October 15: The Yuma Firebirds were one
win away from their third World Series title, but to clinch they’d have to win
in enemy territory. Could they pull it off? Or would Casselton push the series
to a winner-take-all seventh game? Read on to find out…
Two hard-luck losers took the mound: Tim
Hudson, who was outdueled by David Price in Game One, and Chris Sale, whose
offense saved him an official loss before the bullpen gave it up.
Hudson encountered early trouble, allowing
two runners with two out in the first before inducing a grounder for a
fielder’s choice. Yuma also had a two-out single in the second, but they got
things going right away in the third. Ben Zobrist and Anthony Rendon drew walks
before Hudson got Andrew McCutchen to ground into a double play. Casey McGehee
stepped up and hit a chopper right back to Hudson, who saw it bounce off his
glove. McGehee was safe and Zobrist crossed the plate for the first run of the
game.
The Firebirds were back at it in the
fourth, with Ryan Braun hitting a leadoff single and advancing on a passed ball
and groundout. Buster Posey flew to left for out number two, but it wasn’t deep
enough to score Braun. That left it up to Andrelton Simmons, and he came
through. The shortstop hit a liner over his counterpart and into the gap. Braun
trotted home, but Carlos Gomez’s throw was on the money to erase Simmons trying
for two.
For Landon Bolt and the Casselton
faithful, coming from behind was nothing new. They had, in fact, pulled off one
of the biggest comeback jobs in the regular season by surpassing the St.
Francis Kansans after being down nearly 10 games halfway into the season. But
now, with no room for error, some fans were getting antsy. The Horned Toads
trailed, 2-0, facing Yuma ace Chris Sale and only six more frames guaranteed.
Those fidgeting fanatics nearly let go
an enormous roar in the bottom half of the fourth. Adrian Beltre pulled a
double down the line to lead off before Sale wild pitched him to third. Justin
Upton’s struggles continued with an unproductive five-foot dribbler in front of
the plate, but Adrian Gonzalez walked to bring up big Edwin Encarnacion. The slugger
just missed a fastball, fouling it
straight back, then took a mighty hack at the second pitch…which took a dive
just before reaching his bat. The result? A harmless grounder, a 6-4-3 twin
killing that sucked the life out of the home squad and stadium.
Sale was on cruise control from that
point on. The Yuma offense threatened a few times against Hudson and two
relievers, but as the game entered the bottom of the ninth it was still a
two-run Firebird advantage. Just three outs stood between Chris Melkonian and a
third ring, and Sale was sent back out to finish with exactly 100 pitches under
his belt.
A clamor started in the crowd. The heart
of the Casselton lineup was due up. Two runs were all they needed, and the two
hottest hitters of the series on either side, Gomez and Beltre, would step to
the plate first.
Gomez saw two balls and fouled one off,
then hit a sharp grounder up the middle. Gomez had a chance to beat it out with
his speed, but possibly the only shortstop in the game with a cannon powerful
enough to gun him down happened to be playing the field. Simmons went to his
left, spun fired…IN TIME! ONE AWAY!
Beltre, up next, swung at a 1-1 offering
and dribbled it beside the mound, just out of Sale’s reach. Simmons was
charging and let loose another laser, but NOT in time! Beltre was safe by a
half-step, which meant the tying run would step to the plate.
But…Upton? Justin Upton? He of the 3-for-19
World Series so far, whom many experts considered the reason the series had
gone this long (with just a few clutch hits in other games, Casselton may well
have swept the series)? Who had K’d (by far) the most of any player (11) in
this Fall Classic? Horned Toads fans groaned in anticipated frustration and searched
the lineup for the next hitter, assuming Upton didn’t ground into a double play
and end it right then and there.
The Casselton left fielder, feeling the
immense pressure, took a ball and called strike, at which some jeered for not
swinging. But then Sale made a mistake. A slider that didn’t break enough. It hung
in Upton’s wheelhouse. He swung and connected. As the ball soared through the Casselton
night, many long-suffering fans rose in excitement. In center, McCutchen went
back on the ball. He reach the TRACK. He leaped at the FENCE…
GONE!
In an astounding turn of events, the
slugger had tied the game with one swing! The house was roaring and his
teammates surrounded him in the dugout! Just two outs away from a long
offseason, one swing from the much-maligned player had given new life!
After the blast, Sale was pulled for
Mark Melancon. The reliever got two quick outs and the game went to extra
innings, with momentum seemingly on the side of the Horned Toads.
Both sides went in order in the 10th,
and Addison Reed walked back to the mound to start the top of the 11th.
Coming off three nearly perfect innings to help extend the game to this point,
the righty immediately showed signs of exhaustion as Ryan Zimmerman lined a
single and Chase Utley walked.
The call to the bullpen was made, and a
lefty appeared. One whose name does not sit well with St. Francis fans or
management, after his repeated failures in the 2013 playoffs: Craig Breslow.
Breslow was greeted with a two-on, none-out
situation. Mookie Betts was first up, and the rookie reached a full count
before striking out. Posey was next, and the star catcher was tired of the
back-and-forth. Breslow, figuring the backstop’s legs had nothing left, offered
a first-pitch challenge fastball…but Buster didn’t miss. In just a few seconds
the ball was five rows back in left-center field. The crowd again went silent
as Posey circled the bases and completed his three-RBI, 360-foot journey. Two
more runners reached base after Posey, but Breslow escaped more damage with a
double play.
Would Casselton have enough to come back
yet again? After a season of ups and downs, it all came down to the bottom of
the 11th and the same part of the order as their previous rally.
Melancon, having retired five in a row
after entering in the ninth, finally allowed a runner as Jean Segura lined one
to right (incidentally, it was just his second hit in 22 at-bats in the series,
for an even worse average than Upton). Gomez saw a pitch he liked and crushed
it to center. McCutchen started back like before, reached the track and
stopped, held up his glove and snagged the first out. Beltre, looking for his
fourth hit on the day, hit a high chopper to third base that Zimmerman fielded
cleanly and threw over for the out at first, Segura advancing. Two down, and
the ninth-inning hero, Upton, was up. Two called strikes. One ball. Two fouls…and
a fastball on the inside corner that froze him for strikeout number 12.
FINAL: YUMA 5, CASSELTON 2
The Firebirds were back on top of the
BARB heap with the 4-2 series victory. As his team surrounded Melancon, owner
Melkonian let it all spill out.
“Go Firebirds! Best managing job I ever
had, considering all the injuries and underperforming players. Landon, great
job. I respect the hell out of him. It could have gone either way.”
WORLD SERIES MVP: DAVID PRICE
Yes, the ace lefty earned the nod.
Simmons and Posey had good numbers and clutch hits, but Price was 2-0, 0.60
with 17 strikeouts in 15 innings. He gave up 14 hits and didn’t walk a soul in
two games, including a Game Five shutout (the first since Ricky Romero in
2012).
As for the Horned Toads, no one could
discount their hard work in turning around a potentially-disastrous season and
helping provide one of the most compelling, competitive World Series in BARB
history. Many observers noted that Landon Bolt’s team had been lingering around
playoff contention for years, and now that they tasted the pinnacle they were
unlikely to disappear any time soon.
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2014 BARB WORLD
SERIES CHAMPIONS, THE YUMA FIREBIRDS
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