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2038 Playoffs
World Series
WL champions Las Vegas welcomed CF Bryan Dale back from injury in time for the World Series, with John Smyth the unlucky man to step aside. Boston’s powerful offense gave them more than a puncher’s chance against the NABL’s best team in Las Vegas but with the home advantage plus the best pitching staff in the game the Gamblers were favoured to win the series in six. Game one was a tight battle until the seventh inning when CF Brayan Dale slugged a 2-run homerun (his second of the night) giving Las Vegas the lead, the Gamblers bullpen then took over retiring the final six Boston batters on just fifteen pitches to wrap up a 4-2 series opening win. Just as in the previous game, the first three innings of game two were tight with both starters in control, the teams traded runs in the fourth before Las Vegas took the lead in the fifth on a Joseph Floores homerun and never let go, their pitchers retiring 13 straight Pilgrim batters through the end of the 8th. George Shreeve singled to lead off the 9th, offering a glimmer of hope for Boston, but two batters later the game ended with Lucio Rodriguez hitting into a double play. Seventh inning homeruns from Las Vegas pair Joseph Floores and catcher Chris Coates broke open game three, with solid work from the Gamblers bullpen keeping the Boston hitters quiet the rest of the night Las Vegas won going away to open a 3-0 series lead. Game four saw Boston jump out to an early lead on a Rob Penney homerun before the game descended into chaos. In the fourth inning Las Vegas dangerman Joseph Floores was hit by an errant Brett Knight pitch for the second time on the night and the fourth time in the series. A furious Floores, who felt he was being targeted deliberately, charged the mound sparking a benches-clearing brawl, when the dust settled and order was restored, both Floores and Knight were ejected and proceedings continued. Las Vegas who seemed rattled by the whole affair never recovered, slipping to a disappointing 5-1 defeat. Before the start of game five Floores and Knight received their punishment for their part in the ugly scenes during the previous game, both players were suspended for three games and would play no further part in the series. Game five saw both team’s trade scores early before Bryan Dale’s 2-RBI double put Las Vegas on course for a series clinching win but an Eduardo Moreno 2-run homer and a pinch-hit homerun from Trent Lambert turned the game on its head as Boston held off Las Vegas to send the series back to Nevada. Game six was another hotly contested one with first Las Vegas then Boston being in control. In the top if the eighth with bases loaded and no-one out, Boston seemed primed to take the lead, but Gamblers reliever Michinori Morita struck out Steve Raines before enticing veteran 2B Jack Underwood to hit into an inning ending double play. Las Vegas took full advantage in the home half as Bryan Dale smashed a 2-RBI single to put the Gamblers on the verge of their second World Championship, Philip Redmond took the mound for the ninth and put the final exclamation mark on a wonderful season for Las Vegas with a three-strikeout inning. The return from injury of CF Bryan Dale proved pivotal for Las Vegas, he was named series MVP for his performance (.427, 2 HR, 8 RBI’s) as the Gamblers World Series victory brought the curtain down on the NABL’s first twenty-five years of existence.
2038 Playoff Recap
Divisional Series
EL: Atlanta 3-2 Chicago, Boston 3-0 Indianapolis
WL: Las Vegas 3-2 Denver, San Jose 3-2 Oklahoma City
Championship Series
EL: Boston 4-1 Atlanta
WL: Las Vegas 4-2 San Jose
World Series
Las Vegas 4-2 Boston
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