2022 – AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

 

Chicago

Mobsters

vs.

Fremont

Cannons

SERIES PREVIEW – One round away from the World Series! Chicago is looking for their sixth trip to the World Series, while it would be Fremont’s first. Fremont won the season series 7-5. The Cannons finished atop the AL with a 121-41 record, while the Mobsters were 4th overall at 93-69 while winning the Central.

Fremont brings the top offense to bear, but Chicago is no slouch at fourth in the AL. Fremont also tops the AL in pitching, with Chicago finishing 3rd. Fremont looks to have the better bullpen, as Chicago’s pitchers can get wild at times. Fremont holds the edge in fielding percentage at .982 compared to .979 for Chicago.

GAME #1 – Trevor Bauer 12-5 (3.28) vs. Walker Buehler 15-1 (2.43)

The series kicks off with a matchup of staff aces. Fremont gets the scoring started right away in the bottom of the first inning with a Shohei Ohtani walk, steal, and a Byron Buxton double to make it 1-0. Tucker Barnhart doubles in the 3rd for Chicago, advances on a passed ball, then is brought home on a Starling Marte single to tie it 1-1.

Marte comes up big again in the fifth after a walk and an infield hit, and singles in two to put Chicago on top 3-1. Javier Baez gets one back in the seventh, with a solo homer bringing it to 3-2 Chicago. Starling Marte continues to make an impact, doubling in the eighth, stealing 3rd, and coming home on a Mike Trout sac fly to extend the Mobsters lead to 4-2. Fremont loads the bases in the eighth, but Devin Williams is able to work out of the jam.

Chicago adds another run in the ninth off a Yordan Alvarez, steal by PR Lorenzo Cain, and single from Alex Bregman, going up 5-2. Mobsters closer Aroldis Chapman walks two, but Fremont can’t make him pay and Chicago takes Game One 5-2. Bauer racked up 13 strikeouts in 7 innings in the win. Marte lead the way with a 3-4 effort and key hits/baserunning plays.

HR: CHI- none; FRE- Javier Baez

CHI 5 – FRE 2
Win: Trevor Bauer 1-0 (2.57)
Loss: Walker Buehler 0-1 (4.26)
Save: Alexander Reyes #1

GAME #2 – Lance McCullers 9-11 (4.16) vs. Carlos Rodon 18-1 (1.84)

The Mobsters get on the board with a solo homer in the top of the first from Alex Bregman. Carlos Correa ties it with a solo homer in the bottom of the second. The game stays tied until the bottom of the fourth, when Shohei Ohtani leads the inning off with a homerun. Byron Buxton walks, steals 2nd, and is brought home with a Carlos Correa double to make it 3-1 Fremont. Andrew McCutchen then drops the presumed 3rd out, allowing Correa to score. Edwin Diaz hits one that Luis Guillorme boots, and Javier Baez bloops one to bring another runner home. Former Cannon James McCann’s passed ball compounds the big inning, with another score putting Fremont ahead 6-1.

Chicago gets runners on second and third in the top of the 5th, but cannot bring anyone across. Shohei Ohtani leads off the bottom of the fifth, and as he did in the previous inning, sends one over the fence to make it 7-1. Fremont loads the bases, and tries to send Vladimir Guerrero Jr. home on a sac fly. McCann drops the ball for another Chicago error, and Fremont goes up 8-1, sending McCullers to the showers. The Cannons pick up another on a Mike Yastrzemski sac fly to pad the lead to 9-1.

Alex Bregman homers for the second time in the top of sixth, but Javier Baez homers in the bottom of the sixth to get it to 10-2 Cannons. Shohei Ohtani clobbers his third homerun of the game, a three-run shot in the eighth to finish the scoring in the 13-2 Fremont romp.

Fremont evens the series at 1-1.Chicago allowed 5 unearned runs in the game. Elias Diaz threw out Starling Marte twice on attempted steals. Alex Bregman’s two-homer day is overshadowed by Ohtani’s 3-5, three-homer day. Carlos Correa also had a nice game, going 3-4 with a homer.

HR: CHI- Alex Bregman 2; FRE- Shohei Ohtani 3, Carlos Correa, Javier Baez

FRE 13 – CHI 2
Win: Carlos Rodon 1-0 (3.60)
Loss: Lance McCullers  0-1 (8.31)

GAME #3 – Danny Duffy 6-2 (3.39) vs. Julio Urias 14-7 (3.11)

The series shifts to Chicago, where the Mobsters crowd gets excited early. A Joey Votto walk in the bottom of the first sets the stage for Yordan Alvarez’s two-run homer. The Mobsters load the bases in the bottom of the fourth, and Fremont pulls starter Danny Duffy. Ryan Tepera gets a big strikeout, but Andrew McCutchen sends one in the corner to bring in three. He is thrown out at third trying to stretch it to a triple, but the Mobsters still lead 5-0.

Fremont finally gets on the board with a solo homer in the fifth from Carlos Correa. Fremont gets another in the sixth from a Yoan Moncada double and Byron Buxton blooper to make it 5-2. Chicago gets two on in the bottom of the sixth but leave them stranded.

The Cannons continue to chip away. In the seventh, Teoscar Hernandez and Carlos Correa homer to make it 5-4. In the eighth, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. launches a solo homer to tie it up at 5-5. Byron Buxton singles and steals second, but Fremont is unable to bring him home. With two outs in the eighth, Yordan Alvarez hits his second homer of the night, bringing Chicago back on top 6-5.

With one out in the ninth, Aroldis Chapman walks pinch-hitter Jason Castro. Pinch-runner Jace Peterson comes on and pinch-hitter Joshua Rojas pulls it into right. Peterson is sent home, but Andrew McCutchen guns him down to preserve the lead. Down to their final batter, Yoan Moncada is able to send one past shortstop and into left field, bringing home the tying run. Chicago goes 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth, and the game goes to extra innings.

In the top of the tenth, Buxton singles and steals second, but is stranded. Starling Marte does the same in the bottom of 10, but is also stranded. Neither team gets a runner on in the 11th. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. doubles in the top of the 12th, but fails to score. In the bottom of the 12th, James McCann singles then steals second. On the next pitch, Luis Arraez is drilled by the pitch, and knocked out for 12 days. Starling Marte steps to the plate with two on and two out, but grounds out to end the inning.

In the top of the 13th, the first two Cannons go down, but Carlos Correa launches his third homer of the day over the fence to give Fremont a 7-6 lead. Giovanny Gallegos gets the Mobsters to go down in order, and Fremont takes Game Three 7-6 in 13 innings.

Fremont leads the series 2-1. Correa’s big day marks the second straight game with a Chicago player (Yordan Alvarez) hitting two homeruns and a Fremont player (Correa) hitting three.

HR: FRE- Carlos Correa 3, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Teoscar Hernandez; CHI- Yordan Alvarez 2

FRE 7 – CHI 6 (13 Innings)
Win: Giovanny Gallegos 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Craig Stammen 0-1 (6.00)

GAME #4 – Walker Buehler 15-1 (2.43) vs. Marcus Stroman 13-12 (3.16) 

Starling Marte leads off the bottom of the first with a single, and Mike Trout promptly sends the next pitch over the fence for a 2-0 quick lead from Chicago. Fremont gets two on in the top of the second when Elias Diaz hits a run-scoring single to make it 2-1. Fremont gets the first two runners on in the 3rd, but leaves them stranded.

In the bottom of the inning, Mike Trout does it again, another two-run homer to make it 4-1. The Mobsters get two more on with no outs but are unable to plate anyone. In the top of the fifth, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. gets one back for Fremont with a solo homer to make it 4-2. Buxton singles and steals in the top of the 5th, but is left at second. Trout comes to the plate again in the bottom of the fifth, and again homers, this time a solo shot, giving the Mobsters a 5-2 lead.

Fremont gets two on with no outs in the 6th, but a double play helps ensure that they score no runs. In the top of the seventh, Yoan Moncada and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. single, and Byron Buxton doubles to make it 5-3. With runners on second and third, Yandy Diaz is able to double up the Cannons on a nice play.

The teams stay scoreless into the top of the ninth. With two outs, Guerrero Jr. singles to bring the tying run to the plate, but Lorenzo Cain is able to charge and collect Byron Buxton’s blooper for the final out. Chicago wins 5-3.

The Mobsters tie the series at 2-2. This time, Chicago has the three-homer performance courtesy of Mike Trout, the only extra-base hits they had in the game. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 5-5 with a homer in the loss. Marcus Stroman allowed 10 hits but kept the Cannons to 3 runs.

HR: FRE- Vladimir Guerrero Jr.; CHI- Mike Trout 3

CHI 5 – FRE 3
Win: Marcus Stroman 1-0 (3.86)
Loss: Walker Buehler 0-2 (6.17)
Save: Devin Williams #1

GAME #5 – Carlos Rodon 18-1 (1.84) vs. Trevor Bauer 12-5 (3.28)

Fremont strikes in the top of the first, with doubles from Yoan Moncada and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. bringing in a run. In the second, Bauer walks the first two batters. Elias Diaz fails a sacrifice attempt, but Javier Baez loads the bases after catcher’s interference. Bauer’s control deserts him, and he walks in a run to make it 2-0 Fremont. The Cannons have a chance to break it open with the bases still loaded but cannot score anyone else.

The Mobsters get to Rodon in the second, after a double and walk allow Bryan De La Cruz to double in two. After advancing to third on the throw, De la Cruz Is brought home on a squeeze by Tucker Barnhart to give Chicago the lead 3-2. In the top of the third, Mike Yastrzemski singles and steals second, then scores on an Elias Diaz single to tie it up 3-3.

The Cannons get two on in the top of the 5th but don’t score; the Mobsters do likewise in the bottom of the inning. Javier Baez leads off the 6th with a homerun, and Fremont goes on top 4-3. The Cannons get two on again in the eighth, but Craig Stammen is able to retire Ohtani and Guerrero Jr.

Tejay Antone comes on to close it out for Fremont. Willy Adames walks with one out to put the tying run on. Antone gets Alex Bregman to strike out. Down to their last batter, the Mobsters call on Andrew McCutchen to pinch-hit, but Antone is also able to strike him out for the 4-3 Fremont victory.

Fremont takes the lead in the series 3-2. Rodon allows 3 runs in 7.1 innings. Trevor Bauer allowed 6 hits and 7 walks in the loss. Yoan Moncada went 3-4 with a double.

HR: FRE- Javier Baez; CHI- none

FRE 4 – CHI 3
Win: Carlos Rodon 2-0 (3.65)
Loss: Trevor Bauer 1-1 (3.86)
Save: Tejay Antone #1

GAME #6 – Lance McCullers 9-11 (4.16) vs. Danny Duffy 6-2 (3.39)

The series returns to Fremont with Chicago facing elimination. Starling Marte leads off the 1st with a double but is stranded. The Cannons get two on in the second but fail to score. The Mobsters do likewise in the top of the 3rd. Fremont gets the scoring started in the bottom of the third. After getting two on, a Vladimir Guerrero Jr. single and a Yulieski Gurriel sacrifice fly make it 2-0 Fremont.

In the bottom of the 4th, an error by Bryan de la Cruz puts Teoscar Hernandez on second with no outs, but the Cannons cannot extend the lead. In the top of the 6th, a walk and infield hit has Fremont replace Duffy with Giovanny Gallegos. A Yandy Diaz single brings in one, to make it 2-1 Fremont.

In the bottom of the 6th, a blooper and a walk put two on for Javier Baez, who sends it out of the yard for a 5-1 Fremont lead. The Monsters get one hit the rest of the way, and Fremont wins it 5-1.

Fremont wins the series 4-2. Lance McCullers picked up 9 strikeouts in a losing effort.

HR: CHI- none ; FRE- Javier Baez

FRE 5 – CHI 1
Win: Danny Duffy 1-0 (5.79)
Loss: Lance McCullers 0-1 (6.30)

SERIES SUMMARY – Fremont advances to their first ever World Series with the 4-2 series victory. Series MVP was Carlos Correa with 4 homers (including the winner in the 13th inning in Game 3) with a triple slash of .304/.407/.870, 6 runs, 5 RBI, and only three strikeouts. Honorable mention goes to Javier Baez with 4 HRs, including the game winner in Game 5 and the 3-run cushion at the end of Game 6 with a triple slash of .238/.238/.810 and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a triple slash of .346/.414/.654.

For the Mobsters, Mike Trout was slugging it at .300/.273/1.200 (the rare OBP lower than BA) while Starling Marte went .440/.462/.560. Joey Votto had a nightmare series going .059/.111/.118. The Mobsters committed seven errors to Fremont’s one. The starting pitching was fairly even; however, the Cannons outscored the Mobsters 16-5 from the sixth inning on.

TRADE DEADLINE
WEDNESDAY 07/24/2024
AT 11:59 PM - ET!

Days
1
1
7
Hrs
1
7
Min
5
6
Sec
5
9