Tuesday night's Cubs vs Dodgers game @ Central Babe Ruth was likely a preview of a semi-final or final playoff series in the 35+ division. The Dodgers sent JJ Pearsall to the hill and the Cubs went to their MVP candidate, Phil Gadomski.
After two were out and nobody was on, in the bottom of the first, Jim Shook lifted a long fly ball to left center that cleared the fence for a solo home run, and a 1-0 lead.
The Cubs would answer right back with 2, in the top of the second. Mike Girard led off with a solid single up the middle and Tom Maney would follow with a single to right and advanced to second on a throw to third that was too late to get Girard. With runners at second and third and nobody out, the Cubs would get consecutive RBI groundouts from Phil Gadomski and Mike Ferraro, to take a 2-1 lead.
That lead would last until the bottom of the fourth, when the Dodgers would get 3 singles (Pearsall, Joey Burns, and Carlos Llera), 1 walk, and were aided by 2 Cubs errors, to plate 4 runs and take a 5-2 lead.
The Dodgers would plate an insurance run in the bottom of the 5th on a RBI single by Mike Burns, to make the score 6-2.
The Cubs wouldn't seriously threaten to score again until a long fly ball to left center by Mike Girard hit off the very top of the fence for a one-out double, in the top of the seventh. Pearsall would, however, get a groundout and a pop up to the infield to close out the game.
Pearsall ended up with a complete game victory, giving up just 5 hits and two earned runs, while walking none and striking out 5.
If these two teams do end up meeting in the playoffs, it promises to be an exciting best two out of three series, that will feature strong pitching and defense. I think the players from both teams are excited about the prospects.