Artisans take ACL pennant with 7-5 win

Seaview scores three in seventh to take control

Pasco, Wash. — The Seaview Artisans won the American Century League pennant with a 7-5 win over the Tri-Cities Atoms, surviving a Jekyl-and-Hyde performance by Randy Johnson to beat the Big Unit and sweep to victory in the first two games of their best-of-three playoff. Seaview will take on Fremont in the first game of the World Series on Friday.

Lou Gehrig singled in the go-ahead run as Seaview scored three in the seventh to take the lead, and Artisan relief pitchers Ed Rommell and Sherry Smith checked Fremont without a hit over the final five innings.

The Atoms grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Bernie Williams, playing for the first time in a week after turning his ankle in a late-season contest, led off with a single against Carl Mays, raced to third on a base hit by Roberto Alomar, and scored on a fly ball to center by Ken Griffey, Jr.

That looked like enough for Johnson, who was virtually lights out in the first three innings, recording eight of his first nine outs on strikeouts. But Mickey Cochrane tied the score with a leadoff homer in the fourth, and Babe Ruth, who beat the Atoms with an 12th-inning grand slam in game one, connected for a back-to-backer to put Seaview up 2-1. It could have been more. After an out, Al Simmons and Tony Lazzeri singled. Willie Kamm reached on an error by Alomar to load the bases. But Joe Sewell, attempting a suicide squeeze bunt, tapped the ball right back to Johnson, who turned it into a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.

Tri-Cities immediately answered with four in the fourth to go up 5-2, with the help of some sloppy fielding by Harry Heilmann. Griffey led off the inning with a walk. Frank Thomas followed with a single, and when Heilmann muffed the ball in left field, Griffey went to third and Thomas advanced to second. Albert Belle grounded a single up the middle, scoring Griffey with the tying run. Edgar Martinez struck out looking, but Ivan Rodriguez followed with a double over the head of Simmons in center, scoring both Thomas and Belle. Light-hitting Omar Vizquel followed with a line drive single to right; Rodriguez, running all the way, was thrown out at the plate by Ruth. With two out the the pitcher batting, Seaview appeared to be out of the inning. But Johnson dunked a single into left field, Heilmann again booted the ball, and Vizquel raced all the way around from first to score.

Seaview came right back against Johnson. Jimmy Dykes, batting for Mays, led off the fifth with a double to right center. After Heilmann and Cochrane fanned, Ruth drilled a single to right, Dykes coming in to score. Lou Gehrig clubbed a double to right center, Ruth scoring. Simmons lashed a single to left, but Belle returned the favor from the previous inning and nailed Gehrig at the plate to end the rally and preserve a 5-4 lead for Tri-Cities.

Johnson seemed to settle down, logging a couple of strikeouts in a 1-2-3 sixth, but came undone in the seventh. Heilmann, making up for his two errors, slugged a one-out homer to knot the score at five. Cochrane and Ruth worked the Unit for walks, and Tri-Cities skipper Mike Hargrove decided his pitcher was done, going to his vaunted bullpen to get Jeff Montgomery to face Gehrig. The Iron Horse, though, came through with a single to right, and Cochrane scored the go-ahead run. Simmons walked to load the bases. Lazzeri followed with a wicked shot down the third base line; Martinez was able to knock it down, but his only play was to get up and tag third for the second out on Gehrig, while Ruth scored the game's final run to make it 7-5.

Rommell got the win for the second straight game, and Smith notched a save with three shutout innings. Smith retired nine of the 10 batters he faced, allowing just a two-out walk to Thomas in the eighth.

After a day off, the World Series will begin Oct. 12 at Seaview, with the Artisans hosting NCL champion Fremont.

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