Eagles advance to NLCS!!!
Newark defeated Beartooth in five games to reach the
NLCS for the third time. The Eagles hit .282 for the
series with 12 Homeruns. Mike Morse led the offense
by hitting .643 (9 for 14). Beartooth struggled at
the top of the order. Andrew McCutchen and Jason
Heyward combined for only 4 hits (.103) in the 5
game series with a .239 OBP. Newark pitching held
the Bitteroots to a .179 AVG. Clay Buchholz was
named Series MVP. He was the winning pitcher in both
games he started and only gave up 1 ER in 14 1/3 IP
(0.63).
Game 1: NEW 5 – BEA 1
The series opened in Wrigley Field with Clay
Buchholz getting the nod for the home team and Cliff
Lee taking the hill for the visiting Bitteroots. The
scoring started in the 2nd inning when A-Rod lead
off with a long Homerun for Beartooth. That’s also
when it ended for the Bitteroots as they were unable
to muster another hit against Buchholz in his 6 1/3
innings of work. The only other hit for Beartooth
was a pinch hit single in the 8th inning by Alex
Gordon, and they never had a runner in scoring
position. That just wasn’t enough as the Eagles
managed to touch up Lee for 4 runs on 3 Homeruns in
his 6 innings.
Game 2: NEW 5 – BEA 4
This game was by far the most entertaining and
proved to be the pivotal game of the series.
Gallardo and Hanson lived up to the hype as both
starters pitched very well. The Newark pitcher
helped his own cause by collecting 2 hits including
the games first RBI when he hit a solo shot in the
bottom of the 3rd. Beartooth answered right back by
scoring 2 runs to take the lead in the 4th. The
Bitteroots were able to get the leadoff batter on
base in next two innings as well, but Gallardo made
the pitches he needed to leave the runners stranded.
Meanwhile, Hanson had allowed only 2 hits through 5
when Gallardo lead off the 6th with a double. Newark
added a couple more hits and scored 2 runs to retake
the lead. The bullpen did the job for the Eagles in
the 7th, but A-Rod walked with 1 out in the 8th and
things got interesting. Arthur Rhodes struck out Jay
Bruce for the 2nd out, but was removed in favor of a
RHP to face Rickie Weeks. Rather than bring in their
Closer Brian Wilson for a 4 out Save, Newark elected
to bring in “the other” Francisco Rodriguez who had
struck out Weeks in game 1. This time, Weeks hit the
first pitch into the bleachers and once again,
Beartooth had the lead. Hanson took the ball for the
8th inning and despite giving up 2 singles, got
Tulowitzki to ground out to end the inning. Brian
Wilson started the 9th for Newark trying to keep his
team within 1 run. Beartooth immediately threatened
to score by getting singles from the 8 and 9
hitters. McCutchen moved them both into scoring
position with a ground ball to the right side and
Wilson found himself in real trouble with the heart
of the Beartooth order due up. Heyward was walked to
load the bases but Wilson struck out Fielder before
getting A-Rod to pop out to left and end the threat.
Hanson, who had scattered 7 hits through 8 innings
was allowed to start the 9th, but was removed in
favor of Closer Mike Adams after a leadoff double.
Adams retired Utley on a ground out, but allowed 2
singles before Mike Morse delivered a walk-off
double that completed the Eagles comeback victory.
Game 3: NEW 7 – BEA 2
The series moved to AT&T Park as Beartooth sent
Johnny Cueto to the hill in desperate need of a win.
Newark countered with Chad Billingsley who got into
trouble in the 1st inning. After allowing a 2 out
walk to Fielder, A-Rod reached on an error. Jay
Bruce also worked out a walk to load the bases.
Rickie Weeks then ripped a single into center to
drive in the first run of the game, but Cargo threw
A-Rod out at the plate to end the inning. The Eagles
quickly answered back in the top of the 2nd when
Alex Gonzalez, who had made the error the inning
before, hit a solo shot to get things even again.
Newark rallied for 3 runs in the 3rd inning that
included a 2 run opposite field Homer from
Tulowitzki. Billingsley pitched himself into trouble
in the bottom of the frame, by walking the bases
loaded and giving Weeks another chance to do damage.
This time, Billingsley was able to strikeout Weeks
to end the threat. Down by 3 runs, Beartooth elected
to lift Cueto for a pinch hitter after 4 innings.
However, Casey Jannsen was also victimized by the
long ball in his 2 innings of work. Cargo took him
deep in the 5th and Kurt Suzuki blasted a 2 run shot
in the 6th, the 4th Home Run of the game for the
Eagles. Beartooth finally chased the starter
Billingsley in the next half inning after he
surrendered a run on 2 hits, but the Newark bullpen
did the job and Beartooth left 2 more runners on
base. The Bitteroots did threaten to score once
again in the 7th when they managed to load the bases
for the third time. Kevin Gregg was able to retire
Victor Martinez on a lazy fly ball to center and
Beartooth was held hitless for the rest of the game.
When it was all over, 12 Beartooth runners were left
on base.
Game 4: BEA 7 – NEW 6
Facing elimination, and looking to avoid the sweep,
Beartooth started Cliff Lee on just 3 days rest.
Newark pitcher Daniel Hudson made his first
Postseason start after winning 10 of his 14 TBBL
starts during his Rookie campaign. Fatigue looked
like it might have been an issue for Lee when Newark
scored 4 runs in the 2nd, a 5 hit inning that
included back to back Homers from Edwin Encarnacion
and Chase Utley. Beartooth was not going to go
quietly though, as they responded in the bottom of
the frame with 3 hits of their own and quickly cut
the lead in half. Both pitchers seemed to settle
down and neither allowed a run until Newark
scratched out a run in the 5th on a RBI double by
Tulowitzki. Once again, Beartooth quickly answered
when Andrew McCutchen lead off the next half inning
with a Homerun and was followed by a triple from
Jason Heyward on the next pitch. The Eagles rookie
starter was clearly rattled and his inexperience
began to show itself as he struggled to find the
strike zone. Before Newark could get someone warmed
up in the bullpen, Hudson walked the next 4 hitters
allowing 2 more runs to score. When he was finally
replaced, the score was tied, but the bases were
loaded and he had not retired a batter in the 5th
inning. Kevin Gregg was once again brought in to
face Victor Martinez with the bases loaded, but this
time, V-Mart worked out a walk and Beartooth took a
1 run lead. With the bases still loaded and no outs,
the Bitteroots were looking to blow the game open.
With the number 8 hitter up, Elvis Andrus, they
tried a suicide squeeze and Jay Bruce was forced out
at the plate for the first out of the inning. Gregg
then struck out the pitcher Lee and got McCutchen on
an infield pop out to end the inning. Beartooth had
left the bases loaded once again, but had their
first lead of the game. Newark got a 2 out double
the next half inning, but Lee was able to get a
pinch hitter to ground out to end the 6th. The
Bitteroots were able to tack on another run when
Prince Fielder hit a solo shot off lefty Arthur
Rhodes. Cliff Lee batted for himself in the 7th
inning and took the mound for the 8th inning having
already thrown 100 pitches. After getting the first
out, Newark sent up pinch hitter Chris Coghlan who
hammered an opposite field Homerun on the first
pitch he saw. Chase Utley then ripped a single up
the middle on the next pitch and the Eagles had the
tying run on base with 1 out. That was all for Lee.
He was removed after giving up back to back hits to
left handed batters on 2 pitches, a clear sign that
he had run out of gas. Hard throwing Brandon League
was called upon and he answered by striking out the
next 2 batters. League returned to the mound to
start the 9th inning, but after a 1 out walk to
Braun, Beartooth Closer Mike Adams was brought in to
face the heart of the Newark order. Cargo struck
out, but Braun was able to steal 2nd base and get
into scoring position. With 2 outs and first base
open, Beartooth elected to pitch to Toluwitzki. The
move paid off as Adams struck him out to preserve
the win and keep the Bitteroots alive.
Game 5: NEW 5 – BEA 0
Newark sent Game 1 winning pitcher Clay Buchholz
back to the mound on full rest while Scott Baker
made his first start of the series for the
Bitteroots. The Eagles scored in the 2nd inning and
had 2 runners in scoring position with no outs, but
Baker was able to retire the bottom of the Newark
order to hold them to just a single run. It didn’t
matter because it was the only run Newark would need
as Buchholz was dominant in his 2nd start of the
series. Beartooth only managed 2 singles off the
Newark hurler, 1 of which was a bunt single in the
8th inning. Buchholz pitched 8 shutout innings,
striking out 8 and only walking 1 batter. Beartooth
did get runners on base in the 9th inning off the
Newark bullpen, but were unable to score and saw
their season come to an end. Cargo had 2 RBI as did
Alex Gonzalez for the Eagles. |
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