Worst to First - The Sequel

[mirrf]

Originally Posted by NYY #23

Mexico City now takes a 3-2 lead back home in the Division Series.

All right!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by mirrf

All right!

I'm hoping we can close things out in Game 6!

[NYY #23]

Dan Hendricks second postseason start didn't go as well as his first start as he gave up 3 runs in the first inning, and a solo homer in the sixth before leaving the game with Mexico City trailing 4-2. We'd go on to lose the game 5-3 as the Division Series is again tied up. Tomorrow will be a winner take all Game 7 with Fernando Rojas on the mound for Mexico City. .

Gordon Stewart, David Noble, and Julio Sanchez each drove in runs in our loss.

[NYY #23]

Mexico City would send Francisco Rojas to the mound in the deciding Game 7 as we tried to win our first playoff series. After a 1-2-3 top of the first Antonio Garcia led off the game with a single, moved to second on a balk, and third on a sacrifice fly. He'd come home to score our first run of the game on a double by Danny Weaver to make it 1-0 Conquistadors, and Antonio Rodriguez would single in Weaver to make it 2-0.

The Cubs would quickly come back and tie the score in the top of the second when Francisco Rojas allowed a two run homer to Joel Locke.

The bottom of the second would go well for Mexico City though with Jesus Parra leading off the inning with a walk. Francisco Rojas would single, followed by an RBI single by Julian Alonzo and a throwing error which gave us a 4-2 lead. A single by Antonio Garcia scored our third run of the inning, with Danny Weaver capping the four run inning with an RBI single, and we were quickly up 6-2.

Rojas would settle down and not allow another run, leaving after six innings allowing just the two runs on 3 hits while walking 2 and striking out 3. We'd get dominant relief today with Claudio Gonzales pitching a scoreless seventh and Dale Blevins pitching two hitless innings.

The Conquistadors would add an insurance run in the bottom of the seventh when Antonio Rodriguez tripled and scored, and we'd advance to the NLCS with a 7-2 win, and 4 games to 3 Division Series win.

[rjl518]

Mexico city!!!!

[mirrf]

Woo Hoo!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by rjl518

Mexico city!!!!

Originally Posted by mirrf

Woo Hoo!

Thank you both! That seemed like the longest series ever, but hopefully the NLCS will take less time.

[NYY #23]

Six years ago we set the record for most wins in a season with the Vancouver Kodiaks, but this year that record was broken by the Cincinnati Reds who won an impressive 113 games. They're really an impressive team with a strong rotation, strong lineup, and strong bullpen. Their closer Jose Medina had a pretty nice year going 7-1 with 56 saves and a 0.73 ERA with 114 strikeouts in 86 1/3 innings. As luck would have it he was my last international amateur signing with the Expos - http://www.ootpdevelopments.com/boar...-post2540.html

He may have failed as a starting pitcher, but he's done very well as a closer. The Reds are a better team in just about every way, so I'm happy we at least got a series win before exiting in the NLCS.

I really won't give up hope though. Even though I expect to lose the games are played on the field, and who knows what will happen.

[NYY #23]

I didn't expect too much heading into the series against a tough opponent, but that means we really have nothing to lose. Vic Shuttlebottom got the game one start and turned in a dominating 8 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits and 2 walks while striking out 2.

Our offense pounded out 19 hits in the 4-0 win with Derin Terry pitching a scoreless ninth as the Conquistadors go up in the series 1-0. David Noble and Manuel Gallegos each picked up 3 hits for Mexico City with Gallegos hitting a solo home run. Antonio Garcia, Fernando Ramos, Gordon Stewart, and Antonio Rodriguez each added two hits.

It was a good all-around game for Mexico City, and a nice road win to start the NLCS.

[NYY #23]

With Mexico City up 1 game to none we handed the ball to 24 year old rookie Andrew Shockey after a rookie season in which he went 9-11 with a 4.22 ERA. Shockey would quickly retire the Reds in the first, and in the second inning he'd step to the plate with two on and two out. He'd hit a 383 foot home run off a 3-2 pitch to give Mexico City a 3-0 lead.

Shockey would run into trouble though in the bottom of the second, giving up a two-run homer to Gregg Roberson. The score would remain 3-2 in Mexico City's favor until the fifth inning when Jesus Parra picked up a one out single. Antonio Garcia put runners on first and second when he was hit by a pitch. One out later Gordon Stewart picked up an RBI single with Ki-seop Park hitting a single and driving in two runs to put us up 6-2.

Shockey would leave the game after the seventh, allowing 3 runs on 7 hits to pick up the win. Brian Mewhinney would pitch a scoreless eighth with Derin Terry earning the save with a scoreless ninth. With the 6-3 win Mexico City is now up 2-0 in the series.

[NYY #23]

I wasn't optimistic about taking on the Reds in the NLCS, but after going up two games to none and heading back home to Mexico City I was feeling more optimistic. We'd get a solid start from Francisco Rojas, who allowed 3 runs on 8 hits in 6 innings, and the Conquistadors scored three runs in the fifth on an RBI double by Antonio Garcia, sacrifice fly by Gordon Stewart, and RBI single by Danny Weaver.

After two scoreless innings by Dale Blevins we headed into the ninth inning with the score tied at 3. Derin Terry would strike out all three batters that he faced in the top of the ninth with Jesus Parra reaching on an error to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Parra would move to second on a groundout, and steal third base. He'd come home to score the winning run on a sacrifice fly by Gordon Stewart as Mexico City goes up 3 games to none in the series.

[NYY #23]

Up 3 games to none in the NCLS Mexico City let our bats do the talking in the first two innings with Fernando Ramos picking up an RBI single in the first and a sacrifice fly in the second, David Noble driving in two runs with a first inning single, and Gordon Stewart hitting a two run homer in the second.

The 6 runs would be all the offense we would muster, but our pitching was just good enough to hold on for a 6-5 win as Mexico City complete a sweep of the heavily favored Reds. Dan Hendricks picked up the win after allowing 5 runs in 6 innings with Dale Blevins pitching two innings in relief, and Derin Terry pitching the ninth to earn his third save of the postseason.

The World Series couldn't have gone any better for the Conquistadors, who will now await our World Series opponent, with the Tigers trailing the Red Sox 3 games to 2.

[NYY #23]

The Detroit Tigers came back to defeat the Boston Red Sox and advance to the World Series, making the 88 win Tigers our World Series opponent. The Tigers won the Wild Card Series 3-2 over the Rangers, beat the favored Carolina Knights 4 games to 1 in the Division Series, and beat the favored Red Sox in 7 games in the ALCS.

The Tigers were fifth in the American League in runs scored, while they allowed the 10th fewest runs in the AL. Their pitching features a solid 1-2 punch of Cornell Thompson (13-10, 3.68) and Mike Simpson (15-6, 2.40) along with a dominant closer, Scott McCotters (37 SV, 2.12), but have plenty of other holes in their pitching staff.

One change for Mexico City for the World Series, Mitch Sheppard (.200, 2 HR, 8 RBI in AAA) will replace the injured Antonio Rodriguez (.301, 3 HR, 58 RBI) on the roster. We'll take a hit offensively, but at least Sheppard is strong defensively.

[NYY #23]

Fresh off a four game sweep of the Reds in the NLCS I was cautiously optimistic about our chances against the Tigers. 18 game winner Francisco Rojas was making the start for Mexico City, and would start off the game by striking out the side in the first inning.

In the bottom of the first we got consecutive singles from Manuel Gallegos and Fernando Ramos, followed by an RBI groundout by Gordon Stewart, and an RBI single by David Noble to put us up 2-0.

Rojas would continue to dominate, striking out eight batters in the first three innings, but he'd run into trouble in the fourth, giving up 3 runs on 3 hits as the Tigers took a 3-2 lead.

You may remember the name Cornell Thompson from earlier in my Mexico City tenure. After going 14-12 with a 2.03 ERA with 264 strikeouts in 226 1/3 innings we were forced to trade the impending free agent because we couldn't afford the 10 year $250 million he was looking for. He found a home in Detroit, signing a seven year $182 million contract. He remembered Mexico City well, and got a bit of revenge today after a shaky first inning, totally shutting down our bats.

Mexico City also couldn't muster a hit off of the Tiger bullpen either, going down quietly in a 4-2 loss.

Rojas certainly didn't pitch too bad, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and striking out 13 in 7 innings to pick up the loss. Mitch Sheppard was 0-4 at the plate, striking out 3 times as our injury replacement. Ironically Sheppard was one of two players acquired for Cornell Thompson, with the other being (at this point) failed prospect Josh Banks.

[NYY #23]

The four day layoff between the end of the NLCS and the start of the World Series seems like it's coming back to hurt Mexico City. Today we managed just three hits against the Tigers, dominated by Pedro Roman, a 34 year old who was 7-7 during the regular season with a 3.72 ERA, and gave up 10 runs in 10 innings his last two starts.

It's hard to fault Dan Hendricks too much, who turned in a good outing for Mexico City, allowing 1 run on 5 hits in 7 innings while striking out 3 and walking 1. Any other day he'd be in a good position to pick up a win, but we can't win if we can't score.

We got a poor relief appearance from Brian Mewhinney, who allowed 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning, but ultimately it didn't matter in our 3-0 loss to the Tigers, which put us down 2 games to none in the World Series.

[NYY #23]

Game 3 was really a must win game for Mexico City as we headed to Detroit down 2 games to none. For seven innings it was a pitching duel between Vic Shufflebottom and Mike Simpson. The only run of the game came on a fourth inning home run of the bat of Remon van Veet of the Tigers to give them a 1-0 lead.

The eighth inning gave us hope with Ki-seop Park leading off the inning with a single and Manuel Gallegos reaching on an error. One out later Julian Alonzo hit a big three run homer to give Mexico City a 3-1 lead. At the time I thought it was a potential series saving home run.

Claudio Gonzales came on to pitch the bottom of the eighth for the Conquistadors and allowed a single to start the inning. Dale Blevins came in to pitch next and struck out the only batter that he faced. Angelo Jimenez was next into the game, although he didn't have his best stuff, facing just one batter while throwing a wild pitch and then walking the batter.

Brian Mewhinney was next in to pitch, and on a 0-1 pitch Bob Williams hit a three run homer to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead. That pitch took the wind out of my sails.

With one out in the ninth the Conquistadors would stage a rally, with pinch hitter Jaimie Rivera singling, and David Noble walking. A strike out and ground out would end the inning, and the game, with Mexico City now trailing 3 games to 0.

After sweeping a team that we should have lost too, we're now on the verge of sweeping a team we should be able to beat. Hopefully we can pull off game four to avoid the sweep.

[JaBurns]

Been busy all day installing 17 and trying to figure out the nuances. Hopefully a new release will bring Mexico City a needed 4 game streak!

[NYY #23]

Originally Posted by JaBurns

Been busy all day installing 17 and trying to figure out the nuances. Hopefully a new release will bring Mexico City a needed 4 game streak!

I was debating on whether to upgrade mid series, and see if that changed my luck! Although it seems something installed this morning that's causing problems with both OOTP 17, 16, and pretty much everything else.

[NYY #23]

Mexico City sent 24 year old Andrew Shockey to the mound in a must win game 4 and the game started ominously in the first inning when the Tigers loaded the bases, but Shockey was able to escape the jam without giving up a run. The second inning wouldn't go as well for Shockey as he surrendered 3 runs on 4 hits as the Tigers pulled ahead early 3-0.

The Conquistadors finally got on the board in the top of the fourth when David Sandoval singled, Manuel Gallegos reached on an error, and Jesus Parra doubled both in as we cut the Tigers lead to 3-2. The Tigers would quickly strike back for a run in the bottom of the inning though, and extend their lead to 4-2.

It would remain that score until the eighth inning when Julian Alonzo and Antonio Garcia hit back to back two out singles, and Jaime Rivera came off the bench to hit a pinch hit three run homer to give Mexico City our first lead of the game 5-4.

With the slim lead we sent three pitchers to the mound in the bottom of the eighth - Brian Mewhinney, Dale Blevins, and Josh Banks. Each would retire the only batter they faced. That left the game in the hands of Derin Terry, who set the Tigers down in order on eight pitches to pick up his fourth save of the postseason.

Mexico City avoid the World Series sweep and will look to send the series back home with a win in game five.

[NYY #23]

With our season on the line for the second straight day we handed the ball to Francisco Rojas, who would hold the Tigers to 1 run on 3 hits over 7 innings, striking out 6 and walking 1. Rojas was brilliant today, and did everything he could to put us in position to win.

Our offense even woke up in the sixth inning with back to back singles by Antonio Garcia and Manuel Gallegos, and back to back RBI doubles by Jaimie Rivera and Gordon Stewart to give us a 2-1 lead because of a base running blunder by Gallegos that caused him to get thrown out at the plate.

A lead is a lead though, and Claudio Gonzales was the first pitcher out of the pen, getting the first out of the eighth, but only after walking a batter, who moved to second on the out. Josh Banks was in next in the game and struck out the first batter he faced, and allowed a game tieing single before getting out of the inning.

With the game tied at 2 our bullpen would do their job and keep us in the game until the thirteenth. Derin Terry and Tomas Rocha each pitching two scoreless innings.

The top of the thirteenth started with a strikeout, but David Noble singled on a long at-bat, and Jaime Rivera followed with a two run homer to put Mexico City up 4-2. It was looking like Mexico City would be heading home for Game 6.

A shaky bottom of the thirteenth had me on the edge of my seat with three walks, a wild pitch that scored a run, and put the tieing run 90 feet away. But Angelo Jimenez got out of the jam and the Conquistadors win the game 4-3 and live another day.