KANSAS CITY — The Kansas City Royals are heading to the Federal League Championship Series, and they did it with the most fitting ending possible: pitching, defense, and just enough offense. In a soggy, tension-filled Game 6 at Royals Stadium, Denny Neagle delivered the performance of his life—eight shutout innings, scattering five hits and striking out eight—as Kansas City edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 1–0 to take the Division Series, 4...
CINCINNATI — With their season on the line, the Cincinnati Reds turned to right-hander Joey Hamilton, and he delivered. In front of a roaring crowd at Riverfront Stadium, Hamilton threw eight innings of two-run ball, steadying the Reds in a high-stakes elimination game and guiding Cincinnati to a 4–2 victory over the Chicago Cubs. The win evens the Division Series at three games apiece, setting up a decisive Game 7. “We just needed to...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Baseball fans are no strangers to hyperbole in October. Every big moment is the greatest ever, every misstep a catastrophe. But in the aftermath of Mike Stanley’s improbable grand slam to eliminate the 110-win Montreal Expos, Senators fans have turned their awe into action—with a petition to immortalize the moment in bronze and granite. Yes, really. As of this morning, over 18,000 fans have digitally signed a petition...
The Montreal Expos came into the postseason as the class of the United League. Winners of 110 games. First in OBP. First in bullpen ERA. Pedro Martinez punched out a record-breaking 403 batters, blowing past Randy Johnson’s single-season mark like it was batting practice. They were deep, balanced, dangerous. And they’re done. Out in five games. Again. This time, at the hands of the Washington Senators — a wildcard team with a bullpen in...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — You couldn’t script it much better: two head-to-head showdowns with the best pitcher in baseball, and two complete-game shutouts to send your team to the League Championship Series. That’s what John Burkett just delivered. In a span of seven days, the 30-year-old right-hander beat Pedro Martinez twice, blanked the 110-win Montreal Expos in two must-win games, and stacked those gems on top of a playoff-clinching shutout...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — If you’re looking for poetic justice in baseball, look no further than the bottom of the fourth inning at RFK Stadium. Two outs. Bases loaded. Pedro Martinez on the mound. And Mike Stanley—veteran catcher, mid-series trade bait, clubhouse rock—at the plate. What happened next won’t be forgotten in Washington anytime soon. Stanley turned on an 0-1 fastball and launched it deep into the night, a no-doubt grand slam...
Royals 7, Pirates 1 – Kansas City Seizes Control Behind Kevin Brown’s Gem Game 5 was about tone-setting—and Kevin Brown set it early. With the series tied 2–2, the Royals right-hander delivered a complete-game gem in Pittsburgh, scattering 9 hits while allowing just one run and striking out 7. Brown's performance handed Kansas City a commanding 3–2 series lead and quieted a sold-out Three Rivers Stadium crowd. A first-inning homer by...
Giants 8, Mets 5 (10 innings) – Series tied 2–2Moises Alou put the San Francisco Giants on his back and slugged them right back into the Division Series. Facing elimination energy in hostile Shea Stadium, Alou crushed two home runs—including a 3-run bomb in the 10th—to lead the Giants past the Mets, 8–5. Alou finished the night with 7 RBIs, a new UL playoff extra-inning record, driving in runs with a sac fly, a 3-run blast in the 6th,...
MONTREAL — Three games into the Division Series, the Montreal Expos find themselves in an all-too-familiar position: staring down the weight of expectation, legacy, and collapse. The numbers on the scoreboard don’t lie.Senators 2, Expos 1.Washington—chaotic, unpolished, borderline self-sabotaging—holds the series lead. Montreal—110 wins strong, sabermetrically beautiful, built for this moment—is trailing. If Game 1 was a gut punch,...
In a postseason already defined by contradictions, the Washington Senators have added another layer of confusion to their October narrative. Just hours after taking a 2-1 series lead over the Montreal Expos—on the road, no less—the organization’s leadership doubled down on its puzzling mid-series trade drama. When questioned about the public posting of veteran catcher Mike Stanley on the trade block during an active playoff run, the...