Game 133: LA's Randy Johnson strikes out 13, walks none, and pitches a complete-game 2-hitter to beat the Spectres, 3-1.

Game 134: Montreal evens the series with a 5-1 win behind Scott Erickson. Ken Griffey Jr. and Carlos Delgado hit home runs; Bret Boone drives in his 99th run.

Game 135: The Looters take the finale and the series with a 7-5 win, scoring five early runs off Omar Daal and getting four scoreless innings from their bullpen.

Now only three games ahead of the Looters, the Spectres head to Cincinnati to face the Stingers.

Game 136: Carlos Delgado homers twice and drives in five as the Spectres take the series opener 7-2. Chuck Finley throws a complete game for his eighth victory.

Game 137: Carlos Delgado blasts a three-run homer but Cincy gets the last laugh, winning in the ninth on Tyler Houston's two-run blast off Mike Remlinger.

Game 138: Carlos Delgado and Ken Griffey Jr. hit two homers each and the Spectres survive a shaky start by Dave Burba to win 12-7. Delgado hits five homers in the series and now has 38, with 116 RBI.

The Spectres head home where they await the evil 69ers.

Game 139: Scott Erickson cannot handle the Niner lineup, allowing seven runs before leaving in the fourth, and a late rally by Montreal falls short as Frisco takes the opener, 11-8.

Game 140: Jay Buhner hits a two-run pinch hit homer in the ninth to tie the score at six, but the Spectres can't finish the job; Robb Nen allows all three batters he faces in the 12th to reach base, Frisco scores twice and takes an 8-6 win.. Montreal's wild card lead is trimmed to a single game over LA.

Game 141: The Spectre bats wake up just in time to avoid being swept by hated Frisco, beating the Niners 12-4. Chuck Finley, having learned not to turn things over to the bullpen, tosses a complete game to even his record at 9-9.

Montreal will head to Milwaukee next, hoping for better luck on the road.

Game 142: Montreal draws 13 walks but gets only four hits and loses in Milwaukee, 5-4, when Rick Aguilera blows his third save of the season. The winner scores on a wild pitch.

Game 143: Geoff Jenkins has five hits, including three doubles and a homer, driving in seven runs, and the Spectres rally for five in the ninth to win a 17-13 slugfest in Milwaukee.

Game 144: Geoff Jenkins continues his hot hitting with four more hits and Ken Griffey Jr. launches his 44th home run as the Spectres beat Milwaukee 8-5 in the series finale.

The Spectres will return home to face Houston.

Game 145: Scott Erickson pitches seven shutout innings and Ken Griffey Jr. drives in three as the Spectres open the series with a 6-0 win over the Lone Stars.

Game 146: Omar Daal runs into trouble in the seventh and Mike Remlinger adds fuel to the fire, allowing RBI to the first three batters he faces. Houston wins 8-3 to even the series.

Game 147: Dustin Hermanson strikes out six and walks only one, throwing a complete game shutout to beat the Spectres 3-0.

Montreal will head to Wrigley to face the Central-leading Bootleggers before finishing the season with divisional play. The Spectres have a slim two-game lead on LA for the wild card spot.

Game 148: Montreal gets a decent performance from Kevlim Escobar but has their usual Wrigley luck on offense, managing only a solo home run from Brady Anderson in losing 5-1 to Todd Ritchie.

Game 149: Defense and bullpen cost the Spectres a big game as the Bootleggers rally from a 5-1 deficit for a 6-5 win, scoring three unearned runs in the process. Robb Nen takes the loss, his 10th of the season.

Game 150: The Spectres explode for 23 hits and 19 runs in a 15-run blowout. Geoff Jenkins has two homers, two doubles, and six RBI. Ken Griffey Jr. drives in two to reach 150 for the season. Scott Erickson gets the win and improves to 14-4.

Pittsburgh will be in town for four games to start the final stretch of divisional play.

Game 151: The opener is a slugfest; Montreal gets 2.1 scoreless innings from the bullpen and holds off the Melons, 11-7. Eddie Taubensee and Edgardo Alfonzo hit homers for the Spectres.

Game 152: Chuck Finley allows four unearned runs but the Spectres get three home runs, including a three-run shot by Tony Phillips, to beat the Melons 9-7.

Game 153: Pittsburgh puts seven runs on the board for the third straight game but Montreal gets three more homers and a second straight 9-7 victory.

Game 154: Geoff Jenkins homers and doubles, and the Spectres survive a three-run homer by Joe McEwing in the seventh to finish off the Melons, 4-3.

The New York Cosmos are in town next.

Game 155: Scott Erickson throws a complete game and gets plenty of support from the offense to win his 15th of the season, 9-2 over the Cosmos.

Game 156: Mike Remlinger blows a 6-5 lead in the eighth, but the Spectres storm back with four in the bottom half for a 10-7 win. Steve Gerano caps things off with a two run double.

Game 157: New York's Armando Reynosa, 3-16 on the season, comes within one out of a complete game as the Cosmos beat Montreal 5-3. The Spectres get home runs from Tony Phillips and Ken Griffey Jr. but little else.

Game 158: Carlos Delgado and Geoff Jenkins have three hits each, and the Cosmos' Antonio Alfonseca walks three batters in the seventh as the Spectres rally for a 7-5 win that clinches the wild card spot.

Montreal will close the season at Philadelphia.

the doctor prescribes rest

Baltimore ought to get plenty of it in the offseason.

our skis are packed

Game 159: Philly scores four in the third inning but the Spectres battle back and score two in the ninth to take a 6-5 lead. Rick Aguilera allows a two-out double to Jason Kendall in the bottom half but retires a pinch hitter to record his 36th save.

Game 160: With a couple of starters getting a day off, the Spectres have no hope against Mike Mussina, who generally dominates them without any extra help. Montreal strikes out 10 times and the Phillies beat Scott Erickson, 8-1.

Game 161: Julio Gambetta gets the start and allows five in the first. Montreal actually rallies to tie it in the second but Felix Rodriguez gets shelled in two innings of work and the Keystones romp to a 20-6 win.

Game 162: Chuck Finley pitches eight strong innings and gets home runs from Ken Griffey Jr. and Carlos Delgado to back him as the Spectres close the regular season with a 14-2 win over Philadelphia. Finley gets his 10th win. Griffey Jr. finishes the season with 49 homers and 166 RBI, Delgado with 44 and 142.

As wild card winners, the Spectres will face San Diego in the first round of the playoffs. San Diego won seven of 12 games against Montreal this season, and finished 101-61 overall.

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go sphinctres!

FIRST ROUND

Game 1, at San Diego

Omar Daal vs. John Smoltz

Both teams put plenty of men on base in the first four innings, but nobody scores. In the fifth, Montreal leadoff man Brady Anderson singles and then scores the game's first run ahead of Tony Phillips, who takes Smoltz deep.

Three hits in the sixth put the Conquistadors on the board, but Daal escapes allowing only one run. Bret Boone homers to lead off the eighth and the Spectres get scoreless innings from Mike Remlinger and Rick Aguilera to finish off a 3-1 victory.



Game 2, at San Diego

Scott Erickson vs. Omar Olivares

Armando Rios gets things going for San Diego, hitting a solo home run in the first inning. Olivares later makes it 2-0 with an RBI single. Daryl Hamilton drives in Jeff Kent in the sixth to make it a 3-0 game.

Montreal battles back, collecting three singles in the seventh to get on the board, then adding two more in the eighth to tie the score. In both innings they strand two runners.

Scott Karl shuts them down in the ninth and Bob Wickman starts the bottom of the ninth on the mound. After retiring Rios, he walks Alex Rodriguez, who steals second. He then walks Jason Giambi, prompting the entrance of Robb Nen. Nen strikes out Albert Belle for the second out, but Vinny Castilla ends it with an RBI double. San Diego wins 4-3 and ties the series at one game each.



Game 3, at Montreal

Darren Dreifort vs. Dave Burba

San Diego strikes first when Darren Dreifort leads off the third with a single and then scores one of two runs on Albert Belle's bases-loaded single. Brady Anderson gets one run back in the bottom half, hitting an inside-the-park homer that rejuvenates the crowd.

Alex Rodriguez quells the excitement with a homer in the fifth, but once again Brady Anderson cuts the lead to one, this time with a single that plates Eddie Taubensee.

Eddie Perez makes it a 4-2 game with a homer in the sixth. Kip Wells starts the seventh for San Diego, and walks consecutive batters, prompting another substitution, with Shawn Estes entering. Edgardo Alfonzo driving home a run. Ken Griffey Jr. walks to load the bases, but Carlos Delgado strikes out, leaving San Diego with a 4-3 lead.

In the eighth, Eddie Taubensee follows a walk to Geoff Jenkins with a double; pinch hitter Ken Caminiti's double drives both home and puts Montreal on top for the first time all day. Brady Anderson follows with a single to add an insurance run and Rick Aguilera retires a murderers row of Tony Gwynn, Alex Rodriguez, and Jason Giambi to earn the save.



Game 4, at Montreal

John Smoltz vs. Chuck Finley

The game starts slowly, still scoreless after three; two Conquistador errors in the fourth help the Spectres score three times to take the lead.

Alex Rodriguez leads off the sixth with a home run, but Edgardo Alfonzo answers with a three-run shot in the bottom of that inning. Eddie Perez homers in the seventh but the Spectres answer once again, getting an RBI single from Eddie Taubensee and a three-run shot from Brady Anderson to make it a 10-2 game. Montreal adds another run in the eighth and advances to the NL Championship Series with an 11-2 win.