2015 NLCS Game One - Fleetwood at Metropolis

The NL Central Champion Fleetwood Walkers traveled to Metropolis to face the NL West Champion Avengers in Game One of the National League Championship Series. The Avengers were looking for their fourth-straight trip to the Brassball World Series while Fleetwood hoped to break through for the first time.

Fleetwood shook up its rotation by giving Hisashi Iwakuma the start. Established ace Zack Greinke started Game One of the NLDS, but was pushed to the #2 spot against the Avengers. Metropolis stuck with its NLDS Game One starter - Carlos Carrasco.

Hisashi Iwakuma proved he deserved the Game One start.

It was a pitcher's duel from the start. Carrasco allowed a one-out single to Mike Trout in the top of the first and then retired the next 12 Walkers, six by strikeout. Iwakuma matched him zero-for-zero and the game was scoreless into the fifth.

The Walkers broke through in the top of the fifth, when Chase Utley laced a line drive into the gap and dove into third with a one-out triple. David Wright followed with a single to put the Walkers up 1-0. Fleetwood threatened to blow the game open after loading the bases with a Jean Segura single and a Desmond Jennings walk. That drove Carrasco from the game as Metropolis brought in Joaquin Benoit to face leadoff hitter Seth Smith. Smith hit a sharp line drive, but it was right to shortstop Jose Reyes, who quickly flipped it to Robinson Cano to double Segura off of second base. After having no offense at all for four innings, the Walkers were left disappointed to be up just 1-0.

Mike Trout slid home to put Fleetwood up 2-0.

Trout led off the sixth with another triple for the visitors. Slugger then Miguel Cabrera hit a high fly ball which was easily deep enough to score the speedy Trout and Fleetwood doubled its lead to 2-0. Metropolis went quietly in the bottom of the sixth and the two-run lead seemed like it would be more than enough for Fleetwood.

Jayson Werth's homer tied the game 2-2.

New Avenger designated hitter Steve Pearce walked off reliever Tom Wilhelmsen to lead off the seventh inning and bring the tying run to the plate. Jayson Werth came to plate and Wilhelmsen tried to get ahead with a first-pitch fastball. Werth was waiting for it and launched a homer deep into the left-field stands to tie the game at two. The Metropolis fans exploded as Werth pumped his fist and rounded the bases. Until that point, it seemed unlikely the Avengers would break through for even a single run, as their bats were completely ineffective against the Walkers' pitchers.

The Walkers tried to take the lead back in the top of the eighth inning. Marwin Gonzalez singled off Fernando Abad and Trout walked, putting two runners on with one out. Fleetwood sent out its best pinch hitter in the biggest spot in the game. Derek Norris worked the count to 2-2 and then hit a ground ball directly to Reyes for another rally-killing double play.

Metropolis leadoff hitter Andrew McCutchen singled to start the bottom of the eighth. With the heart of the order coming up, the Avengers appeared in good shape to take the lead. Wilhelmsen had other ideas, as he used a surprisingly good move to first and nailed McCutchen taking too big of a lead.

The game stayed tied at two and moved to extra innings. Segura led off the tenth and laced a single up the middle. This time it was Fleetwood's turn to see its leadoff runner erased. Segura took off for second, but Avenger catcher Chris Iannetta's throw was strong and accurate. Robinson Cano made an easy tag to retire Segura and stop any thought of a rally.

Werth game-tying homer and game-winning run
earned his Gatorade shower.

Werth led off the bottom of the tenth for Metropolis and hit a sharp single into right field. That was the end for Wilhelmsen, as Roman Mendez came in to face Iannetta. However, Metropolis sent Michael McKenry up as a pinch hitter. With everyone in the stadium was focused squarely on the new hitter and the new pitcher, no one was paying attention to Werth. He took advantage and slowly inched off first base before breaking for second, which he stole relatively easily. Two pitches later McKenry it a rocket into right-center field. Werth raced hard and scored easily, giving the Avengers a come-from-behind 3-2 win and a 1-0 lead in the NLCS.

The Fleetwood players looked shell-shocked as they walked off the field. They appeared to outplay the Avengers but couldn't get a big hit when they needed it. There's a long way to go in this series, but Fleetwood has to think they should be ahead 1-0 rather than behind. Fleetwood sends Greinke to the mound for Game Two, where he'll face Metropolis's Corey Kluber.

BOXSCORE: 2015 Fleetwood Walkers At 2015 Metropolis Avengers       10/21/2015

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

  S.Smith DH          3  0  0  0 .278     A.McCutchen CF      4  0  1  0 .476 

E-M.Betts PH,DH       2  0  0  0 .200     R.Cano 2B           4  0  0  0 .348 

  M.Trout CF          3  1  2  0 .217     J.Bautista 1B       3  0  0  0 .059 

  K.Kiermaier RF      3  0  0  0 .211     P.Sandoval 3B       2  0  0  0 .200 

F-D.Norris PH         1  0  0  0 .333   B-G.Petit PH,3B       2  0  0  0 .200 

G-D.Robertson RF      0  0  0  0 .000     M.Cabrera DH        2  0  1  0 .500 

  M.Cabrera 1B        3  0  0  1 .130   C-S.Pearce PH,DH      1  1  0  0 .188 

  F.Cervelli C        4  0  1  0 .083     B.Harper LF         4  0  1  0 .333 

  C.Utley 2B          4  1  1  0 .263     J.Werth RF          4  2  3  2 .500 

  D.Wright 3B         4  0  2  1 .190     M.Wieters C         1  0  0  0 .000 

  J.Segura SS         4  0  2  0 .444   A-C.Iannetta PH,C     2  0  0  0 .067 

  D.Jennings LF       1  0  0  0 .100   I-M.McKenry PH        1  0  1  11.000 

D-M.Gonzalez PH       1  0  1  0 .308     J.Reyes SS          3  0  0  0 .294 

H-R.Grossman LF       1  0  0  0 .143                                          

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

         Totals      34  2  9  2                 Totals      33  3  7  3

A-Pinch Hit For Wieters In 5th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Sandoval In 6th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Cabrera In 7th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Jennings In 8th Inning

E-Pinch Hit For Smith In 8th Inning

F-Pinch Hit For Kiermaier In 8th Inning

G-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Norris In 8th Inning

H-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Gonzalez In 8th Inning

I-Pinch Hit For Iannetta In 10th Inning

Walkers......... 0 0 0  0 1 1  0 0 0  0 -  2  9  0

Avengers........ 0 0 0  0 0 0  2 0 0  1 -  3  7  0

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

H.Iwakuma                 4 1/3   3   0   0   0   2   0   4.35  A1 B7

D.Pomeranz                1 1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   4.15  B8 C3

T.Wilhelmsen L(1-1)B(2nd) 3 1/3   3   3   3   1   4   1   5.40  C4 D7

R.Mendez                  0       1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  D8

Totals                    9       7   3   3   2   6   1

Avengers (5-0)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Carrasco                4 1/3   4   1   1   1   7   0   2.31  A1 B9

J.Benoit                  2       1   1   1   0   3   0   2.70  C1 C6

Z.Putnam                  0 2/3   1   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  C7 C8

F.Abad WIN(1-0)           3       3   0   0   1   2   0   0.00  C9

Totals                   10       9   2   2   2  12   0

ATTENDANCE- 48,191 DATE- Wednesday, October 21st 2015 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average

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

T- 3:07

LEFT ON BASE- Walkers: 5  Avengers: 4

DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 0  Avengers: 2

DOUBLES- F.Cervelli(1st), M.McKenry(1st)

TRIPLES- M.Trout(1st), C.Utley(1st)

HOME RUNS- J.Werth(2nd)

RBIs- M.Cabrera(2nd), D.Wright(4th), J.Werth-2(8th), M.McKenry(1st)

STOLEN BASES- J.Werth(1st)

CAUGHT STEALING- D.Wright, J.Segura

SACRIFICE FLIES- M.Cabrera

WALKS- M.Trout, D.Jennings, J.Bautista, S.Pearce

STRIKE OUTS- S.Smith, M.Trout, K.Kiermaier-3, M.Cabrera-2, F.Cervelli-2,

             C.Utley, D.Wright-2, J.Bautista-2, P.Sandoval, G.Petit, S.Pearce,

             C.Iannetta

GIDP- D.Norris

RLISP 2-out- M.Wieters, D.Wright

TEAM RISP- Walkers: 1 for 6  Avengers: 1 for 2

2015 NLCS Preview - Fleetwood vs. Metropolis

The Fleetwood Walkers and Metropolis Avengers meet again in the National League Playoffs. They met in 2012 and 2013, when both series went the full distance. It wouldn’t surprise anyone to see this series go seven games, as both teams are deep, talented, and experienced.  Before the fireworks begin, let’s take a look at how each team got to this point.

              

• Metropolis has the home-field advantage because it had 106 wins on the season to Fleetwood’s 104. 
• However, it’s likely Fleetwood would have passed Metropolis if the season had gone on for another week. The Walkers were a white-hot 20-2 in September while Metropolis was a merely excellent 15-7 in the season's last month.
• Fleetwood had 52 wins at home and on the road. Metropolis won 55 at home and 51 on the road.
• Despite being two of the best teams in Brassball, both clubs may have actually been unlucky. Metropolis's Pythagorean Expectation predicted a 112-50 record. Fleetwood's predicted an identical 112-50 record.
• Walker catcher Francisco Cervelli might be a secret weapon. He hit .292/.412/.431 on the season and had a better Runs Created/27 outs than Miguel Cabrera. Fellow catcher Derek Norris was even better, going .336/.416/.513 with 8.31 RC/27.
• Metropolis's pinch hit weapon could be Gregorio Petit, who tallied .377/.385/.631 and 9.03 RC/27.
• Each team has been anchored by dual MVP-quality hitters over the last several years. Mike Trout and Miguel Cabrera area the studs in Fleetwood, while Andrew McCutchen and Robinson Cano have led the way in Metropolis.
• The Walkers could be a bit black-and-blue after a long season. They were hit by 83 pitches during the season. The Avengers were plunked just 56 times.
• Metropolis has long been known for its dominating bullpen, headlined by Craig Kimbrel and Aroldis Chapman. The team compiled a 2.80 bullpen ERA on the season. However, the Fleetwood bullpen had an even better regular season ERA of 2.72.
• Fleetwood made two trade-deadline acquisitions: DH Seth Smith and RHP John Lackey. Lackey was a perfect 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA in his seven starts for Fleetwood. However, he is battling some arm soreness and is unlikely to even make the NLCS roster. Smith hit just .267 as a Walker, but his patience and power combined for a solid .783 OPS.
• Metropolis also added a starter and designated hitter, as they traded for Anibal Sanchez and Steve Pearce. Sanchez was an even 3-3, but with a 1.65 ERA for the Avengers. Pearce hit .249 with eight homers and a .765 OPS after the trade.
• Metropolis won the regular season series against Fleetwood four games to three. The games were close and Metropolis scored 23 runs in the series, while Fleetwood scored 21.
• The Avengers had a spectacular +284 run differential on the season, but Fleetwood’s +299 was even better. Those are the #1 and #2 run differentials in the game. 
• Trout and McCutchen were #1 and #2 in runs scored this year. Trout touched home 123 times and McCutchen did so 117 times. 
• Trout was also #2 in strikeouts, with 204 on the season.
• Avenger righty Stephen Strasburg tied with teammate Corey Kluber to lead Brassball with 37 games started. Despite his 17-13 record in those starts, Strasburg finds himself left off the postseason roster.
• Both teams were at their best with the bases loaded. Fleetwood hit .398/.455/.564 in 133 at bats. Metropolis hit .331/.384/.567 in 127 at bats with three runners on.
• Metropolis stole just 28 bases on the season. Fleetwood stole 60. Metropolis had a slightly better success rate – 76% to 71%.
• Metropolis’s pitchers bring more gas. They struck out 1480 batters on the season. Fleetwood struck out 1171. The Avengers walked fewer batters, as well – 370 to the Walkers’ 420.
• Fleetwood was better against left-handed starters, going 35-16 for a .686 winning percentage. They had a .622 winning percentage vs. righties. 
• The Avengers had a similar split - .675 vs. lefties and .648 vs. righties. Unless something surprising happens, it’s unlikely either team will face a lefty this series.
• The biggest mismatch might be in Game 4 starters. Fleetwood's Phil Hughes had a good record (15-6) but a mediocre 3.77 ERA on the year. Metropolis will send Sanchez and his 1.65 ERA as an Avenger to the mound for that game.
• However, Fleetwood has a big advantage at shortstop defense, where starter Marwin Gonzalez made just three errors in 82 starts. Avenger Jose Reyes made 25 while playing nearly every inning.

Good luck to both teams in what should be a close and exciting series!

2015 NLDS Recap - North Georgia vs. Metropolis

There's no way around it - Metropolis dominated North Georgia during its NLDS sweep. The stats show the Avengers were better in just about every aspect of the game, which can happen to even the best of teams in a short series. Here are some of the more interesting stats:

• Metropolis outscored North Georgia 23-6 in their four games. They out-homered the Yellow Jackets 6-3.
• Andrew McCutchen was the clear star of the series. He was 9-17 with a walk, four homers, and seven RBIs. He was even hit by two pitches to pad his on base percentage. That all totaled to a .529/.579/1.294 line and a ridiculous 1.873 OPS.
• Robinson Cano follows McCutchen in the lineup and on the field. He hit .429/.461/.632 in the series, for a 1.053 OPS.
• North Georgia’s best hitter was former Avenger prospect Lucas Duda, who hit .286/.375/.786 with two homers during the series. 
• Metropolis has become known for its strong bullpens and this series was no different. Avenger relievers combined for 8 2/3 innings and allowed just three hits and a walk, while striking out seven hitters. They did allow a single run (on a solo homer), which led to their 1.04 bullpen ERA. 
• North Georgia could have helped itself with some clutch hitting. They were a perfect 0-10 in clutch moments with zero RBIs and two strikeouts.
• The Avengers, on the other hand, were hot in the clutch. They had 16 clutch at bats and hit .500/.579/.750 for 18 RBIs and a 1.329 OPS.
• North Georgia did have the advantage in two areas. They didn’t make an error all series. Metropolis made two. The Yellow Jackets were also 1-0 in stolen base attempts, while the Avengers were 0-1.
• McCutchen and Cano combined for 34 total bases. The Yellow Jackets as a team combined for 35.
• Metropolis’s .507 slugging percentage was nearly as good as North Georgia’s .510 team OPS.
• Metropolis paid a hefty price in an off-season trade for lefty reliever Fernando Abad, who didn't even make an appearance in the series. 
• Yellow Jacket relievers put together a respectable 3.93 ERA in their 18.1 innings, but their starters compiled an 8.62 ERA while averaging fewer than four innings per start.
• North Georgia could easily have won Game Two. They lost 3-2 but out hit Metropolis 6-4 and hit two homers. The Avengers were lucky enough to string their base runners together, while the Yellow Jackets did the opposite. A North Georgia win in Game Two would have evened the series 1-1 and may have changed the entire look of the series. Unfortunately for the NG fans, it wasn't to be.

2015 NLDS Game Four - Metropolis at North Georgia

Andrew McCutchen hit another lead-off homer.

The North Georgia Yellow Jackets found themselves deep in a 3-0 hole in their NLDS matchup against the Metropolis Avengers. The hometown Yellow Jackets sent one-time Avenger Dan Haren to the mound for Game Four, hoping to extend the series. The visitors countered with Anibal Sanchez, a mid-season acquisition from the Brew City Warriors.

The Avenger hitters picked up right where they left off. The white-hot Andrew McCutchen launched a lead-off homer, just as he did the night before in Game Three. Robinson Cano has been nearly as good as McCutchen and followed with a double down the right field line. Pablo Sandoval drove home Cano with a single and then scored on a Bryce Harper ground out. 

Jayson Werth's homer
padded the Avenger lead.

The quick start gave Metropolis a 3-0 lead in the game and seemed to take any fight out of the Yellow Jackets. Sanchez did his best to keep the North Georgia fans from getting back in the game. He wasn't dominant, but got key outs when he needed them and a well-timed double play to keep North Georgia scoreless through six innings.

The Yellow Jackets did break through for a run in the top of the seventh. Torii Hunter led off the seventh with a triple and scored on an Even Gattis sacrifice fly.

Metropolis scored insurance runs in the seventh, on a Sandoval double, and eighth, on a Jayson Werth homer. Craig Kimbrel took the ball from Sanchez in the bottom of the eighth inning and closed out the 5-1 win, sending Metropolis to the National League Championship Series for the fourth consecutive season. 

Craig Kimbrel closed out another
Metropolis playoff series.

North Georgia had its best season in memory, but was simply no match for the deeper and more experienced Metropolis team. The Yellow Jackets appear to have a bright future, as rookies Jose Abreu and Masahiro Tanaka could form the core of a solid contender for years to come. Metropolis doesn't need to dream on the future, as they instead turn their attention to an NLCS matchup with either the Fleetwood Walkers or Portsmouth Brewers.

BOXSCORE: 2015 Metropolis Avengers At 2015 North Georgia Yellow Jackets 10/12/2015

  Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG     Yellow Jackets     AB  R  H RBI AVG

  A.McCutchen CF      4  2  3  1 .529     E.Aybar SS          4  0  0  0 .244 

  R.Cano 2B           5  1  2  0 .421     L.Martin LF         4  0  1  0 .206 

  J.Bautista 1B       4  0  0  0 .071     J.Abreu DH          4  0  1  0 .333 

  P.Sandoval 3B       4  1  2  2 .231     A.Jones CF          3  0  0  0 .206 

  S.Pearce DH         4  0  1  0 .200     T.Hunter RF         4  1  1  0 .250 

  B.Harper LF         4  0  1  1 .357     L.Duda 1B           4  0  0  0 .212 

  J.Werth RF          3  1  1  1 .417     E.Gattis C          2  0  2  1 .241 

  J.Reyes SS          4  0  0  0 .357   B-W.Bloomquist 3B     0  0  0  0 .400 

  C.Iannetta C        3  0  0  0 .077     C.Davis 3B          0  0  0  0 .200 

                                        A-C.Ruiz PH,C         1  0  0  0 .000 

                                          B.Zobrist 2B        3  0  0  0 .231 

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

         Totals      35  5 10  5                 Totals      29  1  5  1

A-Pinch Hit For Davis In 7th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Gattis In 8th Inning

Avengers........ 3 0 0  0 0 0  1 1 0  -  5 10  0

Yellow Jackets.. 0 0 0  0 0 0  1 0 0  -  1  5  0

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

A.Sanchez WIN(1-0)        7       4   1   1   2   5   0   1.29  A1 C8

C.Kimbrel                 2       1   0   0   1   2   0   0.00  C9

Totals                    9       5   1   1   3   7   0

Yellow Jackets (4-5)     IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

D.Haren LOSS(1-1)         3 2/3   5   3   3   3   2   1   3.72  A1 B9

D.Smyly                   0 1/3   0   0   0   1   0   0   3.38  C1 C2

J.Hoover                  1       0   0   0   0   3   0   0.00  C3 C5

C.Torres                  2       3   1   1   0   2   0   1.64  C6 D4

J.Hughes                  2       2   1   1   0   1   1   3.60  D5

Totals                    9      10   5   5   4   8   2

ATTENDANCE- 46,408 DATE- Monday, October 12th 2015 TIME- Day WEATHER- Good

UMPIRES- Gerry Davis, Brian Gorman, Bruce Dreckman, Sam Holbrook

T- 2:38

LEFT ON BASE- Avengers: 7  Yellow Jackets: 5

DOUBLE PLAYS- Avengers: 2  Yellow Jackets: 1

DOUBLES- R.Cano(1st), P.Sandoval(1st), S.Pearce(2nd), J.Abreu(3rd)

TRIPLES- T.Hunter(1st)

HOME RUNS- A.McCutchen(4th), J.Werth(1st)

RBIs- A.McCutchen(4th), P.Sandoval-2(2nd), B.Harper(3rd), J.Werth(6th),

      E.Gattis(3rd)

SACRIFICE FLIES- E.Gattis

WALKS- A.McCutchen, J.Bautista, J.Werth, C.Iannetta, A.Jones, C.Davis-2

STRIKE OUTS- R.Cano, J.Bautista-2, P.Sandoval, S.Pearce-2, C.Iannetta-2,

             E.Aybar-2, J.Abreu, T.Hunter, L.Duda, C.Ruiz, B.Zobrist

GIDP- P.Sandoval, T.Hunter, B.Zobrist

WILD PITCHES- D.Smyly

2-out RBI- P.Sandoval, J.Werth

RLISP 2-out- J.Reyes, B.Zobrist, R.Cano-2, E.Aybar, L.Duda

TEAM RISP- Avengers: 2 for 7  Yellow Jackets: 0 for 6

WEB GEMS- Bot 1st: Jayson Werth robbed Jose Abreu of an extra base hit.

          Top 4th: Dan Haren robbed Jose Reyes of a base hit.

2015 NLDS Game Three - Metropolis at North Georgia

Rookie Masahiro Tanaka
made the start for North Georgia.

The North Georgia Yellow Jackets find themselves in a 2-0 hole in their NLDS matchup with the Metropolis Avengers. However, the Yellow Jackets are hoping the hometown fans and their rookie righty Masahiro Tanaka (8-6, 3.78 ERA) can combine to give them the advantage in Game Three. Metropolis sends their own young righty to the mound, Collin McHugh (13-5, 2.69).

Metropolis CF Andrew McCutchen didn’t let Tanaka get too comfortable, as he launched the game’s fourth pitch over the left field wall for a leadoff homer and a quick 1-0 Avenger lead. Robinson Cano followed with a single, but Tanaka settled down and kept the deficit to one.

North Georgia’s leadoff hitter Erick Aybar didn’t hit a homer, but he did single to start a rally. Leonys Martin moved him to third with a single of his own and the Yellow Jackets were in business. Slugger Jose Abreu hit a rocket to center field, but McCutchen tracked it down for the first out as Aybar trotted home with the tying run. McHugh struck out Adam Jones and Torii Hunter to finish the inning, with the game tied 1-1.

Jayson Werth had two doubles and four RBIs.

The game stayed tied into the fourth, when Cano singled to start the inning. After two strikeouts, Steve Pearce walked and brought Bryce Harper to the plate, who singled home Cano to break the tie. Jayson Werth then lined a double into the gap, scoring Pearce and Harper for a 4-1 Metropolis lead.

Metropolis used the same formula in the fifth and sixth innings, scoring runs on a McCutchen solo homer and Werth double, which gave the visitors a 6-1 lead. McHugh had settled down after his shaky first inning. He refused to let North Georgia start a rally and allowed single baserunners in the third, fourth and sixth innings.

Avenger flamethrower Aroldis Chapman took the ball for the bottom of the eighth with the top of the order coming up. He struck out Aybar and Martin with nothing but fastballs and then gave the ball to Zach Putnam who retired Abreu on a sharp ground ball to end the inning.

Robinson Cano collected a homer and four hits on the night.

Metropolis padded their lead in the top of the ninth when McCutchen singled and Cano launched a high fly ball to right which carried over the wall for a two-run homer. Those two stars have been the offensive stars for Metropolis teams from their arrival in 2012 and this game proved they haven’t lost a step. McCutchen and Cano combined to go 7-10 with three homers and four RBIs.

Putnam stayed on for the bottom of the ninth and finished off the Yellow Jackets, putting them in a deep, 3-0 hole. North Georgia will send Dan Haren (11-5, 3.42 ERA) to the mound, hoping to extend the series one more game. Metropolis counters with mid-season acquisition Anibal Sanchez, who was just 3-3, but had a 1.65 ERA in his seven starts for the Avengers.

BOXSCORE: 2015 Metropolis Avengers At 2015 North Georgia Yellow Jackets 10/11/2015

  Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG     Yellow Jackets     AB  R  H RBI AVG

  A.McCutchen CF      5  3  3  2 .462     E.Aybar SS          4  1  2  0 .270 

  R.Cano 2B           5  2  4  2 .429     L.Martin LF         4  0  1  0 .200 

  J.Bautista 1B       4  0  0  0 .100     J.Abreu DH          3  0  1  1 .344 

  P.Sandoval 3B       5  1  1  0 .111     A.Jones CF          3  0  0  0 .226 

  S.Pearce DH         4  1  0  0 .182   C-J.Schafer PH        1  0  0  0 .000 

  B.Harper LF         4  1  2  1 .400     T.Hunter RF         4  0  0  0 .250 

  J.Werth RF          4  0  2  3 .444     L.Duda 1B           2  0  0  0 .241 

  J.Reyes SS          3  0  2  0 .500     E.Gattis C          4  0  1  0 .185 

  C.Iannetta C        4  0  0  0 .100     C.Davis 3B          2  0  0  0 .200 

                                          B.Zobrist 2B        2  0  0  0 .261 

                                        A-C.Coghlan PH        1  0  0  0 .200 

                                        B-W.Bloomquist 2B     0  0  0  0 .400 

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

         Totals      38  8 14  8                 Totals      30  1  5  1

A-Pinch Hit For Zobrist In 7th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Coghlan In 8th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Jones In 9th Inning

Avengers........ 1 0 0  3 1 1  0 0 2  -  8 14  0

Yellow Jackets.. 1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  1  5  0

Avengers (3-0)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.McHugh WIN(1-0)         7       5   1   1   2   7   0   1.29  A1 C9

A.Chapman                 0 2/3   0   0   0   0   2   0   0.00  D1 D2

Z.Putnam                  1 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  D3

Totals                    9       5   1   1   2   9   0

Yellow Jackets (4-4)     IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

M.Tanaka LOSS(1-1)        5 2/3   8   6   6   1   4   2   5.11  A1 C6

S.Carroll                 2 1/3   4   0   0   1   2   0   2.81  C7 D8

C.Young                   1       2   2   2   1   1   1   9.00  D9

Totals                    9      14   8   8   3   7   3

ATTENDANCE- 46,191 DATE- Sunday, October 11th 2015 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad

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

T- 3:00

LEFT ON BASE- Avengers: 6  Yellow Jackets: 6

DOUBLE PLAYS- Avengers: 1  Yellow Jackets: 2

DOUBLES- J.Werth-2(2nd), J.Reyes(2nd)

HOME RUNS- A.McCutchen-2(3rd), R.Cano(1st)

RBIs- A.McCutchen-2(3rd), R.Cano-2(2nd), B.Harper(2nd), J.Werth-3(5th),

      J.Abreu(6th)

STOLEN BASES- L.Martin(2nd)

SACRIFICE FLIES- J.Abreu

WALKS- J.Bautista, S.Pearce, J.Reyes, L.Duda, C.Davis

HIT BY PITCH- L.Duda

STRIKE OUTS- A.McCutchen, J.Bautista-2, P.Sandoval-2, S.Pearce, B.Harper,

             E.Aybar, L.Martin-3, A.Jones-2, T.Hunter, E.Gattis, C.Davis

GIDP- A.McCutchen, J.Bautista, A.Jones

2-out RBI- B.Harper, J.Werth-3

RLISP 2-out- T.Hunter, J.Reyes, C.Iannetta, C.Coghlan

TEAM RISP- Avengers: 3 for 6  Yellow Jackets: 0 for 2

2015 NLDS Game Two - North Georgia at Metropolis

North Georgia didn’t put up much of a fight in Game One of its NLDS matchup with Metropolis, but hoped to even the series in Game Two. They sent AJ Burnett (13-9, 5.03 ERA in 29 starts) to the mound. Metropolis countered with righty Corey Kluber and his 21-7 regular season record in 37 starts with a 2.56 ERA.

Jose Abreu's homer put North Georiga on the board.

Yellow Jacket slugger Jose Abreu gave the visitors a quick 1-0 lead with a two-out homer in the top of the first. Abreu continued his brilliant rookie season, during which he hit .299 with 37 homers and 96 RBIs. North Georgia tried to add to their lead the next inning, when they put two runners on with one out. Kluber induced weak grounders from Chris Davis and Ben Zobrist to end the inning and keep the game 1-0 North Georgia.

Metropolis veteran Jose Reyes tied the game in the bottom of the second when he hit a two-out single to score Bryce Harper ahead of Adam Jones’s throw from shallow center field. It was aggressive base running by the Avengers and Harper’s sprint home and dive into the plate brought the home-town crowd to its feet.

Andrew McCutchen's homer broke the tie.

Avenger leadoff hitter and MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen broke the tie when he took a Burnett fastball to deep left-center for a solo homer in the fourth inning.

Burnett found his groove after that shot, setting down ten Avengers in a row before walking Jose Bautista with two outs in the sixth. The Yellow Jackets brought in reliever Carlos Torres, who retired Pablo Sandoval to end the inning. Kluber had matched Burnett during the middle innings and the game stayed 2-1 Metropolis heading to the top of the seventh.

Lucas Duda led off the seventh with a double, chasing Kluber to the showers. Joaquin Benoit came on and retired Evan Gattis and pinch hitters Carlos Ruiz and Torii Hunter to end the inning.

Metropolis extended its lead in the bottom of the seventh when Reyes came through with another clutch two-out single. This time it was the lumbering Steve Pearce who got a good jump and beat a weak throw from Chris Coghlan to push the Avengers' lead to 3-1.

Duda hit his second homer of the series with two outs in the ninth, but it was too little, too late, as Benoit closed out the game. Metropolis won Game Two 3-2 and took a 2-0 lead in the series. It was a pitchers’ game all the way, with the teams combining for just 10 hits between them. Metropolis just did a better job of bunching theirs together, while North Georgia’s only runs came on their solo homers in the first and last innings.

The series moves to North Georgia for Games Three, Four, and (if necessary) Five. The Yellow Jackets will send rookie import Masahiro Tanaka to the hill and the Avengers have Collin McHugh scheduled to take the ball.

BOXSCORE: 2015 North Georgia Yellow Jackets At 2015 Metropolis Aven 10/9/2015

  Yellow Jackets     AB  R  H RBI AVG     Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  E.Aybar SS          4  0  0  0 .242     A.McCutchen CF      4  1  1  1 .375 

  L.Martin RF         4  0  1  0 .192     R.Cano 2B           4  0  1  0 .222 

  J.Abreu DH          4  1  1  1 .345     J.Bautista 1B       2  0  0  0 .167 

  A.Jones CF          4  0  0  0 .250     P.Sandoval 3B       3  0  0  0 .000 

  C.Coghlan LF        4  0  1  0 .250     S.Pearce DH         3  1  1  0 .286 

  L.Duda 1B           4  1  3  1 .259     B.Harper LF         2  1  0  0 .333 

  E.Gattis C          2  0  0  0 .174     J.Werth RF          2  0  0  0 .400 

C-W.Bloomquist 2B     1  0  0  0 .400     J.Reyes SS          3  0  1  2 .429 

  C.Davis 3B          2  0  0  0 .222     C.Iannetta C        3  0  0  0 .167 

A-C.Ruiz PH,C         1  0  0  0 .000                                         

  B.Zobrist 2B        2  0  0  0 .286                                          

B-T.Hunter PH         1  0  0  0 .292                                         

D-J.Arias 3B          0  0  0  0 .000                                         

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

         Totals      33  2  6  2                 Totals      26  3  4  3

A-Pinch Hit For Davis In 7th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Zobrist In 7th Inning

C-Subbed Defensively (2B) For Gattis In 7th Inning

D-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Hunter In 7th Inning

Yellow Jackets.. 1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 1  -  2  6  0

Avengers........ 0 1 1  0 0 0  1 0    -  3  4  1

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

A.Burnett LOSS(1-1)       5 2/3   2   2   2   3   9   1   4.09  A1 C3

C.Torres                  1 1/3   1   1   1   1   1   0   1.00  C4 C9

D.Smyly                   1       1   0   0   0   1   0   3.86  D1

Totals                    8       4   3   3   4  11   1

Avengers (2-0)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Kluber WIN(1-0)         6       5   1   1   0   8   1   1.50  A1 C6

J.Benoit SAVE(1st)        3       1   1   1   0   1   1   1.93  C7

Totals                    9       6   2   2   0   9   2

ATTENDANCE- 45,408 DATE- Friday, October 9th 2015 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average

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

T- 2:40

LEFT ON BASE- Yellow Jackets: 5  Avengers: 3

DOUBLE PLAYS- Yellow Jackets: 1  Avengers: 1

ERRORS- P.Sandoval

DOUBLES- L.Duda(1st), S.Pearce(1st)

HOME RUNS- J.Abreu(3rd), L.Duda(4th), A.McCutchen(1st)

RBIs- J.Abreu(5th), L.Duda(8th), A.McCutchen(1st), J.Reyes-2(4th)

CAUGHT STEALING- J.Reyes

WALKS- J.Bautista-2, B.Harper, J.Werth

HIT BY PITCH- E.Gattis

STRIKE OUTS- E.Aybar, J.Abreu, A.Jones-2, C.Coghlan-3, E.Gattis, C.Davis,

             A.McCutchen-2, R.Cano-3, S.Pearce-2, J.Reyes, C.Iannetta-3

GIDP- J.Abreu, J.Bautista

2-out RBI- J.Abreu, J.Reyes, L.Duda

RLISP 2-out- B.Zobrist-2, T.Hunter, C.Iannetta

TEAM RISP- Yellow Jackets: 0 for 5  Avengers: 1 for 4

2015 NLDS Preview - North Georgia vs. Metropolis

The North Georgia Yellow Jackets and Metropolis Avengers will match up in one of the two National League Division Series. North Georgia earned their spot by defeating the Portland Blue Sox four games to one in the National League Wild Card round. They'll make the trip to the Hall of Justice for Games One and Two before the series moves to North Georgia for the middle games. To preview the series, here is glance at some of the Avengers' and Yellow Jackets' regular season stats.

• North Georgia went 86-76 and won the second NL Wild Card spot.
• Metropolis went 106-56 and won the NL West by 13 games over Portsmouth.
• Metropolis is attempting to win its third World Series in four years and fourth overall, having won in 2006, 2012, and 2014. North Georgia is making its first playoff appearance since 1999.
• North Georgia was 4-8 in extra-inning games and 27-20 in one-run games.
• Metropolis was 12-4 in extra-inning games and 31-24 in one-run games. The Avengers’ 55 one-run games was the second most in all of Brassball (California went 22-34 in its 56 one-run games on the way to a 60-102 record).
• North Georgia scored 718 runs and allowed 658, for a +60 run differential.
• Metropolis scored 794 and allowed 510 runs, for a +284 differential (second to Fleetwood’s +299).
• North Georgia has one of the best closers in the game. Jared Hughes collected 46 saves with a 0.99 ERA. Metropolis, on the other hand, goes with a bullpen by committee. Eleven different Avengers recorded a save, led by Craig Kimbrel's 19.
• The Avengers won five of the seven games against North Georgia games in the regular season, outscoring the Yellow Jackets 36-18.
• North Georgia stole 112 bases and was thrown out 28 times.  Metropolis was much more conservative, stealing just 28 bases in 37 chances.
• The Avengers made 87 errors and allowed 37 unearned runs. The Yellow Jackets 99 errors and surrendered 67 unearned runs.
• Both teams hit more homers on the road than at home. North Georgia hit 82 road bombs and 69 at home. Metropolis had 86 on the road and just 60 at home.
• Metropolis had the league’s second-highest OPS at .762. North Georgia’s .715 OPS was 11^th.
• North Georgia’s catchers allowed just three passed balls all season.
• Both teams are vulnerable to the stolen base. Metropolis allowed 114 steals at a 74.5% rate while North Georgia allowed 119 with an 82.6% success rate.
• Only three Yellow Jackets collected double digit wins - Jose Quintana (14), AJ Burnett (13), and Dan Haren (11). 
• Metropolis had five pitchers in double digits - Corey Kluber (21), Stephen Strasburg (17), Carlos Carrasco (15), Collin McHugh (13), and Yusmeiro Petit (10).
• The Avengers trust their hitters to hit and pitchers to pitch. They didn’t bunt once all year and attempted just one hit-and-run. Their pitchers issued only a single intentional walk (by September call-up Cam Bedrosian). North Georgia was in the middle of the pack with 48 sacrifice attempts, 49 hit-and-runs and 18 intentional walks.
• North Georgia starters completed 20 games on the season, led by Quintana's 7 and Masahiro Tanaka's 6. Metropolis only completed nine, with Kluber and Strasburg each doing so three times.
• Metropolis pitchers allowed a .604 OPS with 7.1 hits, 2.3 walks, 9.1 strikeouts, and .7 home runs per nine innings.
• North Georgia pitchers surrendered a .712 OPS, 8.7 hits, 2.8 walks, 7.3 strikeouts, and .9 homers per nine innings.
• Yellow Jacket rookie Jose Abreu had the league’s only game with five walks (vs Leesburg) and one of two games with three homers (vs Brew City).
• North Georgia out homered Metropolis 151 to 146. They were led by Abreu's 37 and Adam Jones's 31. Jose Bautista paced the Avengers with 27. 
• However, Metropolis pitchers allowed just 120 home runs while North Georgia allowed 150.
• The top of the order could be the difference in the series. Metropolis's 1-2 hitters had OPS of .836 and .839 on the season. North Georgia's table setters were just .650 and .638.
• Avenger hitters were at their best with the bases loaded. They hit six homers and had a .951 OPS in 127 at bats. North Georgia hit three grand slams and had a .768 OPS in their 108 at bats with the bases loaded.
• Metropolis added two players at the trade deadline - 1B/DH Steve Pearce and starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez. Pearce hit .249/.329/.437 with eight homers and 32 RBIs in 222 plate appearances. Sanchez was just 3-3 in his seven starts, but had a 1.65 ERA and allowed just 30 hits and 12 walks in 49 innings.

2015 NLDS Game One - North Georgia at Metropolis

The National League Division Series kicked off on the evening of October 8 with the North Georgia Yellow Jackets taking on the Metropolis Avengers in the Hall of Justice. The Avengers were well-rested, having watched North Georgia defeat Portland in the NL Wild Card round.

The defending Brassball champion Avengers sent new ace Carlos Carrasco to the mound in Game One. Carrasco came to Metroplolis in an off-season trade and went 15-4 with a sparkling 1.86 ERA on the season. The Yellow Jackets countered with lefty Jose Quintana, who was 14-10, 3.50 on the season.

Jose Reyes's double gave Metropolis a 4-0 lead.

The hometown Avengers jumped on Quintana in the bottom of the first. Singles by Andrew McCutchen and Jose Bautista put runners on the corners with one out. Surprise cleanup hitter Gregorio Petit drove home McCutchen with another single, putting the Avengers up 1-0. Quintana struck out Steve Pearce and hoped to get out of the inning,but then surrendered singles to Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth and was down 3-0. Quintana gave up a line drive double to Jose Reyes while Scott Carroll warmed in the pen and the visitors found themselves behind 4-0 before many of the fans had even found their seats.

North Georgia tried to rally in the top of the third, as Willie Bloomquist and Ben Zobrist singled with one out. Carrasco shut them down by striking out Erick Aybar and Leonys Martin to keep the score 4-0 Avengers.

Carroll was still on the mound in the bottom of the third, but he was clearly tiring. After getting the first out, Carroll allowed five consecutive singles to Pearce, Harper, Werth, Reyes and Chris Iannetta. That pushed the Avenger lead to 7-0, but Carroll got a groundball double play from McCutchen to avoid even more damage.

Lucas Duda's homer put North Georgia on the board.

In the fourth inning, former Avenger 1B Lucas Duda put the Yellow Jackets on the board when he squared up a Carrasco change up for a two-run homer. Carrasco had hit Adam Jones earlier in the inning and the Metropolis bullpen got active, just in case the two mistakes were early warnings of an impending meltdown.

Joaquin Benoit pitched 1 2/3 IP to close out Game One.

Carrasco did allow his share of baserunners, but managed to strand them when necessary. The visitors left two runners on in the third and fifth innings and another in the seventh. Despite that, Metropolis stuck with its starter into the eighth inning. Carrasco walked Martin to start the top of the eighth and allowed a one-out single to Jones. With a 7-2 lead, Carrasco gave the ball to reliever Joaquin Benoit, who retired Torii Hunter on an easy fly ball and struck out Duda to end the threat. Benoit stayed on for the ninth and closed out the Avengers’ Game One win.

The early Avengers runs seemed to stun the Yellow Jackets, who didn’t put up much of a fight the rest of theway. They also used five relief pitchers after Quintana’s early exit, which adds pressure to Game Two starter AJ Burnett. Metropolis sends its 21-game winner Corey Kluber to the mound tomorrow night, hoping to sweep the first two games at home before going to North Georgia for the middle part of the series.

BOXSCORE: 2015 North Georgia Yellow Jackets At 2015 Metropolis Aven 10/8/2015

  Yellow Jackets     AB  R  H RBI AVG     Avengers           AB  R  H RBI AVG

  E.Aybar SS          5  0  0  0 .276     A.McCutchen CF      4  1  2  0 .500 

  L.Martin LF         3  0  1  0 .182     R.Cano 2B           5  0  1  0 .200 

  J.Abreu DH          4  0  0  0 .360     J.Bautista 1B       4  1  1  0 .250 

  A.Jones CF          3  1  1  0 .292     G.Petit 3B          3  1  1  1 .333 

  T.Hunter RF         4  0  0  0 .304   A-P.Sandoval PH,3B    1  0  0  0 .000 

  L.Duda 1B           4  1  1  2 .174     S.Pearce DH         4  1  1  0 .250 

  E.Gattis C          4  0  0  0 .190     B.Harper LF         4  2  2  1 .500 

  W.Bloomquist 3B     4  0  2  0 .500     J.Werth RF          3  1  2  2 .667 

  B.Zobrist 2B        3  0  1  0 .316     J.Reyes SS          4  0  2  2 .500 

                                          C.Iannetta C        3  0  1  1 .333 

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

         Totals      34  2  6  2                 Totals      35  7 13  7

A-Pinch Hit For Petit In 7th Inning

Yellow Jackets.. 0 0 0  2 0 0  0 0 0  -  2  6  0

Avengers........ 4 0 3  0 0 0  0 0    -  7 13  1

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

J.Quintana LOSS(1-2)      0 2/3   6   4   4   0   1   0   7.56  A1 A8

S.Carroll                 2 1/3   5   3   3   0   1   0   3.29  A9 C1

C.Torres                  2 2/3   2   0   0   1   2   0   0.00  C2 D2

C.Young                   1       0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  D3 D5

J.Hughes                  1       0   0   0   1   1   0   3.00  D6 E1

D.Smyly                   0 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   6.75  E2

Totals                    8      13   7   7   2   5   0

Avengers (1-0)           IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

C.Carrasco WIN(1-0)       7 1/3   5   2   2   2   6   1   2.45  A1 D4

J.Benoit                  1 2/3   1   0   0   0   2   0   0.00  D5

Totals                    9       6   2   2   2   8   1

ATTENDANCE- 48,197 DATE- Thursday, October 8th 2015 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average

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

T- 3:00

LEFT ON BASE- Yellow Jackets: 8  Avengers: 7

DOUBLE PLAYS- Yellow Jackets: 2  Avengers: 0

ERRORS- J.Reyes

DOUBLES- A.McCutchen(1st), J.Reyes(1st)

HOME RUNS- L.Duda(3rd)

RBIs- L.Duda-2(7th), G.Petit(1st), B.Harper(1st), J.Werth-2(2nd),

      J.Reyes-2(2nd), C.Iannetta(1st)

WALKS- L.Martin, B.Zobrist, J.Werth, C.Iannetta

HIT BY PITCH- A.Jones, A.McCutchen

STRIKE OUTS- E.Aybar-2, L.Martin, J.Abreu, T.Hunter, L.Duda-2, E.Gattis,

             S.Pearce-2, J.Werth, C.Iannetta-2

GIDP- A.McCutchen, G.Petit

2-out RBI- B.Harper, J.Werth, J.Reyes, L.Duda-2

RLISP 2-out- C.Iannetta-2, L.Martin, J.Abreu, J.Bautista, L.Duda, R.Cano

TEAM RISP- Yellow Jackets: 0 for 5  Avengers: 7 for 13