Game 59: With one out in the third, Brady Anderson walks, then steals second and third base. This seems to unnerve Philly starter Mike Mussina, and the Spectres collect five hits in the next six batter, tallying five runs for the inning and taking a 6-4 lead. Montreal adds two unearned runs in the next frame and then gets stellar relief pitching to hold off the Keystones for a 9-7 win.

Game 60: Pitching on three days' rest, Alex Fernandez is a little shaky, but he keeps the game close and Jay Buhner gives him his 11th win when he homers in the bottom of the eighth to break a 4-4 tie. Robb Nen allows only a two-out single in the ninth and the Spectres move into a tie (for now) with Philly for the divison lead.

Game 61: Montreal hits three home runs off Philly starter Ben McDonald, but the Keystone bullpen if far more effective than Montreal's on this day, and the Keystones win going away, 9-5.

Montreal heads to Pittsburgh to wrap up the second round of divisional competition.

Game 62: Montreal puts five crooked numbers on the board off a beleaguered B-Collar pitching staff and rolls to a 16-3 victory in the opener. Greg Gagne hits a pinch-hit three run double; Ken Griffey Jr. drives home four, and Ken Caminiti drives in three.

Game 63: Montreal has its usual performance against Sid Fernandez, which is to say: horrid. El Sid strikes out 10 while allowing only four baserunners during eight innings as the B-Collars shut out the Spectres, 5-0. Pittsburgh breaks open a close game with three runs off Bob Wickman.

Game 64: Montreal puts plenty of runners on base, but for the most part they stay there; B-Collar reliever Mike Oquist throws one inning, allows three hits and a walk, but no runs. Tied 3-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, Montreal gives Rick Aguilera a chance to send the game to extras. No such luck. Danny Tartabull greets Aguilera with a towering home run and Pittsburgh wins 4-3.

Luckily, the Cosmos defeated Philadelphia two times, so the Spectres remain only one game out of first. If we look at the wild card race, Montreal is tied with Houston. The Spectres have two games with the Patriot League New York team, the Diamonds, before facing Frisco.

Game 73: Houston takes the opener, 4-1, behind Bret Saberhagen, who strikes out 10 in six innings. Ken Griffey Jr. takes a golden sombrero (0-4, four strikeouts) and strands four runners. Montreal's only run comes on a home run by Carlos Delgado.

Game 74: Robb Nen picks a bad time for his second blown save, choking up a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the ninth. He also allows the first two batters in the tenth to reach base before being relieved by Dave Burba. No good. Houston wins it, 5-4. Montreal was lucky to even be in the game, having scored four times through the seventh with only one RBI.

Game 75: Montreal salvages the finale, 3-1, scoring twice in the seventh off Graeme Lloyd to give Alex Fernandez his 12th victory. The Spectres move back into a tie with Houston for the wild card spot, both teams just one game up on the Cosmos.

Montreal returns home to meet St. Louis (47-28).

Game 76: The Blue Storm's Mike Moore is wild, walking 10 batters in four innings, and the Spectres take appropriate advantage, parlaying nine hits into 11 runs in a series-opening 11-5 win. Scott Erickson, in contrast, displays unusual control, striking out nine batters, to pick up the win. Tony Phillips has two doubles, two walks, and five RBI. Eddie Murray is 0-5 with eight men on base.

Game 77: Montreal hits three homers in the fourth, wiping out a 2-0 deficit, but the Blue Storm rally and tie the score in the top of the seventh when Ray Lankford homers off Rick Aguilera. In the bottom of the inning, though, Montreal regains the lead on Eddie Murray's two-run triple. Robb Nen throws two scoreless innings for the save and the Spectres remain a game behind Philly.

Game 78: Joe Hesketh tosses six improbably strong innings, the bullpen pitches in with three scoreless frames, and the Spectres scratch their way to a 3-1 victory, finishing a very unlikely sweep of the Blue Storm. Brady Anderson hits his ninth home run.

Montreal will finish the first half with a trip to Los Angeles to face the 50-28 Looters.

Game 79: Chuck Finley is brilliant, allowing only four hits and no walks in eight innings. Leading 3-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, Montreal brings in Robb Nen to close things out. It doesn't work too well. Nen walks Jody Reed, allows a Mike Greenwell single, and then loses the game on a Mo Vaughn home run.

Game 80: Scott Erickson is crushed, allowing three in the first and two more in the second. The bullpen is untouchable thereafter, but the Spectres never catch up, dropping the game 5-2.

Game 81: Kevin Gross limits the Spectres to three hits and Alex Fernandez suffers his second loss of the season, surrendering three home runs to the Looters in a 4-3 decision. Montreal finishes the first half of the season with a 46-35 record, tied with Houston and the Cosmos for the wild card position, two games behind division leader Philadelphia.

Three Spectres make the NL All Star team: Alex Fernandez (12-2, 3.15 ERA), Robb Nen (1-4, 23 saves), and Ken Griffey Jr. (.320/.407/.621, 24 homers, 71 RBI). Six Spectres have hit 10 or more home runs; four have at least 50 RBI.

Montreal will start the second half reeling from a Looters sweep and with a visit from Cincinnati.

Game 82: Montreal gets 4.1 scoreless innings from their bullpen in the first game of the second half, and the offense gets home runs from Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Caminiti as the Spectres defeat Cincinnati 7-3.

Game 83: Montreal hits three home runs in the third, resulting in six runs, and the Spectres hold on for a 10-6 win. Joe Hesketh lasts through the fifth to pick up his sixth win. Ken Griffey Jr. goes yard for the second straight game.

Game 84: Brady Anderson caps a six-run sixth with a three-run home run, his 10th of the season, and the Spectres take the finale 8-5 behind Chuck Finley, who improves to 5-7.

Three interleague sets are up next, with Cleveland followed by Baltimore and Detroit.

Game 91: Montreal's nine-game winning streak comes to an end as the Conquistadors batter Alex Fernandez for seven runs, including Tino Martinez's 3-run homer in the seventh. The Spectres force San Diego to use four pitchers but fall short, 7-5.

Game 92: Ken Caminti picks a good time to join the 10-home run club; his seventh inning, three run shot breaks a 4-4 tie. Robb Nen allows two in the ninth but manages to finish the Conquistadors off for his 29th save.

Game 93: Montreal scores three in the first (two on Eddie Murray's double) and never looks back, going on to a 9-2 win. Jay Buhner has four hits; he and Ken Griffey Jr. score three times each. Joe Hesketh takes the win, improving to 8-2 on the season.

Montreal heads to Wrigley Field to face the Bootleggers.

Game 94: Montreal falls behind early, but Chuck Finley's fifth-inning single starts a three-run rally and Eddie Murray's two-run homer caps a four-run seventh as the Spectres rally for an 8-5 win. Finley improves to 6-7; Robb Nen gets his 30th save.

Game 95: Jay Buhner's grand slam in the seventh breaks a 3-3 tie, but Robb Nen suffers his fourth blown save (and fifth loss) when he allows four runs in the bottom of the ninth, with pinch hitter Brian Jordan's three-run homer ending it. Spectres lose, 9-7.

Game 96: One of those crazy Wrigley Field games. Montreal scores five runs in three separate innings, including the top of the ninth, which gives them a 19-6 lead. Who could have guessed how important that inning was? The Spectre bullpen can NOT get out of the ninth inning, allowing the Bootleggers to cross the plate TEN TIMES before finally getting Brian Jordan to fly out with a three-run lead still intact. Tony Fossas gets that last out, after allowing home runs to the first two batters he faced. Alex Fernandez is far from spectacular but gets his 14th win. Eddie Murray hits three doubles and scores four times while Jay Buhner drives home five.

Montreal comes home to face the 69ers.

Game 97: The pitching is a lot better to start the Frisco series. Scott Sanders improves to 9-4 with seven strong innings, and in an odd turn, Robb Nen is used to set up Bob Wickman, with Wickman earning the save in a 3-2 win with a scoreless ninth. Eddie Murray and Ken Caminiti each hits two doubles; Carlos Delgado drives home two runs.

Game 98: Joe Hesketh throws six scoreless innings but runs into trouble in the seventh, allowing three straight hits before giving way to Dave Burba. Burba is ineffective, and the Niners score four times to tie the score at four. Frisco strands two runners in the eighth and Tony Fossas tosses a 1-2-3 ninth, sending the game to extras when the Spectres go in order as well. Tom Edens gets through the 10th with only nine pitches, and Angel Miranda walks the first two Spectres in the bottom half. Ken Griffey Jr.'s fly ball sends Tony Phillips to third, and Ken Caminiti follows with another fly ball. Joe Carter's throw is not in time, and Phillips scores the winner.

Game 99: Chuck Finley drives in the first Spectre run with a second-inning single, his first of three hits on the day, and he pitches a complete game, losing his shutout in the ninth, as Montreal defeats San Francisco 2-1. Greg Gagne provides the decisive run with a fourth-inning home run.

Montreal heads to Atlanta to face the red hot Tomahawks, winners of five straight.

Game 100: Ken Griffey Jr. and Ken Caminiti each hits a two-run homer in the eighth, bringing the Spectres back for an 8-6 win over Atlanta. Griffey Jr.'s home run is his 30th of the season. Bret Boone adds three RBI; Dave Burba gets the final out for his third save.

Game 101: Larry Walker's three-run homer breaks up a scoreless tie in the sixth, but the Spectres rally for three of their own in the seventh. The game goes into extras tied at three; Mark Gubicza walks two batters in the 11th and Randy Velarde hits a single to right field. Raul Mondesi's throw is up the line and ancient Eddie Murray scores the lead run for Montreal. Dave Burba pitches a scoreless bottom half, striking out Mondesi for the final out.

Game 102: Atlanta has overtaken the Spectres as the second-highest scoring team in the league, and they show why in the finale. Led by Jeff Bagwell, Larry Walker, and Raul Mondesi, they bludgeon Montreal for 18 hits and 14 runs in a six-run win. Bob Wickman and Tony Fossas both have really bad outings in relief of Scott Sanders.

Next up is a home series against Houston, still one of the top wild card contenders.