The Miami Marlins are proving that their Tournament run isn’t a fluke. Entering the Tournament as the last-place seed in the National League, other teams have counted them out every step of the way. But they keep on winning. Carlos Delgado’s 2-run single put Miami up 2-0 before they had recorded their 1st out. By the end of the inning, the Marlins were up 4-0 against Jerry Koosman and the New York Mets. The Mets didn’t make it easy though. They chipped away at the lead, led by Mike Piazza’s two home runs. Josh Johnson left with a slim 6-5 lead in the 8th, but José Reyes hit a game-tying homer off Robb Nen. In the 9th, Gary Sheffield took Tug McGraw deep to put the Marlins back on top. Armando Benítez had a shaky 9th, but struck out Carlos Beltrán to pick up his 3rd save in as many games. The 7-6 victory makes Miami one of the final four Winner’s Bracket teams. The Mets will get a day off before facing their first test in the Loser’s Bracket.

Miami @ New York (N) – 10/3/23

The Seattle Mariners entered the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament seeded last in the American League, thanks to a last-place winning percentage ranking. They’ve now knocked off their 3rd straight opponent as they advance to become one of the final four Winner’s Bracket teams. Today, they beat Justin Verlander and the Detroit Tigers. Verlander walked Edgar Martinez and Alvin Davis to load the bases with 2 outs in the 3rd inning, and Ken Griffey Jr. followed with a 2-run double to get Seattle on the board. Álex Rodríguez added a 2-run single in the inning. Jay Buhner hit a 2-run shot in the 6th to put the Mariners up 6-0. Hisashi Iwakuma finally faltered in the 7th, allowing Detroit to cut the lead in half after Miguel Cabrera homered and Mickey Cochrane hit a 2-run single. But Bret Boone put the game away with a 3-run bomb off Jack Morris in the 8th. Kenji Johjima added a solo shot in the 9th to give the Mariners a 10-3 lead, and eventual win. Detroit will get a day off before facing elimination in the Loser’s Bracket.

Seattle @ Detroit – 10/3/23

In the longest game of the Tournament, San Diego starter Randy Jones and the Braves’ Warren Spahn battled to a 0-0 tie through 9 innings. In the 15th inning, facing John Smoltz, Ken Caminiti led off with his 6th single of the day. Two batters later, Adrián González drove him in with a double to score the game’s first run. Cito Gaston followed with an RBI single with 2 outs to give the Padres a 2-0 lead. Trevor Hoffman pitched a perfect inning to collect the save, as the #15 seeded San Diego Padres knocked the Atlanta Braves out of the Tournament. Heath Bell pitched a scoreless 14th inning to earn the win. Caminiti finished 6 for 7. González had a chance to put the Padres ahead in the 10th, but struck out with the bases loaded to end the inning.

San Diego @ Atlanta – 10/2/23

Milwaukee Brewers starter Ben Sheets allowed just 3 hits in 7 innings, but two of those hits were home runs. Overall, solo homers by Larry Walker, Matt Holliday, and Andrés Galarraga were enough to top the Milwaukee Brewers and advance in the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament. Jhoulys Chacín allowed 5 hits and walked 4 in 6 innings, but an RBI double by Don Money in the 2nd was the only Brewer run. In the 1st and 5th innings, Milwaukee loaded the bases with no outs but failed to plate a run each time. The Brewers stranded 10 runners in scoring position in the game. With the 3-1 win, Colorado will face the Pittsburgh Pirates tomorrow.

Colorado @ Milwaukee – 10/2/23

The Houston Astros turned to Roger Clemens to face his former team, the Boston Red Sox, and he delivered. Clemens allowed just 3 hits and 2 walks, shutting out Boston while striking out 8. Bobby Doerr hit a double in the 5th, marking the only time the Red Sox had a runner in scoring position. Pedro Martínez allowed 6 singles in 6 innings for Boston, but Houston was able to plate 3 runs. Richard Hidalgo was 2 for 4 with a run scored and an RBI to lead the Astros offense. Lance Berkman was also 2 for 4, scoring twice. The #2 Red Sox become the highest seeded team to exit the Tournament so far. The Red Sox will head home as the Astros host the Baltimore Orioles tomorrow.

Houston @ Boston – 10/2/23

With both teams facing elimination in the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament, the Tampa Bay Rays chased Rangers starter Yu Darvish after just 2 innings and didn’t let up the rest of the game. Darvish allowed 6 runs in his two innings. Reliever Kenny Rogers allowed another 5 runs in two more innings. When the game ended, the Rays advanced with a 13-3 win over the Texas Rangers. Evan Longoria was 4 for 4 with a walk, triple, and two solo home runs. Ben Zobrist was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and 3 RBI. James Shields allowed just 2 runs on 6 hits in 8 innings for Tampa Bay. The Rays will face Cleveland tomorrow.

Texas @ Tampa Bay – 10/2/23

Chicago Cubs starter Jake Arrieta struck out 10 Cincinnati Reds in just 6 1/3 inning. But the Reds refused to quit and came out on top 9-5. Arrieta took a 5-3 lead into the 7th when Joe Morgan’s RBI single scored Barry Larkin to cut the lead to 5-4. Carlos Mármol came in to hold the lead and promptly served up a go-ahead home run to Joey Votto. Frank Robinson and George Foster went back-to-back in the 9th off Fergie Jenkins to add some insurance runs. Reds starter Bucky Walters allowed 3 solo shots to Hack Wilson, Derrek Lee, and Billy Williams, in addition to two unearned runs, but still collected the win. Rob Dibble and Paul Derringer closed things out for the Reds, and the Cubs went quietly. In fact, 7 of the last 9 outs were strikeouts. Joe Morgan, Votto, Robinson, and Ernie Lombardi all had 2 RBI for Cincinnati. The Reds will host the Phillies tomorrow, while the Cubs head home 0-2.

Cincinnati @ Chicago (N) – 10/2/23

In what has become common in the last few games of the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament, the Washington Nationals and San Francisco Giants combined for just 7 hits. Mel Ott hit a 2-run home run in the 5th off Gio González that proved to be the difference. Other than back-to-back doubles in the 7th inning, Giants starter Carl Hubbell allowed just one other hit in 7 innings while striking out 6. Robb Nen pitched a perfect 8th, and Rod Beck a perfect 9th to pick up the save, as San Francisco advanced with the 3-1 win. Willie McCovey was the only player in the game to have 2 hits. McCovey was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Roger Bresnahan was 0 for 3 with a walk filling in for Barry Bonds, who hopes to return to the lineup tomorrow. The Giants entered the Tournament as the top-seeded National League team, but fell to Miami in round 1. They hope to work their way up through the Loser’s Bracket.

Washington @ San Francisco – 10/2/23

Zack Greinke held the Minnesota Twins to just one run on 5 hits in 7 innings as the Kansas City Royals advanced in the loser’s bracket of the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament with a 2-1 win. George Brett and John Mayberry had RBI singles in the 1st off Bert Blyleven for the only Royals runs, but it was all they needed. The only Minnesota run came on a 4th inning single from Joe Cronin. Chuck Knoblauch’s leadoff double in the 5th was the last Twins hit, as Joakim Soria and Greg Holland pitched a perfect 8th and 9th, respectively. Blyleven pitched well himself, also allowing just 5 hits, while striking out 8. Dick Hyde was amazing in relief, striking out 5 of the 6 Royal hitters he faced. Now the Twins head home while Kansas City advances to play the Chicago White Sox tomorrow.

Kansas City @ Minnesota – 10/2/23

After a shocking upset in the 1st round of the Baseball Maelstrom Tournament sent the New York Yankees to the loser’s bracket, Ron Guidry held the Yomiuri Giants in check for his team to survive another day. Guidry took a 2-hit shutout into the 8th inning before tiring and allowing 2 earned runs. Victor Starffin held the Yankees to just 2 runs, but New York bats finally came alive in the 7th. Lou Gehrig was 2 for 3 with 2 walks and 2 RBI to lead the offense. Tony Lazzeri added two RBI singles of his own during the game. Mariano Rivera allowed the game’s only home run to Yoshinobu Takahashi in the 9th, but still held on for the 5-3 Yankees victory. The Yomiuri Giants exit the tourney without a win.

Yomiuri @ New York (A) – 10/2/23