Series tied up yet again

Marietta once again knotted the series after falling down 2-1 over the weekend. But the Mighty Men battled back to bring the series back to Newark on even footing. Things looked bleak for Marietta as the Sugar Bears rolled out to a 9-2 lead. In the 8th, Marietta rallied to pick up 3 runs, but were still down by a 9-5 margin. With Newark's vaunted bullpen, things looked bad. But in the 9th, the inexplicable happend. Adrian Beltre led off with a single and Milton Bradley followed up with a single, but the next two batters were retired, leaving the Mighty Men down 4 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. Geovany Soto came up and singled in Beltre. He was followed by Jason Bay, who hit a 3-run homer to tie the game up. Newark brought in their clutch closer Joey Devine to try to get out of the inning, but he walked the first two batters. Frustrated, Newark manager Don Mattingly brought in veteran lefty Randy Johnson to face Kevin Youkilis. Johnson, who was told he was on the roster basically for "moral support", was surprised to be brought into the game, but Newark was in panic mode. Unfortunately for them, the move did not pay off as Johnson served up a 3-run homer to Youkilis, ending the game. "So much for moral support" said a demoralized Joe Saunders who would have been in line to pick up the W in the game.

The series resumes tonight in Newark...