Seattle Mariners are Champs Again!!

Click here for box scores.

Game 1:  Los Angeles 2-0

David Phelps vs Justin Verlander

Gregor Blanco leads off the game with a double and John Jaso singles him in the next pitch for quick strike lead against Verlander.  Matt Joyce doubles in the second and is knocked in by a Jordan Pacheco single in the second for another Dodger run. 

Phelps goes 5 strong innings allowing 3 hits and striking out 6 before leaving handing it off to the bullpen.  Five Dodger relievers keep the Mariners off the board and 0 for 7 with runners in scoring position as Verlander loses for the first time in the post season. 

Game 2:  Seattle 5-2

Matt Garza vs. Felix Hernandez

Albert Pujols put the Mariners out front early with a 3 run blast in the first.  Brandon Phillips adds a couple of solo home runs in the 4th and 8th to stretch the lead to 5.  King Felix tries to go the distance but tires in the 9th.  Dodgers add 2 runs and put a man on first to make it exciting.  K-Rod comes and strikes out Justin Ruggiano to end the game.

 

Game 3:  Seattle 6-4

Matt Moore vs AJ Burnett

Yadier Molina opened the scoring with a 2nd inning HR.  Mariners add another run in the 4th and 5th to extend the lead to 3.  The Mariner hit parade continued against Burnett as every Mariner registered a hit.  The 8th inning was especially damaging as the Mariners added three more runs helped by three singles and two walks in the inning to increase the score to 6-0 Seattle.  The Dodgers did not give up as they chip away with 2 runs helped by Matt Moore and Jose Reyes miscues.  In the 9th, Dodgers show they have more fight.  Dodgers manufacture a run and Chase Utley hits a bomb to close within 2.  K-Rod comes on and gets Gregor Blanco to ground out to end the game with Miguel Cabrera on deck.  Mariners squeak by with a 6-4 victory as they go 5-11 with RISP.

 

Game 4:  Los Angeles 4-1

Justin Verlander vs Mark Buehrle

Dodgers jump on Verlander early again.  Matt Joyce hits a 2 run blast in the 2nd inning.  Dodgers add 2 more in the 7th with help from a Evan Longoria error, which ends Verlander's day.  Albert Pujols answers in the 8th with a solo blast to make it 4-1.  Mark continues to utilize his bullpen matchups with five relievers over 3.3 innings to close out the 3 hitter and hold on to the 4-1 Dodger victory.   

Game 5:  Seattle 5-4

Felix Hernandez vs David Phelps

Jose Reyes leads off the game by clearing the fence against Phelps.  After the HR, Phelps settles down by only allowing one more hit over five innings and leaves with the lead, thanks to Chris Nelson.  Nelson hits a 2 out, 2 run single in the 5th.  Mariners tie it up in the 6th off Sergio Casilla and George Kontos.  In the 7th, Mariners try for the lead but Evan Longoria is gunned at the plate by Gregor Blanco.  Mariner bats stay hot as they plate 3 in the 8th of Jamey Wright and Jordan Norberto, keyed by a 2 out Jose Reyes double.  King Felix starts the 9th but runs into trouble.  Gee, did we hear that in game 2?  After allowing a hit, he leaves with 10 strikeouts and hands the ball to K-Rod.  K-Rod allows a hit to make the game more exciting.  The Mariner defense is back which allows the Dodger runners to advance as the next to batters hit ground balls which the batters advance and score 2 runs.  Matt Joyce strikes out to end the game as the Mariners win the nail biter 5-4 and the lead series 3-2 going back to Seattle.

 

Game 6:  Los Angeles 7-1

Matt Garza vs Jeff Samardzija

Matt Joyce starts the scoring with a 2 run HR in the second then singled in 2 more in the third inning.  Miguel Cabrera hit a 2 run HR in the fifth to make it 6-0 Dodgers.  Garza pitches 5 shutout innings and Mark uses bullpen matchups with 4 relievers to finish up the game as the teams trade a run in the 8th.  Dodgers coast 7-1.  Matt Joyce is the hero 3-3 with 4 RBI to force game 7. 

Game 7:  Seattle 5-4
AJ Burnett vs Justin Verlander

Dodgers previous two series went 7 games in which they obvious were victorious. 

Match up preview: Burnett got hammered in game 3 while the previously unbeatable Verlander has been beat twice by the Dodgers.  One of these pitchers has to win!

 

Dodgers strike early against Verlander again!  For the 3rd time!  In the 3rd inning, Gregor Blanco walks, Chris Nelson singles, John Jaso singles and knocks in Blanco.  Miguel Cabrera doubles which scores Nelson and Jaso.  Will Venable misses the cut off man to get Cabrera at third and throw it into the stands as Cabrera circles the bases and gives the Dodgers a early 4 run lead.  Mariners answer with one in the bottom half to make it 4-1 after 3.

 

In the 4th, Venable tries to make up for his miscue and hits a 2 run blast to close the gap 4-3 Dodgers.  In the 5th, a Jose Reyes double, Brandon Belt single, set up a 2 run Albert Pujols single to put the Mariners up 5-4.  Burnett left after 5 innings allowing the 5 runs and striking out 8.  Mark went back to his bullpen match up strategy to keep the game close.  George Kontos and Jon Rauch finish up the 6th inning.  Mariners continue to ride their SP late into games as Verlander continued to throw heat but did show some control issues with some walks.  7th inning was harmless for the Mariners as Rauch and Jamey Wright shut them down.  Verlander allows a walk but no hits in the 7th.  Sergio Romo comes in for the Dodgers in the 8th and allows a Brandon Belt single and a Pacecho error but no damage is done.  Verlander allows a Justin Ruggiano single in the 8th but finishes the inning with 10 strikeouts and not allowing another run.  K-Rod comes in with a 5-4 lead to close out the season...

 

K-Rod walks Andrelton Simmons.  Tony Campana pinch runs for Simmons.  Has a good chance for lead but can't get it.  Gregor Blanco sacrifices him to second.  Chris Nelson wiffs on the high heat for the second out.  John Jaso then grounds it to Evan Longoria to end the game and a great series as the Mariners hold on to the 5-4 victory and 4-3 series victory.

 

Fantastic series between these two teams.  Dodgers fought to the last out in each game while the Mariners took game 6 off.  Bullpen management was the key for the Dodgers which kept them close in the series as their line up did not have the same fire power.  In a couple of the games, Miggy was either on deck or in the hole as the game ended.  With a game changer like in a close game,  it added to the excitement.  A fun series in a fun league.

 

Congrats to the Los Angeles Dodgers on coming within 1 win of their second championship. 

Seattle is proud to hoist their 4th championship in the MSL.

Dodgers Win Dramatic 7th Game to Advance to Series

Los Angeles (AP) - Dodger first baseman Jordan Pacheco became an instant hero in Dodgertown as he hit a dramatic walk off homer in game 7 of their semi-final series with the Athletics.  Los Angeles will now face Seattle in the 2012 World Series.  A recap of the games:

Game 1 - Los Angeles 15, Oakland 5
Dodgers banged out 17 hits and 15 runs as they routed Oakland.  Justin Ruggiano knocked in 4 runs with a homer and a pair of doubles.

Game 2 - Los Angeles 7, Oakland 4
Miguel Cabrera belted a three-run homer to highlight a five-run fifth inning as Los Angeles took a quick two game to zero playoff series lead.  Matt Garza (1-1) pitched five shaky innings for the win.

Game 3 - Los Angeles 8, Oakland 5
The Dodgers pushed Oakland to the brink of elimination with a 8-5 win in game 3.  Miguel Cabrera was the hero again as he hit two homers and drove in 3 runs.  Jordan Ruggiano knocked in 3 more runs as A.J Burnett (2-0) picked up the win.

Game 4 - Oakland 4, Los Angeles 2
The A's staved off elimination as Austin Jackson hit a 2-run walk-off homer with one out in the bottom of the 9th.  Casey Jansen (1-0) picked up the win in relief.  Trailing 2-1 going to the bottom of the 8th, Oakland scored a run in the 8th and two in the 9th for the win.

Game 5 - Oakland 9, Los Angeles 7
With the game tied at 7-7 in the 8th, Oakland scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th (helped by a pinch hit RBI-double from Aramis Ramirez) as the A's now trail LA by 3 games to 2.  Jimmy Rollins drove in 4 runs for the Athletics.

Game 6 - Oakland 12, Los Angeles 5
The A's pounded out 16 hits and 12 runs as Oakland routed Los Angeles.  The highlight of the game was a pinch hit grand slam by Arasmis Ramirez in the fifth inning.  Oakland has now rallied from being down 3 games to 0 by now knotting the series 3 games a piece.

Game 7 - Los Angeles 5, Oakland 4
What a dramatic finish to an exciting series!  Jordan Pacheco hit a walk off 2-run homer to propel Los Angeles into the World Series against defending champs Seattle.

Defending Champs Seattle Overwhelm Angels

Seattle eliminated Anaheim 4 games to 0 in a semi-finals series.  While there were many stars for the Mariners in this short series, Yadier Molina had a nice series going 8 for 15 (.533) with 3 doubles, 2 runs and 5 ribbies.

Game 1 - Seattle 5, Anaheim 4
Felix Hernandez pitched 7+ innings for the win, Molina and Braun both had three hits; Chipper Jones hits a homer and collects three hits for the Angels.

Game 2 - Seattle 9, Anaheim 6
Samardzija pitches just good enough for the victory, Fernando Rodriguez picked up his second straight save; Quentin and Phillips homers for Seattle while Moss homers for Anaheim.

Game 3 - Seattle 2, Anaheim 0
Justin Verlander continued his post season dominance with a CG 2-hit shutout.  Verlander is 9-0 in the post season over the past two years.  Longoria and Pujols hit solo homers to account for all the scoring.

Game 4 - Seattle 7, Anaheim 3
Felix Hernandez pitched 8+ strong innings for the victory while the Mariners jumped on losing pitcher Gio Gonzalez for 6 hits, 7 walks and 6 runs over 6 innings.  Molina and Chris Young both drove in three runs for Seattle.

Seattle now will face the winner of the Los Angeles-Oakland series for the 2012 Millennium World Series.

Marlins Will Pick Second

9-1-0.....Congratulations to Drew Stevenson and his Miami Marlins for winning the second pick last night!  The Marlins move up from position #7 to win the second pick.

Giants Nab First Pick in 2013 Draft!

The number 9-9-4 was drawn on Wednesday evening......Congratulations to new manager Gene Kipfer and his San Francisco Giants who moved up all the way from the 11th position (!) to snatch the first pick in the 2013 draft.  Amazingly, Gene's squad only had 8 chances out of 1,000 to win the pick.  Congratulations Gene!

Dodgers Eliminate D-Backs in Seven Games

A. J. Burnett took a no-hitter into the 8th inning to help the Dodgers defeat Arizona by a score of 7-1 in  the final game of their quarter final series.  The #2 seed Dodgers will now face #3 seed Oakland in the semi-finals.

Angels Sweep Past Twins

The Angels swept the series, but the first three games were very close. Anaheim pitching was the key, compiling a 1.15 ERA. Gio Gonzalez won twice, striking out 20 (including 13 in the finale).

GAME 1

Anaheim 4, Minnesota 2

Wilson Betemit, who hadn't homered in about 2 months, slugged a 3-run shot in the 4th, and Kenley Jansen recorded a 4-out save.

 

GAME 2

Anaheim 3, Minnesota 2

Prince Fielder homered in the 12th inning after Kenley Jansen worked out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 11th. Ross Detwiler allowed only 1 hit in 7 innings, but it was a 2-run homer to David Freese in the 6th. The Angels, though, clawed back with Miguel Montero's RBI single in the 8th and Alfonso Soriano's sac fly in the 9th.

 

GAME 3

Anaheim 3, Minnesota 1

Andy Pettitte and the Angels bullpen combined on a 5-hitter, and Nick Markakis delivered a tie-breaking, 2-run single in the 6th.

 

GAME 4

Anaheim 8, Minnesota 0

Gio Gonzalez scattered 9 hits and struck out 13 to complete the sweep. Brandon Moss belted a 3-run HR in the 3rd, and finished with 4 RBIs. Alfonso Soriano also contributed a 2-run HR.

Defending Champs Seattle Gets By Pesky Nationals Team

Seattle (AP) - After finishing 6-0 in last season's post season for the World Champion Mariners, Justin Verlander is at it again.  He won two more decisions for Seattle in an opening round victory over the Washington Nationals.  A recap of the series:

Washington #8 vs. Seattle #1

 

Game 1:  Cole Hamels vs. Justin Verlander

Verlander enters the 9th inning with a 5-1 lead but the Nationals manage to score 5 runs of Verlander and K-Rod with the help of errors by Longoria and Brandon Phillips.  David Robertson pitches a scoreless 9th to hold the victory for Hamels who scatters 10 hits and 2 National errors to earn the victory 6-5 in game 1.

Game 2:  James McDonald vs. Felix Hernandez

Jeff Francouer hit a grand slam in the second inning in a rough inning which also saw a Pujols error and 5 National runs.  The Mariners slowly chip away at the lead by adding a couple of runs in the 6th in the 7th inning to make it 6-5.  Mike Adams and David Robertson do a good job of not allowing the tying run to score from second in the 7th and 8th innings as the Nationals win another road game 6-5.

 

Game 3:  Jeff Samardzija vs. Stephen Strasburg

Mike Baxter singled in two runs in the 6th.  A-Rod pinch hit for Samardzija in the 6th and knocked in a couple more runs for a 5-2 lead.  Four relievers combined to hold the lead and give the Mariners their first victory in the series.

 

Game 4:  Justin Verlander vs. Clay Buchholz

Mariners jump out quick with three runs in the first and five in the third for a 8-1 lead.  Verlander tires in the 8th inning but asks to keep the ball in the blowout.  He allows a couple more runs while he finishes with 12 strikeouts.  Mariners win 8-3 and tie the series 2-2 as the road team as won each game so far.

Game 5:  Felix Hernandez vs. Cole Hamels

King Felix is hurt by the long ball again.  This time, Billy Butler launches a 3 run shot in the first inning.  That is all Hamels needs.  He allows one hit until the 8th inning.  Butler launches another 3 run blast in the seventh.  Nationals show everyone the home team can win a game as they coast to the victory, 7-0.  They are on the brink of a big upset as the Mariners tied a regular season record for victories at 110.

 

Game 6:  James McDonald vs. Matt Moore

Mariners are inspired by the home crowd and come out hungry.  Longoria hits a first inning bomb.  They capitalize on a Drew Stubbs error in the second inning and add four runs for a 5 run lead.  Gordon Beckham leads off the 7th with a HR to put the Nats on the board.  Mike Trout and Billy Butler add a couple of two out RBIs to cut the deficit to 2.  Darren Oliver comes in to stop the rally while K-Rod closes out the ninth for the save and 5-3 Mariner victory.

 

Game 7:  Stephen Strasburg vs. Justin Verlander

Mike Trout and Carlos Gonzalez hit back-to back HR in the first inning.  Billy Butler just misses making it three in a row.  Ryan Braun answers with a solo HR in the second.  Mariners add two runs in the third to take the lead.  The second run on a GIDP by Longoria.  Mariners add 2 runs in the sixth with HRs by Brandon Belt and another by Braun.  Verlander goes the distance striking out nine and allowing four hits. 5-2 Mariners. 

Washington put up a surprising tough fight.  Congratulations to Nats manager Angelo on a great season.  He has some fun young players to build around.

Oakland Outlasts Houston in Wild Seven Game Series

Oakland (AP) - Matt Kemp and the Oakland A's eliminated the Houston Astros in a hard fought seven game series:

Game 1 - A's win 9-0 as Clayton Kershaw pitches poorly for Houston.  A's OF Josh Willingham went 4-4 with 2 HR's and 2 doubles.  Jon Niese pitched like, well, Clayton Kershaw, tossing a 2-hitter and striking out 14.

 

Game 2 - The Astros bounce back with a 3-1 win, thanks to Homer Bailey's solid start.

 

Game 3 - The A's win 10-8 in a back and forth game.  Giancarlo Stanton homered twice and drove in 5 for Houston, Kendry Morales went 4-5 with 2 HR's for Oakland. 

 

Game 4 - Houston wins 4-1, with all 4 runs scored in the 7th - 9th innings.  Josh Hamilton delivered by collecting 2 hits and 2 RBI's.

 

Game 5 - The Astros retook the series lead with a thrilling 9-8, 10 inning win.  A's were winning 8-3 going into the 8th when their bullpen imploded.  Scott Hairston had the walk-off single, overall he went 4-6.  Astros bullpen pitched 7 2/3, giving up 1 run.

 

Game 6 - With their backs to the wall the A's pulled out a comeback, 7-5 win in 10 innings.  Trailing 5-3 entering the 9th, the  A's scored 4 off of Ernesto Frieri. Austin Jackson hit a walk-off 2 run HR after earlier robbing Josh Hamilton of a HR.

 

Game 7 - The A's take the series with an appropriately tense 3-2 win.  Houston scored 2 in the 3rd on G. Stanton's  double, but the A's scored 3 in the 6th with help from a throwing error by Josh Hamilton. 

 

2013 Draft Lottery Info

We will be conducting our draft lottery on Wednesday, June 24th and Thursday, June 25th.....

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 ten 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.


2013 Lottery Drawing Chances:

000 to 249 – Chicago (57-105)

250 to 449 – New York (65-97)

450 to 604 – Cleveland (69-93)

605 to 724 – Boston (71-91)

725 to 814 – Atlanta (72-90)

815 to 879 – Philadelphia (73-89, 37-27 runs scored vs. Miami in tie-breaker )

880 to 924 – Miami (73-89)

925 to 954 – St. Louis (74-88, 4-2 vs. Toronto in tie-breaker)

955 to 974 – Toronto (74-88)

975 to 986 – Kansas City (75-87, 7-5 vs. Pittsburgh & San Francisco in tie-breaker)

987 to 994 – San Francisco (75-87, 6-6 vs. Kansas City & Pittsburgh in tie-breaker)

995 to 999 – Pittsburgh (75-87)


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

Fourth No-Hitter of the Season.......

Houston (AP) - Travis Blackley got his first start of the season and he made it count as the Astros pitcher tossed a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox.  Blackley, the Astros 6th round pick in last season's draft, fanned nine and walked just one.  The box score can be viewed here.

A's Marco Estrada Pitches No-Hitter

The Athletics Marco Estrada (7-2) pitched the season's third no-hitter by defeating the New York Yankees 9-0.  Marco was a fourth round pick for Oakland in the 2011 draft.  Estrada walked four and fanned nine in his gem.  You can see the box score here.

Nats' Hamels Pitches No-Hitter

Cole Hamels (7-6) thrilled the fans at Tropicana Field as he crafted a no-hit masterpiece against the Minnesota Twins. The Washington Nationals won by a final score of 4 to 0. Hamels had overwhelming stuff tonight. He simply never gave the Minnesota batters a decent pitch to drive. He walked three Minnesota batters.  Hamels recorded 12 strikeouts.  The box score can be seen here.

Dan Haren Fires Perfect Game

Kansas City's' Dan Haren retired 27 straight batters to record MSL's first perfect game since Noah Lowry in the 2005 season.  Haren struck out six in recording his gem.  He has struggled this season with just a 2-5 record and a 6.94 ERA.  But, tonite he was on the top of his game as he breezed through the Indian lineup in a 5-0 victory.  You can see the box score here.