bottom of the 4th, on Juan Pierre and Toddfather Helton RBI-singles.  That ended up being all that was needed to secure the win, but an insurance run was tacked on in the 7th to help.  Javy Vasquez cruised from the 4th on, retiring 16 of the next 17 batters, and getting the complete game.

Torto wins 6-3

WP - J.Vasquez;  LP - J.Santana

HRs - J.Werth (11)

Player of the Game - J.Vasquez 9 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 14K, 3 ER, CG

Game 2:  A.Harang at C.Billingsley

A pitchers duel this time around, with both Harang and C-Bill going 8 frames deep.  I got on the board first scoring the ole Skippy Schu on a 2-out RBI single from the KF Panda.  Keith tied it up in the 3rd on a Andrew McCutchen solo shot.  I took the lead back on a solo dinger from a 'D-power' deep drive from Pedro Feliz (courtesy of the plus-40' carry at Coors Field).  Top of the 7th, Keith tied it again on a Harang sac bunt RBI.  Bottom of the 9th drama here folks - The Toddfather led off the inning with a single, and Sandoval singled Helton over to 2nd.  Werth grounded out (killing them) softly, but moved the runners over.  Angel Pagan dragged a bunt, but Keith was ready and and got the lead out, gunning down Helton at the plate.  With 2-outs and men on the corners, The Righteous Randy Winn stepped up and slapped a game-winning single to walk the game off.

Torto wins 3-2

WP - G.Mota; LP - J.Bellisario

HRs - A.McCutchen, P.Feliz (2) 

Player of the Game - Randy Winn 1-3 with GW RBI single

Game 3: B.Arroyo at R.Dempster

Runs all over the place in this one. Dempster finally came off the DL, and it was clear it was rushed.  Keith jumped out big, getting 9 runs in the first 6 innings, in part from a 2-run HR from Yadier Molina, and several RBI-singles from Brendan Ryan and Hunter Pence.  I got a couple back in the 3rd on a Toddfather RBI groundout double play, followed by Panda solo HR.  Werth cut the lead to 9-3 in the bottom of the 6th on a RBI-double, but things seemed grim after the 7th inning stretch. But then Arroyo got into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh giving up 4 runs. Koko Kordero came in to deal with the remaining base runners and got Keith out of the 7th, with a 9-7 lead. After that, Koko had little interest in getting batters out.  In the 8th, he gave up 4 consecutive singles, then walked the next batter. That was it for Koko, but the damage was done, and the lead was yielded,  10-9 Torto.  Huston Street made it interesting in the top of the ninth, yielding 2 singles after retiring Pujols and Zimmerman, before striking out Ibanez to close out the win.

Torto wins 10-9

WP - G.Mota; LP - F.Cordero; S - H.Street

HRs - P.Sandoval (11), Y.Molina

Player of the Game - P.Sandoval 2-3 w/ HR, 2 RBI, 2 BB

Torto take series 3-0

Series MVP - Jason Werth 5-12 w/ HR, 2 2Bs, 6 RBI 

Overall a very tightly contested series, but with Keith just seeming to come up short in the close games.  Pujols got his hits, but was kept in check due to his teammates not setting the table for him.