BATTLE OF THE LEFTIES

Sabathia or Gonzalez--who would be celebrating after Game Three?

Game Three: Pottsylvania struggled against a left-handed pitcher (Ricky Romero) in Game Two. Both teams started southpaws for the third contest of the 2012 BARB World Series, and the result was as expected: both turned in double-digit strikeout performances as the game went down to the final pitches.

With the Series tied at a game apiece, both teams were looking to take the upper hand. New England, hosting a World Series game for the first time in franchise history, broke through first against Pottsylvania’s C.C. Sabathia.

Michael Bourn led off the bottom of the first inning with a smash down the first base line. After Andre Ethier struck out, Miguel Cabrera advanced the runner on a groundout. Carlos Beltran’s grounder made it appear the Yankee Stompers would fail to bring the runner home (as happened a couple of times in Game One), but second baseman (?!) Allen Craig was slow coming in and Beltran beat it out. Bourn crossed the plate for a lead.

NEW ENGLAND 1, POTTSYLVANIA 0

New England’s Gio Gonzalez cruised through the first three innings, allowing only a Craig double in the first. Craig, after his previous success, beat Gonzalez again with a walk to start the fourth. Matt Kemp lined a single between first and second, pushing Craig around to third base. He came home to tie the score on Paul Konerko’s sacrifice fly.

Kemp, seizing an opportunity with Gonzalez frustrated, stole second base on the next pitch. He moved to third on a flyout, and with two away Josh Reddick put the Creepers in the lead with a scorched double to right-center.

POTTSYLVANIA 2, NEW ENGLAND 1

Playoff veteran Sabathia, charged with holding the Creepers’ lead, almost surrendered it immediately after stepping out of the dugout with a lead. New England put two runners on (though they were helped by a Craig error), but Sabathia blew a two-out, two-strike fastball by Miguel Montero to strand both.

The Yankee Stompers put together another threat in the seventh inning. Corey Hart reached when Craig again failed to reach a slow roller in time, and Dustin Pedroia lined a single to center after an eight-pitch battle. Montero struck out again, but J.J. Hardy walked to load the bases. Yonder Alonso was sent up as a pinch-hitter for Gonzalez. He quickly fell behind and then skied a pop-up to third for the second out, though it turned the lineup over to the top and Bourn. The speedy center fielder alternated between watching balls and swinging through strikes before finally whiffing for the third out.

Sabathia was replaced with two away in the eighth after Beltran’s third hit, but Aroldis Chapman blew Hart away to send the one-run game to the ninth.

After that bottom of the eighth, New England fans still retained some hope that Chapman’s wildness would catch up with him and their team could pull out a comeback victory in the bottom of the ninth.

The top of the ninth, however, took much of that hope away. LaTroy Hawkins, who replaced Gonzalez after the latter was removed for the pinch-hitter, retired two on five pitches to open the frame. A.J. Pierzynski was the third hitter, and he took advantage of a first-pitch, get-it-in fastball and ripped a single. Reddick, one of the surprising stories in the league, laced another double. This was to left-center, and with two out even the slow Pierzynski was able to traverse the bases and score.

With the game slipping away, Ramon Ramirez was sent to the mound to face Desmond Jennings. The rookie was ready to swing and drove in Reddick on a first-pitch single. Chapman “hit” for himself—a called strike and two half-hearted swings-and-misses—to end the inning, but the damage was done to the New England cause. The lefty stalked back to the mound for the bottom of the ninth and threw 12 pitches in a perfect inning (without any strikeouts!) to end the game.

FINAL: POTTSYLVANIA 4, NEW ENGLAND 1

The big pitching duel had kept fans in the ballpark and around the world watching and listening on the edges of their seats. Sabathia earned the victory after 7 2/3 innings of six-hit, one-run ball and a baker’s dozen in strikeouts. The hard-luck loser, Gonzalez, K’d 12 over his seven innings and allowed just four hits. Nonetheless, the Creepers were just two wins away from a title.