NLDS Metropolis vs. Fleetwood - Game Seven

 

Game seven.  Two of the best words in Brassball.  This has already been a great series with incredible pitching duels, outstanding offensive performances and huge swings in momentum as each team has taken looked completely in control at different times.  Metropolis is currently the team with momentum, winning games five and six to force a winner-take-all game seven in their home park.

Sabathia gave up runners,
but no runs.

Each team sends their ace to the mound, just as they did in games one and four.  Avenger C.C. Sabathia is 0-1 and allowed two runs in his 12 innings.  He allowed just six hits but the patient Walkers also coaxed six walks from Sabathia.  Walker Chris Carpenter is 1-0 in his two starts and allowed three runs in his 11 2/3 innings with 12 hits, 9 strikeouts and two walks. 

The Walkers lived up to their nickname in the first inning, as Chris Iannetta and Miguel Cabrera drew one out walks in front of their hottest hitter, Carlos Beltran.  Unlike the last two games, Beltran could not drive home the runners, as Sabathia got him to ground out and then retired Jim Thome to escape his first jam of the night.

Carpenter dominated all night.

Sabathia worked around two base runners in the second inning as well, keeping the Walkers scoreless.  Carpenter looked comfortable and in command from the start, retiring the first seven hitters and not allowing a hit until Jose Bautista's single to lead off the bottom of the fourth.  

Beltran couldn't repeat his
recent heroics, popping out
with two on in the fifth.

Sabathia struck out rookie Mike Trout to start the fifth and then allowed a single to second baseman Howie Kendrick.  In a surprising move, Metropolis removed its ace and brought in mid-season acquisition Kenley Jansen to face Iannetta.  However, lefty Alex Avila was called on to pinch hit and Jansen could not find the strike zone, walking Avila on five pitches.  That brought Miguel Cabrera to the plate with two on.  Jansen remained wild and walked Cabrera to load the bases for Beltran.  Once again Beltran missed his opportunity, this time popping a fastball in the air for the second out.  Jansen then struck out Jim Thome on a wicked pitch that nearly hit Thome in the shoe after the swing.

While the Avengers were now into their bullpen, their hitters could do nothing against the Fleetwood starter.  Carpenter faced the minimum in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, keeping the game scoreless.  Carpenter was not overpowering but he kept the Metropolis hitters off balance and, more importantly, off base.  In one of the biggest games of his career, Carpenter threw 7 1/3 innings and allowed just a single hit, striking out five and walking just one.   

Jansen got into and out of trouble.

Sabathia and Jansen had to work a lot harder for it, but they matched Carpenter with scoreless innings.  Over their eight innings, the two Metropolis pitchers allowed eleven baserunners but also struck out ten hitters, using the strikeouts to strand the runners they allowed.  Sabathia and Jansen were in high-pressure situations all night, but they got out of every jam they worked themselves into.

Jansen couldn't pitch forever and Marc Rzepczynski replaced him to face Avila to start the ninth inning.  The lefty specialist walked the lefty hitter and was quickly replaced by lockdown reliever Craig Kimbrel, who got out of the inning, but not before walking another batter to add to the Walkers's left-on-base total.

McCutchen struck out to strand
two runners in the ninth inning.

The game remained scoreless as the Avengers took their swings in the bottom of the ninth.   After a Travis Hafner fly out, J.J. Putz came on to face the top of the Avengers order.  Putz didn't last long, as Jose Reyes sent a slider back through the middle for a single and drove Putz to the showers.  Jason Grilli was called in to face Avenger slugger Jose Bautista.  Grilli did his job, striking out Bautista for the second out.  Robinson Cano came to the plate in the middle of horrible series slump.  He had just three hits in 29 at bats, but could still be the hero.  Cano fouled off two pitches before Grilli bounced a pitch in the dirt, sending Reyes to second as the potential winning run.  Grilli then intentionally walked Cano to bring the right handed Andrew McCutchen to the plate with the season on the line.  McCutchen was seven for 26 in the series but also had nine strikeouts.  Grilli made that 10 strikeouts on an inside fastball McCutchen tipped into Avila's glove, sending the deciding game into extra innings.

Kimbrel dominated all series with
no runs and 14 strikeouts in 12 innings.

Kimbrel stayed on for the tenth and worked around a leadoff walk (Fleetwood's ninth of the game) by striking out Matt Joyce and Kendrick to end the inning.

Fleetwood called on Heath Bell after one out in the tenth and he did his job - inducing weak contact by both Hart and Duda to end the inning.  The managers, players and fans felt the tension rise with every inning, batter and pitch.  A zero - zero game in the tenth inning has everyone anxious, but that is only amplified in game seven as every player knows a single big play, or a single big mistake, could end not only the game but also the season.

Miguel Cabrera throws his bat after
a strikeout.  He hit just .125 with
one RBI in the series.

The top of the eleventh went quickly, as Kimbrel struck out Avila and Cabrera and got a lazy fly ball to end the inning.  Bell matched him in the bottom of the eleventh, retiring Wieters and Hafner before striking out Reyes.  Six more batters and still no runs as the game went into the top of the 12th inning.

Dustin Ackley pinch hit for DH Jim Thome in the top of 12, causing Metropolis to bring in Jeremy Affeldt for Craig Kimbrel.  Kimbrel clearly did not want to leave the game, but he had done his job, pitching three innings without allowing hit, striking out four and issuing two walks.   Affeldt quickly struck out Ackley and retired third baseman David Wright, but Nick Markakis walked to become the first baserunner since he walked his last time up.  With the go-ahead run on base, Affeldt focused and threw five good pitches to Asdrubal Cabrera, getting one shortstop to ground out to another and end the inning.

Bell returned to the mound for the bottom of the 12th inning to face the heart of the Metropolis order.  Bautista was in the second spot for the first time all season as the Avengers tried to shake up a slumping lineup.  The move did not appear to help, as Bautista, Cano and McCutchen combined to go 1-11 so far in the game.  Then again, that one hit was half of Metropolis's total thus far, so maybe it did work.

Heath Bell walks off after surrendering
Bautista's walk-off homer.

Everyone knew Heath Bell was going to throw Bautista a fastball and that's exactly what he did.  Bautista shot a lightning bolt into the left field stands, ending the game and the series and sending his teammates charging out of the dugout to meet him at home plate.

Jose Bautista is mobbed at home after his
walk-off homer wins game seven.

Bautista's walk-off homer ended an epic 12-inning duel in game seven and marked the second time the Avengers came back to take a series from Fleetwood after being down three games to one.  Next up for Metropolis is the winner of the Springfield vs. SoCal series, but that's after a well-deserved day off.  Next up for Fleetwood is a long off season filled with questions and second guesses, but also knowing they have the talent to be back in the playoffs in 2013.

BOXSCORE: 2012 Fleetwood Walkers At 2012 Metropolis Avengers       10/17/2012

  Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  H.Kendrick 2B       6  0  1  0 .222     J.Reyes SS          5  0  1  0 .323 

  C.Iannetta C        1  0  0  0 .400     J.Bautista 3B       5  1  2  1 .348 

A-A.Avila PH,C        2  0  1  0 .148     R.Cano 2B           3  0  0  0 .111 

  M.Cabrera 1B        4  0  0  0 .163     A.McCutchen CF      4  0  0  0 .259 

  C.Beltran RF,LF     6  0  0  0 .222     A.Gordon LF         4  0  0  0 .138 

  J.Thome DH          4  0  0  0 .200     C.Hart RF           4  0  0  0 .280 

D-D.Ackley PH,DH      1  0  0  0 .174     L.Duda 1B           3  0  0  0 .222 

  D.Wright 3B         5  0  2  0 .200     M.Wieters C         3  0  0  0 .182 

  N.Evans LF          3  0  0  0 .167     T.Hafner DH         4  0  0  0 .300 

B-N.Markakis RF,CF    0  0  0  0 .243                                         

  A.Cabrera SS        4  0  1  0 .238                                          

  M.Trout CF          4  0  0  0 .273                                         

C-M.Joyce PH,RF       1  0  0  0 .233                                         

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     

         Totals      41  0  5  0                 Totals      35  1  3  1

A-Pinch Hit For Iannetta In 5th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Evans In 6th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Trout In 10th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Thome In 12th Inning

Walkers......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  5  0

Avengers........ 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 1  -  1  3  1

Walkers (7-5)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Carpenter               7 1/3   1   0   0   2   5   0   2.61  A1 C6

E.Sanchez                 1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  C7 C9

J.Putz                    0       1   0   0   0   0   0   3.72  D1 D1

J.Grilli                  1       0   0   0   1   2   0   4.05  D2 D5

H.Bell LOSS(1-1)          1 2/3   1   1   1   0   1   1   3.86  D6

Totals                   11       3   1   1   3   9   1

Avengers (4-3)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Sabathia                4 1/3   3   0   0   2   3   0   1.10  A1 C1

K.Jansen                  3 2/3   2   0   0   4   7   0   2.70  C2 E1

M.Rzepczynsk              0       0   0   0   1   0   0   ----  E2 E2

C.Kimbrel                 3       0   0   0   2   4   0   0.00  E3 F4

J.Affeldt WIN(1-0)        1       0   0   0   1   1   0   0.00  F5

Totals                   12       5   0   0  10  15   0

ATTENDANCE- 49,399 DATE- Wednesday, October 17th 2012 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad

UMPIRES- Eric Cooper, Marty Foster, Derryl Cousins, Angel Hernandez

T- 3:57

LEFT ON BASE- Walkers:17  Avengers: 4

DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 1  Avengers: 0

ERRORS- A.McCutchen

HOME RUNS- J.Bautista(2nd)

STOLEN BASES- D.Wright(2nd)

SACRIFICE HITS- A.Cabrera

WALKS- C.Iannetta, A.Avila-2, M.Cabrera-2, J.Thome, D.Wright, N.Markakis-2,

       A.Cabrera, R.Cano, L.Duda, M.Wieters

HIT BY PITCH- N.Markakis

NLDS Metrpolis vs. Fleetwood - Game Six

In game five, Metropolis took advantage of some shaky Fleetwood defense to extend their National League Division Series to game six, in which they sent number four starter Kyle Lohse to face the Walker's number two pitcher Scott Baker.  Baker got a win in game two of the series as he stranded three hits and four walks in six scoreless innings.

Ackley scored easily on Beltran's sac fly.

Picking up right where he left off in game five, Carlos Beltran found himself at bat with runners on in the first and delivered.  This time there were runners on the corners and one out for Beltran and seemingly everyone in the park expected Beltran to come through yet again.  Beltran got a good pitch and hit it hard, causing 45,000 fans to gasp in anticipation.  This time the ball stayed in the park and was an easy sacrifice fly to right field, sending Dustin Ackley home with the game's first run.

Gordon's single drove home
the first Metropolis run.

Baker got two quick outs in the bottom of the first but then ran into trouble.  Robinson Cano singled and Jose Bautista walked to put two on with two out.  Alex Gordon, Corey Hart and Lucas Duda hit three consecutive singles as the Avengers scored three runs and took the lead.

Kyle Lohse was great in forcing a game seven.

Metropolis designated hitter Travis Hafner led off the bottom of the second inning with a solo homer for another Avenger run to make it 4-1.  While Baker struggled, Fister dominated, retiring 13 batters in a row after the Walker's first-inning rally.   A Bautista sacrifice fly in the seventh stretched the lead to 5-1, giving the Avenger bullpen more than enough breathing space.

Kimbrel closed out the win
with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Stephen Strasburg relieved Lohse with one out in the eighth and then gave way to Craig Kimbrel for an uneventful ninth inning.  In a series filled with tight games and high-pressure at bats, game six stood out for its relative lack of intrigue.  Now both teams are back on even footing for game seven - they are knotted at three games each and both send their ace to the mound.  Avenger C.C. Sabathia will face Walker Chris Carpenter for the third time this series.

BOXSCORE: 2012 Fleetwood Walkers At 2012 Metropolis Avengers       10/16/2012

  Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  N.Markakis CF       3  0  1  0 .231     J.Reyes SS          4  1  1  0 .407 

A-N.Evans PH          1  0  0  0 .222     A.McCutchen CF      4  0  1  0 .292 

C-M.Trout CF          0  0  0  0 .429     R.Cano 2B           3  1  1  0 .120 

  D.Ackley DH         3  1  1  0 .167     J.Bautista 3B       1  1  0  1 .389 

B-C.Iannetta PH,DH    1  0  0  0 .429     A.Gordon LF         4  1  1  1 .160 

  M.Cabrera 1B        4  0  1  0 .179     C.Hart RF           4  0  2  1 .333 

  C.Beltran LF        3  0  0  1 .275     L.Duda 1B           4  0  1  1 .208 

  A.Avila C           3  0  0  0 .120     M.Wieters C         4  0  2  0 .250 

  D.Wright 3B         3  0  1  0 .175     T.Hafner DH         3  1  2  1 .353 

  M.Joyce RF          3  0  0  0 .200                                         

  A.Cabrera SS        3  0  0  0 .237                                          

  H.Kendrick 2B       3  0  0  0 .205                                         

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     

         Totals      30  1  4  1                 Totals      31  5 11  5

A-Pinch Hit For Markakis In 8th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Ackley In 8th Inning

C-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Evans In 8th Inning

Walkers......... 1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  1  4  0

Avengers........ 3 1 0  0 0 0  1 0    -  5 11  0

Walkers (6-5)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

S.Baker LOSS(2-1)         5 1/3   8   4   4   2   2   1   4.08  A1 C6

J.Putz                    0 2/3   2   1   1   1   0   0   3.86  C7 D1

J.Grilli                  0 2/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   6.35  D2 D4

E.Sanchez                 1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D5 D7

R.Webb                    0 1/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  D8

Totals                    8      11   5   5   3   3   1

Avengers (4-2)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

K.Lohse WIN(1-0)          7 1/3   4   1   1   1   5   0   1.23  A1 C9

S.Strasburg               0 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   2.08  D1 D2

C.Kimbrel                 1       0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D3

Totals                    9       4   1   1   1   7   0

ATTENDANCE- 45,852 DATE- Tuesday, October 16th 2012 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad

UMPIRES- Chuck Meriwether, Bill Welke, Laz Diaz, Tim Welke

T- 2:30

LEFT ON BASE- Walkers: 4  Avengers: 7

DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 2  Avengers: 0

DOUBLES- D.Wright(1st), J.Reyes(4th), M.Wieters(1st)

HOME RUNS- T.Hafner(2nd)

SACRIFICE FLIES- C.Beltran, J.Bautista

WALKS- A.Avila, J.Bautista-2, T.Hafner

HIT BY PITCH- R.Cano

STRIKE OUTS- N.Evans, D.Ackley, A.Avila-2, D.Wright-2, M.Joyce, J.Reyes,

             A.McCutchen, C.Hart

GIDP- R.Cano, A.Gordon

2-out RBI- A.Gordon, C.Hart, L.Duda

NLDS Metrpolis vs. Fleetwood - Game Five

Doug Fister hoped to extend
Metropolis's season.

The hometown Fleetwood Walkers rode a three-game winning streak into game five in hopes of putting the visiting Metropolis Avengers away and avoiding a return trip to the Hall of Justice.  The Walkers sent Colby Lewis (20-6, 3.27 ERA) to the mound in what appeared to be a perfectly even match-up with Doug Fister (21-5, 3.28).

The first inning was quiet but the Avenger hitters got to work in the second.  Jose Bautista led off with a single and Corey Hart reached on a one-out walk, bringing Lucas Duda to the plate.  Duda doubled into the right-field corner and gave the Avengers a lead they desperately needed.  Catcher Matt Wieters drove home a second run on a sharp ground ball to second which also moved Duda to third.  Lewis thought he was out of the inning after Hafner popped into foul ground, but catcher Alex Avila dropped the ball and gave Hafner a second chance.  He didn't waste it, and two pitches later Hafner drove a high fastball deep into the right field stands for a homer and a 4-0 Avenger lead.

Walker catcher Alex Avila after he dropped
a Travis Hafner popup

Avila was clearly upset about the play after the game.  "That's on me," he said.  "Nothing to say about it other than I've got to catch it."

The Avengers tacked on a fifth run in the top of the third when Alex Gordon, who had been 2-12 in the series, doubled home Andrew McCutchen.  Lewis was throwing hard and struck out the side in the third, but he found himself behind 5-0.

Carlos Beltran's homer put
Fleetwood on the board

Fleetwood didn't give up and the heart of the order delivered in the fourth.  Dustin Ackley hit a leadoff single and MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera followed with a double.  After a quick visit from the Metropolis pitching coach, Fister got ahead of right fielder Carlos Beltran 1-2.  Then Beltran turned on a sinker that Fister left above the belt and turned it into a three-run homer that silenced an already nervous Metropolis crowd.

Next up, Avila tried to make amends for his earlier error that led to Hafner's homer.  Avila hit a ball off the end of his bat that Bautista struggled to collect and then threw away, putting Avila on second with a single and error.  Fister was still looking for the first out of the inning, but David Wright wasn't going to help.  He looped a single just out of the reach of a charging Gordon and Avila came home to make it 5-4.  Fister finally pulled himself together and retired the next three Walkers to get out of the inning.

Beltran's three extra-base hits
weren't enough for Fleetwood.

The Walkers rallied again in the bottom of the fifth when Nick Markakis singled to lead off the inning.  Beltran came to bat two outs later and came through again.  This time he merely doubled, but that hit brought home Markakis and knotted the game at 5-5.

Two innings later Beltran once again came up with runners on base.  This time he doubled off relief pitcher Marc Rzepczynski, driving the ball beyond McCutchen's reach in left-center field.  Beltran drove home Markakis with the go-ahead run and had the Walkers looking for more.  Craig Kimbrel, however, came in and struck out Avila and retired Wright to end the inning.  Beltran's heroics brought the Walkers all the way back from a 5-0 deficit and put them in the lead 6-5 as the game moved to the eighth inning. 

Cabrera's errant throw turned a
great play into an bad one.

Fleetwood called on Jason Grilli to face the bottom of the Avenger order in the eighth.  He retired Corey Hart for the first out but then allowed a single and two walks to Duda, Wieters and Hafner to load the bases for the top of the order.  Jose Reyes hit a sharp ground ball directly to Dustin Ackley who easily threw out Duda at home, preserving Fleetwood's one run lead and putting them one out from escaping the eighth.  McCutchen had a different idea, however, as he hit pulled a grounder deep into the hold at shortstop.  Asdrubal Cabrera made a tremendous diving play just to get to the ball, but a wild throw from his knees went well wide of first baseman Miguel Cabrera.  Scored as a single and error, Duda and Wieters scored the tying and go-ahead runs, giving the Avengers new life and shocking the Walkers who were just four outs from winning the series.

Craig Kimbrel finished out the rest of the game and secured the Avenger's win.  Beltran couldn't have been better but the series now heads back to Metropolis with Fleetwood ahead 3-2.  Game six in the Hall of Justice will see Avenger Kyle Lohse (15-7, 3.50 ERA) facing off against Walker Scott Baker (14-3, 3.05 ERA). 

 

BOXSCORE: 2012 Metropolis Avengers At 2012 Fleetwood Walkers       10/14/2012

  Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG     Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG

  J.Reyes SS          5  0  1  0 .435     N.Markakis CF       5  2  2  0 .222 

  A.McCutchen CF      4  1  1  1 .300     D.Ackley DH         4  1  1  0 .143 

  R.Cano 2B           5  0  1  0 .091   A-C.Iannetta PH,DH    1  0  0  0 .462 

  J.Bautista 3B       3  1  2  0 .412     M.Cabrera 1B        3  1  1  0 .171 

  A.Gordon LF         5  0  1  1 .143     C.Beltran LF        4  1  3  5 .297 

  C.Hart RF           3  1  0  0 .294     A.Avila C           5  1  1  0 .136 

  L.Duda 1B           5  1  3  1 .200     D.Wright 3B         5  0  1  1 .162 

  M.Wieters C         3  1  1  1 .188     M.Joyce RF          4  0  0  0 .222 

  T.Hafner DH         3  2  1  2 .286     A.Cabrera SS        3  0  2  0 .257 

                                          H.Kendrick 2B       4  0  1  0 .222 

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---     

         Totals      36  7 11  6                 Totals      38  6 12  6

A-Pinch Hit For Ackley In 8th Inning

Avengers........ 0 4 1  0 0 0  0 2 0  -  7 11  2

Walkers......... 0 0 0  4 1 0  1 0 0  -  6 12  2

Avengers (3-2)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

D.Fister                  5 2/3   9   5   4   1   5   1   4.63  A1 C8

S.Strasburg               0 2/3   1   1   1   1   2   0   2.45  C9 D3

M.Rzepczynsk              0       1   0   0   0   0   0   ----  D4 D4

C.Kimbrel WIN(2-0)        2 2/3   1   0   0   2   4   0   0.00  D5

Totals                    9      12   6   5   4  11   1

Walkers (6-4)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Lewis                   3       4   5   3   2   5   1   9.64  A1 B6

R.Webb                    3       3   0   0   1   3   0   0.00  B7 C9

D.Oliver                  1       1   0   0   1   0   0   0.00  D1 D5

J.Grilli L(0-2) BS(2nd)   1       2   2   1   2   0   0   7.20  D6 E3

H.Bell                    1       1   0   0   1   0   0   2.45  E4

Totals                    9      11   7   4   7   8   1

ATTENDANCE- 48,514 DATE- Sunday, October 14th 2012 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average

UMPIRES- Jerry Meals, Bill Miller, Paul Emmel, Gary Darling

T- 3:16

LEFT ON BASE- Avengers: 9  Walkers: 9

DOUBLE PLAYS- Avengers: 1  Walkers: 2

ERRORS- R.Cano, J.Bautista, A.Avila, A.Cabrera

DOUBLES- J.Reyes(3rd), A.Gordon(1st), L.Duda-2(2nd), M.Cabrera(2nd),

         C.Beltran-2(3rd), A.Cabrera(2nd)

HOME RUNS- T.Hafner(1st), C.Beltran(1st)

WALKS- A.McCutchen, J.Bautista-2, C.Hart-2, M.Wieters, T.Hafner, M.Cabrera-2,

       C.Beltran, A.Cabrera

STRIKE OUTS- J.Reyes, A.McCutchen, R.Cano-2, J.Bautista, A.Gordon, C.Hart,

             M.Wieters, D.Ackley, A.Avila-2, D.Wright-2, M.Joyce-3, A.Cabrera,

             H.Kendrick-2

GIDP- L.Duda, T.Hafner, N.Markakis

BALKS- R.Webb

2-out RBI- T.Hafner-2, A.Gordon, C.Beltran, A.McCutchen