NLDS Metropolis vs. Fleetwood - Game Two

Coming off a tension-filled game one victory, the hometown Metropolis Avengers sent Doug Fister (21-5, 3.11) to the mound hoping to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven with the Fleetwood Walkers.  In a bit of a surprise, Scott Baker (14-3, 3.05) took the hill for the Walkers, jumping over a pair of pitchers with 33 starts in the regular season - Chad Billingsly and Colby Lewis.

Much like game one, the starters looked in control as the game started.  In the top of the third, Nick Markakis singled and Dustin Ackley walked with one out, trying to start the game's first rally.  That brought MVP candidate Miguel Cabrera (.360, 31 HR) to the plate and gave Fleetwood a chance to get on the board first.  Fister, however, had his nasty sinker working and induced a Cabrera ground ball to third base.  Jose Bautista fielded it cleanly and got the force at second base but Robinson Cano struggled on the relay and Cabrera beat out the throw as Markakis crossed the plate to put Fleetwood up 1-0.

Fleetwood tacked on a second run in the top of the fourth when its other Cabrera - shortstop Asdrubal - turned on a Fister fastball for a solo homer.  Staked to a slim lead, Baker scattered just three hits through 6 1/3 innings but still found himself in trouble due to four walks.  Baker got outs when he needed them and gave the ball to Eduardo Sanchez with the score still 2-0 Fleetwood.  Sanchez and JJ Putz did their jobs in the seventh and eighth, but so did Avenger relievers Stephen Strasburg and Craig Kimbrel, keeping the game within reach at 2-0.

The Metropolis fans had waited all game for something to cheer and they got it when Avenger 1B Lucas Duda led off the ninth with a long drive to right field that Carlos Beltran misplayed into a official scorer-assisted triple.  Suddenly, the Avengers were back in the fight and had the tying run at bat in the form of Corey Hart, who hit a homer in game one.  Putz settled down and struck Hart out with three consecutive fastballs.  Travis Hafner gave way to pinch hitter Jesus Guzman, who caused Fleetwood to bring in Jason Grilli.  Guzman took a poor swing at Grilli's first pitch and hit a weak grounder right to Grilli.  That kept Duda on third and put Fleetwood one out from tying the series.  

That brought Jose Reyes to the plate looking to keep the rally going.  Reyes had collected four hits in his eight at bats, but he was patient enough to work the count to 3-1.  He then pulled a pitch into right center, driving home Duda and putting himself in scoring position with a double.  Andrew McCutchen came up knowing that with Reyes on second, any hit would likely tie the game.  McCutchen got a pitch he could drive, but didn't elevate it enough and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera snagged it for the game's last out.

It was another close and tension-packed game, but this time the visiting Walkers were on top.  Fleetwood tied the series and also took the home-field advantage.  The Walkers will send Zack Greinke (17-5, 3.78) to face Avenger Alexi Ogando (10-6, 3.11) in the often-critical game three as each team is looking to go up two games to one.

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

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

  N.Markakis CF       4  1  0  0 .087     J.Reyes SS          5  0  3  1 .556 

  D.Ackley DH         3  0  1  0 .077     A.McCutchen CF      4  0  2  0 .250 

A-C.Iannetta PH,DH    2  0  1  0 .545     R.Cano 2B           4  0  0  0 .125 

  M.Cabrera 1B        3  0  0  1 .167     J.Bautista 3B       4  0  0  0 .125 

  C.Beltran LF        3  0  0  0 .208     A.Gordon LF         4  0  1  0 .250 

  A.Avila C           4  0  0  0 .167     M.Wieters C         2  0  0  0 .167 

  D.Wright 3B         4  0  0  0 .115     L.Duda 1B           3  1  1  0 .143 

  M.Joyce RF          4  0  1  0 .316     C.Hart RF           4  0  0  0 .286 

  A.Cabrera SS        4  1  2  1 .280     T.Hafner DH         3  0  0  0 .400 

  H.Kendrick 2B       3  0  1  0 .259   B-J.Guzman PH         1  0  0  0 .000 

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

         Totals      34  2  6  2                 Totals      34  1  7  1

A-Pinch Hit For Ackley In 8th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Hafner In 9th Inning

Walkers......... 0 0 1  1 0 0  0 0 0  -  2  6  1

Avengers........ 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 1  -  1  7  1

Walkers (5-2)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

S.Baker WIN(2-0)          6 1/3   3   0   0   4   6   0   2.92  A1 C8

E.Sanchez HOLD(2nd)       1       2   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  C9 D4

J.Putz HOLD(1st)          1       1   1   1   0   2   0   4.05  D5 D8

J.Grilli SAVE(1st)        0 2/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   6.00  D9

Totals                    9       7   1   1   4   9   0

Avengers (1-1)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

D.Fister LOSS(0-1)        6       3   2   2   3   4   1   3.00  A1 C6

S.Strasburg               1       1   0   0   0   2   0   0.00  C7 D1

C.Kimbrel                 2       2   0   0   1   4   0   0.00  D2

Totals                    9       6   2   2   4  10   1

ATTENDANCE- 49,965 DATE- Wednesday, October 10th 2012 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good

UMPIRES- Larry Vanover, Mike Everitt, Mike Dimuro, Tim McClelland

T- 3:02

LEFT ON BASE- Walkers: 9  Avengers:10

DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 1  Avengers: 0

ERRORS- D.Wright, J.Reyes

DOUBLES- J.Reyes(2nd)

TRIPLES- L.Duda(1st)

HOME RUNS- A.Cabrera(2nd)

STOLEN BASES- H.Kendrick(1st)

WALKS- N.Markakis, M.Cabrera, C.Beltran, H.Kendrick, A.McCutchen, M.Wieters-2,

       L.Duda

STRIKE OUTS- N.Markakis-2, D.Ackley, C.Iannetta, C.Beltran, A.Avila-2,

             M.Joyce-2, H.Kendrick, A.McCutchen, R.Cano-2, A.Gordon,

             M.Wieters-2, C.Hart-2, T.Hafner

GIDP- L.Duda

2-out RBI- A.Cabrera, J.Reyes