Anyone going to be in New York August 21?

 One of the greatest bobblehead offers ever :-) 

No-hitter alert!

 Boston's Adam Civale pulled off one of the more unexpected no-hitters in League history.   Civale's real life stats didn't hint at that sort of dominant performance (5.07 ERA, 93 hits allowed in 87 innings) but he pushed through to complete a masterpiece.  He only allowed one walk and faced the minimum of 27 batters.  Civale tired in the 7th inning but STILL continued to baffle Mammoth batters.   Congrats to Andy on a historic game!!!

Play Ball! Opening Day in Wichita!

 The 2024 Friendship League season began with an exciting battle of big offenses, as the Wichita Bandits came from behind to beat the Kansas City Butchers 12-9!  KC started the season with a bang, rolling up five runs in the first inning.  The Bandits were pretty quiet until the bottom of the 6th, when they narrowed the score to 5-4 in KC's favor.   The Butchers answered immediately with a 4 run 7th, and felt in control as they went to the bottom of the 8th leading 9-4.   The Bandits, though, summoned some hometown magic and exploded for EIGHT runs in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead.   Randy brought in elite closer Mason Miller (the THIRD Bandit pitcher named Miller in this game!) and three quick strikeouts ended this crazy game and send the Wichita fans home happy! .  

AI Mascots

 Including all of Scott's Friendship League mascots for your reference, or your use, or (for some of these!) as fuel for your nightmares!

Draft Weekend recap!

Thanks to all for a great Draft Weekend!   Extra thanks to Daniel Steines for setting us up at the hotel and to Scott Mallon for his multi-faceted role as host/AV support/AI story writer/hot dog chef extraordinaire!   

Here are a few links from the weekend

Draft results by round

Draft results by team

Scott's AI Stories and Mascots

Sharing a few pictures from the weekend...

Draft Room Action #1

                                                                Steve's colorful team cards

Bingo action was booming,
much to the delight of Steve W.

The Mall-O-Matic Hot Dog System!

Draft Room Action #2

Draft Room Action #3

Draft Room Action #4

 

PJ, Standy, and Steve

PJ celebrates the first title in 
Mount Pleasant history

The Rocco Cup proudly displayed
at Train Wreck Headquarters

Wichita Protection List

ON ROSTER REG BOA WIB Danny Jansen 278 REG BOA WIB Wilyer Abreu 399 REG CHA WIB Luis Robert Jr. 393 REG CHA WIB Nicky Lopez 398 REG CLA WIB Bo Naylor 354 REG CLA WIB Steven Kwan 480 REG CLA WIB Tyler Freeman 330 REG HOA WIB Yordan Alvarez 552 REG KCA WIB Michael Massey 332 REG LAA WIB Nolan Schanuel 519 REG MNA WIB Jhoan Duran 54 MIX MNA WIB Matt Wallner 220 REG OAA WIB Mason Miller 65 REG SEA WIB Bryce Miller 180 REG SEA WIB J.P. Crawford 392 REG SEA WIB Logan Gilbert 209 REG TBA WIB Kevin Kelly 71 YD MNA WIB Louie Varland 50 ___________________________________________________________________________________ DROP REG BAA WIB James McCann 214 ADD BOA WIB Bobby Dalbec 83 REG KCA WIB Hunter Renfroe 385 REG TEA WIB Dane Dunning 95 REG TOA WIB Genesis Cabrera 63 ADD MNA WIB Louie Varland 50 REG NYA WIB Anthony Rizzo 337 REG NYA WIB Tim Mayza 43 NC X WIB Domingo German NC X WIB Dylan Cease NC X WIB Isiah Campbell NC X WIB Matt Chapman NC X WIB Sony Gray

Pittsburgh Phantoms Protected List

 

One more protected player for Montreal

 The Grizzlies had 16 protected players, they are adding Christian Javier as their 17th protected player

 

Boston Bobcats Protection List

B. Bichette

J. Jung

J. Siri

M. Yoshida

S. Perez

T. France 

A. Gimenez

I. Kiner-Falefa

C. Schmidt

T. Mahle  NC

C. Silseth NC

C. Ragans

A. Civale

R. Detmers

A. Marsh

Y. Cano

T. Richards

Darvish: H. Bader

Cuts:

D. Waters

C. Biggio

R. Laureano

R. Marinaccio

W. Smith

Maine Loggers Announce 2025 Protected List

 

Commissioner Standy Willnus, announces the Loggers protection and cuts list.....

Protected:

Adolis "Adonis" Garcia (well hello again, Mrs. Cabrera)

Gio "Ursula The Sea Witch" Urshela

Jarren Duran "Duran"

Mitch "Ryder & The Detroit Wheels" Garver

Isaac "I Love A Parade" Paredes

Gunnar "Florence" Henderson

Kerry "Karen" Carpenter

Ceddanne "of Green Gables" Rafaela

Luis "Marty" Castillo

Griffin Jax "Car Wash"

Joe "Nolan" Ryan

Jon "Not Sonny" Gray

Jason Adam "12"

Carlos "Rodan - CAW!" Rodon

Jacob "Spider" Webb

Tyler "Horton Hears a Who" Holton

"Grand Rapids" Griffin Canning "of Worms"

DARVISH/NL Protected:

Evan "Escense" Carter 

Man up and vanished, like a fart in the wind (cut with draftable card):

Christian "Bale" Vasquez

"Radio" D.J. LeMahieu

Paul "What's The Difference Between" Black "ened, and" Burn "ed?"

Colin "Pooch" Poche

Nick "Expectations Weren't" Loftin

Luis "Tiant" Medina

Cut, but non-draftable card:

A-Aron Hicks "From French Lick"

The Loggers would like to bid adieu to DJ LeMahieu who was a stud for the first few seasons after Maine acquired him for TWO first round picks a few years back from Montreal, but steadily declined with each hamstring pull and lower back strain the past few years.  Always an on-base machine and steady fielder, LeMahieu leaves Maine with a ring, and our eternal gratitude for several good years anchoring the Maine infield at several positions.  

Also departing is another trade acquisition, A-Aron Hicks.  Hicks was acquired for a second-round pick from Wichita, and far-outperformed our expectations of him.   Another guy who could draw walks like there is no tomorrow, Hicks also showed decent power at one point in his career, along with an always steady glove in left and center.  He'll be missed.    

The Loggers look forward to making another run at a league title in 2025.  They've come a long way since 1907.....

Michigan Mammoths protecteds and cuts

 

Always use protection with these guys:

Zack Gelof
Nathaniel Lowe
M.J. Melendez
Ryan Mountcastle
Ryan O'Hearn
Logan O'Hoppe
Jeremy Pena
Luke Raley
Matt Vierling
Connor Wong

Brayan Bello
Beau Brieske
Nathan Eovaldi
Pablo Lopez
Kenta Maeda
J.P. Sears
Framber Valdez

Yu Darvish: Kyle Bradish

 

Cut these bums:

Jay Jackson
Sam Hentges
Matt Manning
Edouard Julien
Akil Baddoo
Manuel Margot
Kevin Kiermaier
Zack Short  (no card)
Yoan Moncada  (no card)
Jovani Moran (no card)
Jarred Kelenic  (no card)

 

Kansas City Butchers Protected List and Cuts

 

The Butchers will protect the following players...

Alex Bregman

Jason Foley

Riley Greene

Tommy Kahnle

Zack Littell

Michael Lorenzen

Josh Lowe

Dylan Moore

Bailey Ober

Cal Raleigh

George Springer

Giancarlo Stanton

Justin Turner

Andrew Vaughn

Anthony Volpe

Gavin Williams

Ryan Yarbrough

We will cut the following players..

Austin Hays

Cole Irvin

Michael Kopech

Curtis Mead

John Schreiber

And we will assign Wander Franco as our Yu Darvish player.

Champion Mount Pleasant Train Wreck Protection List

Your 2023 Friendship League champion's roster for the 2024 season. 

Hitters:

Correa, Carlos - SS

Guerrero Jr, Vlad - 1B

Lewis, Royce - 3B

Meadows, Parker - CF

Naylor, Josh - 1B

Rocchio, Brayan - SS

Rojas, Josh - 3B

Rutschman, Adley - C

Trout, Mike - CF

Varsho, Daulton - LF

Wells, Austin - C

Pitchers:

Allen, Logan - SP

Gausman, Kevin - SP

McKenzie, Triston - SP (from Yu Darvish)

Thornton, Trent - RP 

Winckowski, Josh - RP

Bautista, Felix - RP

Yu Darvish - Shane McClanahan, SP

Cuts:

Armstrong, Shawn - RP

Maton, Phil - RP

Romano, Jordan - RP

Brown, Seth - RF

No Cards:

Merrifield, Whit - NC

Pratto, Nick - NC

Suarez, Eugenio - NC

Diekman, Jake - NC

Giolito, Lucas - NC

Graveman, Kendall - NC

Peralta, Wandy - NC

Waldichuck, Ken - NC

Fremont Protection List

AI rendering of John C Fremont meeting with Billy Beane and Peter Brand from Moneyball about the 2024 Friendship League draft (really)

Las Vegas – The Fremonts pushed their chips in for the 2023 Friendship League season leading to some appearances on all-time franchise and individual top records lists. But in the end, the Downtown Dealers come up short where it really counted, dropping the wild card round to eventual champs Mount Pleasant. The Train Wreck was the only team that managed a .500 record in the regular season against the ‘Monts last year and finished them off in the playoffs exploiting the line-up’s one weakness -- left-handed pitching.

Moving forward, 2024 looks to be a rebuilding year with 6 of 11 2023 draft picks on the cut list, and 3 more that should be.

Keep:

McGuire

Casas

Semien

Mateo

Arias

Ramirez

Ward

Refsnyder

Brennan

Crawford

Heaney

Pivetta

Olson

Sandlin

Pressly

Wentz (from Darvish)

Baumann

Rassmussen (to Darvish)

Not Keeping:

Bell (nc)
Clevinger (nc)
Duvall (nc)
Grandal (nc)

Ohtani (ncs)
Paxton (nc)
Sewald (nc)
Straw (nc)
Taylor (nc)
Toussaint (nc)
Lange (nc)
Sborz (nc)

What can be said about Shohei Ohtani. Acquired as the sixth(!) pick in the 2018 draft, Ohtani has to be one of the most fun Strat-o-matic players in history. His career .271/.338/.554 over six seasons and 17-18 3.45 ERA in 3+ years as a starter are good, but the thrill over the last three years where he pitched and hit will likely not be seen again. And then there is the legendary 2023 season. 

.369/.453/.829
6-2 2.28 ERA 0.96 WHIP 10.7 K/9 0.8 HR/9

Ohtani was the 2023 league MVP, an All Star on the bump and etched his name in the record books: 

36 HRs – 7th most ever

88 R – most ever

.829 SLG – best ever

85 RBI – t-best in the modern era (hitting mostly out of the #2 spot!)

247 total bases – best in the modern era

1.282 OB+SLG – best in the modern era

The team plans to dedicate a statue of Ohtani later this year to join Moe Green’s and John C. Fremont’s monuments at the entrance of Fremont Park.

As Shohei fades into the corn Field of Dreams-style, we bid him fair winds & flowing seas and remember words from an old friend – “don’t be sad that it’s over, be happy that it happened at all.”

 

Friendship League World Series: Mount Pleasant vs Lake Erie

 

After yet another long, treacherous season, it’s been whittled down to the final two teams – Mount Pleasant Train Wreck and Lake Erie Commadores.

Mount Pleasant leveled the monolithic Las Vegas Fremonts 4-1 in the previous round behind great pitching and just enough offense. Lake Erie, meanwhile, slugged their way past the free wheelin’, base-stealing Wichita Bandits in a sweep.

Game 1 – MTP (McClanahan) at LE (Cole)

Gerrit Cole toed the rubber as Lake Erie’s ace, sharing the mound with lefty Shane McClanahan. Cole took his second lowest ERA and threw the first pitch of the Friendship League World Series that Whit Merrifield smacked over his head for the first hit of the game. Unsatisfied, Merrifield stole second and Royce Lewis drove him home on another single taking a very early 1-0 lead. Cole settled in and started to cruise after that, sitting down 11 of the next 12 batters. McClanahan made quick work of the first six outs before Martin Maldonado popped a solo shot to tie it back up. Very little happened until Mike Trout stepped to the plate to start the 7th, with manager Doug Ebbole pointing out how timely a Trout home run would be, Trout reared back and did, in fact, launch a ball over the wall to take a 2-1 lead. Another pair of singles finally drove Cole from the game as LE called on Michael King to hold runners. Josh Naylor and Royce Lewis kept the hit parade going, pushing the lead to 4-1. Mount Pleasant handed off McClanahan’s quality start to Kendall Graveman, who gave way to Jordan Romano. Felix Bautista made quick work to close the game and steal game 1 from Lake Erie.

Final Score, Mount Pleasant 5-2

 

Game 2 – MTP (Gausman) at LE (Bassitt), MTP 1-0

Looking for revenge, Chris Bassitt hopes to even the series against Mount Pleasant’s ace Kevin Gausman. Both pitchers went right to work, combining for 10 strikeouts in the first four innings. Cade Marlowe’s triple finally put points on the board, scoring two runs for a Lake Erie 2-0 lead. Errors at 3B and SS scored two more runs, upping the lead to 4-0 with Bassitt still dealing. A Seth Brown RBI got MTP on the board at 4-1. Pete Fairbanks notched a hold, giving way to the league’s saves leader Chris Martin. A walk and single to lead off the inning made Martin sweat, bringing Brown back up representing the tying run. On the crack of the bat, the ball topped of the dirt and straight to second base for the double play! With the pressure off, Martin collected the save and evened up the series heading to Mount Pleasant.

Final Score, Lake Erie 4-1

 

Game 3 – LE (Verlander) at MTP (Allen), tied 1-1

After navigating around the lake, the series moved to Mount Pleasant with lefty Logan Allen squaring off against Justin Verlander. This game got cranking out of the gate. Lake Erie strung together some hits to collect two runs in the first inning but the Train Wreck answered back to end the first inning at 2-1 and another two runs to send Allen to the bench with the score.4-1. Mount Pleasant wouldn’t go easy, as manager Doug Ebbole, again commenting how timely a Trout homer here would be, watched in terror as Trout AGAIN cranked a two run homer. Seth Brown made it back-2-back and tied the game 4-4 just like that. Mauricio “The Wheel of” Dubon had good fortune on an RBI double to take back the lead. The bullpens finally settled the game down in the 5th and 6th before Jose Altuve and Espinal added insurance runs. Chris Martin took the pill in a 7-4 ballgame and shut down the heart of order for the victory.

Final Score, Lake Erie 7-4

 

Game 4 – LE (Cole) at MTP (Armstrong), LE 2-1

Gerrit Cole stepped back to the mound while Mount Pleasant leaned on their bullpen for a pitching chaos game, in what both managers agreed would be the turning point of the series. Shawn Armstrong started the party, nearly making it three innings before handing it off to Jake Diekman. Seth Brown mashed another homer giving Mount Pleasant an early 2-0 lead. A two-run homer from Espinal evened the score. Cole ran into trouble again when Vlad Guerrero’s moonshot home run made it 5-2. Kendall Graveman took the mound and immediately got pummeled by a walk and two hits. With a score of 5-3, the bases loaded, and no outs, Mount Pleasant tapped their closer Felix Bautista early in the sixth inning. He immediately delivered a double-play and strikeout to limit the damage and end the inning tied 5-5. Some small ball resulted in a Royce Lewis single to give Mount Pleasant the 6-5 lead where they continued to pass the bullpen baton. Giolito gave way to Jordan Romano who shut down the top of the LE order to even the series. Gerrit Cole got tagged for the loss and Mount Pleasant used seven pitchers and timely subs to secure the win.

Final Score, Mount Pleasant 6-5

 

Game 5 – LE (Bassitt) at MTP (McClanahan), tie 2-2

Game 1 winner McClanahan and Game 2 winner Bassitt matched up for a pivotal game 5. Bassitt kept cooking with three shutout innings before the wheels fell off during a five-run 4th inning. Varsho launched a three-run homer that Mount Pleasant never looked back from. Santander blasted a three-run homer of his own to make it 5-3 but after another strong start from McClanahan, Mount Pleasant was never in real danger. Graveman and Thornton each recorded holds and Bautista recorded his second save of the series.

Final Score, Mount Pleasant 6-3

 

GAME 6 – MTP (Gausman) at LE (Montgomery), MTP 3-2

The series headed back to the Commadore’s nest. Both men started out strong, cruising through four innings, including Gausman striking out the side in the third. Lake Erie struck first on back-to-back singles before Luis Rengifo singled home a run to make it 1-0. The Train Wreck struck right back after big Josh Naylor stole second base and Mike Trout slammed his third home run of the series to take a 2-1 lead. Montgomery shook it off and retired the next four batters he saw and avoided trouble until the 6th when a single and error put two runners in scoring position. Lake Erie went to the bullpen and Erik Swanson delivered, securing a pop out and strikeout to prevent further damage. Gausman kept the Ks coming, ending his day after 8 complete innings and 14 strikeouts – just what Mount Pleasant needed after ravaging the bullpen. Josh Naylor delivered another insurance run to bring a 3-1 lead into the 9th and a taste of the championship on the tongue.

Felix Bautista took the mound with the weight of Mount Pleasant/Monterrey’s history never closing the deal for a championship on his shoulder.

Bautista induced a weak ground out from Moniak, struck out Santander with ease, and another fastball resulted in a slow roller that was scooped and thrown to first base to complete the game. Mount Pleasant is your 2023 Friendship League champion!  

Despite falling short in the championship last season and inheriting Monterrey’s history of six recorded championship appearances without a win, The Mount Pleasant Train Wreck win it all!

MVP was a tight race between Josh Naylor, Shane McClannahan and Kevin Gausman but McClannahan earned it by going 2-0, giving up just 4 earned runs across 11 innings and striking out 13. The lefty had pivotal wins against Gerrit Cole and Chris Bassitt.

Change in Thunder Protection List

The Thunder are going to keep McKinistry and now are dropping Yimi Garcia. Thunder Management

Pawtucket Patriots Keepers and Cuts for 2024

 

Lake Erie Commodores protected list

 

Permission to come aboard:

Altuve 2b, Diaz c, Regifo 3b/2b, Caballero ss/3b/2b, Moniak c/l/r, Dubon l/c/2b, Santander rf, Isbel cf, Bassitt sp, Cole sp, Verlander sp, LeClerc rp, Bernardino r/op, Fairbanks cl, Martin rp, Tate rp, Springs sp.

Yu Darvish = Swanson rp.

Walking the plank: 

Maldonado c, Jankowski of, Noda 1b, Gibson NC, Hernandez NC, King NC, Marlowe NC, Middleton NC, Montgomery NC, Pruitt NC, Scholtens NC. 

Lake Erie broadsides Wichita. Game recaps.

Game 1:

In what was billed a pitchers duel, Gerrit Cole took the mound against Logan Gilbert. After no scoring in the 1st, Santander would put up the series 1st run with a one out solo shot to right field. In the bottom half, Wichita countered with a 2 out Rizzo double followed by a Chapman triple to right. Cole then stuck out Massey to end the threat. Lake Erie wasted no time in the top of the 3rd as Regifo lead off with a solo shot of his own to right, giving Lake Erie a 2 to 1 lead. That would be the only runs allowed by the starters. In the 8th J. Duran came in and after a Rengifo walk, Caballero smacked a 2 run insurance home run to seal the deal. Final LE 4-4-0 WIC 1-6-0. W:Cole, L:Gilbert, S:Martin. 

Game 2:

10 game winner Chris Bassitt against 7 game winner and 2.21 era on the year, Sonny Gray. It was an ominous start for Lake Erie as Jankowski injured himself on the 1st at bat of the game trying to beat out an infield grounder. 3 batters later Daiz was hit by a pitch and also had to be replaced by veteran Maldonado. Dubon took over in center field. The scoring started with a 2 out solo homerun from Wichita's Wallner in the 2nd. In the top of the 4th Lake Erie rallied. After a lead off single by Altuve and a Maldonado sacrifice bunt, Santander flied out, but Moniak would come through with a clutch double to tie the game. Then T. Hernandez singled but Moniak was cut down at the plate to keep the score tied at 1. In the bottom of the 6th, Wichita would retake the lead on L. Robert's 1st homer of the series off of Bassitt. In the 8th, Robert his his 2nd homer of the game deep into the left upper deck. The stadium erupted, sensing the game was there's with a 3 to 1 lead. In the top of the 9th however things changed. To lead off Moniak opened the inning with a solo shot off of Mason Miller. The next batter Hernandez roped a triple down the right field line. Then with 1 out Dubon lift a sac fly to score Hernandez to tie the game at 3. The with the bases loaded, Altuve stepped up to the plate. On a 2-2 pitch Jose, grounded out to end the inning. King stayed in the game for the 9th despite giving up the HR in the 8th. He did his job getting Wichita down in order. To extras we went. Maldonado had to lead off the 10th as he was the only catcher available. Maldonado got the count to 3-1. He hit a fly ball to left, but it carried and was gone! Unbelievable. This shook up reliever Kevin Kelly as he then proceeded to give up a double and an rbi single to the next two batters. Duran came into the game and struck out the next 3 batters but the damage was done. Martin came in and retired the Bandits in order to record his 2nd save in as many days. Final LE 5-10-0 WIC 3-6-0. W:King, L:Kelly, S:Martin. 

Game 3:

A needed day off for both team as the series moved to Commodore Perry Stadium. Wichita needed to regroup while Lake Erie checked on the minor injuries to Jankowski and Diaz. It would be Verlander vs German. This was a high scoring affair with the Commodores scoring 2 in the 1st on a 2-run shot by Diaz, then scoring 4 in the 2nd sending 8 men to the plate, highlighted by a bases clearing 3-run double by Noda. However, Wichita rallied in the top of the 3rd, knocking Verlander out of the game in the process. With 2 outs, Robert hit a 3-run bomb, his 3rd of the series. Then after a single, walk, single, the bases were loaded. Pruitt came in and struck out Chapman to end the threat. In the top of the 4th, the Bandits added another run on a 2-out Kwan triple. But in the bottom of the 4th Dubon lead off with a HR off of Dunning. In the 8th Wichita added a run to make it 7-5, but in the 9th Martin again, after a Robert single put down the Bandits in order for save number 3, to give Lake Erie a 3-0 series lead with Cole coming up. LE 7-8-1 WIC 5-14-1. W:Swanson, L:German, S:Martin. 

Game 4:

It was now do or die for Wichita. Cole for Lake Erie vs B. Miller for Wichita. The Commodores jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on 3 straight singles in the 1st. But in the 3rd Cole got hit hard for 4 runs. After a walk and an error by Cole, he gave up a 3-run dinger to Naylor. Then a 1 out double to Kwan and a 2 out rbi single to Alvarez. In the 5th Robert tacked on another run with his 4th homer to make it 5-1 Wichita. In the 5th, Altuve came up with a 2 out double to make it 5-2. Wichita would not be denied as they knocked Cole out of the game after 5.2 innings with 3 singles that plated a run. With 2 outs lefty Beradino came in, but he walked Crawford to load the bases then gave up a 3 run double to Kwan to make it a 9-2 game. With Miller still in the Commodores started a rally. After a 1 out single and a 2 out triple, Kelly came in to get the last out of the 6th. That's when bad things started happening to the Bandits. Espinal was HBP and went out of the game. The next batter hit a line drive to left, but the usually sure handed Kwan let the line drive tip off the top of his glove for a 3 base error, scoring 2. Then Noda hit a 2 run homerun to make it a 9-7 game. Pruitt came in to retire Wichita in order in the 7th. In the bottom half, Diaz led off with his 2nd homer of the series. Incredibly it was now a 1 run game. To the bottom of the 9th. Diaz led off with a single. Isbel went in to pinch run. Santander singled, Isbel to 2nd. Then Isbel and Santander try for a double steal. Naylor throws to 3rd and it sails into left field. Isbel scores and Santander goes to 3rd with no outs and the game tied at 9. Moniak is intentionally walked. Hernandez is then HBP to load the bases. But then Duran induces Rengifo to hit into a home to 1st double play. After another intentional walk to load the bases, Mason Miller comes in to get Dubon to fly out. After a lead-off walk, Swanson comes in and  induces a double play and a ground out to end the top of the 10th. To lead off the bottom half is Ryan Noda. "Noda sets up, here's the pitch. Noda swings, it going deep, will it carry the wall?... Yes! Yes! The Commodores are going to the Friendship League World Series.! I don't believe it!" LE 10-14-1 WIC 9-10-2. W:Swanson, L:Varland.

MVP would have been L. Robert had Wichita won. His stats were .471, 4HR, 6 RBI. But the MVP went to Ryan Noda.  .400, 2HR, 6 RBI. Soon we will see who will hoist the Friendship League trophy. The Lake Erie Commodores or the Mount Pleasant Trainwreck. Should be a fantastic series. 

Series Recap: Mount Pleasant vs Las Vegas

 

Game 1

MVP and incredible human Shohei Ohtani gets the pill to start the playoffs for Las Vegas, squaring off against Mount Pleasant’s Logan Allen. Allen, picked up via draft day trade in the early second round, wasn’t the best starter all season but possessed a left-handed delivery to set the tone for Mount Pleasant’s gameplan.

The action started early with LV’s Taylor Ward driving in Triston Casas with an RBI double, taking a 1-0 lead in the first. Casas knocked in an RBI double in the second inning to increase the lead to 2-0. Mount Pleasant soon fought back, as big Josh Naylor lead off the fourth inning with a solo home run but Ohtani didn’t appreciate that, so he lead of the fifth inning with a solo home run himself to make it 3-1.

Things got a little wonky in the sixth, it’s worth noting. Because we don’t use the ghost runner extra innings rule in the playoffs, the file is preset to use the 2020 ruleset. The issue with that is the current 2023 ruleset includes the new rule that allows you to replace your pitcher without replacing them in the lineup. We learned this the hard way after Ohtani walked the bases loaded and Mike Trout staring him down, ready for revenge for the World Baseball Classic. Paul Sewald replaced Ohtani on the mound, moving him to RF, and punched out Trout to end the threat.

LV was able to hold down the fort until the 8th inning. Whit Merrifield’s base hit and steal prepped him to score on a Royce Lewis RBI single. Lewis then stole second base, again taking advantage of Ryan Pressly’s inability to hold runners. Vlad Guerrero Jr. collected his first hit of the game at just the right time to drive home Lewis and tie the game 3-3. LV again went to the bullpen for Nick Sandlin with Mike Trout to the plate. He was able to drop one in front of Ohtani in RF but further threats were shut down with a timely strikeout.

Mount Pleasant tapped Jordan Romano to hold the 8th inning and he delivered with a 1-2-3 inning. With the game tied, LV subbed Touki Toussaint to pitch the 9th. His nerves got the best of him when Adley Rutschman started with a single, and a clutch pinch hit home run from Austin Wells pushed Mount Pleasant in the lead 5-3! Felix Bautista was called upon for the save situation and struck out the first two batters. Ohtani, still trying to rescue the game, clubbed another solo home run, but Bautista notched the save after a Marcus Semien ground out.

Final Score – Mount Pleasant 5, Las Vegas 4. Romano (Win), Toussaint (Loss), Bautista (Save)

 

Ohtani and Trout square off again

Game 2, MTP 1- 0

The second game in Las Vegas showcased Kutter Crawford on the mound for LV and ace Kevin Gausman for MTP. Crawford had a great season, tying for the second most wins in the league with 10. Gausman was a top pitcher in the league and a strikeout machine, leading the league with 154, 24 more than second place.

MTP pounced early with a Royce Lewis solo HR, yet young Kutter didn’t get rattled. He posted zeros over the next four innings, including seven Ks. Gausman didn’t waver either, pitching a shutout through five innings and nine Ks.

LV blinked again in the sixth, when Crawford gave up a double, single, then double to force a move to the bullpen for Josh Sborz with the score now 3-0. He didn’t fare much better, giving up more runs as the inning mercifully ended with the score 7-0 Mount Pleasant.

Gausman finished with 12 strikeouts across seven innings as his offense racked up 12 hits amongst seven different batters in this shellacking.

Final Score – Mount Pleasant 9, Las Vegas 0. Gausman (Win), Crawford (Loss)

 

Game 3, MTP 2-0

The underdogs flipped the script heading back to Mount Pleasant. MTP starts lefty Shane McClanahan while the Fremonts counter with Nick Pivetta, who lead the team in innings pitched as a steady workhorse. McClanahan severely underperformed on the season, posting a 5.06 ERA. Still, he was called upon to again pressure LV to hit lefties.

Casas didn’t care and hit a leadoff triple on the first pitch of the game. Rob Refsnyder scratched across the first run from a grounder. McClanahan settled in afterward, getting out of a jam in the fourth before finally getting pulled in the sixth. Pivetta, on the other hand, was nearly perfect by retiring 16 of the first 17 batters he faced.

LV finally strung together enough hits for Marcus Semien to notch a ribby and pad the now 2-0 lead. Pivetta gave way to Josh Sborz, who locked it down 1-2-3, who gave way to Ryan Pressly. But Pressly continued to struggled, allowing a homer to Rutschman in the bottom of the 8th. Now trying their best to hang onto the lead and not let the series hit 3-0, Alex Lange stepped on the mound with everything on the line. He struck out Mike Trout, got Game 1 hero Austin Wells to foul out, and caught Seth Brown off-balance with a weak ground out to end the game and begin the comeback.

Final Score – Las Vegas 2, Mount Pleasant 1. Pivetta (Win), McClanahan (Loss), Lange (Save)

 

Game 4, MTP 2-1

Pitching Chaos was back in the form of a Train Wreck. Shawn Armstrong stepped onto the bump for MTP with a clear game plan as an opener. Las Vegas leaned on blossoming starter Reese Olson in an attempt to tie up the series.

Armstrong struck out two in the first while Olson responded by sitting back down his first three batters. Armstrong came back out in the second with a three up, three down showing, but Olson’s encore matched that performance. The third inning saw more of the same as neither pitcher had allowed a runner still. Finally, MTP tagged Olson with a solo homer by Whit Merrifield. Olson struck out two more but that home run would sting. He’d finish the day with a fine box score, going 7 innings, striking out 10, and allowing just the one run.

Meanwhile, MTP would follow up Armstrong with Wandy Peralta, Trent Thorton, and Jake Diekman all pitching hitless innings. LV finally got their first hit of the game in the seventh inning off Jordan Romano but a quick switch to Phil Maton locked down any further threat. Sensing blood in the water and clinging to a 1-0 lead, MTP called on Felix Bautista for the two inning save and he delivered, striking out three and never running into real trouble. Seven different pitchers combined to allow just two hits, no runs, and 10 strikeouts to secure another shutout. LV had only been shut out twice during the 81-game regular season but were blanked twice in the series already.

Final Score – Mount Pleasant 1, Las Vegas 0. Peralta (Win), Olson (Loss), Bautista (Save)

 

Logan Allen started games 1 and 5

Game 5, MTP 3-1

With the season on the line, Las Vegas turns back to their MVP. Ohtani stepped to the mound knowing it could be his last career start for the Fremonts. Despite the LV’s comfort of Ohtani on the mound, the Train Wreck wanted to prove Game 1 wasn’t a fluke. Logan Allen squared back up with Ohtani.

Both pitchers faced mild trouble early on, a lead off Semien double fizzled out and a Guerrero Jr. single dead ended, but Dalton Varsho caught a juicy Ohtani pitch he drove and sailed over the right field wall, bringing Suarez home with him for an early 2-0 lead in the second. Allen handled the LV lineup flipping over, continuing to fluster Jose Ramirez and besting Ohtani at the plate after a fly ball dropped into an outfielder’s glove. His offense was doing their part, as Rutschman smashed his second home run of the series, bumping the lead for MTP to 3-0.

Las Vegas wasn’t done yet. Michael Taylor belted a solo home run of his own to make it 3-1. Taylor Ward drew a walk in the 7th and Mount Pleasant had to turn to their stout bullpen to finish out the inning. Ohtani, for his part, finished out the 7th inning before heading back to the dugout and DHing the rest of the way.

Still, Las Vegas was on their heels and Mount Pleasant could taste their second straight World Series appearance. Vegas fought back in the eight with Triston Casas second triple of the season but set-up man Jordan Romano induced a routine groundout to end the threat and head to the 9th, passing the ball over to Felix Bautista for his third save opportunity.

It wasn’t without one final push though. LV trotted out the heart of their order, starting with Ohtani. He slapped a single into right field and immediately stole second base. Semien couldn’t move the runner over, instead weakly popping out. Taylor Ward kept the pressure on, drawing a walk to bring Grandal up, representing the winning run with just one out. Bautista reached back and fired a 100 MPH fastball that Grandal tops. The grounder dribbled to Correa at shortstop, who flicked it to Merrifield, stepped on second base and flung it to Naylor just in time for the game ending double play!

Final Score – Mount Pleasant 3, Las Vegas 1. Allen (Win), Ohtani (Loss), Bautista (Save)

Mount Pleasant wins series 4-1!

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Other than the 9-run outburst, every single game was a pitching duel that struggled to see any easy offense. Everything was earned and came one run at a time. As a team, MTP hit a paltry .207 for the entire series, mostly getting it done with the longball and a .396 slugging. In comparison, Las Vegas, who lead in practically every offensive category, had a .143 batting average, scoring just seven total runs in five games.

Mount Pleasant couldn’t mount much offense, with Josh Naylor leading the way batting .300 and a home run. Royce Lewis was important at the start of the series, tallying three hits and a walk, including a HR, in just 7 ABs. Rutschman gets another shoutout for having two HRs and a team-high 4 RBIs. Mike Trout gets the Least Valuable Player award, batting .150 and striking out SIXTEEN TIMES in 20 ABs. Truly remarkable.   

Series MVP has to be Logan Allen who neutralized LV twice, pitching 12 innings in two starts and allowing just 4 runs to the high-powered offense. Without him the bullpen wouldn’t have been as flexible and effective in the bullpen game. Felix Bautista comes in second, notching three saves, including a crucial two inning save in a 1-0 victory.

The Train Wreck look forward to their World Series matchup against Lake Erie. MTP won the regular series matchup 4-2 but the shorten rotations will certainly favor LE.