2015 End-of-Season Awards Voting

All votes are in for BRASSball's 2015 end-of-season awards. It's almost 2016 as I write this, so let's get right to it!

AL Rookie of the Year:

This race proved to be a two-way battle between Channel Islands outfielder Ender Inciarte (.339/.379/.450, 433 PA) and Brooklyn pitcher Jacob DeGrom (8-8, 2.91 ERA, 142 IP). But with 7 votes for first place versus just 2 for his rival, Inciarte beat out DeGrom for this year's AL Rookie of the Year honor.

AL Cy Young:

Simi Valley couldn't go wrong here, with both Clayton Kershaw (17-6, 2.06 ERA, 201 IP) and David Price (20-10, 3.11 ERA, 246 IP) earning 5 first-place votes apiece. But with much stronger down-ballot support, Kershaw took home this year's AL Cy Young Award.

AL Most Valuable Player:

This race was not particularly close. Timberlake left fielder Michael Brantley (.343/.401/.579, 677 PA) easily outpaced the field with 9 first-place votes to take home the AL Most Valuable Player Award.

NL Rookie of the Year:

North Georgia designated hitter José Abreu (.299/.349/.542, 617 PA) and Metropolis pitcher Collin McHugh (13-5, 2.69 ERA, 161 IP) were the clear front-runners in this race. But with 8 first-place votes versus just 3 for the other, Abreu took home the NL Rookie of the Year crown.

NL Cy Young:

In the most lopsided vote among all awards, Metropolis pitcher Corey Kluber (21-7, 2.56 ERA, 246 IP) was the National League's unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award.

NL Most Valuable Player:

This vote could not have been any closer! It came down to a battle of two playoff center fielders: Andrew McCutchen for Metropolis (.316/.398/.534, 659 PA) and Mike Trout for Fleetwood (.279/.378/.559, 713 PA). McCutchen appeared on more ballots (9) than Trout (8), while Trout earned more first place votes (4) than McCutchen (2). Once all votes were tallied (and then double-tallied!), McCutchen compiled 63 total points of balloting (2 first, 5 second, 1 third, 1 forth) versus 64 points for Trout (4 first, 3 second, 1 fourth). So by the absolute slimmest of margins, Trout brought home this year's NL Most Valuable Player Award.

Thanks to everyone for submitting their ballots on time, and congrats to the players (and teams!) noted above. Onward to 2016!

AL Rookie of the Year
Ender Inciarte
Channel Islands

NL Rookie of the Year
José Abreu
North Georgia

AL Cy Young
Clayton Kershaw
Simi Valley

NL Cy Young
Corey Kluber
Metropolis

AL Most Valuable Player
Michael Brantley
Timberlake

NL Most Valuable Player
Mike Trout
Fleetwood

NLDS Game 5: Fleetwood vs. Portsmouth

Game 5 of this National League Divisional Series was the last scheduled to be played at Portsmouth. And unless the Brewers could win the game, it would be Portsmouth's last game of the 2015 season. As such, the home crowd's tension was palpable from the opening pitch.

Each team's aces -- Zack Greinke for Fleetwood, Yu Darvish for Portsmouth -- faced off in this elimination game. Darvish blinked first, throwing back-to-back wild pitches in the 2nd inning to allow Fleetwood to score the game's first run. However, the Brewers responded in the bottom of the same inning with 3 runs on a walk and three singles...all with two outs.

Portsmouth had its share of defensive lapses throughout this series, and the problem reared its ugly head again in the 4th. First baseman Anthony Rizzo committed the error this time, making a bad throw to Darvish covering first and putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. David Wright then followed with a ground ball to Nick Castellanos, who fielded the ball cleanly but airmailed a throw down the right field line. The bad throw allowed both runners to score, tying the game 3-3 through 4 innings.

Neither team would score in the 5th, but Fleetwood rallied in the 6th. Pinch-hitter Francisco Cervelli led off the frame with a hit-by-pitch, and then advanced to second on Darvish's third wild pitch of the game. One out later, Wright doubled to drive in Cervelli and Chase Utley singled to score Wright. Following a strikeout of Robbie Grossman, Darvish walked three consecutive hitters to force home yet another run. All in all, Fleetwood had now found itself with a 6-3 lead.

David Wright tags out Juan Francisco to end 7th inning rally.

But Portsmouth quickly proved itself resilient. In the 7th inning, with two runners on and two outs, Fleetwood called on reliever Tom Wilhelmsen while Portsmouth countered with pinch-hitter Juan Francisco. Francisco, representing the tying run, crushed a Wilhelmsen fastball into the gap in right center. Both runners scored, and Francisco raced to third on the throw home. But, unfortunately for Portsmouth, the Walkers executed the cut-off throw to perfection and nailed Francisco at third to end the rally. While the potential tying run had been thrown out at third base to end the inning, at least the Brewers had cut Fleetwood's lead to just one run.

Mookie Betts homers to lead off 8th inning.

Portsmouth brought in Trevor Rosenthal to pitch, while Fleetwood countered with pinch hitter Mookie Betts. Just minutes after Francisco's big two-run double made it a one-run game, Betts launched a Rosenthal offering deep into the left field grandstand to extend Fleetwood's lead to 7-5.

Wilhelmsen retired Portsmouth with relative ease in the 8th, and was replaced by Roman Mendez in the 9th. Mendez retired the first two Portsmouth batters quickly, bringing Fleetwood to within one out of its sixth NLCS appearance in the last 11 years.

Again, Portsmouth responded with force. Cameron Maybin sliced a hanging Mendez breaking ball down the right field line and past Fleetwood right fielder Kevin Kiermaier. The ball caromed around the corner, allowing Maybin to motor all the way into third base with a triple. The tying run was now at the plate in the form of Andrelton Simmons.

David Wright's diving catch in 9th.

Behind in the count, Mendez fired a fastball to the plate. Simmons squared the pitch up perfectly, lacing a line drive towards left field. But David Wright leaped quickly to his left, snaring the ball before it cleared the infield. With this diving catch, Fleetwood had held on to win both the game and the series.

Fleetwood's next game would indeed be in the National League Championship Series against the winner of the Metropolis/North Georgia divisional series. Meanwhile, Portsmouth's fans headed home for the season, disappointed in the final result but proud of their team's success and perseverance.

Final score: Fleetwood 7, Portsmouth 5.

W: Greinke (1-0). L: Darvish (0-1). SV: Mendez (1). HR: Betts (1).

BOXSCORE: 2015 Fleetwood Walkers At 2015 Portsmouth Brewers        10/14/2015

  Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Brewers            AB  R  H RBI AVG

  S.Smith DH          3  0  1  0 .333     A.De Aza LF,RF      4  0  0  0 .211  

G-M.Betts PH,DH       1  1  1  1 .250     D.Pedroia 2B        4  0  0  0 .250  

  M.Trout CF          3  0  0  0 .150     A.Rizzo 1B          4  0  1  0 .105  

  K.Kiermaier RF      4  0  0  1 .250     J.Lucroy C          4  0  0  0 .267  

  M.Cabrera 1B        5  2  2  0 .150     M.Saunders RF       1  0  0  0 .300  

  A.Avila C           2  0  0  0 .000   A-S.Rodriguez PH,LF   2  0  0  0 .000  

B-F.Cervelli PH,C     1  1  0  0 .000   H-D.Brown PH          1  0  0  0 .200  

  M.Gonzalez SS       4  1  2  0 .250     M.Napoli DH         3  2  1  0 .067  

D-J.Segura SS         1  0  0  0 .400     N.Castellanos 3B    2  2  1  0 .214  

  D.Wright 3B         5  1  1  1 .118   F-C.Maybin CF         1  0  1  01.000  

  C.Utley 2B          3  1  2  1 .267     A.Simmons SS        4  1  1  1 .111  

  R.Grossman LF       3  0  1  0 .167     I.Suzuki CF         2  0  1  2 .267  

C-D.Jennings LF       1  0  0  0 .111   E-J.Francisco PH,3B   1  0  1  2 .167  

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      36  7 10  4                 Totals      33  5  7  5

A-Pinch Hit For Saunders In 4th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Avila In 6th Inning

C-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Grossman In 6th Inning

D-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Gonzalez In 7th Inning

E-Pinch Hit For Suzuki In 7th Inning

F-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Castellanos In 8th Inning

G-Pinch Hit For Smith In 8th Inning

H-Pinch Hit For Rodriguez In 9th Inning

Walkers......... 0 1 0  2 0 3  0 1 0  -  7 10  0

Brewers......... 0 3 0  0 0 0  2 0 0  -  5  7  2

Walkers (4-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

Z.Greinke WIN(1-0)        5       3   3   3   1   4   0   2.38  A1 C1

D.Pomeranz HOLD(1st)      1 2/3   1   2   2   1   3   0   6.00  C2 C8

T.Wilhelmsen HOLD(1st)    1 1/3   2   0   0   0   2   0   3.60  C9 D4

R.Mendez SAVE(1st)        1       1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D5

Totals                    9       7   5   5   2  10   0

Brewers (1-4)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

Y.Darvish LOSS(0-1)       6 2/3   9   6   4   4   7   0   3.60  A1 D8

D.Farquhar                0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D9 D9

T.Rosenthal               0 2/3   1   1   1   0   1   1  36.00  E1 E3

J.Soria                   1 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   5.40  E4

Totals                    9      10   7   5   4  10   1

ATTENDANCE- 48,513 DATE- Wednesday, October 14th 2015 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad

UMPIRES- Gary Cederstrom, Fieldin Culbreth, Jim Reynolds, Tim Timmons

T- 2:52

LEFT ON BASE- Walkers: 9  Brewers: 3

DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 0  Brewers: 1

ERRORS- A.Rizzo, N.Castellanos

DOUBLES- D.Wright(2nd), C.Utley(3rd), J.Francisco(1st)

TRIPLES- C.Maybin(1st)

HOME RUNS- M.Betts(1st)

RBIs- M.Betts(2nd), K.Kiermaier(5th), D.Wright(3rd), C.Utley(1st),

      A.Simmons(1st), I.Suzuki-2(2nd), J.Francisco-2(2nd)

WALKS- S.Smith, M.Trout, K.Kiermaier, F.Cervelli, M.Napoli, N.Castellanos

HIT BY PITCH- M.Trout, F.Cervelli, C.Utley

STRIKE OUTS- S.Smith, K.Kiermaier, A.Avila, F.Cervelli, M.Gonzalez, D.Wright-2,

             R.Grossman-2, D.Jennings, A.De Aza-2, D.Pedroia-2, A.Rizzo-2,

             J.Lucroy, S.Rodriguez, D.Brown, M.Napoli

GIDP- K.Kiermaier

WILD PITCHES- Y.Darvish-3

2-out RBI- A.Simmons, I.Suzuki-2, K.Kiermaier, J.Francisco-2

RLISP 2-out- C.Utley, S.Smith-2, M.Cabrera-2, D.Jennings-2, A.Simmons

TEAM RISP- Walkers: 3 for 10  Brewers: 3 for 5

WEB GEMS- Bot 4th: Mike Trout robbed Sean Rodriguez of an extra base hit.

In a close game it was the Fleetwood Walkers 7, the Portsmouth Brewers 5 at

Wrigley Field.

Fleetwood scored 3 runs in the top of the 6th inning. Fleetwood ended up with

10 hits for the game while Portsmouth had 7.  The victory was credited to

Zack Greinke(1-0) who went 5 innings, allowing 3 runs. Roman Mendez preserved

the game for Greinke, recording his his 1st save.  Yu Darvish(0-1) was the

losing pitcher.  He got hammered, allowing 9 hits and 4 walks in 6 and 2/3

innings.

NLDS Game 4: Fleetwood vs. Portsmouth

Trout's 1st inning home run

Having found itself down 2 games to 1, Portsmouth entered Game 4 of the NLDS in urgent need of a win. Young hurler Shelby Miller (15-9 record, 4.29 ERA) took the ball for the Brewers in this crucial game, while veteran Daisuke Matsuzaka (10-2 record, 2.92 ERA) did the same for the Fleetwood Walkers.

Mike Trout got Fleetwood off to a quick start, hitting a one-out home run in the top of the 1st inning. One out later, Miguel Cabrera singled and Derek Norris walked. When Marwin Gonzalez followed with a hit-by-pitch, Miller found himself with the bases loaded and David Wright at the plate.

Wright hit a ground ball into the hole between 2nd and 1st, which Dustin Pedroia made a great stop to reach. However, in trying to throw out Wright, Pedroia unleashed a wild throw to first. The ball sailed past first baseman Anthony Rizzo, and bounced into Fleetwood's dugout for a two-base error. Two runners had scored, and Fleetwood thus held an early 3-0 lead.

Pedroia makes great stop but bad throw in 1st

Jonathan Lucroy hit a home run in the 2nd inning, tightening the score to 3-1. But Miller could not keep Fleetwood off the board in the 3rd, walking two and giving up two-run double to David Wright. The Walkers now led the game 5-1.

In the 5th inning, Portsmouth left fielder Domonic Brown crushed a solo home run to tighten the score to 5-2 and keep Portsmouth's hopes alive.

Fleetwood's Seth Smith led off the 7th inning with a grounder to second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Shockingly, Pedroia once again made a bad throw to first, resulting in his second two-base error of the game. Having committed only 4 errors during the entire regular season, Pedroia had now committed two in this game alone. Thankfully for Portsmouth, Miller retired the next 3 batters without allowing Smith to score.

Kiermaier drives in two in 9th

Heading into the 9th, Shelby Miller remained in the game to face Chase Utley. Utley doubled, and then Desmond Jennings reached on an infield single to put runners on first and third with no outs. Following a Jennings stolen base, Portsmouth called on relief ace Dellin Betances to put out the fire.

Betances struck out both pinch hitter Mookie Betts and Mike Trout to temporarily keep Fleetwood off the board. But when Kevin Kiermaier delivered a clutch two-out, two-run single, Fleetwood had extended its lead to 7-2.

Portsmouth was unable to get a rally started in the bottom of the 9th, and the game was over. Fleetwood had earned the win, and now led the series 3 games to 1.

Final score: Fleetwood 7, Portsmouth 2.

W: Matsuzaka (1-0). L: Miller (0-1). SV: None. HR: Trout (1), Lucroy (1), Brown (1).

BOXSCORE: 2015 Fleetwood Walkers At 2015 Portsmouth Brewers        10/13/2015

  Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Brewers            AB  R  H RBI AVG

  S.Smith DH          3  0  0  0 .333     A.De Aza RF         3  0  1  0 .267  

E-M.Betts PH,DH       1  0  0  0 .143   C-J.Rutledge PH       1  0  0  0 .000  

  M.Trout CF          5  1  1  1 .176   D-C.Maybin CF         0  0  0  0 ----  

  K.Kiermaier RF      4  1  1  2 .333     D.Pedroia 2B        4  0  0  0 .313  

  M.Cabrera 1B        5  1  1  0 .067     A.Rizzo 1B          4  0  0  0 .067  

  D.Norris C          2  2  1  0 .375     J.Lucroy C          3  1  2  1 .364  

A-J.Segura PR,SS      0  0  0  0 .500     J.Francisco 3B      4  0  0  0 .000  

  M.Gonzalez SS       1  0  0  0 .125     M.Napoli DH         4  0  0  0 .000  

B-F.Cervelli PH,C     1  0  0  0 .000     D.Brown LF          3  1  1  1 .250  

  D.Wright 3B         4  0  1  2 .083     A.Simmons SS        3  0  0  0 .071  

  C.Utley 2B          4  1  1  0 .167     I.Suzuki CF,RF      3  0  1  0 .231  

  D.Jennings LF       4  1  1  0 .125                                          

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      34  7  7  5                 Totals      32  2  5  2

A-Pinch Ran For Norris In 8th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Gonzalez In 8th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For De Aza In 8th Inning

D-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Rutledge In 9th Inning

E-Pinch Hit For Smith In 9th Inning

Walkers......... 3 0 2  0 0 0  0 0 2  -  7  7  1

Brewers......... 0 1 0  0 1 0  0 0 0  -  2  5  3

Walkers (3-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

D.Matsuzaka WIN(1-0)      7 1/3   4   2   2   1   7   2   2.45  A1 C9

J.Howell HOLD(1st)        1       0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  D1 D3

J.Broxton                 0 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D4

Totals                    9       5   2   2   1   8   2

Brewers (1-3)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

S.Miller LOSS(0-1)        8       6   7   5   5   5   1   5.63  A1 D9

D.Betances                1       1   0   0   0   2   0   9.00  E1

Totals                    9       7   7   5   5   7   1

ATTENDANCE- 46,924 DATE- Tuesday, October 13th 2015 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average

UMPIRES- Sam Holbrook, Gerry Davis, Brian Gorman, Bruce Dreckman

T- 2:41

LEFT ON BASE- Walkers: 6  Brewers: 4

DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 0  Brewers: 2

ERRORS- M.Gonzalez, D.Pedroia-2, A.Simmons

DOUBLES- D.Wright(1st), C.Utley(2nd)

HOME RUNS- M.Trout(1st), J.Lucroy(1st), D.Brown(1st)

RBIs- M.Trout(2nd), K.Kiermaier-2(4th), D.Wright-2(2nd), J.Lucroy(2nd),

      D.Brown(1st)

STOLEN BASES- D.Jennings(1st)

CAUGHT STEALING- A.De Aza

WALKS- S.Smith, K.Kiermaier, D.Norris-2, M.Gonzalez, J.Lucroy

HIT BY PITCH- M.Gonzalez

STRIKE OUTS- M.Betts, M.Trout-2, M.Cabrera-2, D.Norris, D.Wright, A.De Aza,

             D.Pedroia, A.Rizzo-2, J.Francisco-3, D.Brown

GIDP- M.Trout, F.Cervelli

2-out RBI- K.Kiermaier-2

RLISP 2-out- C.Utley-3, M.Napoli, M.Gonzalez, M.Cabrera-2, D.Pedroia

TEAM RISP- Walkers: 3 for 15  Brewers: 0 for 3

WEB GEMS- Top 1st: Ichiro Suzuki robbed Seth Smith of an extra base hit.

The Fleetwood Walkers had an easy time of it at Wrigley Field defeating the

Portsmouth Brewers by a score of 7 to 2.

Fleetwood drew first blood jumping out to an early lead in the first inning

with 3 runs using 2 hits.  After an out was recorded, Mike Trout started the

scoring when he smashed a solo-shot out of the park.  After another out,

Miguel Cabrera stepped in and he laced a single.  Derek Norris then drew a

walk.  Marwin Gonzalez was up next and he was hit by a pitch.  David Wright

came up to bat and reached on an error.  That was all the runs Daisuke

Matsuzaka(1-0) needed.  Fleetwood had 7 hits for the afternoon.  

Shelby Miller(0-1) was the loser.  He pitched 8 innings allowing 6 hits and 5

walks.

NLDS Game 3: Fleetwood vs. Portsmouth

Returning home after Jason Hammel's near-historic one-hitter in Fleetwood, the Portsmouth Brewers looked to keep the momentum going in Game 3 of this NLDS matchup. To do so, they sent Francisco Liriano (11-10 record, 4.34 ERA) to the hill. Opposing him would be Fleetwood starting pitcher Phil Hughes (15-6 record, 3.77 ERA).

Lucroy RBI double in 3rd

Both teams threatened in the 1st, but came up scoreless. Portsmouth eventually drew first blood in the 3rd when Dustin Pedroia laced a one-out single, followed by an RBI double by Jonathan Lucroy.

The Brewers threatened again in the 5th. Peoria doubled, followed by an infield single by Anthony Rizzo. Fleetwood manager Rube Foster pulled Hughes in favor of Roman Mendez. Mendez walked Lucroy to load the bases, but forced Michael Saunders to pop out. Through 5 innings, the score remained Portsmouth 1, Fleetwood 0.

Liriano retired the Walkers easily in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings. At this point, Fleetwood had been held scoreless by Portsmouth for 17 consecutive innings. Not only that, but the Walkers had managed only 3 hits and 2 walks over those 17 innings. Given that Fleetwood was second in all of BRASSball in runs scored during the regular season (835 total runs, only 1 run behind Simi Valley), this was shocking indeed.

Liriano shuts out Fleetwood over 8 innings.

Looking for a second consecutive shutout, Portsmouth sent Liriano out for the 9th to finish what he started.

Derek Norris answered the bell by lofting a deep home run over the left field wall. This broke Fleetwood's scoreless spell, and tied the game 1-1. Marwin Gonzalez followed with a double, driving Liriano from the game in favor of righty-killer Joakim Soria.

With the go-ahead run on second base, Fleetwood sent up pinch hitter Seth Smith to bat for David Wright. Smith drew a walk, but Soria quickly retired Chase Utley for the 9th inning's first out.

Norris homer in 9th

At that point, the chess match was on. Fleetwood sent up Robbie Grossman to pinch hit for Desmond Jennings, resulting in Portsmouth bringing in Trevor Rosenthal. Before Grossman could enter the batter's box, Fleetwood's Rube Foster then called on Francisco Cervelli to bat instead. The matchup seemed to favor the Walkers, but Cervelli struck out for the second out of the inning.

Fleetwood next sent up its fourth pinch hitter of the inning in the form of Jean Segura. Segura singled to load the bases for Mike Trout. When Trout singled to drive home the go-ahead run, the flood gates opened. Mookie Betts and Miguel Cabrera quickly drew consecutive bases-loaded walks, and Kevin Kiermaier laced a two-run single into the outfield. In a matter of minutes, Fleetwood had followed 17 consecutive scoreless innings with a 6-run explosion in the 9th inning.

Drew Pomeranz had little trouble with Portsmouth in the bottom of the 9th, and just like that the game was over. Fleetwood had earned its second 9th inning comeback in three games against Portsmouth, and now led the series 2 games to 1.

Final score: Fleetwood 6, Portsmouth 1.

W: Pomeranz (1-0). L: Liriano (0-1). SV: None. HR: Norris (1).

BOXSCORE: 2015 Fleetwood Walkers At 2015 Portsmouth Brewers        10/12/2015

  Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Brewers            AB  R  H RBI AVG

  D.Robertson RF      2  0  0  0 .000     A.De Aza LF         5  0  2  0 .250  

F-J.Segura PH,SS      1  1  1  0 .500     D.Pedroia 2B        5  1  4  0 .417  

  M.Trout CF          5  1  2  1 .167     A.Rizzo 1B          4  0  1  0 .091  

  M.Betts DH          4  1  0  1 .167     J.Lucroy C          2  0  1  1 .250  

  M.Cabrera 1B        4  0  0  1 .000     M.Saunders RF       2  0  0  0 .333  

  D.Norris C          4  1  2  1 .333   A-D.Brown PH          1  0  0  0 .000  

G-K.Kiermaier PH,RF   1  0  1  2 .375   B-C.Maybin CF         0  0  0  0 ----  

  M.Gonzalez SS,3B    5  1  1  0 .143     M.Napoli DH         3  0  0  0 .000  

  D.Wright 3B         2  0  0  0 .000     N.Castellanos 3B    4  0  0  0 .167  

C-S.Smith PH,LF       0  1  0  0 .444     A.Simmons SS        3  0  0  0 .091  

  C.Utley 2B          3  0  0  0 .125   H-J.Rutledge PH       1  0  0  0 .000  

  D.Jennings LF       2  0  0  0 .000     I.Suzuki CF,RF      4  0  0  0 .200  

D-R.Grossman PH       0  0  0  0 .000                                          

E-F.Cervelli PH,C     1  0  0  0 .000                                          

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      34  6  7  6                 Totals      34  1  8  1

A-Pinch Hit For Saunders In 8th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Brown In 9th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Wright In 9th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Jennings In 9th Inning

E-Pinch Hit For Grossman In 9th Inning

F-Pinch Hit For Robertson In 9th Inning

G-Pinch Hit For Norris In 9th Inning

H-Pinch Hit For Simmons In 9th Inning

Walkers......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 6  -  6  7  1

Brewers......... 0 0 1  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  1  8  1

Walkers (2-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

P.Hughes                  4 2/3   5   1   1   2   6   0   1.93  A1 C3

R.Mendez                  1       0   0   0   2   0   0   0.00  C4 C8

T.Wilhelmsen              2       2   0   0   0   0   0   4.91  C9 D6

D.Pomeranz WIN(1-0)       1 1/3   1   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D7

Totals                    9       8   1   1   4   7   0

Brewers (1-2)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

F.Liriano LOSS(0-1)       8       4   2   2   4   6   1   2.25  A1 D6

J.Soria                   0 1/3   0   1   1   1   0   0  27.00  D7 D8

T.Rosenthal               0 1/3   2   3   3   1   1   0  81.00  D9 E3

D.Farquhar                0 1/3   1   0   0   1   0   0   0.00  E4

Totals                    9       7   6   6   7   7   1

ATTENDANCE- 45,446 DATE- Monday, October 12th 2015 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad

UMPIRES- Eric Cooper, Marty Foster, Derryl Cousins, Angel Hernandez

T- 3:36

LEFT ON BASE- Walkers: 9  Brewers:10

DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 0  Brewers: 0

ERRORS- D.Wright, N.Castellanos

DOUBLES- M.Gonzalez(1st), D.Pedroia(1st), J.Lucroy(1st)

HOME RUNS- D.Norris(1st)

RBIs- M.Trout(1st), M.Betts(1st), M.Cabrera(1st), D.Norris(1st),

      K.Kiermaier-2(2nd), J.Lucroy(1st)

CAUGHT STEALING- D.Robertson, A.De Aza

WALKS- D.Robertson-2, M.Betts, M.Cabrera, D.Wright, S.Smith, D.Jennings,

       J.Lucroy-2, M.Saunders, M.Napoli

HIT BY PITCH- C.Utley

STRIKE OUTS- M.Trout-2, M.Betts, M.Cabrera-3, F.Cervelli, A.De Aza, A.Rizzo-2,

             M.Saunders, M.Napoli, N.Castellanos, J.Rutledge

2-out RBI- J.Lucroy, M.Trout, M.Betts, M.Cabrera, K.Kiermaier-2

RLISP 2-out- D.Norris, M.Napoli-2, D.Robertson-4, M.Saunders-3, M.Gonzalez

TEAM RISP- Walkers: 3 for 13  Brewers: 1 for 5

In a great finish the Fleetwood Walkers came back in the top of the ninth and

held on to win over the Portsmouth Brewers by a score of 6 to 1 at Wrigley

Field.

Fleetwood erupted with the game winning runs in the 9th inning when they

scored 6 runs on 5 hits.  The highlight belonged to Kevin Kiermaier who

helped quiet the crowd when he lined a single bringing in two baserunners.

Fleetwood had a total of 7 hits for the game.  

Drew Pomeranz(1-0) allowed no runs in 1 and 1/3 innings, and picked up the

victory. The loss was charged to Francisco Liriano(0-1).  Liriano was feeling

apologetic in the locker room, 'I sure let that one get away.  What a

miserable feeling to let the guys down; and our fans.  One minute things are

looking great, then. BOOM, it's over with! I just hope I get a chance to

redeem myself.'

NLDS Game 2: Portsmouth vs. Fleetwood

Game 2 of this NLDS series saw Jason Hammel (9-6 record, 3.49 ERA) take the mound for Portsmouth and Hisashi Iwakuma (13-4 record, 2.76 ERA) for Fleetwood.

Bouncing back nicely from a tough loss the day before, Portsmouth came out swinging early against Iwakuma. The Brewers drew first blood in the 2nd on an RBI groundout by Mike Napoli, and then added another run in the 3rd on an Alejandro De Aza home run.

Nick Castellanos punished Iwakuma further in the 4th inning. He hit a two-run bomb, making the score 4-0 in favor of Portsmouth through 4 innings.

Jason Hammel dominates Fleetwood.

But the real star of this game was Jason Hammel. He was perfect on the mound through 4.1 innings before issuing a walk to Derek Norris. But he escaped that 5th inning easily from there, and then set the Walkers down in order in the 6th.

And then the 7th.

And then the 8th.

This set the stage for drama of the highest order in the bottom of the 9th. The score was 5-0 in favor of Portsmouth, but even the Fleetwood crowd's attention was focused on the chance to see history: what many believe would be the first no-hitter in BRASSball playoff history.

Pinch-hitter Francisco Cervelli led of the 9th against Hammel, but he could manage only a weak infield groundout.

Suzuki's 9th inning dive

Next up was another pinch hitter, Mookie Betts. Betts made good contact, but it was only enough to earn him a "can of corn" flyout. Hammel was just one out away.

Fleetwood's last chance was Seth Smith. Smith and Hammel battled, until Smith finally yanked a hard slicing liner to right field. Ichiro Suzuki laid out for the ball, trying with all his might to preserve history. But the ball landed just beyond his reach and rolled to the wall, allowing Smith to race all the way around to 3rd base with a triple.

Hammel quickly recovered to retire Mike Trout on a game-ending groundout, earning him an impressive one-hit shutout. Hammel may have just missed the no-hitter and a place in BRASSball history, but he put his Portsmouth teammates on his back and gave them valuable momentum heading back home for Game 3.

Final Score: Portsmouth 5, Fleetwood 0.

W: Hammel (1-0). L: Iwakuma (0-1). SV: None. HR: De Aza (1), Castellanos (1).

BOXSCORE: 2015 Portsmouth Brewers At 2015 Fleetwood Walkers        10/10/2015

  Brewers            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG

  A.De Aza LF         3  1  1  2 .143     S.Smith DH          4  0  1  0 .444  

A-C.Maybin CF         0  0  0  0 ----     M.Trout CF          4  0  0  0 .000  

  D.Pedroia 2B        4  0  0  0 .143     K.Kiermaier RF      3  0  0  0 .286  

  A.Rizzo 1B          4  0  0  0 .000     M.Cabrera 1B        3  0  0  0 .000  

  J.Lucroy C          3  1  0  0 .167     D.Norris C          2  0  0  0 .000  

  M.Saunders RF,LF    4  0  3  0 .429     C.Utley 2B          3  0  0  0 .200  

  M.Napoli DH         3  1  0  1 .000     D.Wright 3B         3  0  0  0 .000  

  N.Castellanos 3B    4  1  1  2 .250     J.Segura SS         2  0  0  0 .333  

B-S.Rodriguez 3B      0  0  0  0 ----   C-F.Cervelli PH       1  0  0  0 .000  

  A.Simmons SS        4  1  1  0 .125     D.Jennings LF       2  0  0  0 .000  

  I.Suzuki CF,RF      3  0  1  0 .333   D-M.Betts PH          1  0  0  0 .500  

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      32  5  7  5                 Totals      28  0  1  0

A-Subbed Defensively (CF) For De Aza In 9th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Castellanos In 9th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Segura In 9th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Jennings In 9th Inning

Brewers......... 0 1 1  2 0 0  1 0 0  -  5  7  0

Walkers......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 0  -  0  1  0

Brewers (1-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

J.Hammel WIN(1-0)         9       1   0   0   1   4   0   0.00  A1

Totals                    9       1   0   0   1   4   0

Walkers (1-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

H.Iwakuma LOSS(0-1)       6       7   5   5   1   4   2   7.50  A1 C8

J.Broxton                 1 2/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  C9 D4

A.Bastardo                1       0   0   0   1   2   0   0.00  D5 D8

J.Howell                  0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   0.00  D9

Totals                    9       7   5   5   2   8   2

ATTENDANCE- 48,442 DATE- Saturday, October 10th 2015 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad

UMPIRES- Chuck Meriwether, Bill Welke, Laz Diaz, Tim Welke

T- 2:23

LEFT ON BASE- Brewers: 4  Walkers: 2

DOUBLE PLAYS- Brewers: 0  Walkers: 0

DOUBLES- M.Saunders(1st), A.Simmons(1st), I.Suzuki(1st)

TRIPLES- S.Smith(1st)

HOME RUNS- A.De Aza(1st), N.Castellanos(1st)

RBIs- A.De Aza-2(2nd), M.Napoli(1st), N.Castellanos-2(4th)

SACRIFICE HITS- I.Suzuki

SACRIFICE FLIES- A.De Aza

WALKS- J.Lucroy, M.Napoli, D.Norris

STRIKE OUTS- A.De Aza, D.Pedroia-2, A.Rizzo, M.Saunders, N.Castellanos,

             A.Simmons, I.Suzuki, S.Smith, M.Cabrera, D.Wright-2

2-out RBI- N.Castellanos-2

RLISP 2-out- A.Simmons, A.Rizzo, N.Castellanos, M.Trout

TEAM RISP- Brewers: 0 for 8  Walkers: 0 for 1

Jason Hammel carried a no-hitter into the 9th inning as the Portsmouth Brewers

beat the Fleetwood Walkers by a score of 5 to 0.

Hammel(1-0) dominated Fleetwood hitters.  He surrendered only 1 hit and 1 walk

in 9 innings.  The right-handed Hammel lost his chance for a no-hitter when

Seth Smith tripled with two outs in the 9th inning.  Portsmouth had a total

of 7 hits for the game.  

Hisashi Iwakuma(0-1) was the loser.  He gave up 7 hits and 1 walk in 6

innings.  Mike Forsyth was very impressed with his pitcher, Hammel, 'He had

unusually good pitch placement tonight.  It was almost unfair - but a

beautiful game to watch from where I sat.'

NLDS Game 1: Portsmouth vs. Fleetwood

The Fleetwood Walkers earned a 10th consecutive BRASSball playoff berth in 2015 on the strength of a 104-58 regular season record. This performance gave Fleetwood its third consecutive division title, and its 7th division title in the past 10 years.

Unfortunately for its loyal fans, though, Fleetwood has yet to advance to the BRASSball World Series. The Walkers have reached the NLCS five times, but have fallen short each time despite thrice pushing its NLCS foe to a decisive Game 7.

Led by star center fielder Mike Trout (.279 AVG, 36 HR, 98 RBI) and perennial slugging first baseman Miguel Cabrera (.305 AVG, 27 HR, 113 RBI), perhaps this 2015 edition would craft a different ending.

Earning the right to face Fleetwood in the NLDS were the Portsmouth Brewers. Portsmouth finished the regular season with an impressive 93-69 record and featured star hitter Anthony Rizzo (.298 AVG, 36 HR 108 RBI) and ace reliever Dellin Betances (8-4 record, 2.28 ERA, 87 IP, 123 K).

Zack Greinke: 6.1 IP, 0 R, 7 K

Starting in Game 1 for Fleetwood would be Zack Greinke (18-7 record, 2.67 ERA) while Portsmouth turned the ball over to Yu Darvish (10-8 record, 4.29 ERA).

The Walkers grabbed an early lead in the 2nd when Darvish's control temporarily escaped him. He walked two in the inning, and also threw two wild pitches. The second wild pitch plated Marwin Gonzalez, who had led off the inning via a walk.

Nick Castellanos 2-run single in 9th

Neither team would score again until the 9th, when Portsmouth's offense finally came alive. Dustin Pedroia led off the inning with a single and a stolen base against Fleetwood reliever Tom Wilhelmsen. Wilhelmsen then walked 2 batters, loading the bases for Nick Castellanos. With two outs on the board, Castellanos came through for Portsmouth, plating two runs with a hard-hit single. This gave the Brewers a late 2-1 lead.

Portsmouth sent Darvish out the mound to begin the 9th inning, looking for the complete game. He retired the first batter easily, but then gave up a one-out single to Jean Segura to put the tying run on base. This led Portsmouth to turn the game over to ace reliever Dellin Betances.

Seth Smith: 3-5, walk-off hit

Fleetwood countered with pinch-hitter Mookie Betts, who greeted Betances with a single. Pinch-hitter Derek Norris followed, drawing a hard-earned walk to load the bases.

Outfielder Desmond Jennings came up next, and drew yet another walk to tie the game 2-2. When Fleetwood mid-season acquisition Seth Smith then delivered a bases-loaded RBI single, Fleetwood had grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat with a thrilling walk-off win.

Final score: Fleetwood 3, Portsmouth 2.

W: Wilhelmsen (1-0). L: Betances (0-1). SV: None. HR: None.

Fleetwood leads series 1-0.

BOXSCORE: 2015 Portsmouth Brewers At 2015 Fleetwood Walkers         10/9/2015

  Brewers            AB  R  H RBI AVG     Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG

  A.De Aza LF         4  0  0  0 .000     S.Smith DH          5  0  3  1 .600  

D-C.Maybin CF         0  0  0  0 ----     M.Trout CF          3  0  0  0 .000  

  D.Pedroia 2B        3  1  1  0 .333     K.Kiermaier RF      4  0  2  0 .500  

  A.Rizzo 1B          3  1  0  0 .000     M.Cabrera 1B        3  0  0  0 .000  

  J.Lucroy C          3  0  1  0 .333     F.Cervelli C        4  0  0  0 .000  

  M.Saunders RF,LF    3  0  0  0 .000     M.Gonzalez SS       2  1  0  0 .000  

  M.Napoli DH         2  0  0  0 .000   A-J.Segura SS         1  1  1  01.000  

B-J.Francisco PH,DH   1  0  0  0 .000     D.Wright 3B         3  0  0  0 .000  

  N.Castellanos 3B    4  0  1  2 .250   F-M.Betts PH          1  1  1  01.000  

E-S.Rodriguez 3B      0  0  0  0 ----     C.Utley 2B          2  0  1  0 .500  

  A.Simmons SS        4  0  0  0 .000   G-D.Norris PH         0  0  0  0 ----  

  I.Suzuki CF,RF      3  0  1  0 .333     R.Grossman LF       3  0  0  0 .000  

                                        C-D.Jennings LF       0  0  0  1 ----  

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      

         Totals      30  2  4  2                 Totals      31  3  8  2

A-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Gonzalez In 7th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Napoli In 7th Inning

C-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Grossman In 8th Inning

D-Subbed Defensively (CF) For De Aza In 9th Inning

E-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Castellanos In 9th Inning

F-Pinch Hit For Wright In 9th Inning

G-Pinch Hit For Utley In 9th Inning

Brewers......... 0 0 0  0 0 0  0 0 2  -  2  4  0

Walkers......... 0 1 0  0 0 0  0 0 2  -  3  8  0

Brewers (0-1)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

Y.Darvish                 8 1/3   6   2   2   3   9   0   2.16  A1 D6

D.Betances L(0-1) BS(1st) 0       2   1   1   2   0   0   ----  D7

Totals                    8 1/3   8   3   3   5   9   0

Walkers (1-0)            IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET

Z.Greinke                 6 1/3   2   0   0   3   7   0   0.00  A1 C5

R.Mendez HOLD(1st)        1       0   0   0   0   0   0   0.00  C6 C8

T.Wilhelmsen W(1-0)B(1st) 1 2/3   2   2   2   2   3   0  10.80  C9

Totals                    9       4   2   2   5  10   0

ATTENDANCE- 45,296 DATE- Friday, October 9th 2015 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average

UMPIRES- Gary Darling, Jerry Meals, Bill Miller, Paul Emmel

T- 3:00

LEFT ON BASE- Brewers: 6  Walkers: 8

DOUBLE PLAYS- Brewers: 0  Walkers: 1

DOUBLES- S.Smith(1st), C.Utley(1st)

RBIs- N.Castellanos-2(2nd), S.Smith(1st), D.Jennings(1st)

STOLEN BASES- D.Pedroia(1st), N.Castellanos(1st), M.Betts(1st)

WALKS- D.Pedroia, A.Rizzo, J.Lucroy, M.Saunders, J.Francisco, M.Cabrera,

       M.Gonzalez, C.Utley, D.Norris, D.Jennings

HIT BY PITCH- M.Trout

STRIKE OUTS- A.De Aza, D.Pedroia, A.Rizzo, J.Lucroy-2, M.Saunders, M.Napoli-2,

             N.Castellanos, A.Simmons, S.Smith-2, M.Trout-2, M.Cabrera,

             F.Cervelli, M.Gonzalez, R.Grossman-2

GIDP- A.De Aza

WILD PITCHES- Y.Darvish-2

2-out RBI- N.Castellanos-2

RLISP 2-out- F.Cervelli-2, S.Smith-2, N.Castellanos-2, K.Kiermaier, A.Simmons-2

TEAM RISP- Brewers: 1 for 6  Walkers: 2 for 10

WEB GEMS- Bot 7th: Jonathan Lucroy blocked the plate, saving a run!

The hometown crowd was rewarded with a dramatic ending, as the Fleetwood

Walkers staged a comeback win over the Portsmouth Brewers by the count of 3

to 2.

Fleetwood came through with the game-winning runs in the bottom of the 9th

inning with 2 runs utilizing 3 base hits.  After an out was recorded, Jean

Segura was the sparkplug when he stroked a one-base hit.  Mookie Betts came

to the plate and slapped a single.  Betts took his lead and swiped second.

Derek Norris stepped in and he drew a walk to load the bases.  Desmond

Jennings came up to bat and drew a walk.  Seth Smith added to the outburst

and lined a base-hit.  Fleetwood finished with 8 hits while Portsmouth ended

up with 4.  

The win went to Tom Wilhelmsen(1-0) who allowed 2 runs in 1 and 2/3 innings.

The loss was charged to Dellin Betances(0-1) in relief.  He gave up 1 run and

2 hits without retiring a batter.