2017 WORLD SERIES
Chicago Mobsters @ Tempe Tempers |
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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. 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 |
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Game #2: Aaron Sanchez (17-4 2.71) vs. Jon Lester (25-5 1.82)
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.
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 |
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Game #3: Johnny Cueto ( 21-8 2.10) vs. Carlos Matias Martinez (16-4 3.25)
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.
Final Score: Tempe 7 – Chicago 1 |
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Game #4: Jon Lester (25-5 1.82) vs. Felix Hernandez (17-4 3.20)
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 |
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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.
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2017 WORLD SERIES PREVIEW
Presented to you by Jarl Jackson – October 2017
Two clubs no strangers to the Fall Classic return to the MWBL World Series in 2017. This will be Tempe’s 14th appearance and the 5th for Chicago. The Tempers are trying for their 10th title while the Mobsters hope to get their 2nd.
Tempe won 133 games, but failed to beat the all-time MWBL record for team wins which they set in 2012 with 134. In fact, 17 times a MWBL has won over 120 games and this was Tempe’s 8th time and 3rd time to win over 130 games. Chicago has the A.L. record for most wins with 130 in 2015 and this year marked the second time they won over 120 games.
During the 2017 season Tempe won 20 games every month. Their worst month was May when they went 20-5 and best was August when they went 24-5. The N.L. Central race was over by the end of June when they had a 16 game lead over 2nd place Columbus. For Chicago, they won at least 18 games every month. Their worst month was April and September when they went 18-8 and 19-9. Their best month was June and July when they went 22-5 each time. Chicago couldn’t quite put their closest divisional rival away until the final month as going into September they only had a 6 game lead over Detroit.
Here’s how the two teams match-up: Continue reading
2017 – NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Bethesa Bandicoots @ Tempe Tempers |
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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 |
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 |
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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 |
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 |
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 |
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. |
2017 – AMERICAN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Hollywood Werewolves @ Chicago Mobsters |
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| 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)
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.
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 |
| 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
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 |
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Game #3: Carlos Matias Martinez (16-4 3.25) vs. David Price (13-12 3.98)
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.
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 |
| 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. 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 |
| Game #5: Noah Syndergaard ( 21-5 2.00) vs. Kenta Maeda (17-5 2.25)
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.
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 |
In the top of the 4th after a lead off walk to 
2017 – NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES #2
Triple Creek Patriots @ Tempe Tempers |
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 Kendall Graveman (10-11 3.72) vs. Jon Lester (25-5 1.82)
Yoenis Cespedes gets the scoring started in the bottom half of the 1st with a Grand Slam. Top of the 2nd, Patriots Trayce Thompson jacks a big fly for 2 runs, halving the deficit. Bottom of the 2nd, Tempers Joey Votto keeps the souvenirs flying, with a 2-run job of his own. Top of the 3rd sees Marwin Gonzalez, who was hot in the Wild Card series for Triple Creek, crush a Lester fastball deep into the night, folks it’s 6-5 after just 15 outs. Things are clean until the bottom of the 6th, when Tempe pinch-hitter Troy Tulowitzki deposits the games 5th, and final, homer deep to left. Graveman would face just 12 batters (27.00 ERA), that happens when you allow 50% of them to score, as he was horrific. Lester (16.88 ERA) would only record 8 outs before getting the hook. Tempe takes game one 8-5. W – Law (1) |
 Kevin Gausman (10-11 3.72) vs. Johnny Cueto (21-8 2.10)
Top of the 1st, Patriot’s Mitch Moreland and Trayce Thompson find holes on the infield, as they each drive in single runs. Cueto walked two to help fuel the rally. Melky Cabrera would even the score with a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 2nd. Gausman was relieved in the 5th, Cueto in the 3rd, and both bullpens would toss doughnuts until the 9th. Tony Barnette, in for Tempe, allows a lead-off walk to Headley followed by a swinging bunt single by Trayce Thompson. Tempers manager signals for Matt Belisle. Triple Creek Wild Card hero Jose Lobaton steps in, and hits a little blooper down the right field line, which drops! A no-mans-land double scores both runners!! Matt Strahm locks down the 9th for a 4-2 Triple Creek series tying W. W – Logan (1)
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 Jon Lester (25-5 1.82) vs. Clay Buchholz (13-8 4.44)
Triple Creek hosts it’s first playoff game in MWBL history. You couldn’t fit another human being in the stadium, the buzz is LOUD, and the game hasn’t even started yet. Clay gets Votto out to start the game but comes up limping after covering 1st. Triple Creek’s manager is taking no chances and calls for Alex Wood. Yoenis Cespedes would end up plating Ryan Braun to give Tempe a quick 1-0 lead. Bottom of the 2nd, Marwin Gonzalez on 2nd, and Headley lofts an easy fly ball to left, Melky Cabrera drifts under it, but stumbles and DROPS it! Gonzalez puts the pedal down and scores without a play. Tie game. Bottom of the 4th, Jim Johnson on in relief after Lester allowed a Marwin Gonzalez double, facing Lonnie Chisenhall. Lonnie goes with the 1-1 pitch and just misses a home run, off the top of the wall, scoring Marwin easily. Patriots 2-1. Just an inning later the Patriots bust out a 4-spot, tagging Johnson and Layne hard, opening up a 6-1 lead. Alex Wood, holds Tempe down through the top of 6, recording 11 strikeouts. Triple Creek adds a run in the bottom half of the 6th to make it 7-1. Is this the way it would end? No, Tempe would have none of that, as they take advantage of Wood’s dealing arm icing down. Dan Jennings, Jonathan Broxton and Addison Reed form a Triage group, desperately trying to stop a Temper come back started off by a 7th inning Robinson Cano “off the foul pole!” tater tot, making it Patriots 7 Tempe 3. Top of 8, with one out, Adrian Beltre doubles bringing Reed into the game. It will clearly be Reed’s game to save. Xander Bogaerts scorches Reed’s first offering to left center, scoring Beltre, but the threat would end there. Patriots 7 Tempe 4. Triple Creek doesn’t score in the bottom half of the 8th. Votto walks to lead off the Tempe 9th and Reed gets the next two hitters out. Yoenis Cespedes tightens it up with a double to deep left center. Beltre up as the tying and he briefly hushes the Triple Creek faithful with a high fly ball to right, but Piscotty covers it easily, and the fans go nuts! Patriots lead the series 2-1. Marwin Gonzalez 4-4 w 3R and 2 RBI. W – Wood (1) |
 Johnny Cueto (21-8 2.10) vs. A.J. Griffin (7-11 4.07)
A.J. Griffin made the start against Cueto, but he only lasted one batter as the Patriots called on Cotton, their grade 18 Ace, after Votto had singled to start the game. Votto stole 2B but Cotton K’ed Braun and Cespedes to end the inning. In the bottom of the 1st, Seager crushed one to center to give the Patriots the early lead. Bogaerts tied it up in the 2nd with a solo shot. In the bottom of the 2nd, Cueto got Moreland in a run down at 3B, but threw the ball over Beltre’s head allowing the go ahead run to score. Cotton dealed for the next couple innings until the 5th, when Votto smacked a RBI triple to tie the game at 2-2. Votto, the heart and soul of the Tempers all season, then grabbed a massive lead while Cotton was still thinking about the last pitch and stole home to give Tempe the 3-2 lead! Law and Chamberlain pitched three scoreless innings for the Tempers in relief while Cotton continued to rack up K’s for Patriots. In the top of the 8th, Cotton started the inning by striking out Bogaerts, but then he started walking off the mound rubbing his shoulder. The stadium went completely silent as the fate of their improbable run had rested on the arms of Cotton and Wood. Cotton had to leave the game and Triple Creek received horrible news that Cotton would miss the rest of the playoffs (40 games). Tempe made the most of Cotton’s departure adding two runs in the eighth after Votto singled and stole 2B and Braun then singled in the pinch runner Lough and later also scored on a Gattis pinch hit double. Tempe won it 5-2 and guaranteed a trip back to Tempe. |
 Jon Lester (25-5 1.82) vs. Kendall Graveman (10-11 3.72)
Lester 9.53 ERA and Graveman 27.00 ERA faced off again in game 5 and you’d think it would be nearly impossible to get any worse for either of them. Graveman showed a little improvement in the 1st by only giving up a two run homerun to Cespedes instead of another grandslam. Tempe added six more runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings to take a commanding 8-0 lead as errors undid Graveman. With the 8-0 lead and the recent memory of Cotton’s arm falling off, Tempe decided to bring in the some of the backups to insure they didn’t have any fluke injuries since no one comes back from an 8 run deficit. Lester then quickly decided to fall apart. He gave up a two run homerun to Seager and three run homerun to Thompson in the 4th. In the fifth Lester gave up a single to Graveman and Tempe couldn’t let him continue. Law came on in relief and got two quick outs before he surrendered a two run homer to Seager which put the Patriots within only one freaking run! The score remained 8-7 for the next couple of innings. In the 8th, Tempe loaded the bases with two outs, but they ran out of pinch hitters due to the earlier subbing…So, they called on recent pickup Jason Hammel. Hammel’s bat had been wasted in the AL the last couple of years and he showed why he needs to be in the NL with a clutch two run rbi single. The Tempe backups then got hot and put up a total of 7 runs off Feliz and Reed in the final two innings. Tempe wins 15-7 with Lester’s era climbing to 11.17 and Graveman’s era dropping to 11.74 due to four unearned runs.
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 Kevin Gausman (10-11 3.72) vs. Johnny Cueto (21-8 2.10)
The momentum continued to stay with the Tempers and they returned home. In the 1st, Votto singled, stole 2B and scored when Cespedes launched his third homerun of the series. In the 3rd , Votto singled again, stole 2B, and then scored on an infield error. Votto singled again in the 5th to raise his average to .500, but wasn’t able to score this time. Gausman pitched a solid four innings, but he couldn’t keep up with Cueto who was un-hittable. Cueto pitched six innings of no hit ball and only left the game when Melky pinch hit for him with runners on 3B and 2B. Cabrera ended up striking out, but Chamberlain, Law and Barnette pitched three scoreless innings to preserve the win, but not the No-Hitter. Tempe won 4-0 and rallied back to take final three games of the series
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| Cory Seager and Yoenis Cespedes each hit three Home Runs during the series, but Joey Votto was the unanimous MVP. Votto hit an even .500 and he had an insane OPS of 1.515. He finished with 11 Hits, 2 HR, 2 2B, 1 3B, 5-0 SB, and 8 runs (10 if you count pinch runners). He might have scored over two runs a game if Cano and Braun hadn’t hit below .200 directly behind him.Triple Creek gave Tempe and the potential NL Cy-Young (Lester) all they could handle. The Patriots may have barely snuck into the wild card this year, but they made the most of their roster during the Wild Card series and the Divisional series. Tempe is lucky to be moving on and hopeful the scare will wake up the pitching and the defense for the NLCS.
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