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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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. |
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. |
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
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