Dbacks (7) "ex-Zach-t" victory over Phightins (10) in 4 games

Game 1-  Zach Greinke for Arizona and Aaron Nola face off in the Series opener and both pitch very well.  Philadelphia takes the early lead on a Cesar Hernandez Sacrifice Fly in the top of the 3rd.  Arizona is finally able to get to Nola in the 5th when AJ Pollock hit an RBI Double to tie the game.  Nick Ahmed puts Arizona ahead 2-1 in the 6th with a Solo HR and it would prove to be the game winner as the Diamondbacks Bullpen comes up strong with Brad Boxberger finishing it off with a scoreless 9th inning.  Greinke gets the MVP with 7 strong Innings giving up just 3 hits and 1 ER. Arizona leads Series 1-0

Game 2- Another good pitching matchup on tap for Game 2 with Patrick Corbin taking on Jake Arrieta.  Carlos Santana would quickly put a damper on Corbin's day with a 2 run HR in the 1st inning.  Maikel Franco added a solo shot in the 3rd to put Philly up 3-0.  Nick Ahmed hit a 2 run single in the bottom of the 4th to cut the lead to 3-2 but Franco hit another HR, this time a 3 run bomb that put Philly up for good with a 6-2 victory.  Series Tied 1-1

Game 3-  The Series shifted to Philadelphia with Robbie Ray taking the mound for Arizona versus Nick Pivetta.  Arizona jumped out to the lead in this one with a 4 run 4th inning led by Paul Goldschmidt's solo HR and a 2 RBI single by Alex Avila.  Philly got 1 back in the 5th after Ray lost his control and walked 3 batters but that would be all the scoring for the game as the Arizona bullpen would once again shut down Philly for a 4-1 win.  Arizona leads series 2-1

Game 4-  Zack Godley would take the mound to try to wrap up the series for Arizona versus Zach Elflin for the Phillies.  The Diamondbacks would jump on Elflin early with a 3 run first including a 2 RBI double from Eduardo Escobar.  The DBacks would add another run in the 4th inning and 3 more in the 5th on a 3 run HR by Escobar to grab a 7-0 lead.  The Phillies would get a couple off Godley including a solo HR by Odubel Herrera but the Arizona bullpen would once again shut it down for a series clinching 7-2 win.  Escobar ends the game 3-3 with 5 RBI and 3 Runs scored.  Arizona wins Series 3-1

Both Teams bullpens shine pitching  17 Innings of shutout baseball over the 4 Games.

--submitted by Andy Sexton--

Seesaw Series Between Cards (6) and Mets (11) Won by St. Louis in Epic Game 5

Game 1: Mets 3, Cardinals 1

St. Louis had no answer for Mets ace and eventual National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, who scattered seven hits and fanned 12 in 8 2/3 innings, the lone blemish on his ledger coming in the bottom of the seventh when Paul DeJong singled with two outs, stole second, and came in to score on a Colton Wong safety to center. As dominant as deGrom was, though, he received typically poor run support and the Cards’ run trimmed the Mets’ lead to 2-1. But the Mets tacked on an insurance run in the ninth and deGrom and closer Jeurys Familia wrapped two strikeouts and a groundout around another DeJong hit to seal the 3-1 victory.

Game 2: Cardinals 5, Mets 1

Any hope that the Mets would take the first two contests in St. Louis was quickly quashed by a four-run second inning and a fantastic performance by St. Louis’ pitching staff, led by starter Carlos Martinez who went seven strong innings in which he allowed one run on five hits and a walk, while striking out 10. The fateful second featured singles by Marcell Ozuna, Yadier Molina, and Jedd Gyorko, a walk to DeJong, and a bases loaded double by Matt Carpenter that cleared the bags just before he was thrown out at third. The Mets’ lone run came in the seventh on a Jay Bruce double and Devin Mesoraco single. Ozuna, Molina, and Gyorko combined for seven of the Cards’ 10 hits.

Game 3: Cardinals 11, Mets 1

The third game of the set was an absolute blowout that left no Mets hurler unscathed, especially starter Steven Matzwho surrendered eight runs in four innings and allowed three bombs to the 23 batters he faced. St. Louis center fielder Harrison Bader quickly quieted the Citi Field denizens with a mammoth 444-foot blast to left-center that gave the Cards a 2-0 lead after only two batters. The lead doubled in the fourth on a two-run shot by Patrick Wisdom, then St. Louis blew the game open with a five-run fifth highlighted by a three-run homer by Jose Martinez. Once again Cards pitching dominated as four twirlers allowed only one run on six hits, with Jack Flaherty earning the win after 5 1/3 solid innings.

Game 4: Mets 3, Cardinals 2

Staring down elimination with a one-run deficit going into the bottom of the eighth, the Mets rallied to tie the score at 2-2, then won it in walk-off fashion in the ninth to send the series to a deciding fifth game. Mets starter Zack Wheelerand Cards hurler Michael Wacha battled for six innings with Wacha’s Cardinals holding a 1-0 lead thanks to a Molina solo homer in the second. Wacha exited after six for Daniel Poncedeleon and the Mets greeted him with a single by Amed Rosario and run-scoring double by Brandon Nimmo to knot the score at 1-1.

St. Louis broke the tie with a run against Seth Lugo in the eighth, but New York tied it again at 2-2 when Jeff McNeilreached on an error by first baseman Matt Carpenter, advanced to third on walks to Michael Conforto and Wilmer Flores, and came home on a Rosario sac fly. After the Cards failed to score in the top of the ninth, the Mets rallied against Jordan Hicks and Tyler Webb, and won the game when Juan Lagares singled to lead off the inning, then scored with two outs on a double by McNeil.

Game 5: Cardinals 3, Mets 2 in 14 innings

With deGrom coming back for a Game 5 winner-take-all matchup the Mets had high hopes for an upset and trip to Round 2. deGrom was as brilliant as he was in Game 1, but once again the Mets provided little support on offense or defense and there was only so much the Florida native could do. Cards pitcher Miles Mikolas was every bit as good and both held the opposition scoreless until the fifth when the Cards scored on a Carpenter single following a two-base error by Mesoraco on a Wong bunt and a passed ball that sent Wong to third. New York tied the game in the eighth against reliever Dakota Hudson who walked three batters in the inning, including Bruce with the bases loaded.

The next five innings saw a parade of bullpen arms come and go—Lugo and Familia for the Mets; Bud Norris, John Brebbia, and Jordan Hicksfor the Cards—before the Mets broke the tie with a run in the top of the 14^thoff Austin Gomber. Down 2-1 in the bottom of the 14^th it didn’t look good for the Cards when Bader grounded out to short to lead off the inning. But Carpenter walked and the Mets called on flamethrower Daniel Zamora to get the final two outs. Yairo Munoz singled to left-center, Martinez walked to load the bases, Ozuna plated Carpenter with another single to left-center, and Molina sent the hometown crowd into a frenzy with a game-winning, walk-off hit to right.

--submitted by Mike Lynch of seamheads.com--

http://seamheads.com/blog/2019/01/06/seesaw-series-between-cards-6-and-mets-11-won-by-st-louis-in-epic-game-5/

Braves (5) Overcome 0-2 Deficit, Win Three Straight Against Giants (12) to Advance

Game 1: Giants 4, Braves 2 

The Braves jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on a Johan Carmago RBI single in the second and a Ronald Acuna Jr. solo homer in the third, and it looked like that would be all the support ace Mike Foltynewicz would need as he cruised through the first four innings with no hits and six strikeouts. But the wheels quickly fell off—the Giants scored one in the fifth, then sent eight men to the plate in the sixth and plated three more to take a 4-2 lead they would hold on to. Madison Bumgarner was shaky early but settled down for the win with 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball.

Game 2: Giants 6, Braves 3

Game 2 had all the makings of a slugfest—Brandon Belt drove a two-run homer to right off Julio Teheran in the top of the first, then Freddie Freeman answered with a blast of his own off Jeff Samardzija to knot the score at 2-2 after one. But San Francisco took control of the game with two runs in the fourth courtesy of Andrew McCuthchen’s solo shot and a Hunter Pence RBI single, then added another in the fifth when Evan Longoria lined a rope to left-center that plated Posey. Freeman knocked in another run in the bottom of the eighth, but San Francisco put the game on ice with a run in the ninth, and the Braves hopped on a plane down two games to none.

Game 3:  Braves 6, Giants 3

Having scored only five runs in the first two games, the Braves desperately needed to find their bats; apparently, they’d been waiting at SFO the whole time. Against southpaw Derek Holland, Atlanta sent nine men to the plate to start the game and that was all she wrote. The Braves had only two hits in the first, but scored four runs on three walks, an error and a sacrifice fly. They added another in the third when catcher Tyler Flowers, making his first start of the series, belted a homer to right, then increased their lead to six on a Carmago solo blast to left. Atlanta hurler Anibal Sanchez breezed through 7 1/3 innings and struck out 9 before running out of gas, and Giants batters took advantage of the Braves’ bullpen to the tune of three runs over the last two innings, but it was too little, too late.

Game 4: Braves 4, Giants 0

Atlanta went with sophomore lefty Sean Newcomb in Game 4 and it paid off in spades. The behemoth tossed 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball, allowing only four hits before coming out of the game in favor of Shane Carle. He, Jonny Venters, and Arodys Vizcaino combined to go 3 1/3 hitless innings to preserve the 4-0 victory. Ender Inciarte led an 11-hit attack with two singles and a double, and Carmago drove in two of the team’s four runs.

Game 5: Braves 7, Giants 5

The winner-take-all Game 5 more resembled a heavyweight fight than a baseball game, both fighters trying to knock the other out before the final bell. San Francisco threw a three-run haymaker to Folty’s jaw in the first on run-scoring singles by Buster Posey and the brothers Brandon--Belt and Crawford. Acuna Jr. announced his presence with authority with a 415-foot bomb in the bottom of the first that my computer monitor could barely contain and the Giants went to the second with a 3-1 lead. Suddenly the onslaught stopped and the next five innings came and went without incident.

San Fran extended its lead in the seventh thanks to a Dansby Swanson throwing error, but Acuna Jr. was having none of it and tied the game at 4-4 with another homer. The bloodletting continued in the eighth with three more Braves runs, two of which wouldn’t have scored if not for Longoria’s two-out error that kept the inning alive. The Giants staged a brief comeback in the top of the ninth on a walk, single, and sac fly, but Vizcaino closed it out and the Braves advanced to Round 2 with the 7-5 win.

Nats (8) sweep Bucs (9) - Turner's Inside the parker wins game 2

Game 1: Nationals 6, Pirates 1

Anthony Rendon doubled in two runs in the bottom of the first as the Nats jumped out to a 3 – 0 lead and Max Scherzer, W (1-0) held the Pirates to one run on two hits over 7 innings and fanned 11.  Adam Eaton banged out three hits and scored two runs to lead the National’s attack.  Josh Bell homered for the only Pirate run.

Game 2: Nationals 1, Pirates 0

With one out in the bottom of the first Trea Turner hit a line drive to center and when Marte failed to make a diving catch circled the bases for an inside-the-park homer to give the home team a 1 – 0 lead and that was the only scoring in the game.  Tanner Roark, W (1 – 0) held the Pirates  to three hits over 7 innings and Sean Doolittle picked up the save.  Trevor Williams was the hard luck loser.  Two runners reached base for the Pirates in the top of the ninth but Marte struck out with the tying and winning runner on base.

Game 3: Nationals 12, Pirates 5

Trea Turner and Anthony Rendon homered in the top of the first as the Nationals jumped out to a 5 – 0 lead and added 3 more in the second off starter Joe Musgrove to lead the Nationals to a sweep of the series.  The Nats need all the runs they could get as Gio Gonzalez lasted only 4 innings and yielded 11 hits and four runs in just four innings, but a trio of Washington relievers yielded just one run on 5 hits over the final five innings.

Ryan Zimmerman and Matt Adams both homered to put the game out of reach.

Jim Clouser

Welcome to our 12th Annual Holiday Festival Baseball Tournament

Could it really be 12 years that we are doing this?  An even dozen ?  Did we really start way back in 2006?  Could 2006-07 be more than a decade ago?  I still feel like the 90's were a decade ago.  Man I'm getting old(er) !

2019 is upon us and with that we have a new release of Dave's wonderful piece of software.

Our mission, should you choose to accept it...Is to play as many games as we possibly can, in a competitive format to test drive the new game and find any bugs that might have escaped the beta process.  For your troubles, you will get hours of enjoyment and the chance to win fabulous prizes to be used for additional DKS purchases (Thanks Dave) !

So fasten your seat belts and get this party started !