Pirates vs. Expos – 6:30 PM
In most definitely the craziest game of the season, the Pirates and Expos went head to head in an unexpected battle that lasted just short of two hours, only to end in a 17-17 tie. Early on, the game felt like it would be a long one for the Pirates, who were down 12-0 by the start of the 4th inning. Expos’ Asad Hussain started the onslaught with a three-run homer in the first inning. In a definite case of déjà vu, Asad decided one wasn’t enough and blasted another three-run homer in the third. But then the record-breaking fifth inning came around… The league-worst Pirates used an epic 14-run inning to claim as one fan called it, “their first lead of the season.” To put into perspective how ridiculously well they played: In the eight games played in the league, only 2 games had a team score 14+ runs in the entire game. The Pirates went through 19 at-bats and abused every defensive opening they could find. Sadly for the Pirates, the Expos’ Kazim Merchant and Abbasali Kermali hit two deep in the bottom of the fifth to bring their team back to level grounds. While the Pirates still may not have a win in the standings, this is the type of game that could put them on a roll.
MVP: Expos’ Asad Hussain – 2 HRs, 7 RBI, and 3 runs
Expos vs. Red Sox – 8:00 PM
After their unanticipated struggle with the Pirates, the Expos were put back on the field to play the first game of their double-header against the Red Sox. With a couple of defensive lineup changes, the Red Sox picked up their third win of the year, beating the Expos 13-12 in dramatic fashion. Just like their previous game, the Expos started off gun blazing, with the maximum 6 runs scored. Red Sox’s Minhal Jaffer attempted to answer back with a three-run homer of his own. At one point, the Expos looked to have a comfortable 9-3 lead. But as you’ll see, this set of games had a similar repeating storyline. The Red Sox, over the course of 2.5 innings, scored an unanswered 7 runs, with contributions throughout the lineup. With the Expos leading 12-10 to start the bottom of the final sixth inning, Red Sox’s Nadir Virjee played the hero, with a walk-off single, to bring home the game-winning run and another crushing blow to the Expos.
*Stats for the Expos have endured some technical difficulties and are therefore currently unavailable for this game. We are working on fixing this issue.*
MVP: Red Sox’s Minhal Jaffer – 1 HR, 5 RBI, and 2 runs
Red Sox vs. Expos – 9:30 PM
In the last of their three games for the night, the Expos had a chance to seek some retribution against the Red Sox. Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: After giving up the lead, the Expos had to deal with a resurgence by their opponent… However, this time, it ended in the Expos’ favor in the way of a 6-5 win. Behind a major pitching change, giving Tarik Kamel full reigns to the pitching mound, the Expos kept this game as a low-scoring affair. With great fielding behind him, Tarik brought a welcome change to the Expos, prompting the Red Sox captain, Miqdad Jaffer, to claim that “he only throws strikes.” While Miqdad attempted to rally his team, with a team-high 2 RBIs, masterful defensive play allowed the Expos to keep the Red Sox in check. But it still came down to the fifth and final inning. With the Red Sox up 5-3 to start the bottom of the fifth, Expos’ Altaf Champsi decided that his team needed to come out with a win for the day, and with a walk-off single of his own, ensured that the Expos had a 1-1-1 result on their triple header.
MVP: Expos’ Abbasali Kermali – 1 RBI and 2 runs