2014 NLDS Wrap-Up

Metropolis defeated Glen Allen 4-2 in the National League Division Series. Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the stats behind that result.

•          In its losses, Metropolis averaged 0.5 runs. In its wins, they averaged 7.75 runs.
•          Glen Allen turned 11 double plays; Metropolis just two.
•          The teams combined for 12 homers at Glen Allen and just seven at Metropolis.
•          Met cleanup hitter Hunter Pence did his best to get Glen Allen through, hitting .273/.360/.773 for a 1.133 OPS. He also hit half of the team’s six home runs.
•          CC Sabathia was pounded by his former team, allowing ten hits and seven runs in just 2.2 innings. The player Metropolis acquired for Sabathia, David Freese, didn’t even get an at bat in the series.
•          Perhaps Freese should have played, as he watched third baseman Jose Bautista hit an anemic .091/.167/.136 for a .303 OPS and .17 runs created/27 outs.
•          In 23 at bats against Avenger left-handed pitchers, the Mets hit just .130/.130/.261 for a .391 OPS. In 114 at bats against lefties, the Avengers hit .289/.377/.553 for a .930 OPS with seven homers.
•          In clutch situations, the Mets hit .280/.333/.320 for a .653 OPS. The Avengers hit .316/.409/.842 for a 1.251 OPS.
•          Metropolis benched Chris Davis vs left-handed starters, despite his 51 homers and 124 RBIs during the regular season. Josh Satin,  who played first when Davis sat, hit .143/.333/.286 with a single RBI.
•          Davis, on the other hand, slugged .712 with two homers and six RBIs in just 12 at bats.
•          As a team, Metropolis slugged .511 with a .263 isolated power. Only one player on Glen Allen could match that – Hunter Pence (.773 and .500).
  
  
  

2014 NLDS Game Six - Metropolis vs. Glen Allen

Metropolis and Glen Allen returned to the Hall of Justice for Game Six, a must-win if the Mets hoped to keep their season alive. Glen Allen starter Wily Peralta took the ball and was matched by Avenger righty Stephen Strasburg. 

Chris Davis's grand slam put the game out of reach.

Peralta allowed a single and a walk in the bottom of the first, but Andrew McCutchen grounded into a double play and Jayson Werth lined out to end any threat. Strasburg looked good in the first two innings, setting down six in a row after a leadoff walk to Coco Crisp.

Unfortunately for the visitors, the wheels fell off for Peralta in the bottom of the second. Bryce Harper led off the inning with a long homer and Peralta then loaded the bases with one out by walking Jarrod Saltalamacchia and Jose Reyes around a Carlos Quentin double. Robinson Cano hit a sharp line drive, but second baseman Ian Kinsler snared it for the second out. Peralta wasn’t as lucky when McCutchen hit his own line drive, as it found a hole and scored two runs for a 3-0 Metropolis lead. The Mets intentionally walked Chris Davis to load the bases for Jayson Werth, who Peralta walked on four pitches to force in the fourth run of the inning.

Stephen Strasburg cruised after Metropolis grabbed a big lead.

The Mets tried to fight back in the top of the third, as Pablo Sandoval and Crisp both singled. Strasburg avoided any damage by striking out Andre Ethier and retiring Adrian Gonzalez on a fly ball to end the inning. Peralta’s struggles continued into the third, as he allowed a one-out single by Saltalamacchia and then a two-run homer by Quentin. That pushed the score to 6-0 and had the Metropolis fans looking ahead to the NLCS.

Strasburg surrendered a run in the top of the fourth, on singles by Hunter Pence, Jason Castro and Alexi Ramirez. The Mets never seriously threatened after that rally, but the Avengers padded their lead with a two-run Werth double in the fourth and a Davis grand slam in the fifth. That bomb ended the scoring and Strasburg finished took care of the rest himself, protecting the 12-1 lead to finish off the Mets in Game Six and the NLDS.

2014 NLDS Game Five - Metropolis vs. Glen Allen

With two wins each, hometown Glen Allen Mets and visiting Metropolis Avengers both hoped to win Game Five of their National League Division Series. The Mets sent free agent acquisition Jon Lester to the mound and the Avengers countered with Clay Buchholz, himself an off-season acquisition.

Yoenis Cespedes powered Metropolis to a 5-4 win.

Lester never looked comfortable and surrendered a one-out double to Metropolis center fielder Andrew McCutchen in the top of the first. Lester did induce a ground ball from slugger Chris Davis, but then issued an intentional walk to clean-up hitter Jayson Werth. It was a gutsy call and signaled the Mets were going to manage aggressively right from the start. Yoenis Cespedes followed the walk to Werth and Metropolis hoped to breakthrough for the first run of the game. Cespedes didn’t let them down, catching up to a Lester fastball for a towering homerun and a 3-0 Metropolis lead.

The Mets knew there was a long way to go and leadoff hitter Coco Crisp certainly wasn’t giving up. He surprised Buchholz by hitting a homer of his own to put the Mets on the board. Buchholz retired the next three batters in order and the game was 3-1 Avengers.

Carlos Quentin hit a solo shot.

Metropolis DH Carlos Quentin got that run back when he hit a solo homer of his own in the second inning. Robinson Cano also hit a two-out double, but was stranded there when McCutchen flied out to Andre Ethier to end the inning.

Both starters settled down after those early fireworks, at least until Cespedes led off the top of the sixth. Lester challenged him again, throwing a 1-0 fastball in nearly the exact location he had in the first inning. Cespedes knew just what to do with it, hitting another homer deep into the left field bleachers, stretching the Metropolis lead to 5-1.

That seemingly put the game out of reach, as Glen Allen’s bats were mostly silent after Crisps’s homer. That changed in the bottom of the sixth when Ian Kinsler singled and Ethier walked. A Buchholz wild pitch moved them to second and third base with two outs and slugger Hunter Pence at the plate. Buchholz won the battle and retired Pence to protect the 5-1 lead.

Hunter Pence's homer wasn't enough.

Metropolis sent Buchholz back out for the eighth inning, perhaps because their bullpen was a bit fatigued after games three and four. Buchholz got the first two outs but then gave up a solo homer to Ethier, cutting the lead to 5-2. Adrian Gonzalez followed with a single and Metropolis went to the bullpen. They called on righty Nick Vincent, but he got behind Pence 3-0. Pence had the green light to swing at what he knew would be a fastball. Vincent didn’t disappoint and Pence was ready, catching up with the 96 MPH heater and pulling it down the line for a two-run homer and a 5-4 game. Vincent did retire catcher Jason Castro on a popup, but hometown fans were energized and the Mets appeared to have momentum.

Met relievers Dillon Gee, Tim Collins, and Tommy Hunter retired the Avengers in the ninth and Metropolis left Vincent in to start the bottom of the inning. He retired righties Alan Craig and Alexi Ramirez before giving the ball to Craig Kimbrel to face Pablo Sandoval. Kimbrel did his job, inducing a weak ground from the Met third baseman for the last out.

Cespedes’s two homers gave Metropolis a 3-2 series lead as the teams headed back to Metropolis for Game Six and, possibly, Game Seven.

2014 NLDS Game Four - Metropolis vs. Glen Allen

JA Happ came up big when the Mets needed him.

Having won Game Three, Metropolis hoped to take Game Four and a commanding 3-1 series lead. They sent Alexi Ogando to the mound and the Glen Allen Mets countered with JA Happ.

The Mets got on the board early, when outfielder Hunter Pence tripled home Adrian Gonzalez in the bottom of the first. With his one-run lead, Happ went to work. He did walk two Avengers in the second inning, but retired Carlos Quention to end the threat. He induced an inning-ending double play from Josh Satin to end the third and keep the score 1-0.

Glen Allen loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, but was unable to get a clutch hit and left three runners on base. Pablo Sandoval did get a big hit in the bottom of the fourth, as he singled home the game's second run. He was later thrown out trying to score on an Ian Kinsler double, but the Mets were up 2-0 and Happ looked like he was in control.

Benoit reacts after retiring Chris Davis.

Happ pitched into the sixth without much trouble, but then allowed a Jayson Werth single and a Yoenis Cespedes walk. That was all Glen Allen needed to see, as they called on Joaquin Benoit to get out of the inning. Metropolis countered with pinch hitter Chris Davis, who slugged 51 homers and drove in 124 runs during the regular season. Benoit won the battle, retiring Davis on a fly ball and ending the threat.

Hunter Pence celebrated his solo homer.

The hometown fans went crazy in the seventh when Pence turned on a 102 MPH fastball from Aroldis Chapman for a solo home run and a 3-0 lead. Given the Avengers cold bats, that was more than enough. Glen Allen relievers Glen Perkins and Koji Uehara were perfect in the eighth and ninth innings to close out the game 3-0.

With the series knotted at two, both teams turn back to their aces for Game Five - Clay Buchholz for Metropolis and Jon Lester for Glen Allen. Whoever wins will have a much easier flight back to Metropolis for Game Six in what is now a best-of-three series.

2014 NLDS Game Three - Metropolis vs. Glen Allen

McCutchen started the scoring early.

With the NLDS tied at one game each, the Avengers and Mets flew to Glen Allen for games three, four, and five. Metropolis sent recent acquisition Justin Masterson to the mound to face former Avenger CC Sabathia.

Metropolis jumped on their former ace quickly, as center fielder Andrew McCutchen hit a one-out solo homer in the top of the first. The Mets answered back, however. They loaded the bases with two hits and a walk in the bottom of the first and then pushed across two runs without another hit. Andre Ethier scored on a Masterson wild pitch and Adrian Gonzalez scored on a sacrifice fly and the Mets had a 2-1 lead.

Carlos Quentin's two homers led Metropolis.

Metropolis took the lead right back in the top of the second. They had two singles, three doubles and two sacrifice flies, which combined for four runs and a 5-2 lead. The visitors kept it up, hitting two-run homers in the third and fourth innings, extending their lead to 9-2.

The Mets did rally in the bottom of the seventh, plating four runs off Masterson and reliever Huston Street, but it wasn't enough. Metropolis reliever Craig Kimbrel came in to end the threat and close out the game. Avenger designated hitter Carlos Quentin was the hitting star, hitting two homers and a double while knocking in three and scoring three. In the end, the Avengers won 11-6 and retook the series lead, two games to one.

2014 NLDS Game Two - Metropolis vs. Glen Allen

With a 1-0 lead in the series, Metropolis sent Stephen Strasburg to face Glen Allen's Wily Peralta. It wasn't technically a must-win for the Mets, but they certainly didn't want to fall into a 2-0 hole in the best-of-seven series.

Coco Crisp manufactured a run to put Glen Allen ahead.

Glen Allen's Coco Crisp started the action quickly, slapping a lead-off single and stealing second. He moved to third on an Adrian Gonzalez groundout but Strasburg looked to retire cleanup hitter Hunter Pence to end the threat. Instead, a slider got away from catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia just far enough for Crisp to sprint home with the game's first run and a 1-0 Mets lead.

Alexi Ramirez singled in two runs.

The game stayed 1-0 into the fourth, when the Mets rallied for two more runs on an Alexi Ramirez single following hits by Gonzalez and Jason Castro. Strasburg was 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA in the regular season, but the Mets appeared to have him rattled. The Avengers did get one run back on a Chris Davis homer in the bottom of the fourth, but still found themselves behind 3-1.

The Mets pitchers never let Metropolis even think of rallying, as Peralta and relievers Tyler Lyons and Glen Perkins set down 16 Avenger hitters in a row following the Davis homer. That streak didn't end until Andrew McCutchen singled with two outs in the ninth. Glen Allen called on Tommy Hunter who struck out pinch hitter Ramiro Pena to knot the series at one game each.

2014 NLDS Game One - Metropolis vs. Glen Allen

The Metropolis Avengers won 121 games and have the top seed in the National League playoffs. They host the Glen Allen Mets, winners of 92 games during the regular season.

The Avengers sent Clay Buchholz to the mound for Game One to face Mets ace Jon Lester. Both starters cruised through the early innings, as Buchholz allowed just two base runners and Lester allowed three.

Matt Wieters put the Avengers on the board in the fifth.

Metropolis started a rally in the fifth, when Jayson Werth and Yoenis Cespedes started the inning with back-to-back walks. Lester got a ground ball double play from Jose Bautista and hoped to escape with the game still scoreless. Avenger catcher Matt Wieters had other plans, catching up with a fastball for a two run homer and the first runs of the NLDS.


With Buchholz cruising and a deep bullpen ready, the Avengers hoped two runs would be enough. However, Met second baseman Ian Kinsler started the top of the sixth with a solo homer to cut the lead to a single run. The game stayed 2-1 into the seventh, when Cespedes hit a one out triple and scored on a Chris Davis sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 Metropolis.

Hunter Pence flew out with the tying runs on base.

Avenger reliever Caleb Thielbar kept the game 3-1 into the eighth and gave the ball to Aroldis Chapman with one out and Kinsler on first. Chapman retired pinch hitter Craig Gentry but badly misplayed a grounder by Adrian Gonzalez, committing a two-base error and putting the tying run on base. Metropolis called on righty Nick Vincent to face Hunter Pence, who made solid contact but flew out to left to end the threat.

Kenley Jansen closed out Game One.

Vincent got two outs in the ninth before allowing a single to Alexi Ramirez. Metropolis brought in Kenley Jansen as Pablo Sandoval came to the plate. Jansen threw him three straight cutters, which didn't surprise anyone, much less Sandoval. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamcchia hung on to a tipped third strike to end the game and give Metropolis a 1-0 series lead.

Metropolis will send Stephen Strasburg to the mound for Game Two. Glen Allen will send righty Wily Peralta out hoping to grab a road win and tie the series before heading to Glen Allen for games three, four and five.