League Championships

2019 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Southbend Lynx @ Detroit Crime
The Southbend Lynx face off against the Detroit Crime for the AL Championship. The season series stood at 9-5 in Detroit’s favor, with Southbend losing all 7 games at Detroit. Southbend comes into the series with the #1 Hitting team at .271/.340/.462. Detroit was at #7 with .254/.330/.439. The long ball, which was key for both teams, is pretty even at 242 HRs for Southbend and 235 HRs for Detroit. Southbend comes in at #2 in Pitching with Detroit hot on their heels at #3. Southbend’s one problem area is in giving up walks, tho they only yielded 149 HRs, the least in the AL. Fielding wise its all Detroit who were #2, whereas Southbend was at #10.
GAME #1 – Michael Foltynewicz 22-5 (3.06) – Aaron Nola 20-8 (2.25) Southbend strikes first in the T3 when Zack Cozart 3bs and with 2 out Jose Altuve hits a 2-run HR for an early 2-0 Lynx lead. In the SBL T4 Max Muncy 2bs, after Eduardo Escobar and Jake Cave strike out, Austin Meadows plates Muncy with an rbi-1b. But SBL Michael Foltynewicz couldn’t protect the lead as Yasmani Grandal leads off the B4 with a 2b, Kyle Schwarber bbs, and Brandpm Belt ties the game with a 3-run HR. Its gets worse for the Lynx when J.P. Crawford 1bs and Brett Gardner hits a 2-run HR for a 5-3 Crime lead. SBL gets one back in the T5 when Cozart 2bs and Altuve 2bs him home. But Detroit would put the game away in the B5 off Jeurys Familia when Grandal bbs, Schwarber hits a 2-run HR, Belt bbs, Crawford bb, and Gardner bloops a 2-rbi 2b, moves to 3rd on the throw, and then scores on Ben Zobrist sac fly. The pitchers take over from here and there was no more scoring. Both aces are less then stellar, but the Detroit bullpen is better then Southbend’s. Southbend pitchers give up 9 walks in the game with 4 of those runners scoring. Detroit leads the series 1-0. Detroit 10, Southbend 4 DET W – Aaron Nola (1-0) SBL L – Michael Foltynewicz (0-1)
GAME #2 – Edwin Jackson 8-10 (3.56) – Carlos Carrasco 19-6 (2.23) Southbend jumps on DET Carlos Carrasco quickly in the T1; Jed Lowrie bbs, Max Muncy 1bs, Eduardo Escobar rips a 1b to LF and Brett Gardner pegs Lowrie at the plate, but wait! Yasmani Grandal drops the throw and Jed Lowrie scores! Both Muncy and Escobar move up to 2nd and 3rd. Austin Meadows, 1 out later, blasts a 2-rbi 1b for a 3-0 SBL lead. In the SBL T3 Jake Cave 1bs with 2 out and scores on Meadows rbi-3b. That would be the end of the scoring for Southbend. But they don’t need it was Edwin Jackson is on the mark tossing 5 innings of Shutout ball as he fans 4 and only gives up 4 hits. The SBL bullpen comes through in this game giving up no hits over the last 3.2 innings to even the series at 1-1. Carrasco was the victim of the normally strong DET fielding as he gives up only 1 ER in 6.1IP. Zobrist is the lone hitting star for DET going 2-3 with a walk. Southbend finally wins a game at Detroit after 8 tries! Southbend 4, Detroit 0 SBL W- Edwin Jackson (1-0) DET L – Carlos Carrasco (0-1)
The series shifts to Southbend.
GAME #3 – Stephen Strasburgh 9-11 (4.69) – Freddy Peralta 11-2 (3.72) Southbend opens the scoring in the B3 when Jose Altuve smacks a 2 out solo-HR. In the DET T4 Manny Machado 1bs, steals 2nd, and then scores on Yasmani Grandal‘s rbi-1b when the ball is cut off to get Grandal at 2nd. SBl retakes the lead in the B4 when Max Muncy hits a lead-off solo-HR. Eduardo Escobar then 2bs and 1 out later Mark Canha singles him home for a 3-1 SBL lead. But DET is not to be denied as in the T5 Adam Jones hits a lead off solo-HR of his own, Brett Gardner 1bs, steals 2nd, moves to 3rd on Ben Zobrist fly to RF, Justin R. Miller comes on for the SBL, and Harper bbs, Machado then crushes a 3-run HR to give DET a 5-3 lead! In the BL B6 Canha blasts a 2 out 2b, Stephen Strasburg is pulled for Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner comes in faces Mason Williams, throws a wild pitch, and then gives up an rbi-1b. In the SBL B8 DET Seranthony Dominguez is on for his 2nd inning of work and faces Muncy to lead off the inning. Muncy belts his 2nd HR of the game, a solo-HR to tie the game at 5-5! Dominguez settles down and gets the next 3 Lynx to end the inning. SBL Moronta is stil on the mound for the SBL to start the T9 and Gardner leads off with a 1b, but he’s nailed by Maxwell trying to steal 2nd. Escobar then throws away J.P. Crawford‘s grounder, and Zobrist follows with a rbi-3b, but is thrown out at the plate trying to stretch it into a inside-the-park HR. DET goes to R.Elias to close out the game and PH Mark Trumbo fans, Zack Cozart then 1bs, Bruce Maxwell flies out to CF, and Lucas Duda is called on to PR, and he then steals 2nd on a broken H&R play with Altuve at bat. But Roenis Elias is able to strike out Altuve to end the game! Detroit takes a 2-1 lead in the series! Detroit 6, Southbend 5 DET W – Seranthony Dominguez (1-0) S – Roenis Elias (1) SBL L –Reyes Moronta (0-1)
GAME #4 – Aaron Nola 20-8 (2.25) – Michael Foltynewicz 22-5 (3.06) DET gets on SBL Michael Foltynewicz right away in the T1 when Bryce Harper gets his 1st hit of the series a solo-HR to deep RF. But SBL is used to this and comes right back in the B1 when Max Muncy draws a 2 out bb and Eduardo Escobar buries a 2-run HR off Nola for a 2-1 SBL lead. Jake Cave would follow with a long 2b, but that would be the rest of the hits for Southbend in the game as Aaron Nola bears down. Nola would retire the next 22 SBL in a row. Fortunately for the Lynx Foltynewicz only gives up the HR to Harper through 6 innings. Foltynewicz would bend giving up 6 walks and 1 more hit, but would not break, as he turns the ball over to Sean Gilmartin, Reyes Moronta, and Roberto Osuna to close out the game. The SBL tie up the series at 2-2 going into Game 5. Southbend 2, Detroit 1 SBL W – Michael Foltynewicz (1-1) S – Roberto Osuna (1) DET L – Aaron Nola (1-1)
GAME #5 – Carlos Carrasco 19-6 (2.23) – Edwin Jackson 8-10 (3.56) SBL scores first in the B2 on a Mark Canha solo-HR. In the T3 DET Maybin 2bs, Brett Gardner then 1bs to LF, and Cameron Maybin scores as Gardner is cut down at 2nd. In the SBL B3 JoseAltuve 1bs, steals 2nd, and then Max Muncy 2-out rbi-1b puts SBL back out on top. Pitching takes over from there as SBL E.Jackson goes 5IP giving up the lone run while fanning 4, and amazingly not walking anyone. Jeurys Familia comes on for 2IP of scoreless work through the 7th. For DET Carlos Carracso goes 4IP giving up the 2 runs, then turns the ball over to Mike Minor, who eventually will go 5IP giving up only 2 hits and no runs. The turning point of the game is in the T8 when SBL Seasn Gilmartin is brought in, he walks Maybin, then gives up a infield 1b to Gardner, after J.P. Crawford grounds out back to Gilmartin, Ben Zobrist follows with a 2-rbi 2b for a 3-2 DET lead. One out later Manny Machado would put the game away with a 2-run HR. SBL would get two runners on in the B8, but DET would stay with Minor who Ks Austin Jackson and Mason Williams to end the inning. Minor would throw a perfect 9th for the DET win! DET now leads the series 3-2! Detroit 5, Southbend 2 DET W – Mike Minor (1-0) SBL L – Sseasn Gilmartin (0-1)
Series goes back to Detroit. Southbend has its back to the wall.
GAME #6 – Freddy Peralta 11-2 (3.72) – Stephen Strasburgh 9-11 (4.69) Both starters are solid through 4 innings. In the B5 DET Brandon Belt 1bs, Cameron Maybin grounds out moving Belt, Brett Gardner then hits a rbi-2b off the wall for a 1-0 DET lead. SBL Freddy Peralta gets out of the inning by getting J.P. Crawford to P5 and Ben Zobrist to F8. DET Stephen Strasburg would mow through the SBL through 7IP racking up 8 Ks along the way. In the SBL T8 Jose Altuve leads off with a 2b, Jed Lowrie draws a walk, and DET calls on Roenis Elias (Game 3 closer) to faceMax Muncy. But Muncy stuns the home crowd as he belts a 3-run HR to give SBL the lead and possibly save their season. SBL still has Reyes Moronta on the mound to start the B8, and Zobrist leads off with a 1b, Bryce Harper gets a scratch infield hit, bringing up Manny Machado. But Reyes Moronta bears down and Fans Martin Machado, gets Maldonado to F9. Roberto Osuna is brought in and gets Kyle Schwarber to L4 to end the inning. In the B9 Osuna would give up a 1b to Belt, but get Maybin to hit into a 6-4-3 DP and Gardner to F7 to end the game and knot the series at 3-3! Southbend 3, Detroit 1 SBL W – Reyes Moronta (1-1) S – Roberto Osuna (2) DET L – Stephen Strasburg (0-1)
GAME #7 – Michael Foltynewicz 22-5 (3.06) – Aaron Nola 20-8 (2.25) The all or nothing game for both teams! Game 7 would follow the same track as Game 6 as the pitcher’s would dominate. DET Aaron Nola picked up where he left off in Game 4 keeping the SBL scoreless through the 8 innings he pitched. SBL had their chances during the game as they left 9 runners on base and had the bases loaded twice in the game. But they just couldn’t come up with the big hit. The only scoring came in the DET B8 when Brett Gardner bb’s, J.P. Crawford bounces into a FC, Ben Zobrist bb’s, and Bryce Harper hits a 3-run HR to atone for his poor overall series. SBL Mark Canha would lead off with a 1b in the T9, but DET Seranthony Dominguez would come on and strikeout Zack Cozart, get PH Mark Trumbo on a FC, and then finish the game getting PH Austin Meadows to hit into a FC. Detroit wins the game 3-0 and takes the series 4-3! Detroit 3, Southbend 0 DET W – Aaron Nola (2-1) S – Seranthony Dominguez (1) SBL L – Michael Foltynewicz (1-2)
Overall there were key/clutch hits by players on both teams. But the most crucial stat line in the series is the lack of hitting from one player in the series. SBL Jed Lowrie, a key contributor for the SBL during the season, goes 0-25 with a paltry 5 walks. Also, to a lesser degree, SBL Austin Jackson also goes hitless 0-21 with only 1 HBP in the series. But getting almost no production out of Jed Lowrie was devastating to the SBL. DET Bryce Harper also did not have a big series, but he at least produced some runs during the series as he had the clutch HR in Game 7 and a HR in Game 4. Other players on DET also had poor series but they at least produced something. The biggest hitting surprise of the series was the performance of DET Brett Gardner. The series put in by Gardner was quite amazing as he had a stat line of .480/.500/.720, he went 12-25 w/3 2bs, 1 HR, 4 runs scored, and 6 RBI. Brandon Belt, Manny Machado, and Harper all had the big 3 run HRs for DET in the series, but it was Gardner who many times kept things going. As such he was clearly the MVP of the series. Congratulations to Sergio and Detroit on a fine season and playoff series!

Southbend Lynx @ Detroit Crime

The Southbend Lynx face off against the Detroit Crime for the AL Championship.
The season series stood at 9-5 in Detroit’s favor, with Southbend losing all 7 games at Detroit. Southbend comes into the series with the #1 Hitting team at .271/.340/.462.

Detroit was at #7 with .254/.330/.439. The long ball, which was key for both teams, is pretty even at 242 HRs for Southbend and 235 HRs for Detroit.

Southbend comes in at #2 in Pitching with Detroit hot on their heels at #3. Southbend’s one problem area is in giving up walks, tho they only yielded 149 HRs, the least in the AL. Fielding wise its all Detroit who were #2, whereas Southbend was at #10.

GAME #1 – Michael Foltynewicz 22-5 (3.06) – Aaron Nola 20-8 (2.25)

Southbend strikes first in the T3 when Zack Cozart 3bs and with 2 out Jose Altuve hits a 2-run HR for an early 2-0 Lynx lead. In the SBL T4 Max Muncy 2bs, after Eduardo Escobar and Jake Cave strike out, Austin Meadows plates Muncy with an rbi-1b. But SBL Michael Foltynewicz couldn’t protect the lead as Yasmani Grandal leads off the B4 with a 2b, Kyle Schwarber bbs, and Brandpm Belt ties the game with a 3-run HR. Its gets worse for the Lynx when J.P. Crawford 1bs and Brett Gardner hits a 2-run HR for a 5-3 Crime lead. SBL gets one back in the T5 when Cozart 2bs and Altuve 2bs him home. But Detroit would put the game away in the B5 off Jeurys Familia when Grandal bbs, Schwarber hits a 2-run HR, Belt bbs, Crawford bb, and Gardner bloops a 2-rbi 2b, moves to 3rd on the throw, and then scores on Ben Zobrist sac fly. The pitchers take over from here and there was no more scoring.

Both aces are less then stellar, but the Detroit bullpen is better then Southbend’s. Southbend pitchers give up 9 walks in the game with 4 of those runners scoring. Detroit leads the series 1-0.

Detroit 10, Southbend 4

DET W – Aaron Nola (1-0) SBL L – Michael Foltynewicz (0-1)

GAME #2 – Edwin Jackson 8-10 (3.56) – Carlos Carrasco 19-6 (2.23)

Southbend jumps on DET Carlos Carrasco quickly in the T1; Jed Lowrie bbs, Max Muncy 1bs, Eduardo Escobar rips a 1b to LF and Brett Gardner pegs Lowrie at the plate, but wait! Yasmani Grandal drops the throw and Jed Lowrie scores! Both Muncy and Escobar move up to 2nd and 3rd. Austin Meadows, 1 out later, blasts a 2-rbi 1b for a 3-0 SBL lead. In the SBL T3 Jake Cave 1bs with 2 out and scores on Meadows rbi-3b. That would be the end of the scoring for Southbend. But they don’t need it was Edwin Jackson is on the mark tossing 5 innings of Shutout ball as he fans 4 and only gives up 4 hits. The SBL bullpen comes through in this game giving up no hits over the last 3.2 innings to even the series at 1-1. Carrasco was the victim of the normally strong DET fielding as he gives up only 1 ER in 6.1IP. Zobrist is the lone hitting star for DET going 2-3
with a walk. Southbend finally wins a game at Detroit after 8 tries!

Southbend 4, Detroit 0

SBL W- Edwin Jackson (1-0) DET L – Carlos Carrasco (0-1)

The series shifts to Southbend.

GAME #3 – Stephen Strasburgh 9-11 (4.69) – Freddy Peralta 11-2 (3.72)

Southbend opens the scoring in the B3 when Jose Altuve smacks a 2 out solo-HR. In the DET T4 Manny Machado 1bs, steals 2nd, and then scores on Yasmani Grandal‘s rbi-1b when the ball is cut off to get Grandal at 2nd. SBl retakes the lead in the B4 when Max Muncy hits a lead-off solo-HR. Eduardo Escobar then 2bs and 1 out later Mark Canha singles him home for a 3-1 SBL lead. But DET is not to be denied as in the T5 Adam Jones hits a lead off solo-HR of his own, Brett Gardner 1bs, steals 2nd, moves to 3rd on Ben Zobrist fly to RF, Justin R. Miller comes on for the SBL, and Harper bbs, Machado then crushes a 3-run HR to give DET a 5-3 lead! In the BL B6 Canha blasts a 2 out 2b, Stephen Strasburg is pulled for Madison Bumgarner. Bumgarner comes in faces Mason Williams, throws a wild pitch, and then gives up an rbi-1b. In the SBL B8 DET Seranthony Dominguez is on for his 2nd inning of work and faces Muncy to lead off the inning. Muncy belts his 2nd HR of the game, a solo-HR to tie the game at 5-5! Dominguez settles down and gets the next 3 Lynx to end the inning. SBL Moronta is stil on the mound for the SBL to start the T9 and Gardner leads off with a 1b, but he’s nailed by Maxwell trying to steal 2nd. Escobar then throws away J.P. Crawford‘s grounder, and Zobrist follows with a rbi-3b, but is thrown out at the plate trying to stretch it into a inside-the-park HR. DET goes to R.Elias to close out the game and PH Mark Trumbo fans, Zack Cozart then 1bs, Bruce Maxwell flies out to CF, and Lucas Duda is called on to PR, and he then steals 2nd on a broken H&R play with Altuve at bat. But Roenis Elias is able to strike out Altuve to end the game! Detroit takes a 2-1 lead in the series!

Detroit 6, Southbend 5

DET W – Seranthony Dominguez (1-0) S – Roenis Elias (1) SBL L –Reyes Moronta (0-1)

GAME #4 – Aaron Nola 20-8 (2.25) – Michael Foltynewicz 22-5 (3.06)

DET gets on SBL Michael Foltynewicz right away in the T1 when Bryce Harper gets his 1st hit of the series a solo-HR to deep RF. But SBL is used to this and comes right back in the B1 when Max Muncy draws a 2 out bb and Eduardo Escobar buries a 2-run HR off Nola for a 2-1 SBL lead. Jake Cave would follow with a long 2b, but that would be the rest of the hits for Southbend in the game as Aaron Nola bears down. Nola would retire the next 22 SBL in a row. Fortunately for the Lynx Foltynewicz only gives up the HR to Harper through 6 innings. Foltynewicz would bend giving up 6 walks and 1 more hit, but would not break, as he turns the ball over to Sean Gilmartin, Reyes Moronta, and Roberto Osuna to close out the game. The SBL tie up the series at 2-2 going into Game 5.

Southbend 2, Detroit 1

SBL W – Michael Foltynewicz (1-1) S – Roberto Osuna (1) DET L – Aaron Nola (1-1)

GAME #5 – Carlos Carrasco 19-6 (2.23) – Edwin Jackson 8-10 (3.56)

SBL scores first in the B2 on a Mark Canha solo-HR. In the T3 DET Maybin 2bs, Brett Gardner then 1bs to LF, and Cameron Maybin scores as Gardner is cut down at 2nd. In the SBL B3 JoseAltuve 1bs, steals 2nd, and then Max Muncy 2-out rbi-1b puts SBL back out on top. Pitching takes over from there as SBL E.Jackson goes 5IP giving up the lone run while fanning 4, and amazingly not walking anyone. Jeurys Familia comes on for 2IP of scoreless work through the 7th. For DET Carlos Carracso goes 4IP giving up the 2 runs, then turns the ball over to Mike Minor, who eventually will go 5IP giving up only 2 hits and no runs. The turning point of the game is in the T8 when SBL Seasn Gilmartin is brought in, he walks Maybin, then gives up a infield 1b to Gardner, after J.P. Crawford grounds out back to Gilmartin, Ben Zobrist follows with a 2-rbi 2b for a 3-2 DET lead. One out later Manny Machado would put the game away with a 2-run HR. SBL would get two runners on in the B8, but DET would stay with Minor who Ks Austin Jackson and Mason Williams to end the inning. Minor would throw a perfect 9th for the DET win! DET now leads the series 3-2!

Detroit 5, Southbend 2

DET W – Mike Minor (1-0) SBL L – Sseasn Gilmartin (0-1)

Series goes back to Detroit. Southbend has its back to the wall.

GAME #6 – Freddy Peralta 11-2 (3.72) – Stephen Strasburgh 9-11 (4.69)

Both starters are solid through 4 innings. In the B5 DET Brandon Belt 1bs, Cameron Maybin grounds out moving Belt, Brett Gardner then hits a rbi-2b off the wall for a 1-0 DET lead. SBL Freddy Peralta gets out of the inning by getting J.P. Crawford to P5 and Ben Zobrist to F8. DET Stephen Strasburg would mow through the SBL through 7IP racking up 8 Ks along the way. In the SBL T8 Jose Altuve leads off with a 2b, Jed Lowrie draws a walk, and DET calls on Roenis Elias (Game 3 closer) to faceMax Muncy. But Muncy stuns the home crowd as he belts a 3-run HR to give SBL the lead and possibly save their season. SBL still has Reyes Moronta on the mound to start the B8, and Zobrist leads off with a 1b, Bryce Harper gets a scratch infield hit, bringing up Manny Machado. But Reyes Moronta bears down and Fans Martin Machado, gets Maldonado to F9. Roberto Osuna is brought in and gets Kyle Schwarber to L4 to end the inning. In the B9 Osuna would give up a 1b to Belt, but get Maybin to hit into a 6-4-3 DP and Gardner to F7 to end the game and knot the series at 3-3!

Southbend 3, Detroit 1

SBL W – Reyes Moronta (1-1) S – Roberto Osuna (2) DET L – Stephen Strasburg (0-1)

GAME #7 – Michael Foltynewicz 22-5 (3.06) – Aaron Nola 20-8 (2.25)

The all or nothing game for both teams!

Game 7 would follow the same track as Game 6 as the pitcher’s would dominate. DET Aaron Nola picked up where he left off in Game 4 keeping the SBL scoreless through the 8 innings he pitched. SBL had their chances during the game as they left 9 runners on base and had the bases loaded twice in the game. But they just couldn’t come up with the big hit. The only scoring came in the DET B8 when Brett Gardner bb’s, J.P. Crawford bounces into a FC, Ben Zobrist bb’s, and Bryce Harper hits a 3-run HR to atone for his poor overall series. SBL Mark Canha would lead off with a 1b in the T9, but DET Seranthony Dominguez would come on and strikeout Zack Cozart, get PH Mark Trumbo on a FC, and then finish the game getting PH Austin Meadows to hit into a FC.
Detroit wins the game 3-0 and takes the series 4-3!

Detroit 3, Southbend 0

DET W – Aaron Nola (2-1) S – Seranthony Dominguez (1) SBL L – Michael Foltynewicz (1-2)

Overall there were key/clutch hits by players on both teams. But the most crucial stat line in the series is the lack of hitting from one player in the series. SBL Jed Lowrie, a key contributor for the SBL during the season, goes 0-25 with a paltry 5 walks. Also, to a lesser degree, SBL Austin Jackson also goes hitless 0-21 with only 1 HBP in the series. But getting almost no production out of Jed Lowrie was devastating to the SBL. DET Bryce Harper also did not have a big series, but he at least produced some runs during the series as he had the clutch HR in Game 7 and a HR in Game 4. Other players on DET also had poor series but they at least produced something. The biggest hitting surprise of the series was the performance of DET Brett Gardner. The series put in by Gardner was quite amazing as he had a stat line of .480/.500/.720, he went 12-25 w/3 2bs, 1 HR, 4 runs scored, and 6 RBI. Brandon Belt, Manny Machado, and Harper all had the big 3 run HRs for DET in the series, but it was Gardner who many times kept things going. As such he was clearly the MVP of the series. Congratulations to Sergio and Detroit on a fine season and playoff series!

2018 – NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS @ COLUMBUS EXPLORERS
The Columbus Explorers (117-45) and Sacramento Capitals (106-56), winners of the NL Central and NL West Sacramento, face each other in the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. With the exception of the Tempe Tempers and the Chicago Mobsters, Sacramento (.607 Win %) and Columbus (.558 Win %) are the winningest teams during that 10-year period. Both have had modest success in the playoffs, with winning percentages hovering around the .500 mark, while Columbus hopes to make its first World Series appearance in franchise history, the Capitals have hopes to return to the World Series for the first time since 2012. Over the course of the regular season, Columbus and Sacramento were relatively closely matched. While both held a .984 FLD %, Sacramento had the advantage with its star-filled rotation. Both Sacramento and Columbus were top in the NL in pitching, with Sacramento holding teams to a 2.75 ERA and 494 Runs and Columbus holding teams to a 2.94 ERA and 536 Runs. Columbus, however, had the advantage with the most powerful offense in the National League; Sacramento held a .257/.317/.436 triple slash with 237 HR and a 4.9 RC/G while Columbus held a .267/.335/.440 triple slash with 224 HR and a 5.6 RC/G.
GAME #1 – Max Scherzer (23-4 1.71) vs. Ervin Santana (15-3 2.61) The bats were quiet, very quiet, in the opening game as the NL Central winning Columbus Explorers hosted the Sacramento Capitals. Both Santana and Scherzer pitched a scoreless game through the first three frames, but a Trey Mancini walk and a Giancarlo Stanton home run in the top of the 4^th would give the Capitals enough to win the opener. Max Scherzer would do the rest by pitching 8.2 innings of near-perfect baseball, giving up only 1 base on balls and while earning the “W”. Like Sale in the NLDS, Max was on a pitch count and was pulled one out away from a no-hitter. Ervin Santana was nearly as effective, giving up 2 runs over 8.1 innings on just 6 hits. Sacramento – 2 Columbus – 0 W – Scherzer (1-0) L – Santana (0-1) S – Olson (1)
GAME #2 – Chris Sale (22-6 2.50) vs. Alex Meyer(6-1 4.14) First on the scoreboard again is Sacramento, this time in the top of the 2^nd inning. Stanton boarded on a walk and was driven home on a 2-out RBI single by Yadier Molina. That is all the offense either team would see until the 9^th inning when Giancarlo, doing what he does, smacked a 2-run home run to give Tyler Olson a little breathing room to earn the save. Chris Sale was spectacular once again, pithcing 7 strong innings while giving up 5 singles and no runs. Alex Meyer might have actually been better for Columbus in this one, pitching 6 innings of 1-hit ball, with the only hit being a costly single to Molina. Sacramento – 3 Columbus – 0 W – Sale (1-0) L – Meyer (0-1) S – Olson (2)
The National League Championship headed to Sacramento with the Capitals leading the series 2 games to 0.
GAME #3 – J.A. Happ (15-7 2.61) vs. Zack Grienke (14-10 2.66) Both teams got off to a hot start in Game three, with Columbus scoring first with a Ryan Zimmerman single scoring a speedy Dee Gordon in the top of the 1^st. Sacramento took the lead right back off a 2-run home run off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton, again with Mancini on 1^st. Columbus came right back to to tie it up at 2 with an Alex Avila solo home run in the top of the 2^nd. Tied up at 2 in the bottom of the 3^rd, Reddick reached on a 1-out single and promptly stole second; with a runner on 2^nd, Flores hits a topper to Happ, who promptly throws it right past Carpenter at 1^st, scoring Reddick and landing Flores at second. Mancini strikes out and Stanton gets the base on balls. Two out, two on, Lindor up … and he gets the knock to RF, scoring Flores and giving Sacramento the 4-2 lead. Sacramento would hold the lead until the top of the 9^th inning. Olson in for the save. Eduardo gets a lead-off infield base hit to start the 9^th. With one on, Columbus calls on Tyler Flowers to bat for Alex Avila; Flowers drills the first pitch he sees to left-center for a double, and Nunez stops at 3^rd with no outs. Tying run at 2^nd with no outs and the pitcher’s spot up next. Ian Desmond steps up to the plate and hits a looping drive to the gap in right-center, Reddick hurries and dives for it, making the one-handed grab as he hits the ground! But, Columbus holds Nunes at 3^rd and no damage was done. Two on, one out. Dee Gordon step up to the plate, a hard grounder to Lindor, and Lindor drops it! Nunez scores and Gordon takes a big turn around first, Molina fires the ball to first, Gordon’s out! Runner on 3^rd and two outs, Matt Carpenter steps up, bounces it to Lindor, who slowly and carefully under-hands the ball to Moreland at 1^st for the final out. Greinke and Happ both pitch well, with the former pitching 6 IP while giving up 8 H and 2 ER; Happ also turned in 6 IP with 5 H and 2 ER. The difference in this one was 3 unearned runs from two fairly solid defensive teams. Sacramento – 4 Bethesda – 3 W – Greinke (1-0) L – Happ (0-1) S – Olson (3)
GAME #4 – Lance McCullers (15-3 2.40) vs. Max Scherzer (23-4 1.71) Columbus got the scoring going in the top of the 2^nd inning with a 3-run home run by Alex Avila off Max Scherzer. Trey Mancini closed the lead in the bottom half of the inning with a 2-run home run, only to see the lead extended back to 3-runs in the top of the 3^rd off a Paul DeJong 2-RBI double, scoring Zimmerman and Carpenter. Down 5-2 in the 3^rd, Sacramento would inch closer with another home run, this time a solo shot, by Mancini in the bottom of the 4^th, and would tie it up in the bottom of the 6^th with a 2-run home run off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton. Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 9^th, no outs, Wilmer Flores stepped up to the plate, and took Yusmeiro Petit deep for the walk-off victory. Columbus – 5 Sacramento – 6 W – Holland (1-0) L – Petit (0-1)
Sacramento takes the series 4-0 against a very good Explorers team. Columbus batted .168 with a .224 OBP, scored 8 runs, hit 2 HRs, and didn’t steal a base; while Sacramento batted .210 BA with a .261 OBP, scored 15 runs, hit 7 HRs, and stole 2 bases in 4 attempts. The Capitals also had the edge on defense, holding a 1.25 ERA while giving up 8 runs, 3 unearned, over the 4 games, while the Explorers held a 3.18 ERA while giving up 15 runs, also 3 unearned. Giancarlo Stanton was the series MVP, again leading the Caps in offense, batting .429 with a .500 OBP, 3 HRs, 5 runs, and 6 RBI.

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS @ COLUMBUS EXPLORERS

The Columbus Explorers (117-45) and Sacramento Capitals (106-56), winners of the NL Central and NL West Sacramento, face each other in the playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons. With the exception of the Tempe Tempers and the Chicago Mobsters, Sacramento (.607 Win %) and Columbus (.558 Win %) are the winningest teams during that 10-year period. Both have had modest success in the playoffs, with winning percentages hovering around the .500 mark, while Columbus hopes to make its first World Series appearance in franchise history, the Capitals have hopes to return to the World Series for the first time since 2012.

Over the course of the regular season, Columbus and Sacramento were relatively closely matched. While both held a .984 FLD %, Sacramento had the advantage with its star-filled rotation. Both Sacramento and Columbus were top in the NL in pitching, with Sacramento holding teams to a 2.75 ERA and 494 Runs and Columbus holding teams to a 2.94 ERA and 536 Runs. Columbus, however, had the advantage with the most powerful offense in the National League; Sacramento held a .257/.317/.436 triple slash with 237 HR and a 4.9 RC/G while Columbus held a .267/.335/.440 triple slash with 224 HR and a 5.6 RC/G.

GAME #1 – Max Scherzer (23-4 1.71) vs. Ervin Santana (15-3 2.61)

The bats were quiet, very quiet, in the opening game as the NL Central winning Columbus Explorers hosted the Sacramento Capitals. Both Santana and Scherzer pitched a scoreless game through the first three frames, but a Trey Mancini walk and a Giancarlo Stanton home run in the top of the 4^th would give the Capitals enough to win the opener. Max Scherzer would do the rest by pitching 8.2 innings of near-perfect baseball, giving up only 1 base on balls and while earning the “W”. Like Sale in the NLDS, Max was on a pitch count and was pulled one out away from a no-hitter. Ervin Santana was nearly as effective, giving up 2 runs over 8.1 innings on just 6 hits.

Sacramento – 2

Columbus – 0

W – Scherzer (1-0)

L – Santana (0-1)

S – Olson (1)

GAME #2 – Chris Sale (22-6 2.50) vs. Alex Meyer(6-1 4.14)

First on the scoreboard again is Sacramento, this time in the top of the 2^nd inning. Stanton boarded on a walk and was driven home on a 2-out RBI single by Yadier Molina. That is all the offense either team would see until the 9^th inning when Giancarlo, doing what he does, smacked a 2-run home run to give Tyler Olson a little breathing room to earn the save. Chris Sale was spectacular once again, pithcing 7 strong innings while giving up 5 singles and no runs. Alex Meyer might have actually been better for Columbus in this one, pitching 6 innings of 1-hit ball, with the only hit being a costly single to Molina.

Sacramento – 3

Columbus – 0

W – Sale (1-0)

L – Meyer (0-1)

S – Olson (2)

The National League Championship headed to Sacramento with the Capitals leading the series 2 games to 0.

GAME #3 – J.A. Happ (15-7 2.61) vs. Zack Grienke (14-10 2.66)

Both teams got off to a hot start in Game three, with Columbus scoring first with a Ryan Zimmerman single scoring a speedy Dee Gordon in the top of the 1^st. Sacramento took the lead right back off a 2-run home run off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton, again with Mancini on 1^st. Columbus came right back to to tie it up at 2 with an Alex Avila solo home run in the top of the 2^nd. Tied up at 2 in the bottom of the 3^rd, Reddick reached on a 1-out single and promptly stole second; with a runner on 2^nd, Flores hits a topper to Happ, who promptly throws it right past Carpenter at 1^st, scoring Reddick and landing Flores at second. Mancini strikes out and Stanton gets the base on balls. Two out, two on, Lindor up … and he gets the knock to RF, scoring Flores and giving Sacramento the 4-2 lead. Sacramento would hold the lead until the top of the 9^th inning.

Olson in for the save. Eduardo gets a lead-off infield base hit to start the 9^th. With one on, Columbus calls on Tyler Flowers to bat for Alex Avila; Flowers drills the first pitch he sees to left-center for a double, and Nunez stops at 3^rd with no outs. Tying run at 2^nd with no outs and the pitcher’s spot up next. Ian Desmond steps up to the plate and hits a looping drive to the gap in right-center, Reddick hurries and dives for it, making the one-handed grab as he hits the ground! But, Columbus holds Nunes at 3^rd and no damage was done. Two on, one out. Dee Gordon step up to the plate, a hard grounder to Lindor, and Lindor drops it! Nunez scores and Gordon takes a big turn around first, Molina fires the ball to first, Gordon’s out! Runner on 3^rd and two outs, Matt Carpenter steps up, bounces it to Lindor, who slowly and carefully under-hands the ball to Moreland at 1^st for the final out.

Greinke and Happ both pitch well, with the former pitching 6 IP while giving up 8 H and 2 ER; Happ also turned in 6 IP with 5 H and 2 ER. The difference in this one was 3 unearned runs from two fairly solid defensive teams.

Sacramento – 4

Bethesda – 3

W – Greinke (1-0)

L – Happ (0-1)

S – Olson (3)

GAME #4 – Lance McCullers (15-3 2.40) vs. Max Scherzer (23-4 1.71)

Columbus got the scoring going in the top of the 2^nd inning with a 3-run home run by Alex Avila off Max Scherzer. Trey Mancini closed the lead in the bottom half of the inning with a 2-run home run, only to see the lead extended back to 3-runs in the top of the 3^rd off a Paul DeJong 2-RBI double, scoring Zimmerman and Carpenter. Down 5-2 in the 3^rd, Sacramento would inch closer with another home run, this time a solo shot, by Mancini in the bottom of the 4^th, and would tie it up in the bottom of the 6^th with a 2-run home run off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton. Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 9^th, no outs, Wilmer Flores stepped up to the plate, and took Yusmeiro Petit deep for the walk-off victory.

Columbus – 5

Sacramento – 6

W – Holland (1-0)

L – Petit (0-1)

Sacramento takes the series 4-0 against a very good Explorers team. Columbus batted .168 with a .224 OBP, scored 8 runs, hit 2 HRs, and didn’t steal a base; while Sacramento batted .210 BA with a .261 OBP, scored 15 runs, hit 7 HRs, and stole 2 bases in 4 attempts. The Capitals also had the edge on defense, holding a 1.25 ERA while giving up 8 runs, 3 unearned, over the 4 games, while the Explorers held a 3.18 ERA while giving up 15 runs, also 3 unearned. Giancarlo Stanton was the series MVP, again leading the Caps in offense, batting .429 with a .500 OBP, 3 HRs, 5 runs, and 6 RBI.

2018 – AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Chicago Mobsters @ Dallas Cougars
The American League Wild Card Chicago Mobsters (105- 57) were headed to face the beast in the east the Dallas Cougars (101-61). The series started with the Mobsters having five days of rest coming off a 4-0 American League Division Series #1 win over the Bottle Rockets of Tijuana. The Cougars were coming off a 4-2 American League Division Series #2 win over the Hollywood Werewolves & the Dallas squad had two days of rest themselves. In what should be a very tight American League Championship Series the Dallas team had the home field advantage & were looking to eliminate the Wild Card Mobsters of Chicago.
GAME #1 – Marcus Stroman (15-8 3.95) vs. Chase Anderson (15-10 2.64) Through 2.5 innings the game was scoreless. In the bottom of the 3rd A.J. Pollock took a Marcus Stroman fastball deep to left, this one had a passport to Mexico & it was Adios Amigos giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead after 3 Innings of play. After a Andrelton Simmons infield Single that Jed Gyorko tried to let roll foul, Neil Walker hits a line drive down into the corner in left, Simmons was on the move at first base, Simmons scored & the game was tied at 1 run apiece on Walkers Double. Lead off hitter Daniel Nava then lines a shot paste Yangervis Solarte into left scoring Neil Walker & giving the Mobsters a 2-1 lead after 4.5 Innings of play. After getting one out in the bottom of the 5th, with two runners on base (1st & 2nd) manager Stray Corrado replaced Marcus Stroman with Noah Syndergaard. Josh Harrison cracks a Double over the head of Nava in left, two runs come across & the Cougars go back on top 3-2. Alexander Presley then lines a Single into centerfield scoring Harrison & putting the Cougars up 4-2. Things only got worse for the Mobsters and Syndergaard. Justin Smoak took Syndergaard deep to left for a 2-Run Home Run & putting the Cougars in the drivers seat for Game #1. Chicago put up 2 in the 9th with Alex Bregman at third, Freddie Freeman Doubled, pulling the Mobsters within 3. Dallas Manager Jarl Jackson went to his “Sugar” Edwin Diaz who got J.D. Martinez to ground out for out number one, moving Freeman to third. A second ground ball from “Sugar” got Justin Turner an RBI scoring Freeman, but putting the Cougars one out away from taking game #1. Buster Posey faced Diaz, who got his third ground ball of the inning a weak dribbler to Josh Harrison who threw to first for the final out of the game. Final Score: Dallas 6 – Chicago 4 Win: Chase Anderson 1-0 (3.38) Loss: Noah Syndergaard 0-1 (9.82) Save: Edwin Diaz #1 Home Runs: A.J. Pollock (1), Justin Smoak (1)
GAME #2 – Rich Hill (13-3 2.98) vs. Andrew Cashner (18-6 3.01) After a scoreless 1st Inning Chicago got a 2 Out Double off the bat of Buster Posey before long time Mobsters Andrew McCutchen took Andrew Cashner deep to left for a 2-Run Home Run & giving the Mobsters a 2-0 lead after 1.5 Innings of play. The starting pitchers settled in after that. Rich Hill went 5 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 1 Walk, Striking Out 5 for the Mobsters. Cashner went 5.2 Innings allowing only the 2 Runs off the bat of McCutchen. In the bottom of the 8th the Cougars with Dellin Betances on the mound for Chicago a lead off Double from A.J. Pollock gave Dallas some hope. Josh Harrison then got plunked (Second time this series) by Betances, putting runners at 1st & 2nd. Dallas Manager Jarl Jackson went to his bench & replaced Jose Pirela with Alexander Presley. Chicago manager Stray Corrado countered with Andrew Miller who got Presley to pop foul to 3rd. Jose Abreu fanned on a 1-2 Fastball from Miller for the 2nd out. Justin Smoak & Miller matched up in a battle, but Smoak eventually drew the walk, loading the bases with two outs. Right handed batter Jed Gyorko came up, Chicago went to the pen for Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak uncorked one. Wild Pitch, scoring A.J. Pollock & cutting the Mobsters lead to 2-1. Gyorko had runners on 2nd and 3rd and could put the Cougars up by 1 with a single. Gyorko smacked a clothesline straight away center, but Dexter Fowler found the ball, gather it in and put the threat to rest. Top of the 9th Neil Walker facing Juan Nicasio with 2 Outs & Walker lofted a fly ball that Presley tracked to the wall, jumped & came down empty handed, putting the Mobsters back up by 2 runs with a score of 3-2. Swarzak faced the 1st two hitters in the line up, but Chicago wanted there closer Aroldis Chapmanin to shut the door & get in a game since Chapman had not pitched in 6 days. Kelby Tomlinson was called upon to pinch hit for Jaycob Brugman. Down by 2, 2 Outs in the 9th, Tomlinson delivered a Double down the line in right field, putting the tying run on 2nd. A.J. Pollock connected on the 2nd straight hit off Chapman, lacing a hot grounder down the line past Bregman at 3rd. Chicago was lucky to hold Pollock to a Double, but the Cougars didn’t want to make the last out at 3rd base. So down by 1, man at 2B, Josh Harrison up for the Cougars facing Aroldis Chapman who had yet to retire a batter. Harrison hit a frozen rope straight away center, Dexter Fowler was right there & gloved it for the Final out of the game. Final Score: Chicago 3 – Dallas 2 Win: Rich Hill 1-0 (0.00) Loss: Andrew Cashner 0-1 (3.18) Save: Aroldis Chapman #1 Home Runs: Andrew McCutchen (1), Neil Walker (1)
Chicago was headed home for 3 games with a split in Dallas. Both teams were feeling good about the series being tied & looking forward to some good playoff baseball.
GAME #3 – Dallas Keuchel (14-3 1.73) vs. Carlos Matias Martinez (11-9 3.47) Chicago started banging things around in the bottom of the first & before you knew it this game was over. Actually, Dallas had gotten 2 Outs & no one was on for Chicago when the wheels for the Cougars fell off Freddie Freeman laced a Double to start things off. J.D. Martinez followed up with a 2-Run Home Run to the opposite field. Justin Turner then walked on 4 straight pitches from Dallas Keuchel (who you could tell was shaken). Buster Posey stepped in & on wrapped a clean hit & run Single to right field moving Turner to 3rd base. Andrew McCutchen who had been hot recently strolled up, lined a Single to left, scoring Turner & moving Posey up to 2nd base. Andrelton Simmons then blooped one down the line in right field, Posey scored, McCutchen flew around 3rd & scored as well, putting the Mobsters up 5-0. Simmons ended up on 2nd base. The 9th man to bat in the inning was Neil Walker who walked. Dexter Fowler lined a base hit over 2nd Base, scoring Simmons, Walker costed into 3rd. The bleeding stopped for Dallas when Alex Bregman popped out to end the inning. Chicago scored 6 Runs, all earned, all with 2 Outs & the bases empty. Chicago was feeling good after one Inning of play. Dallas, not so much. Freddie Freeman Doubled to lead off the 2nd Inning & scored on a Buster Posey single to right field, putting the Mobsters up 7-0 after 2 Innings of play. The game settled down for a while through innings three, four & five, but in the sixth Dallas had Yangervis Solarte on 2nd Base when Carlos Gomez took a Carlos Matias Martinez fastball deep to left center for a long Home Run. Dallas inched back cutting the lead to 7-2 after 6 Innings of play. In the bottom of the 8th the Mobsters struck again. Neil Walker lead off with a single & after Mikie Mathtook walked. Alex Bregman was facing Matt Albers & Bregman took fat Albers deep to left for a big fly 3 run Baltimore special. Chicago now had a 10-3 lead after 8 Innings of play. Chicago had brought in their big left-hander on the mound C.C. Sabathia for 2 Outs in the 8th and besides a Single to Justin Smoak in the 9th, Sabathia was clean, and closed down game number three for a big lopsided 10-3 victory at home. Final Score: Chicago 10 – Dallas 3 Win: Carlos Matias Martinez 1-0 (2.57) Loss: Dallas Keuchel 0-1 (15.75) Home Runs: Carlos Gomez (1), Alex Bregman (1), J.D. Martinez (1),
GAME #4 – Brent Suter (8-3 1.95) vs. Marcus Stroman (15-8 3.95) Playoff baseball returned to Chicago for game #4. The high scorring affair that was game #3 was in the past. Both starters Suter for Dallas & Stroman for Chicago were stellar. Dallas touched up Stroman in the 4th on a Josh Harrison solo Home Run. Chicago responded in the 5th the same way off a solo Home Run from Freddie Freeman. It was deadlocked at 1-Run each after 5 Inings of play. Chicago pulled Stroman in the top of the 6th after a lead off Double by Miguel Rojas & a walk to Andrew Toles. Chicago went to their big right hander in Dellin Betances. The announcer made a funny remark when Betances entered the game & announced his ERA at “ummm, infinity” as he was knocked out of game #2 before getting an out. Betances made up for it here in game #4. A sacrifice bunt attempt was spoiled when Freddie Freeman rusing in from 1B fired a strike to 3B getting Rojas at 3B for the first out. After and Alexander Presley Strike Out Betances was one out a way from getting out of a big jam. Jose Abreu stepped up, the one man Chicago Manager Stray Corrado wanted to keep off the board. Betances got Abreu on a change piece to chop one back to the mound, Betances took his time, threw over to Freeman at 1B & the threat was extinguished. Dallas pulled Suter after 6.1 Innings of work allowing 1 Run, (Earned, Solo Home Run from Freddie Freeman) 9 Hits, 1 Walk & 6 Strike Outs. All in all in great game for Suter. Adam Warren came on & shut the Mobsters down through the end of 9 Innings. Chicago had Betances go a second Inning of work, followed by Chad Green who worked 3 Innings allowing only 1 Hit & into the top of the 10th with the score tied at 1 run apiece. Neither team scored in the 10th. In the top of the 11th Chicago went to left hander Andrew Miller who got the Cougars 1-2-3. Juan Nicasio had started the 10th for Dallas & was now facing the lead off hitter Neil Walker in the top of the 11th. Walker a late season acqustion from the Virginia Sluggers had played some years before in Chicago & knew the crowd was primed for a win here in game #4. Walker delievered as he was waiting for Nicasio first pitch fastball & Walker took him deep into right center, for a Walk Off Home Run, giving the Mobsters the victory with a 2-1 win! Final Score: Chicago 2 – Dallas 1 Win: Andrew Miller (0.00) Loss: Juan Nicasio 0-1 (6.75) Home Runs: Josh Harrison (1), Neil Walker (2), Freddie Freeman (1)
GAME #5 – Chase Anderson (15-10 2.64) vs. Rich Hill (13-3 2.98) This was the best game of the series. What a pitchers duel between two starters that both had won games already this series. Chase Anderson didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the 6th with two outs when Dexter Fowler gapped one between A.J. Pollock & Carlos Gomez. A pop out by Bregman ended the inning for the Mobsters. Anderson was crusing. Chicago starter Rich Hill was even better. He had walked 2 in the game, but starting off the 9th inning Hill hadn’t let up a hit. The 9th started with a Strike Out of Carlos Gomez – one down, two outs away from a No-Hitter. A.J. Pollock took Hill to a 3-2 count where Hill tried to get Pollock to chase a high fastball, but Pollock didn’t offer. So Hill had walked his 3rd batter of the game, still hadn’t given up a hit & was still in control. The only bad thing for Hill here was that Chicago hadn’t put up a run yet off Chase Anderson. It was deadlocked in the 9th at 0-0. What a pitchers duel this was. Josh Harrison stepped in to face Hill for the Cougars. Chicago had interest in Harrision late in the year, but Dallas owner Jarl Jackson, quickly shot down any talks of moving Harrison. Jackson’s response was “No. Not at this time”. So Hill who had already plunked Harrison in game #2 stepped back on the mound after the 1 out walk to Pollack & let go a beautiful looking curveball. But it hung – hung right in Harrison’s wheel house. BOOM! Harrisson connected, deep to center, Dexter Fowler raced back to the wall, looked up & there was nothing Fowler could do, it was long gone! A two-run shot putting the Cougars in the lead by a 2-0 score. Hill shrugged his shoulders, smiled as Harrison crossed the plate & was ready to get back to work, hoping his Mobsters could muster something up in the 9th. An Error by J.D. Martinez allowed Jose Pirela to reach 1B, Hill was pulled by Manager Stray Corrado, but not before a thunderous roar from the crowd for the great work he did on the mound. Hill handed the Ball to the manager, walked toward the home 3rd base dugout, tipped his hat to the croud (for another thunderous roar) & headed down the tunnel for the evening. Anthony Swarzak was called upon & got Jose Abreu to go down on strikes & Justin Smoak to scorch a line out to Neil Walker for the 3rd out. Chicago was down to thier last 3 outs. Andrelton Simmons struck out on a check swing for out number one. Dexter Fowler came up & Chase Anderson walked him on four straight pitches. Jarl Jackson headed out from the 1B dugout & asked Anderson for the ball. Chicago’s great baseball crowd responded with cheering for the great job that Anderson did. Anderson pitched 8.1 Inings, 1 hit, 2 walks & struck out 9 Mobsters along the way. The cheering turned to boos when “Sugar” was called upon from the Cougars bullpen. Edwin Diaz had the Save in game #2 & was two outs away from locking this one down for Dallas. Alex Bregman stepped in the first batter to face “Sugar”. Chicago manager Stray Corrado put the Hit-N-Run on & Bregman grounded one to the right side, Josh Harrison was moving toward second base and Bregman hit it right through the hole. Fowler moved easily to third & Bregman perfectly placed that Hit-N-Run through the hole left by the Cougars infield for his 7th hit of the series. The tying run was now on 1B. Bregman went on the first pitch to Freddie Freeman, but Manny Pina threw the ball down to third as Fowler had wandered a little too far down the line. Jed Gyorko ran Fowler towards home, threw the ball to Pina – Pina threw back to 3rd, but Fowler got in with a head first dive. So now the tying run was on 2nd, the winning run was Freddie Freeman standing in the batters box with a 1-0 count. The count went 3-2, Freddie was ready. Diaz rocked & fired and Freeman with a half swing, he held up – but home plate umpire Jordan Baker went up with his right hand & called Freeman out for extensive window shopping. Two outs, two on, Chicago down by two. Jarl Jackson headed to the mound again & pointed at “Sugar”, telling his infielders & catcher that he only wanted to speak with Diaz. After a quick chat, smile & a pat on the ass for “Sugar”, Jackson was done & the whole crowd figured that Jackson had instructed Diaz to walk the number four hitter J.D. Martinez in the Chicago line up. “Diaz waited for Martinez to step in, pointed at his catcher Manny Pina to sit down & was ready not to walk Martinez, but to face him. J.D. Martinez stepped out, gather his thoughts on what was about to happen. Jordan Baker pointed for Martinez to get in the box, J.D. stepped in. Diaz set, pitched & Martinez hit what looked like a blooper over the shortstop Miguel Rojas head, but Rojas leaped, backhanded it & caught the ball for the final out of game #5. Final Score: Dallas 2 – Chicago 0 Win: Chase Anderson 2-0 (1.65) Loss: Rich Hill 1-1 (1.35) Save: Edwin Diaz #2 Home Runs: Josh Harrison (2)
The 2018 American League Championship was shaping up to be a dog fight. Dallas was down 3 games to 1 in Chicago, but managed to win game 5 & brought the series back home to Dallas for at least a game 6 and hopefully a game 7. The Cougars faithful were buying tickets on the street for as high as $750.00 a piece for good box seats. Even the low end bleacher seats were tripled in price & going for more than $125.00. Chicago was not looking forward to being back in Dallas & were disappointed they didn’t win game 5, take a few extra days of rest. The plane ride to Dallas was quiet, however the captain did come on the loudspeaker and asked the players to look out the left side of the planes windows, stating over the intercom “If you look real close about & were about 12,000 feet up you can see the ball that Josh Harrison hit off Rich Hill starting it’s decline”. The Mobsters team erupted in laughter & Rich Hill‘s smile was from ear to ear. It was a good laugh for the Mobsters team & that seemed to relax them as they headed into Dallas still up 3 games to 2.
GAME #6 – Carlos Matias Martinez (11-9 3.47) vs. Andrew Cashner (18-6 3.01) Dexter Fowler lead off the game back in Dallas. Fowler told on deck batter Alex Bregman “If Cash throws me a first pitch fastball, I am talking him downtown”. Bregman smiled as Dexter, & said “You go Homie – You go get it”. Surer than s#it, that’s exactly what Andrew Cashner threw first pitch to Dexter & surer than S#it, Dexter did just as he said & started a trend of long balls for Chicago. In the top of the 2nd Ining it was Justin Turner‘s turn. He socked a Cashener fastball deep to left & gone to make it 2-0 Chicago after 1.5 Innings of play. Dallas had a hot bat as well with Justin Smoak who wasn’t hitting much for average, but in the bottom of the 2nd Smoak took a Carlos Matias Martinez pitch down the line in right field for a Home Run. At the end of 2 Innings of play, Chicago held a 2-1 lead not only in Home Runs, but the overall score too. Chicago must have seen something in Game 2 as Cashner seemed to be tipping his pitches. In the top of the 3rd Alex Bregman spotted a Cashner fastball (meatball) & took it for a ride over the left field wall, putting Chicago up 3-1. But that wasn’t it in the 3rd. After a Freddie Freeman single, J.D. Martinez stepped in. Martinez saw a 2-0 fastball from Cashner & went the opposite way, deep to right, Josh Harrison got a good jump & went back to the wall, but he ran out of room as J.D. Martinez deposited a 2-Run Home Run over the right field wall. Andrew Cashner was pulled after 2.1 Innings of play, his line was 7 Hits, 5 Runs (all earned) 0 Walks, 2 K’s but the thing that hurt Cashner was the 4 long balls. Chicago had a 5-1 lead at the end of 2.5 Innings of play. In the 5th Brock Stewart hit Justin Turner in the helmet. Turner got up slowly walked vaguely down to 1B & after getting the concussion protocol cleared stood at 1B with one out. Andrew McCutchen stepped in & uncorked one for a 2-Run Home Run & giving the Mobsters a sizable 7-1 lead. Meanwhile Carlos Matias Martinez rolled through 5.1 Inings of work before Chad Green took over. Green allowed only a solo Home Run in his 2.1 Innings of work to Justin Smoak his 2nd of the game (Smaok also had a Double giving him 10 bases on the day). Chicago went with Anthony Swarzak for 1/3 of an Inning & brought in Andrew Miller in to face Carlos Gomez (Struck Out), A.J. Pollock (Struck Out), Josh Harrison (Walk) & Alexander Presley (Struck Out) to close out the game & the series for Chicago. Final Score: Chicago 7 – Dallas 2 Win: Carlos Matias Martinez 2-0 (2.19) Loss: Andrew Cashner 0-2 (7.88) Home Runs: Dexter Fowler (1), Alex Bregman (2), J.D. Martinez (2), Justin Turner (1), Andrew McCutchen (2) & Justin Smoak 2 (3)
Chicago & Dallas played a great series. Dallas scared Chicago quite a bit, & there 2-0 win in game #5 felt like a down turn for the Mobsters. However in the end the Mobsters prevailed winning the series 4 games to 2. Congratulations to Dallas on a great season. Chicago now awaits the winner of the Sacramento Capitals & Columbus Explorers National League Championship – before they head off to the 2018 Mid-West Baseball League World Series.

Chicago Mobsters @ Dallas Cougars

The American League Wild Card Chicago Mobsters (105- 57) were headed to face the beast in the east the Dallas Cougars (101-61).

The series started with the Mobsters having five days of rest coming off a 4-0 American League Division Series #1 win over the Bottle Rockets of Tijuana.

The Cougars were coming off a 4-2 American League Division Series #2 win over the Hollywood Werewolves & the Dallas squad had two days of rest themselves.

In what should be a very tight American League Championship Series the Dallas team had the home field advantage & were looking to eliminate the Wild Card Mobsters of Chicago.

GAME #1 – Marcus Stroman (15-8 3.95) vs. Chase Anderson (15-10 2.64)

Through 2.5 innings the game was scoreless. In the bottom of the 3rd A.J. Pollock took a Marcus Stroman fastball deep to left, this one had a passport to Mexico &
it was Adios Amigos giving the Cougars a 1-0 lead after 3 Innings of play.
After a Andrelton Simmons infield Single that Jed Gyorko tried to let roll foul, Neil Walker hits a line drive down into the corner in left, Simmons was on the move at
first base, Simmons scored & the game was tied at 1 run apiece on Walkers Double.
Lead off hitter Daniel Nava then lines a shot paste Yangervis Solarte into left scoring Neil Walker & giving the Mobsters a 2-1 lead after 4.5 Innings of play.
After getting one out in the bottom of the 5th, with two runners on base (1st & 2nd) manager Stray Corrado replaced Marcus Stroman with Noah Syndergaard.
Josh Harrison cracks a Double over the head of Nava in left, two runs come across & the Cougars go back on top 3-2.
Alexander Presley then lines a Single into centerfield scoring Harrison & putting the Cougars up 4-2. Things only got worse for the Mobsters and Syndergaard. Justin Smoak took Syndergaard deep to left for a 2-Run Home Run & putting the Cougars in the drivers seat for Game #1.
Chicago put up 2 in the 9th with Alex Bregman at third, Freddie Freeman Doubled, pulling the Mobsters within 3.
Dallas Manager Jarl Jackson went to his “Sugar” Edwin Diaz who got J.D. Martinez to ground out for out number one, moving Freeman to third.
A second ground ball from “Sugar” got Justin Turner an RBI scoring Freeman, but putting the Cougars one out away from taking game #1.
Buster Posey faced Diaz, who got his third ground ball of the inning a weak dribbler to Josh Harrison who threw to first for the final out of the game.

Final Score: Dallas 6 – Chicago 4
Win: Chase Anderson 1-0 (3.38)
Loss: Noah Syndergaard 0-1 (9.82)
Save: Edwin Diaz #1
Home Runs: A.J. Pollock (1), Justin Smoak (1)

GAME #2 – Rich Hill (13-3 2.98) vs. Andrew Cashner (18-6 3.01)

After a scoreless 1st Inning Chicago got a 2 Out Double off the bat of Buster Posey before long time Mobsters Andrew McCutchen took Andrew Cashner deep to left for a 2-Run Home Run & giving the Mobsters a 2-0 lead after 1.5 Innings of play.
The starting pitchers settled in after that. Rich Hill went 5 Innings allowing 4 Hits, 1 Walk, Striking Out 5 for the Mobsters.
Cashner went 5.2 Innings allowing only the 2 Runs off the bat of McCutchen.
In the bottom of the 8th the Cougars with Dellin Betances on the mound for Chicago a lead off Double from A.J. Pollock gave Dallas some hope. Josh Harrison then got plunked (Second time this series) by Betances, putting runners at 1st & 2nd. Dallas Manager Jarl Jackson went to his bench & replaced Jose Pirela with Alexander Presley. Chicago manager Stray Corrado countered with Andrew Miller who got Presley to pop foul to 3rd. Jose Abreu fanned on a 1-2 Fastball from Miller for the 2nd out. Justin Smoak & Miller matched up in a battle, but Smoak eventually drew the walk, loading the bases with two outs. Right handed batter Jed Gyorko came up, Chicago went to the pen for Anthony Swarzak. Swarzak uncorked one. Wild Pitch, scoring A.J. Pollock & cutting the Mobsters lead to 2-1.
Gyorko had runners on 2nd and 3rd and could put the Cougars up by 1 with a single. Gyorko smacked a clothesline straight away center, but Dexter Fowler found the ball, gather it in and put the threat to rest.
Top of the 9th Neil Walker facing Juan Nicasio with 2 Outs & Walker lofted a fly ball that Presley tracked to the wall, jumped & came down empty handed, putting the Mobsters back up by 2 runs with a score of 3-2.
Swarzak faced the 1st two hitters in the line up, but Chicago wanted there closer Aroldis Chapmanin to shut the door & get in a game since Chapman had not pitched in 6 days. Kelby Tomlinson was called upon to pinch hit for Jaycob Brugman. Down by 2, 2 Outs in the 9th, Tomlinson delivered a Double down the line in right field, putting the tying run on 2nd. A.J. Pollock connected on the 2nd straight hit off Chapman, lacing a hot grounder down the line past Bregman at 3rd. Chicago was lucky to hold Pollock to a Double, but the Cougars didn’t want to make the last out at 3rd base. So down by 1, man at 2B, Josh Harrison up for the Cougars facing Aroldis Chapman who had yet to retire a batter. Harrison hit a frozen rope straight away center, Dexter Fowler was right there & gloved it for the Final out of the game.

Final Score: Chicago 3 – Dallas 2
Win: Rich Hill 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Andrew Cashner 0-1 (3.18)
Save: Aroldis Chapman #1
Home Runs: Andrew McCutchen (1), Neil Walker (1)

Chicago was headed home for 3 games with a split in Dallas. Both teams were feeling good about the series being tied & looking forward to some good playoff baseball.

GAME #3 – Dallas Keuchel (14-3 1.73) vs. Carlos Matias Martinez (11-9 3.47)

Chicago started banging things around in the bottom of the first & before you knew it this game was over. Actually, Dallas had gotten 2 Outs & no one was on for Chicago when the wheels for the Cougars fell off Freddie Freeman laced a Double to start things off. J.D. Martinez followed up with a 2-Run Home Run to the opposite field. Justin Turner then walked on 4 straight pitches from Dallas Keuchel (who you could tell was shaken). Buster Posey stepped in & on wrapped a clean hit & run Single to right field moving Turner to 3rd base. Andrew McCutchen who had been hot recently strolled up, lined a Single to left, scoring Turner & moving Posey up to 2nd base. Andrelton Simmons then blooped one down the line in right field, Posey scored, McCutchen flew around 3rd & scored as well, putting the Mobsters up 5-0. Simmons ended up on 2nd base. The 9th man to bat in the inning was Neil Walker who walked. Dexter Fowler lined a base hit over 2nd Base, scoring Simmons, Walker costed into 3rd. The bleeding stopped for Dallas when Alex Bregman popped out to end the inning. Chicago scored 6 Runs, all earned, all with 2 Outs & the bases empty. Chicago was feeling good after one Inning of play. Dallas, not so much.
Freddie Freeman Doubled to lead off the 2nd Inning & scored on a Buster Posey single to right field, putting the Mobsters up 7-0 after 2 Innings of play.
The game settled down for a while through innings three, four & five, but in the sixth Dallas had Yangervis Solarte on 2nd Base when Carlos Gomez took a Carlos Matias Martinez fastball deep to left center for a long Home Run. Dallas inched back cutting the lead to 7-2 after 6 Innings of play.
In the bottom of the 8th the Mobsters struck again. Neil Walker lead off with a single & after Mikie Mathtook walked. Alex Bregman was facing Matt Albers & Bregman took fat Albers deep to left for a big fly 3 run Baltimore special. Chicago now had a 10-3 lead after 8 Innings of play.
Chicago had brought in their big left-hander on the mound C.C. Sabathia for 2 Outs in the 8th and besides a Single to Justin Smoak in the 9th, Sabathia was clean, and closed down game number three for a big lopsided 10-3 victory at home.

Final Score: Chicago 10 – Dallas 3
Win: Carlos Matias Martinez 1-0 (2.57)
Loss: Dallas Keuchel 0-1 (15.75)
Home Runs: Carlos Gomez (1), Alex Bregman (1), J.D. Martinez (1),

GAME #4 – Brent Suter (8-3 1.95) vs. Marcus Stroman (15-8 3.95)

Playoff baseball returned to Chicago for game #4. The high scorring affair that was game #3 was in the past. Both starters Suter for Dallas & Stroman for Chicago were stellar.
Dallas touched up Stroman in the 4th on a Josh Harrison solo Home Run. Chicago responded in the 5th the same way off a solo Home Run from Freddie Freeman.
It was deadlocked at 1-Run each after 5 Inings of play. Chicago pulled Stroman in the top of the 6th after a lead off Double by Miguel Rojas & a walk to Andrew Toles. Chicago went to their big right hander in Dellin Betances. The announcer made a funny remark when Betances entered the game & announced his ERA at “ummm, infinity” as he was knocked out of game #2 before getting an out. Betances made up for it here in game #4. A sacrifice bunt attempt was spoiled when Freddie Freeman rusing in from 1B fired a strike to 3B getting Rojas at 3B for the first out. After and Alexander Presley Strike Out Betances was one out a way from getting out of a big jam. Jose Abreu stepped up, the
one man Chicago Manager Stray Corrado wanted to keep off the board. Betances got Abreu on a change piece to chop one back to the mound, Betances took his time, threw over to Freeman at 1B & the threat was extinguished.
Dallas pulled Suter after 6.1 Innings of work allowing 1 Run, (Earned, Solo Home Run from Freddie Freeman) 9 Hits, 1 Walk & 6 Strike Outs. All in all in great game for Suter. Adam Warren came on & shut the Mobsters down through the end of 9 Innings. Chicago had Betances go a second Inning of work, followed by Chad Green who worked 3 Innings allowing only 1 Hit & into the top of the 10th with the score tied at 1 run apiece. Neither team scored in the 10th.
In the top of the 11th Chicago went to left hander Andrew Miller who got the Cougars 1-2-3. Juan Nicasio had started the 10th for Dallas & was now facing the lead off hitter Neil Walker in the top of the 11th. Walker a late season acqustion from the Virginia Sluggers had played some years before in Chicago & knew the crowd was primed for a win here in game #4. Walker delievered as he was waiting for Nicasio first pitch fastball & Walker took him deep into right center, for a Walk Off Home Run, giving the Mobsters the victory with a 2-1 win!

Final Score: Chicago 2 – Dallas 1
Win: Andrew Miller (0.00)
Loss: Juan Nicasio 0-1 (6.75)
Home Runs: Josh Harrison (1), Neil Walker (2), Freddie Freeman (1)

GAME #5 – Chase Anderson (15-10 2.64) vs. Rich Hill (13-3 2.98)

This was the best game of the series. What a pitchers duel between two starters that both had won games already this series. Chase Anderson didn’t allow a hit until the bottom of the 6th with two outs when Dexter Fowler gapped one between A.J. Pollock & Carlos Gomez. A pop out by Bregman ended the inning for the Mobsters. Anderson was crusing. Chicago starter Rich Hill was even better. He had walked 2 in the game, but starting off the 9th inning Hill hadn’t let up a hit. The 9th started with a Strike Out of Carlos Gomez – one down, two outs away from a No-Hitter. A.J. Pollock took Hill to a 3-2 count where Hill tried to get Pollock to chase a high fastball, but Pollock didn’t offer. So Hill had walked his 3rd batter of the game, still hadn’t given up a hit & was still in control. The only bad thing for Hill here was that Chicago hadn’t put up a run yet off Chase Anderson. It was deadlocked in the 9th at 0-0. What a pitchers duel this was. Josh Harrison stepped in to face Hill for the Cougars. Chicago had interest in Harrision late in the year, but Dallas owner Jarl Jackson, quickly shot down any talks of moving Harrison. Jackson’s response was “No. Not at this time”. So Hill who had already plunked Harrison in game #2 stepped back on the mound after the 1 out walk to Pollack & let go a beautiful looking curveball. But it hung – hung right in Harrison’s wheel house. BOOM! Harrisson connected, deep to center, Dexter Fowler raced back to the wall, looked up & there was nothing Fowler could do, it was long gone! A two-run shot putting the Cougars in the lead by a 2-0 score. Hill shrugged his shoulders, smiled as Harrison crossed the plate & was ready to get back to work, hoping his Mobsters could muster something up in the 9th. An Error by J.D. Martinez allowed Jose Pirela to reach 1B, Hill was pulled by Manager Stray Corrado, but not before a thunderous roar from the crowd for the great work he did on the mound. Hill handed the Ball to the manager, walked toward the home 3rd base dugout, tipped his hat to the croud (for another thunderous roar) & headed down the tunnel for the evening. Anthony Swarzak was called upon & got Jose Abreu to go down on strikes & Justin Smoak to scorch a line out to Neil Walker for the 3rd out. Chicago was down to thier last 3 outs. Andrelton Simmons struck out on a check swing for out number one. Dexter Fowler came up & Chase Anderson walked him on four straight pitches. Jarl Jackson headed out from the 1B dugout & asked Anderson for the ball. Chicago’s great baseball crowd responded with cheering for the great job that Anderson did. Anderson pitched 8.1 Inings, 1 hit, 2 walks & struck out 9 Mobsters along the way. The cheering turned to boos when “Sugar” was called upon from the Cougars bullpen. Edwin Diaz had the Save in game #2 & was two outs away from locking this one down for Dallas. Alex Bregman stepped in the first batter to face “Sugar”. Chicago manager Stray Corrado put the Hit-N-Run on & Bregman grounded one to the right side, Josh Harrison was moving toward second base and Bregman hit it right through the hole. Fowler moved easily to third & Bregman perfectly placed that Hit-N-Run through the hole left by the Cougars infield for his 7th hit of the series. The tying run was now on 1B. Bregman went on the first pitch to Freddie Freeman, but Manny Pina threw the ball down to third as Fowler had wandered a little too far down the line. Jed Gyorko ran Fowler towards home, threw the ball to Pina – Pina threw back to 3rd, but Fowler got in with a head first dive. So now the tying run was on 2nd, the winning run was Freddie Freeman standing in the batters box with a 1-0 count. The count went 3-2, Freddie was ready. Diaz rocked & fired and Freeman with a half swing, he held up – but home plate umpire Jordan Baker went up with his right hand & called Freeman out for extensive window shopping. Two outs, two on, Chicago down by two. Jarl Jackson headed to the mound again & pointed at “Sugar”, telling his infielders & catcher that he only wanted to speak with Diaz. After a quick chat, smile & a pat on the ass for “Sugar”, Jackson was
done & the whole crowd figured that Jackson had instructed Diaz to walk the number four hitter J.D. Martinez in the Chicago line up. “Diaz waited for Martinez to step in, pointed at his catcher Manny Pina to sit down & was ready not to walk Martinez, but to face him. J.D. Martinez stepped out, gather his thoughts on what was about to happen. Jordan Baker pointed for Martinez to get in the box, J.D. stepped in. Diaz set, pitched & Martinez hit what looked like a blooper over the shortstop Miguel Rojas head, but Rojas leaped, backhanded it & caught the ball for the final out of game #5.

Final Score: Dallas 2 – Chicago 0
Win: Chase Anderson 2-0 (1.65)
Loss: Rich Hill 1-1 (1.35)
Save: Edwin Diaz #2
Home Runs: Josh Harrison (2)

The 2018 American League Championship was shaping up to be a dog fight. Dallas was down 3 games to 1 in Chicago, but managed to win game 5 & brought the series back home to Dallas for at least a game 6 and hopefully a game 7. The Cougars faithful were buying tickets on the street for as high as $750.00 a piece for good box seats. Even the low end bleacher seats were tripled in price & going for more than $125.00. Chicago was not looking forward to being back in Dallas & were disappointed they didn’t win game 5, take a few extra days of rest. The plane ride to Dallas was quiet, however the captain did come on the loudspeaker and asked the players to look out the left side of the planes windows, stating over the intercom “If you look real close about & were about 12,000 feet up you can see the ball that Josh Harrison hit off Rich Hill starting it’s decline”. The Mobsters team erupted in laughter & Rich Hill‘s smile was from ear to ear. It was a good laugh for the Mobsters team & that seemed to relax them as they headed into Dallas still up 3 games to 2.

GAME #6 – Carlos Matias Martinez (11-9 3.47) vs. Andrew Cashner (18-6 3.01)

Dexter Fowler lead off the game back in Dallas. Fowler told on deck batter Alex Bregman “If Cash throws me a first pitch fastball, I am talking him downtown”. Bregman smiled as Dexter, & said “You go Homie – You go get it”. Surer than s#it, that’s exactly what Andrew Cashner threw first pitch to Dexter & surer than S#it, Dexter did just as he said & started a trend of long balls for Chicago.
In the top of the 2nd Ining it was Justin Turner‘s turn. He socked a Cashener fastball deep to left & gone to make it 2-0 Chicago after 1.5 Innings of play.
Dallas had a hot bat as well with Justin Smoak who wasn’t hitting much for average, but in the bottom of the 2nd Smoak took a Carlos Matias Martinez pitch down the line in right field for a Home Run. At the end of 2 Innings of play, Chicago held a 2-1 lead not only in Home Runs, but the overall score too. Chicago must have seen something in Game 2 as Cashner seemed to be tipping his pitches. In the top of the 3rd Alex Bregman spotted a Cashner fastball (meatball) & took it for a ride over the left field wall, putting Chicago up 3-1. But that wasn’t it in the 3rd. After a Freddie Freeman single, J.D. Martinez stepped in. Martinez saw a 2-0 fastball from Cashner & went the opposite way, deep to right, Josh Harrison got a good jump & went back to the wall, but he ran out of room as J.D. Martinez deposited a 2-Run Home Run over the right field wall. Andrew Cashner was pulled after 2.1 Innings of play, his line was 7 Hits, 5 Runs (all earned) 0 Walks, 2 K’s but the thing that hurt Cashner was the 4 long balls. Chicago had a 5-1 lead at the end of 2.5 Innings of play.
In the 5th Brock Stewart hit Justin Turner in the helmet. Turner got up slowly walked vaguely down to 1B & after getting the concussion protocol cleared stood at 1B with one out. Andrew McCutchen stepped in & uncorked one for a 2-Run Home Run & giving the Mobsters a sizable 7-1 lead.
Meanwhile Carlos Matias Martinez rolled through 5.1 Inings of work before Chad Green took over. Green allowed only a solo Home Run in his 2.1 Innings of work to Justin Smoak his 2nd of the game (Smaok also had a Double giving him 10 bases on the day).
Chicago went with Anthony Swarzak for 1/3 of an Inning & brought in Andrew Miller in to face Carlos Gomez (Struck Out), A.J. Pollock (Struck Out), Josh Harrison (Walk) & Alexander Presley (Struck Out) to close out the game & the series for Chicago.

Final Score: Chicago 7 – Dallas 2
Win: Carlos Matias Martinez 2-0 (2.19)
Loss: Andrew Cashner 0-2 (7.88)
Home Runs: Dexter Fowler (1), Alex Bregman (2), J.D. Martinez (2), Justin Turner (1), Andrew McCutchen (2) & Justin Smoak 2 (3)

Chicago & Dallas played a great series. Dallas scared Chicago quite a bit, & there 2-0 win in game #5 felt like a down turn for the Mobsters. However in the end the Mobsters prevailed winning the series 4 games to 2. Congratulations to Dallas on a great season. Chicago now awaits the winner of the Sacramento Capitals & Columbus Explorers National League Championship – before they head off to the 2018 Mid-West Baseball League World Series.

2017 – NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Bethesa Bandicoots @ Tempe Tempers
Game #1: John Lackey (14-5 2.21) vs. Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10) Two Tempe errors in the first inning allowed the Bandicoots to plate the first run of the game. Tempe responded back with a two run double by Beltre and a two run homerun by Bogaerts to take a quick 4-1 lead. Tempe added two more in the 3rd with a solo shot by Cano and a Chris Young RBI fielder’s choice. Tempe added a seventh run in the 7th with a Cespedes RBI single. The Bandicoots looked like they might rally in the 8th, but Norris made a bad base running error and was gunned at home by Young. Final Score: Tempe 7 – Bethesda 2 Win: Johnny Cueto 1-0 (0.00) Loss: John Lackey 0-1 (6.00)
Game #2: Rich Hill (16-0 1.57) vs. Jon Lester (25-5 1.82) Hill and Lester both started out strong and the first couple of innings breezed by. In the 3rd, Ruiz tried to score on a deep fly ball to right, but Cespedes gunned him at the plate to keep the game scoreless. In the bottom of the 3rd, Tempe pinch hit for Lester, but came up empty. Brad Miller quickly took advantage of reliever Chris Smith with a two run homerun in the 4th. A Diaz solo shot in the 6th knocked out Smith. Rich Hill was nasty all game and was still on the mound in the 9th. He gave up a quick single Votto, but came back with two strikeouts before he surrendered a double to Cespedes. Cishek replaced Hill with the tying run at the plate. Hill finished with 8.2 scoreless innings as Cishek bailed him with a quick pop up from Beltre. Final Score: Bethesda 3 – Tempe 0 Win: Rich Hill 1-0 (0.00) Loss: Chris Smith 1-0 (13.50) Save: Steve Cishek #1
Game #3: Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10) vs. Jake Arrieta (15-7 2.83) In the 2nd, Cespedes walked, stole second base, moved to 3rd on a passed ball, and then scoreded on a sac fly. In the bottom half of the inning, Gonzalez doubled, moved to 3rd on a fielders choice, and then scored the tying run on a passed ball. In the 3rd, Davis pinch hit for Cueto and walked. Rasmus ran for Davis, stole 2B and then scored on a Votto double. In the bottom of the 3rd, back to back doubles by Naquin and Diaz tied up the game. Diaz then scored the go ahead run after moving to 3B on a Gonzalez sac fly. In the 6th, Braun walked, stole 2B, and later scored the tying run. Tempe took a two run lead in the 7th getting the first run a bloop Braun RBI single and then the second run on a successfully executed double steal of second and home by Braun and Votto. In the bottom of the 7th, the Coots rallied back with a vengeance. Morrison doubled, Naquin walked, Diaz reached on an error that also scored Morrison and then Story launched three run homer to cap the four run inning. Bandicoots 7-5. However, Tempe wasn’t done yet. Bogaerts started the 8th with solo shot and Gattis later scored the tying run a Votto sac fly. 7-7. The top of the 9th started with a Braun walk and a Cespedes double. Tempe tried to score Braun on the double, but the Bandicoots gunned him at home. Cespedes took 3rd on the play and was able to score the go ahead run when Beltre hit a fielders choice to short. Belisle pitched a second scoreless inning for the win. Final Score: Tempe 8 – Bethesda 7 Win: Matt Belisle 1-0 (0.00) Loss: Steve Cishek 0-1 (4.50)
Game #4: Jon Lester (25-5 1.82) vs. John Lackey (14-5 2.21) A quick RBI triple by Diaz and a passed ball gave the Bandicoots a two run lead in the bottom of the 1st. Tempe got one run back in the 4th on a Cespedes RBI double. Neither started lasted past the fourth as both teams opted for pinch hitters. The Bandicoots threatened in the 5th, but Cespedes gunned Cain at third base when he attempted to tag up. In the 6th, a Coots error and a Braun double put runners on 3rd and 2nd with no outs. Madson replaced Withrow and gave up a two run rbi single to Cespedes who also took second on the play. A Melky single then scored Cespedes to put Tempe up 4-2. In the 8th with two outs, Gattis pinch hit for the pitcher and hit a very important solo homerun to make it 5-2. In the bottom of the 8th, a Diaz single and a Gonzalez double put runners on 3rd and 2nd with only one out. A passed ball and then a Ruiz single made it a one run game. Barnette came on and got the final two outs in the 8th and then pitched perfect 9th for the save. Final Score: Tempe 5 – Bethesda 4 Win: Zach Putnam 1-0 (0.00) Loss: Chris Withrow 0-1 (13.50)
Game #5: Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10) vs. Miguel Gonzalez (5-6 3.30) Melky Cabrera started the scoring in the 2nd with a two out RBI triple and then a quick steal of home. Tempe added two more runs in the 3rd with a Cespedes RBI double and a Beltre RBI single. In the 4th, Tempe added another run on a Leon RBI single after Young had singled and stole 2B. Cueto didn’t surrender his first run or hit of the game until the 5th after he had a commanding 5-0 lead. A walk by Miller and a perfectly executed hit and run by Rendon later allowed Bethesda to get their first run of the game on a sac fly by Morrison. In the bottom of the 7th, Gonzalez walked and Story took Cueto deep to make things interesting. Tempe then went to the pen to preserve the 5-3 lead. In the top of the 8th, Tempe loaded the bases on a walk, single and the rare catcher’s interference. Leon contributed an RBI sac fly and Gattis hit a double that only scored one run, because Young was gunned at the plate by Story’s great relay throw. Law pitched two scoreless innings to lock up the win and the series. Final Score: Tempe 7 – Bethesda 3 Win: Johnny Cueto 2-0 (2.70) Loss: Miguel Gonzalez 0-1 (12.00)
Tempe wins the series in five games, but there might have been different ending if the aces, Rich Hill and Jake Arrieta, had been able make second starts in Game #6 and Game #7. Neither team hit well and the difference came down fielding and base running. Tempe was 14-0 in stolen bases while Bethesda only successfully stole one base and was thrown out three times. Bethesda also made five errors that resulted in a 3rd (9) of the runs Tempe scored.

Bethesa Bandicoots @ Tempe Tempers

Game #1: John Lackey (14-5 2.21) vs. Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10)

Two Tempe errors in the first inning allowed the Bandicoots to plate the first run of the game. Tempe responded back with a two run double by Beltre and a two run homerun by Bogaerts to take a quick 4-1 lead. Tempe added two more in the 3rd with a solo shot by Cano and a Chris Young RBI fielder’s choice. Tempe added a seventh run in the 7th with a Cespedes RBI single. The Bandicoots looked like they might rally in the 8th, but Norris made a bad base running error and was gunned at home by Young.

Final Score: Tempe 7 – Bethesda 2
Win: Johnny Cueto 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: John Lackey 0-1 (6.00)

Game #2: Rich Hill (16-0 1.57) vs. Jon Lester (25-5 1.82)

Hill and Lester both started out strong and the first couple of innings breezed by. In the 3rd, Ruiz tried to score on a deep fly ball to right, but Cespedes gunned him at the plate to keep the game scoreless. In the bottom of the 3rd, Tempe pinch hit for Lester, but came up empty. Brad Miller quickly took advantage of reliever Chris Smith with a two run homerun in the 4th. A Diaz solo shot in the 6th knocked out Smith. Rich Hill was nasty all game and was still on the mound in the 9th. He gave up a quick single Votto, but came back with two strikeouts before he surrendered a double to Cespedes. Cishek replaced Hill with the tying run at the plate. Hill finished with 8.2 scoreless innings as Cishek bailed him with a quick pop up from Beltre.

Final Score: Bethesda 3 – Tempe 0
Win: Rich Hill 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Chris Smith 1-0 (13.50)
Save: Steve Cishek #1

Game #3: Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10) vs. Jake Arrieta (15-7 2.83)

In the 2nd, Cespedes walked, stole second base, moved to 3rd on a passed ball, and then scoreded on a sac fly. In the bottom half of the inning, Gonzalez doubled, moved to 3rd on a fielders choice, and then scored the tying run on a passed ball. In the 3rd, Davis pinch hit for Cueto and walked. Rasmus ran for Davis, stole 2B and then scored on a Votto double. In the bottom of the 3rd, back to back doubles by Naquin and Diaz tied up the game. Diaz then scored the go ahead run after moving to 3B on a Gonzalez sac fly. In the 6th, Braun walked, stole 2B, and later scored the tying run. Tempe took a two run lead in the 7th getting the first run a bloop Braun RBI single and then the second run on a successfully executed double steal of second and home by Braun and Votto. In the bottom of the 7th, the Coots rallied back with a vengeance. Morrison doubled, Naquin walked, Diaz reached on an error that also scored Morrison and then Story launched three run homer to cap the four run inning. Bandicoots 7-5. However, Tempe wasn’t done yet. Bogaerts started the 8th with solo shot and Gattis later scored the tying run a Votto sac fly. 7-7. The top of the 9th started with a Braun walk and a Cespedes double. Tempe tried to score Braun on the double, but the Bandicoots gunned him at home. Cespedes took 3rd on the play and was able to score the go ahead run when Beltre hit a fielders choice to short. Belisle pitched a second scoreless inning for the win.

Final Score: Tempe 8 – Bethesda 7
Win: Matt Belisle 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Steve Cishek 0-1 (4.50)

Game #4: Jon Lester (25-5 1.82) vs. John Lackey (14-5 2.21)

A quick RBI triple by Diaz and a passed ball gave the Bandicoots a two run lead in the bottom of the 1st. Tempe got one run back in the 4th on a Cespedes RBI double. Neither started lasted past the fourth as both teams opted for pinch hitters. The Bandicoots threatened in the 5th, but Cespedes gunned Cain at third base when he attempted to tag up. In the 6th, a Coots error and a Braun double put runners on 3rd and 2nd with no outs. Madson replaced Withrow and gave up a two run rbi single to Cespedes who also took second on the play. A Melky single then scored Cespedes to put Tempe up 4-2. In the 8th with two outs, Gattis pinch hit for the pitcher and hit a very important solo homerun to make it 5-2. In the bottom of the 8th, a Diaz single and a Gonzalez double put runners on 3rd and 2nd with only one out. A passed ball and then a Ruiz single made it a one run game. Barnette came on and got the final two outs in the 8th and then pitched perfect 9th for the save.

Final Score: Tempe 5 – Bethesda 4
Win: Zach Putnam 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Chris Withrow 0-1 (13.50)

Game #5: Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10) vs. Miguel Gonzalez (5-6 3.30)

Melky Cabrera started the scoring in the 2nd with a two out RBI triple and then a quick steal of home. Tempe added two more runs in the 3rd with a Cespedes RBI double and a Beltre RBI single. In the 4th, Tempe added another run on a Leon RBI single after Young had singled and stole 2B. Cueto didn’t surrender his first run or hit of the game until the 5th after he had a commanding 5-0 lead. A walk by Miller and a perfectly executed hit and run by Rendon later allowed Bethesda to get their first run of the game on a sac fly by Morrison. In the bottom of the 7th, Gonzalez walked and Story took Cueto deep to make things interesting. Tempe then went to the pen to preserve the 5-3 lead. In the top of the 8th, Tempe loaded the bases on a walk, single and the rare catcher’s interference. Leon contributed an RBI sac fly and Gattis hit a double that only scored one run, because Young was gunned at the plate by Story’s great relay throw. Law pitched two scoreless innings to lock up the win and the series.

Final Score: Tempe 7 – Bethesda 3
Win: Johnny Cueto 2-0 (2.70)
Loss: Miguel Gonzalez 0-1 (12.00)

Tempe wins the series in five games, but there might have been different ending if the aces, Rich Hill and Jake Arrieta, had been able make second starts in Game #6 and Game #7. Neither team hit well and the difference came down fielding and base running. Tempe was 14-0 in stolen bases while Bethesda only successfully stole one base and was thrown out three times. Bethesda also made five errors that resulted in a 3rd (9) of the runs Tempe scored. NLCS-Batting17 NLCS-Pitching17 NLCS-Fielding17

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2017 – AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Hollywood Werewolves @ Chicago Mobsters
The Chicago Mobsters (122 – 40) hosted the Werewolves of Hollywood (104 – 58) in what should be a great series. Chicago is the favorite in the American League, but the Hollywood club has solid pitching, a good offense & a manager who knows how to win in Steve Cutler.
Game #1: Clayton Kershaw (16-2 2.05) vs. Noah Syndergaard ( 21-5 2.00) Noah Syndergaard coming off his Divisional Series No-Hitter vs. the Detroit Crime took the hill for his 1st start for the Mobsters since the outing. Syndergaard didn’t disappoint, Striking out the first three hitters for the Werewolves, two out of three on called third strikes. Kershaw was dominant as well. Kershaw Struck Out three in the first two innings. Both pitchers kept it hitless through four innings of platy. This was turning out to be an old fashioned pitchers duel, with both teams aces on the hill. Syndergaard was solid in the 5th allowing only a Base on Balls to Carlos Gonzalez who was promptly throw out at second base, attempting to steal on the first pitch to Billy Butler. A quick bloop to the Shortstop Andrelton Simmons produced out number two & a ground ball back to Syndergaard got him out of the inning. With one out in the bottom of the 5th Chicago’s Justin Turner laced a Double to the gap in right center for the first knock off Kershaw. Former Werewolve Ian Kinsler who was traded moments before the midnight deadline on August 31st to the Mobsters for Kolten Wong stepped up. Kinsler who played behind Kershaw more than 3/4’s of the season said to himself “Sure as anything I know Clayton & he’s going to start me out with a curveball trying to get me fishing, but if he hangs it, I’m going to bang it”. That’s what Kershaw did & Kinsler as well. A first pitch Curve hung up in the zone & Kinsler deposited over Christian Yelich head &the center field wall, giving the Mobsters a 2-0 lead. Kershaw then struck out Andrew McCutchen & got Simmons to ground out to end the inning. With the score still very close, the question now was could Mobsters hang on to the lead & could Syndergaard hang on to the No-Hitter. A Strikeout & two fly outs put the Werewolves down in the 6th. Syndergaard was back on the hill for the 7th, Jarrod Dyson flew out to Dexter Fowler for the 1st out & followed it up by getting Miguel Cabrera & Paul Goldschmidt both on strikes. So we were through seven Innings & the only blemish that Syndergaard allowed was the walk to Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th. Chicago’s offense could not get anything going in the 7th Inning vs Werewovles reliever Sam Dyson. The teams head to the top of the 8th, Syndergaard back on the bump to face Gonzalez, Butler & former Mobster Kolten Wong (Who was the player who headed to Hollywood in the Ian Kisnler deal). A Strike Out, ground out produced the first – two outs of the inning before Wong stepped in. Wong’s bat met the ball, it looked like a little bloop single to left over a leaping Simmons head, but coming out of no where running hard reaching out & making a shoestring catch was Dexter Fowler. He saved the day for Syndergaard, who now through 8 Innings still had the No-No alive. Kinsler lead off the bottom of the 8th for Chicago with a Double & moved to third on a McCutchen Sacrifice bunt. Andrelton Simmons stepped up & lofted one to center field where Yelich made the catch, Ian Kinser took off for the plate trying to get an insurance run for the Mobsters. Yelich came up throwing & on a close play at the plate Home Plate Umpire Angel Hernandez punched him out for an ending Inning Double Play. That wasn’t the end of it. Kinsler came up with fire in his eyes & apparently his mouth as well. Kinsler thought he was safe & Hernandez disagreed. Kinsler was cooled down by the Chicago manager, but on his way back to the dugout he said the “Magic Word” & Angel Hernandez had heard enough. That was it, he raised his right hand toward Kinsler & tossed him. Yes that was it Kisler was ejected & the Mobsters would have to find a replacement at second base. The Mobsters held a 2-0 lead headed to the 9th, with Syndergaard 3 Outs away from victory & possible Mid-West Baseball League history.. No one was sitting near Syndergaard when Kinsler was thrown out the plate. Manager Stray Corrado didn’t even look at him when he came into the dugout after the top of the 8th. Everyone just left him alone. He wasn’t alone when he took the bump at Capone field in the 9th. 42,000 fans stood up & started cheering for him. It didn’t stop. The entire 9th Inning was just a blur of noise. Syndergaard completed his warm up tosses & ready to face Wellington Castillo to start the 9th. Steve Cutler the Werewolves Manager replaced Castillo with Joey Wendle who took 3 straight fastballs & headed back to the dugout for out number one. Ketel Marte was replaced by Phil Gosselin as Hollywood was just looking to make something happen & get a base runner on. Syndergaard got Gosselin to loft a fly ball to right center, not deep & on came J.D. Martinez came in to make the catch for out number two. Syndergaard was now one out away from history. He’d have to face the Werewolves lead off hitter Christian Yelich. A quick first strike put Yelich in the hole at 0-1. Syndergaard threw two fastballs just off the outside corner trying to get Yelich to hit something weekly the other way, but Yelich laid off both running the count to 2-1. A solid slider was called Strike two by Angel Hernandez & Yelich nodded in agreement. So now Syndergaard was one strike away. Could he do it? Could he throw Back to Back No-Hitters in the MWBL Playoffs? Syndergaard rocked & fired for his 97th pitch of the night a fastball elevated just above the hands on Yelich. A SWING & A MISS, hang up his 10th Strike Out of the game & BACK to BACK NO-HITTERS for NOAH SYNDERGAARD !!! The Chicago crowd was going Wild. It was absolutely an insane atmosphere. After being mobbed by his teammates Syndergaard was let down off the shoulders of David Ortiz who had picked him up like a rag doll & hoisted him up on his shoulers, Syndergaard tipped his cap to the crowd apprecaiting their efforts in cheering him on to MWBL history. In the post game interview Syndergaard said all the right things, but most import he said “This series is far from over, Hollywood has a strong team & we can’t look past them not even for a moment”. He exited the interview with a huge smile on his face knowing the Mobsters were up 1-0 in the series. Final Score: Chicago 2 – Hollywood 0 Win: Noah Syndergaard 1-0 (0.00) Loss: Clayton Kershaw 0-1 (3.00)
Game #2: Kenta Maeda (17-5 2.25) vs. Aaron Sanchez (17-4 2.71) Coming in off a high of a No-Hitter might not have been what Mobsters manager Stray Corrado wanted or needed. The Mobsters looked a little off their game early on. Jarrod Dyson beat out a infield hit with one out in the first inning & quickly stole second base. A line shot to right fielder Nelson Cruz clanks off his glove & drops in. Dyson takes off for third as Cruz retrieves the ball. Dyson running hard goes right threw the stop sign of the 3rd base coach, Cruz’s throw to the plate is wide, Dyson scores giving the Werewolves a quick 1-0 lead. A triple to lead off the 2nd put Kolten Wong 90 feet away from making it 2-0 Hollywood. Chicago trying to keep Wong from scoring pulls the infield in, but a Wellington Castillo blooper to left scores Wong & gives the Werewolves a 2-0 lead after 1 & a half innings. J.D. Martinez took a Kenta Maeda fastball the opposite way to left field in the bottom of the 2nd for a solo Home Run. Cutting the lead in half. Kolten Wong (Who’s quickly becoming a Mobsters Nemesis) at third base with 1 out in the 4th breaks for the plate as Ketel Marte puts down a suicide squeeze & Josh Donaldson fields it & takes the sure out at first. Hollywood up 3-1 after 3 & a half. Miguel Cabrera singles & takes second on a Aaron Sanchez Wild Pitch scores easily on a Paul Goldschmidt Double to left. Chicago can’t seem to catch a break against the Japanese right hander Maeda, through 5 Innings of play they are down 3-1. Things got worse in the 6th for Chicago. After an error on Andrelton Simmons, Zach Duke walks Jarrod Dyson to face Miguel Cabrera. Chicago Manager Stray Corrado goes to Seung-hwan Oh. Oh comes in & gives up a 3-Run Baltimore Special to Miguel Cabrera who’s big fly puts the Werewolves up 7-1 Chicago Designated Hitter David Ortiz take Maeda deep to right center in the bottom of the 6th for a solo shot, but Maeda finishes the Inning – his line 7 Innings, 6 Hits, 1 Walk, 2 Runs & 6 Strikeouts. The Werewolves bullpen took over with six relievers coming on. Chicago did the same but they used 10 relievers. Both teams empited their benches, Hollywood used 4 extra players & Chicago used 5 extras as both teams were getting everyone in the game trying to make sure they were all ready for game #3. Final Score: Hollywood 7 – Chicago 2 Win: Kenta Maeda 1-0 (2.57) Loss: Aaron Sanchez 0-1 (5.79)
Game #3: Carlos Matias Martinez (16-4 3.25) vs. David Price (13-12 3.98) Young Mobsters right hander Carlos Matias Martinez got the call from Skipper Stray Corrado who decided to push Felix Hernandez back one day. Martinez did not disappoint. 6 Solid Innings of 1 Hit ball, walking 2 & Striking out 5 Werewolves along the way. However Hollywood’s veteran left hander David Price was almost as dominant allowing only a 5th Inning single off the Pinch Hit At-Bat of Hanley Ramirez scoring Buster Posey from second for Chicago’s only run through 5 Innings of play. Price cleared the 6th & 7th without allowing another run, but with one out in the 8th inning an Andrelton Simmons hot smash to Miguel Cabrera ended up in a throwing error. Simmons quickly stole second base, followed by a Andrew McCutchen Base Hit over second scoring Simmons. That was all for Price as he was replaced by George Kontos. Kontos struggled. Dexter Fowler singled move Cutch to second. Kinsler followed with a third straight single, loading the base for the heart & meat of the Mobsters line up. Cutler came & got the ball from Kontos & went with veteran side-armer Pat Neshek. J.D Martinez lined a hard Base Hit to the gap in right, McCutchen Scored, Fowler was right behind him & plated Chicago’s 4th Run. Kinsler made it to third on the play after Chicago’s 4th straight single. Neshek was visibly upset & uncorked a Wild Pitch, scoring Kinsler & moving J.D. Martinez into scoring position. After Josh Donaldson was caught looking for the 2nd out of the inning Nelson Cruz stepped in & creamed a Single into left, scoring Martinez from second & putting Chicago up 6-0 at the end of 7 & 1/2 Innings of play. Chicago’s bullpen relieved Martinez after the 6th with Wade Davis throwing 1 Inning. The 7th & 8th were scoreless for Hollywood as Zach Duke, Dellin Betances & Andrew Miller held the Werewolves off the board. With two men on in the top of the 9th Inning Ian Kinsler sealed the door on Game #3 launching a 3-Run Home Run far over the wall in left center field off Hollywood left hander Ryan O’Rourke putting the Mobsters up 9-0, with only 3 outs left to get. Chicago turned to Rookie Julio Urias to close this one out. Miguel Cabrera doesn’t miss to many first strike fastballs, especially from rookie pitchers. He didn’t here either. Cabrera broke up the Shutout with a solo shot way back in right field. Urias after the game said “I didn’t know he was that good”, with a smile on his face. Paul Goldschmidt singled, before Carlos Gonzalez popped up to Buster Posey behind home plate for out number one. Then Urias induced Billy Butler into a ground ball that Andrelton Simmons, flipped to Ian Kinsler & on to Justin Turner at first base for a 6-4-3 game ending Double Play. Final Score: Chicago 9 – Hollywood 1 Win: Carlos Matias Martine 1-0 (0.00) Loss: David Price 0-1 (2.45)
Game #4: Felix Hernandez (17-4 3.20) vs. Clayton Kershaw (16-2 2.05) Chicago was feeling good being up 2 games to 1, but Hollywood was bringing back their ace in Kershaw for game #4, while Chicago had skipped over King Felix the previous day & now handed him the ball with a tough task ahead of him. The King didn’t let the people of Chicago down. But Kershaw didn’t let the home crowd of Hollywood down either. We were set up for pitchers duel with two long time aces on the hill. Chicago got things off to a quick start in the bottom of the first as Dexter Fowler Doubled. After a flyout Fowler moved to third on a ground out & scored on a single off the bat of Josh Donaldson. Hollywood countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first inning when lead off batter Christian Yelich took a 2-2 fastball from the King & deposited just inside the right field foul pole, knotting the game up at 1 Run each. Kershaw was facing long time Mobster center fielder Andrew McCutchen with two outs in the bottom of the second when Cutch got a hold of one. Just over the left field wall to give the Mobsters a 2-1 lead after 1 & a half innings of play. From there both pitchers settled into their respective groves. Kershaw went 21 batters faced & left the game trailing 2-1 after 5.2 Innings of play. He Struck Out 7, walked none, let up 2 Runs on 4 Hits & pitched a gem of a game holding the Chicago offense to just 2 runs. Felix Hernandez was just a tick better. 5.2 Innings, 2 Walks, 2 Hits, 1 Run, while Striking Out 4. It was the pitchers duel that both managers expected. However now it was up to the bullpens to see who could hold the other team at bay, & who’s offense could push a across a few more. McCutchen lead off the 8th for Chicago & after a lead off Single Cutch was replaced by the speedy Billy Hamilton. Hollywood manager went to his lefty Ryan O’Rourke to try & keep a close eye on Hamilton who lead the American League with 71 Stolen Bases. It didn’t take long for the showdown to take place as on the first pitch from O’Rourke – Hamilton stole second. Christian Yelich stole a Base Hit away from Andrelton Simmons for the first out of the Inning, with Hamilton showing some fine base running skills staying put at second. Pat Neshek came on to face Dexter Fowler, but Fowler was called back to the dugout. Donning a batting helmet & to a thunderous chorus of boos out of the Chicago dugout appeared for Hollywood Werewolf David Ortiz. Neshek wanted no part of Big Papai’s late inning heroics as he completely worked around the big man. Four straight balls off the plate on the outside led to a walk for Big Papi. Rookie Alex Bregman was called upon to Pinch Run for Ortiz. Buster Posey strode to the plate, but Chicago manager Stray Corrado didn’t take long to make something happen on the next pitch as both Hamilton & Bregman took off. A double steal. Yes both Hamilton & Bregman made it safely to 2nd & 3rd. Was it time to walk Posey & set up the Double play? J.D. Martinez would be the better if Hollywood Manager Steve Cutler decided to take that on. Cutler elected to face Posey & Posey came through for Chicago. A little blooper down the line in left field, Hamilton Scores, Jarrod Dyson comes up throwing for Hollywood, Bregman slides & is called safe at the plate. Posey with a 2-Run Double makes it 4-2 Chicago. J.D. Martinez took it as a sign of respect (The Werewolves pitching to Posey) & he didn’t let the Chicago fans down either. A single to center field sent Posey to the plate, but Carlos Gonzalez shot down Posey at the plate with a great throw from right field. Martinez took second on the throw. So with two outs Chicago had Martinez at second for Josh Donaldson. Would Cutler walk Donaldson here? He looked at his lineup card & saw Nelson Cruz in the on deck circle & decided to pitch to Donaldson. A single between third & short sent J.D. Martinez home giving the Mobsters a 5-1 lead after the 8th. Chicago had went with rookie Alexander Reyes since the 5th when he took over for Hernandez. A lead off Double by Kolten Wong followed by a wellington Castillo single cut the Mobsters lead to 5-2. Hollywood put in Phil Gosselin to run for Castillo & with Ketel Marte facing Miller Hollywood put Gosselin in motion to make something happen. Marte hit a hard liner right towards third, but taking one step to his left & making the catch was Josh Donaldson. A quick throw across the diamond gunned down Gosselin who was trying to hustle back, but it was inevitable as the Mobsters turned a quick 5-3 Double Play. Chicago manger Stray Corrado went to get his young rookie right hander. A tap on the backside for a job well done & heading in from the pen was lefty Andrew Miller. Miller made quick work of Christian Yelich on a 1-2-3 pitch (all fastballs) Strike Out. Chicago closed it out in the 9th with Andrew Miller, Seung-hwan Oh & Aroldis Chapman all getting one-third of an out & Chapman getting the save. Final Score: Chicago 5 – Hollywood 2 Win: Felix Hernandez 1-0 (1.50) Loss: Clayton Kershaw 0-2 (3.09) Save: Aroldis Chapman #1
Game #5: Noah Syndergaard ( 21-5 2.00) vs. Kenta Maeda (17-5 2.25) Chicago had seen Noah Syndergaard be solid all year & quite possibly the American League Cy-Young Award winner, but in the 2017 Playoffs “Thor” was God like. Two starts, one in the Division Series vs. Detroit & one in Game #1 in the League Championship. Both & I don’t believe I am saying this produced No-Hitters. Yes Back to Back starts in the playoffs, both with 9 Innings, facing a total of three batters over the minimum. Syndergaard was to take the hill here in Game #5 with the chance to throw his third straight No-Hitter. Well it didn’t take long for that thought to be over. After Chicago failed to score in the top of the first Christian Yelich stepped in to face Syndergaard. First pitch fastball & Yelich jumped on it. Boom, a hard ripped clean Single to center. So the thought of the 3rd straight playoff No-Hitter by Noah Syndergaard was over & it was now his job to see if he & the Mobsters could close out the Werewovles & head to the Mid-West Baseball League World Series. A groundout by Jarrod Dyson moved Yelich to second base, when up stepped Miguel Cabrera. A line drive bullet to Andrelton Simmons for the second out held Yelich at second, when Paul Goldschmidt stepped up Two-Face Syndergaard. Syndergaard got Goldschmidt to swing & missed at strike three, a big strikeout to keep the game scoress after one complete inning. Nelson Cruz led off the top of the second with a single & quickly stole second base on a napping Kenta Maeda. Buster Posey did his job with a Base Hit to left field & Cruz took advantage of Jarrod Dyson‘s arm in left & scored on the play. In the top of the 4th after a lead off walk to Nelson Cruz & a two-out walk to Andrelton Simmons, Dexter Fowler steps in & hits one to the right of Paul Goldschmidt, second baseman Kolten Wong Dives & knocks it down but that’s all he can do is there’s no play anywhere and the bases are loaded for Chicago with two outs. Kenta Maeda induces a ground ball to short but Eric Aybar boots It off the heel of his glove, Nelson Crew scores, Andrelton Simmons scores, Dexter Fowler heads for third the tag by Miguel Cabrera – Safe. But Chicago can muster no more & Maeda gets out of the inning without any further damage. Chicago replaces Noah syndergaard at the end of 6 Inning of play, he allowed 6 Hits, 1 Walk, Struck Out 6 & allowed no runs to score score. 24 Innings pitched in the playoffs & Syndergaard hasn’t allowed a run of any kind. A lead off single in the bottom of the seventh puts Dexter Fowler at first base with Ian Kinsler at the bat. Fowler steals second base off Maeda high leg kick putting the Chicago lead off man in scoring position. Ian Kinsler hits a two hopper to Eric Aybar who takes it on a high hop & fires it right by Paul Goldschmidt at first base. Fowler rounds third & heads home scoring on the second air by Eric Aybar in this game. The Werewolves defense has been sloppy here & it’s cost them. Thing only got worse for Hollywood on the next pitch. Kenta Maeda got David Ortiz to foul one between Goldschmidt & Wellington Castillo but they Clyde. The ball drops foul, it doesn’t look good for either player. Both end up leave the game Castillo injured for six days while Goldschmidt is injured for the rest of the day. Neither Chicago or Hollywood score the remainder of the game. Kenta Maeda is pulled after six Innings allowing 6 Hits, 3 Walks, 5 Strikeouts, 4 Runs but only 1 Earned. Chicago goes to a cast of relievers including Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, Seung-hwan Oh, & Aroldis Chapman closes the game out with a perfect 9th inning with 3 strikeouts all on three 100+ MPH fastballs to former Mobster Kolten Wong, sending Chicago to the Midwest Baseball League World Series for the 4th time. Final Score: Chicago 4 – Hollywood 0 Win: Noah Syndergaard 2-0 (0.00) Loss: Kenta Maeda 1-1 (2.08)

Hollywood Werewolves @ Chicago Mobsters

The Chicago Mobsters (122 – 40) hosted the Werewolves of Hollywood (104 – 58) in what should be a great series. Chicago is the favorite in the American League, but the Hollywood club has solid pitching, a good offense & a manager who knows how to win in Steve Cutler.

Game #1: Clayton Kershaw (16-2 2.05) vs. Noah Syndergaard ( 21-5 2.00)

Noah Syndergaard coming off his Divisional Series No-Hitter vs. the Detroit Crime took the hill for his 1st start for the Mobsters since the outing. Syndergaard didn’t disappoint, Striking out the first three hitters for the Werewolves, two out of three on called third strikes. Kershaw was dominant as well. Kershaw Struck Out three in the first two innings. Both pitchers kept it hitless through four innings of platy. This was turning out to be an old fashioned pitchers duel, with both teams aces on the hill.

Syndergaard was solid in the 5th allowing only a Base on Balls to Carlos Gonzalez who was promptly throw out at second base, attempting to steal on the first pitch to Billy Butler. A quick bloop to the Shortstop Andrelton Simmons produced out number two & a ground ball back to Syndergaard got him out of the inning.

With one out in the bottom of the 5th Chicago’s Justin Turner laced a Double to the gap in right center for the first knock off Kershaw. Former Werewolve Ian Kinsler who was traded moments before the midnight deadline on August 31st to the Mobsters for Kolten Wong stepped up. Kinsler who played behind Kershaw more than 3/4’s of the season said to himself “Sure as anything I know Clayton & he’s going to start me out with a curveball trying to get me fishing, but if he hangs it, I’m going to bang it”. That’s what Kershaw did & Kinsler as well. A first pitch Curve hung up in the zone & Kinsler deposited over Christian Yelich head &the center field wall, giving the Mobsters a 2-0 lead. Kershaw then struck out Andrew McCutchen & got Simmons to ground out to end the inning.

With the score still very close, the question now was could Mobsters hang on to the lead & could Syndergaard hang on to the No-Hitter. A Strikeout & two fly outs put the Werewolves down in the 6th. Syndergaard was back on the hill for the 7th, Jarrod Dyson flew out to Dexter Fowler for the 1st out & followed it up by getting Miguel Cabrera & Paul Goldschmidt both on strikes. So we were through seven Innings & the only blemish that Syndergaard allowed was the walk to Carlos Gonzalez in the 5th.

Chicago’s offense could not get anything going in the 7th Inning vs Werewovles reliever Sam Dyson. The teams head to the top of the 8th, Syndergaard back on the bump to face Gonzalez, Butler & former Mobster Kolten Wong (Who was the player who headed to Hollywood in the Ian Kisnler deal). A Strike Out, ground out produced the first – two outs of the inning before Wong stepped in. Wong’s bat met the ball, it looked like a little bloop single to left over a leaping Simmons head, but coming out of no where running hard reaching out & making a shoestring catch was Dexter Fowler. He saved the day for Syndergaard, who now through 8 Innings still had the No-No alive.

Kinsler lead off the bottom of the 8th for Chicago with a Double & moved to third on a McCutchen Sacrifice bunt. Andrelton Simmons stepped up & lofted one to center field where Yelich made the catch, Ian Kinser took off for the plate trying to get an insurance run for the Mobsters. Yelich came up throwing & on a close play at the plate Home Plate Umpire Angel Hernandez punched him out for an ending Inning Double Play. That wasn’t the end of it. Kinsler came up with fire in his eyes & apparently his mouth as well. Kinsler thought he was safe & Hernandez disagreed. Kinsler was cooled down by the Chicago manager, but on his way back to the dugout he said the “Magic Word” & Angel Hernandez had heard enough. That was it, he raised his right hand toward Kinsler & tossed him. Yes that was it Kisler was ejected & the Mobsters would have to find a replacement at second base. The Mobsters held a 2-0 lead headed to the 9th, with Syndergaard 3 Outs away from victory & possible Mid-West Baseball League history..

No one was sitting near Syndergaard when Kinsler was thrown out the plate. Manager Stray Corrado didn’t even look at him when he came into the dugout after the top of the 8th. Everyone just left him alone. He wasn’t alone when he took the bump at Capone field in the 9th. 42,000 fans stood up & started cheering for him. It didn’t stop. The entire 9th Inning was just a blur of noise. Syndergaard completed his warm up tosses & ready to face Wellington Castillo to start the 9th. Steve Cutler the Werewolves Manager replaced Castillo with Joey Wendle who took 3 straight fastballs & headed back to the dugout for out number one. Ketel Marte was replaced by Phil Gosselin as Hollywood was just looking to make something happen & get a base runner on. Syndergaard got Gosselin to loft a fly ball to right center, not deep & on came J.D. Martinez came in to make the catch for out number two. Syndergaard was now one out away from history. He’d have to face the Werewolves lead off hitter Christian Yelich. A quick first strike put Yelich in the hole at 0-1. Syndergaard threw two fastballs just off the outside corner trying to get Yelich to hit something weekly the other way, but Yelich laid off both running the count to 2-1. A solid slider was called Strike two by Angel Hernandez & Yelich nodded in agreement. So now Syndergaard was one strike away. Could he do it? Could he throw Back to Back No-Hitters in the MWBL Playoffs? Syndergaard rocked & fired for his 97th pitch of the night a fastball elevated just above the hands on Yelich. A SWING & A MISS, hang up his 10th Strike Out of the game & BACK to BACK NO-HITTERS for NOAH SYNDERGAARD !!! The Chicago crowd was going Wild. It was absolutely an insane atmosphere. After being mobbed by his teammates Syndergaard was let down off the shoulders of David Ortiz who had picked him up like a rag doll & hoisted him up on his shoulers, Syndergaard tipped his cap to the crowd apprecaiting their efforts in cheering him on to MWBL history. In the post game interview Syndergaard said all the right things, but most import he said “This series is far from over, Hollywood has a strong team & we can’t look past them not even for a moment”. He exited the interview with a huge smile on his face knowing the Mobsters were up 1-0 in the series.

Final Score: Chicago 2 – Hollywood 0
Win: Noah Syndergaard 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Clayton Kershaw 0-1 (3.00)

Game #2: Kenta Maeda (17-5 2.25) vs. Aaron Sanchez (17-4 2.71)

Coming in off a high of a No-Hitter might not have been what Mobsters manager Stray Corrado wanted or needed. The Mobsters looked a little off their game early on. Jarrod Dyson beat out a infield hit with one out in the first inning & quickly stole second base. A line shot to right fielder Nelson Cruz clanks off his glove & drops in. Dyson takes off for third as Cruz retrieves the ball. Dyson running hard goes right threw the stop sign of the 3rd base coach, Cruz’s throw to the plate is wide, Dyson scores giving the Werewolves a quick 1-0 lead.

A triple to lead off the 2nd put Kolten Wong 90 feet away from making it 2-0 Hollywood. Chicago trying to keep Wong from scoring pulls the infield in, but a Wellington Castillo blooper to left scores Wong & gives the Werewolves a 2-0 lead after 1 & a half innings.

J.D. Martinez took a Kenta Maeda fastball the opposite way to left field in the bottom of the 2nd for a solo Home Run. Cutting the lead in half.

Kolten Wong (Who’s quickly becoming a Mobsters Nemesis) at third base with 1 out in the 4th breaks for the plate as Ketel Marte puts down a suicide squeeze & Josh Donaldson fields it & takes the sure out at first. Hollywood up 3-1 after 3 & a half.

Miguel Cabrera singles & takes second on a Aaron Sanchez Wild Pitch scores easily on a Paul Goldschmidt Double to left. Chicago can’t seem to catch a break against the Japanese right hander Maeda, through 5 Innings of play they are down 3-1.

Things got worse in the 6th for Chicago. After an error on Andrelton Simmons, Zach Duke walks Jarrod Dyson to face Miguel Cabrera. Chicago Manager Stray Corrado goes to Seung-hwan Oh. Oh comes in & gives up a 3-Run Baltimore Special to Miguel Cabrera who’s big fly puts the Werewolves up 7-1

Chicago Designated Hitter David Ortiz take Maeda deep to right center in the bottom of the 6th for a solo shot, but Maeda finishes the Inning – his line 7 Innings, 6 Hits, 1 Walk, 2 Runs & 6 Strikeouts.

The Werewolves bullpen took over with six relievers coming on. Chicago did the same but they used 10 relievers. Both teams empited their benches, Hollywood used 4 extra players & Chicago used 5 extras as both teams were getting everyone in the game trying to make sure they were all ready for game #3.

Final Score: Hollywood 7 – Chicago 2
Win: Kenta Maeda 1-0 (2.57)
Loss: Aaron Sanchez 0-1 (5.79)

Game #3: Carlos Matias Martinez (16-4 3.25) vs. David Price (13-12 3.98)

Young Mobsters right hander Carlos Matias Martinez got the call from Skipper Stray Corrado who decided to push Felix Hernandez back one day. Martinez did not disappoint. 6 Solid Innings of 1 Hit ball, walking 2 & Striking out 5 Werewolves along the way. However Hollywood’s veteran left hander David Price was almost as dominant allowing only a 5th Inning single off the Pinch Hit At-Bat of Hanley Ramirez scoring Buster Posey from second for Chicago’s only run through 5 Innings of play.

Price cleared the 6th & 7th without allowing another run, but with one out in the 8th inning an Andrelton Simmons hot smash to Miguel Cabrera ended up in a throwing error. Simmons quickly stole second base, followed by a Andrew McCutchen Base Hit over second scoring Simmons. That was all for Price as he was replaced by George Kontos.

Kontos struggled. Dexter Fowler singled move Cutch to second. Kinsler followed with a third straight single, loading the base for the heart & meat of the Mobsters line up. Cutler came & got the ball from Kontos & went with veteran side-armer Pat Neshek. J.D Martinez lined a hard Base Hit to the gap in right, McCutchen Scored, Fowler was right behind him & plated Chicago’s 4th Run. Kinsler made it to third on the play after Chicago’s 4th straight single. Neshek was visibly upset & uncorked a Wild Pitch, scoring Kinsler & moving J.D. Martinez into scoring position. After Josh Donaldson was caught looking for the 2nd out of the inning Nelson Cruz stepped in & creamed a Single into left, scoring Martinez from second & putting Chicago up 6-0 at the end of 7 & 1/2 Innings of play.

Chicago’s bullpen relieved Martinez after the 6th with Wade Davis throwing 1 Inning. The 7th & 8th were scoreless for Hollywood as Zach Duke, Dellin Betances & Andrew Miller held the Werewolves off the board.

With two men on in the top of the 9th Inning Ian Kinsler sealed the door on Game #3 launching a 3-Run Home Run far over the wall in left center field off Hollywood left hander Ryan O’Rourke putting the Mobsters up 9-0, with only 3 outs left to get.

Chicago turned to Rookie Julio Urias to close this one out. Miguel Cabrera doesn’t miss to many first strike fastballs, especially from rookie pitchers. He didn’t here either. Cabrera broke up the Shutout with a solo shot way back in right field. Urias after the game said “I didn’t know he was that good”, with a smile on his face. Paul Goldschmidt singled, before Carlos Gonzalez popped up to Buster Posey behind home plate for out number one. Then Urias induced Billy Butler into a ground ball that Andrelton Simmons, flipped to Ian Kinsler & on to Justin Turner at first base for a 6-4-3 game ending Double Play.

Final Score: Chicago 9 – Hollywood 1
Win: Carlos Matias Martine 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: David Price 0-1 (2.45)

Game #4: Felix Hernandez (17-4 3.20) vs. Clayton Kershaw (16-2 2.05)

Chicago was feeling good being up 2 games to 1, but Hollywood was bringing back their ace in Kershaw for game #4, while Chicago had skipped over King Felix the previous day & now handed him the ball with a tough task ahead of him. The King didn’t let the people of Chicago down. But Kershaw didn’t let the home crowd of Hollywood down either. We were set up for pitchers duel with two long time aces on the hill.

Chicago got things off to a quick start in the bottom of the first as Dexter Fowler Doubled. After a flyout Fowler moved to third on a ground out & scored on a single off the bat of Josh Donaldson.

Hollywood countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the first inning when lead off batter Christian Yelich took a 2-2 fastball from the King & deposited just inside the right field foul pole, knotting the game up at 1 Run each.

Kershaw was facing long time Mobster center fielder Andrew McCutchen with two outs in the bottom of the second when Cutch got a hold of one. Just over the left field wall to give the Mobsters a 2-1 lead after 1 & a half innings of play.

From there both pitchers settled into their respective groves. Kershaw went 21 batters faced & left the game trailing 2-1 after 5.2 Innings of play. He Struck Out 7, walked none, let up 2 Runs on 4 Hits & pitched a gem of a game holding the Chicago offense to just 2 runs. Felix Hernandez was just a tick better. 5.2 Innings, 2 Walks, 2 Hits, 1 Run, while Striking Out 4. It was the pitchers duel that both managers expected. However now it was up to the bullpens to see who could hold the other team at bay, & who’s offense could push a across a few more.

McCutchen lead off the 8th for Chicago & after a lead off Single Cutch was replaced by the speedy Billy Hamilton. Hollywood manager went to his lefty Ryan O’Rourke to try & keep a close eye on Hamilton who lead the American League with 71 Stolen Bases. It didn’t take long for the showdown to take place as on the first pitch from O’Rourke – Hamilton stole second. Christian Yelich stole a Base Hit away from Andrelton Simmons for the first out of the Inning, with Hamilton showing some fine base running skills staying put at second. Pat Neshek came on to face Dexter Fowler, but Fowler was called back to the dugout. Donning a batting helmet & to a thunderous chorus of boos out of the Chicago dugout appeared for Hollywood Werewolf David Ortiz. Neshek wanted no part of Big Papai’s late inning heroics as he completely worked around the big man. Four straight balls off the plate on the outside led to a walk for Big Papi. Rookie Alex Bregman was called upon to Pinch Run for Ortiz. Buster Posey strode to the plate, but Chicago manager Stray Corrado didn’t take long to make something happen on the next pitch as both Hamilton & Bregman took off. A double steal. Yes both Hamilton & Bregman made it safely to 2nd & 3rd. Was it time to walk Posey & set up the Double play? J.D. Martinez would be the better if Hollywood Manager Steve Cutler decided to take that on. Cutler elected to face Posey & Posey came through for Chicago. A little blooper down the line in left field, Hamilton Scores, Jarrod Dyson comes up throwing for Hollywood, Bregman slides & is called safe at the plate. Posey with a 2-Run Double makes it 4-2 Chicago. J.D. Martinez took it as a sign of respect (The Werewolves pitching to Posey) & he didn’t let the Chicago fans down either. A single to center field sent Posey to the plate, but Carlos Gonzalez shot down Posey at the plate with a great throw from right field. Martinez took second on the throw. So with two outs Chicago had Martinez at second for Josh Donaldson. Would Cutler walk Donaldson here? He looked at his lineup card & saw Nelson Cruz in the on deck circle & decided to pitch to Donaldson. A single between third & short sent J.D. Martinez home giving the Mobsters a 5-1 lead after the 8th.

Chicago had went with rookie Alexander Reyes since the 5th when he took over for Hernandez. A lead off Double by Kolten Wong followed by a wellington Castillo single cut the Mobsters lead to 5-2. Hollywood put in Phil Gosselin to run for Castillo & with Ketel Marte facing Miller Hollywood put Gosselin in motion to make something happen. Marte hit a hard liner right towards third, but taking one step to his left & making the catch was Josh Donaldson. A quick throw across the diamond gunned down Gosselin who was trying to hustle back, but it was inevitable as the Mobsters turned a quick 5-3 Double Play. Chicago manger Stray Corrado went to get his young rookie right hander. A tap on the backside for a job well done & heading in from the pen was lefty Andrew Miller. Miller made quick work of Christian Yelich on a 1-2-3 pitch (all fastballs) Strike Out.

Chicago closed it out in the 9th with Andrew Miller, Seung-hwan Oh & Aroldis Chapman all getting one-third of an out & Chapman getting the save.

Final Score: Chicago 5 – Hollywood 2
Win: Felix Hernandez 1-0 (1.50)
Loss: Clayton Kershaw 0-2 (3.09)
Save: Aroldis Chapman #1

Game #5: Noah Syndergaard ( 21-5 2.00) vs. Kenta Maeda (17-5 2.25)

Chicago had seen Noah Syndergaard be solid all year & quite possibly the American League Cy-Young Award winner, but in the 2017 Playoffs “Thor” was God like. Two starts, one in the Division Series vs. Detroit & one in Game #1 in the League Championship. Both & I don’t believe I am saying this produced No-Hitters. Yes Back to Back starts in the playoffs, both with 9 Innings, facing a total of three batters over the minimum. Syndergaard was to take the hill here in Game #5 with the chance to throw his third straight No-Hitter.

Well it didn’t take long for that thought to be over. After Chicago failed to score in the top of the first Christian Yelich stepped in to face Syndergaard. First pitch fastball & Yelich jumped on it. Boom, a hard ripped clean Single to center. So the thought of the 3rd straight playoff No-Hitter by Noah Syndergaard was over & it was now his job to see if he & the Mobsters could close out the Werewovles & head to the Mid-West Baseball League World Series. A groundout by Jarrod Dyson moved Yelich to second base, when up stepped Miguel Cabrera. A line drive bullet to Andrelton Simmons for the second out held Yelich at second, when Paul Goldschmidt stepped up Two-Face Syndergaard. Syndergaard got Goldschmidt to swing & missed at strike three, a big strikeout to keep the game scoress after one complete inning.

Nelson Cruz led off the top of the second with a single & quickly stole second base on a napping Kenta Maeda. Buster Posey did his job with a Base Hit to left field & Cruz took advantage of Jarrod Dyson‘s arm in left & scored on the play.

In the top of the 4th after a lead off walk to Nelson Cruz & a two-out walk to Andrelton Simmons, Dexter Fowler steps in & hits one to the right of Paul Goldschmidt, second baseman Kolten Wong Dives & knocks it down but that’s all he can do is there’s no play anywhere and the bases are loaded for Chicago with two outs. Kenta Maeda induces a ground ball to short but Eric Aybar boots It off the heel of his glove, Nelson Crew scores, Andrelton Simmons scores, Dexter Fowler heads for third the tag by Miguel Cabrera – Safe. But Chicago can muster no more & Maeda gets out of the inning without any further damage.

Chicago replaces Noah syndergaard at the end of 6 Inning of play, he allowed 6 Hits, 1 Walk, Struck Out 6 & allowed no runs to score score. 24 Innings pitched in the playoffs & Syndergaard hasn’t allowed a run of any kind.

A lead off single in the bottom of the seventh puts Dexter Fowler at first base with Ian Kinsler at the bat. Fowler steals second base off Maeda high leg kick putting the Chicago lead off man in scoring position. Ian Kinsler hits a two hopper to Eric Aybar who takes it on a high hop & fires it right by Paul Goldschmidt at first base. Fowler rounds third & heads home scoring on the second air by Eric Aybar in this game. The Werewolves defense has been sloppy here & it’s cost them. Thing only got worse for Hollywood on the next pitch. Kenta Maeda got David Ortiz to foul one between Goldschmidt & Wellington Castillo but they Clyde. The ball drops foul, it doesn’t look good for either player. Both end up leave the game Castillo injured for six days while Goldschmidt is injured for the rest of the day.

Neither Chicago or Hollywood score the remainder of the game. Kenta Maeda is pulled after six Innings allowing 6 Hits, 3 Walks, 5 Strikeouts, 4 Runs but only 1 Earned. Chicago goes to a cast of relievers including Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller, Seung-hwan Oh, & Aroldis Chapman closes the game out with a perfect 9th inning with 3 strikeouts all on three 100+ MPH fastballs to former Mobster Kolten Wong, sending Chicago to the Midwest Baseball League World Series for the 4th time.

Final Score: Chicago 4 – Hollywood 0
Win: Noah Syndergaard 2-0 (0.00)
Loss: Kenta Maeda 1-1 (2.08)

League Championships

2019 AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Southbend Lynx @ Detroit Crime

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2018 – NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

SACRAMENTO CAPITALS @ COLUMBUS EXPLORERS

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2018 – AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Chicago Mobsters @ Dallas Cougars

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2017 – NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Bethesa Bandicoots @ Tempe Tempers

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2017 – AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Hollywood Werewolves @ Chicago Mobsters

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