Metropolis staved off elimination in Game Five and forced
Fleetwood to make the trip back to the Hall of Justice for Game Six. The Avengers also had Kris Medlen on the
mound, who was a perfect 8-0 after joining the club after a trade from
Springfield. Despite that record, Medlen
took the loss in Game Two and the Walkers hoped Chris Capuano could beat him again
and close put the series.
Medlen and Capuano both kept opposing hitters guessing at
the start of the game. Through three
innings, only one hitter reached base, and he was erased on a double play, so
it was 18 up and 18 down, with both starters working on a no-hitter.
Despite Capuano being perfect through three, Fleetwood
had their bullpen ready in the fourth.
When Cano walked with one out, the Walkers made their move and called on
Santiago Casilla to face Andrew McCutchen.
Casilla struck out the all-star with a slider then retired pinch hitter
Alex Gordon for the third out.
Fleetwood wasn't ready to give up, as they had Miguel
Cabrera, David Wright and Utley scheduled for the ninth, and a single big fly
would tie the game. Kimbrel, on his
second inning of work, was still throwing gas.
His fastball was hitting 99 and his slider was crisp. The closer came right at Cabrera, who hit a
sharp ground ball, but it was directly Reyes for an easy out. Wright also hit the ball hard, but also straight at Reyes, who picked it just before it hit the ground for the second out. Utley was the Walkers' last chance, and he
didn't make it easy for Kimbrel. The veteran lefty fouled off two fastballs and worked the count full before lifting a ball into
right field. Yoenis Cespedes settled under it and hauled it in for the last out
of the game.
Coming Up - Metropolis allowed just one run in winning Games Five and Six and seems to have taken the momentum back from Fleetwood. The Avengers turn to R.A. Dickey for Game Seven, but will be ready with a quick hook if the knuckler is even half as shaky as he was in Game Four, when Fleetwood knocked him out in the first inning. For the third time in the series, Dickey will face Zack Greinke, and the rubber match will be the biggest game either has pitched in their career. As in all deciding games, every reliever should be available, with the possible exception of Darren Oliver, who threw 55 innings in Game Six. We'll see if the decision to leave Oliver in for a third inning comes back to haunt the Walkers not just in Game Six, but in Game Seven, as well.
| Capuano was great, but had a short leash |
Fleetwood finally broke through in the top of the fourth,
when Nick Markakis led off with a double in the right field gap. Mike Trout followed a single just past the
glove of shortstop Jose Reyes and Markakis came home with the game's first
run. Matt Joyce hit a line drive into
left-center for a double which should have scored Trout easily. But Trout, one of the league's best
baserunners, got a bad jump and had to stop at third on the play. That put runners on second and third with
Miguel Cabrera coming to the plate.
 |
| Mike Trout knocked in the first run, but got stranded at third |
Metropolis considered walking the slugger, but Medlen
wanted to face him and ended up winning the battle. Cabrera hit a fastball into shallow center
for the first out and Trout was forced to hold at third. David Wright looked to add to the Fleetwood
lead, but instead took a walk to load the bases for Chase Utley. Medlen got ahead 1-2 and threw a perfect
changeup that Utley pounded right to Robinson Cano for a custom-made double
play. Fleetwood had the lead, but they
had to be disappointed with a single run in the inning.
| Kris Medlen allowed a run in the fourth, but struck out the side in the fifth |
Medlen struck out the side in the top of the fifth, as
Torii Hunter, Chris Ianetta and Asdrubal Cabrera managed only a single foul
ball between them. Santiago stayed on
for Fleetwood in the bottom of the fifth, but gave way to Darren Oliver after a
one-out single. Oliver got pinch hitter
Jose Bautista on a ground ball double play to end the inning and keep Fleetwood ahead 1-0.
Medlen struck out Markakis to start the sixth and then
gave the ball to Raul Valdes to face the heart of the Fleetwood order. He walked Trout, but then struck out pinch
hitter Travis Snider and Miguel Cabrera, stranding the speedy Trout at first.
Oliver retired Metropolis in order in the sixth and
seventh innings, putting Fleetwood six outs from winning their first NL title
and advancing to the World Series.
Metropolis called on Craig Kimbrel to keep Fleetwood from expanding
their lead, and he did just that by keeping them scoreless in the top of the eighth.
It wasn't looking good for the Avengers, as they had the bottom of their order due up in the
eighth and had collected just two base runners so far. David Freese tried to turn that
around with a lead off single against Oliver, who stayed in the game for his
third inning of work. Next up, Andy
Dirks hit a liner to left, which landed just in front of Travis Snider and then skipped past him. Snider had charged hard, but the ball got past him and rolled nearly to the left field wall. By the time Trout got the ball back in,
Freese had scored and Dirks was standing on third. With that one play, Metropolis had tied the
game and was poised to take the lead.
 |
| Jose Reyes's single gave Metropolis the lead |
Fleetwood had righty Tom Wilhelmsen up and ready, but
stayed with Oliver to face Jose Bautista.
All Bautista needed was a fly ball to give Metropolis the lead, but
Oliver fooled him and Bautista took a changeup for a called third strike. Switch hitter Jose Reyes was up next and the
infield was in to try and cut down Dirks on a ground ball. Instead, Reyes flipped a blooper over Chase
Utley's head for the Avengers' third hit and second run of the game. That was all for Oliver, but the damage was
done. Wilhelmsen came in and ended the
inning, but Metropolis had taken the lead 2-1 and had their ace reliever on the
mound.
 |
| Darren Oliver was great for two innings, but not a third |
Fleetwood was just six outs from the World Series, but
a couple of singles and one big miscue did them in and allowed Metropolis to take the
game and tie the series. Darren Oliver
took the loss, but the question is why he remained in the game for his third
inning when the Walker bullpen was rested and ready.
Coming Up - Metropolis allowed just one run in winning Games Five and Six and seems to have taken the momentum back from Fleetwood. The Avengers turn to R.A. Dickey for Game Seven, but will be ready with a quick hook if the knuckler is even half as shaky as he was in Game Four, when Fleetwood knocked him out in the first inning. For the third time in the series, Dickey will face Zack Greinke, and the rubber match will be the biggest game either has pitched in their career. As in all deciding games, every reliever should be available, with the possible exception of Darren Oliver, who threw 55 innings in Game Six. We'll see if the decision to leave Oliver in for a third inning comes back to haunt the Walkers not just in Game Six, but in Game Seven, as well.
BOXSCORE: 2013
Fleetwood Walkers At 2013 Metropolis Avengers 10/28/2013
Walkers AB
R H RBI AVG Avengers AB
R H RBI AVG
N.Markakis DH 3
1 1 0 .235
C.Ruiz C 4 0
0 0 .250
E-C.Quentin PH,DH 1
0 0 0 .308
R.Cano 2B 2 0
0 0 .286
M.Trout CF 3
0 2 1 .313
A.McCutchen CF 3 0
0 0 .316
M.Joyce RF 2
0 1 0 .423
F.Gutierrez RF 1 0
0 0 .429
D-T.Snider
PH,LF 2 0 0 0 .182
A-A.Gordon PH,LF 2 0 0 0 .310
M.Cabrera 1B 4
0 0 0 .295
D.Freese 3B 2 1
0 0 .316
D.Wright 3B 3
0 1 0 .292
J.Gomes DH 1 0
0 0 .167
C.Utley 2B 4
0 0 0 .289
B-A.Dirks PH,DH 2 1
2 0 .440
T.Hunter LF,RF 2
0 0 0 .167
J.Guzman 1B 1 0
0 0 .222
C.Iannetta C 3
0 0 0 .231
C-J.Bautista PH,1B 2 0
0 0 .111
A.Cabrera SS 3
0 1 0 .162
J.Reyes SS 3
0 1 1 .237
Y.Cespedes LF,RF 3 0
0 0 .273
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 30
1 6 1
Totals 26 2 3 1
A-Pinch Hit For
Gutierrez In 4th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For
Gomes In 5th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For
Guzman In 5th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For
Joyce In 6th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For
Markakis In 8th Inning
Walkers.........
0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
- 1 6 1
Avengers........
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
- 2 3 0
Walkers
(7-5) IP H
R ER BB
SO HR ERA
SCORESHEET
C.Capuano 3 1/3 0
0 0 1
4 0 1.08
A1 B2
S.Casilla 1 1
0 0 0
2 0 0.00
B3 B6
D.Oliver L(2-1)
BS(1st) 3 2
2 1 1
2 0 2.61
B7 C8
T.Wilhelmsen 0 2/3 0
0 0 0
0 0 0.00
C9
Totals 8 3
2 1 2
8 0
Avengers
(7-3) IP H
R ER BB
SO HR ERA
SCORESHEET
K.Medlen 5 1/3 3
1 1 2
7 0 0.86
A1 C1
R.Valdes 0 2/3 1
0 0 1
2 0 0.00
C2 C5
H.Street 1 0
0 0 0
0 0 2.25
C6 C7
C.Kimbrel WIN(2-0) 2
2 0 0 0 3
0 0.00 C8
Totals 9 6
1 1 3
12 0
ATTENDANCE-
31,971 DATE- Monday, October 28th 2013 TIME- Day WEATHER- Bad
UMPIRES- Chuck
Meriwether, Bill Welke, Laz Diaz, Tim Welke
T- 2:02
LEFT ON BASE-
Walkers: 5 Avengers: 2
DOUBLE PLAYS-
Walkers: 1 Avengers: 3
ERRORS- T.Snider
DOUBLES-
N.Markakis(2nd), M.Joyce(2nd)
STOLEN BASES-
J.Reyes(2nd)
WALKS- M.Trout,
D.Wright, T.Hunter, R.Cano, D.Freese
STRIKE OUTS-
N.Markakis, C.Quentin, M.Trout, M.Joyce, T.Snider-2, M.Cabrera-2,
T.Hunter, C.Iannetta-2, A.Cabrera,
C.Ruiz, R.Cano, A.McCutchen,
D.Freese, J.Gomes, J.Guzman,
J.Bautista, J.Reyes
GIDP- C.Utley,
T.Hunter, A.Cabrera, J.Bautista
RLISP 2-out-
T.Snider, C.Ruiz
No comments:
Post a Comment