Boston eliminates Lake Erie in Six games

Game 1 in Boston saw Cy Young runner-up Lance Lynn taking on the Commodores Gerrit Cole.  Tony Kemp led off the bottom of the first with a solo homerun and that would be all the Bobcats would need.  Lynn cruised with 3 hit ball through 7 innings while striking out 8 batters.  John Loaisiga closed out Lake Erie over the last two innings in route to a 1-0 win.  Gerrit Cole was just as good after the homerun allowed.  Going 7 1/3 with 3 hits and 10 strikeouts.  But games like this you can't afford to make a mistake and Cole do that in his first batter faced.

Commodores 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  --0 5 3

Bobcats          1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0 --1 3 0

Lynn W 1-0  Cole L 0-1 Save--Loaisiga 1

HR Kemp 1

Game 2 Lake Erie was able to even the series.  Chris Bassit was solid through 7 innings and the Hernandez brothers both had RBI hits in the 1st and 2nd innings to help build an early 4-0 lead off Frankie Montas.  The Bobcats chipped away at that lead with a Jake Fraley homerun and Matt Olson drove in Tony Kemp to make it 4-2.  Bo Bichette's pinch hit single in the 9th would bring the winning run to the plate but the Bobcats fell short 4-3.

Commodores 1 2 1  0 0 0  0 0 0---4  12  1

Bobcats          0 0 1  1 0 0  0 0 1---3  9    1

Bassit W 1-0  Montas L 0-1  Save Hendriks 1

HR Fraley 1

Game 3 shifted to Lake Erie and would see Aaron Civale take on John Means.  The Bobcats wasted no time on jumping all over Means.  Culberson homered in the first inning and they put up 3 runs.  Lake Erie countered with 2 runs in the bottom of the first.  Enrique Hernandez homered twice and drove in 4 runs as the Commodores rallied to take a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the 5th.  Boston countered with back to back homeruns from the big guys, Matt Olson and Salvador Perez in the top of the 6th.  That was all the scoring and the Bobcat bullpen with Kittredge and Loaisiga closing the door on the Lake Erie hopes.

Bobcats               3 0 0  0 1 2  0 0 0-----6  11 0

Commodores      2 0 0  1 2 0  0 0 0-----5    8  1

W- Civale 1-0 L King 0-1  Save Loaisiga 2

HR-Culberson 1, Olson 1, Perez 1, E. Hernandez (2) 2

Game 4 was a matchup between Tyler Glasnow and Kyle Gibson.  Glasnow was brilliant, pitching 8 2/3 innings with just one hit, one run, 4 walks and a whopping 15 k's.  Gibson surrendered 3 runs in the middle innings, led by a two run bomb by Perez in the 4th.  The Bobcats coasted to a 3-1 win and a 3-1 series lead.

Bobcats             0 0 0  2 1 0  0 0 0----3  7  1

Commodores    0 1 0  0 0 0  0 0 0----1 1  0

W- Glasnow 1-0  L Gibson 0-1  Save Loaisiga 3

HR Perez 2

Game 5 was the rematch between Lance Lynn and Gerrit Cole and the two went at it again with brilliant performances.  It was Kemp again who led off the game with a solo homerun off of Cole.  Altuve would homer to tie it in the 2nd inning.  Both pitchers cruised along until the 8th inning.  This time it was Lynn who made the mistake.  Anthony Santander homered in the bottom of the 8th for 2-1 win.  All runs were scored on solo home runs.  

Bobcats          1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0----1 3 0

Commodores  0 1 0  0 0 0  0 1 x ---2 5 0 

W- Cole 1-1 L Lynn 1-1 save Hendriks 2

HR- Kemp 2, Altuve 1, Santander 1

Game 6 moves back to Boston with Lake Erie trying to stay alive and Boston trying to avoid a dangerous game 7.  It was Bassit against Montas again.  Bassit would be injured in the 4th inning however and this game would really test the bullpen of the Commodores.  Lake Erie would get a run on another E. Hernandez homerun in the 4th.  Boston would tie it on a Fraley homer in the 7th.  They would move to extras and Colin McHugh would pitch 5 innings in relief.  Montas left in the 8th for Louis Head and he pitched 3 1/3 innings with just one hit and 4 k's.  In the 12th inning Loaisigia gave up go ahead single when Ty France was still in the game and became a 5 at 2b on a hold.  The former Bobcat A. Simmons came up with that big hit.  Liam Hendriks came in to close out the game.  Hendriks imploded a year ago against the Bobcats with the World Series berth on the line and he would fail again.  Sal Perez led off with a single.  Fraley singled him to 3rd and then he stole second to put the winning run into scoring position.  Jeimer Candelario then singled off the glove of Gurriel and Billy Hamilton who was pinch running came around to score the winning run and series ender.  All three hits coming off the x-chart after Doug Ebbole had gotten the lead off the x-chart in the top of the inning.

Commodores 0 0 0  1 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 1---2 6 1

Bobcats          0 0 0  0 0 0  1 0 0  0 0 2---3 7 1 

W- Loaisiga 1-0 L Hendriks 0-1

HR- E. Hernandez 3, Fraley 2

MVP- Jake Fraley 5-12, 2 HR, 3 BB game 6 hero with a game tying homerun and single plus stolen base in the 12th to set up the win.

Others worth noting:

Glasnow 8 2/3 innings 1 hit, 4 BB, 15 K, 1 ER and big game 4 win

Ty France 10-23 .435

 J. Loaisigia 4.1 innings 1 ER, 3 saves and a win

Vegas takes Division Series 4-2

Las Vegas hosted game one of the 2021 Friendship League opening round playoffs against the Kansas City Butchers. Kansas City scored first via a fourth-inning two-run Yoan Moncada home run off Fremont starter Shohei Ohtani. Las Vegas countered in the fifth, when a Wander Franco error scored Marcus Semien from second. The Fremonts put runners in scoring position in the following two innings, but failed to score. Finally, in the seventh, Jose Ramirez crushed a Cole Sulser offering over the wall for a two-run homer driving Robbie Grossman and giving the ‘Mots a 3-2 lead, that they would not relinquish

Butchers........ 0 0 0  2 0 0  0 0 0  -  2  5  2
Fremonts....... 0 0 0  0 1 0  2 0 x   - 3 10  0

W – Chargois (1-0) L – Sulser (0-1) S – Rassmussen (1)
HR: Moncada (1st), Ramirez (1st)

Game two was also decided by the long ball. George Springer launched a grand slam in the sixth off Fremont reliever Paul Sewald. The Butcher bullpen held with Sulser, Hyun-Jin Ryu, and Lou Cessa combining for 5 scoreless innings in relief.

Butchers........ 0 0 0  0 0 4  2 0 0  -  6  8  2
Fremonts....... 0 0 0  0 2 0  0 0 0  -  2  7  0

W – Sulser (1-1) L – Sewald (0-1) S – Cessa (1)
HR: Springer (1st), Franco (1st)

Game three brought the series to Kansas City. The Butchers dominated led by starter Lance McCullers who gave the home team seven innings of one-run ball. Eight singles and five walks were enough for the Kansas City offense to bring home six runs and take a 2-1 series lead.

Fremonts....... 0 0 0  0 0 1  0 0 0  - 1  3  2
Butchers........ 0 0 0  3 1 0  2 0 x  - 6  8  0

W – McCullers (1-0) L- Taillon (0-1)
HR: none

Backs against the wall, the Fremonts sent veteran Zack Greinke to the mound. The ‘Monts offense staked Greinke to a 4-0 lead after three innings. Kansas City starter Cole Irvin lasted 2 2/3 inning giving up RBI hits to Trey Mancini, Jose Ramirez, and Marcus Semien. But the Las Vegas manager saw enough after Greinke barely escaped the bottom of the third, giving up three singles but only one run. Five men then came out of the bullpen to hold the Butchers to three runs over the final six innings.

Fremonts......  2 1 1  0 0 1  0 1 1  -  7 12  1
Butchers........ 0 0 1  0 0 1  0 0 2  -  4  8   0

W – Sewald (1-1) L-Irvin (0-1)
HR:- Grandal (1st), Semien (1st), Stanton (1st)

With the series knotted, game one starters Shohei Ohtani and Eduardo Rodriguez rematched in an all-important game five. After threatening in the first, the Butchers loaded the bases with no outs in the second. But the home team fell short as consecutive ground balls led to a run via a fielder’s choice but then ended the inning in a double play. The lost opportunity haunted Kansas City. The ‘Monts put up three runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth before Rodriguez was set to showers along with the Butcher’s hopes of returning to Las Vegas with the series lead.

Fremonts....... 0 0 0  3 4 0  0 0 0  -  7  9  1
Butchers........ 0 1 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  1 11  1

W – Ohtani (0-1) L – Rodriguez (0-1)
HR: none

The series moved to Las Vegas where the home team held a 3-2 series lead. In the face of elimination, the Butchers sent Corey Kulber to the hill against Nick Pivetta in a game two rematch. Reminiscent of a great Vegas heavyweight fight, the teams traded blows in the early rounds, with the visitors out to a 4-2 lead after 4 ½. The Fremonts threw a series of haymakers in the bottom of the frame, from which, the Butchers would never recover. Las Vegas sent 11 men to the plate in the fifth scoring seven on seven hits, a walk, an error, and three stolen bases. When it was over, the ‘Monts had scored a season-high 19 runs en route to a 4-2 series victory.

Butchers........ 0 2 0  2 1 0  0 0 0  -  5  8  2
Fremonts......  1 1 0  7 0 3  1 6 x   - 19 21  0

W – Pivetta (1-0) L – Kluber (0-1)
HR: Springer(2nd), Stanton (2nd), Walsh(1st), Franco(2nd), Grandal(2nd), Ohtani(1st), Grossman(1st)

The Fremonts advance to the World Series for the second time in three years.

There were heroes everywhere in the series. Jared Walsh hit .364/.417/.591 for the Butchers. Ohtani put up a .444 OBP and a 1.38 ERA in 13 innings. Semien  hit .320/.370/.640, turned 11 double plays and had key hits in the game one and game four victories. But it’s Jose Ramirez who takes home the MVP honors with .346/.414/.731 a homer, a triple, five doubles, and three steals.