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2039 Playoffs

World Series

The 2039 World Series saw Boston making their fifth appearance face off against first timers Omaha, and despite the western league champs having the home advantage, Boston were seen by many as the favourites to lift the trophy. For the first six innings game one was a pitching duel between starters Jacobie Harksdale (OMH) and Gerald Helton (BOS) with both teams combining for just three hits and one run apiece. Then came the seventh inning, in the top half Boston turned four hits into four runs to take 5-1 lead before in the home half, the Braves battered Gerald Helton to the tune of six runs including back-to-back homeruns from CF Luis Ortiz and LF John Salazar putting Omaha on top 7-5. Neither team added to the score in the eighth before Omaha closer Sergio Olivarez took just eight pitches to wrap up the series opener in favour of the Braves. Game two was a similar story to the series opener with a single inning making the difference, this time it was the sixth. With Omaha holding a 3-1 lead Boston pummelled a trio of Braves pitchers for five runs including a Grand-Slam from George Shreeve to turn the game on its head as Boston went on to tie the series with a 7-4 victory. Two nights later back in Beantown, a sixth inning Rob Penney homerun put Boston ahead for good as the Pilgrims withstood a ninth inning Omaha rally to take game three. A pitching duel of the highest quality between Omaha's Pedro Flores and Boston ace Brett Knight was the story of game four, where despite allowing just four hits Knight ended up the loser as the Pilgrims dropped a tight one to leave the series once again all-square. Boston had the chance to put game five to bed early, entering the bottom of the fourth 3-1 to the good the Pilgrims proceeded to load the bases before anyone was out, but completely failed to take advantage allowing Omaha to escape the inning still only 3-1 down. Spurred on by stellar defense (including an unassisted double play by 1B Carl Stokes) and timely hitting culminating in 3B Sergio Romo’s ninth inning RBI double, Omaha turned the tables on their hosts with a come from behind 4-3 victory. After the disappointing way they lost game five Boston arrived in Omaha up against it, knowing they had to win both of the final two games on the road to claim their third World Series title, their hosts on the other hand were full of confidence after back-to-back road wins and were secure in the knowledge that they would have two bites at the cherry. Omaha had plenty of opportunities to wrap up the World Series in game six, they put men on base in all but the seventh inning and held leads of 2-0 and 3-2 but couldn’t find that knockout blow, Boston fought back to take the lead with homeruns from CF Weldon Render and 1B John Herman before closer Armando Cuzzocrea worked around a ninth inning Michael Hoover double to collect the save and ensure the series would go to a deciding game seven. In the biggest game in franchise history Omaha’s players seemed to freeze in the spotlight, coming up short in game seven, Boston starter Mike Mayfield went the distance holding the Braves to a single run on five hits while the Pilgrims offense blasted three homeruns (C Eduardo Moreno, CF Weldon Render and little used outfielder Won-Sub Park) on their way to a comfortable 6-1 series clinching win. The victory gave Boston their third World Series title putting them one behind Indianapolis for the most Championships in NABL history and to many people this had been their most impressive (recovering from disappointing home losses in games four and five to win the final two games on the road).

2039 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: Boston 3-2 Chicago, Indianapolis 3-1 Atlanta
[B]WL: Houston 3-0 Sanfrancisco, Omaha 3-1 Las Vegas
Championship Series[/B]
EL: Boston 4-1 Indianapolis
WL: Omaha 4-1 Houston
World Series
Boston 4-3 Omaha