Epic Division Series sees string of comebacks; New England takes
advantage
GAME TWO:
Carolina, down 1-0, came out swinging
against Cole Hamels. Anthony King’s Wildcats plated two in the third (using
small ball) and three in the fifth (a Josh Donaldson two-out, three-run big fly
after Yoenis Cespedes let a can of corn clank off his mitt) to knock out the
veteran lefty.
Carolina starter Jordan Zimmerman
allowed a Yasmany Tomas RBI single in the fourth before falling apart beginning
in the sixth. Miguel Cabrera drove in a run with a double just out of the reach
of Yasiel Puig, and Tomas grounded into a double play with the bases loaded and
no one out to pull New England within two.
Zimmerman still made it almost all the
way through the seventh inning. He gave up his fourth run on a pinch-single and
was pulled with the bases loaded and two away. Tony Watson did his job and
induced a harmless groundout to send the game to the eighth.
Watson, however, failed in his second
go-round. Accustomed to facing left-handed batters, the southpaw gave up a
lined single and a smash ruled an error on Eric Hosmer, both off the bats of
right-handed hitters, before Matt Wieters clubbed a 1-2 hanging breaking ball
over the Green Monster for a 7-5 Yankee Stomper lead.
Luis Severino, who took over for Hamels
in the sixth, came back out for the ninth and allowed a single but induced a
double play to end the game and give James Herndon and his New England squad a
commanding 2-0 series lead.
FINAL: NEW ENGLAND 7, CAROLINA
5
GAME THREE:
Drew Pomeranz, the New England starter,
got rocked early and often. He faced 25 batters and didn’t make it out of the
fifth inning, walking four and allowing seven base hits. But he evaded enough
trouble that he only gave up four runs and didn’t factor in the decision.
The Carolina onslaught began in the
first, after Stephen Strasburg dealt a perfect top half of the inning. Jose
Altuve greeted Pomeranz with a single and swiped second. With two away, Nelson
Cruz was given an intentional pass and Yasmani Grandal drew a walk himself.
However, Josh Donaldson, while ahead in the count, pounded into the turf
harmlessly to second base.
With one away in the bottom of the
second, Yasiel Puig got something started with a four-pitch walk. Altuve
reached with his second single to bring up Brandon Crawford, who yanked a 2-0
Pomeranz offering barely over the deep (340 feet) right-field fence to put the
Wildcats on the board! Adam Jones watched a called strike before also pulling a
pitch deep—this a shot to left! A lightning-quick strike of runs had given
Carolina comfort with their ace dealing on the mound.
CAROLINA 4, NEW ENGLAND 0
Strasburg held up his end in the third,
completely a perfect first time through the order. His offense again put men
on, with the help of a Rusney Castillo error, and had the bases loaded for
Altuve, 2-2 already in the game. With the Yankee Stomper bullpen starting to
warm up, Pomeranz jammed Altuve. The flair sailed into shallow left. Yoenis
Cespedes sprinted in…reached down…and MADE THE SHOESTRING CATCH! It kept at
least two runs from scoring (more had he misplayed it) and the deficit of four
didn’t get out of control.
The great catch must have woken up New
England’s bats, as Dustin Pedroia became their first runner with a broken-bat
grounder and Cespedes lined a double into the corner to start the fourth.
Miguel Cabrera picked up an RBI with a groundout, and after a strikeout Yasmany
Tomas drove in his fellow Cuban émigré with a first-pitch single.
CAROLINA 4, NEW ENGLAND 2
Strasburg settled down again until the
seventh. Tomas and Ian Desmond singled, sandwiched between harmless groundout,
and Matt Wieters drew a walk. With the bases loaded Xander Bogaerts punched it
through the four hole for a run, and Pedroia followed with a liner in the same
spot to tie the game! Finally Carolina pulled Strasburg in favor of A.J. Ramos,
but the damage was done.
NEW ENGLAND 4, CAROLINA 4
Though Ramos got the out to end the
seventh, he didn’t make his pitches in the eighth. After a three-pitch strikeout
of Cabrera, Corey Dickerson lashed a drive that Puig couldn’t cut off, and he
didn’t stop running until he was standing on third. Tomas followed with his
third hit and second RBI of the contest, this on a double inside third base!
Unbelievably, the Yankee Stompers had come from behind to take a late lead for
the third time in three games!
NEW ENGLAND 5, CAROLINA 4
With a one-run lead in the eighth, a 2-0
series lead and Andrew Miller, Dellin Betances and Jonathan Papelbon available,
the clubhouse staff prepared for a champagne celebration.
Miller was the choice for the bottom half
of the frame. With one out, Puig turned on the jets for a bunt single. Austin
Jackson moved him to third and turned the lineup over with a solid line drive
single, but Altuve grounded toward Pedroia, who for some reason was playing
closer than double play depth…and he threw HOME—NOT IN TIME! The veteran had
made a monumental mistake, going for a tag play with an inning-ending double
play in order! Tie game!
CAROLINA 5, NEW ENGLAND 5
Mouth agape, Miller had to recover and
pitch his team out of the inning. He did with two strikeouts, but as he walked
toward the dugout he was visibly shaking his head.
Ramos, still in the game, struggled with
his control and allowed New England another rally in the top of the ninth.
Other than a slow roller off the bat of Pedroia, Ramos issued free passes to
three hitters. With Cabrera looming, Wade Davis was called in. The slugger
evened the count at 2-2 but waved at a wicked Davis cutter for the second out, continuing
his disturbing trend of disappearing in the BARB playoffs. Dickerson made
contact on his first pitch, but it was a grounder to first base for the third
out.
Carolina didn’t do much in the bottom
half and the game went to extra innings.
The 10th inning passed relatively
uneventfully. Lefty Tony Watson set down New England in order in the 11th.
Kevin Quackenbush got an out in the Carolina half, but Yasmani Grandal saw a
straight fastball with a 3-1 count and didn’t miss. The catcher, acquired
before the season from Yuma, endeared himself to his new fanbase with a
walk-off shot in Carolina’s first-ever playoff home game! The Wildcats kept
their season alive with momentum going into Game 4, though they still trailed
by a game.
FINAL: CAROLINA 6, NEW
ENGLAND 5 (11)
GAME FOUR:
The final game in Carolina appeared,
early on, to be another Wildcats victory. The home side went on the board first
with the help of Garrett Richards’ wildness. Adam Jones singled and advanced to
second and third on consecutive wild pitches, and after a walk he scored on a
Brandon Crawford sacrifice fly.
CAROLINA 1, NEW ENGLAND 0
The Yankee Stompers tied it right away
in the third, as their first three hitters—Bogaerts, Pedroia and Cespedes—walked,
doubled and singled, respectively. The single was of the infield variety and
plated Bogaerts while leaving runners on first and third with none out and the
3-4-5 hitters coming up. Francisco Liriano earned his keep, though, by striking
out Cabrera, Dickers and Tomas to keep it tied.
NEW ENGLAND 1, CAROLINA 1
Richards didn’t hold the tie long, as
Puig walked, sped to third on a double and scored on a groundout in the bottom
of the third. The lead extended by one the following inning on an Altuve RBI
single, as Jackson wheeled home just ahead of the throw.
CAROLINA 3, NEW ENGLAND 1
In the bottom of the sixth, Jackson
doubled to left. Three batters later Puig grounded a single to left and Jackson
was sent home again. This time, Cespedes’ cannon got it there in time and
Wieters applied the tag for the out.
New England was still struggling at the
plate until the eighth, when Tomas walked and moved to third on a Desmond
single. Desmond stole his way into scoring position as the potential tying run
before Castillo lined a sacrifice “fly” to center field to plate Tomas. That
out didn’t moved Desmond up, but an ensuing fly ball did the job and made it
easy for Bogaerts to tie the game on a single!
Lance McCullers Jr. was put on the mound
and tasked with recording the final out to get the Wildcat batters to the
plate. Pedroia, however, had other ideas—lining a triple down the right field
line to score Bogaerts and take the lead!
NEW ENGLAND 4, CAROLINA 3
Yet ANOTHER
spirited New England comeback left the home crowd crushed; just a small group of
red-clad fans were partying.
This time around, the vaunted Yankee
Stomper bullpen wouldn’t relinquish the lead. Papelbon was the choice for the
bottom of the eighth, and he set down the Carolina hitters 1-2-3. The enigmatic
righty went out for the ninth as well. He quickly disposed of Puig and
Donaldson on strikeouts before a four-pitch walk to Nelson Cruz. Grandal was
the last chance, but he grounded into a force at second and the Yankee Stompers
celebrated.
FINAL: NEW ENGLAND 4, CAROLINA
3
An amazing, nail-biting series with
multiple comebacks seemingly each game concluded with a New England 3-1 series
victory. Carolina out-hit their opponents, .258 to .243, and featured three
players, Jackson (.455, 3 runs), Altuve (.381, 3 runs, 2 RBI) and Jones (.353,
3 runs, 1 HR) who might have laid claim to MVP honors. Those went instead to
the winning side’s Pedroia, who hit .381 and slugged .714 to drive in four and
score three times. His performance was recognized by King, who was overheard
saying, “Pedroia is killing me this series.”
It was a crushing end to another great
season by the Wildcats, who won 98 games to outpace all but Cactus division
champ Yuma. And with a talented roster their fans felt some comfort in looking
forward to next season.
For New England, they would get a chance
to claim their first BARB World Series title after losing in a close Game 7 in
2012. The biggest key for their championship hopes would be to get Cabrera on
track, but Miggy had just hit .176 in the division series.
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