Twits* Notes: (3/5) FW v. ND World Series:
Due to our combined hectic schedules (rehearsals, vacations, ski
trips, weekend plans), Randy and I realized we had to play this
series ASAP if we wanted to get it in before the draft. So, last
night (Tuesday) Randy dropped by my house in Holliston after
rehearsal, showing up at 9:15 so we could knock out 2 games.
Game 1: It's scoreless in the top of the 3rd when K. Davis hits
a BP homer with 2 on. But he (or more correctly, I) rolls an 18
(it's 1-16 for righties in Randy's park. In the bottom of the
third, Kiermaier drops a routine fly ball that would have been
the 3rd out to load the bases, and then North Dakota nemesis
Brandon Belt (hi Jeff), hits a BP HR (it's 1-7 for lefties in
Randy's park) for the grand slam, and they tire out Fulmer, ND's
best starter in the 3rd inning. ND is feeling sorry for itself
as it stays 5-0 until the 8th when Kiermaier (2-run homer) and
K. Davis go back to back. Dozier's 2-run homer off Andrew
Miller in the 8th ices the win for FW.
Game 2: FW jumps out quickly with 3 runs in the first (Blackmon
single, SB, Springer rbi, Stanton double, Upton 2 run single).
Another FW run in the 4th and then Turner and Blackmon go back
to back in the 4th to make it a 6-0 game. ND tries to make it a
game when an rbi double by Cruz and a 2-run homer by M. Gonzalez
in the 6th makes it 6-3. But Belt belts a 2-run homer in the
7th off Parker and it's 8-3. NDs late rally is too little too
late.
The ND manager spends the night tossing and turning, thinking
about Strat-O and lost opportunities. A new day dawns with
optimism and renewed resolve.
At Natick
Game 3: Back home in Gackle Park, Gonzalez starts off the must
game for ND with a solo shot off Stroman in the 1st. FW's
McCuthen's rbi single off deGrom in the 2nd inning ties it. K.
Davis's solo shot in the 3rd gives ND the 2-1 lead. Turner's
2-run homer in the 4th gets FW the lead back. ND ties it 3-3 in
the bottom of the 4th with a GIDP. Springer's solo HR off
deGrom in the 5th makes it 4-3, FW, and his rbi single in the
7th off Osuna makes it 5-3. In the bottom of the 7th, with the
season on the line, Lindor singles with 2 out. Goldschmidt
doubles him to 3rd. Swarzak comes in. Nelson Cruz smacks a huge
3-run homer to give ND a 6-5 lead and the crowd goes wild.
Blake Parker pitches the final 1 2/3 innings for the save and ND
is back in the series.
Game 4: FW jumps all over lefty Robbie Ray in the 2nd inning,
with 2 walks, a single , a 2 run double by Suarez, a sac fly by
Russell, and a 2-run homer by Dozier to make it 5-0. Undaunted,
ND chips away. with a homer by Contreras in the 2nd and an
unearned run helped by Stanton's 2-base error in the 3rd. A
tired R. Ray makes it through 4 innings. Lindor homers in the
bottom of the 4rth off Scherzer to make it 5-3. FW's Springer
greets Addison Reed with a homer in the 5th to make it 6-3, FW.
But in the bottom of the 5th inning Scherzer hits both
Goldschmidt and Cruz, and Kiermaier triples them both in.
Gonzalez then hits a double (on a 1-3, out otherwise, a clear
sign that the karma has shifted) to tie it at 6. In the 6th
inning, Lindor doubles, and Scherzer hits Goldschmidt again.
Kiermaier then hits another 2-run triple - his 2nd in back to
back innings - and it's now 8-6 North Dakota. Contreras homers
in the 7th for good measure to make it 9-6. The North Dakota
bullpen allows no more hits after Springer's HR in the 4th
(Reed, Kimbrel, A. Miller) and ND has tied the series. The
oddest thing about this game: Scherzer pitches a CG 8-hitter
for FW with 19 strikeouts! But gives up 9 runs to take the
loss.
Game 5: Belt boots Goldschmidt's grounder to lead off the 1st
inning and Cruz makes him pay with a 2-run homer. But FW comes
roaring back in the 2nd with a walk and 4 singles (Suzuki,
Dozier, Turner, Springer) to take a 3-2 lead. Kiermaier's 2-run
homer is followed by Gyroko's HR in the 4th and ND is back on
top 5-3. An rbi single by Kiermaier makes it 6-4. The teams
trade solo homers (Belt and Cruz) for the final 7-4 score.
Osuna picks up the save and Randy vents his frustration at
Stanton, who had a horrific series overall, stranding numerous
runners and never seeming to miss a death roll.
Game 6: Home teams have won every game so far and Randy is happy
to be back in the stadium formerly known as the Waxdome. ND
strikes first with an unearned run thanks to Suarez's error.
But in the 2nd, Belt doubles and Turner doubles him in to tie it
1-1. FW loads the bases with 2 out in the 3rd off Cashner, but
the extra clutch pinch-hitting D. Murphy grounds out. Lindor
homers off Stroman in the 5th to make it 2-1, ND. Hoping to get
more than 5 innings out of Cashner (knowing that the worse
deGrom is starting game 7), he gets yanked after two walks and
an rbi double by Dozier tie it 2-2 in the 6th. Parker and
Miller quell further damage. Top of the 8th, Goldschmidt is HBP
again (this time by Swarzak). Cruz hits a double and
Goldschmidt has a 1-15 chance to score, running on Upton's arm.
But Austin Barnes makes a great play blocking the plate and the
game remains tied. Bottom of the 8th, Barnes reaches on an
error by his counterpart Contreras. He steals 2nd. FW's
Blackmon singles him in off Romo's card (ND manager beats
himself up for leaving Romo in) to take a 3-2 lead. With 2 out
in the 9th, M. Gonzalez his a BP homer (off Swarzak)! But its a
1-7 chance, he misses it, and we go to game 7.
Game 7: Last year, Randy came back from a 3 games to 2 deficit
to win the World Series. Two days ago, Randy came back from a 3
games to 2 deficit to beat Jed in the playoffs. Both managers
bring this up. Leading off the game, Goldschmidt hits a BP
homer! 1-16! He rolls an 18. Gonzalez missis a BP homer in the
2nd (1-7), so Joey Gallo hits a straight solo shot to give ND
the 1-0 lead. Top of the 5th, Jorge Alfaro hits a BP homer!
1-16! He rolls an 18. The ND manager pounds the table in
frustration, waking up Deede. He then draws giant circles and
arrows pointing to the missed HR all over the scoresheet. Sure
enough, FW's Barnes hits BP homer the bottom of the 5th and
easily rolls within the 1-16. It's tied 1-1. FW loads the
bases with nobody out in the 6th off Reed, so Parker comes in
and gets Upton, Belt and clutch pinch-hitter Murphy without
giving up a run. Despite missing the two easy BP homers, the ND
manager realizes it is still just 1-1 and he's still in it.
Scherzer is dominating and the final ND relievers after Parker -
Kimbrel, Osuna, Miller - all pitch until their arms fall off.
Neither team can mount much offense. Top of the 10th inning,
Scherzer still in. Joey Gallo walks. After Contreras strikes
out, Lindor hits a single. Dustin Pedroia is up. He rolls a
2-4 and ITS A 3-RUN HOMER!! DUSTIN FUCKING PEDROIA! I jumped
up, punched the air, and kissed his card. Swarzak comes in,
gives up a single to Goldschmidt and strikes out Cruz. Kershaw
comes in. Kiermaier hits a 2-run homer! Only two pitchers are
left on ND 's staff with arms still attached and one of them
(Cashner) is tired. Lefty Robbie Ray comes in. He pitches a
1-2-3 10th inning and North Dakota has won the SOMBILLA
championship for the first time in 5 years.
Not sure who the MVP is, it's late, but Kiermaier did have 3
homers, 2 triples and 9 rbis.
(3/5) FW vs OC playoffs:
Kluber dominates in game 1, Oceanus hits 5 home runs against Greinke and Kershaw on the way to a 16-1 blow out.
In
game 2, Scherzer stops the momentum, taking a 1-0 lead into the 9th.
But his pen betrays him: Rosenthal puts 2 on, then Kershaw surrenders a
3-run pinch hit bomb to Zunino. But Delmonico counters with a 2-run
pinch hit homer in the bottom of the 9th, sending the game into extra
innings. Stanton settles it with a 2-run walk of in the 11th.
Bumgarner
starts game 3 in Jed's lefty-friendly park,yielding only 1 hit and 1
run in 5 innings. Delmonico and Stanton homer again, as does Russell, on
the way to a 8-2 thumping of Nola.
Game 4 is another close one, with homers by Rosario and Cozart putting Jed on top 5-4. Strasburg gets the win, in relief.
Kluber
is effective in game 5, with 11 K vs 5 H in 7-1/3. It's knotted at 4
when Kershew relieves Stroman, giving up 3 hits (2 HR) in 2/3 of an
inning, leading to a 7-5 Oceanus victory, and a 3-2 series lead.
Scherzer
pitches a complete game for a 3-1 win to send the series to game 7.
Stanton provides the margin of victory with a 3-run shot in the 3rd.
The
deciding game features Greinke against Walker. Belt homers for FW in
the 1st. Cozart leads off the 4th with a triple, and scores on a Rendon
sac fly. In the bottom of the inning, Upton doubles, Blackmon is hit by a
pitch, and then Suarez homers. Springer hits a solo shot an inning
later. Altuve plates 2 on a bases-loaded single in the 7th, but Rivero
holds and Rosenthal saves.
And the rematch of last year's World Series is set.
(3/3) ND vs BC playoffs:
Game 1: Carlos Correa smokes a 2-run homer off Michael Fulmer in the
top of the first before most of the 300 fans in Gackle Park have taken
their seats. The teams trade rbi hits in the 4th, and N. Cruz's rbi
single chips away to make it 3-2, BC after 5. But in the 6th, Fulmer
faces a 2-out, 2-on jam and Robbie Ray relieves Fulmer. Lefty killer
Pirella is intentionally walked, and Andrew Benintendi drives in 2 with a
sharp single. Reddick adds an rbi hit, and Mike Montgomery and Givens
finish off ND for the surprising BC 6-2 win.
Game 2: North Dakota pounds Jimmy Nelson early and often with Lindor
(HR), Gallo (2-run double), Gonzalez (rbi single), and Kiermaier (sac
fly) staking Cashner to a 6-0 lead after 3. It's 7-0 after 7 innings.
Both teams score 2 garbage runs late, but the game is never in doubt.
Final, ND wins 9-2
Game 3: The series shifts to Bay City. Rhys Hoskins smacks a HR off C.
Hamels for the 1-0 ND lead, but the red-hot Benintendi doubles in
Alonzo to tie it up 1-1. In the bottom of the 5th, with 2 out and 2 on,
ND replaces deGrom with B. Parker. Benintendi (who else) singles in
Alonzo, and on the next pitch Carlos Correa wallops a 3-run homer for
the 5-1 lead. In the 6th, ND's Kiermaier walks, Gyorko doubles off
Cishek and both runs score on a grounder and an error by Cishek to make
it 5-3. ND loads the bases with 2 out in the 7th, but Betts flies out
against Wade Davis. Correa hits his 2nd homer of the game to make it
6-3 in the 8th and Mike Minor closes out ND in the 9th for the save.
Final score 6-3, Bay City.
It's Saturday night, the managers head out to the Bruins game in Boston and Strat-O is not discussed.
Game 4: A new day, and North Dakota's first two hitters of the game,
Kiermaier and M. Gonzalez, hit homers off Darvish. Cruz homers in the
3rd to make it 3-0. Kiermaier adds another homer in the 5th to make it
4-0. Kiermaier hits his 3rd homer of the game in the 7th, which is
followed by M. Gonzalez's 2nd homer as they go back to back again. Joey
Gallo homers in the 8th for what is believed to be a SOMBILLA record 7
solo home runs in one game. Meanwhile, Robbie Ray, pounded by BC in
game 1, pitches 8 2/3 innings yielding just 4 hits to save ND's
bullpen. Final score ND 7-1 and the series is tied 2-2.
Game 5: BC switches dice to no avail. Gallo (2-run homer), Lindor (rbi
double) and Goldschimdt (2-run HR) tire out Godley in the 2nd inning,
5-0. Khris Davis blasts a 3-run homer off M. Montgomery in the 5th
inning to make it 8-0 ND. Fulmer, Reed, Kimbrel, and Parker pitch the
shutout, helped greatly by Bay City's grounding into 3 untimely double
plays. In fact, over the last 4 games, BC grounded into 10
rally-killing double plays. Final score, ND 8-0.
Game 6: Back in cozy Gackle Park, K. Davis and M. Gonzalez hit back to
back doubles, and Pedroia nails a clutch hit to give ND the early 2-0
lead after two innings. Davis doubles in Cruz in the 3rd, but Starling
Marte guns Kiermaier out at the plate to bail BC out of the inning
without further damage. But in the 4th, Gallo homers and Cruz singles
in Petey to make it 5-0 North Dakota. It stays that way until the 8th
when Bay City hits 3 singles (Posey, Alonzo, Benintendi) and a walk to
score two runs and chase Osuna to make it 5-2. But Kimbrel pitches a
1-2-3 9th and North Dakota is headed back to the World Series. Final
score, North Dakota 5 Bay City 2
(2/28) Two last place teams faced each other in the
futility bowl. The worst possible outcome being a sweep which would
cost the winner 3 things in the roll off.
Draft Day, Sunday March 31
(2/24) Oceanus clinched 4th place and a playoff matchup against Future Wax by winning 3 of 4 from Nidavellir earlier today. The first three games were 2-run victories, including an extra inning affair. Oceanus was up 2 games to 1 at this point, with the redoubtable (unless you are Future Wax) Corey Kluber going in game 4. Eric didn't seem to have much confidence in Kyle Hendricks, contemplating a surprise starter. In the end, he stuck with Hendricks. And...it was a rout for Oceanus (4-0 after 2 innings, 8-0 after 4 innings etc.). So Oceanus squeaks into the playoffs with a .500 record. Here are the slightly-edited, computer-generated game summaries.
(2/22) Future Wax clinched first place last night winning 3 of 4 over Oceanus. This sets up what is essentially a best of 5 series between Oceanus and Nidavellir on Sunday for the right to face Future Wax in the playoffs.
Jed had the lead at one point in all 4 of the games and FW roared back. Last game was 6-5 Future Wax when OC missed a 61% suicide squeeze chance to tie in the bottom of the ninth. Only highlight for OC was Matt “Mutant” Olson hitting 4 homers in the series. Olson had 9 of the team’s 12 RBIs. OC held Stanton down but guys like Blackmon and Delmonico killed him. For this park, FW put every lefty bat in the lineup, including usual pinch hitter Delmonico and 26th man K. Seager. Randy says 'I think the guy who did the most damage was Murphy.'(2/20) A likely first-round playoff preview filled with many pitcers' arms spontaneously falling off ended in a split. Needing one win to clinch the playoffs outright, Bay City was pounded in game 1, 14-4, as North Dakota scored in each of the first 7 innings. Khris Davis was 4 for 5 with 2 homers and 5 rbis. Cruz and Gallo also homered for ND as they pounded out 19 hits with every starter getting at least one hit.
Shaking off the game 1 disaster, BC's Josh Reddick smoked a 2-run homer off Fulmer in the 4th inning of game 2 to take a 2-1 lead. K. Davis's 20th homer of the year in the 5th tied it at 2 where it stayed until the 7th. Bay City's D. Santana (single), Posey (double) and Alsonso (3-run homer) chased Blake Parker from the game and Romo came in. Marte and Benintendi go back to back,, it's 7-2 and the champagne in the clubhouse is taken out. Cruz's 2-run homer in the bottom of the 9th is too little, too late and Bay City players dogpile on the Gackle Park field.
With a shot a first place still on the line for North Dakota, they pound BC in game 3, 16-6. Cruz and Lindor hit the only homers in ND's balanced attack in which even Dustin Pedroia had 4 hits as the field is littered with detached arms.
BC strikes first in game 56, with Benintendi's sac fly, but Rhys Hoskins 2-run homer gives ND a brief 2-1 lead in the 3rd. Jesse Winker homers in the 4th to tie it for BC. Buster Posey doubles Winker in the 6th to give BC the lead for good 3-2. The BC manager's swooning over Andrew Miller does not seem to help his pitching as Benintendi singles in two runs off Miller to make it 5-2. Kiermaier singles in Pedroia for ND in the bottom of the 8th to make it 5-3, but Posey guns him out trying to steal to end the inning. O. Herrera's shot off Kimbrel in the 9th makes it a 6-3 finale.
Draft Day, Sunday March 31.
(2/17) North Dakota moved to within one game of first place, sweeping New Orleans out of contention earlier today in Marblehead. New Orleans loses 10 of its final 12 games to miss the playoffs. The result leaves Bay City, Oceanus, and Nidavellir fighting for the final two playoff spots in the final week, although Bay City has clinched at least a one-game playoff and has a magic number of one (BC win or Eric loss) to clinch the playoffs outright.
North Dakota hitters felt right at home in New Orleans, whose dimensions closely matched Gackle Park's. In game 1, Chirinos and Gyorko eat hit 2-run homers in the 1st inning off Sale,and Chrinos and Betts each hit solo shots off him in the 2nd inning and the rout was on. Gyorko hits another HR and Cruz also hit one for a 6-homer, 11-4 win.
In game 2, once again ND jumped to a 4-0 first inning lead, this time Kiermaier's 3-run blast the key blow. It was 5-1 after three innings and stayed that way until the 8th. Fulmer (now 7-3), Parker, Kimbrel, 26th man Kela, A. Miller, and Reed finish it for a 6-2 finale.
Backs against the wall in game 3, New Orleans takes an early 1-0 lead when Pham reaches on a Gyorko error, steals 2nd and Turner doubles him in. But Goldschmidt homers leading off the 2nd and it's 1-1. In the 4th inning, Goldschmidt, Lindor, and Betts all single to score what turned out to be the game's final run. Up 2-1 after 4 innings, Parker, Romo and Osuna yield just 2 hits the rest of the way for the 2-1 win. Two huge rally-killing double plays in the 7th (started by Gyorko) and 8th (started by Pedroia)epitomize New Orleans frustrating afternoon.
Game 4 was another close low-scoring game. K. Davis hits a solo HR off C. Anderson in the 4th to stake ND to a 1-0 lead, where it stays until the bottom of the 8th inning. With 2 out and nobody on, Kimbrel hits Kris Bryant. G. Sanchez hits a deep fly that K. Davis can't handle for the bases clearing double and a 1-1 tie. We go to the 10th. Goldschmidt leads off with a HR against Morrow. M. Gonzalez, mistakenly not removed for defensive purposes, hits another HR for a 3-1 lead. Bottom of the 10th, gasoline can A. Reed gives up a HR to C. Taylor, but hangs on for the save. Final score 3-2 in 10 innings.
Draft Day, Sunday March 31
(2/15) A satisfying/unsatisfying split. New Orleans won the first 2, Oceanus won the last 2. But Harold did have an epic comeback in game 1, so it could've been 3 games to 1 for Oceanus. On the other hand, New Orleans was up 4-1 in game 4, so it could have gone 3-1 for the Ellis. Slightly edited computer-generated game notes below.
(2/12) The satisfying/unsatisfying split where Constantinople took games 1 and 4 by 1 run and Oceanus went nuts in games 2 and 3.
Game 1: Constantinople 4-3 Oceanus took a 1-run lead in the top of the 3rd on an Avisail Garcia single, followed by a passed ball, followed by a ground ball that moved him to 3rd, and then a Jose Altuve sac fly. All that work was nullified in the bottom of the 3rd on a Welington Castillo HR. Oceanus went up 2-1 in the top of the 4th on an Anthony Rendon HR. But Logan Morrison hit a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 6th. Oceanus managed to tie the game in the top of the 9th as Ender Inciarte squeezed in a run. But the Manatees got a single from Mike Trout, a walk to Logan Morrison, a single by Bryce Harper and finally a single from Josh Donaldson to close it out. Corey Kluber pitched well enough to win in the small park - only allowing 3 hits and striking out 9. But the HRs killed him. Luis Castillo only allowed 1 earned run on 5 hits.
Draft Day, Sunday March 31
(2/10)(from Robin). Eric and I both went 5-3 at the bash, but I guess I get to do TWITS Notes by virtue of my sweep against Harold. The BC-NV matchup featured 4 close games: 5-3 NV (in which BC stranded 15 runners), 4-3 BC, 8-7 NV in 12 innings, 4-3 NV. In Game 3, BC took a 6-0 lead on Danny Duffy, but Eric got back into it due to 5 unearned runs--the first 3 of them on a two-out error by replacement shortstop Domingo Santana (5e88) after Correa left with a strikeout + injury in the 4th inning and BC had no one else who could play short on the roster. BC took a one run lead in the 9th on a Beltre homer but Ozuna homered to lead off the bottom of the ninth and Arenado singled home the game winner in the 12th.
Robin was able to emerge victorious in her 12-inning battle against Harold in game 2 of their series, in which she tired Sonny Gray in the first inning, scoring 7 on a bunch of hits including a 3-run Alonso homer, but again BC was unable to hold the big lead, as NO chipped away against Montgomery, Davis, Devenski, and Givens, the latter of whom gave up the game tying homer to Judge to lead off the 8th and then pitched 4 scoreless innings. BC won 11-9 on a pinch-hit homer by strikeout machine Teoscar Hernandez. In game 1, BC got to Sale with a bunch of doubles and two Castellanos homers. Robin won game 3, 12-10 as she again came out strong with 4 in the first against G. Gonzalez, including back-to-back homers by Correa and Castellanos, but again Harold chipped away and made it interesting with 4 runs in the ninth off Devenski and Strop (with Sanchez and Hernandez homering back-to-back. Game 4 was a blow-out for BC as Darvish went the distance in a 12-3 win, notable for Harold due to pitching injury-callup Cespedes in the ninth inning (he allowed a single, made an error, then got a DP and another out, so he was NO's most successful pitcher).
Star of the Day: Carlos Correa 12 for 27 with 2 doubles, 6 homers, 2 walks, 8 rbis, and his absence in the second half of game 3 handed Eric a win.
Draft Day, Sunday March 31
(2/7) North Dakota came into the series riding a 9-game winning streak. However, the heavily right-handed lineup looked at the fence 675 feet away in left field and collectively shuddered. North Dakota couldn't muster much in the way of offense until they tired out a nervous Aaron Nola (who responded by hitting at least 3 batters) with 5 runs in the first inning of game 4. By then, North Dakota was down 3 games to none. And while it looked like they'd easily salvage at least one win, even game 4 turned into a nail-biter. Because of technical difficulties, we couldn't play "league games" and so there are no computer-generated game notes. Here are my human remarks:
Game 1: Oceanus 4-1. Oceanus jumps out to a 4-0 lead after 3 innings. Eddie Rosario and Mutant Olson hit HRs. Nevertheless, Oceanus missed a bunch of opportunities to blow the game wide open (e.g. several 1-10 ballpark HR chances) and North Dakota scored an unearned run in the 7th, meaning it was a ballgame. Strasburg stayed strong, however, and pitched a complete game allowing only 2 hits with no earned runs and 10 strikeouts.
Game 2: Oceanus 3-0. North Dakota bats remain silent, getting only 3 hits for the game. Votto starts off the bottom of the first with a walk and Rosario then hits a 2-run HR. Oceanus would tack on a run in the bottom of the 6th, with Altuve getting an RBI double. Keuchel and 3 relievers combined for the shutout. Alex "one from" Colome allowed North Dakota to load the bases in the 6th with nobody out. But Yusmeiro Petit shut the door. Oceanus only had 4 hits for the game, so North Dakota's pitching was not the problem.
Game 3: Oceanus 3-2. This was a see-saw battle. The Assholes took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Arnie was already bemoaning the inevitable sweep. His squad tied the game in the top of the 4th on a Marwin Gonzalez HR, but Oceanus came right back with a run in the bottom of the 4th. North Dakota tied the game again in the top of the 7th as Paul Goldschmidt hit one out. It then went into extra innings, where in the bottom of the 10th Votto walked, Ramirez bunted and on a fielder's choice Votto was safe at 2nd. Altuve sacrified the runners to 2nd and 3rd. And finally Rosario managed literally to squeeze one across in the bottom of the 10th. It was the 3rd suicide squeeze attempt of the series for Oceanus, with the first two failing.
Game 4: North Dakota 6-5. As mentioned, North Dakota took a 5-0 lead in the top of the first, tiring out Aaron Nola. It looked like it was going to be Nola taking one for the team. But he only allowed 1 run in the 2nd and settled down from there. Meanwhile, the Assholes chipped away with 1 run in the 2nd, 3 in the 6th and 1 in the 7th. North Dakota's big mistake was allowing Addison "Gasoline" Reed to pitch. Reed gave up 4 hits and 3 runs in 1/3 of an inning. Kimbrel and Osuna pitched two shutdown innings to close out the game (Osuna getting the save). Hitting stars were Gonzalez and Lindor for North Dakota (6 of the team's 9 hits) and Votto and Rendon for Oceanus (5 hits combined, with Votto hitting the game's only HR). Arnie remarked that I had made him sweat, but I wondered if it was the radioactive cat....
(2/5) Before the series, the teams negotiated trade to improve Future Wax's chance for a repeat title this year and What Eric Said?'s chances for a title run next season, with Giles and Rodney added to the FW bullpen in exchange for Hunter and draft pick(s). (Commissioner note: except that neither pitcher is eligible for the post-season as FW was well beyond the post-season trade eligibility deadline of 40 games). Then FW got to work extending its 9 game win streak to 11. Randy took the first game 8-5 on the strength of 2 Springer home runs (5 RBI), with Puig's own 2-HR (3 RBI) being an insufficient counterattack. The next game was knotted 3-3 after another Puig 2-run blast in the 6th. Stanton's walk off blast set the final score to 5-3 Future Wax. But then the FW bats went silent, as Leake and 3 relievers held FW to 5 hits on the way to a 6-0 shutout. Puig knocked 2 more out of park, for a 5 home run series (with 8 hits in 12 AB). In the final game, FW got to Peacock early, scoring 5 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks over the first 2 innings. That was it for FW scoring, but WES managed only a Chisenhall solo shot and a late unearned run in response, giving FW a 5-2 and a series win.
Draft Day, Sunday, March 31
(2/3) New Orleans continues its hot streak, taking 3 of 4 from NID to move into 3rd place (precentage points ahead of BC). In game one, it was all about the 6th inning, where NO batted around and scored 6 runs, with JD Martinez hitting a key HR. Sale gets the win and Madson the save in th 9-6 final. According to Eric, this was NID’s 11th loss in a row (well short of the Manila Folders impressive league-record 17-game losing streak in '05-06). There wouldn’t be a 12th loss, as NID took advantage of shoddy NO defense and timely hitting to win game 2 7-5. NO won game 3 10-3, breaking it open thanks to Smoak’s 3run HR in the 9th.In the final game, NO jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second thanks to back to back Judge and Martinez HR’s and held on for a 6-1 win. For the series, Judge hit 2 HR’s giving him 20 on the season and Martinez hit 3 HR’s giving him 21 on the season.
Draft Day, Sunday, March 31.
(1/30) An impressive snow squall hit just before I drove to Jeff's, making for perfect Strat-O weather. Jeff was the perfect host, offering pleasant company, snacks, beer, and a warm house on a wintry night. Not to mention helping extend North Dakota's winning streak to 9 games to close to within one game of first place.
In game 1, ND picked up where they left off against Eric. K. Davis's rbi double followed by Gallo's 2-run single in the 3rd erased WES's early 1-0 lead. (In fact, WES scored first in all four games). After Jeff tied it 3-3, all hell broke loose in the 5th inning. Kiermaier and K. Davis each hit 2-run homers as part of a relentless 9 run inning off a tired Lance Lynn who kept looking into his empty dugout for someone to get him. Lindor added a 2-run homer in the 6th to make it 15-3. Final score, 15-5.
Game 2 was a close game. Freeman's solo HR gave WES? the early lead, but a four double 4th inning gave ND a 3-1 lead. Blake Parker came in to relive for ND in the top of the 7th to hold the lead, but gives up walk, walk and 3-run homer to Conforto to give WES? a 4-3 kead. But K. Davis's rbi double in the bottom of the 7th ties it. It stayed 4-4 until the bottom of the 9th, when Nelson Cruz crushed R. Iglesias's firt pitch of the inning for the walk-off homer.
In game 3, once again Jeff started out hot, his team belting out 2-run homers in the first (Freeman) and second (Andrus) innngs for a 4-0 lead where it stayed until the 5th when all hell broke loose. Lindor led off with a double and after an out, Dustin Pedroia ("of all people" said the WES? manager) homered. A double by Goldschmidt, another out, HBP, walk and then a grand slam by Khris Davis (his 16th HR) off a stunned Brad Peacock made it 6-2. Romo, Parker (redeeeming himself) and Osuna closed the door for ND. Final score 6-2.
Hoping to avoid the sweep, WES? jumped out to a 3-0 lead in game 4 (Freeman, Puig, Cain rbis), but Lindor's 3-run HR tied it in the 2nd inning. An rbi double by K. Davis and 2-run homer by Contreras in the 3rd made it 6-2 ND and Jeff was a combination of pissed and disgusted. Goldschmidt added a solo HR to make it 7-3. But WES? wasn't done. A run in the 5th and a 2-run homer in the 6th by Realmuto off Addison 'Gasoline Can' Reed made it a 7-6 game. But Jeff could get no closer as A. Miller and Kimbrel nail it down (Freeman's final strikeout just missing a BP homer).
I thanked Jeff and Amy for their gracious hosting, and headed out into the frozen single digit tundra of Hopkinton with my hot team keeping me warm.
Draft Day: Sunday, March 31.
(1/27) A
wild Sunday, featuring three sweeps (two by Future Wax) shook up the
SOMBILLA's standings a bit. Furure Wax's double sweep is believed to be
the first in league history, and helped Randy open a 3 game lead on the rest of
the league.
Scherzer was dominant in Game 1,
striking out 14 in 8 innings for a 4-1 win. Eric seemed to be in a better
position in Game 2, up 5-0 by the 3rd on 3 home runs. But FW
responded with 4 home runs to go up 6-5. Eric had runners on 2nd and
3rd with 1 out in the 9th, only to have Jose Martinez hit
into a line-out max. In Game 3, Randy pounded out 17 hits for a 13-6
blowout. Eric scored first in the last game, but was then shut down. Future Wax
took it 4-1 for the home sweep.
In the first game of the second series, Robin took a 4-0 lead into the 9th.
But Strop, who had not given up a run all year, yielded a single and 2 doubles,
setting the stage for Cishek to allow a 2-out 3-run homer to send the game into
extra innings. Turner homered again in the 15th, and Rosenthal
nailed down the save. Robin was shut out 4-0 in the next game, as part of 21
consecutive scoreless innings from the 7th of the first game through
the 4th of Game 3. Up 4-1, Stanton adds 3 insurance runs on a bases
clearing triple in the 9th. That caused Robin’s 3-run rally in
the bottom of the 9th to fall short, 7-4. The final game was knotted
at 2 until an Upton homer in the 8th after which Rivera and
Rosenthal shut the door for a double sweep.
Meanwhile,
North Dakota had its way with poor Eric, who was wondering why he came to
Holliston for the day. ND had a record number of bp singles (1-19 for
righties in Nidavellir) during the series, while Eric's death rolling
spilled over from the FW series. In game 1, Lindor (2-run homer) and
Goldschmidt went back to back in the 3rd and Kiermaier (3-run homer in
the 5th) were all ND needed, as Kimbrel and Osuna (3rd save) held on for the
6-4 win. Game 2 was the crusher. Eric had a 5-4 lead in the 9th
inning with 2 out and none on and closer C. Green on the mound. But
pinch-hitting Rhys Hoskins hit a bp homer to send the game to extra innings.
Cruz (5 for 5 with 2 homers) homered in the 10th (also off Green) for the
6-5 ND win.
Eric's
day was epitomized by game 3, won by North Dakota 20-7. Lindor's grand
salami (Eric couldnt look at the roll and asked what it was and Arnie, with much
guilt, quietly said "grand slam"). The finale was over after 2
innings when ND led 6-1, which was the final score. Andre Cashner went 7
innings yielding just 2 hits. For the series, Goldschmidt, Cruz, and
Kiermeier were all 8 for 19 (.421). Cruz added 2 HR and 7 rbi, Kiermaier
and Lindor had 6 rbis, and M. Gonzalez had 5 rbis to lead a balanced attack for North Dakota, which took over 2nd place.
New Orleans
won 3 of 4 from CN to claw back to .500 and sole possesion of 4th place. Judge hit 3 HR’s in game 2, got injured in
game 3 and his replacement, Hicks, hit 2 HR.
As an aside, the Manager of the New Orleans franchise would like to
publicly say the NFL Referees are crooks, and show solitary with the
Saints. There is no truth to the rumor
Doc Ellis dosed the refs with LSD prior to the game.
Draft Day, Sunday March 31.
(1/22) In the midst of an extended homestand, Bay City shocked the fans, the manager, the opposing manager, and the commissioner by sweeping the now lowly Manatees. Game 1 was a relative pitchers' duel between Paxton and Darvish. BC took a two-run lead in the first, and CN scored 1 in the 4th inning (which BC got back in the bottom of the 4th) and two in the 5th on back-to-back solo shots by Rizzo and Trout. Then no one scored until the bottom of the 13th when Beltre-injury callup Carmago doubled to lead off the inning and Posey followed with a double of his own to give Bay City a 4-3 win. Tom squandered a leadoff triple in the 10th and BC had squandered a leadoff double in the 10th (its first extra-base hit of the game). The Manatees hit into 4 double plays (and 11 total over the 4 games).
In Game 2n C. Martinez dominated, holding BC to 3 hits through 8 shutout innings,while CN hit two more solo homers (both by Donaldson) off Godley to carry a 2-0 lead into the 9th. But the Bay City bats came alive as two singles and a walk loaded the bases. A deep sac fly by pinch hitter Castellanos made it 2-1, and pinch hitter Pirela drove in 2 with a long single for the 3-2 BC win.
Game 3 looked like a runaway for Tom, as he tired Jimmy Nelson in the 2nd thanks to a bunch of singles, doubles, and CN's first non-solo homer of the series (a 3-run shot by Gennett). But Bay City chipped away at the lead with two solo shots byCorrea and one by Reddick. After narrowing the gap to 9-7 on a 3-run Herrera homer in the 7th, Robin finally relieved her tired starter with Wade Davis, who kept the Manatees off the boards the final two innings while Bay City tied it in the 8th after Tom intentionally walked the clutch Pirela to load the bases and bring up the unclutch Harrison--but Robin countered with mutant Winker, who hit a long single. A leadoff walk by Benintendi in the 9th was followed by a game-winning Correa homer (his third of the game).
Game 4 saw Tom score 2 in the first off Montgomery, but BC countered with solo shots by Herrera and Benintendi off Santana. Tom took the lead in the 3rd but had a second run cut down at the plate (and another one cut down in the 6th, while BC had one cut down in the 5th). A bunch of singles and walks gave BC a 5-3 lead after five but a Donaldson homer made it 5-4 in the 7th. Robin sealed the sweep with three runs in the eighth although Tom made it interesting with two runs in the ninth. Cishek held on for the 8-6 win.
The Bay City organization offers congratulations to the family of new Hall of Famer and late Bay City pitcher Roy Halladay.
....
Same series two times in a row for
Oceanus, who took the first two games and lost the last two for the
unsatisfying split. The games were marred by unusually poor WES defense
(5 errors) and questionable WES tactics (4 HBP). Both teams got HRs by
righties by rolling 1s. All of the games ended up pretty close.
(1/20) Game
1 of the series was rained out, and field conditions were so poor in Bay City
that the series could not get under way for a week. It turned out to be a
classic satisfying/unsatisfying split. Edited computer summaries follow.
In
a startling finish the Oceanus Assholes staged a comeback then held on to win
over the Bay City Rollers by a score of 4 to 3 at Bay City Park. Oceanus jumped
out to the early lead in the first inning, scoring one run on 2 hits. Oceanus rapped out 8 hits for the afternoon. Taijuan
Walker got credit for the victory, pitching 6 innings and allowing 1 run.
Walker got help from Dominic Leone, who was credited with the save. Zack Godley was the hard-luck loser. He allowed 2 runs and 6 hits in 7 innings.
In game 2, Aaron Nola and Jimmy Nelson(0-1) treated the Bay City fans to a fine pitching duel. The Oceanus Assholes eventually emerged victorious over the Bay City Rollers by the score of 2 to 0. Oceanus took the lead for good in the top of the 5th inning. Oceanus totaled 10 hits on the night. Nola got relief help from Pat Neshek who got the save.
In game 3, 47,778 fans watched an exciting game as the Bay City Rollers topped the Oceanus Assholes by the slimmest of margins, 6 to 5. Bay City went ahead for good in the 3rd inning when they tallied 2 runs on 2 hits. Oceanus threatened in the 9th but their rally came up short. Mike Montgomery went 5 shutout innings for the win. Devenski pitched 3 innings, giving up 3 unearned runs thanks to a 3-base error by former Gold Glove right fielder Josh Reddick. Reddick helped atone for this by homering (along with Benintendi and Beltre). Givens got the save. Corey Kluber was touched for 3 homeruns in his 6 and 1/3 innings of work. “It's a disheartening loss, no question about it,” said Jed “But we have to get over it and get ready for the next game.”
Evidently the Assholes could not “get ready for the next game,” as BC tired Strasburg in the first inning and later tired David Price. Carlos Correa went yard and had 2 RBIs and the Rollers beat the Assholes by the count of 7 to 1. Cole Hamels had a fairly solid outing. He went 5 innings surrendering 6 hits and 2 walks. For the game Bay City out-hit Oceanus 13 to 8. Stephen Strasburg was the losing pitcher. He gave up 5 runs in 3 innings of work. Bay City’s joy was tempered by the 4-game injury to former Asshole Beltre, who injured his hamstring trying to beat out a grounder (or tweaked his back trying to avoid having a former teammate rub his head).
BC injury call-up Teoscar Hernandez (for Domingo Santana injury in game 1) distinguished himself by striking out 6 times in 6 at bats (with one walk).
Jed adds: This series really illustrated the vagaries of Strat-O for me. I win two pitching duels with middling pitchers. So then I have my top two starters going in games 3 and 4. And I’m facing lefties with a pretty lefty-killing lineup. And what happens? Both starters get rocked (one tired in the first inning). And I got 1 run off the lefties. I did at least enjoy the rarified air of .500 for one shining moment....
Draft Day, Sunday March 31
(1/19) Future
Wax jumped into third place, taking 3 of 4 from North Dakota in a hardfought series finished just ahead of
gathering storm clouds. Scherzer dominated the first game, yielding only 3 hits
and 1 run over 7-1/3 inning. DeGrom was solid, but paid for the mistakes he did
make. He walked two in the 2nd, then both scored on a Upton double.
In the 4th, he hit a batter, then made a fielding error, setting the
table for another 2-run Upton double, on the way to a 5-1 FW win, with Rivero
picking up a save.
FW
got to Fulmer early in Game 2, leading off the 2nd with 4 singles
and a double before an out was recorded, leading to 4 runs. Fulmer allowed
another 6 singles in the 4th, for another 4 runs. A tired Fulmer
stays in yielding 3 tired singles across three innings, and 3 more runs. With
an 11-1 lead by the 7th, fans were heading for the exit. Those that
did missed the fireworks, as ND bats ignited for 7 consecutive hits, knocking
out Greinke and McGee, making it a 12-7 game. Arnie scored 2 more in the 9th
to get within 3, but Rosenthal closed the door. (The fans who stuck around
complained about the manager leaving the starter in too long, and the comeback
that might have been.)
ND
bats stayed hot, though, pounding out 14 runs on 15 hits in Game 3. Khris Davis
was a monster, hitting home runs on his first four at bats (tying the immortal David Segui, Pujuols, and Votto for the SOMBILLA
record) for 8 RBIs. Goldschmidt swatted his own 3-run shot. Ray and 3 relievers
held FW to 5 hits, on the way to a 14-3 blow out.
After each team fired off its cannons, the final game was a back-and-forth duel. A triple and sac fly put FW up 1-0. 2 walks and a single later is was 1-1. 2 singles and a sac fly put FW up 2-1. Hoskins and Chirinos blasts put ND up 4-2. FW scored a run in the 4th on a walk and 3 hits, but had the tying run thrown out at the plate, but got that tying run in the 5th on a walk, single, walk, fielder's choice. But ND counted with a Lindor double driving in a hit batsman, for a 5-4 lead. A pinch hit home run by Delmonico tied it up in the 6th, and a Stanton blast an inning later up FW up 6-5. Hoskins ties it in the 8th with his own bomb. In the 10th, Belt's belt tipped the balance for good. Rosenthal nails down the win for FW (after blowing the save in the 8th).
Draft Day, Sunday March 31
(1/17) An exiting series, in which 3 games went down to the final at bat, ended in an entertaining split between CN and ND earlier tonight. The series exemplified the parity in this year's SOMBILLA as only 5 games separate the entire league and every team is at least within 2 games of the playoffs.
CN jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning in game 1; they started fast in every game. 2 solo shots for ND (Goldschimdt, Gonzalez) tied it at 2 after one inning. But the relentless CN attack pounded deGrom for 6 runs in 4 innings (Donaldson with 2 of the six rbis), and, after Harper's solo shot in the 6th inning (he had 4 hits in the game), it was 7-3 CN after 6 innings. It stayed that way until the bottom of the 9th inning. Single, walk, single, and Archie (dont call me Bunker) Bradley comes in. A sac fly makes it 7-4. Two walks and the bases are loaded with one out and the winning run at the plate. Mutant Rhys Hoksins comes in to pinch -hit. Strikeout. Mutant Alfaro comes in to pinch hit. K. Game over.
North Dakota pounded C-Mart early and often in game 2, with K. Davis (2-run homer), and Joey Gallo (3-run homer) staking them to a 7-1 lead. Davis hits his 2nd HR in the 5th to make it 9-1. Final score 9-4, ND, to even the series.
Game 3 was a nail-bighter, with fingernails littering the table. Goldschmidt homers in the 3rd off Carrasco for the early 1-0 ND lead. But Cory Seager blasts a 3-run shot off Robbie Ray in the 4th for the 3-1 CN lead. Trout's HR makes it 4-1, CN in the 5th, but Petey's rbi single makes it 4-2 in the bottom of the 5th. ND's W. Contreras's rbi single scores Kiermaier in the 6th to make it 4-3. The game is turned over to the bullpens with a parade of a combined 8 relievers from the 6th-9th innings. Bottom of the 9th, down 4-3 and one out, ND's mutant Alfaro pinch hits and strikes out against Bradley. Mutant Hoskins pinch-hits and lo and behold it's not a strikeout! But it's a ground out, game over.
In game 4, once again CN jumps out to the early lead, this time with a grand salami by Harper in the first inning off Cashner. But Goldschmidt smacks a 3-run homer in the 2nd for never-say-die North Dakota (whose manager was trying to tamp down on thinking about another disappointing season just before). It stays 4-3 until the 5th inning, when Marwin Gonzalez delivers a 2-run homer off E. Santana for the 5-4 ND lead. ND's N. Cruz's 2-out rbi single in the 6th makes it a 6-4 game. A. Miller, Romo, and Osuna keep it 6-4 into the 9th. Corey Seager leads off for CN and reaches on a 2-base error by the 1e10 F. Lindor. After an out, Rizzo singles, and Kimbrel comes in to pitch. Trout greets him with an rbi single and it's 6-5. Duval is up. He hits a routine grounder to the sure-handed Pedroia, but Trout slides into Pedroia hard. After a replay review, the umpires rule baserunner interference and it goes into the books as a game-ending double play, giving North Dakota the satisfying split.
Draft Day, Sunday, March 31.
(1/10) With rumors of possible tanking,
Oceanus takes the first 3 games as Constantinople scores only 1 run
total. The Manatee bats come alive for 14 hits in game 4 to avoid the
sweep. Game summaries below.
Game 1:
Game 2:
Game 3:
Strasburg gave Oceanus a solid
outing. He didn't give up much, just 3 hits and 2 walks in 7 innings.
Matt Olson got the 2 RBIs on a double. Constantinople tried
unsuccessfully to come back in the 9th. Pat Neshek got the save, his 2nd of
the series. Carlos Carrasco ended up with the loss.
Game 4:
Draft Day, Sunday, March 31
(1/6) The second half of the season started with a battle between the two teams picked by pre-season prognosticators to be at the bottom of the standings. In game 1, Bay City was hitless through 4 1/3 but looked like they might come away with a win when Posey followed a Domingo Santana 7th inning double with a homer to take a 2-1 lead. Alas, Givens coughed up the lead in the 8th and Jeff added 2 insurances runs in the 9th to take the game, 4-2. In game 2, Bay City scored 4 in the second (on 3 doubles and 2 singles) to take a 5-1 lead they would never relinquish, going on to win, 7-4. Buster Posey was hit by a pitch and injured in the 7th, forcing Robin to use Nicholas Castellanos at catcher for the final two innings.
In game 3, call-up Sal Perez had a strikeout + injury in his first at-bat (2nd inning), causing Bay City to bring in Castellanos behind the plate once again, but Cole Hamels took it in stride, managing to pitch 6 perfect innings before Cain singled to lead off the 7th. Tempting fate, Robin brought in +9 hold Chris Devenski (to give her a +14 battery) but was able to hold on for a 7-2 victory. Game 4 was a pitchers' duel, Lynn vs. Darvish, with the only run of the game scoring on a triple by Reddick followed by a Santana sac fly. Darvish struck out 10 in 7 innings, allowing only 2 hits, and Cishek was perfect in 2 innings of relief for Bay City.
CN beats first place Dwarves 3 games to 1
(1/4) The first game was a pitcher's
duel in which Paxton gave up 3 runs to beat Sale who simply gave up. New Orleans came back to win
6-2 in the next game.
CN not to be out done, won game 3 6-3 and it was on to the rubber game. Santana is tired early, giving up 6 runs over the first two (5 unearned runs in the second after a 3 base error by Haniger opened the spigot to let the runs pour out). CN came back to get it to 6-4 in the top of 5th as Castillo and Harper homer. The bottom of the 5th, Santana faced the heart of the order, who hit on their cards - a solo shot for JD, single for Hosmer and an out for Turner. The CN manager then announced that if Santana could get Didi it was time for the pen. But Didi hits a two-run shot. The next inning another 3 NO runs scored including a Justin Turner homer. So it was 12-4 and it should have been easy for the NO relief corps to end CNs night. But then Trout leads off the 7th with a solo shot and CN scores 4 more to get it to 12-8. Then in the 8th Harper hits another 2 run homer to get the score to 12-10. But Morrow and Jansen had had enough and locked down the game for a 12-10 NO victory and a split.
Draft Day, Sunday March 31.
(12/29) Arnie headed south on
Saturday to Eric’s for a gentleman’s donnybrook, two old rivals vying for 1st place
as the 1st half of the season winds down. Long story
short, Nidavellir took 3 of 4 to open up a 3-game lead. Game 1 went eight scoreless
innings until Nidavellir exploded for 6 runs on three 2-run shots in the 9th.
Final: 6-0. Verlander was crafty, going seven, giving up 5 hits and 4 walks,
striking out 13, in a winning no-decision.
Game 2 went to North Dakota,
who overcame a 4-0 deficit and threw up (in the non-bile sense) 9 unanswered
runs to win going away, 9-4. Nelson Cruz sparked the comeback rout, smacking 2
homers and driving in five. Game 3 was pretty much over
after 5 innings, as Nidavellir pounded North Dakota 14-6, with game honors
going to NV’s Michael Taylor, who drove in 5 with a homer and a double.
Game 4 was the closest, a
4-2 triumph by NV, behind the superb pitching of Luis Severino, a back-breaking
two-run blast by Andrelton Simmons off Cashner early on, and a 2-inning save by
Chad Greene. Hitting stars for NV go to
Bellinger (3HRs, 5 RBIs) and Molina (3HRs, 4 RBIs). Bellinger finishes the 1st half
of the season with 10 HRs.
3 games now separate 2nd
place from 8th place.
Remember, there is a day off for teams after game 28 rather than the old
chronological day off on New Year’s Eve.
(12/22) Harold and Eric kicked off their holiday vacations on
Saturday with a late morning series in Plymouth. Playing in Harold’s park,
which is not much different than Eric’s or Arnie’s or Tom’s or Randy’s, the
teams combined for 23 homers. Harold won that match-up by a slim 12-11 margin,
but the games themselves didn’t quite go his way, as he dropped three.
Game
1 was a classic wipeout by Nidavellir, whose first-half success has kinda
surprised their manager and fan-base, clubbing New Orleans 14-8. Don’t let the
score fool you: it was 14-2 after six, and Harold padded his stats with a late
inning granny by Sanchez. Sale for NO and Verlander for NV each went the
en(tired) distance. NV’s hitting star was bestowed on Arenado, who tripled and
homered early and drove in 3.
Game
2 was Harold’s revenge, 8-4, as he smacked 4 dingers off Berrios (3) and Shane
Greene (1) and his magnificent bullpen tossed four shutout innings. Sanchez had
two more homeruns (he smacked 4 overall) for NO, who at this point still had
their hopes that the day would go their way.
And
then the Vape kicked in. Eric overdid it on the pulls (maybe Harold did, too,
but only he can tell), and spent the next two game managing and rolling in a
brilliant, Pax©-induced haze.*
The
first 3 innings of Game 3 were, incredibly, scoreless, as Severino for NV (1
hit) and Gio Gonzo for NO (no hits) went toe-to-to. But in the 4th,
Gio surrendered a solo blast to Jose Martinez, and then another in the 5thto
Michael Taylor, and that was all Severino needed, who went seven strong,
allowing no runs, 3 hits, 2 walks and striking out 5. Final: 7-2.
Game
4 was by far the closest, a slugfest won by NV 10-9. Harold out-homered Eric 3
to 1, had two fewer errors (3 to 1 in Eric’s favor), but his great bullpen
faltered, surrendering a 2-run lead and giving up 4 runs over the final three
innings. The big blow by NV was delivered by Parra, who hit a 3-run Johnson off
Madsen in the 7th. Chad Green, in his only appearance for NV,
notched the save with a 2-inning stint. NO made it close in the 9th,
with a lead-off solo jack by Judge, but that was all Harold could muster.
Tough series for Harold. Eric simply killed Harold on the split decisions. Example: a Triple 1 out otherwise for Ozuna in the first game wipeout. Other notable stats, that only highlight Harold’s misfortunes: NV made 8 errors (leading to some 5 unearned runs), NO made 3, but had several costly hit rolls against his range-less outfield.
*For
those still catching up to modern Vape technology, the Pax© is one of the
leading brands of Vapes, and is now the official cannabis-delivery systems of
Nidavellir and North Dakota.
Speaking
of North Dakota, they were this close to keeping pace with NV, up 2
games to 1 and up 5-2 in the 8th inning of game 4, when Josh Harrison (2-run
HR), Reddick, and D. Santana all homered off the erstwhile vaunted ND bullpen
(A. Reed and B. Parker) for the stunning 6-5 win, earning a quite satisfying
series split for BC.
(12/18) Home cooking was the name of the game as “WES?” swept the
mighty Wax. The ballpark showed no love
to the visiting front-runners. I believe
Randal missed all of his ballpark HR splits (0-6).
Game 1: This was the first of four pitching duals. Maeda made his season debut tossing 8 innings and yielding only 1 hit. Cano and Puig went yard to lead “WES?” to a 2-0 victory. Game 2: Samardzija pitch a brilliant 7 innings yielding only 4 hits and 1 unearned run as a result of Kendrick’s boot (playing first based due to a Freemen injury). Butcher provided a 2 inning save. The offense was led by Cain who went 4-4, 1 run, 1 triple and a stolen base.
Game 3 : A 4-3 nail biter for the victorious “WES?” squad. “WES?” threw the whole bullpen at the mighty wax. Lynn got the win and Giles the save as Freemen, Rodney (who gets no respect), Chapman, Inglesias and Giles, combined, pitched 2 innings to keep the Wax bats cool. The offense was led by JT Realmuto who went 2-3, 1HR, 2RBIs and a SB. Game 4: In the finale Leake , Rodney, Butcher, Inglesias, Chapman and Giles combined in a 4 hit shut out . Kendrick led “WES?” offense with a double and RBI.
The clubhouse had a buzz to it. Off the record, one player indicated that the lift was mainly due to the Justin Turner trade ushering in the start of the Alex Bregman era! Across the table the only thing of note was that Robin and Harold successfully rolled for a rain out and New Orleans manager was a bit disgruntled by the newly acquired performance of Turner!
(12/11) Satisfying split for Jed (but not really, when you're 4 games under .500) and unsatisfying split for Robin.
Game 1
Zack Godley and Corey Kluber treated the Oceanus fans to a fine pitching duel at Rehoboth Parking Lot. The Bay City Rollers eventually emerged as victors over the Oceanus Assholes by the score of 3 to 0.
Oceanus found themselves trailing quickly as the Bay City bats came through in the first inning plating an isolated run on 2 base hits. That scoring would be all that was needed. Bay City had 9 hits overall, while Oceanus had 4. Steve Cishek got the save.
Game 2
In a close game it was the Bay City Rollers 4, the Oceanus Assholes 2 at Rehoboth Parking Lot. In the 7th inning Bay City scored 3 runs when they came up with 3 base hits. Adrian Beltre got things going when he doubled. Nicholas Castellanos stepped up to the plate and he drew a walk. Josh Harrison was a strikeout victim, unable to help out. One out later, Josh Reddick came to bat and doubled knocking home two runners. Domingo Santana came up to bat and banged out a single scoring the final run of the inning. Bay City finished with 9 hits in the victory.
Mychal Givens went 1 and 2/3 innings allowing no runs for the victory. Mike Minor earned the save. Tyler Lyons was the losing pitcher in relief. He surrendered 3 hits and 2 walks in 1 inning. Late in the game, chants of "We want Acuna" and "Tank, tank, tank" reverberated from the sparsely filled stands.
Game 3
19,794 fans watched an exciting game at Rehoboth Parking Lot. The Oceanus Assholes topped the Bay City Rollers by the slimmest of margins, 4 to 3. Oceanus scored 2 runs in the decisive bottom of the 5th inning when they came up with 5 base hits. They would hold up as the winning runs. Both teams totaled 7 hits on the afternoon. The win went to Dallas Keuchel who allowed 2 runs in 7 innings. Pat Neshek recorded the save. Cole Hamels was the loser. He allowed 7 hits and 1 walk in 4 and 2/3 innings.
Game 4
Avisail Garcia blasted a homerun and had 3 RBI at Rehoboth Parking Lot where the Oceanus Assholes beat the Bay City Rollers 6 to 5. The game was won by Oceanus with a run in the 8th inning. After two were out
Garcia hit a bases-empty home run. Bay City was out-hit by Oceanus, 15 hits to 8. The undeserving winning pitcher was Yusmeiro Petit who allowed 2 runs in 1 inning. Pat Neshek gained credit for his 2nd save. Chris Devenski took the loss in relief. He gave up 4 hits and 2 walks in 3 and 1/3 innings.
Oceanus almost managed to blow this one / Bay City staged a valiant comeback, depending on your point of view. Down 5-1 entering the 7th, Bay City scored a run in the 7th and 3 in the 8th. Bay City outfielders had thrown out 2 runners at the plate (3 in the series) and the Oceanus manager was lamenting his decision making, as usual. The Garcia HR bailed out Oceanus.
(12/9) It was an unlucky day for Jeff and WES hosting Eric in Hopkinton, as he found no love rolling the dice and saw his starters get hammered in 3 of the 4 games to Nidavellir's homer-happy dwarves. Only Leake gave Jeff a chance to win, but he came up on the short end of a 2-1 loss, surrendering back-to-back jacks off his card to Dickerson and Parra in the 2nd inning, as Severino rolled through 7.6 innings, giving up just 1 un-earned run in the first, on five hits (all singles), 3 walks and 11 Ks. it was one of those days--and we've all had them--where Jeff just couldn't get a hit with men on base. Nidavellir won the other 3 games handily, 6-4, 12-7 and 9-3. Hitting star of the series goes to Cory Dickerson, who had 2 homers and 7 RBIs in his first appearance of the season, and may have earned a spot on the team for the rest of year.
(12/5) Future Wax took 3 of 4 from Oceanus, after an 90 minute delay from persistent technical difficulties (partly solved by the Commissioner’s suggestion to reboot both computers). Then, 3 innings into the first game it was discovered that Randy has put J.P. Crawford on Jed’s roster instead of Brandon Crawford. After some discussion, the managers agreed to restart the game. This seemed a good move for Jed after Jose Ramirez hit a solo homer in the 1st (after Eaton’s caught stealing) , until Stanton’s 3 run blast in the bottom of the inning. Each team added 2 runs over the course of the game, ending in a 5-3 FW win. Game 2 was knotted 5-5, until Springer’s walk off blast sent the home crowd into delirium. (To Jed’s dismay, Jose Ramirez left the game and the series after being hit by a pitch.) FW was up 13-0 by the 5th inning in game 3, but the mop up crew of Hunter and Goody spilled the bucket, giving up 9 runs over the final 3 innings. (Making Jed wish he hadn’t let Walker pitch 7 innings while tired). Despite the late inning fireworks, FW held on for a 14-9 win. Chances for a sweep looked good with FW up 5-4 going into the 9th of the final game. But Rivero blew the save, allowing a 3-run homer by Altuve. Brandon Belt made a bid for a second walk off win in the series, but came up just short (missing a 1-16 HR chance). Final score, 7-6 Oceanus.
Jed adds: From my perspective, it felt like I was going to lose, even though there were 2 1-run games and a 2-run game. Even the blowout, where Randy had a 13-0 lead going into the 7th, got kind of interesting as I made it a respectable 14-9 in the end. So I suppose I had a chance to split with just a few breaks going my way. On the other hand...Randy missed a 1-16 (ballpark) HR chance to sweep in the bottom of the 9th in game 4.... Season starting to go down the toilet. Should I draft Acuna or Soto?
(12/2) North Dakota took over first place against CN earlier tonight as both teams hit the roster freeze. After North Dakota jumped out to an 11-2 lead in the 2nd inning (he said, casually), with the help of 9 walks given up by James Paxton and a bases-clearing double by Austin Jackson, the game took a philosphical turn. The managers discussed the etiquette of stealing in a blowout. The CN manager questioned the etiquette of the ND manager attempting to steal while leading, 11-2. The ND manager posited a generaul rule of not stealing when up by >= 10 runs (fewer if late in the game). And in this park (everything 1-19) against that CN limeup, and only the 2nd inning, attemting to steal should still be proper etiquette (as opposed to just running up the score). After it was 13-2 in the 3rd (2-run shot by Jackson), that stopped the stealing attempts. But when it was 13-6 in the 5th (HR by Trout), ND pointed out that it was now politcially correct to try and steal again. Finally, it was 16-6 going into the bottom of the 9th. Tom wanted only to hurt deGroms's (7.89) ERA, which he did with a 5-run inning thanks to Donaldson's grand salami for the misleding final score of 16-11.
ND scored 5 unearned runs (errors by Seager and Harper) for a 5-2 lead in game 2. Gallo's homer makes it 6-2, but Trout cracks a 3-run homer off Fulmer to make it 6-5 in the 5th. But Blake Parker, Kimbrel, and the surprising pre-freeze innings burnout, waiver claim man Liam Hendricks ("we'll vote him a full share") close the door as ND's K. Davis's 2-run homer ices it 10-5.
In game 3, CN's stopper Carlos Carrasco pitched 6 1/3 innings and left with a 3-1 lead (Rizzo and Kinsler hr's). Closer Archie Bradley gets the last two outs with 2 on for the save to win the game 5-2.
Game 4 is a surprising pitchers' duel. Not so much E. Santana (6 innings, 1 run [K. Davis HR]), but the scary Luke Weaver (5 BP against righties) making his 2nd and final start. After 2 batters, it's 2-0 (Trout 2-run homer), but he settles down and leaves after 4, down 2-1. It stays that way until the 8th inning, when lefty Joey Gallo (the latter day Dave Kingman who can actually play 3B) homers off Knebel (a reversed righty) to tie it 2-2. Tom laments that it was his best matchup, but luck will always win out over good managing. 2 outs later, Betances comes in the face Goldschmidt, the correct move. Goldschmidt homers. Parker and Osuna pitch the final two innings, and ND wins 3-2.
(11/27) FW took 3 of 4 from ND earlier tonight, tightening the standings so that only 2 games separate all teams. Future Wax won the series through a combination of strong starting pitching and the long ball (11 in the series). Scherzer threw a complete game towards a 6-2 win in the opener. Suarez, Stanton, Barnes, and Turner homered for Future Wax, while Marwin Gonzalez plated 2 with his homer. Randy took the 2nd game 4-1, with 2-run shots from Stanton and Blackmon. Greinke allowed only 3 hits over 8-2/3 IP, one of which was a Contraras solo shot. Arnie bounced back in game 3, winning 4-2 on home runs from Goldschmidt, Gyorko and Gonzalez. North Dakota hit 4 more (solo) blasts in game 4, but were swamped by Stanton who homered in his first 3 at bats (giving him 5 HR and 9 RBI for the series). Upton and Blackmon also homered, powering Future Wax to an 8-4 win. Kershaw had 9 Ks over 6 innings.
Game 2 of the BC/WES? series was a torturous 19-inning affair won by Jeff on an error by Josh Harrison.
(11/20) A very unsatisfying split for Harold as he was on the verge of taking game 4. Corey Kluber had taken a shutout into the 9th but the much-maligned Aaron Judge tied it with a solo shot. Then, in the top of the 11th, Judge clubbed a 2-run HR to give the Ellis a 3-1 lead. Which became seemingly insurmountable when Ryan Madson entered the game in the bottom of the 11th. Jose Ramirez did start off with a walk. but Madson easily retired Trevor "Never Ending" Story and Alex Avila. Up came Yusmeiro Petit, a reliever thrust into the DH slot so that I could field a defense. I only had Mike Zunino left on the bench so in he came. He got a double off of Madson's card (a 1-12 split chance). I had to hold up Ramirez on third. So it was still 3-1 with 2 outs. Jake Marisnick came up. He had a 3.2% chance to hit a HR. But he got a 3-6 roll and it was a walk-off. A stunning turnaround.
(11/18) The key game in North Dakota's series win over Oceanus was game 1, a wild and woolly, wacky game won on a walkoff homer by Paul Goldschmidt 14-13. The game started 45 minutes late. We wanted to blame computer Strat-O, but it was actually human error (mismatched versions, then forgetting to input the month and day of game, which the computer requires). Once we figured it out, the Assholes jumped to a 9-3 lead by the top of the 5th inning, thanks to 5 home runs (Rendon, Garcia, Votto and 2 by Zunino) all off deGrom. But in the bottom of the 5th, with 2 out and nobody on, North Dakota proceeds to score 8 times, capped by a Nelson Cruz grand slam off Y. Petit to take an 11-9 lead. Inciarte's 3-run homer off Kimbrel in the 7th gives Oceanus the lead back, 12-11. Cruz's 2-run single off Petit in the 7th, gives ND the lead back 13-12. But Mike Zunino's 3rd homer of the game ties it up for Oceanus 13-13 in the 8th, where it stayed until Goldschmidt's homer in the bottom of the 9th.
ND won game 2, 6-2, thanks to solid pitching by Fulmer, Kimbrel and pre-freeze innings burners Hendricks and Kela.
Game 3 was another come from behind win for North Dakota, scoring 5 in the 3rd to take a 5-3 lead (thanks to K. Davis's 3-run homer) and tire out Corey Kluber! But OC tied it with 2 in the 6th and it remained 5-5 into the bottom of the 8th when K. Davis led off with his 2nd homer of the game, off O'Day. Andrew Miller pitched the final two innings for ND for the win.Lamenting an impending sweep, (with the ND manager feeling appropriately guilty), Jed salvaged the finale 5-1, Strasburg pitching 7 innings of 4-hit ball.
Star of the serie was Nelson Cruz, 8 for 16 (.500), 1 homer, 9 rbis, 3 doubles, 2 walks
Meanwhile, in Mansfield, it was an unlikely split. CN went up early 9-1 as they score 9 to tire
Verlander. But Eric came back in “his greatest comeback in memory” as
he put up 7 unearned runs in the 6th. Morrison booted an
easy out on a “8” and then Trout gave up a double
on a 1 result (yes he is a 2 for the first time in memory) and at the
end of the inning it was 12-10 Dwarves. CN scratched for one more but
could not come back and lost 12-11.
(11/15) New Orleans takes 3 of 4 from the Wax in a series that saw a combined 84 total runs scored. Wax won game one 15-5. Upton was the hitting star, going 4 for 6 hitting 3 HR’s. New Orleans takes game 2, 7-3, with a 5-run outburst in the 6th sealing the win. New Orleans wins game 3, 21-14 (yes, that was the correct score). JD Martinez goes 5 for 5, hitting 3 HR's with 9 RBIs. Both teams combine to hit 8 homers in the game. This game featured NO’s only catcher on the 25 man roster (Sanchez) getting injured, and being replaced by Chris Sale behind the plate. Sale batted in the 7th and grounded out, to the applause of Dontrelle Willis, the last NO lefty starter to catch. New Orleans wins game 4, 12-7. That guy Martinez goes 3 for 4 with 2 HR’s and 4 RBI’s.
(11/14) Nidavellir's lefty-killing lineup and timely defense served them well in achieving a split on the road at Oceanus. Oceanus hit .328 for the series and had a 3.50 team ERA but somehow it didn't translate into taking the series. Cozart hit .529 for Oceanus and Rosario hit .333 with 2 HR. Arenado hit .353 for Nidavellir with 2 HR and Pillar hit .571 in 7AB with a HR.
What would normally have been a satisfying split for North Dakota after losing the first two games by a run was actually a humialiting disaster of a split against the Baltimore Orioles of the SOMBILLA. Surprise mutant starter Lucas Giolito had a CG win for "WES?" in game 1, 5-4. "WES?"s Puig (3-run homer) and Cano (2-run blast) knocked out ND's 'not as good as Giolito' mutant starter Luke Weaver to help Jeff to a 6-5 game 2 win. ND won games 3 and 4 by identical 5-1 scores, as ND pitching yielded just 13 hits over the final two games.
(11/12) CN showed up for what should be a homer filled series and was
not disappointed. In game 1, Scherzer
dominated CN’s Luis Castillo as Castillo gave up 6 runs early and then settled
in tired to lose 9-6 as FW hit 5 homers and CN hit 3 (all 2 run shots for CN as
they tried to come back).
Game 2 saw Tom spill 2/3 of a beer everywhere (charts sad) but
they did pull out the game 8-5. CN went up early 7-2 and cruised to the
end with only one speed bump as Kinsler could not handle a bases juiced double
play ball.
Game 3 was just a slugfest for CN as they hit homers early and
often to win 14-4.
For game 4, Future Wax bought out their one time ace Kershaw to
calm the proceedings down. But it was the offense that did the talking as
Wax scored 6 runs on 4 long balls in the first 4 innings off of Santana.
CN had a chance to win the series when Donaldson got a pitch with the bases
loaded right down main street which he hit deep (homer 1-8) but it was dragged
in by Springer with a great catch and Kershaw did not get tired early.
There was some 9th inning attempt at fireworks as CN came back to
score 2 but lost 6-4 with a man on first.