Astros Knock Off Blue Jays in 5 Games

Houston's Jason Kipnis batted .389 and scored four runs to help the Astros eliminate the Blue Jays in the opening round of the 2015 millennium playoff round.  A summary of the games:


Game 1 - Astros 4, Blue Jays 2 - Kershaw pitched 7 strong innings and an unlikely homer by Billy Hamilton put Houston ahead in the 7th

Game 2 - Astros 9, Blue Jays 6 - Nelson Cruz went 4-5 with a HR but Houston hit 5 long balls from 5 different players to take a 2-0 lead in the series

Game 3 - Astros 3, Blue Jays 1 - As the series went to a warmer climate, the results stayed the same, an Astros win.  Charlie Bassitt gave up 1 run over 6 innings as Teixeira and Grandal each homer for the 2nd time in the series

Game 4 - Blue Jays 6, Astros 2 - The champagne was ordered as the Stros had Kershaw on the mound again.  The Jays jumped all over the world's greatest pitcher as he allowed 12 base runners in 6 2/3 innings.  Nelson Cruz once again did the damage going 2-5, with 2nd dinger of the series and knocking in 3 runs

Game 5 - Astros 5, Blue Jays 3 - The bubbly was taken off of ice as the city of Houston celebrated as the Astros advance to the next round with a 5 to 3 victory.  Rubby De La Rosa managed to get through 5, then Will Smith, Brian Shaw, Tony Watson and Huston Street held the Jays scoreless over the last 4 innings.  Mark Teixeira hit his 3rd HR of the series and Adam Eaton took the MVP honors going 6-18 for a .333 average.  He scored 6 runs, had 2 doubles and a HR and was on base 11 times.  He had an OPS of 1.089 (OBP .478, Slug .611).

Redbirds Eliminate Angels

Jacob Degrom won two games to help lead the St. Louis Cardinals past the Anaheim Angels in five games.  St. Louis had a balanced attack (four players with 4 RBIs each) and a solid 2.45 ERA.  A summary of the series:


GAME 1 - St. Louis 6, Anaheim 4
The Cardinals scored three times in the 3rd inning, sparked by Dioner Navarro's 2-run single, and never relinquished the lead. But the Angels, after falling behind 5-1, did make it close. Nick Markakis homered in the 6th and Mitch Moreland delivered an RBI single in the 7th to make it 5-3, In the 8th, Gregory Polanco nearly tied it. But on a hit that scored one run, Derek Dietrich tried to race home from second, but was nailed at the plate. Josh Reddick added an insurance run on a HR in the home half, and Wade Davis secured the save.

GAME 2 - St. Louis 11, Anaheim 1
Kyle Schwarber's 3-run blast capped a 9-run explosion in the 4th inning for the Cards. Francisco Liriano carried a shutout into the 9th and tossed a complete-game 7-hitter.

GAME 3 - St. Louis 6, Anaheim 2
Another big inning -- a 5-run 2nd -- carried the Cardinals as Jaime Garcia and Wade Davis combined on a 2-hitter. After two runs scored on bases-loaded walks in the 2nd, Carlos Santana ripped a 3-run double off Gio Gonzalez. Stephen Piscotty collected the Angels' only RBIs.

GAME 4 - Anaheim 6, St. Louis 3
The Angels avoided the sweep as Dallas Keuchel struck out 8 in 6 innings. The winners took their first lead of the series on Prince Fielder's RBI single in the 1st. Stephen Vogt and Nick Markakis each registered 2 RBIs as Anaheim took a 6-1 lead. Logan Forsythe's 2-run double in the 7th made it 6-3, but the Cardinals could get no closer.

GAME 5 - St. Louis 2, Anaheim 1
A pitching gem on both sides. Jacob DeGrom won for the second time in the series, fanning 10 in 8 innings. He and Wade Davis, who struck out 2 in the 9th, combined on a 3-hitter. The only blemish against Angels starter Cody Anderson until the 9th was a bases-loaded walk to Curtis Granderson in the 2nd. Anderson allowed just 4 hits -- the second run against him coming on Anthony Rendon's single in the 9th.

Giants Are Moving On

The San Francisco Giants won game #7 in Oakland to advance to the Millenium Semi-Finals.  Here is a recap of the series:


Game 1 - Giants 3, A's 1:  Zack Greinke and Zach Britton combined to shut down the Athletics' offense on just one run.  Puig hit a 2-run shot in the 9th for the winning runs.

Game 2 - Giants 11, A's 2:  David Freese (3 doubles) had four hits and Andre Ethier (triple and a homer) knocked in 4 runs.  Max Scherzer went the distance by fanning 10;  loser Carrasco failed to get out of the first inning as he gave up 5 runs.

Game 3 - A's 5, Giants 1:  Jose Quintana pitched a strong 8 1/3 innings as Colby Lewis takes the loss.  A's top three batters in the lineup (Enciarte, Kendry Morales and Kyle Seager) combined for 6 hits, 2 runs and 3 ribbies.

Game 4 - A's 6, Giants 3:  Oakland ties up the series as Arrieta tosses CG and also hit a solo homer.  Enciarte, batting .391 in the series so far, had 4 hits for Oakland.

Game 5 - Giants 3, A's 2:  Nick Hundley knocked in Andre Ethier with the winning run in the bottom of the 8th as San Francisco moved to a 3-2 series lead.  Craig Kimbrel recorded the save with a scoreless ninth.

Game 6 - A's 3, Giants 0:  Carlos Carrasco made amends for his game #2 loss by firing the third post season no-hitter in Millennium history.  Jeff Samardzija pitched one for Seattle in last year's playoffs; Boston's Pedro Martinez and John Smoltz combined for one way back  in 2002.

Game 7 - Giants 12, A's 4:  Rebounding from getting no hit in game #6, the Giants scored 12 runs to advance to play the winner of the Houston/Toronto series.  Zach Greinke (2-0 2.61) gets the win while Arrieta (1-2 3.60) takes the loss.  Votto and Cozart (4 ribbies) hit homers for San Fran.

Carlos Carrasco Fires Post Season No Hitter for A's

Oakland (AP) - Carlos Carrasco fired a clutch no-hitter in game #6 of the opening round of the 2015 playoffs.  Carrasco's gem knotted the series at 3-3 with the deciding game to be played in Oakland.

You can see the box score by clicking on the following:  Carrasco No Hitter

2015 Postseason Race

With just 30 games to go, we have an exciting race for the eight playoff spots:


LEAGUE STANDINGS FOR 2015 Millennium League

Division Leaders            WON LOST  PCT   GB  
2015 Miami MMN               82  50  .621 ----    
2015 Oakland OAA             78  54  .591 ----      
2015 Toronto TOA             75  57  .568 ----
2015 St. Louis SLN           71  61  .538 ----


Wild Card Leaders           WON LOST  PCT   GB
2015 Anaheim ANA             77  55  .583 ----        
2015 Houston HOA             73  59  .553 ----
2015 Washington WAN          72  63  .533 ----
2015 Los Angeles LAN         70  62  .530 ----
2015 San Francisco SFN       69  63  .523  1.0        
2015 Philadelphia PHN        68  64  .515  2.0
2015 Cleveland CLA           67  65  .508  3.0        
2015 Boston BOA              65  67  .492  5.0
2015 Kansas City KCA         64  68  .485  6.0 
2015 Minnesota MNA           64  68  .485  6.0

Mariners Champs Again!!

 



Congratulations to the Seattle Mariners for winning the 2014 Millennium World Series!  Here is a recap of the games:

Game 1:
Jake Arrieta took a 1-0 lead into the 9th inning and was gunning for the opening game shutout.  Carl Crawford singled and stole second.  With one out, Albert Pujols cleared the fences and K-Rod pitched a scoreless 9th to hand Arrieta his first playoff loss as the Mariners steal the first game in Oakland 2-1.

Game 2:
Brandon Phillips launched a 2 run blast off Collin McHugh in the 2nd inning to give the Mariners the lead.  They added two more runs in the 6th with RBI’s by Ryan Braun and Evan Longoria.  Mike Morse put the A’s on the board with a solo shot in the 7th and Austin Jackson added another one in the 8th to make it close.  Darren O’Day shut the A’s down in order in the 9th to preserve the 4-2 Mariner victory.

Game 3:
Mariners started the scoring with 2 runs in the bottom of the 3rd.  Oakland answered with 2 in the top of the 4th.  Brandon Belt doubled in Jose Reyes in the 6th to give the M’s a 3-2 lead.  Jon Lester stayed in the game into the 9th inning.  Daniel Norris hits a split 1 double 2-20 out in the top of the 9th inning.  He scores on a Kyle Seager single to tie it.   The tie game goes into the 14th inning.  The A’s 8th pitcher, Jared Hughes beans Peter Bourjos with one out who advances to 3rd on a Brandon Phillips Single.  Yadier Molina hits a high fly in to the middle of the OF.  Bourjos has 1-9 split chance of being safe on the sac fly and draws a 1 to win it.  4-3 Mariners with the walk-off.

Game 4:
Jose Quintana and Jeff Samardzjia bring their best efforts to game 4.  Through 8 innings, the only hit of the game was a Carl Crawford double in the 6th inning.  Kyle Seager led off the 9th with his 3rd walk of the game.  After Michael Cuddyer struck out, Seager advanced to second on a wild pitch.  A ground out by Al Avila advanced Seager to third.  The next pitch to Jonathan Schoop got away from Yadier Molina to give the A’s the first run of the game.  Schoop promptly flew out to end the inning.  After leaving their starters in too long in games 1 and 2, Quintana is pulled for the closer, Jake McGee.  It is the right move as McGee pitches a perfect 9th as the A’s get their first victory of the series despite not getting a hit with a 1-0 win. 

Game 5:
Jake Arrieta and Felix Hernandez try to match the marvelous pitching performances in game 4.  The game is scoreless until the 7th when Schoop scores on a passed ball.  Arrieta reaches his pitch limit and is lifted for Blaine Hardy.  After a Carl Crawford hit and steals second, Hardy gets Ryan Braun to fly out.  Adam Rosales comes in to pinch hit.  Oakland counters by bringing in Roman Mendez.  Rosales is sent back to the bench for a different PH, Kirk Nieuwenhuis.  Mendez gives a free pass to Nieuwenhuis to face Albert Pujols.  Pujols doesn’t take kindly to the move and jacks a 3 run shot to RF for a 3-1 lead.  Three Seattle relievers keep the A’s off the board as the Mariners overcome 3 errors and a passed ball to earn the 3-1 victory and win their 5th championship in franchise history. 

Braves Win 2nd Pick

3-8-1  Congrats to manager Tom Edwards and his Atlanta Braves for winning the second pick in the 2015 draft.

Indians Grab 1st Pick in 2015 Draft

9 - 5 -4.  Congratulations to Mike Petersen and his Cleveland Indians for winning the first pick in the upcoming draft.  Mike's team moves up from the 8th position.

2015 Draft Lottery Info

We will be conducting our draft lottery on Monday, March 6th and Tuesday, March 7th.....

The “Pennsylvania Daily Number Evening” lottery (http://www.palottery.state.pa.us/) on subsequent nights (7PM EST) will be used to decide who gets the #1 and #2 picks in the first round only. If the second pick yields the same result as the first night, then a third night’s lottery drawing will be used.

The remaining 10 teams will draft in reverse order of record. So, the team with the poorest record can do no worst than pick third in the first round.

2015 Lottery Drawing Chances:

000 to 249 – Minnesota (59-103)

250 to 449 – Atlanta (65-97, 4-2 vs. New York in tie-breaker)

450 to 604 – New York (65-97)

605 to 724 – Arizona (67-95)

725 to 814 – Anaheim (70-92, 5-1 vs. Washington in tie-breaker)

815 to 879 – Washington (70-92)

880 to 924 – Chicago (71-91 26-22 runs scored vs. Cleveland in tie-breaker)

925 to 954 – Cleveland (71-91)

955 to 974 – Pittsburgh (73-89)

975 to 986 – Kansas City (77-85)

987 to 994 – Houston (80-82)

995 to 999 – Miami (89-73)


(Click here for a history of previous lottery numbers selected.)

Mariners Eliminate Blue Jays in Seven Games

Seattle advanced to their sixth World Series with a four games to three semi-finals playoff win over the Toronto Blue Jays.  A summary of the series:


Game 1: TOR wins 7-1.  Nelson Cruz slammed 2 homeruns and had 3 RBI and Henderson Alvarez pitched a complete game allowing 1 run while scattering 7 hits.  Felix Hernandez took the loss as he gave up 10 hits and 5 runs over 5 innings.

Game 2: SEA wins 4-0.  Jeff Samardzija fired a six hit shutout and Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit a single, double and homer while knocking in a pair.  Iwakuma takes the loss.

Game 3: TOR wins 5-2.  Garrett Richards pitched 8 strong innings by only giving up 1 earned run while fanning 9.  Justin Turner had 2 ribbies.  Seattle's Lester got knocked out in the 3rd inning as he gave up 7 hits and 4 runs over 2 2/3 innings.

Game 4: SEA wins 4-0.  Seattle's Felix Hernandez responded from his first game loss by firing a 3 hit shutout.  Pujols hit a homer, drove in 2 runs and scored 2 runs.  Blue Jays' Chris Archer takes the loss.

Game 5: SEA wins 5-3.  The Mariners take a 3-2 series lead with the win.  Jeff Samardzija won his second game of the series (3-0 1.93 ERA in the post season) by pitching 6+ strong innings.  Jose Reyes went 4 for 4.  Henderson Alvarez, who pitched a gem in game #1 of the series, got hit hard by giving up 13 hits and 5 runs.

Game 6: TOR wins 6-5 in 13 innings.  Facing elimination, Toronto's Iain Kinsler hit a dramatic walk-off RBI single in the bottom of the 13th to send the series to game 7.  Seattle had a 4-1 lead going to the bottom of the 7th but their bullpen could not hold the lead.  Both teams scored a run in the 10th inning as this game was the most exciting of the series.  Toronto's strong bullpen pitched 6 innings while only giving up 1 run. 

Game 7: SEA win the final 2-1.  King Felix pitched brilliantly again as he fired a 3-hit CG while fanning 8.  Garrett Richards was the hard luck loser giving up 2 runs (1 earned) and striking out 7 over 7 2/3 innings.  The game was decided in the 8th inning.  After an out was recorded, Jose Reyes reached on an error.  One out later, Ryan Braun stepped in and he drew a walk.  Pujols then lined a single for the game winning run.         

A's Outlast Crosstown Rival Giants in 7 Games

Oakland beats San Francisco in 7 games.  Close, low scoring series with 4 one run games.  As they did in the divisional round the A's come back from a 3-1 series deficit.  A summary of the series:


Game 1: Oakland wins 5-2.  SF jumped to an early lead on a Yasiel Puig double, but the A's scored single runs in the 4th thru 8th innings.  Austin Jackson recalled memories of past playoff glory with a pinch-hit triple.  Jake Arrieta pitched 6 ok innings before 5 OAK relievers LaRussa'd the Giant bats to close out the win.

Game 2: SF wins 1-0.  Max Scherzer and and three RP's hold the A's scoreless, Coco Crisp had an RBI double.

Game 3: SF wins 4-3.  Thanks to another Austin Jackson triple and RBI hits by Kyle Seager (the original Seager brother) and Mike Morse the A's jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, but the Giants scored 1 in the 2nd and 3 in the 4th to win again.  Chris Coghlan doubled twice and drove in 2 for the Giants.

Game 4: SF wins 3-1.  Morse homered to give the A's another early lead but Adam Wainwright and 3 relievers held the A's scoreless the rest of the game.  Craig Kimbrel saved his 3rd game in a row.

Game 5: Oakland wins 3-2.  The A's again jump out to an early lead but manage to hold on this time.  Kemp and Morse homer for the A's runs, Arrieta goes 8 innings, Scott Atchison gets the final out for the save.

Game 6: Oakland wins 4-3.  The A's scored single runs in the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th innings, Giants had a 3 run rally in the 5th.  In the 9th the A's loaded the bases on a single, error, and walk, Craig Kimbrel then walked Matt Joyce to give the A's a literal walk-off win.

Game 7: Oakland wins the final 2-0.  Morse drove in the only runs with a double in the 3rd inning.  The Giants had baserunners on throughout the game but could not come up with a clutch hit.  Carlos Carrasco pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief for the win. 

Series MVP: Oakland - Mike Morse 10 - 26, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 5 2B.        

Toronto Defeats St. Louis in Five Games

St. Louis (AP) - The Toronto Blue Jays eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals four games to one in a closely contested quarter-finals playoff series.  Although the series ended in just five games, the playoff match was much closer than it appeared as four of the five games were decided by one run.  And, three of the games were walk off wins.  A recap of the series:

GAME 1:  TOR 5, STL 4 (15) – Lots of tense moments in the opener as the Blue Jays finally broke through in the bottom of the 15th.  Adrian Beltre hit a walk off rbi-double after a costly Redbird error by Anthony Rendon.  Koji Uehara got the win in relief as the strong Blue Jay bullpen pitched 7 1/3 innings of scoreless relief while only allowing two hits.

GAME 2:   TOR 3, STL 2 – Another walk off win for the Jays.  In the top of the ninth, the Cardinals rallied to tie the game at 2-2 vs. Blue Jays’ closer Chapman.  But, then in the bottom of the inning, Toronto’s Justin Turner hit a 2-out walk off double against Drew Storen.  Chapman gets the win in relief while Mike Dunn takes the loss.

GAME 3:   STL 1, TOR 0  – Alcides Escobar executed a walk-off suicide squeeze play to perfection in the bottom of the 9th to give the Cardinals the win.  In another tense one run struggle, each team only managed two hits.  The win went to Kelvin Herrera who allowed no runs in 1 inning. The loss was charged to Tony Sipp in relief.

GAME 4:  TOR 6, STL 5 – Fourth straight one run ball game.  Nelson Cruz and Justin Turner hit homeruns off Francisco Liriano to jump out to an early 5-1 lead.  But, the Cardinals chipped away to reduce the deficit to just one run entering the top of the 9th.  Then, Aroldis Chapman promptly struck out the side to preserve the win. 

GAME 5:  TOR 4, STL 2 – Henderson Alvarez outpitched Jacob DeGrom as Toronto advances to the semi-finals to face Seattle.  Chapman pitched a scoreless ninth to gain his second save in the series.

A’s / Red Sox Series Goes Seven Games Before Oakland Wins Clincher

Oakland (AP) - In a battle of division rivals, the Oakland Athletics defeated the Boston Red Sox 4 games to 3.  A recap of the series:

 

GAME 1:  BOS 10, OAK 9 - The Red Sox rallied for two runs in the top of the 10th when Charlie Blackmon walked, Justin Upton doubled, Josh Donaldson hit a sac fly and Jonathan Lucroy doubled the go-ahead run. Then, Rondon fanned the side in the bottom of the 9th to pick up the save.

GAME 2:  BOS 5, OAK 1 (10) - Boston scored four unearned runs off Jake McGee in the top of the tenth inning to grab a 2-0 series lead.  Betances picked up the victory in relief.

GAME 3:  OAK 5, BOS 4 (12) - Ender Inciarte singled home Jimmy Rollins in the top of the 12th as the A's picked up a much needed victory.  Jake McGee got the win in relief.  Oakland left 15 on base while Boston stranded just 5 runners on base.

GAME 4:  BOS 3, OAK 0 - Phil Hughes tossed 6 scoreless innings and relievers Jepsen, Betances and Rondon completed the shutout.  Alexei Ramirez drove in a pair of runs.

GAME 5:  OAK 3, BOS 1 - Jake Arietta fanned 12 over 6+ innings and D. Norris drove in two runs as the Athletics staved off elimination.

GAME 6:  OAK 9, BOS 3 - Oakland's bats came alive as they scored 6 runs off loser Jordan Zimmerman.  Collin McHugh pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings while fanning nine batters.  Kemp, Morse and Seager all hit homers for Oakland.

GAME 7:  OAK 5, BOS 3 - Oakland scored four first inning runs off Anibal Sanchez and their pitching made the runs hold up as Oakland advances to the semi-finals to face their crosstown opponent San Franciso Giants.  Michael Morse hit a homer and drove in 3 runs for the A's.

Giants Eliminate Phillies

The San Francisco Giants used strong pitching and timely hitting to knock off the second seeded Philadelphia Philies in five games.  A recap of the series:

GAME 1:  SF 3, PHIL 1 (10) - The Giants got to Phillies reliever Mark Melancon in the 10th as Chisenhall and Coughlan hit RBI singles.  Zach Duke got the win in relief and Craig Kimbrel pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the 10th to preserve the victory.

GAME 2:   PHIL 2, SF 1 (11) – Another extra inning contest as (after two were out) Kevin Kiermaier tripled and then Eric Hosmer got the walk off game winning hit.  Good pitching matchup in this one as Philadelphia’s Cory Kluber faced the Giants’ Zack Greinke but both pitchers were long gone by the time the game finished in the 11th.  Melancon gets the “W” and Kimbrel records the loss.

GAME 3:   SF 4, PHIL 2  – Giants’ catcher Robinson Chirinos hit a two-run homer off R. A. Dickey in the bottom of the eighth to break a 2-2 tie.  Kimbrel gets his second save in the series by pitching a scoreless ninth.

GAME 4:  SF 7, PHIL 1  – Very strange line score for the Giants as they score 7 runs off just 2 hits.  But, the Phils gave up seven walks, an error and a hit batsman which allowed San Francisco to get the win.  Tanner Roark pitched 6+ shutout innings to defeat Phillies pitcher Scott Feldman.  Giants are now up 3 games to 1.

GAME 5:  SF 6, PHIL 5 – San Francisco’s Adam Wainwright outpitched Michael Wacha as the Giants eliminate the Phillies.  Puig, Castro and Dozier all hit homers off Wacha to pave the way for the series clinching win.  Craig Kimbrel earned his third save in the series by pitching another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 9th.  San Francisco now faces the winner of the Oakland Boston series.

Seattle Defeats Los Angeles in Six Games

 

Fourth seeded Seattle eliminated fifth seeded Los Angeles in a quarter-finals playoff series.  A recap of the games: 

GAME 1:  LA 5, SEA 1  - Matt Garza didn't allow a hit until the 8th inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Seattle Mariners 5-1.  Garza (1-0) gave up just 2 hits and 1 walk in 7+ innings.  The right-handed Garza lost a no-hitter when Albert Pujols doubled with one out in the 8th inning.   The loss was charged to Felix Hernandez (0-1).  He gave up 5 runs and 10 hits in 8+ innings.  Aramis Ramirez hit a two-run homer for LA. 

GAME 2:   SEA 5, LA 4 – Seattle’s Ryan Braun hit two homers including a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth which proved to be the game winner.  Darren O'Day got the win in relief and Francisco Rodriguez recorded another postseason save for the Mariners.

GAME 3:   LA 7, SEA 0 – Teams travel to LA for the next three games.  Andrew Cashner fired seven shutout innings as the Dodgers cruised 7-0.  Cashner fanned nine in his seven innings of work.  David Peralta hit a pinch-hit grand slam homerun off Sergio Romo in the bottom of the seventh to break the game wide open. 

GAME 4:  SEA 1, LA 0 – King Felix fired a dominating one-hitter while fanning 12 as the Mariners evened the series.  The lone run was scored in top of the sixth as Albert Pujols knocked in Jose Reyes for the game winner. 

GAME 5:  SEA 4, LA 2 – Jeff Samardzija outdueled Matt Garza as the Mariners pushed the Dodgers to the brink of elimination with a 4-2 win.  Francisco Rodriguez, who gave up an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth as LA tried to mount a comeback, got his second save of the series. 

GAME 6:  SEA 7, LA 6 (12) – Jose Reyes hit a walk off double in the bottom of the twelveth  scoring Peter Bourjos as Seattle eliminated Los Angeles.  The Dodgers had tied the game up at 6-6 in the 8^th as they scored two runs off Romo.  Both teams used eight pitchers in the game.  The Mariners, who were eliminated in last season’s semi-finals to the eventual champs Indians, will now face the winner of the Toronto-St. Louis playoff series.