MLCS 2019 Games 3 and 4

Game 3:

Ricardo Diaz pitched a strong game and took a 1-0 lead into the 7th.  Silvanos Tonka had allowed only one unearned run, when Alex Williams dropped a flyball in the 5th with a runner on base.

In the 7th with one out and a runner on, Portland relieved Diaz with the left Shane Kosenski.  Lee Thompson struck out, Sun drew a walk, and Bear hit a 3 run homer to put New York on top.

Tonka pitched a scoreless 7th, and New York still led 3-1 into the bottom 8th.  They used most of their bench to put in a better defensive lineup, and turned the ball over to Jiannetti with lefty Michael Vaughn leading off the 8th.  Vaughn doubled, Pete Craig singled, and Hishashi Kondo tripled home two runs to tie the game at 3.  After Guao grounded out (and Kondo holding at third) Brian Ohman came in to strike out the next 2 hitters.

In the top of the 10th, New York got the first 2 runners on base and used their last pinch hitter, Cody Fett, to bat for the pitcher.  Fett singled to load the bases.  Portland went to the closer Ribaudo, who struck out David Jackson, got the force play at home on Luis Harris, and struck out Cristobal Guillen to end the inning.

New York's next chance to score came in the 11th.  Bowman singled off Ribaudo, Jacobs bunted him to second.  Thompson singled to put runners at the corners, and Sun grounded out with the runner holding at third.  That brought up Bear, but there were no more pinch hitters and the pitcher's spot was on deck.  Bear was walked intentionally, and Manny Olmos struck out.

With one out in the top 13th, Lee Thompson was hit by pitch and stole second.  Sun struck out, and Bear was once again put on first base.  New York send their last available pitcher, Ryan Edmondson to pinch hit, but manager Kird made a crucial error, indicating that Edmondson would be batting in the 9th spot, instead of the #4 spot where Olmos was.  As a result, Olmos had to hit, and struck out.  Even worse, Victor Jacobs (who was in the #9 spot) was now out of the game.  New York send Edmondson to the mound and moved Olmos into right field.

In the 13th, Pete Craig led off with a walk.  Portland ran for him with Gerald Evans, their last hitter on the bench.  Evans stole second.  He moved to third on a ground out, bringing up Monte Tufnel.

Tufnel bunted the ball back to the mound.  Edmondson fielded it, flipped back to the plate, and Evans slid in under the tag.  Portland won an a walk off bunt!

Game 4

It was not surprising that Stephen Hamburg pitched a solid game, but Portland's #4 starter, Elvis Henson, was able to match him for most of the game.  New York loaded the bases with nobody out in the 4th.  Sandusky struck out.  Luis Harris hit a ground ball to short.  Portland went for the double play but the speedy Harris beat it out, allowing the run to score.

That was the only run they managed against Henson.  Hamburg threw 115 pitches over 7 shutout innings, allowing 4 hits, one walk, and striking out 11.

With one out in the 8th, Tyrion Lannister tripled.  New York brought in the game 3 goat, Jiannetti, to face Vaughn.  Vaughn lifted a fly out to right, and Victor Jacobs made a great throw to nail Lannister at the plate.

Papelbrad came in for the 9th and allowed a one out single to Kondo.  He tried to steal and was thrown out by Bowman.  Guao grounded out to third and New York held on for a 1-0 win. 

MLCS 2019 Games 1-2

Game 1:

With both Tonka and Hamburg having pitched in the decisive game against Florida, Neew York went with Jon Umber.  Portland started their ace Joseph Smith Langford, and both pitched well, going into the 6th inning and allowing 2 runs each.

In the 9th Craig Gendry led off with a walk,  and New York went to the closer Jon Papelbrad.  He struck out Jek Lewis, got Lannister on a ground out, and then struck out Michael Vaughn on 3 pitches.

In the bottom 9th Luis Harris led off with a walk against Mark Hunter.  New York pinch hit for Papelbrad with Brienne of Tarth.  The speedy Harris took off on the first pitch, but Tarth skied it into left for out #1.  Jeff Bowman did the exact same thing.  Finally Adrian Sandusky took a pitch allowing Harris to steal second, and then lined a hard single to right.  Harris slid in safely before Vaughn's throw home, and New York took game 1.

Game 2:

Portland scored the first 2 runs, with a first inning homer from Vaughn and a second inning homer by Hishashi Kondo off Mark Stevens.  New York tied the game in the second.  Wellington Bear doubled in a run in the 5th and Sandusky singled in an insurance run in the 8th.

Stevens was forced to leave the game in the 4th inning when he sprained his ankle coming off the mound.  Justin Zoolander came on in relief and was sensational, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks in four innings while striking out 9.

In the top 8th with Vaughn at the plate and 2 outs, New York pulled Zoolander for the lefty Olmos, who struck out Vaughn to end the inning.

Papelbrad came in for the 9th and got the first 2 outs.  Xian Guao homered to make it a one run game, but the next batter Yoda Moreno flew out to right.

New York heads on the road with a 2-0 series lead and will send Tonka and Hamburg to the mound to try and finish the series.

SLCS 2019 Games 1-4

Game 1:

Silveran Kanan Bonis pitched around an error and wild pitch that put a runner on 3rd with nobody out in the first.  He struck out Bass, Arceneaux, and Ford to strand the runner.  He pitched a strong game with 4 hits and 7 strikeouts in 6 innings, but solo homers by Bass and Arceneaux gave Miami a 2-0 lead.  That's all Scott Elzy would need as he struck out 10 in a 7 inning 2 hitter.  Miami went on to win 5-0.

Game 2:

Chicago took a 4-0 lead over Pedro Lewis, however Chicago starter Ruben Ramirez tweaked a hamstring and had to leave after 4 innings.  Alphonso Soprano hit a 2 run homer in the 6th and Luke Ford hit one in the 7th to tie the game at 4.  In the top of the 8th with 2 down, Bonis drew a walk and raced around the bases to score on Gregor Clegane's double. 

With a 1 run lead, Chicago turned the ball over to Steve Kepler for a 6 out save.  He pitched a 1-2-3 8th inning.  In the 9th, Sergio Perez led off with a walk and Peter Rabbitt bunted him over to second.  Kepler struck out Billy Bass, then faced 2 time MVP Arceneaux.  With the right handed Luke Ford on deck and no Miami pinch hitters left, Kepler refused to pitch around him.  On a 2-2 pitch, Arceneaux hit a ground ball right to the second baseman, and Chicago tied the series at 1.

Game 3:

Sergio Perez led off the game with a homerun off Kyle Bonderman.  Chicago ran the bases loaded offense in against Carlos Padron, scoring 3 in the bottom 1st, 1 in the second, and 2 more in the 3rd.  Billy Bass hit a 3 run homer in the 3rd.

In the 6th Chicago held a 6-5 lead with 2 outs and 2 runners on.  Pat Jones walked Sergio Perez to load the bases, and couldn't find the strike zone against Bass, walking in a run to tie the game.  He had nowhere to put Arceneaux, fell behind the count 2-0, and served up a gopher ball for a grand slam and a 10-6 Miami lead.

Johnny Anderson pitched 4 strong innings in relief, allowing 2 hits, no runs, no walks, and 8 strikeouts.  Miami coasted to a 12-6 victory.

Game 4:

Chicago took a 4-0 lead over Brad Moulds with a 4 run second inning, highlighted by homers from Gregor Clegane and Tommy Ross.  Matt Smith pitched a strong and efficient game for the first 5 innings, but ran into trouble in the 6th.  Luke Ford hit a 2 run homer and Ricky Buckley went back to back to make it a one run game.  Scott Cole came in for relief and put 2 runners on before pinch hitter Trevor Burton singled in the tying run.

In the top of the 8th Buckley led off with a double and one out later came around to score on an E5 groundball that Javier Soto threw past first base.  Kepler came in to face pinch hitter Sergio Perez, and got out of the inning with no further trouble.

In the bottom of the 8th Soto led off and achieved atonement for his error, launching a homerun to left off Travis Howard.  With 2 out in the 9th Arceneaux worked Kepler for a 12 pitch walk, then departed for pinch runner Dustin Kinney as Miami chose to play it aggressively.  Didn't matter as Luke Ford struck out on 3 pitches.

Chicago failed to score in the 9th, sending the game to extras.  Kepler remained in the game for his 3rd inning.  Buckley walked, the next two batter struck out.  Buckley took off on the first pitch to Todd Merkich.  Merkich swung and hit the ball 404 feet to put Miami up 7-5.  Kepler, exhausted, left the game and Rob Davis got the final out.

3 outs away from being down 3-1 and having to face Scott Elzy, Chicago pinch hit for the second baseman with DH/1B Max Thomas.  Thomas homered off Lou Watson to make it a one run game.

Miami brought in Sam Parillo, who got Soto to fly to center, then Scott Arroyo to strike out Bonis.  They went to the 4th pitcher of the inning, Tom Knight, to get Clegane.  The Mountain crushed one to the opposite field and tied the game.

For the 11th both teams had used almost everyone on their benches.  Thomas had to stay in the game at first, sending Ryan Freeman over to third and Soto to second.  Rob Davis remained the game with only one other reliever left in the Chicago bullpen.  Peter Rabbit found the out of position defender, hitting a grounder to Freeman, but he picked it up and tossed to Thomas for out #1.  Billy Bass struck out, and Dustin Kinney, batting in Arceneaux's spot, flew to left.

In the bottom 11th Tommy Ross led off with a walk against Knight.  Vogler struck out, and Minion singled Ross to second.  A Byron Jones walk loaded the bases.  Playing infield in, Miami got the ground ball from Thomas and a force play at the plate.  Soto took a two strike pitch back up the middle to score the winning run and tie the series at 2.

SLCS 2019 Chicago vs Utah

Game 3:

Ser Gregor Clegane homered in the 4th to give Chicago a 1-0 lead, but in the bottom of the inning Randy Hickey homered to tie it. One inning later, Jorge Guevara hit a 2 run homer to give Utah a 3-1 lead, and that's all the scoring there was.

Clint Meyers pitched a great game with 7 innings, 5 hits, one walk, and 5 strikeouts.

Game 4:

Chicago ended the drama early in this one, breaking out with 7 runs in the second inning off Ute rookie Carter Kent. After Felix Santos struggled in the 3rd, Chicago went to Scott Cole, who pitched 2 2/3 perfect innings to earn the win.  Utah scored in the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th innings to keep their hopes alive, down 7-3, but Chicago added 4 in the 7th and 6 more in the top of the 9th to silence the crowd in the Popcorn dome.

Javier Soto homered twice, and Soto, Hafner, and Ross each drove in 4 runs.  Ross, Silveran Kanan Bonis, and Kevin Minion also homered as Chicago romped the Utes 17-4.

SLDS 2019 Miami vs Boston

Game 3:

Drew Ward hit a 2 runs single in the first off Carlos Padron, and Josh Ballard's solo homer made it 3-1 into the 6th.  Then the Miami bats got to work.

Billy Bass reached on an E-5 to start the inning.  Arceneaux doubled him home, then scored on a Luke Ford double to tie the game at 3.  Burton walked.  Rabbitt hit into a force out.  Boston replaced starter Darin Sanchez with Cristobal Gonzalez. 

Buckley singled.  Rabbitt and Buckley pulled off a double steal, and Boston intentionally walked pinch hitter Adrian Hubbard.  Oswipe Cabrera walked to force in a run.  One out later Bass and Arceneux hit singles, with the Stars keeping the bases loaded with station to station running.  Ford walked in another.  Burton singled in 2 more before the inning was finally over. 

Miami scored 9 in the inning and went on to an 11-5 win.

Game 4:

Miami scored in the first and 3rd to take a 2-0 lead off Humberto Argolo.  In the bottom 3rd, Johnny Anderson allowed a run and after a pair of 2 out singles Miami's Brian Kaat wasted no time and went to the bullpen.  Scott Arroyo got the final out.

Miami added 2 runs in the 5th.  Five relievers pitched between 1 and 1 2/3 innings apiece, allowing 3 hits, no runs, no walks, while striking out 9.  Travis Howard got the final 4 outs, all on strikes, to send Miami to the championship series.

Boston's Francisco Nunes was named series MVP after hitting .500 (9 for 18) with 3 homers and 5 RBI.

MLDS 2019 Portland vs St Louis

Game 1:

Joseph Smith Langford gave up 3 runs in the first, but settled down after that, pitching into the 7th and allowing no more.  Yoda Moreno homered in the 4th to tie the game, and Mike McLeod hit one in the 6th to take the lead.

Mark Hunter pitched a scoreless 8th and Kevin Ribaudo pitched the 9th to save the 5-3 game.

Game 2:

Michael Vaughn scored 3 runs and had a bases loaded triple to lead Portland to an 11-3 start.  St Louis scored a pair in the 8th, and Simon Burgos hit a 3 run homer in the 9th to make it a 3 run game.  Kevin Ribaudo got the last 2 outs to put Portland up 2-0.

Game 3:

Portland took a 2-0 lead into the 6th after a strong start by Ramon Escobar, but ran into trouble. St Louis got the first 2 on, and Alfredo Ocampo scored on a sacrifice fly.  Parkman walked.  Reliever Rick Groves struck out Burgos,   Portland went to the righty Jon Mexico with Ramon Ortega up, Ortega singled to load the bases.  Josh Austin then unloaded the bases with a 3 run double.

Xian Guao homered in the 8th to make it a 4-3 game, but Edgar Sanders was able to record the last 6 outs for a save.

Game 4:

St Louis scored 5 times in the first, capped off by a 3 run homer by Jordan Sadler.  Rookie Fred Kelly started strong but ran into trouble in the second, giving up a 3 run homer to Craig Gendry to make it a 5-4 game.

Kelly settled down after that, striking out 6, walking one, and taking a 6-4 lead to the 7th.  In the 9th inning, Portland was down 6-4.  With one out and a runner on, rookie sensation Michael Vaughn, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the 7th, homered to tie the game.

Kevin Ribaudo pitched a scoreless 10th.  With one out Pete Craig doubled, bringing up Greg Jackson.  Jackson hit one high, deep, and far into the left field seats to win the series.

MLDS 2019: Florida vs New York

Game 1:

Silvanos Tonka got the nod over 20 game winner Hamburg, and gave the Cobra 7 scoreless innings of 3 hit ball.  Florida started Buddy Dervish, who had missed most of September with a forearm strain.  Dervish retired leadoff hitter Lee Thompson on just two pitches before his day came to an end.  Shenanigans were on as the Penguins brought in Peter Buchanon to face New York's lefty heavy lineup.

The strategy backfired however, as Buchanon was wild, walking 7 in 4 innings of work, and allowing 4 runs.  Jon Papelbrad got the last 4 outs to save the 4-1 game.

Game 2:

Florida knocked Hamburg out with 4 runs in the second inning.  Roger Blackwood pitched 7 innings, allowing 3 runs and striking out 8 for the win.  Gromit Peveto was 3 for 5, including a 2 run double off Hamburg.  Scott Meyer later added a homer.  Scott Klippenstein pitched the final inning to save the 5-3 game as Florida evened the series.

Game 3:

The league's rabbit ball supply was in use as New York jumped out to a 5-0 lead off starter Joel Camels.  Luis Harris had the key hit with a 3 run double.  In the bottom of the inning, Florida came right back with a 5 spot off the GreatJon of house Umber.  Conn had a three run homer, and Melvin Ortiz added a 2 run double. 

New York scored in each of the first 5 innings, jumping out to a 13-5 lead.  Umber went 7 innings for the win but ran into trouble late in the game, giving up 8 runs in total.

In the bottom 8th the Penguins hit 3 homers to make it a 14-10 game. With 2 out, they put 2 runners on for Gromit, with the on deck hitter now representing the tying run.  New York went to the closer, Papelbrad, who recorded the last 4 outs.

The two teams combined for 11 homers, including 2 each by Luis Harris and Ken Jones.

Game 4:

Buddy Dervish made his first real start and was excellent, pitching 6 innings of one run ball.  New York took a 2-1 lead in the 7th as Luis Harris singled, stole 2 bases off David Tejada, and scored on a sac fly by Brienne of Tarth. 

In the bottom of the inning Gerald White Jr doubled and scored on a Scott Meyer single.  In came speedy pinch runner Vaughn Henderson, who moved to second on an out, stole third, and came home when Cody Fett's throw sailed into left field.

In the top 8th, Grant Hansen walked the bases loaded with nobody out, leaving the game with Wellington Gehrig Bear at the plate.  Klippenstein did the best he could given the circumstances, allowing a sacrifice fly before getting Ken Jones to bounce into a double play. 

In the bottom 8th Angel Garcia singled and stole 2 bases with nobody out.  Gromit popped up, and Juan Penales grounded out with the infield in, keeping Garcia at third.  Conn was intentionally walked, bringing up Klippenstein.  Florida made the controversial decision not to pinch hit for their best reliever, and he struck out.

Klippenstein then struck out the side to set up a walk off win in the bottom 9th.  With one out, Henderson drew a walk against Bryan Avila.  Manny Olmos came in for relief.  Olmos, a lefty with a good pickoff move, tried to keep Henderson on first.  Henderson took off and Melvin Ortiz liked the pitch too much to take it.  He knocked a line drive down the right field line and Henderson came in to score, tying the series at 2-2.

Game 5:

This was a great pitcher's duel between Roger Blackwood and Silvanos Tonka.  Both pitchers threw up zeros through the first 7 innings.  In the 8th Ortiz singled with 2 outs and scored on a pinch hit double off the bat of Sean Fordham.

The struggling Grant Hansen came out for the 8th and allowed a leadoff double to Alex Williams, who left the game for pinch runner David Jackson.  That was it for Hansen, Klippenstein came in again.  Back to back deep flyouts to center brought the tying run home.

New York brought Stephen Hamburg in to relieve Tonka.  Hamburg and Klippenstein matched zeros into the 11th inning.  Though he had thrown 3 innings already, Florida once again did not pinch hit for Klip, who struck out in the 11th against Brian Ohman.

In the bottom 11th, Klippenstein walked Lee Thompson, and Florida went to Mark Rigsby.  Sun struck out as Thompson stole second.  Bear was intentionally walked, bringing up reserve OF Victor Jacobs.  Jacobs lined a single into right, Thompson raced home, and New York will move on to the championship series.

Miami vs Boston game 2

The Beaneaters score 7 times in the first 4 innings, knocking out Pedro Lewis and forcing Miami to empty the bullpen.  C.C. Salbacca struck out 8 over 6 innings for the win.  Boston had four homers as the beat Miami 9-3 and evened the series.

Chicago vs Utah game 2

Randy Hickey homered off Kyle Bonderman in the first, and the Utes took a 2-0 lead an inning later.  Chicago got things going in the 4th as Tommy Ross hit a 3 run homer off Darin Mackowsky.  An inning later, they scored 5 more runs with a 3 run homer by Ryan Freeman.  Chicago ended up winning by a score of 11-2.  Bonderman went 5 innings before turning the game over to the bullpen.

Chicago vs Utah, game 1

Silveran Kanan Bonis struck out 11 over 7 innings before leaving with a 4-1 lead.  Bruno Vogler homered and drove in 3.

In the 9th, closer Steve Kepler came on to close out a 3 run save.  Kepler allowed a run on 2 doubles and walked the bases loaded with one out.  Facing the middle of Utah's order, Chicago stuck with him.  Kepler stuck out Mike Winters for the second out, walked Erick Reinfelder to force in another run, and finally struck out Marcos Dominguez to end the game.

Miami vs Boston game 1

Boston took a 3-0 lead by the 3rd inning, scoring on a wild pitch, and RBI single by Alex Hamilton, and a homer by Francisco Nunes off Scott Elzy.  R.D. Phillips pitched 7 innings and left with a 3-2 lead.  Devan Arceneaux homered for Miami, and Roberto Gonzales drove in the other.

Boston went to the bullpen in the 8th with hard throwing Brandon Sanders.  Peter Rabbit singled with one out, and Billy Bass homered to put Miami on top.  Travis Howard, who earned the win, stayed in to pitch the 9th and pitched a 1-2-3 inning.

Major League Wild Card

Florida advances after beating the Denver Rabbits 2-0.

Game 1: Scott Meyer and Brent Johnson each homered twice, and Meyer had 3 hits and 4 RBI as the Penguins took a 7-2 lead to the 8th inning.  Joel Camels allowed 2 runs in 6 innings for the win.

In the 8th inning Miguel Tejawa doubled in 2, and David Tejada had some trouble getting Denver's lefties out, allowing an RBI single to Edgardo Rodriguez.  With the tying runs on base, Scott Klippenstein came in and got Alfredo Salazar to ground into an inning ending double play.  Klippenstein stayed in for the 9th to complete the 5 out save.

Game 2: Mark Rigsby allowed 3 runs in 6 innings for the Penguins, who knocked Todd Johnson out early and took a 5-2 lead after 3 innings. Angel Garcia had 3 hits, 3 RBI, and 2 stolen bases.

Down 6-3 in the 9th, pinch hitter Darnell Turner homered off Grant Hansen.  George Sheppard homered with 2 outs to make it a 6-5 game, and Mark Crawford followed with a walk.  That was it for Hansen, as Klippenstein came in to face Tejawa.  Tejawa flew out to right to end the series.

Superior League Wild Card

Boston beat Springfield 2-0 and will play Miami next.

Game 1: Jason Durazo homered and drove in 5, and Francisco Nunez homered and drove in 3 as Boston won 12-4.  C.C. Salbacca struck out 8 over 6 innings for the win.

Game 2: Jung-Ho Kodos had 3 hits, including a homer, and 4 RBI to lead Boston to a 9-3 victory.  Darin Sanchez pitched 6 innings for the win, and Springfield's David Grimes allowed 2 homers and 6 runs in 3 innings for the loss.