Ichiro Suzuki laced a single to center, and then stole second. Justin Upton then singled to center, but Superior's third-base coach decided to hold Suzuki at third. Evan Longoria then flied out to right to end the inning, stranding Ichiro at third.
Superior's offense could not be contained any longer. Possibly rattled by the previous inning, Mark Trumbo launched a solo "Trum-Bomb" into deep left-center to give the Blues a 1-0 advantage.
In one of the more surprising post-season moves, Superior decided to pull Hernandez from the game after only six innings pitched. This was six innings of no-hit Baseball we're talking about. Brad Ziegler got the call in the bottom of the 7th. Ziegler struck out Ryan Braun, but Josh Hamilton decided to stroke a single to center to break up the no-hitter. Aramis Ramirez hit into an inning-ending double play, and that was all California could muster through seven.
In the top of the eighth, it was the other Suzuki that got things started for the Blues. Kurt Suzuki lined a single to center after just missing a solo home run. He was moved over to third after Ichiro singled. Andruw Jones then stepped up with two outs and singled through the infield to center to give Superior a 2-0 lead. Halladay was pulled from the game in favor of Jason Motte who was able to get Justin Upton to fly out to center to end the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth, and Ziegler still in the game, Mitch Moreland walked. Sergio Romo was quickly called in to face J.J. Hardy who lined out to Longoria at third. Miguel Olivo then hit into a double play, and Superior had once again kept the California offense and home crowd quiet.
Romo took care of the Roadrunners in the ninth, and preserved an outstanding overall performance from the Superior pitching staff. The Blues took game 1, 2-0, but one can only wonder if we missed out at a chance for history when King Felix was pulled.
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