The 2017 BRASSball World Series pits the NL champion Fleetwood Walkers (108 wins, 54 losses) against the AL champion Santa Barbara Outlaws (also 108 wins, 54 losses). Fleetwood earned its World Series berth by defeating the Springfield Isotopes (117 wins, 45 losses) in 6 games in the NLCS, while Santa Barbara eeked out a 7-game victory in the ALCS against the Plaza Lions (102 wins, 60 losses).
For Fleetwood, this World Series appearance represented the first in its franchise history. Prior to 2017, the Walkers had previously reached the playoffs 13 times (including the last 11 straight) and the NLCS seven times. However, in each of those seasons, Fleetwood had always come up just a bit short of making the championship series...often in heartbreaking fashion.
During the 2017 regular season, Santa Barbara dominated Fleetwood by winning 6 of 7 head-to-head games. However, three of those wins were by just one run, giving Fleetwood some hope.
Fleetwood’s offense scored the most runs in BRASSball in 2017 (964; 5.95 per game), while Santa Barbara was third (888; 5.48 per game). With respect to runs allowed, Fleetwood was second in BRASSball (597; 3.69 per game) while Santa Barbara was third (601; 3.71 per game).
Game 1: Fleetwood at Santa Barbara
Rich Hill (9-2, 3.29 ERA) vs. Justin Verlander (19-8, 3.08 ERA)
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| Jason Castro hits three-run homer in 4th inning. |
Down by one in the bottom of the 9th, the Outlaws collected back-to-back two-out singles to put the tying run in scoring position. Fleetwood lefty reliever Jake Diekman then faced Santa Barbara's Sandy Leon, striking him out to end the rally and the game.
Final score: Fleetwood 5, Santa Barbara 4.
W: Otero. L: Verlander. SV: Diekman.
HR: Kinsler, Castro, Andrus, Dahl.
Fleetwood leads series 1-0.
Game 2: Fleetwood at Santa Barbara
Drew Pomeranz (15-5, 3.34 ERA) vs. Chris Sale (16-11, 3.77 ERA)
Both pitching staffs were dominant early in this game, with the first run not coming until the 5th inning. It was then that Santa Barbara drew first blood with a Jose Altuve leadoff double and (shortly thereafter) an RBI groundout by Sandy Leon.
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| Nate Jones secures the save. |
Final score: Fleetwood 3, Santa Barbara 1.
W: Otero. L: Sale. SV: Jones.
HR: Trout, M. Cabrera.
Fleetwood leads series 2-0.
Game 3: Santa Barbara at Fleetwood
Kyle Hendricks (8-10, 3.95 ERA) vs. Zack Greinke (12-5, 3.14 ERA)
The World Series headed to Fleetwood for the first time ever, and Fleetwood's star outfielder Mike Trout gave the hometown crowd what they were long waiting for with a solo home run in the 4th.
The score would remain 1-0 until the 7th, when Fleetwood plated two insurance runs with two-out RBI doubles from both Kevin Keirmaier and Ian Kinsler.
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| Dan Otero fires 3 2/3 scoreless innings. |
Final score: Santa Barbara 0, Fleetwood 3.
W: Otero. L: Hendricks. SV: Jones.
HR: Trout.
Fleetwood leads series 3-0.
Game 4: Santa Barbara at Fleetwood
Justin Verlander (19-8, 3.08 ERA) vs. Zach Davies (16-6, 4.53 ERA)
With their backs against the wall, the Santa Barbara Outlaws came out swinging early in Game Four by plating two runs in the 2nd inning. The damage could have been more, though, if not for a brilliant throw from Mike Trout, cutting down Sandy Leon at home plate to end the rally.
There would be no further scoring until the 7th inning. It was then that Fleetwood outfielder Mookie Betts hit a two-run double to tie the game 2-2, sending the hometown fans into a frenzy.
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| Asdrubal Cabrera hits three-run homer in 8th. |
Fleetwood went down meekly in the 8th, but showed signs of life in the 9th when its first two batters reached base on a walk and a single. Suddenly, the tying run was at the plate with nobody out.
Santa Barbara called on Joe Blanton to put out the fire. He retired Ian Kinsler easily for the first out, but Francisco Cervelli then lined a pitch into the right-center field gap, plating two runs and putting the tying run at second base. After recording a second out, he would next face Mike Trout.
Trout hit the ball hard, but right at Santa Barbara left fielder Ryan Braun. Braun seemed to the lose the ball briefly in the stadium lights, though, and dropped it. He recovered quickly to hold Cervelli at third and Trout at first, but the miscue gave Fleetwood another life.
Miguel Cabrera was up next, but Santa Barbara wanted no part of him at this crucial juncture. The Outlaws put him at first via an intentional walk. This decision kept the game out of Cabrera's dangerous hands, but pushed Trout into scoring position at second base as the winning run.
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| Mike Trout slides home safely in the 9th. |
Final score: Santa Barbara 5, Fleetwood 6.
W: Jones L: Blanton. SV: None.
HR: A. Cabrera.
Fleetwood wins series 4-0.
Series MVP: Dan Otero (3-0 record, 11.0 innings, 0.82 ERA).
BOXSCORE: 2017 Fleetwood Walkers At 2017 Santa Barbara Outlaws 11/1/2017
Walkers AB R H RBI AVG Outlaws AB R H RBI AVG
M.Betts RF 4 0 0 0 .293 E.Andrus SS 3 1 1 1 .280
G-F.Cervelli PH,C 1 0 0 0 .250 C-A.Cabrera PH,SS 2 0 0 0 .293
M.Trout LF,RF 2 0 1 0 .250 I.Suzuki CF 3 2 2 0 .667
M.Cabrera 1B 4 0 0 0 .200 D-D.Dahl PH,CF 2 1 2 1 .273
D.Wright DH 3 0 0 0 .182 J.Altuve 2B 4 0 2 0 .290
E-C.Young PH,DH 0 0 0 0 .286 S.Leon C 4 0 1 1 .346
H-T.La Stella PH,DH 1 0 0 0 .273 R.Braun LF 3 0 0 0 .229
J.Turner 3B 2 1 1 0 .308 C.Beltran DH 4 0 1 1 .515
K.Kiermaier CF 4 1 1 0 .209 A.Eaton RF 4 0 1 0 .246
C.Correa SS 3 1 0 0 .086 B.Posey 1B 2 0 0 0 .375
I.Kinsler 2B 4 1 1 2 .256 A-R.Healy PH 1 0 0 0 .471
J.Castro C 4 1 2 3 .444 B-A.Gonzalez 1B 1 0 0 0 .265
F-M.Gonzalez PR 0 0 0 0 .200 N.Arenado 3B 4 0 1 0 .228
I-T.Pham LF 0 0 0 0 .000
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 32 5 6 5 Totals 37 4 11 4
A-Pinch Hit For Posey In 6th Inning
B-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Healy In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Andrus In 7th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Suzuki In 7th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Wright In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Ran For Castro In 9th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Betts In 9th Inning
H-Pinch Hit For Young In 9th Inning
I-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Gonzalez In 9th Inning
Walkers......... 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 - 5 6 0
Outlaws......... 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 - 4 11 0
Walkers (9-2) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
R.Hill 2 1/3 5 2 2 2 4 0 2.77 A1 B5
D.Otero WIN(5-1) 3 2/3 3 1 1 0 1 1 1.03 B6 C9
N.Jones HOLD(1st) 2 2/3 1 1 1 1 4 1 0.59 D1 E1
F.Rodriguez 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 E2 E2
J.Diekman SAVE(1st) 0 1/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 1.69 E3
Totals 9 11 4 4 3 10 2
Outlaws (8-6) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
J.Verlander LOSS(2-2) 7 5 5 5 4 10 2 6.33 A1 D3
S.Solis 0 1/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 8.31 D4 D5
A.Reed 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 D6 D9
R.Buchter 0 1/3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0.00 E1 E3
J.Blanton 0 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 E4
Totals 9 6 5 5 7 10 2
ATTENDANCE- 48,293 DATE- Wednesday, November 1st 2017 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 2:40
LEFT ON BASE- Walkers: 8 Outlaws: 9
DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 1 Outlaws: 0
DOUBLES- J.Turner(4th), J.Castro(1st)
HOME RUNS- I.Kinsler(3rd), J.Castro(4th), E.Andrus(2nd), D.Dahl(1st)
RBIs- I.Kinsler-2(9th), J.Castro-3(7th), E.Andrus(5th), D.Dahl(3rd),
S.Leon(3rd), C.Beltran(8th)
SACRIFICE HITS- J.Turner
WALKS- M.Trout-3, M.Cabrera, C.Young, J.Turner, C.Correa, J.Altuve, S.Leon,
R.Braun
STRIKE OUTS- M.Betts, M.Trout, M.Cabrera-2, K.Kiermaier-2, C.Correa, I.Kinsler,
J.Castro-2, A.Cabrera-2, S.Leon-3, R.Braun, C.Beltran-2, A.Eaton,
B.Posey
GIDP- N.Arenado
WILD PITCHES- J.Verlander-2
2-out RBI- I.Kinsler-2, J.Castro-3
RLISP 2-out- D.Wright-2, C.Beltran, B.Posey-2, K.Kiermaier, C.Correa,
T.La Stella-2, S.Leon
TEAM RISP- Walkers: 2 for 14 Outlaws: 2 for 8
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BOXSCORE: 2017 Fleetwood Walkers At 2017 Santa Barbara Outlaws 11/2/2017
Walkers AB R H RBI AVG Outlaws AB R H RBI AVG
F.Cervelli C 3 0 0 0 .211 I.Suzuki CF 3 0 0 0 .333
B-J.Turner PH,3B 1 0 1 0 .325 A-D.Dahl CF 1 0 0 0 .261
M.Trout LF 4 1 1 2 .250 A.Eaton RF 4 0 0 0 .230
M.Cabrera 1B 3 1 2 1 .229 J.Altuve 2B 4 1 1 0 .288
D-J.Castro C 0 0 0 0 .444 S.Leon C 2 0 0 1 .321
C.Young DH 3 0 1 0 .300 F-R.Healy PH 1 0 0 0 .444
C-T.La Stella PH,DH 1 0 0 0 .250 R.Braun LF 4 0 0 0 .212
M.Betts RF 4 0 0 0 .267 C.Beltran DH 3 0 0 0 .472
K.Kiermaier CF 4 0 0 0 .191 A.Cabrera SS 3 0 0 0 .273
M.Gonzalez 3B,1B 4 0 0 0 .158 B.Posey 1B 2 0 2 0 .412
I.Kinsler 2B 2 1 0 0 .244 E-A.Gonzalez PH,1B 1 0 0 0 .260
C.Correa SS 2 0 1 0 .108 N.Arenado 3B 3 0 0 0 .217
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 31 3 6 3 Totals 31 1 3 1
A-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Suzuki In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Cervelli In 8th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Young In 8th Inning
D-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Cabrera In 8th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Posey In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Leon In 9th Inning
Walkers......... 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 - 3 6 1
Outlaws......... 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 3 0
Walkers (10-2) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
D.Pomeranz 2 1/3 1 0 0 1 2 0 0.64 A1 A9
D.Otero WIN(6-1) 3 2/3 2 1 0 0 2 0 0.90 B1 C4
F.Rodriguez HOLD(1st) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 C5 C7
N.Jones SAVE(3rd) 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.52 C8
Totals 9 3 1 0 1 5 0
Outlaws (8-7) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
C.Sale LOSS(3-2) 7 5 3 3 1 5 2 4.46 A1 C9
J.Blanton 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 D1 D1
B.Brach 0 2/3 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 D2 D3
R.Buchter 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 D4
Totals 9 6 3 3 2 7 2
ATTENDANCE- 49,846 DATE- Thursday, November 2nd 2017 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
T- 2:25
LEFT ON BASE- Walkers: 4 Outlaws: 4
DOUBLE PLAYS- Walkers: 0 Outlaws: 1
ERRORS- N.Jones
DOUBLES- J.Altuve(8th)
HOME RUNS- M.Trout(1st), M.Cabrera(1st)
RBIs- M.Trout-2(6th), M.Cabrera(6th), S.Leon(4th)
SACRIFICE HITS- C.Correa
WALKS- M.Cabrera, I.Kinsler, S.Leon
STRIKE OUTS- M.Trout-2, C.Young, M.Betts, K.Kiermaier-2, M.Gonzalez, D.Dahl,
S.Leon, R.Braun, C.Beltran, N.Arenado
GIDP- M.Trout
WILD PITCHES- D.Otero
2-out RBI- M.Trout-2, M.Cabrera
RLISP 2-out- A.Eaton, T.La Stella
TEAM RISP- Walkers: 1 for 4 Outlaws: 0 for 2
WEB GEMS- Bot 8th: Kevin Kiermaier robbed Nolan Arenado of an extra base hit.
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BOXSCORE: 2017 Santa Barbara Outlaws At 2017 Fleetwood Walkers 11/4/2017
Outlaws AB R H RBI AVG Walkers AB R H RBI AVG
J.Altuve 2B 4 0 1 0 .286 M.Betts RF 4 0 0 0 .245
A.Eaton RF 3 0 1 0 .234 M.Trout LF 4 1 1 1 .250
R.Braun LF 4 0 1 0 .214 M.Cabrera 1B 3 0 0 0 .216
N.Arenado 3B 3 0 0 0 .206 T.La Stella DH 3 0 0 0 .200
R.Healy DH 3 0 0 0 .381 J.Turner 3B 2 1 0 0 .310
J.Reddick CF 1 0 0 0 .273 K.Kiermaier CF 3 1 1 1 .200
A-I.Suzuki PH,CF 1 0 0 0 .286 C.Correa SS 2 0 1 0 .128
B-D.Dahl PH,CF 1 0 0 0 .250 I.Kinsler 2B 3 0 1 1 .250
B.Posey C 3 0 0 0 .378 J.Castro C 2 0 0 0 .400
A.Gonzalez 1B 3 0 0 0 .245 C-F.Cervelli PH,C 1 0 0 0 .200
E.Andrus SS 2 0 0 0 .259
D-A.Cabrera PH,SS 1 0 0 0 .267
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 29 0 3 0 Totals 27 3 4 3
A-Pinch Hit For Reddick In 4th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Suzuki In 7th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Castro In 7th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Andrus In 8th Inning
Outlaws......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 3 0
Walkers......... 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 - 3 4 2
Outlaws (8-8) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
K.Hendricks LOSS(0-3) 6 2/3 3 3 3 3 4 1 6.35 A1 C7
A.Reed 0 2/3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 C8 D1
B.Brach 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 D2
Totals 8 4 3 3 3 5 1
Walkers (11-2) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
Z.Greinke 1 2/3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.79 A1 A7
J.Diekman 2 1 0 0 0 2 0 1.23 A8 B5
D.Otero WIN(7-1) 3 2/3 1 0 0 0 3 0 0.80 B6 C7
N.Jones SAVE(4th) 1 2/3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0.47 C8
Totals 9 3 0 0 0 8 0
ATTENDANCE- 47,439 DATE- Saturday, November 4th 2017 TIME- Night WEATHER- Average
T- 2:42
LEFT ON BASE- Outlaws: 3 Walkers: 3
DOUBLE PLAYS- Outlaws: 0 Walkers: 2
ERRORS- I.Kinsler, J.Castro
DOUBLES- K.Kiermaier(1st), I.Kinsler(1st)
TRIPLES- R.Braun(2nd)
HOME RUNS- M.Trout(2nd)
RBIs- M.Trout(7th), K.Kiermaier(6th), I.Kinsler(10th)
CAUGHT STEALING- C.Correa
WALKS- M.Cabrera, J.Turner, C.Correa
STRIKE OUTS- A.Eaton, R.Braun, R.Healy-2, I.Suzuki, D.Dahl, A.Gonzalez-2,
M.Betts, M.Cabrera, J.Castro-2, F.Cervelli
GIDP- R.Braun-2
CATCHERS INTERFERENCE- A.Eaton
2-out RBI- K.Kiermaier, I.Kinsler
RLISP 2-out- N.Arenado, A.Gonzalez, F.Cervelli-2
TEAM RISP- Outlaws: 0 for 4 Walkers: 1 for 2
______________________________________________________________________________
BOXSCORE: 2017 Santa Barbara Outlaws At 2017 Fleetwood Walkers 11/5/2017
Outlaws AB R H RBI AVG Walkers AB R H RBI AVG
J.Altuve 2B 5 1 3 1 .307 M.Betts RF 5 0 1 2 .241
A.Eaton RF 3 0 2 0 .254 M.Trout LF 5 1 1 0 .246
R.Braun LF 4 1 0 0 .200 M.Cabrera 1B 4 0 2 0 .236
N.Arenado 3B 3 1 1 0 .212 T.Pham DH 2 0 0 0 .000
F-R.Healy PH,3B 1 0 0 0 .364 A-D.Wright PH,DH 1 0 0 0 .167
C.Beltran DH 3 0 0 0 .436 H-T.La Stella PH,DH 2 0 1 2 .235
B-I.Suzuki PR,DH 0 0 0 0 .286 J.Turner 3B 3 0 0 0 .289
G-A.Cabrera PH,DH 1 1 1 3 .283 K.Kiermaier CF 2 2 0 0 .192
J.Reddick CF 3 1 1 0 .277 C.Correa SS 2 0 0 0 .122
C-D.Dahl CF 1 0 1 0 .280 D-C.Young PH 1 0 0 0 .273
S.Leon C 4 0 0 0 .281 E-M.Gonzalez SS 1 1 1 0 .200
I-B.Posey C 0 0 0 0 .378 I.Kinsler 2B 3 1 0 0 .235
A.Gonzalez 1B 4 0 0 0 .228 F.Cervelli C 4 1 2 2 .250
E.Andrus SS 3 0 0 0 .233
-- -- -- --- -- -- -- ---
Totals 35 5 9 4 Totals 35 6 8 6
A-Pinch Hit For Pham In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Ran For Beltran In 7th Inning
C-Subbed Defensively (CF) For Reddick In 7th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Correa In 7th Inning
E-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Young In 8th Inning
F-Pinch Hit For Arenado In 8th Inning
G-Pinch Hit For Suzuki In 8th Inning
H-Pinch Hit For Wright In 8th Inning
I-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Leon In 9th Inning
Outlaws......... 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 - 5 9 1
Walkers......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 - 6 8 3
Outlaws (8-9) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
J.Verlander 5 1/3 4 0 0 1 6 0 5.29 A1 C3
A.Reed HOLD(1st) 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 C4 C5
R.Buchter BS(1st) 0 2/3 1 2 2 2 1 0 2.08 C6 D1
B.Brach 1 1/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 D2 D5
T.Thornburg 0 1 2 2 1 0 0 12.46 D6 D7
J.Blanton L(0-1) BS(1st) 0 2/3 2 2 0 1 0 0 0.00 D8
Totals 8 2/3 8 6 4 5 8 0
Walkers (12-2) IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA SCORESHEET
Z.Davies 1 2/3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0.00 A1 A8
B.Ellington 0 1/3 1 0 0 1 0 0 0.00 A9 B1
F.Rodriguez 0 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 B2 B3
D.Coulombe 3 1/3 1 0 0 0 2 0 0.82 B4 C4
M.Andriese 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.00 C5 C9
J.Diekman 0 1/3 1 2 2 1 0 0 3.52 D1 D3
N.Jones WIN(1-0) 1 2/3 3 1 1 1 1 1 0.87 D4
Totals 9 9 5 3 3 4 1
ATTENDANCE- 46,183 DATE- Sunday, November 5th 2017 TIME- Day WEATHER- Average
T- 3:02
LEFT ON BASE- Outlaws: 7 Walkers: 7
DOUBLE PLAYS- Outlaws: 0 Walkers: 3
ERRORS- R.Braun, M.Betts, M.Cabrera-2
DOUBLES- J.Altuve(9th), M.Betts(2nd), M.Cabrera(2nd), F.Cervelli(1st)
HOME RUNS- A.Cabrera(4th)
RBIs- J.Altuve(13th), A.Cabrera-3(10th), M.Betts-2(8th), T.La Stella-2(6th),
F.Cervelli-2(3rd)
STOLEN BASES- M.Gonzalez(1st)
WALKS- A.Eaton, R.Braun, E.Andrus, M.Cabrera, J.Turner, K.Kiermaier-2,
I.Kinsler
HIT BY PITCH- A.Eaton
STRIKE OUTS- N.Arenado, J.Reddick, S.Leon, A.Gonzalez, T.Pham, J.Turner,
K.Kiermaier, C.Correa-2, I.Kinsler, F.Cervelli-2
GIDP- R.Braun-3
WILD PITCHES- M.Andriese
2-out RBI- J.Altuve, M.Betts-2, A.Cabrera-3, T.La Stella-2
RLISP 2-out- K.Kiermaier, J.Turner, E.Andrus-2, M.Trout, R.Braun
TEAM RISP- Outlaws: 2 for 9 Walkers: 3 for 12
