2018 World Series Game 6

We are back in sunny Miami for Game 6, which is a rematch of Game 2 starters Pedro Lewis and Scott Elzy.  Pedro is looking to redeem himself after allowing 7 runs and recording only 4 outs.  Meanwhile, Elzy would not mind the replay, coming off a 13 strikeout performance.

New York opts to run out their defense with the DH rule in effect, playing Chad White at DH, Luis Harris in LF, and Victor Jacobs in RF.  In the top of the first, Lee Thompson leads off with a single and steals second.  David Jackson then crushes the Elzy offering over the wall for a 2-0 lead.  Elzy then settles in by striking out the side.

Pedro cruises through the first inning, and in the top of the second, Victor Jacobs hits a solo homerun to make it 3-0.  In the bottom of the second, Miami gets their first baserunner as Ortiz gets a single.  Down 3 runs, he tries to steal and is gunned down by Bowman.

In the top of the 4th, Nick McKeller gets a one-out single.  Jeff Bowman then follows with a two-run homerun to make the score 5-0, and knock Scott Elzy out of the game.  In the bottom of the 4th, New York pulls McKeller from the game in an effort to maximize the defense.  Erik Smith now is playing shortstop as David Jackson slides over to third base.

With one out in the bottom of the 4th, Billy Bass singles and attempts to steal 2nd down by 5 runs.  He is gunned down by Bowman.  In the top of the 5th, Travis Howard gets Klein to strike out before allowing a single to Lee Thompson, a walk to David Jackson, and another single to W. Gehrig Bear to load the bases.  Miami goes to the pen again, bringing in Ervin Russell to face the righty Chad White.  White strikes out and Erik Smith grounds to second to end the threat.

In the bottom of the 5th, Miami stages a mini two out rally with back to back singles from Ortiz and Cabrera.  In a big spot, Peter Rabbit grounds out to second base to end the inning.  Both pitchers cruised through the 6th and top of the 7th innings.  In the bottom of the 7th, Miami had their 3-4-5 hitters, including two lefties due up.

George Kird decides to pre-emptively pull Pedro Lewis from the game and go with his dominant lefty reliever Stephen Jiannetti.  Pedro's line was 6-4-0-0-0-3.  Leading off the 7th, Arceneaux connects for a double in the gap.  Trevor Burton then hits a grounder back to Jiannetti.  Jiannetti fires wildly to first, allowing a two-base throwing error that scores Arceneaux.  He then gets a strikeout and grounder back to the mound to put Burton on third with 2 outs.  Oswipe Cabrera then works a walk.  The struggling Peter Rabbit is not able to extend the rally as he strikes out to end the inning.  Going to the top of the 8th, New York leads 5-1 and is only 6 outs away from repeating as World Champions.

In the top of the 8th, Miami summons lefty Stan Justice to face W. Gehrig Bear.  Bear smashes a double, and Miami pulls Justice for the righty Lou Watson.  Watson gets Chad White to fly out to right field, but on his follow-through, Watson planted awkwardly and has to leave the game.  Tom Knight comes in and strands the runner, getting Erik Smith and Jeff Bowman to ground out.

In the bottom of the 8th, Johnny Lewis pinch hits facing Jiannetti and flys out.  Since Jiannetti was struggling and threw a lot of pitches to get through the 7th inning, New York pulls him for Todd McCarthy to face the top of the order.  Ricky Buckley rises to the challenge and connects for a homerun for the 3rd straight game.  Now its 5-2 New York.  Billy Bass then gets an infield hit and Arceneaux hits another double to put runners on the corners.

George Kird has seen enough from McCarthy and goes to the lefty Paul Miller to face the lefty Trevor Burton.  Playing the infield back, Burton hits a hard grounder to first.  W. Gehrig Bear fields it cleanly, checks the runner, and gets the out at first.  New York then pulls Miller for Nolan Stephens to face the righty Merkich.  Merkich delivers a single to cut the lead to 5-3.  Ortiz then grounds out to end the inning.

To the 9th inning, Tom Knight gets Jacobs to ground out.  Luis Harris then singles and steals 2nd and 3rd to get into scoring position.  Daniel Klein (more on him later) is not able to plate the runner, as he grounds out to third base with the pulled-in infield.  Lee Thompson is then intentionally walked, and steals second.  With runners at 2nd and 3rd, Knight strikes out David Jackson to end the inning.

We go to the bottom of the 9th, New York leads 5-3, and is three outs away from repeating as champions.  Leading off the 9th, Cabrera grounds out to third.  Peter Rabbit then takes Stephens for a long ride, hitting a solo homerun to make it 5-4.  Johnny Lewis then grounds out to shortstop, bringing up Ricky Buckley.  New York opts to go with a fresh pitcher, bringing in Bryan Avila.  Buckley connects for a deep fly, going back to right center field, giving chase is Klein, but he can't get there.  The ball bounces off the wall for a double.  Billy Bass then works the two-out walk.

It all comes down to this.  Reigning MVP Devan Arceneaux facing Bryan Avila, with 2 outs and runners on first and second.  Arceneaux is hot, having hit doubles in the 7th and 8th innings.  Arceneaux sees a pitch he likes and smashes it up the middle for a base hit.  With 2 outs, Buckley is running on contact and is flying around third base representing the tying run.  Daniel Klein charges in and in one motion, fields the ball and lets fly.  He fires a perfect no bounce throw to the plate, and it will be a close one.  Buckley slides in to home, but Bowman is able to apply the tag and the umpire calls him out.  What an amazing throw, and a very shocking end to the World Series.  Bryan Avila will be credited for the save by allowing a double, walk, and single, but gets bailed out by Klein.  Miami will always wonder "what if" they didn't send Buckley and kept the bases loaded for Burton against a depleted New York bullpen.

New York wins the game 5-4 and claims their second straight championship.  Lee Thompson is named the MVP.  The turning point for New York's season was their trade deadline acquisitions to bring in Daniel Klein and Luis Harris.  This move bolstered the team defense which was the key for them winning several close playoff games and series.  Meanwhile, Chad White ends his career the same way he started it, as a World Series Champion.

2018 World Series Game 5

With both teams utilizing the 4-man rotation, this game is a rematch of Game 1 starters Brad Moulds and Stephen Hamburg.  For the 2nd straight game, Miami's Ricky Buckley connects for a leadoff homerun.  New York is quickly able to tie it back up at 1 in the bottom of the first when Lee Thompson singles, steals second base, moves to third on a W. Gehrig Bear single, and scores on a Chad White infield single.

In the bottom of the second, New York stages a rally.  Jeff Bowman leads off with a walk and then the speed Daniel Klein hits a grounder to second.  Adrian Hubbard decides to flip to second for the easy force play, but may have wanted to take the out at first to eliminate the speedy Klein.  Either way, New York gets the runner back to second on a successful steal attempt.  Klein was looking to steal third but pitcher Stephen Hamburg decides to swing and connects for an RBI single to give New York the 2-1 lead.  Lee Thompson keeps the rally going with another single.  David Jackson then came close to hitting one deep to left field, but Buckley was able to make the catch but not before Hamburg tagged up and took third base.  With 2 outs, W. Gehrig Bear comes through with his second single of the game to give New York the 3-1 lead.  Chad White then grounds out to end the inning.

That's the way the score stayed for awhile until the 5th inning.  Oswipe Cabrera singled and with one out, the pitchers spot was due up.  Called on in the pinch, Armando Ortiz got a pitch he could handle and handle it he did, driving it over the wall for a two-run homerun to tie the game at 3-3.

In the bottom of the 7th inning, New York pinch hit for Hamburg with Victor Jacobs, and Miami brought in lefty Roberto Gonzales who got Jacobs to ground out.  Lee Thompson then singled and stole second, but on the steal attempt, David Jackson struck out.  With 2 outs and a runner on second base, W. Gehrig Bear was able to draw a walk.  Chad White then came to the plate in what could possibly be the final at bat of his career in front of the home fans.  After a brief standing ovation, Chad delivered the big hit, connecting for a single to give New York the 4-3 lead.  Gonzales then got Chris Gruber to line out to shortstop to end the inning.

With the pitchers spot due up, Miami elected to let two-way player Gonzales (P/OF) bat for himself.  New York brought in Todd McCarthy to face him and also elected to upgrade the defense by keeping Jacobs in right field, moving Bohlander to left field, removing Chad White from the game, bringing in Erik Smith to play shortstop, and moving David Jackson to third base.  McCarthy then pitched a perfect 1-2-3 inning.

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Miami brings in closer Dwight Schrute.  He responds with a perfect 1-2-3 inning of his own.  We go to the 9th inning, New York leading 4-3, and bringing in Luis Harris to play left field to maximize the defense.  New York also brings in ace closer Jonathan Papelbrad to try to take the 3-2 lead in the series.

Facing the heart of the Miami order, Papelbrad is able to induce a weak ground out from Devan Arceneaux.  Trevor Burton connects for a single and is pinch run for with Ramon Torra.  Torra is able to steal 2nd and 3rd base.  Playing the infield in, Todd Merkich is able to work the walk on Papelbrad.  Now its first and third, 1 out, and a 1-run lead for Peter Rabbit.

New York still plays the infield in, and Peter Rabbit shocks the world by trying to lay down the suicide squeeze bunt.  Rabbit gets the bunt down, but a charging W. Gehrig Bear is able to field the ball and fire to the plate to cut down Torra!

Now the situation is runners on first and second with 2 out for Oswipe Cabrera.  New York can see that Papelbrad is tiring, but elects to keep going with him.  With a two=strike count, Oswipe Cabrera strikes out to end the game.

New York wins Game 5 by the final score of 4-3, and takes a 3-2 lead in the series.  There will be one day of travel between Games 5 and 6, as we head back to Miami for Game 6, with the DH rule back into effect.  The starting pitchers will be Pedro Lewis and Scott Elzy.

2018 World Series Game 4

Ricky Buckley led off with a bang for the Stars, crushing a homer to right center field off New York lefty Manny Olmos.  One out later, Devan Arceneaux and Todd Merkich hit back to back singles, putting runners at the corners.  Trevor Burton’s long fly out made it 2-0.  After a Peter Rabbitt walk, Oswipe Cabrera doubled home 2 more.  New York intentionally walked Ramon Torra and got Miami starter Jered DeMario to strike out to end the inning.

DeMario ran into a bit of trouble, allowing the first 2 to reach base, but struck out Chad White and got Bear to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to get out of the inning.

New York scored a run in the bottom 3rd when Daniel Klein led off with a homer, but DeMario was able to pitch out of the inning with the lead intact.  In the 4th Miami started a 2 out rally, putting 2 on for Arceneaux.  The first pitch from Bryan Avila hit him to load the bases, but no more runs scored as Todd Merkich flew out to deep right to end the inning.

The New York relievers kept Miami off the scoreboard after the first inning.  DeMario pitched 5 innings, allowing 4 hits, one run, and 4 strikeouts before giving way to the Miami bullpen.  Ervin Russell, Travis Howard, and Lou Watson kept New York off the scoreboard from the 6th to the 8th, with New York not having multiple base runners in any inning.  Dwight Schrute gave up a leadoff single to Bear in the 9th.  He then struck out Bowman and McKeller.  Luis Harris grounded out to third to end the game.

Miami guarantees that the series will last until at least game 6 in Miami.  Brad Moulds and Stephen Hamburg will start game 5.

World Series Game 3

With the series tied at one game apiece, and after one day of rest, we travel to New York for Game 3.  Miami will utilize Carlos Padron, while New York will start reigning Cy Young award winner and big game pitcher Silvanos Tonka.

In the first inning, Miami threatens as Billy Bass singles and steals second base.  He moves to third on a ground out and following a walk, its first and third with 2 outs for Todd Merkich.  Tonka rises to the occasion to whiff the slugging catcher to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Jeff Bowman, New York's slow-footed defensive catcher reaches first on an infield single.  Clearly, he has very little in common with Manny Machado, but that's another story altogether.  With one out, Nick McKeller blasts a double to deep centerfield, and Bowman is able to score on the play without a throw.  New York leads 1-0.  The next batter is hit by a pitch, but Miami's Carlos Padron gets the next two batters out to end the threat.

The next few innings showcases both starting pitchers at the top of their games, as the score remains 1-0 through the 6th inning.  In the bottom of the 5th, New York squandered a real chance to blow the game open.  Leadoff batter Lee Thompson starts with a double off the wall.  David Jackson singled to short left, but the speedy Thompson is gunned down by leftfielder Trevor Burton.  Jackson then tried to steal second base but was gunned down.  Chad White grounded out to the mound to end the inning.

After the top of the 7th inning, Tonka had pitched 7 scoreless innings with only 1 hit allowed (back in the first inning), issued 2 walks, and struck out 9 batters.  In the bottom of the 7th, speedy Luis Harris reached first on a throwing error by Devan Arceneaux.  With the hit and run on, Daniel Klein made weak contact, but it was placed well enough for an infield hit.  With the pitchers spot due up, manager George Kird elected to send the runners.  They responded with a double steal, and the throw to third base going into left field, allowing Harris to score.  2-0 New York with Klein taking 3rd base.  New York then decides to pinch hit for Tonka with Chris Gruber, looking for some contact.

Gruber responds with a single to make it 3-0 New York.  After a Lee Thompson  fly out, David Jackson and Chad White hit back to back singles to extend the lead to 4-0.  After a W. Gehrig Bear strikeout, Jeff Bowman hits into a force play to end the inning.

In the 8th inning, New York elects to make several defensive substitutions to maximize their defense, with Chad White leaving the game due to being old.  New York brings in Todd McCarthy to pitch who records a 1-2-3 inning.

New York doesn't threaten in their half of the 8th inning.  To the 9th inning, Miami leadoff hitter Ricky Buckley starts things off with a double.  After a Billy Bass walk, New York relieves McCathy for Stephen Jiannetti.  Arceneaux hits into a force play and Trevor Burton grounds out as Buckley scores to make it 4-1.  Jiannetti then whiffs Todd Merkitch to end the game.

World Series Game 2

After a tough loss in game one Miami sent Scott Elzy to the mound.  He started quickly, striking out 2 in a perfect first inning.  Pedro Lewis stranded a 2 out single to pitch a scoreless bottom of the first.

In the second, Elzy hit Nick McKeller and Jeff Bowman followed with a single, all with one out.  Elzy escaped the inning by striking out Victor Jacobs and getting Luis Harris to pop out.

In the bottom second Pedro Lewis fell apart.  He walked Todd Merkich, then gave up a double to Armando Ortiz.  Ricky Buckley singled to bring in one, and Oswipe Cabrera brought home another with an infield single.  Still nobody out, they pulled off a double steal.  Adrian Hubbard walked to load the bases.  After Peter Rabbitt struck out, Billy Bass walked to force in Miami’s third run.

That brought up Devan Arceneaux, and he erased any doubt about how this game was going by crushing Pedro’s last pitch 412 feet out to right.  New York was forced to go to the bullpen after Pedro recorded only 4 outs.

Scott Elzy was dominant for 6 innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out 13, a Superior League playoff record during the OOTP era.  Three Miami relievers finished the game, with the Stars winning 8-0 to even the series.

World Series Game 1

Game 1 is in Miami with the DH rule in effect.  New York has ace Stephen Hamburg on the mound to face lefty Brad Moulds from Miami.  With the DH rule, and a lefty pitcher, New York elects to upgrade their defense by playing Chad White (normal LF) at DH, and bringing in backup CF Luis Harris to Play LF where he is pretty darned good defensively.

In the bottom of the first, Miami's Billy Bass singles, steals 2nd, and scores on a 2-run homerun from1B Trevor Burton.  Miami makes it 3-0 in the 2nd with a Ricky Buckley single, stolen base, and ultimately scoring on a Ramon Torra 2 out single.

In the top of the 4th, New York finally broke through on a solo homerun from SS David Jackson.  After that, both pitchers settled in, but Miami still kept running wild, accumulating a total of 5 stolen bases in the game.  New York had a good chance in the top of the 6th, with Lee Thompson getting a lead off single.  Despite having great stealing ability, NewYork elected to let their hitters hit with the meat of the order due up.  After a fly out, W. Gehrig Bear hit into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

In the bottom of the 6th, Miami looked poised to put the game out of reach.  With 1 out, Armando Ortiz singled and stole second base.  He moved to third base on a balk and then Ricky Buckley drew a walk to make it first and third.  New York then elected to play the infield in, thinking that even 1 run would probably put the game out of reach given their putrid offense.  Oswipe Cabrera hit a hard grounder to second base that was not deep enough to score the run.  Cal Mathis flew out to centerfield to end the inning.  

In the 7th inning, Miami relieved Moulds for the righty Lou Watson with Chad White due up.  Watson got the first 2 out before a Devan Arceneaux error allowed Todd Bohlander to reach second base.  After a hit by pitch to Bowman, the light hitting Luis Harris was due up.  Despite a tight situation, New York elected for Harris to hit.  He delivered a clutch 2 out single, with Bohlander beating the throw home to make the score 3-2.  Facing the lefty Daniel Klein, Miami relieved Watson for the lefty Travis Howard who struck out Klein to end the inning.

After a 1-2-3 7th inning for Hamburg, New York had the top of the lineup due up in the 8th.  Facing the lefty throwing Howard, lefty lead off man Lee Thompson hit a solo homerun to tie the game at 3. With 2 out, Chad white singled and tried to steal second base, but was gunned down by Mathis to end the inning.  In the bottom of the 8th, Miami had their 3-4-5 hitters due up (all lefties).  New York brought in dominant lefty Stephen Jiannetti who struck out Arceneaux, Burton, and got Ortiz to pop up.


With the score tied at 3 in the top of the 9th, Miami wasted no time in bringing in their dominant (and highly organized) closer Dwight Schrute.  Schrute  had another dominant season as the closer with 7 wins, 35 saves, a 1.04 ERA, and 0.88 WHIP.  He is a tremendous winning pitcher, and as UTE announcer Eddie of Utah so rightly points out, you cannot spell Schrute without U-T-E.  

Schrute started things in style by striking out the first batter.  With rightfielder Todd Bohlander due up, New York pinch took the opportunity to bring in their best pinch hitter, September call-up and career minor league 1B Carlos Ramirez.  Ramirez accomplished his goal by working a walk.  With no speed on the basepaths, and needing to replace Ramirez in the bottom of the inning for defense anyway, New York manager George Kird brought in his speedy defense-first RF Victor Jacobs.

With the light hitting catcher Jeff Bowman due up, Victor had the green light and stole 2nd base.  Now it was decision time.  Do you play it safe and not run yourself out of the inning, thinking a hit might be needed anyway, or do you test the strong armed Cal Mathis?  Against Schrute, George Kird was not thinking a hit would be in the cards.  Jacobs got the pitch he was looking for and took off to third...SAFE.

With the go-ahead run on third base and 1 out, Miami had to pull the infield in.  New York was just hoping Bowman could put the ball in play against Schrute.  Bowman got a decent pitch and hit a hard liner into centerfield.  Peter Rabbit did not want to allow a hit on his watch and came barreling in to make an incredible diving catch.  Unfortunately for Miami, Victor Jacobs had the play read and was waiting to see what happened while standing on third base.  Assuming the out, Jacobs was able to tag up, and Rabbit, who had laid out to make the catch, could not do anything to prevent the go-ahead sacrifice fly.  Schrute got Luis Harris to end the inning, but New York led 4-3.

In the bottom of the 9th, New York had its best team defense possible and brought in the well-rested Jonathan Papelbrad to try to close out the game.  In a battle of two ET's, Papelbrad induced a soft groundout back to the mound from Ricky Buckley.  Orlando Cabrera then flew out to left field.  Down to their last out, Miami brought in their best pinch hitter, Johnny Lewis for Cal Mathis.  Strike Three, ballgame over.

New York wins Game One by the final score of 4-3.

2018 SLCS Game 6

Utah scored first off Carlos Padron, as leadoff hitter Jose Landry tripled to start the bottom of the first.  He came home on a sac fly from Mike Winters.

Carlos Padron pitched 6 strong innings for the Stars, who were short handed in the bullpen after the extra inning game 5.  Utah on the other hand had every reliever available except for Marcelino Lopez, thanks to Alex Bronkey's 9 inning start.

Darin Makowsky held Miami off the scoreboard until the 6th, when Devan Arceneaux and Johnny Lewis gave Miami a 2-1 lead with back to back homers. Ricardo Garza pitched a scoreless 7th.

In the 8th Miami loaded the bases with nobody out and threatened to bust the game open.  Burton and Mathis struck out before Oswipe Cabrera hit a grand slam to left, for a 6-1 lead.

Miami went to Roberto Gonzales for a scoreless 8th, and let him face Frank Lewis in the 9th.  Lewis, taking perhaps the final swing of his career, flew out to right.  Tom Knight struck out Jorge Guevara and Travis Howell.

Miami wins the game 6-1 and the series 4-2.  They will start the world series against New York at home.

2018 MLCS game 6

Welington Bear's first inning ground out scored a run, and David Jackson's bases loaded walk added another in the second inning off George White.  White lasted just 3 2/3 innings.

Meanwhile Silvanos Tonka pitched 8 shutouts innings on only 78 pitches, with a 4 hitter.  New York blew the game open with a 4 run 5th inning. 

Jon Papelbrad pitched the 9th to send NY to their second straight world series.

2018 Championship Series Game 5

Major League:

Lee Thompson doubled and scored in the first inning, thanks to a 2 out single by Nick McKeller.  Pedro Lewis kept Bay Area off the board for 4 innings, not allowing a single hit.  In the bottom 4th New York loaded the bases with one out and Pedro's spot up.  George Kird send Carlos Ramirez out to hit, ending Pedro's day.  Ramirez popped up and Thompson flew out to left.

Cristobal Rangel allowed only the one run over 7 innings, striking out 10.  New York got 2 scoreless innings in relief from Jiannetti, who struck out 4.  In the top of the 7th, Ryan Jones hit a 2 out double off Paul Miller, breaking up the no-hitter.  Mick McAndrews was intentionally walked, and then New York went to the closer, Jon Papelbrad, who struck out pinch hitter Jared Fulton on 3 pitches.

Papelbrad pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning, and Jeff Bowman added an insurance run in the bottom of the inning.  In the 9th, Preston Greenfield hit a leadoff single against Papelbrad, and New York went to Todd McCarthy.  Ryan Stephens singled, bringing up Miguel Cruz.  Miggy struck out, Ryan Jones struck out, and McAndrews flew out to center.  New York won 2-0 and needs one more victory to reach the world series.

Superior League:

Oswipe Cabrera homered in the second off Alex Bronkey to start the scoring.  Mike Winters doubled in a run in the third off Scott Elzy to tie it up.  In the 5th Elzy struck out the first 3 batters, but the third strike on Tufnel got away from the catcher, allowing him to reach first.  Reinfelder followed with an RBI triple.

Trevor Burton singled in Billy Bass to tie the game in the 6th.  The Stars bullpen held the Utes from there, and Alex Bronkey held Miami through 9, and even started the bottom 10th.

Ramon Torra started the 10th with a double, and Utah took Bronkey out, bringing in Marcelino Lopez. Peter Rabbitt bunted him to 3rd, and Billy Bass hit a fly ball to left.  Torra tried to win the game right there, but was thrown out at the plate by Mike Winters.

Lopez and Dwight Schrute pitched scoreless relief through the 12th.  In the 13th, Miami went to Ervin Russell after 3 innings by Schrute.  Russell walked a pair and allowed a run on a Robert Calderin double.  Miami escaped further damage and Lopez game back out for a 4th inning of relief. A 1-2-3 inning later, Utah had won 3-2 and the series will return to the Popcorn dome.

2018 Championship Series Game 4

Major League:

Ryan Jones gave Bay Area a 1-0 lead with a 1st inning single.  Miguel Cruz drove in the second run in the 3rd.  Cruz homered in the 5th off Stephen Hamburg, and Jones added a homer in the 8th.  Chris Mendez had a 1 hitter over 7 innings for the Bandits, who evened the series at 2 games each as they won the game 4-0.

Superior League:

Utah put 2 runners on with 2 out in the third inning of a scoreless tie.  Erick Reinfelder hit a 3 run homer off Nick Lawson, who was visibly upset on the mound.  The next batter was Frank Lewis.  After working a 3-2 count, Lewis fouled a pitch off.  The next one came inside and hit Frank on the butt.  After an exchange of words, Lewis charged the mound and got into a fight with Lawson.  Both benches cleared.  After order was restored, both Lewis and Lawson were ejected.

In the bottom of the inning Miami loaded the bases with 2 out against Jeff Powell.  The next batter bounced one to second base, where Steve Taylor bobbled it for an error.  One batter later another ground ball to Taylor turned into an error as the throw pulled Derek Tufnel off the bag.  Utah led 3-2.

In the 6th inning Stars catcher Todd Merkich singled with one out and was replaced by OF/LHP Roberto Gonzales.  He stole second, but was stranded on base after ground outs by Ricky Buckley and Oswipe Cabrera.  /Utah added an insurance run in the 8th when Robert Calderin, who replaced Lewis in the lineup, hit a solo homer off Travis Howard.

Closing Ute Harry Archer started the 8th inning and gave up a single to Arceneaux, followed by a game tying homer to Trevor Burton.  Nobody scored in the 9th, forcing extra innings.

In the 10th, Calderin homered again, this time off Dwight Schrute, to give Utah a 5-4 lead. The lead would not last long as Arceneaux homered off Archer in the bottom of the inning.  Schrute stayed in the game for the 11th and struck out the side.

In the bottom 11th Oswipe Cabrera doubled with one out.  Adrian Hubbard popped to first, bringing up Peter Rabbitt.  Rabbitt drove a pitch from Marcelino Lopez the other way, sending it over the wall, a distance of 408 feet to give Miami a 7-5 victory.

After the game, Frank Lewis was asked what made him charge the mound, something he had never done before despite holding the league record with 329 times hit by pitch.  Frank responded "He called me a fat yoda".

Lawson later disputed this, but did not reveal what was actually said to the jawa.

2018 Championship Series Game 3

Major League:

Manny Olmos pitched into the 7th inning, allowing just one run on 5 hits as New York took a 2-1 lead in the series.  David Jackson broke a 1-1 tie in the 3rd inning with a solo homer.  In the 5th Daniel Klein stole a pair of bases and scored on Lee Thompson's single.  New York added the 4th run as Jeff Bowman scored on a Todd Bohlander sac fly. 

Todd McCarthy got 4 outs to keep Bay Area off the board in the 8th and start of the 9th, and Steven Jiannetti got the last 2 to finish the 4-1 victory.

Superior League:

Devan Arceneaux homered in the first inning, reached base 4 times, and scored 4 runs for the Stars.  Armando Ortiz added a solo homer in the 4th.  Miami took a 7 run lead to the 9th as Brad Moulds pitched a great game, allowing 4 hits and no runs over 7 1/3 innings.

Utah scored in the 9th as Frank Lewis homered off Stan Justice, only the 5th homer since the start of the regular season for the jawa.  Miami wins the game 7-1.

2018 SLCS Game 2

It started off as a pitcher’s duel.  Carlos Padron went 5 innings for Miami, allowing 2 hits and no runs.  Darin Makowsky went 6 1/3 for Utah, scattering 6 hits and striking out 6.

Miami went to the bullpen in the 6th as RJ Duke wanted Travis Howard to face the lefties in the middle of Utah’s order.  He struck out Erick Reinfelder and Frank Lewis.

It was still scoreless in the 8th when Saving Ute Harry Archer walked Peter Rabbitt to start the inning.  Rabbitt stole second, and one out later the Utes walked Devan Arceneaux intentionally.  Armando Ortiz pinch hit for Todd Merkich and flew out.  Trevor Burton then hit a 2 run triple to give Miami a lead.

In the bottom of the inning Wilton Mendez hit a one out double and Miami went to their closer Dwight Schrute.  Jose Landry flew out and Mike Winters struck out.  Miami failed to add on in the top of the 9th and sent Schrute back out there.

He got Derek Tufnel on a fly to center, then Erick Reinfelder singled.  Frank Lewis looked at a 3-2 pitch just off the corner and did what Frank does best, get on base.  Pinch hitter Ethan Howell lined a single to load the bases.

Steve Taylor, 2 for 3 in the game so far, added his name to the Utah legends by crushing a grand slam to dead center field off the league’s best closer, a 439 foot shot.  The cries of UTE! Filled the Popcorn dome for the next 2 hours.

2018 MLCS Game 2

Sylvanos Tonka took the mound against the Bandits, who countered with George Wallace White.  White had not pitched since May 3rd after tearing his meniscus.  With the minor league season over, the team had no opportunity to give him a rehab start, but decided to activate and start the former Roger Chillingworth award winner anyway.

White was shaky in the first inning, giving up leadoff double to Thompson and a walk to Jackson.  After Bear popped out, Chad White singled to left, with the runner having to hold up at third.  White walked Chris Gruber to force in a run, but settled down after that. striking out Bowman and getting Bohlander to fly out and leave the bases loaded.

White gave up no more runs in the second and third, and left the game in the top of the 4th after throwing 59 pitches.  For his part, Tonka had a shutout going. 

Bay Area got excellent relief from Steve Serbalik, David Adams, and Bruce Holland, while Tonka lasted 7 innings, allowing no runs on 5 hits and 4 walks.  He struck out three.

The Bandits' best chance to score came in the 6th.  With one out, Ryan Jones singled, then Tonka walked the next two hitters to load the bases.  New York elected to play the defense back and it paid off when Sam Suarez bounced a ball to second base, which Lee Thompson turned into a 4-6-3 double play.

In the 8th inning with Todd McCarthy on the mound Ryan Stephens reached on an error, and Miguel Cruz drew a walk.  New York went to the bullpen for Paul Miller, who struck out pinch hitter Jarod Fulton.  Then it was time for the closer, Papelbrad, who struck out Mick McAndrews and Willy Ramirez.

Papelbrad stayed on for the 9th.  After a leadoff single, he got the next two batters to fly out and struck out Preston Greenfield looking to end the ballgame.

With the 1-0 victory New York ties the series as they head back home.

2018 SLCS Game 1

Scott Elzy and Alex Bronkey traded zeros for the first 3 innings.  Armando Ortiz hit a 2 run homer to give Miami a lead in the 4th, and Steve Taylor tied the game up with a homer of his own in the bottom half of the inning.

Peter Rabbitt walked to start the 5th, stole second, and moved to third on a fly out.  Devan Arceneaux brought the Rabbitt home with a single, and then moved first to third on a single by Burton.  Todd Merkich brought him home with a sac fly to center and Miami again had a 2 run lead.

In the bottom of the 5th Elzy got the leadoff hitter before allowing a single to Derek Tufnel.  Miami wasted no time going to the bullpen, bringing in lefty Travis Howard to face the middle of the Utah order.  Howard struck out Erick Reinfelder and Frank Lewis to end the inning.

Ricardo Garza got the next 5 outs for Miami, then gave way for another lefty hander, Roberto Gonzales, who also plays outfield.  Gonzales got Mike Winters to ground to short to end the inning.

Gonzales remained on the hill for the 8th, still protecting a 2 run lead.  After a Derek Tufnel single, Gonzales got both Reinfelder and Lewis on harmless fly outs.  Dwight Schrute then got Jorge Guevara to pop out and end the inning. 

Miami added 3 in the top of the 9th, including a 2 run homer by Arceneaux, and Schrute pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to give Miami a 1-0 lead in the Popcorn Dome.

2018 MLCS Game 1

Pedro Lewis and Cristobal Rangel were sharp early.  New York scored first in the 3rd inning when Daniel Klein singled with one out, stole 2 bases, and scored on an error by the 2B Ryan Stephens.

Bay Area took the lead an inning later when Miguel Cruz blasted a 2 run homer and Mick McAndrews hit a solo shot one out later.  Sam Suarez hit a solo homer in the 6th and Stephens tripled in a run one inning later to take a 5-1 lead.  Rangel went 7 innings, allowing 3 hits, no walks, 9 strikeouts, and one unearned run.

New York made things interesting in the 8th, facing Willie Strickland.  Klein singled with one out, and Bohlander drew a walk.  Lee Thompson doubled in a run, and one out later Welington Bear hit one off the center field wall for a 2 run double.  Chad White flew out to center and Bay Area clung to a 5-4 lead. 

Bruce Holland took over in the bottom of the 9th and walked pinch hitter Chris Gruber to start the inning.  Luis Harris pinch ran, stole second, and moved to third on a Jeff Bowman ground out. Erik Smith grounded out to second with the infield in, with Harris holding at third.  Klein then flew out to center to end the game.

Florida - NY series

Game 4: Florida 6 New York 0

Kurt Kawasaki hit a 2 run homer off Manny Olmos in the first inning.  That would be all the run scoring the Penguins needed to tie the series and force game 5.

Roger Blackwood pitch 7 2/3 innings of shutout ball, striking out 10 while allowing 4 hits and one walk.  Conn Barbarian added a homer in the 3rd and Florida blew the game open with 3 more in the 8th.

Game 5: New York 7 Florida 0

Chad White’s 2 run first inning homer gave New York an early 3-0 lead and they never looked back.  Stephen Hamburg dominated for 8 2/3 innings, allowing 3 hits, no walks, and striking out 7.  Hamburg even added a 2 run single in the 6th.  Backup infielder Erik Smith crushed a 440 foot homer in the 9th to add on the final runs.

Chad was named series MVP for hitting 2 homers and driving in 6 runs.  “I knew going in that this game could be my last, so I wanted to make sure my swings were good ones.  Thankfully Stephen stepped up and we’ll get to play a few more.”

New York will next play against Bay Area

Division Series 10-6-2018

Utah 6, Boston 1

Erick Reinfelder hit a double and triple, and Darin Makowsky struck out 6 and allowed just one run as the Utes cruised to victory, sweeping the Beaneaters.

Bay Area 2, Green Day 1

In the top of the second inning Bay Area pitcher Felix Bacani shocked the world by blasting a two run homer off Green Day's Carl Rice.  It would be all Bay Area would get, and all they needed.  Bacani allowed just a sacrifice fly to Nutkin in the 4th.  Willie Strickland recorded the last 6 outs without allowing a baserunner to earn the save.

Bay Area will next play the winner of the Florida and New York series.

Miami 6 Cleveland 3

Cleveland scored first as Alex Maldonado had a 2 run homer off Brad Moulds.  They later held a 3-1 lead.  Miami had solo homers from Devan Arceneaux and Trevor Burton, and tied the game up in the 5th when Todd Merkich hustled to score from first on a Ricky Buckley double.

Moulds went 5 innings for the Stars before Travis Howard and Ervin Russell combined to cover the 6th, 7th, and 8th.  In the top of the 9th, Miami put two on with one out for Merkich against Cleveland closer Kevin Stanfield.  Todd crushed a 3 run homer to give Miami the lead.

Dwight Schrute pitched the bottom of the 9th.  He struck out Brett Solo, walked Kevin Tyler, struck out Otto Stevens, and got Malcolm Thomas to hit a weak nubber right back to the mound.

Miami sweeps the series and will play Utah next.

Division Series 10-5-18

Bay Area 6, Green Day 4

The Dookies scored 4 runs in the second to take an early lead off Chris Mendez thanks to homers by Squirrel Nutkin Jr. and Cristobal Guillen.  Bay Area started chipping away with a solo homer in the 3rd by Preston Greenfield.  The got two more after Sam Suarez and Chad Richardson hit back to back doubles, and tied it in the 5th when Wily Ramirez singled home Ryan Jones.

Both Bullpens shut things down from there, and the score was still tied at 4 in to the 12th inning.  Darryl Brown came up with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the 12th, and singled off James Willits to give Bay Area a two run lead.

In the bottom of the 12th, Bruce Holland walked the leadoff batter but got the next 3 outs to send the Bandits to the MLCS.

Florida 8, New York 5

After reaching base only once in the first two games, Angel Garcia started the Penguins off with a single off Sylvanos Tonka.  After Garcia stole second Conn Barbarian walked, and the runners pulled off a double steal.  One out later Scott Meyer drove them both in with a double.

New York got one back in the bottom first thanks to a Chad White double, but Joel Camels was in command after that.  Camels took a 5-1 lead into the 8th thanks to a 3rd inning homer by Meyer.  In the bottom of the 8th Lee Thompson and David Jackson pulled off a double steal, with Thompson coming home on a throwing by catcher Kawasaki.  Florida reliever Darrell Tibbs retired Bear and White to strand Jackson on 3rd.

In the top of the 9th New York sent Todd McCarthy to the mound.  He got the first two outs, but then gave up a pinch homer to Bob Brady.  Angel Garcia reached on an infield hit, and everyone knew he was stealing.  That is, everyone except Conn, who instead of taking the pitch lined it down the left field line and over the wall, giving Florida an 8-2 lead.  New pitcher Barry Vasquez finally ended the inning by striking out Sean Fordham.

Bart Riley took over for the bottom 9th and immediately served up a homer to Chris Gruber.  Jeff Bowman singled, and one out later Luis Harris drew a walk.  After pinch hitter Carlos Ramirez struck out Lee Thompson singled to make it 8-4, and brought the tying run to the on deck circle.

That was enough to force Florida to bring in their closer, Grant Hansen.  David Jackson doubled, 8-5, and now Wellington Bear stood in representing the tying run.  Unfortunately for New York, their best hitter struck out on three pitches.

They still lead the series 2 games to 1.

Division Series games 10-4-18

Utah 2 Boston 1

Paul Norris homered and Erick Reinfelder walked, stole second, and scored on a Jorge Guevara double off C.C. Salbacca.  That was all Utah would get  off the wookiee, who allowed only 2 hits and struck out 10 through 7 innings, and it was all they would need.  Clint Meyers allowed 4 hits and 1 run for 7 innings, Harry Archer pitched the 8th, and Marcelino Lopez got the last 2 outs for the save.  Utah is now one game away from the Superior League Championship series.

Miami 6 Cleveland 5

Carlos Padron allowed one run through 5, turning over a 4 run lead to the bullpen while throwing 104 pitches.  In the 6th, Malcolm Thomas tied the game with a 3 run homer off Tom Knight.

Cleveland took the lead when Troy Wyckoff led off the 7th with a homer off Stan Justice.  In the bottom half of the inning, Cal Mathis led off with a single and Miami went to the bench for Roberto Gonzalez, who stole 2 bases.  One out later, Ricky Buckley brought him home with a sac fly.

Miami barely escaped the 9th as they used 3 relievers to keep Cleveland off the board, with Dwight Schrute striking out pinch hitter Alex Maldonado with the bases loaded to end it.  Miami could have been in big trouble if the game went deep into extra innings as Schrute was their last available reliever.  The only other available pitchers were Brad Moulds and Nick Lawson, the expected starters for games 3 and 4.

Miami failed to score in the 9th, sending the game into extras.  Schrute pitched a 1-2-3 top of the 10th.

In the bottom of the 10th, Billy Bass led off with a walk off closer Kevin Stanfield.  He tried to steal second but was thrown out, Miami's first time caught stealing after 6 successful attempts.  It did not matter as the next batter was Devan Arceneaux, who crushed the next pitch 452 feet to dead center for a game ending homerun.

Miami can advance to the SLCS with one more win.

Division series games 10-3-2018

Utah 10 Boston 8

Every Ute reached base as the Utes took an early 6-1 lead and held on to win a slugfest for game 1.  Frank Lewis had 2 hits, 2 runs, and a walk, Lonnie Ritson and Erick Reinfelder homered.

Jeff Powell picked up the win in relief.

Green Day 5 Bay Area 0

Felix Torres hit a pair of homers, including a leadoff shot against Jorge Vierra.  Mark Rigsby allowed only 2 hits through 6 innings as Green Day evened the series.

Miami 6 Cleveland 0

Devan Arceneaux had 3 RBI on a bases clearing double and Oswipe Cabrera added a late 2 run homer as Miami took game one.  Scott Elzy pitched into the 7th, allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts.  Lou Watson, Travis Howard, and Ervin Russell did not allow a Cleveland base runner in relief.

New York 5 Florida 4

Buddy Dervish was wild, throwing 96 pitches to get through only 3 innings.  Pedro Lewis only went three innings for New York, giving up 3 runs in the bottom second.

In the 4th Dervish took the mound with a 3-1 lead but walked the bases loaded.  That forced manager Calhoun to go to the pen for David Tejada.  Tejada struck out Lee Thompson, then walked David Jackson to force in a run.  Bear singled and Chad White hit a sac fly to make it a 4-3 NY lead.

Florida tied the game in the 5th as Angel Garcia singled, stole 2 bases, and scored on a passed ball.  They were not able to score any more as White hit into a double play with the bases loaded and one out.

In the 8th inning New York stole a run of their own as Jeff Bowman singled with one out and speedy Luis Harris came in to run.  Harris stole second and third and scored on a Daniel Klein sacrifice fly.

Florida's last chance came in the bottom of the 9th against Jon Papelbrad.  Gromit led off the inning with a hit to deep left center field.  Daniel Klein made a spectacular catch, leaping into the wall and fully extending himself to rob Gromit of extra bases.  Bob Brady then belted one into the right center gap, a ball that Klein could not get, but Brady for some reason thought he should try to stretch a double into a triple.  Klein threw him out.  Angel Garcia grounded out, and the Cobra are now one game away from knocking the Penguins out of the playoffs.

MLDS games 10-2-18

Bay Area 3, Green Day 2

The Bandits take game one behind 5 1/3 innings from Cristobal Rangel and hitless relief from David Adams and Willie Strickland.  Preston Greenfield homered and Ryan Stephens added an RBI double as they beat Greatjon Umber to take a 1-0 lead.

New York 5, Florida 4

Florida starting Roger Blackwood turned out to be a trick.  He faced only one batter, getting Lee Thompson to ground out after 3 pitches, before Peter Buchanon came in from the bullpen to replace him.  Buchanon had the platoon advantage against much of New York's left handed hitting lineup.

The Penguins scored 4 runs off Stephen Hamburg in the 4th inning, knocking him out with 9 hits allowed and 4 runs, including a 2 run double by Buchanon.  New York found revenge in the 5th inning as Jeff Bowman, David Jackson, and Chad White all homered in a 5 run from off Buchanon.

Both bullpens allowed no more runs after that.  Florida's best chance to score came in the 8th inning when Gerald White Jr drew a 2 out walk and was replaced by speedy Vaughan Henderson.  Henderson stole second and third, getting such good jumps that Jeff Bowman didn't even attempt a throw.  Henderson even tried to steal home to tie the game, but as he sprinted towards the plate the pitch was a called strike three, ending the inning before he could get there.

Jon Papelbrad pitched a perfect 9th for the save.

Superior League Wild Card 2018

Boston 8 Las Vegas 5

Las Vegas scored the first 4 runs off Boston's Darren Sanchez, but the Beaneaters came back to score 7 runs in the 3rd through 5th innings off Jeff Radebaugh.  Reggie Moore had a 3 run homer in the third, and Francisco Nunez a 2 run shot in the 5th.  C.C. Salbacca picked up the win with 2 innings in relief, even though he only had one day of rest after his game 1 start.

Boston 6, Las Vegas 2

Matt Connors pitched into the 8th inning and allowed just one run while striking out 7.  Francisco Nunes homered again and won the series MVP award with a .556 average, 2 homers, and 5 RBI.

Boston will play Utah next.