Sacramento jumped to an early lead with back-to-back doubles by Trey Mancini and Corey Dickerson in the top of the 1^st and, in the top of the 2^nd, Sacramento extends its lead with a lead-off double by Brian Goodwin, an RBI single by Josh Reddick, and a 2-run home run by Mancini. Chicago would narrow the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the 3^rd with a lead-off home run by Andrew McCutchen—the first off Max Scherzer in the contest. That would be all Chicago would put on the board in Game 1. Sacramento extended its lead to 6-1 in the top of the 5^th with a 2-run home run by Wilmer Flores.  Scherzer pitched 7 innings while giving up only 1 hit, a home run to McCutchen, and striking out 6. Rich Hill was chased from the game in the 3^rd after giving up 5 hits, walking 3, and yielding 4 earned runs.

Final Score: Sacramento 6 – Chicago 1

W – Max Scherzer 1-0 (1.29)

L – Rich Hill 0-1 (12.00)

HR – Trey Mancini 1, Wilmer Flores 1 & Andrew McCutchen 1

A pitchers’ duel to the end. Neither Chris Sale nor Marcus Stroman would yield a run, with Sale pitching 6 innings while giving up only 4 hits and Stroman pitching 5 innings while giving up only 2 hits. Sacramento was first on the board with a Wilmer Flores solo home run in the top of the 7^th inning. Up 1-0 in the bottom of the 8^th, Sacramento turns to setup man Alan Busenitz who promptly gives up back-to-back doubles to Dexter Fowler and Alex Bregman tying the game at 1 each. Sacramento responds in the top of the 9^th with 1-out singles by Giancarlo Stanton and Francisco Lindor, putting the winning run on 1^st. But, Chicago puts out the fire; Andrew Miller strikes out weak-hitting Brian Goodwin and then calls on Noah Syndergaard to quickly put away Evan Longoria to end the top half of the 9^th. Sacramento turns to its closer, Tyler Olson, to hold off Chicago but instead gives up a walk-off home run to leadoff hitter Justin Turner.

Final Score: Chicago: 2 – Sacramento 1

W – Noah Syndergaard 1-0 (0.00)

L – Tyler Olson 0-1 (Infinite)

HR – Wilmer Flores 1 (2) & Justin Turner 1

The series is tied at 1-1. Sacramento is again first on the board with a leadoff double by Josh Reddick, an infield single by Trey Mancini, and a single by Wilmer Flores. Chicago would strike right back in the top of the 2^nd with a J.D. Martinez lead-off home run off Max Scherzer to tie it up. Sacramento again takes the lead in the bottom of the 3^rd with another lead-off double by Josh Reddick, a sac fly by Mancini, and a sac fly by Giancarlo Stanton. Sacramento up 2-1, but it’s Chicago’s turn. Top of the 4^th: Alex Bregman singles to right and Freddie Freeman unloads the next pitch over Giancarlo Stanton’s reach in right. The Mobsters take the lead 3-2, but the lead wouldn’t last long. In the bottom of the 4^th, Rich Hill walks Flores and Brian Goodwin to start the inning, Yadier Molina flies out, and Max Scherzer hits a home run! Sacramento up 5-3. But, wouldn’t you know, the lead didn’t last long. Top of the 6^th, Scherzer still on the mound with one out. Bregman up, grounds it to Francisco Lindor who throws it in the dirt—an unlikely error for Lindor. Freeman strokes a single through the hole to left on a hit-and-run, putting runners on 1^st and 3^rd with one out. Scherzer deals to J.D. Martinez, and Martinez wins. A 3-run home run to left field to put Chicago up 6-5 in the 6^th. Chicago and Sacramento manage a few uneventful frames and move to the bottom of the 8^th. Sacramento is running out of time. Dellin Betances on the mound, Goodwin strokes a double to left center; Betances out and Andrew Miller in; Miller to Robinson Cano, and Cano ropes it to center scoring Goodwin to tie the ballgame. But, wait, Miller tosses the ball to Turner at 3^rd who steps on the bag—Goodwin’s out! He never touched third base! Two outs, Cano on 1^st, Sacramento down 6-5. Miller to Molina & Yadier Molina hits a hard liner down the third base line to score Cano, taking third on the throw. Tie game with the winning run now on 3^rd with two outs. With the pitcher’s spot up, the Caps turn to Ronald Torreyes to pinch it. Torreyes hits a Texas Leaguer between Bregman and Martinez to bring home the winning run.

Final Score: Sacramento 7 – Chicago 6

W – Alex Claudio 1-0 (0.00)

L – Andrew Miller 0-1 (13.50)

S – Tyler Olson 1 (9.00)

HR: Max Scherzer 1, Freddie Freeman 1 & J.D. Martinez 2 (2)

Sacramento up 2 games to 1 in the series. Like Game 2, the Mobsters and Capitals set aside the back-and-forth scoring and settle in for a pitchers’ duel. Both starting pitchers pitched into the 7^th inning without giving up a single run. Chris Sale pitched 7 innings giving up only 2 hits. Carlos Matias Martinez pitched 6 innings giving up only 1 hit and zero runs, but he wouldn’t make it out of the 7^th. Martinez walks leadoff hitter Giancarlo Stanton, but then induces Francisco Lindor and Brian Goodwin into fly outs to McCutchen and Fowler. With two outs, Martinez deals to Wilmer Flores, who smashes it hard off Turner’s leg at 3^rd; Flores gets the double and Stanton reaches 3^rd as the ball rolls into the outfield. Unfortunately, Chicago would lose Turner for the remainder of the series. With runners on 2^nd and 3^rd and Chris Sale’s spot in the batting order up next, the Mobsters intentionally walk Yadier Molina to load the bases and force the Caps to pull Sale from the game after facing only 23 batters. Bases loaded, two outs, no score. The Caps call on Corey Dickerson, and Chicago pulls Martinez and gives Andrew Miller the ball. Miller comes to the plate, and Dickerson tomahawks it into the gap, Fowler hustles for it but Stanton and Flores score easily as Molina and Dickerson stroll into 2^nd and 3^rd. Sacramento takes the 2-0 lead, and that’s all the offense either team would see.

Final Score: Sacramento 2 – Chicago 0

W – Chris Sale 1-0 (0.00)

L – Carlos Matias Martinez 0-1 (2.70)

S – Tyler Olson 2 (4.50)

HR: None 

Sacramento leads the series 3-1 and turns to Zach Greinke to close it down. Chicago turns to Marcus Stroman, who has yet to give up a run this series, in a do-or-die game. Greinke gets off to a rough start. He induces a pop fly from the first batter, Dexter Fowler, but feels something in his arm. He walks off the mound, stretches it out, throws a pitch, and seems to be okay. He pitches to Alex Bregman … and Bregman takes him deep. I think we all saw that coming. Mobsters up 1-0. Greinke settles in and finishes off the next two batters. In the bottom of the 1^st, Sacramento ties it up on a Josh Reddick single and a Robinson Cano double. Nothing more of note until the bottom of the 5^th when, Yadier Molina gets a leadoff double, Greinke gets the bunt sacrifice sending Molina to 3^rd, and Reddick singles to left to bring Molina home. Sacramento up 2-1. The Mobsters strike back in the top of the 7^th. Buster Posey facing Greinke, hits a shot to left field, Brian Goodwin running in and takes it on the hop … he bobbles it, throws to second, and Posey’s in safely. Chicago brings in Billy Hamilton to pinch run. Greinke subsequently walks Andrew McCutchen. He’s getting wild. Hamilton and McCutchen run, Molina guns it to 3^rd—out! One out, McCutchen on 2^nd, Andrelton Simmons comes to the plate. Greinke’s out and Pedro Strop is called upon to get the next two outs. Strop pitches to Neil Walker, induces the ground out, but the runners advance. Yonder Alonso pinch hits for Syndergaard, and singles to left center, McCutchen and Simmons score and Alonso advances to second. But that would be it in the top of the 7^th. Mobsters up, 3-2. Chicago strikes again in the top of the 9^th with a McCutchen single, a Simmons hit-and-run, and a walk to Walker. The bases are loaded with the hard-hitting Tucker Barnart coming to the plate. Holland deals, and Barnhart whacks a single to right, right past Josh Reddick, McCutchen and Simmons score on the error, extending Chicago’s lead to 5-2. Sacramento has nothing left to give.

Final Score: Chicago 5 – Sacramento 2

W – Noah Syndergaard 2-0 (0.00)

L – Zack Greinke 0-1 (1.42)

 HR: Alex Bregman 1

Sacramento’s World Series lead has narrowed to 3-2 as the series moves back to Chicago for Game 6. Max Scherzer faces off with Rich Hill for the third time this series. Chicago jumps to the lead in the bottom of the 2^nd with a leadoff home run by J.D. Martinez, a walk to Buster Posey, and a 2-run home run by Andrew McCutchen. Scherzer is disgusted, but he limits the damage to 3 runs. Chicago tacks on another in the bottom of the 3^rd off an Alex Bregman leadoff home run to go up 4-0. Top of the 6^th, Sacramento begins to shrink the Mobsters lead. Rich Hill walks Trey Mancini and subsequently gives up a 2-run home run to Corey Dickerson. Unfortunately for the Caps, that’s all they would put on the board in Game 6. Chicago answers back with an insurance run on a Andrelton Simmons sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning. And, with that, Chicago ties the series up at 3 a piece. Chicago has now held Sacramento to two or fewer runs for the fourth time in six games. 

Final Score: Chicago 5 – Sacramento 2

W – Rich Hill 1-1 (5.87)

L – Max Scherzer 1-1 (4.71)

S – Aroldis Chapman (1)

HR: Corey Dickerson 1, Alex Bregman 1 (2), J.D. Martinez 1 (3) & Andrew McCutchen 1 (2)

Chicago enters Game 7 holding the momentum and turns, once again, to Marcus Stroman who’s had a heck of a series thus far. Sacramento hands the ball to Chris Sale. Chicago jumped to the early lead in the bottom of the first; Fowler gets the leadoff walk and advances to 2^nd off a Alex Bregman HBP. Two on, two out, Buster Posey at the dish; he swings and lines it to left field, scoring Dexter Fowler, and Bregman is out trying to take 3^rd on the throw. Sacramento ties it up off a solo shot by Wilmer Flores in the top of the 2^nd, and takes the lead in the top of the 3^rd as Delino DeShields Jr. takes 2^nd on a Fredie Freeman error and is brought home on a Josh Reddick single to right field. Sacramento up 2-1. Bottom of the 5^th, two outs, Chris Sale walks Alex Bregman and promptly gives up a 2-run home run to Freddy Freeman. Mobsters extend their lead to 4-2 in the 6^th off a Flores error that allowed Mikie Mahtook to score from 2^nd. Once again, the Mobsters pitching staff has held the Capitals in check, allowing only 2 runs thus far for the 5^th game this series.

In the top of the 9^th, as Sacramento faces the end of the line, the bats wake up. Francisco Lindor reaches on a leadoff single, Wilmer Flores reaches on a walk, and Corey Dickerson pokes a single to right field scoring Lindor and sending the tying run to 3^rd with no outs. Yadier Molina socks a sac fly to right to bring Flores home, but Chicago guns down Dickerson, the go-ahead run, as he tries to sneak into 2^nd on the throw. All tied up, two outs, bases empty. Back-to-back doubles by DeShields and Josh Reddick give Sacramento the lead. Sacramento hands the ball to closer Tyler Olsen to close the door. The fans are on their feet … Olson deals and Chicago gets the leadoff man on, Fowler on 1^st with a single. The table is set. Bregman at the plate, and he lines a double to right, Fowler crosses the plate and ties it all up at 5. But, Olson would settle down and make it out of the inning without any further damage. Top of the 10^th, Aroldis Chapman returns to the mound. Mitch Moreland, the leadoff hitter, and Chapman walk him. Giancarlo Stanton up; Chicago takes the ball, and Chapman is done for the evening.  Noah Syndergaard gets the call. Stanton walks and Lindor reaches on an infield single to load the bases with no outs. Evan Longoria gets the deep sac fly to center, Moreland scores, Stanton advances to 3^rd, and Lindor is thrown out at 2nd.  One on, two out, Dickerson up. Syndergaard throws home, and Dickerson hits it “hard to center … it may carry, open the window, Aunt Minnie … here she comes … KARAAASH!! … that’s too bad Aunt Minnie never made it.” Olson shuts the door in the bottom of the 10^th, and Sacramento is celebrating their 3^rd World Series title in 8 years.

Final Score: Sacramento 8 – Chicago 5 (10 Innings)

W – Tyler Olson (1-1)

L –Aroldis Chapman (0-1)

HR: Wilmer Flores 1 (3), Corey Dickerson 1 (2) & Freddie Freeman 1 (2)

Sacramento wins an exciting World Series 4-3 against one of the very best franchises in the history of the MWBL, the Chicago Mobsters. Chicago scored 5 or more runs in 5 of 7 games while Sacramento scored 2 or fewer runs in 4 of 7 games, with Sacramento outscoring Chicago by a narrow margin—28-24—over the series.

Chicago out-performed Sacramento on the field, sporting a solid .989 FLD% on 3 errors against a poor .976 FLD% and 6 errors for the Caps; the errors were costly for both teams, with Chicago giving up 4 unearned runs and Sacramento giving up 6 unearned runs. Sacramento’s pitching staff made up for the poor fielding by pitching to a 2.61 ERA, while giving up 46 hits in 62 IP, including 23 extra base hits, while striking out 48 and walking only 16. Chicago pitched to a 3.48 ERA, while giving up 51 hits in 62 IP, also including 23 extra base hits, while striking out 51 and walking a robust 27 batters. Sacramento also had the edge, if ever so slightly, on the offensive side with a .225/.304/.388 triple slash, 23 XBH, and 28 runs scored against Chicago’s .205/.260/.397, 23 XBH, and 24 runs scored.

Marcus Stroman (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 11.1 IP in 3 starts), Noah Syndergaard (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 3.1 IP in 5 relief appearances), and Rich Hill (1-1, 5.87 ERA, 15.1 IP in 3 starts) led the Chicago Mobsters’ pitching staff behind stellar play in the field, while Andrelton Simmons (.364/.375/.591) and J.D. Martinez (3 HR, 3 R, 5 RBI) led the Mobsters’ offense. For Sacramento, it was Chris Sale who led the pitching staff going 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in 3 starts.

Sacramento, on the other hand, was stunned to see Giancarlo Stanton, who led the team in both the NLDS and NLCS, bat a minuscule .050 with only 1 hit, 2 runs, and 1 RBI over the 7-game series. But, two unlikely heroes stepped up to lead the Caps to victory. Wilmer Flores, a part-time utility player throughout the regular season was handed the full-time 3B job for the World Series, and he did not disappoint batting .318/.400/.773 with 3 HR, 6 R, and 5 RBI. But it was Corey Dickerson, who under performed to the tune of a measly .216/.271/.333 during the regular season, was inserted into the lineup as the DH for the World Series and was clutch in the role; Dickerson overcame his disappointing season by sporting a .353/.450/.824 triple slash with 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 R, and 8 RBI in only 17 AB. Dickerson had the game-winning RBI in Game 4 and Game 7. With this performance, Dickerson has earned the World Series MVP.

GAME #1 – Mike Montgomery (9-7 2.5) vs. Wei-Yen Chen (4-0 2.88)

Domingo Santana got things going early in the first for the Nor’Easters when he crushed a Wei-Yen Chen fastball to left field. Didi Gregorious added another solo shot in the 2nd inning to put Jersey up 2-0. In the 4th, Tempe rallied back against the Jersey pen with a Ryan Braun solo homerun and a two run homerun by future Hall of Famer, Adrian Beltre. The lead didn’t last long as Pham singled in the 5th and Santana hit his second homerun of the game to put Jersey back up 4-3. Both bullpens kept things tight the rest of the way. In the bottom of the 9th, Brad Hand surrendered a lead off double to Marcell Ozuna in his second inning of work. A deep fly to right field would have moved the tying run to 3rd, but Jay Bruce gunned the pinch runner trying to tag. The run would have scored on the next play, so Bruce definitely made the play of the game.

Jersey 4-3
Tommy Hunter – W
Joe Smith – L
Brad Hand – S

GAME #2 – Dinelson Lamet (7-7 3.62) vs. John Lester (12-5 3.60)

Tempe killer, Domino Santana wasn’t able to start game two due to running around the bases so much in game one. Lester pitched three scoreless innings to start the game and left in the bottom of the 3rd when Melky Cabrera pinch hit and singled in Ozzie Albies to give Tempe a 1-0 lead. A Troy Tulowitzki rbi double in the 5th off of Craig Stammen put Tempe up 2-0. In the 7th, Tommy Hunter surrendered his second home run of the series when Ozzie Albies took him deep. A two run home run by Marcell Ozuna in the 8th off of George Kontos put the game out of reach.

Tempe 5-0
Gregory Infante – W
Dinelson Lament – L

GAME #3 – Jake Junis (8-5 3.57) vs. Wei-Yen Chen (4-0 2.88)

After his early departure in game one, Wei-Yen Chen was back to start for Tempe in game three and he quickly ran into trouble. Tommy Pham walked to start the game and back to back doubles by Domingo Santana and  Jose Ramirez put Jersey up 2-0. Wei-Yen Chen recorded the next two outs, but then surrendered a single to Didi Gregorius that gave Jersey the early 3-0 lead. In the 2nd, Miguel Montero lead off with a double, but Adrain Beltre turned a nice double play to get Wei-Ye Chen out of the jam. In the bottom of the 2nd, Adrain Beltre doubled, moved to 3rd on a pass ball and scored on a Wellington Castillo sac fly. Jersey 3-1. In the top of the 3rd, Wei-Ye Chen surrendered a single to Domingo Santana and then what should have been a rbi double to Jose Ramirez. Matt Adams made throw of his life and gunned Domingo Santana at the plate for the first out of the inning.  Jay Bruce walked but Wei-Ye Chen found a way to get Lucas Duda and Didi Gregorious to ground out without any damage. Jersey 3-1. In the bottom of the 4th, Adrain Beltre walked and Matt Adams singled off reliever Tommy Hunter. Jersey brought in Craig Stammen to face Wellington Castillo. The juice was flowing and Wellington Castillo crushed a Baltimore special to put Tempe up 4-3. In the 5th, Josh Hader walked Joey Votto and Ryan Braun made him pay with a RBI double. Tempe 5-3. In the top of the 6th, Tempe brought on Jared Hughes and he promptly walked Jay Bruce and Lucas Duda to start the inning. Tempe then turned to Joe Smith who got Didi Gregorius and Rougned Odor to pop up and then K’ed Miguel Montero to avoid any damage. In the top of the 7th, Joe Smith walked Cesar Hernandez to start the inning. Trevor Hildenberger came on and got Tommy Pham to ground out, but then surrendered a single to Domingo Santana. Possible future 2019 MWBL NL MVP, Jose Ramirez then hit his third double of the game and tied it up 5-5. Brandon Workman came on in relief. He walked Jay Bruce, but got Lucas Duda and Didi Gregorius to end the inning and keep the game tied. In the bottom of the 7th, Brad Hand came on for Jersey. Troy Tulowitzki lead off the inning with a double. Xander Bogaerts moved a pinch runner to 3rd and Joey Votto, the possible 2018 MWBL NL MVP crushed a double off of Brad Hand to put Tempe up 6-5. Hand struck out Ryan Braun but then walked Marcell Ozuna and tossed a wild pitch that moved Joey Votto to 3rd. The 21 grade recovered to get Adrian Beltre to end the inning. In the top of the 8th, Kirby Yates came on for Tempe and recorded the first two outs before pinch hitter Keon Broxton singled. Tempe brought on their last reliever, Nick Vincent to face Tommy Pham. Keon Broxton attempted to steal 2B after Nick Vincent‘s first pitch and Wellington Castillo (+6 Arm) gunned him to end the inning.
In the bottom of the 8th, George Kontos came on in relief and rookie Yandy Diaz pinch hit for defensive replacement Sean Rodriguez. Yandy Diaz doubled for his first hit of the playoffs. Wellington Castillo then singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. George Kontos rallied back and struckout Ozzie Albies. Tempe then rolled the dice and pinch hit for their last reliever with the weak hitting (and last available hitter on the bench) Mike Aviles. Aviles singled to make it 7-5 Tempe. George Kontos struck out Xander Bogaerts but walked Joey Votto to load the bases. Bryan Shaw made his first appearance of the series and got Ryan Braun to fly out to end the inning and keep the game in reach. In the top of the 9th, with all of their relievers used and only one pitcher left, Tempe brought on starter Jhoulys Chacin to close out the 9th. Chacin got Tommy Pham and Domingo Santana to ground out and then struck out Jose Ramirez to record his first and only save of the year.

Tempe 7-5
Brandon Workman – W
Brad Hand – L
Jhoulys Chacin – S

 Game #1:  Noah Syndergaard ( 21-5 2.00) vs. Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10)

Chicago starter Noah Syndergaard who was spectacular in Game #1 Starts in the American Division Series & American League Championship Series didn’t fair to well to start off the 2017 World Series.   With one on & two outs in the bottom of the 1st, Syndergaard tried to sneak a 2-2 fastball past Yoenis Cespedes.  Cespedes didn’t hesitate. His bat connected with so much power & force that J.D. Martinez the Chicago right fielder moved back, looked up & watched it sail over the right field wall for a 2 Run Home Run & giving the Tempers the spark that would ignite the fire. Syndergaard hung not only that pitch, but his head in disgust as his Mobsters were now down 2-0 & not even out of the first inning.   

Xander Bogaerts scored in the second inning on a Sandy Leon single past the dive of Josh Donaldson at third base giving the Tempers a 3-0 lead. 

In the 5th with Robinson Cano on 2nd base, Adiran Beltre grounded a ball into the hole & by Andrelton Simmons, making it 4-0 Tempe.   In the 7th with Chris Davis at 3rd base & left handed pitcher Andrew Miller set to face Ryan Braun, Chris Davis took off for Home Plate & stole it successfully off Miller.  This was the 4th stolen base of the game for the Tempers who brought not only their hitting shoes, but their running game as well.  

Meanwhile Johnny Cueto had pitched 4 hittless Innings before making way for Joba Chamberlin who threw 3 hitless Innings of his own.  Derek Law came on in the top of the 8th Inning & Chicago got their firs hit, a lead off Double off the bat of Pinch Hitter Alex Bregman.   After a Andrew McCutchen Single where Chicago Manager Stray Corrado held Bregman at 3rd Tempe once again went to the pen.   This time Tony Barnette came in.   Barnette gave up a Double to Dexter Fowler, scoring Bregman, but holding Cutch up at 3rd.   With runners at second & third Buster Posey came up with a chance to get the game within reason.  Posey lined one up the Right Field gap, but coming out of no where to make the catch was Yoenis Cespedes.   Cutch scored making it 5-2 Tempe, but Cespedes while on the run lunched a throw to third base where Adrian Beltre put the tag on Fowler.   Bamn, just like that two outs, no one on & after Barnette got David Ortiz on strikes, Chicago best threat was over.   

Cespedes lead off the bottom of the 7th Inning with a Double to the gap in right field, followed by a Adrian Beltre single (took second on the throw home) but Cespedes was thrown out at the plate by Andrew McCutchen.  Troy Tulowitzki hits a line shot to center scoring Beltre & giving the Tempers a 6-2 lead.   Sandy Leon then singled, scoring Tulo & securing the 7-2 lead for the Tempers.

Final Score: Tempe 7 – Chicago 2
Win: Joba Chamberlain 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Noah Syndergaard 0-1  (6.75)

Game #1 Box Score

 Game #2: Aaron Sanchez (17-4 2.71) vs. Jon Lester (25-5 1.82)

Chicago went out 1-2-3 in the first, and Tempe 1-2 in what looked like the start if a nice pitching duel between the two clubs. However Ryan Braun took no part of being out number three in the inning & took a 3-2 changeup for ball four.   Braun stole second quickly & Cespedes Doubled off the wall bringing Braun Home & putting the Tempers up 1-0.  Adrian Beltre followed with a Double of his own scoring Cespedes & making it 2-0.  Xander Bogarts singled but was thrown out at second base, but scored Beltre.  So after 1 Inning of play, Tempe was out to a 3-0 lead. 

Tempe chipped in with one more in the 4th with runners at 1st & 3rd, a ground ball Double Play off the bat of Troy Tulowitzki pushed across Run number four for Tempe.

Chicago got on the board in the 5th when Justin Turner took John Lester down the line in left & just inside the foul pole & over the fence for a solo shot.   With runners at 1st & 3rd in the bottom of the 6th Tulowitzki trying to stay out of the Double Play, lined a base hit to center & when the ball gets by Dexter Fowler – Adrian Beltre comes all the way around for first base to score, making it 6-1 Tempe.

Mean while Jon Lester was cruising through the Mobsters allowing only 1 Hit (Solo Home Run to Turner), Walking none, & leaving to a thunderous ovation after 7 Innings pitched.   Lester only faced 22 batters & Mobsters Manager Chris Douglas already announced him as the starter for game #4.

In the 8th Tempe tacked on another run with a Sacrifice Fly off the bat of Catcher Sandy Leon made it 7-1 Tempe.   The Mobsters couldn’t get anything together in the 9th & Tempe was now headed to Chicago for games 3, 4 & 5 (If necessary) feeling quite good about what they had accomplished at home.   The Mobsters had a long flight back to Chicago, not much was said on the plane & yet they were hoping to turn things around back in the Windy City.

Final Score: Tempe 7 – Chicago 1
Win: Jon Lester 1-0 (1.29)
Loss: Aaron Sanchez 0-1  (6.75)

Game #2 Box Score

Game #3:  Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10) vs. Carlos Matias Martinez (16-4  3.25)

The series switched to Chicago, but the first inning scoring continued for the Tempers.  They jumped Carlos Matias Martinez in the 1st Inning for a single run off the bat of Robinson Cano as he hooked one down the line in right field for a one out Home Run.   The Chicago crowd was out of it right away as Tempe had the lead two batters into the game.

Everything seemed to continue to go Tempe’s way in the 3rd. Sandy Leon reached on a rare error by Andrelton Simmons and Chris Davis leaned into what should have been a strike causing Carlos Matias Martinez to receive a Hit batter instead of a strikeout. A quick sacrifice bunt by Votto moved both runners into scoring position for Robinson Cano who had already taken Martinez deep in the first. Cano worked a 2-0 count and then went all in when Martiniez was forced to throw fastball. Cano blasted it for one of the longest post season Home Runs ever witnessed in Chicago.

In the 4th inning, Joey Votto picked up sac fly RBI, scoring Chris Young and expanding the lead to 5-0. The nearly insurmountable lead was then further expanded in the 6th, when defensive replacement, Troy Tulowitzki blasted a solo shot off Julio Urias who’d come on in relief. Tempe made it 7-0 in the 7th when Cano doubled and then scored his 3rd run of the game on a Braun base hit.

The Chicago faithful gave the team a supportive, 7th inning stretch and Josh Donaldson responded to the crowd by blasting a solo shot to get Chicago on the board. However, Chris Smith wasn’t fazed and he just went back to striking out Mobsters. Smith worked 4.2 dominating innings in relief and would have finished the 9th if he hadn’t completely run out of gas in the 9th. Chamberlain came on and recorded the final out giving Tempe a potentially insurmountable 3-0 lead in the series.

Final Score: Tempe 7 – Chicago 1
Win: Chris Smith 1-0 (1.59)
Loss: Carlos Matias Martinez 0-1  (10.80)

Game #3 Box Score

 Game #4: Jon Lester (25-5 1.82) vs.  Felix Hernandez (17-4  3.20) 

Felix Hernandez got the surprise start over Noah Syndergaard & the “King” didn’t disappoint.  Felix was dealing into the 4th Inning when Ryan Braun scored on a single off the bat of Adrian Beltre to give the 1-0 lead to the Tempers.  (It was the first & only game of the Series that the Temper’s didn’t push across a run in the 1st Inning of play).  Hernandez walked the next batter Xander Bogaerts & CHicago manager Stray Corrado came to get him.   Corrado went with the rookie Alexander Reyes in a big pressure situation.  After a Walk & Strike Out the Mobsters came away only down 1 Run.  Dexter Fowler tied the game up at 1 apiece with a solo blast off Tempe Starter Jon Lester.   

It stayed tied at 1 run each until the 6th. Xander Bogarets singled, stole second & scored on a Sandy Leon single to left.  Tempe once again had the lead as they had done so for all of the first – three games. 

In the 7th, Andrew Miller pitched around the hot hitting Robinson Cano choosing to go after Ryan Braun. The move unfortunately backfired as Braun connected on a two run homerun to give Tempe a 4-1 lead.

In the 8th, David Ortiz took Derek Law (the only Tempe pitcher who had even looked human this series) deep with a massive Home Run down the right field line. The bases were empty, so it still left the Mobsters down two runs. However, the Home Run brought the crowd back to life and they really got into it when closer Aroldis Chapman pitched a quick 9th inning to keep things close at 4-2. In the bottom of the 9th, Dexter Fowler struck out to start the inning but Buster Posey worked the count for a walk. Billy Hamilton finally made his first appearance in the series, replacing Posey on the base paths. Tempe responded by bringing in Chamberlain to preserve the lead. Chamberlain recorded a quick strikeout of the dangerous J.D. Martinez for the second out, but he ended up walking Josh Donaldson to bring the winning run to the plate. Future Hall of Famer David Ortiz came on & crushed another deep fly to right field, but this time, he couldn’t keep it fair. Chamberlain breathed a sigh of relief and induced a grounder to Tulo on the next pitch. Tulo flipped it over to Cano for the final out of the game and the series.

Final Score: Tempe 4 – Chicago 2
Win: Jon Lester 2-0 (1.42)
Loss:  Alexander Reyes 0-1  (4.15)

Game #4 Box Score

Tempe’s offensive and power numbers were slightly below their seasonal averages, but their running game definitely made up for any missed slugging.  Tempe stole an improbable 13 of 14 on Buster Posey who is a very good catcher with a +3 arm.   Tempe’s pitching was downright nasty.  Their two starters, Johnny Cueto and Jon Lester only gave up 3 hits over 4 games and 20.2 innings.  Tempe also only needed to use four relievers (Joba Chamberlain, Chris Smith, Tony Barnette, and Derek Law)  to pitch 15.1 innings of 0.50 WHIP and 2.35 ERA.  Finally, Tempe’s defense set a World Series record with a perfect 1.000 fielding average.

Chicago’s numbers were unfortunately on the other end of the spectrum.  They averaged over an error a game and their starting pitching was shelled.  The Mobsters overall ERA was nearly double their seasonal average at a 5.82 ERA and 1.44 WHIP.   Even with the errors and the high era, they still should have been able to extend the series if they’d had average offensive numbers.  They however only managed a paltry .086 batting average and a .144 OBP.   They also only managed to steal one base and their four Home Runs were all solo Home Runs.  For additional perspective, Chicago only left 11 runners on base during the series and even if all 11 had scored, Tempe would have still out scored Chicago 25 to 17 in the series.

The 2017 Mid-West Baseball League World Series Most Valuable Player Award will rightfully be shared by John Lester and Johnny Cueto.