Also-ran CN went down to New Orleans and in a haze lost in Game 7.

Game 1:  NO 3-2 -- Manoah vs. Wheeler – Harper put CN up early as he tripled and was driven in by Donovan in the 2^nd to be answered by a Judge sac fly.  In the 5^th Raleigh hit a ballpark shot to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.  New Orleans scratched out a run in the 8^th against Phillips. And then in the 9^th, with 2 outs and a man on third Judge was up once again when Williams threw a wild pitch to give New Orleans the win.

Game 2:  NO 5-4 – McClanahan vs Ohtani – CN started hot as Rengifo and Pujols went back to back in the first but CN left the bases loaded ominously.  Schwarber answered with a 2 run shot in the bottom of the inning. Pujols and Trout homered in the 2^nd and 3^rd but Judge and Schwarber went back to back in the 3^rd to tie it up again.  Riley homered in the 6^th and CN left men in scoring position as everything is working for the home team.

They fly home to Florida.

Game 3:  NO 5-1 – Gonsolin vs Castillo – Meneses, Riley and Semien homer to lead NO as CN leaves 6 innings with runners in scoring position.

Pizza then happens and restored Harold and Tom sit back down to face each other.

Game 4:  CN 8-0 – Cortes* vs Menoah – Two complete games to get the bullpens reset and CN’s lefty killers do their jobs as Rengifo homered and Escobar hit 2 homers to lead CN’s offense.

Game 5:  CN 13-4 – Alcantara vs Ohtani – CN once again got he early lead as Trout scores despite the “4” blocking the plate in the first, but Schwarber hit yet another homer to tie it up in the 4^th.   Swanson added a 4^th inning solo shot to give CN the 2-1.  The 6^th was all CN as 11 men batted Raleigh homered on the way to 7 runs and CN went up 9-1.  Schwarber hit another ballpark shot and Kim added a 2 run shot to bring the lead back to 9-4.  But CN got the 3 back in the bottom of the 7^th as Raleigh hit a single to Left and Schwarber picked it up on a hop to allow 2 to score.  Harper homered in the 8^th and CN was ready to go to NO.

Game 6:  CN 2-0 – Urias vs Wheeler – CN scored first for the 6^th game in a row on Ohtani’s 1^st inning triple and Swanson added a 4^th inning rbi single to give CN a 2-0 lead.  Urias (started with trepidation) was perfect through 5 and 1/3 innings when Semien hit a RFx for a single.  Diaz and Phillips came out walked 3 and one HBP to give CN a 1 hitter as they survived a Schwarber hit a ball park homer 1-10 that he missed after Harris was hit to lead off the 9^th. 

Game 7:  NO 2-1 – Gonsolin vs Manoah – CN scored first again this time later in the 6^th as Devers hit a solo homer.  Schwarber missed another Ballpark Homer and then Wong did the same as NO was near apopaleptic.  The 8^th started great for CN as Kim struck out and Jansen hit the 2^nd out, but Harris picked a split for a single and Judge came up with 2 out and one on.  Probably should have not let his best player beat them but Williams threw to him and he hit a clean home run to give NO a 2-1 lead.  CN came up in the top of the 9^th and with Donovan at 1^st Trout stepped in and struck out to give NO the series win.

From Harold:  What I found interesting was how inept the New Orleans offense was.  In game two, both teams combined for 8 HR’s, and for New Orleans Judge and Riley hit one and Schwarber hit two.  I thought, here we go, two mighty offenses playing in hitters parks, here come the runs!.  But, think about this: from the first inning of game 4 until the 8th inning of game 7, New Orleans scored 4 runs in 34 inning!  And three of those runs were in garbage time in the 7th inning of game 5 when they were already down 9-1.  They were four hit in game 4 and one hit in game 6.  Judge, who if he didn’t hit the game winning HR was close to invisible and mutant Carpenter was invisible, going 1 for 8 with a single and walk.

Game 1:  NO scores 3 in the first off Bieber led by a Judge HR, and that all they needed for a 4-1 win.  McClanahan, Adam, Clase, and Overton scatter 6 hits for the win.

Game 2:  ND gets deGrom his first win of the season, 5-0, with a wild 5^th inning accounting for all of ND’s runs.  After a walk and double, with two out Goldschmidt walks to load the bases.  Turner then walks to drive in a run.  With Tucker pinch hitting, bases still loaded, he rolls a BP HR chance, 1-3…and rolls a 3 for a grand slam and a 5-0 lead which held up to the end.

Game 3:  NO jumps out early scoring 4 in the second off Chris Bassitt in an 8-2 win (Carpenter and Melendez homers).  With NO up 5-0 in the 5^th, ND loads the bases with no outs looking for some of the game 2 magic. But…Kwan hits into a LO Max, and a 1-7 triple play chance…and rolls a 5, triple play!

In Game 1, the Bay City Rollers got by the Neverwinter Alpacas by the score of 6 to 4. Bay City brought 3 runs across the plate in the bottom of the 7th inning when they had 3 base hits.  After an out was recorded, Salvador Perez started the scoring when he blasted a solo shot.  Eugenio Suarez stepped into the batter's box and he drew a walk.  After another out, Jeff McNeil then lined a single.  Carlos Correa doubled, accounting for two more runs.  Scott Effross(2-1) picked up the victory, allowing no runs in 1 and 1/3 innings. Wandy Peralta was credited with the save.  Miles Mikolas was given the loss.  He allowed 6 runs and 8 hits in 6 and 2/3 innings. 

In Game 2, the Bay City Rollers nipped the Neverwinter Alpacas in 11 innings, 9 to 8.  After BC tied the game in the bottom of the ninth, NV scored 2 in the top of the tenth, BC scored 2 in the bottom of the tenth, NV scored 1 in the top of the eleventh, and Santiago Espinal (playing short after Correa was pinch hit for [for a clutch positive hitter in the ninth] for the first time this season) doubled in the game winner. In the eleventh, Jeff McNeil kicked off the action when he delivered a one-base hit plating a run. McNeil took second on the throw.  Espinal’s double resulted in a mighty exciting win for Bay City and the 30,902 hometown fans in attendance.  The score went back-and-forth, with the lead changing 6 times. 

In Game 3, Salvador Perez knocked 2 homeruns and had 4 RBI, as the Bay City Rollers beat the Neverwinter Alpacas 8 to 5.  Even though they scored in 5 different innings, Neverwinter was not able to pull off the win, and BC picked on their defense for 3 NV errors.  The victory went to Zac Gallen (5-3), who went 7 innings, allowing 3 runs. Daniel Bard preserved the game for Gallen, and Tyler Anderson was the loser.  He served up 4 homeruns in his 7 innings.

In Game 4, Chas McCormick blasted a homerun and scored 3 times and Max Fried racked up an impressive total of 10 strikeouts as the Neverwinter Alpacas really laid it on the Bay City Rollers 11 to 0. Fried(4-3) pitched a solid game.  He was stingy on the mound, allowing just 6 hits and 2 walks in 7 and 2/3 innings.  Neverwinter had many opportunities throughout the game and scored in 6 separate innings.  Jesus Luzardo(2-3) was the losing pitcher.  He was hit hard and gave up 10 hits and 4 walks in 6 and 1/3 innings (and then his arm fell off).  He was replaced by a quickly tired Tepera, who allowed 9 hits and 6 runs in 2 2/3 innings.

There were a mess of X chances for both teams and some decent fielders made errors or showed poor range. Stars of the series for BC were McNeil, who hit .545, and Sal Perez, who hit .500 with 3 HR, 5 RBIs, and a walk! Bard pitched two scoreless innings with 1 hit, no BB, 3 Ks, and a win and a save.

Game 1

NO wines 7-3 with the long ball.  Judge hits a solo shot in the 1st (and then proceeds to go 3 for 13 the rest of the series with only one extra base hit) and old pick up Carpenter hits a three run shot in the 4^th and new pick up Schwarber adds a three run HR in the 5^th.

Game 2

At Building 19 Park the New Orleans Ellis outdistanced the Constantinople Manatees by a final score of 5 to 1. Constantinople was unable to climb back into it after New Orleans went ahead for good in the 3rd inning with 2 runs on 2 hits.  M.J. Melendez led off and got things going when he drew a walk.  Marcus Semien got his chance to keep things going, but he went down on strikes.  Michael Harris then smashed a two-run homer.  That early run support was enough for Tony Gonsolin(2-0) and New Orleans.  New Orleans had just 6 hits for the night. Luis Castillo(0-1) was hit with the loss.  Despite losing, he struckout 9 New Orleans batters in 6 innings.

Game 3

CON wins 5-2 in a close, somewhat of a pitchers duel.  Ohtani pitches 5 innings of 1 hit ball for the win.  The long ball did NO starter Alcantara in, giving up only 3 hits in 8 innings of work – all home runs, to Trout, Pujols and Raleigh.

Game 4

Austin Riley left the yard and Zack Wheeler had an impressive outing as the New Orleans Ellis outscored the Constantinople Manatees 4 to 2.

New Orleans came through with the game-winning runs in the 8th inning with 3 runs utilizing 2 base hits.  Ha-Seong Kim led off and started the rally when he stroked a one-base hit.  One out later, Danny Jansen dug into the batters box next, but he struck out.  Matt Carpenter then was walked intentionally. Kyle Schwarber came up and he belted a three-run homer.  New Orleans had 8 hits for the game and Constantinople had 4.

Clay Holmes(1-0) went 1 inning allowing no runs for the victory. Emmanuel Clase got the save, his 3rd.  Alexis Diaz(0-1) suffered the loss in relief.He gave up 3 runs in 2 innings of work.

...

Draft Day, Saturday March 30.

(2/5) In today's action, Tom and Randy played their long delayed makeup series, while Jed's split with Sam results in Oceanus moving into 6th place!

A rocky start to the CN/FW series as the computer would just not allow the teams to play a league scheduled game.

So onto the unscheduled games....

Game 1: Strider and Manoah faced each other in this long awaited matchup.  CN scratched out two 1-run innings early but Adames's solo shot brought the deficit to 2-1 after 7 with Strider gone to the showers and Manoah looking to go 8.  Pujols answered the call and hit a 3 run shot to give CN a 5-1 lead.  Giminez hit a solo shot for FW to make it a 5-2 game after 8.  Phillips came in and threw 2 RFx that Nootbar (2e4) caught and then got the final out for his 8th save.

Game 2:  My simulations say Julio Urias (ed note: say that 10 times fast) is a good matchup in Randy's park. 3 home runs later it is 7-0, and then 8-0 after 4 innings, but he is never tired and goes the distance to lose 8-5.  CN hit 4 homers including the rare 2 left-handed ballpark homers in the dome.  CN was never close. FW's Springer hurt himself on a K plus injury (2 games) and then Reynolds playing CF in his place was hit and injured for a game.

Game 3:  Stroman (the new Yankee) and Ohtani face each other and Stroman lost it first in the 4th when Ohtani hit a short double to score 1 and set up a 2nd and 3rd with one out.  The infield was in when Gurriel hit a gbA+ for a 2 run single to make it 3-0.  Baker held FW down till Williams could come in for the 8th inning.  But he promptly gave up a homer and a double and the 8th ended 3-2.  Phillips was able to get the save in the 9th and CN was breathing easier as the split was assured.

Game 4:  It's Rodon versus Peralta for the finale.  Rodon held FW to no runs over 5 as Swanson hit a 3rd inning solo shot for CN. Two SSx rolls in the fifth lead to a single and advance (Turner playing over the 1 Adames for FW) and W. Smith hit a double and CN is up 2-0.  Then the matchup we all had been waiting for: (Dansby) Swanson versus (Erik) Swanson with the bases loaded and 2 outs.  Swanson walked Swanson for the 3rd CN run in the 6th.  Gurriel was forced to leave the game with an injury.  Schreiber and Diaz held FW to no runs as CN won 3-0 to get the series win 3 games to 1.

...

NO takes 3 of four from HEC.  Game 1:  In a duel between Wheeler and Valdez, Wheeler come out the winner in a 1-0 nailbiter..  It’s Wheeler’s 7^th win of the season.  Game was decided on a Jansen solo HR in the second inning.  Clase came on to close it out with his 13^th save of the year.  Game 2: It was all HEC, winning 7-0.  They put a runner on in every inning except the third, pounding McClanahan for 16 hits in 9 innings, as he took one for the team to save the bullpen.  Game 3: Five NO pitchers combine for a 1 hitter as they win 6-1. Game 4: NO scored 3 in the first and won a back and forth game 6-4. Arenado had 3 HR’s for HEC, including a game tying blast in the 6th.  But NO’s Harris hit a 2 run HR in the 7^th to provide the difference.  Clase on for his 14^th save.

In contrast, the next game was a slugfest. FW took an early 3-0 lead but NW chipped away, finally tying score 3-3 on a Schwarber homer in the 8^th. But in the bottom of the frame, Christian Walker put the home team ahead for good with a  two-run blast.  Swanson again nailed down the save, for a 5-3 win.

Game 3 was a 7-1 rout, led by Sean Murphy (2 HR, 3 RBI) and strong pitching from Stroman. Mikolas gave up 4 HR in the loss.

The large ball park and heavy cold air made a difference as Harold missed numerous ball park home run chances, I too missed several, but the digital dice were not rolling in Harold's favor for sure.  He did throw out Acuna twice, on 1-16 and 1-15 chances, as I kept getting leads all night. 

Game 1:  Alpacas win 5 - 4 over New Orleans in 10 innings.

After scoring a single run in the bottom of the 4th, the Ellis bats, namely Judge, came to life and scored 4, a three-run bomb by the aforementioned Judge doing most of the damage.  It stayed 4 -1 until the bottom of the ninth when Ellis closer Emmanual Clase came in, gave up singles to Josh Bell and Alex Bregman before a 3-run homer to J.T. Realmuto tied is up in the 9th.  Anthony Bass holds New Orleans scoreless in the top of the 10^th and Amed Rosario sacrifices the ghost runner over and Harold chooses to walk Acuna and Freeman, loading the bases for Josh Bell.  A wild pitch by David Bednar ends the game.

In a pitching duel, solo shots by Taylor Ward in the 5^th followed by another solo blast by Joey Meneses in the top of the 8^th (both straight HR bombs) were the only two hits New Orleans got or needed in defeating the Alpacas at home.  The two solo HRs were the only baserunners for New Orleans.  Miles Mikolas pitched 8 strong innings, allowing no walks while fanning 5.  The Ellis bullpen did the job as the Alpacas chased the New Orleans starting pitcher in the bottom of the 5th.  Emmanuel Clase redeemed himself by nailing down the save, but not before allowing back-to-back singles by Ronald Acuna and Alex Bregman in the bottom of the 9^th before getting Freddie Freeman to strike out.

Miles Mikolas was the losing pitcher. He surrendered just 2 hits and no walks in 8 innings. 'We lose our concentration for one pitch, and we lose the game.' Sam said after the game. 'Maybe now these guys will listen when I say they have to concentrate on EVERY pitch.'

Game 3:  Neverwinter shuts out New Orleans 4-0.

Merrill Kelly went 8 strong innings, recording 7 strike outs, while only allowing 5 hits and a walk, Penn Murfee pitched the 9^th to preserve the win.  A solo blast by Kyle Schwarber and RBI singles by Josh Bell, pinch hitter Gunnar Henderson, and Jake McCarthy accounted for all the runs.  

Neverwinter had only 5 hits for the afternoon. The loss was charged to Alcantara. He gave up 4 runs and 5 hits in 7 and 1/3innings.

Game 4:  Neverwinter holds on to win 5-3.

Light hitting Amed Rosario went 3 for 3 including two homeruns, knocking in four leading the Alpacas to the win.  Tyler Anderson and Zach Wheeler both pitched well, each allowing only two runs over six innings.  Aaron Judge hit his 2^nd homer of the series, having a big game going 3 for 5 driving in two.  Josh Bell accounted for the other Alpaca run with a solo blast.  Alpaca closer Ryan Helsley closed the door after surrendering two hits in the top of 9^th to make it interesting.

'We won because we did the little things right.' Sam said after the game. 'This is why we practice things over and over and over, so when we get in close games we don't make mistakes.'

CN came out early and scored 3 runs but could have had more when Donovan hit a 2 out double (HR 1-18) but they only went up 3-0.  But in the 5^th ND comes back on an rbi double by Lindor and 2-run Turner homer to tie it at 3.  Devers missed a 1-19 Ballpark homer by rolling a 20! Then CN left runners on 2^nd and 3^rd in the 6th. But CN followed this with 4 runs in the 7^th to take a 7-3 lead and felt the winds of luck coming back.  But Neris and Diaz could not hold the lead as Mookie bets hit a pinch hit grand slam to cap an ND 6-run 8th to go up 10-7.  CN could only get a triple over the final 6 outs and loses a nailbiter 10-7.

ND was feeling good and goes up 2-0 as Polanco hit a single on a catcher X (rolling a '1') and then Contreras (Wm) hit a ballpark homer for the first inning scoring.  ND is up 3-1 as CN comes up in the 3^rd and Raleigh hit a 3 run ballpark homer to give CN a 4-3 lead.  CN just put on their hitting gloves and filled the bases in innings 5-7 but only scores 1 run on a Trout homer, and its still 5-3 after 7.  But then the 8^th inning happens and suddenly it was all CN as Harper hit 2 ballpark homers (18) for 6 RBIs and Rhys Hoskins gets to pitch for ND and CN wins the second game 16-3.

CN comes out and in the 2nd inning of game 3 amd the 3^rd rolls on his cards for 8 straight batters and go up 6-0 tiring Stripling.  He stays in to take one for the team and CN keeps the lead 10-3 going into the 7^th.  Arnie brings in Chafin to relieve the very tired Stripling and he strikes out 2 and gives up 3 hits to become tired and let in another run.  Raising the white flag again, Hoskins comes out for the second straight game and gives up 2 runs to bring the game to an end at 13-4 with Rodon going a complete game.

No offense to Arnie, but at this point I was pulling for a final blowout so that Hoskins could be the first position player to enter a game in relief tired from previous action…(I was undecided about doing that, hoping I wouldn't have to decide - Arnie).

ND came out angry as Tucker and Alonso went back to back to get the 2-0 first inning lead as they did in the second game.  CN went up 3-2 after a 2^nd innings which included Wm. Contreras (a 4) not blocking the plate well as Swanson had a 1-13 to score and rolled a 14 followed by a 8 to score the 2^nd of the 3 runs.  L. Castillo gets out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth giving up only 1 run.  (3 walks followed by a ballpark single and then Bohm hitting a lo max to end the inning [It didn't help that the pathetic against righties Bohm had to play because Turner was injure - Arnie).  The game is tied at 3 when in the 5^th Trout hits a triple and Devers gets a single on a CFx roll to give CN a 4-3 lead.  Both teams bullpens are strong from this point on and Phillips comes in for a save and CN wins 4-3 and takes home the 3 to 1 series win.

Tom says "Get your stats to me…

First-round pick Strider held the Warheads to 2 hits over 5 innings on the way to a tag-team shutout. FW had 5 solo HR against Bassitt (3 by Stanton) on the way to a 7-0 blow out.

Game 3 was the battle of the innings-poor aces: Peralta vs deGrom. Arnie took a 3-2 lead in the 7^th on a Betts HR, but FW answered with a Murphy double, pinch runner Turner stealing 3^rd, who scored on a perfectly executed safety squeeze by (A bunter) Gimenez. Still tied in the 10^th, Arnie manages a lead-off double play (line out max). After a lead off walk, Gimenez executed another sacrifice bunt, putting the winning run on 3^rd with 1 out. Machado then singled for a 5-4 walk off win.

Game 17/13 -- CN goes up 5-0 after 7 missing 2 ballpark homers, but  Mike Trout hit 2 1-4 clean shots for 3 rbis.  Freeman hit a 7th inning homer to bring it to 5-1.  The bottom of the ninth saw Neverwinter walk, steal a base, hit a short single and then Freeman was hit and injured for a game in retribution for his earlier homer.  But now CN faced the gauntlet of Bell, Acuna, Realmuto and Schwarber with bases loaded and no outs each of the hitters the tieing run....  Evan Phillips the misused CN closer came out and struck out Bell, gave up a short single to Acuna and then struck out Realmuto.  Schwarber was sent to the showers and Gunnar comes to bat as a clutch hitter with the bases still loaded.  He worked a walk and it was 5-3, 2 outs still bases loaded and one hit tires Phillips....  Ty France comes to bat and strikes out to end a nerve wracking game.

Game 18/14 -- CN faced a lefty Fried and managed 3 runs over 4 innings, but Bell hit a 6th inning 2 run shot to bring the game to 3-2.  Escobar was able to add an insurance run on a double scoring Donovan in the 8th.  The ninth was again a near thing as France missed a BS* to be followed by Bell's single.  Acuna made an out advancing the runner and McCarthy came up for Schwarber (lifted again in the 9th in a clutch situation).  He worked a walk and Realmuto struck out to allow CN to go up 2 games to none.

Game 19/15 -- Rodon came out to try and carry on the winning and gave up a 2 run shot to Anderson to give NW their first lead 2-0.  Pujols answered with 2 run homer of his own in the 6th to tie the game but CN would not have another hit (one HBP) while NW had a baserunner in each inning including leaving a man on 3rd in the 9th.  The top of the 10th saw Iglesias strike out the side.  Diaz tried to do the same, but Acuna leaned into a pitch, Freeman made an out and Bell the NW hero hit a ballpark single to win the game 3-2.

Game 20/16 -- NW was looking hopeful for a split as they greeted Urias with 2 quick runs in the first innings and CN was held scorelss through 5.  But fickle fortune weighed in in the 6th as with 2 outs Harper hit a single on a C-x and then Trout hit a ball park homer to tie the game.  The 8th saw the same combo this time NW hit Harper and then Trout hit his 4th homer of the series to give CN the 4-2 lead.  Williams and Phillips was able to hold NW and secure the first series win for CN of the season.

Game 1:  The unexpected pitchers' duel broke out in quaint New Orleans ballpark as Harris hit 2 solo shots to beat CN 2-1. McClanahan (the lefty) struck out 9.

Game 2:  New Orleans got 4 runs early on 4 hits and a walk over 5 hitters and they settled in to try and hold CN off.  Devers hit a 7th inning solo shot to halve the lead to 4-2 and then Judge answered with his own solo shot. CN came back in the 8th to score 2 and leave a man on 2nd in both that inning and the next to lose 5-4.  3 players were injured - Haniger for CN and Ramirez and Eloy Jiminez (8 games) for NO who all got the maximum injury they were allowed.

Game 3:  New Orleans went up early 2-0, but CN came back and tied it in the 3rd as a trail runner ran into a third out.  Pujols and Gurriel hit homers to carry CN to a 7-3 win.  

Game 4:  CN needed this win to get the split and came out with a back to back solo shots for Trout and Devers in the first.  CN loaded the bases in the second inning but only came up with 2 runs.  They held on to the 4-0 lead until their closer entered to get the last out of the 6th and then was chased from the game in the 7th giving up a run.  Diaz and Baker came on to hold down NO and give CN a 4-1 win and a series split.

...

Send your stats to Tom!

Twits Notes: (11/21) It was a satisfying split for North Dakota that felt more like a series win, with 2 of the team's 3 best hitters in Jed's park injured for the first two games (Goldschmidt and William Contreras). Here are the computer's edited writeups with my commentary.

Game 1:  Missing two of their best hitters, North Dakota knew it'd be ugly and sure enough they were shut out 1-0.

In a game for the baseball purist, Aaron Nola and Shane Bieber squared off in a tense pitching duel, Oceanus Assholes finally emerged victorious over North Dakota NuclearWarheads, 1 to 0.

Nola gave Oceanus a solid outing.  He didn't give up much, just 5 hits and 1 walk in 8 innings. Nola got help from Pete Fairbanks who was credited with his 1st save.  J. Ramirez's rbi single in the 4th was the only scoring. Arnie was subdued after the ballgame, 'That one really hurts.  If our guys had simply played more fundamentally sound, we could have won that one.  That is what really ticks me off!'

What I really said was, "My team sucks, they have a lot of trouble scoring.  That is what really pisses me off!"

Game 2: It was a series of pessimism by both managers.  Game 2 was a tense 2-2 game, until the 9th inning, when Jorge Polano hit a home run off Miguel Montero. Romano picked up his 4th save and ND steals the game.

Game 3 was all Asshole, as they held a 4-0 lead, until ND scored two meaningless runs in the 9th. Jazz Chisholm had 2 base hits as the Oceanus Assholes topped the North Dakota Nuclear Warheads by a score of 4 to 2 at Rehoboth Parking Lot.

Pablo Lopez(1-0) pitched a fine game.  He went 6 innings surrendering 3 hits and 2 walks.  Lopez recorded 7 strikeouts.  Pete Fairbanks earned his 2nd save.  Alex Cobb(0-1) took the loss.  He was knocked around by Oceanus, allowing 8 hits and 2 walks in 4 innings.  

Game 4: North Dakota was comfortably up 2-0 with Stripling pitching 6 shutout innings.  In the 7th, the Assholes had one on and one out against Andrew Chafin and they brought up mutant Matt Carpenter.  ND walks him to bring up AJ Pollock who hits a 3-run homer on a 1-4 roll off Chafin's card and Jed celebrates his unusual luck.  It was shortlived.  Top of the 9th, one on and one out, closer Fairbanks in, and Mookie Bets comes in to pinch-hit.  He hits a 2-run homer on a 1-8 ballpark roll to take the 4-3 lead and Romano picks up his 5th save against the demoralized Assholes.

In gaining the split, North Dakota scored just 9 runs in 4 games, but their staff had a 1.85 ERA

(11/19) With all other series on the day ending in splits, all eyes were on the World Series rematch. Shockingly, Bay City prevailed over Constantinople, taking 3 of 4 in Manatee Park. With Bay City pitchers beaning CN players at will (honoring the memory of late Bay City-ite and noted headhunter Yordano Ventura), the Rollers managed to knock out both Trout and Rizzo in game 1 for two more games each (thus the ability to take 3 of 4 from Tom).

Tom took the early lead in game 1 after Corbin Burnes walked the first two CN batters and Devers homered. BC tied it up on a 2-run Suarez homer and a solo Teoscar Hernandez shot and added a few more on a Corbin Carroll (in his SOMBILLA debut) shot and some timely hitting by Benintendi. Tom loaded the bases in the ninth on another HBP (no injury) and two more walks by Bard (reverting to late Red Sox form) and scored 1, but it wasn’t enough—Bay City wins 6-4.

Game 2 started out as a CN blowout, as Tom’s sluggers quickly tired out Michael Kopech (thanks in part to a clutch hit by Donovan in the first and a 3-run homer by injury call-up Casas in the second). The tired but cute Kopech proceeded to allow three tired strikeout/long singles in the fourth inning, and CN was up 10-0. Bay City clawed back to score 5 in the eighth (no homers) and 2 in the ninth, but CN took the game, 11-7.

Game 3 was a scoreless pitchers’ duel between Gallen and Castillo through five innings, but BC put another 5-spot on the board in the sixth, thanks to a bunch of walks and a Sal Perez 3-run homer (his third [but not his last—foreshadowing alert] of the day). Final score BC 5-1.

Game 4 BC starter lefty Jesus Luzardo had been brilliant against Sam and much less so against Eric, and his downfall continued against Tom, as he allowed two 3-run homers (Rengifo and Pujols) as well as, in fine BC tradition, hitting back-to-back players (the obvious payback one against Rengifo and then the just-recovered Trout), but he left trailing only 6-5, as BC was able to beat up on Ohtani with homers by Marte and Correa (the latter a solo shot after Carroll singled in front of him but was thrown out stealing—I rolled a 20). Vlad led off the ninth with a walk and Sal Perez hit his fourth homer of the day to give BC the 7-6 lead, which Bard was miraculously able to hold on to.

Star of the day: Zac Gallen 2-0, 13 1/3 IP, 11 hits, 4 BB 14 K's 1.35 ERA.  Honorable mention was erstwhile SOMBILLA MVP Sal Perez with 4 homers and 11 rbis on the day.

(11/15)  A great day for the league's top two teams, according to league prognosticators.

...

New Orleans sweeps.

G1

No computer write up, NO wins 3-0, Gonsolin with the win, Clase the save.

G2

Nestor Cortes racked up an impressive total of 10 strikeouts as the New Orleans Ellis defeated the Future Wax Candles by the score of 3 to 2 at Doc Ellis Field.

Cortes(1-0) had a solid outing for New Orleans.  He went 6 innings allowing 2 hits and 1 walk and allowed 2 gopher balls.  Future Wax had a chance to come back in the 9th but they came up short.  

Griffin Jax recorded the save, his 1st.  Spencer Strider(0-1) took the loss in relief.  He struck out 6 batters in 2 innings despite losing the game.

'Everything felt great' Cortes said. 'I had a good fastball, I felt I could throw it by everybody tonight.'

G3

Shortstop Ha-Seong Kim homered and had 2 RBI as the New Orleans Ellis topped the Future Wax Candles by a score of 8 to 2 at Doc Ellis Field.

New Orleans jumped on top of Future Wax in the 6th inning when they came up with 2 runs on 2 hits.  Future Wax was out-hit by New Orleans, 11 hits to 8.

The victory went to Sandy Alcantara(1-0) who went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs. Max Scherzer(0-1) was the loser.  He pitched 5 innings giving up 6 hits and 1 walk.

G4

Second baseman Marcus Semien left the yard and had 3 RBI at Doc Ellis Field as the New Orleans Ellis beat the Future Wax Candles by the count of 7 to 2.

New Orleans scored 4 runs in the decisive 4th inning with the help of 3 hits. The key at-bat was by Semien who made the crowd come alive when he smashed a two-run homer.  New Orleans had a total of 9 hits for the game. 

The victory went to Zack Wheeler(1-0) who went 6 innings, allowing 2 runs.Marcus Stroman(0-1) was the losing pitcher.  He served up 3 gopher balls in 5 and 2/3 innings. 

(11/5)  Opening day!  Sam came all the way down from Vermont for this one. Things started ominously for the Alpacas with Freeman missing a ballpark homer at Gackle Park and then North Dakota scoring an unearned run in the first on Rosario's error. But Neverwinter stormed back on an Acuna homer and a Freeman 2-run triple to take a 3-1 lead. One of the Contreri homered for ND off Murfee's first pitch in the 7th to make it 3-2, but NV adds an insurance run on a sac fly in the 8th and Helsley pitches a 1-2-3 9th for the NV win.

In game 2, ND took a 5-3 lead into the 7th inning, Margot and Schwarber trading 2-run homers for each team. North Dakota proceeds to score 8 runs in the 7th off Minter and Dominguez, on 5 hits (including a 2-run shot by a Contreri) and 3 walks to make it 13-3.  Human victory cigar Craig Kimbrel comes in, gives up 6 straight hits, and 6 runs to make it a 13-9 game.  Another run by NV in the 9th makes it 13-10 and ROmano has to come in to secure the save.

Bailey Ober pitched 5 innings, yielding 2 hits as ND jumps out to a 3-1 lead in game 3. Kwan(!) homers to make it 4-1, but Chafin, Sewald and Munoz close the door, yielding 2 hits over the last 4 innings for a 5-2 win.

The Nuclear Warheads score 6 runs in the bottom of the 2nd of game 4 to tire out Mikolas - Goldschmidt's 3-run blast the key hit.  Mikolas actually pitches a complete game, giving up no tired hits, but Cobb, Alvarado, Romano and victory cigar Kimbrel give up just 5 hits in the spacious cow pasture, cruising for a 6-2 win.

Neverwinter made 4 erros in the series - causing Sam to claim his team had a chance to set the league record.  What is the record?  It's North Dakota with 61 waaaaay back in the '90-91 season.  That could be tough to break.

...

In Future Wax's series win, they outscored Bay City 17-3 in the first two innings over the 4 games.

...

Ballparks

                       L     R     Fences

New Orleans      S: 1-15  1-15   High

                HR: 1-10  1-16

Oceanus          S: 1-8   1-8    High

                HR: 1-4   1-8

North Dakota     S: 1-3   1-3    High

                HR: 1-3   1-3

Hecatoncheires   S: 1-11  1-5    High

                HR: 1-11  1-5

Neverwinter      S: 1-7   1-7    High

                HR: 1-2   1-6

Future Wax       S: 1-6   1-15   High

                HR: 1-4   1-10

Bay City         S: 1-14  1-5    High

                HR: 1-9   1-9

Constantinople   S: 1-19  1-19   High

                HR: 1-19  1-19

(11/3) Pre-season favorite New Orleans  opened its season winning 3 of 4 at home last night to jump out to first place.

Game 1:

In a two run game the New Orleans Ellis plated 4 runs in the 7th inning and

got by the Oceanus Assholes by the score of 6 to 4.

New Orleans came up with 4 runs in the top of the 7th inning.  The big moment

was provided by Harold Ramirez who quieted the crowd when he caught a hold of

a bad pitch for a Grand Slam homerun.  New Orleans had 8 hits for the

afternoon.  

Zack Wheeler(1-0) went 6 innings allowing 3 runs for the victory. Emmanuel

Clase recorded the save, his 1st.  Jimmy Herget (0-1) suffered the loss in

relief.  He pitched 1 inning giving up 1 hit and 2 walks.

 

Game 2:

Matt Olson slammed a homerun and had 3 RBI and Shane McClanahan carried a

no-hitter into the 7th inning as the New Orleans Ellis outscored the Oceanus

Assholes 8 to 1.

 

Olson enjoyed a fine day at the plate.  He doubled scoring a run in the 1st

inning, doubled in the 5th inning and smashed a solo-shot out of the park in

the 8th inning.  New Orleans out-hit Oceanus for the game, 15 hits to 3.

 

McClanahan (1-0) was the winner allowing no runs in 6 and 1/3 innings.  The

left-handed McClanahan lost a no-hitter when Julio Rodriguez singled with one

out in the 7th inning.  The losing pitcher was Dylan Cease(0-1). 

 

Game 3:

The Oceanus Assholes readily handled New Orleans Ellis by a score of 7 to 3 at

Rehoboth Parking Lot.

 

Oceanus scored 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning when they came up with 4

base hits.  It was enough scoring to earn the victory.  Oceanus finished with

11 hits while New Orleans ended up with 6.  

 

The victory was credited to Logan Webb(1-0) who went 8 innings, allowing 3

runs. Sandy Alcantara(0-1) was tagged with the loss.  He surrendered 7 runs

and 11 hits in 8 innings.

 

Game 4:  No computer generated game notes due to what happened with two outs in the 9^th inning…

 

Bottom nine, New Orleans up 4-2, two outs.  Kirk is up, mutant Carpenter on deck, cheater Altuve after 

Carpenter.  Harold is thinking, if Kirk gets on, he is walking the mutant Carpenter to take is chances with

the cheater, even though he is walking the tying run and bringing up the winning run.

 

Kirk swings and makes contact…Harold closes his eyes, looks to the skies and says, f***, I’m walking

Carpenter and hits the Intentional walk button, and on to first he goes.  But wait, Harold says, where is Kirk, I thought

he hit a double?!?  Jed said it was a double/HR spilt and he hit a HR.  in his slightly buzzed state,

Harold read it as a double before slamming the Intentional Walk tab!  

 

So I ask Jed if we can replay the Intentional walk – with it 4-3 I’ll take my chances with Clase getting the mutant out, and if he

hits a HR it’s tied, versus giving Altuve (the cheater) a chance to win it. Jed, in traditional SOMBILLA

F’it fashion says sure, we’ll run a play to Altuve and just delete last play and get Carpenter back up.

 

So…with the non-counting play, what does Altuve do?  He hits a HR, which ends the game – so we CAN’T reverse the

last play! After trying to figure out what to try and do, we decide to go old school with dice and cards for the last

out.  Altuve gets on, but Clase gets Canha to end it 4-3.