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.