NLDS Game Four - Metropolis vs. Parkland

James McDonald took the hill
for Parkland in Game Four.

Fighting for their playoff lives down three games to one, the Parkland Green called on James McDonald to face Metropolis Avenger ace R.A. Dickey in Game Four of the National League Division Series.  McDonald was 11-9 on the season but also had a 5.26 ERA in 29 starts.  Dickey, on the other hand, was one of the best pitchers in all of Brassball and already won Game One in the series, despite being somewhat shaky in his five-innings.

Andrew McCutchen's third homer
of the series tied the game 1-1.

Metropolis scored five runs in the last inning of Game Three and picked up where they left off, as star center fielder Andrew McCutchen hit a two-out homer to stake Dickey to a 1-0 lead.  Dickey, however, looked just as shaky in Game Four as he did in Game One, giving up a walk to Dexter Fowler and a double to Joey Votto to start the game.  After retiring Dustin Pedroia, Dickey walked Nick Swisher to load the bases and give Parkland hope for a big inning.

Left Fielder Coco Crisp lined a hard single that scored Fowler and tied the game, but Votto held at third rather than challenge right fielder Yeonis Cespedes's arm.  It's possible the Votto thought back to Game One, when a Jose Reyes relay from McCutchen nailed him at the plate.  Votto's hesitance may have cost the Green a run, as Jed Lowrie left the bases loaded after grounding out to end the inning.

With the game tied at one, Avenger third baseman David Freese led off the second inning with a double.  Cespedes walked and, two outs later Reyes was awarded first when his bat clipped the glove of catcher Martin Maldonado.  The controversial catcher's interference call loaded the bases for Carlos Ruiz.  The Avenger leadoff hitter worked the count full, but hit an easy ground ball to the Green third baseman Scott Rolen to end the inning, leaving the score knotted at one.

Jonny Gomes's grand slam
put Metropolis up for good.

McCutchen came to bat with one out in the third inning and gave the Parkland fans a repeat performance of his at bat in the top of the first - a solo home run against McDonald.  McCutchen had personally put the Avengers up 2-1 and his second homer may have unsettled McDonald, as he gave up a walk, a double and another walk to the next three hitters, Alex Gordon, Freese and Cespedes.  That was all for McDonald, as Aaron Crow came in and struck out Jose Bautista for the second out of the inning.  Crow missed badly on a pitch in the next at bat, but Jonny Gomes didn't.  Gomes turned on a fastball in the middle of the plate and drove a homer out to left-center field, clearing the bases and putting Metropolis up 6-1.

The Avengers added two more runs in the top of the fourth.  Ruiz singled and Robinson Cano walked to lead off the inning and drive Crow to the showers.  Reliever Pedro Strop came in and McCutchen hit another ball hard, but this was right at Lowrie for the first out of the inning.  Strop then got sloppy and walked Gordon, Freese and Cespedes in a row, plating two runs and increasing the Green deficit to 8-1.

Aroldis Chapman closed out the win and the series,
sending Metropolis to the NLCS

Those three consecutive walks seemed to let the air out of the Parkland crowd and, to some extent, the Parkland players.  The Green did score single runs off Dickey in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings, but they never really threatened the Avengers' lead.  Metropolis pushed across insurance runs in the seventh and eighth innings and then trusted Kenley Jansen and Aroldis Chapman to close out the game and the series.  The relievers did just that, with Chapman inducing a Yasmani Grandal double play to end the game.

With the sweep, Metropolis advances to the National League Championship Series for a rematch of the 2012 National League Division Series between Fleetwood and Metropolis.  The Avengers won that series, but only after surviving an epic fifteen inning marathon in Game Seven, which ended 1-0 on a Jose Bautista home run.  The Green turn their attention to the postseason and whether they can afford to resign free agent Dustin Pedroia while staying competitive in the National League East.

BOXSCORE: 2013 Metropolis Avengers At 2013 Parkland Green          10/12/2013

  Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG     Green              AB  R  H RBI AVG

  C.Ruiz C            6  1  1  0 .211     D.Fowler CF         3  1  1  1 .304 

  R.Cano 2B           5  2  2  1 .235     J.Votto 1B          3  2  3  1 .424 

  A.McCutchen CF      5  2  3  2 .563     D.Pedroia 2B        4  0  0  0 .244 

  A.Gordon LF         3  1  0  0 .222     N.Swisher RF        3  0  0  0 .375 

  D.Freese 3B         4  2  3  2 .353     C.Crisp LF          4  1  2  1 .154 

  Y.Cespedes RF       2  1  1  1 .500     J.Lowrie DH         3  0  1  0 .227 

  J.Bautista 1B       5  0  0  0 .100     S.Rolen 3B          3  0  0  0 .150 

  J.Gomes DH          4  1  1  4 .182   A-W.Middlebrooks PH   1  0  0  0 .429 

  J.Reyes SS          4  0  0  0 .200     Y.Escobar SS        4  0  1  1 .136 

                                          M.Maldonado C       3  0  0  0 .227 

                                        B-Y.Grandal PH        1  0  0  0 .278 

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

         Totals      38 10 11 10                 Totals      32  4  8  4

A-Pinch Hit For Rolen In 9th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Maldonado In 9th Inning

Avengers........ 1 0 5  2 0 0  1 1 0  - 10 11  0

Green........... 1 0 0  1 1 0  1 0 0  -  4  8  2

Avengers (4-0)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

R.Dickey WIN(2-0)         6 2/3   7   4   4   4   6   2   4.63  A1 D2

K.Jansen                  1 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D3 D6

A.Chapman                 1       1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  D7

Totals                    9       8   4   4   4   7   2

Green (4-7)              IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

J.McDonald LOSS(0-2)      2 1/3   4   5   5   3   1   2   9.64  A1 B6

A.Crow                    0 2/3   2   3   3   1   1   1   6.14  B7 C2

P.Strop                   0 1/3   0   0   0   3   0   0   3.18  C3 C6

C.Durbin                  3       2   0   0   1   3   0   4.91  C7 D9

W.Wright                  0 2/3   2   1   1   0   2   1   9.00  E1 E4

G.Holland                 1       1   1   1   0   2   1   3.24  E5 E8

E.Frieri                  1       0   0   0   0   3   0   6.75  E9

Totals                    9      11  10  10   8  12   5

ATTENDANCE- 49,676 DATE- Saturday, October 12th 2013 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good

UMPIRES- Jeff Nelson, Mark Carlson, Tim Tschida, Jim Joyce

T- 3:28

LEFT ON BASE- Avengers:10  Green: 5

DOUBLE PLAYS- Avengers: 2  Green: 1

ERRORS- S.Rolen, M.Maldonado

DOUBLES- D.Freese-2(2nd), J.Votto-2(4th)

HOME RUNS- R.Cano(1st), A.McCutchen-2(3rd), D.Freese(2nd), J.Gomes(2nd),

           D.Fowler(1st), J.Votto(1st)

STOLEN BASES- C.Crisp(1st)

WALKS- R.Cano, A.Gordon-2, D.Freese, Y.Cespedes-3, J.Gomes, D.Fowler, J.Votto,

       N.Swisher, J.Lowrie

STRIKE OUTS- C.Ruiz-3, R.Cano-2, A.Gordon-2, Y.Cespedes, J.Bautista, J.Gomes-2,

             J.Reyes, D.Fowler, D.Pedroia, N.Swisher-2, C.Crisp, Y.Escobar,

             M.Maldonado

GIDP- J.Bautista, S.Rolen, Y.Grandal

CATCHERS INTERFERENCE- J.Reyes

WILD PITCHES- R.Dickey

2-out RBI- A.McCutchen, C.Crisp, J.Gomes-4, R.Cano, D.Fowler

RLISP 2-out- N.Swisher-2, J.Lowrie-3, J.Reyes, C.Ruiz-2, M.Maldonado,

             A.McCutchen, J.Gomes-2