Monday, October 31, 2016

Standings AM, Monday, 2 May 2005












Toronto went 7-0 this week, thanks in part to some stingy pitching. The Braves are leading the way in scoring runs, while Cincinnati shows the best balance between attack and defence.

Stars of the Week, 25 April-1 May 2005

Batting Stars (minimum of 18 PA)
Highest Batting Average: Juan Pierre, MIL  .455
Most Home Runs: Alfonso Soriano, CIN 4
Most RBI: Mark Ellis, ATL, and Bret Boone DET tied with 8
Most Stolen Bases: Juan Pierre, MIL, 5
Most Runs Created: Mark Ellis, Atl, 9.2

Pitching Stars (Minimum of 6 IP)
Most Wins: Roy Halladay, TOR, and Doug Waechter, DET, 2
Most Strikeouts: John Lackey, WAS, 14

Sunday, October 30, 2016

Box Score Roundup, 26-28 April 2005

Here is a selection of box scores showing some of the more interesting games played between 25 April and 1 May.

In the first game, the Braves came from a run down to win through a home run in the top of the ninth, and a shutdown inning from Justin Speier. Johan Santana's ten-strikeout performance was overshadowed by the late-inning dramatics.

4/26/2005, Atl05-Flo05, Dolphins Stadium

                     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Braves          0  0  1  3  0  0  0  1  1     6 11  0     7  2
2005 Marlins         2  0  0  3  0  0  0  0  0     5  7  0     3  1

Braves         AB  R  H BI   AVG    Marlins        AB  R  H BI   AVG
Tejada      ss  4  0  1  0  .500    Suzuki      rf  4  1  1  0  .308
Ellis       2b  5  0  2  1  .364    Jones,C     3b  3  1  1  2  .208
Jones,A     cf  5  1  1  1  .370    Giles       2b  3  0  0  0  .217
Bagwell     1b  3  0  1  0  .304     Cordero    p   0  0  0  0  .000
 Figgins    pr  0  1  0  0  .500    Millar      1b  4  0  1  0  .286
 LeCroy     1b  1  0  0  0  .400     Lopez      pr  0  0  0  0 1.000
Posada      c   3  1  0  0  .217    Griffey     lf  4  0  0  0  .100
Hidalgo     rf  4  1  2  0  .174    Lieberthal  c   4  1  1  0  .280
Giles       lf  4  2  3  3  .429    Reed        cf  4  1  1  0  .267
Ensberg     3b  4  0  1  1  .450    Greene      ss  4  1  2  3  .158
Wakefield   p   2  0  0  0  .000    Santana     p   2  0  0  0  .000
 Blake      ph  1  0  0  0  .000     Eischen    p   0  0  0  0  .000
 Speier     p   1  0  0  0  .000     Lopez,F    ph  0  0  0  0  .333
               37  6 11  6           Harden     p   0  0  0  0  .000
                                     Sweeney    1b  0  0  0  0  .263
                                                   32  5  7  5

Braves                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Wakefield                        6.0  6  5  5  2  5 111  68  6.23
Speier           W 1-0           3.0  1  0  0  1  1  43  25  0.00
                                 9.0  7  5  5  3  6 154  93 

Marlins                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Santana                          6.2  8  4  4  1 10 112  71  5.40
Eischen          H 2             0.1  0  0  0  0  1   7   4  0.00
Harden           BS 1            1.0  2  1  1  2  1  29  17  1.29
Cordero          L 0-1           1.0  1  1  1  0  1  16  11  4.50
                                 9.0 11  6  6  3 13 164 103 

Atl: Blake batted for Wakefield in the 7th
     Figgins ran for Bagwell in the 8th
     LeCroy inserted at 1b in the 8th
Flo: Lopez,F batted for Eischen in the 7th
     Lopez ran for Millar in the 8th
     Lopez moved to 2b in the 9th
     Sweeney inserted at 1b in the 9th

3B-Giles. HR-Jones,A(6), Jones,C(2), Greene(1). K-Tejada, Ellis, Jones,A 2, Bagwell 2, Posada 2, Ensberg 2, Wakefield, Blake, LeCroy, Giles, Millar, Lieberthal, Reed 3. BB-Tejada, Bagwell, Posada, Jones,C, Giles, Lopez,F. GWRBI: Jones,A
Casey Blake was ejected from this game for arguing a called strike.

In the second game, the Braves came from behind again, as a suicide squeeze by Morgan Ensberg allowed Andruw Jones to score from third in the top of the ninth. 

4/27/2005, Atl05-Flo05, Dolphins Stadium

                     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Braves          0  0  0  1  0  0  0  2  1     4  2  0     4  1
2005 Marlins         2  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0     3  6  1    10  1

Braves         AB  R  H BI   AVG    Marlins        AB  R  H BI   AVG
Tejada       ss  4  0  1  2  .469   Suzuki      rf  5  0  1  0  .290
Hidalgo      rf  3  0  0  0  .154   Jones,C     3b  4  1  1  0  .214
 LeCroy      ph  1  0  0  0  .333   Giles       2b  4  0  0  0  .185
 Figgins     lf  0  0  0  0  .500   Griffey     lf  5  1  1  2  .120
Giles        lf  4  1  1  1  .400   Roberts     cf  3  1  1  0  .143
Jones,A      cf  2  1  0  0  .345   Lieberthal  c   2  0  2  1  .333
Bagwell      1b  3  0  0  0  .269    Reed       pr  0  0  0  0  .267
 Choate      p   0  0  0  0  .000    Bennett    c   0  0  0  0  .000
 Kim,B       p   1  0  0  0  .000   Millar      1b  3  0  0  0  .235
Ellis        2b  2  0  0  0  .333    Harden     p   0  0  0  0  .000
Ensberg      3b  2  0  0  1  .409   Lopez,F     ss  2  0  0  0  .200
Moeller      c   3  1  0  0  .000   Weaver      p   3  0  0  0  .000
 McDonald    ph  1  0  0  0  .000    Crain      p   0  0  0  0  .000
 Posada      c   0  0  0  0  .217    Sherrill   p   0  0  0  0  .000
Lopez,R      p   2  0  0  0  .000    Sweeney    ph  1  0  0  0  .250
 Schoeneweis p   0  0  0  0  .000                  32  3  6  3
 Blake       1b  0  1  0  0  .000
                28  4  2  4

Braves                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Lopez,R                          5.0  5  3  3  4  3 100  60  7.45
Schoeneweis                      1.0  0  0  0  0  1  13   7  5.79
Choate                           1.2  0  0  0  1  0  24  13  2.45
Kim,B            W 1-0           1.1  1  0  0  2  1  24  11  1.59
                                 9.0  6  3  3  7  5 161  91 

Marlins                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Weaver                           7.2  1  2  2  3  6 111  67  6.75
Crain            BS 1            0.0  1  1  1  0  0   5   3  3.86
Sherrill                         0.1  0  0  0  0  1   5   3  6.75
Harden           L 0-1           1.0  0  1  0  2  0  21  11  1.13
                                 9.0  2  4  3  5  7 142  84 

Atl: Blake inserted at 1b in the 7th
     LeCroy batted for Hidalgo in the 8th
     Figgins inserted at lf in the 8th
     Giles moved to rf in the 8th
     McDonald batted for Moeller in the 9th
     Posada inserted at c in the 9th
Flo: Reed ran for Lieberthal in the 8th
     Sweeney batted for Sherrill in the 8th
     Bennett inserted at c in the 9th
     Sweeney moved to 1b in the 9th

E-Harden. 2B-Tejada. HR-Giles(1), Griffey(1). SB-Roberts(2). 
K-Hidalgo, Giles, Bagwell 2, Ellis, Moeller, LeCroy, Giles 2, Roberts, Weaver 2. BB-Jones,A 2, Ellis 2, Ensberg, Jones,C, Giles, Roberts, Lieberthal, Millar, Lopez,F 2. SH-Ensberg. HBP-Blake, Lieberthal. HB-Lopez,R, Crain. 
WP-Lopez,R 2, Kim,B 2. GWRBI: Ensberg

In this game, Cleveland came from behind to send the home crowd away happy over cross-state rivals Cincinnati. Cincinnati's offense was powered by two home runs from Alfonso Soriano. Cleveland, however, took advantage of a Larry Walker error that put Todd Helton on base in the eighth inning. Brad Lidge took over the pitching for Cincinnati, and Jay Payton hit a home run to tie up the game. In the ninth, Bernie Williams singled with the bases loaded to win it.   

4/28/2005, Cin05-Cle05, Jacobs Field

                     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Cincinnati      0  1  0  1  0  1  0  0  0     3  6  4     4  1
2005 Cleveland       0  0  0  0  1  0  0  2  1     4 10  0    10  1

Cincinnati     AB  R  H BI   AVG    Cleveland      AB  R  H BI   AVG
Mueller     3b  4  0  0  0  .276    Kendall     c   5  0  1  1  .280
Jeter       ss  4  0  0  0  .242    Vidro       2b  4  0  1  0  .208
Ford        cf  4  1  1  0  .364    Williams    cf  5  0  2  1  .310
Dunn        1b  4  0  1  0  .346    Helton      1b  4  1  0  0  .080
Walker      rf  4  0  0  1  .184    Payton      lf  4  1  1  2  .174
Soriano     2b  4  2  3  2  .243    Green,S     rf  4  0  1  0  .120
Mauer       c   2  0  1  0  .292    Cuddyer     3b  4  0  0  0  .000
 Freel      ph  1  0  0  0  .400    Eckstein    ss  4  2  3  0  .296
 Phillips   c   0  0  0  0  .143    Millwood    p   1  0  0  0  .000
Burrell     lf  3  0  0  0  .000     Graves     p   0  0  0  0  .000
Willis      p   2  0  0  0  .400     Carroll    ph  1  0  1  0  .167
 Lidge      p   0  0  0  0  .000     White      p   0  0  0  0  .000
               32  3  6  3           Stinnett   ph  1  0  0  0  .250
                                     Flores     p   0  0  0  0  .000
                                     Amezaga    ph  0  0  0  0  .000
                                                   37  4 10  4

Cincinnati                       INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Willis                           7.2  6  2  1  0  5 118  77  1.08
Lidge            BS 1, L 0-1     0.2  4  2  1  1  1  26  18  5.40
                                 8.1 10  4  2  1  6 144  95 

Cleveland                        INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Millwood                         3.0  1  1  1  2  2  47  26  2.70
Graves                           2.0  3  1  1  0  2  24  17  2.70
White                            2.0  2  1  1  0  2  31  23  4.50
Flores           W 1-0           2.0  0  0  0  0  0  21  13  0.00
                                 9.0  6  3  3  2  6 123  79 

Cin: Freel batted for Mauer in the 9th
     Phillips inserted at c in the 9th
Cle: Carroll batted for Graves in the 5th
     Stinnett batted for White in the 7th
     Amezaga batted for Flores in the 9th

E-Jeter, Dunn, Walker, Soriano. 2B-Ford, Williams, Eckstein. 
HR-Soriano 2(4), Payton(1). SB-Willis(1). K-Jeter, Dunn, Burrell 2, Willis 2, Vidro, Helton, Green,S 2, Cuddyer, Millwood. 
BB-Mauer, Willis, Vidro. SH-Amezaga. WP-White. GWRBI: Williams

The last game is noteworthy for individual accomplishment rather than any late-inning dramatics. The Tigers' Bret Boone drove in all seven of his team's runs, as well as scoring two. In the first inning, Boone's double scored Alex Rodriguez from first. In the fourth inning, he homered, driving in John Buck and Rodriguez. In the sixth-inning, he hit a second three-run homer with Torii Hunter and Rodriguez (again!) on. Outstanding! Despite all the action, his batting average remained below the Mendoza Line. 

4/28/2005, Det05-Mil05, Miller Park

                     1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Tigers          1  0  0  3  0  3  0  0  0     7  9  2     9  1
2005 Milwaukee       1  0  0  1  2  0  1  0  0     5 12  1    14  0
 
Tigers         AB  R  H BI   AVG    Milwaukee      AB  R  H BI   AVG
Rodriguez,A ss  3  3  0  0  .367    Uribe       ss  6  1  3  1  .148
Boone       2b  5  2  3  7  .188    Wilkerson   lf  3  0  0  0  .172
Pujols      1b  4  0  0  0  .250    Loretta     2b  5  0  2  0  .133
Klesko      lf  3  0  0  0  .182    Thome       1b  4  1  1  1  .036
Monroe      rf  4  0  2  0  .308    Mench       rf  5  1  1  0  .357
Blalock     3b  3  0  0  0  .286    Molina,B    c   3  1  2  0  .333
 Waechter   p   1  0  0  0  .333    Lamb        3b  4  0  0  1  .125
 Betancourt p   0  0  0  0  .000     Miller     p   0  0  0  0  .000
Hunter      cf  5  1  1  0  .407    Pierre      cf  4  1  1  0  .290
Buck        c   4  1  2  0  .214    Francis     p   1  0  1  1  .500
Maroth      p   1  0  1  0 1.000     Gonzalez   p   0  0  0  0  .000
 Hall       3b  2  0  0  0  .000     Menechino  ph  1  0  1  1  .200
               35  7  9  7           Reed,S     p   0  0  0  0  .000
                                     Scutaro    3b  1  0  0  0  .125
                                                   37  5 12  5
 
Tigers                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Maroth                           4.1  6  4  2  5  3 104  58 10.50
Waechter         W 1-0           2.0  4  1  0  0  1  33  25  2.25
Betancourt       S 1             2.2  2  0  0  0  4  49  31  0.00
                                 9.0 12  5  2  5  8 186 114 
 
Milwaukee                        INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Francis          L 0-2           5.2  7  7  6  4  5 101  58 10.24
Gonzalez                         1.1  1  0  0  0  0  14  10  0.00
Reed,S                           1.0  1  0  0  0  1  19  15  7.50
Miller                           1.0  0  0  0  1  1  13   8  3.38
                                 9.0  9  7  6  5  7 147  91 
 
Det: Hall inserted at 3b in the 5th
Mil: Menechino batted for Gonzalez in the 7th
     Scutaro inserted at 3b in the 9th
 
E-Rodriguez,A, Waechter, Uribe. 2B-Boone, Uribe, Francis. 
HR-Boone 2(2). SB-Hunter(6), Pierre(4). K-Pujols, Monroe, Blalock 2, Buck 2, Hall, Uribe 2, Wilkerson 2, Loretta, Thome, Molina,B, Lamb. 
BB-Rodriguez,A 2, Klesko 2, Monroe, Wilkerson, Thome, Molina,B 2, Pierre. SH-Maroth, Betancourt, Francis. SF-Lamb, Francis. 
HBP-Pujols, Wilkerson. HB-Maroth, Reed,S. GWRBI: Boone

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Games of 25 April 2005

BOX SCORE OF THE DAY, 25 April 2005
Halladay stole a base!
Tor05-Cle05, game 1, Jacobs Field

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Toronto          0  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  1     3  7  0     7  0
2005 Cleveland        0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0     1  7  0     6  1

Toronto      AB  R  H BI   AVG     Cleveland       AB  R  H BI   AVG
Young,M   ss  3  0  1  0  .273     Kendall      c   4  1  1  0  .357
 Furcal   ss  1  0  0  0  .000     Vidro        2b  4  0  1  0  .200
Durham    2b  4  0  0  0  .000     Williams     cf  3  0  1  1  .308
Wright    3b  4  0  1  0  .333     Helton       1b  4  0  0  0  .000
Lee       lf  4  0  1  0  .167     Green,S      rf  4  0  0  0  .091
Johnson   1b  2  2  0  0  .300     Eckstein     ss  4  0  3  0  .333
Wilson,C  rf  4  0  0  0  .000     Cuddyer      3b  4  0  0  0  .000
 Rios     rf  0  0  0  0  .000     Payton       lf  3  0  1  0  .100
Barrett   c   4  1  3  2  .500     Millwood     p   2  0  0  0  .000
Sizemore  cf  2  0  0  0  .222      Carroll     ph  1  0  0  0  .000
Halladay  p   4  0  1  1  .167      Kolb        p   0  0  0  0  .000
             32  3  7  3            Tavarez     p   0  0  0  0  .000
                                                   33  1  7  1

Toronto                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Halladay         W 1-0           9.0  7  1  1  0  5 110  77  1.13
                                 9.0  7  1  1  0  5 110  77 

Cleveland                        INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Millwood         L 0-1           7.0  3  2  2  3  6 105  64  2.57
Kolb                             1.2  4  1  1  2  0  35  20  6.75
Tavarez                          0.1  0  0  0  0  1   5   3  0.00
                                 9.0  7  3  3  5  7 145  87 

Tor: Furcal inserted at ss in the 8th
     Rios inserted at rf in the 9th
Cle: Carroll batted for Millwood in the 7th

2B-Wright. HR-Barrett(3). SB-Halladay(1), Eckstein(1). CS-Lee. K-Young,M, Johnson, Wilson,C 3, Halladay, Furcal, Williams, Helton, Green,S, Cuddyer 2. 
BB-Young,M, Johnson 2, Sizemore 2. SF-Williams. 
GWRBI: Barrett

Tor05-Cle05, game 2, Jacobs Field

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Toronto          1  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1     3 10  1     7  2
2005 Cleveland        1  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0     1  6  0     5  1

SP: Sheets (2-0)
LP Buehrle (0-1) 

HR TOR- Wright(1). 

Was05-Bal05, Camden Yard

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Senators         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  0     2  7  0     7  0
2005 Orioles          0  0  0  0  0  4  0  0  x     4  8  0     5  0

WP Brown  (1-0)          
LP: Lackey (0-1)
Sv Batista (3)  

2B BAL - Gonzalez,L, Lee, D., Lowell, Cintron. 

Bos05-Flo05, Dolphins Stadium

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Red Stockings    1  0  0  0  0  0  2  1  1     5 10  2     6  1
2005 Marlins          2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0     2  5  0     8  1

WP: Smoltz  (2-0)      
LP: Lawrence (1-1)
Sv: Nathan (3)

2B BOS - Edmonds, Teixeira. FLA - Sweeney. 
HR BOS - Teixeira 2(2). 

NYH05-Atl05, Turner Field

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Highlanders      3  0  2  1  0  0  0  0  1     7  8  1    11  2
2005 Braves           0  2  0  0  1  0  1  1  0     5  8  3     8  0

WP: Contreras (1-0)
LP: Kazmir  (0-1)
Sv: Isringhausen (1)    

2B NYH - Anderson. ATL - Hidalgo. 
3B ATL - Tejada. 
HR NYH - V. Wells(3). 

Two make-up games between Toronto and Cleveland, and then the rest of the schedule. 

Standings at the end of Week One, 2005

Weekly Standings, as of AM 25 April 2005









Rain badly affected the Toronto vs Cleveland series, leaving both teams with fewer games played than the rest of the league. 

Montreal and Atlanta have got off to good starts with the bat, while Cincinnati and Boston are finding an advantage through pitching. (Although the Reds are no slouches with the bat.)

2005 Season, Day 2

4/19/2005, Mon05-Cle05, Jacobs Field

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Ours             0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  0     1  8  0    12  1
2005 Cleveland        1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0  x     2  4  0     4  0

WP: Livan Hernandez (1-0)
LP: Carlos Zambrano (0-1)  
Sv: Eddie Guardado (1)

2B-Mora, Cabrera (MON). 
HR-Green,S (1) (CLE).

NYH05-Det05, Comerica Park

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Highlanders      0  1  1  1  0  0  0  0  0     3  7  1     9  1
2005 Tigers           0  3  0  1  0  0  0  0  x     4  6  0     5  0

WP: Jason Schmidt (1-0)
LP: AJ Burnett (0-1)
Sv Billy Wagner (1) 

2B-Kent (NYH), Rodriguez,A (DET)

BOX SCORE OF THE DAY

A homerriffic encounter at Turner Field saw the Braves score 5 runs in the bottom of the eighth to overturn a 6-3 Oriole lead.

Bal05-Atl05, Turner Field

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Orioles          0  0  0  3  1  0  0  2  0     6  9  0     3  0
2005 Braves           1  1  0  0  0  1  0  5  x     8 15  1    11  2

Orioles      AB  R  H BI   AVG      Braves         AB  R  H BI   AVG
Rodriguez  c   4  0  1  0  .250    Tejada      ss  4  2  2  5  .500
Gonzalez,L lf  4  0  1  0  .250    Hidalgo     rf  3  0  0  0  .000
Lee        1b  4  2  2  1  .500     McDonald   pr  0  1  0  0  .000
Sosa       rf  3  1  1  0  .333    Blake       rf  0  0  0  0  .000
 Betemit   ph  1  0  0  0  .000    Jones,A     cf  5  1  2  3  .400
 Marrero   cf  0  0  0  0  .000    Bagwell     1b  4  0  1  0  .250
Wilson     cf  3  2  2  2  .667    Posada      c   5  0  4  0  .800
 Mota      p   0  0  0  0  .000    Giles       lf  4  0  1  0  .250
Lowell     3b  4  0  0  0  .000    Ellis       2b  4  1  1  0  .250
Hudson     2b  3  1  0  0  .000     Vizcaino   p   0  0  0  0  .000
Cintron    ss  4  0  1  3  .250     LeCroy     ph  1  0  0  0  .000
Brown      p   3  0  1  0  .333     Kim,B      p   0  0  0  0  .000
 Tadano    p   0  0  0  0  .000    Ensberg     3b  4  2  4  0 1.000
 Lane      rf  1  0  0  0  .000    Wakefield   p   2  0  0  0  .000
              34  6  9  6           Figgins    2b  0  1  0  0  .000
                                                  36  8 15  8

Orioles                          INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Brown                            6.1 11  3  3  2  4 120  74  4.26
Tadano           BS 1            0.2  2  3  3  2  0  28  12 40.50
Mota             L 0-1           1.0  2  2  2  1  1  17   9 18.00
                                 8.0 15  8  8  5  5 165  95 

Braves                           INN  H  R ER BB  K PCH STR   ERA
Wakefield                        7.0  6  4  4  2  6 128  77  5.14
Vizcaino         W 1-0           1.0  3  2  2  0  0  21  12 18.00
Kim,B            S 1             1.0  0  0  0  0  0  10   6  0.00
                                 9.0  9  6  6  2  6 159  95 

Bal: Betemit batted for Sosa in the 8th
     Marrero inserted at cf in the 8th
     Wilson moved to rf in the 8th
     Lane inserted at rf in the 8th
Atl: Figgins inserted at 2b in the 8th
     McDonald ran for Hidalgo in the 8th
     LeCroy batted for Vizcaino in the 8th
     Blake inserted at rf in the 9th

E-Posada. 2B-Tejada, Ensberg 3. 3B-Cintron. HR-Lee(1), Wilson(1), Tejada(1), 
Jones,A(1). K-Sosa 2, Wilson, Lowell, Hudson, Brown, Hidalgo, Jones,A, 
Bagwell, Wakefield, LeCroy. BB-Wilson, Hudson, Hidalgo 2, Bagwell, Giles, 
Figgins. SH-Wakefield. SF-Tejada. 
GWRBI: Jones,A

Bos05-Was05, RFK Stadium

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Red Stockings    0  2  1  0  0  0  0  0  1     4  5  0     4  0
2005 Senators         0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  0     1  2  1     2  0

WP: John Smoltz (1-0)
LP: Tim Hudson (0-1)
Sv: Joe Nathan (1)

3B- Reed Johnson 2 (WAS). 
HR-Guerrero(1), Edmonds(1) BOS. 

Tor05-Mil05, Miller Park

                      1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9     R  H  E   LOB DP
2005 Toronto          0  0  0  0  0  0  0  2  0     2  6  0     6  0
2005 Milwaukee        0  0  1  0  0  0  0  0  2     3  7  1     7  1

WP: Steve Reed (1-0)
LP: Juan Rincon (0-1)

2B-Pierre, Nixon. (MIL) 
3B-Nick Johnson (TOR). 

Opening Day 2005!

4/18/2005, Flo05-Cin05, Great American Ball Park
              1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13  R  H  E LOB DP
Marlins       0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  3  11 3  10  1
Cincinnati    0  0  2  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  4  13 2  15  1

WP: J. Walker (1-0)
LP: Shields (0-1)
Blown Save: Shields

HR-Soriano(1), CIN.
2B Reed FLA. Dunn, Mueller, DaVanon, Walker CIN.  
FE-Jones,C., Greene 2 FLA. Jeter, Mauer CIN.

The reigning champions visited Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati to open the 2005 season before a crowd of 42,271.

Randy Johnson started for the visiting Marlins, while the Reds sent Roy Oswalt to the mound. However, neither gained a decision in a game that went into extra innings. 

Knotted at two runs apiece, the top of the twelfth saw the Marlins mount a rally, as Ichiro Suzuki singled with two outs and stole second. Chipper Jones drove him in with a single. However, Scot Shields, on in relief for the Marlins, could not hold the lead as he gave up a lead-off home run to Alfonso Soriano.

The lead-off spot was a problem for Shields, who in the bottom of the thirteenth surrendered a double to the pitcher, Jamie Walker. Pinch-runner Maicer Izturis was driven in by Larry Walker's single in the next plate appearance to send the Reds' fans home happy. 

Scene-setting and Off-Season

The teams in the two divisions are:
Atlantic Division
Atlanta Braves
Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Stockings
Florida Marlins
New York Highlanders
Washington Senators

Quebec Division
Montreal Ours
Cincinnati Reds
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Milwaukee Brewers
Toronto Blue Jays

There was one blockbuster offseason trade, as follows:

MILWAUKEE traded Mark Bellhorn (if), Mike Koplove (p), Kirk Rueter (p) and Michael Young (ss) to TORONTO for Elmer Dessens (p), Jeff Francis (p), Freddy Garcia (p), Marco Scutaro (if) and Juan Uribe (3b).

(Trades are modelled on a previous baseball season. I align the teams according to won-lost records with those of a given year, say the 1976 National League, and then try to make deals between the 1976 teams work in the context of my 2005 drafted ones. So if a team trades its starting shortstop and gets back the other teams third starter, that's what I try to match. However, I also keep to real-life contracts, and free agency has a tendency to void some of the '1976 deals'.)

The biggest news coming out of spring training was that the Washington Senators saw their entire starting outfield -- Barry Bonds, Rocco Baldelli and Lance Berkman -- go down with injuries. They started the season with Michael Restovich, Alex Sanchez and Reed Johnson instead.