Australian Baseball League: World All-Stars prevail in inaugural showcase

The ConocoPhillips 2011 ABL All-Star Game, held at Perth’s Barbagallo Ballpark, was a thrilling affair in which the World All-Stars, led by game MVP Tyler Collins, prevailed over the home-standing Australian National Team by an 8-5 score. Collins drove in three on an opposite field home run, scored two, and added another hit in the game. Mike McGuire started on the mound for the World team and was credited with the win and veteran reliever Dae Sung Koo picked up the save.

Collins is in the Tigers system.

Primer Dugout (and link of the day) 10-26-2011

AP via Spartanburg Herald, October 27, 1911:

Philadelphia, Oct. 26—Hail! Philadelphia Athletics, Champions of the world for the second successive year.

In an exhibition of batting seldom seen in a premier baseball series, the American league team this afternoon defeated New York in the sixth game of the set by the overwhelming score of 13 to 2…It was more than a mere defeat for the giants [sic], it was a rout.

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When the game was over that part of the crowd which did not leave the ground before the game was ended remained and held a celebration.  They cheered the players, who had dived under the grand stand the instant the last man was out and gave three cheers for Connie Mack.

Hip hip hooray!

Rangers Beat Cardinals 4-2 to Take 3-2 Series Lead

Bring in the intentional walk specialist!

Mike Napoli hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the eighth inning against Marc Rzepczynski, and the Texas Rangers rallied from a two-run deficit to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-2 on Monday night and take a 3-2 World Series lead.

Solo home runs by Mitch Moreland in the third and Adrian Beltre in the sixth off Chris Carpenter sparked the Texas comeback. Michael Young doubled off loser Octavio Dotel leading off the eighth.

Darren Oliver got the win in relief of C.J. Wilson, and Neftali Feliz finished for the save, striking out Albert Pujols as part of a double play when Allen Craig was caught stealing second.

ESPN: Rapid Reaction: Rangers 2, Cardinals 1

The Rangers made a memorable ninth-inning comeback, tying this World Series at one game apiece. Texas scored two runs in the top of the ninth to take the lead and then held on in the bottom half. The Rangers manufactured the two runs to get the victory in dramatic fashion. Some quick thoughts:

Kinsler with gutsy steal: Ian Kinsler led off the ninth with a bloop single and then stole second base with Andrus looking to bunt him over. Kinsler was safe on a close play, putting him in scoring position with no outs. Andrus singled on a two-strike count and when the Cardinals’ throw wasn’t cut off, Andrus took second. That was big in that he was able to eventually score from third later in the inning.

Young, Hamilton come through: Michael Young and Josh Hamilton, two Rangers struggling to get something going this postseason, did what the game asked them do to with sacrifice flies off closer Jason Motte.

Phenomenal pitching: So much for the “offensive” World Series. At least through two games. Both starting pitchers were excellent in Game 2. Lewis had the second quality start for the Rangers this postseason—and he has both of them. He gave up one run (surrendered by Ogando in the seventh) on four hits in 6 2/3 innings. Jaime Garcia was great as well, allowing no runs on three hits in seven innings with a walk and seven strikeouts.

Cardinals edge Rangers to open World Series

Nelson Cruz sprinted over to the foul line, desperately trying to run down Allen Craig’s tailing liner. The right fielder came up just short, and so did the Texas Rangers.

Craig’s pinch-hit drive landed an inch or two in front of Cruz’s outstretched glove for a go-ahead single off reliever Alexi Ogando in the sixth inning that carried the St. Louis Cardinals over the Rangers 3-2 Wednesday in a chilly World Series opener.

On a night when all the runs were driven in with opposite-field hits to right, Lance Berkman put St. Louis ahead with a two-run single in the fourth against C.J. Wilson.

Rangers catcher Mike Napoli watched in dejection as Albert Pujols and Matt Holliday scored, but a few minutes later celebrated in the top of the fifth when he tied it 2-all with a two-run homer off Chris Carpenter.

...Game 1 has been an indicator of success in recent decades: The winner has captured seven of the last eight titles, 12 of the last 14 and 19 of the last 23. In addition, the team hosting Game 1 has won 20 of the last 25 World Series.

Cardinals outslug Brewers to cruise into World Series

An afterthought in early September, the St. Louis Cardinals are taking their wild ride all the way to the World Series.

David Freese hit a three-run homer in the first and manager Tony La Russa turned again to his brilliant bullpen for seven sturdy innings as St. Louis captured its 18th pennant with a 12-6 victory over the bumbling Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday night.

Albert Pujols and the wild-card Cardinals took out the heavily favored Phillies in the first round, then dispatched the division-rival Brewers on their own turf in Game 6 of the NL championship series.

Looking for its second title in six seasons, St. Louis opens the World Series at home Wednesday night with ace Chris Carpenter on the mound against the AL champion Texas Rangers.

Knobler: Rangers aren’t sitting on their AL throne without Michael Young

Well…didn’t Joe Buck call Michael Young “arguably the best hitter in franchise history”. So there’s that.

The Rangers didn’t need Cliff Lee to get back to the World Series.

They did need Michael Young.

They weren’t severely damaged on that night in December, when Lee turned down their millions to sign with the Phillies. But they may well have been saved on those days in February, when they didn’t trade Young.

The Rangers without Lee are American League champions, just as they were with him. The Rangers without Young just wouldn’t be the same.

...“If we go into any game and you ask who’s going to get the big hit, I’m always going to say Michael Young,” said Tom Grieve, the one-time Rangers general manager and longtime television analyst. “You’d like to say, ‘Wow, what a surprise.’ But it’s not.”

MLB.com: Carpenter, Cards eke out win, take 2-1 lead

It was more than a little bit scary—terrifying at times, to be perfectly honest—but it still counts. The Cardinals took control of the National League Championship Series with an agonizing 4-3 victory over the Brewers on Wednesday night. St. Louis is now two wins from its third trip to the World Series in eight years.
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While Carpenter was the winning pitcher, he was also the least effective man to take the mound for the Redbirds in an ulcer-inducing victory. Five Cardinals relievers combined to get the last 12 outs as the home team made the early lead stand.

MLB.com: Rangers flex in 11th, inching closer to Series

The Rangers, after another heart-stopping game, are one win away from returning to the World Series for the second time in as many years.

Texas put itself in that position with four runs in the top of the 11th inning off All-Star closer Jose Valverde on Wednesday, setting up a 7-3 victory over the Tigers in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series at Comerica Park. Mike Napoli put the Rangers ahead with an RBI single, and Nelson Cruz, who also made the defensive play of the night, delivered the crushing blow with a three-run home run one pitch after Napoli’s go-ahead hit.

MLB.com: Bruising retort: Tigers roar in Game 3 victory

Though Victor Martinez’s game-tying home run came at a price with a strained oblique that left him hobbling around the bases, it sparked an outburst of five unanswered runs for the Tigers in what shaped up as a must-win Game 3 in their American League Championship Series showdown with Texas. Doug Fister’s 7 1/3 quality innings took care of the rest for a 5-2 victory.
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Detroit still trails in the series, two games to one, but looked like a different team than the club that dropped two close decisions in Texas in as many games. And a painful home run from the unofficial team leader seemingly provided the spark.

MLB.com: Feast Mode: Pujols’ huge night evens NLCS

Albert Pujols led an all-out assault on Shaun Marcum and a parade of relievers as the Cards handed Milwaukee its worst home loss of 2011, throttling the Brewers by a 12-3 score Monday night in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series. The game was over for all practical purposes in the middle of the seventh following the Cards’ fourth multi-run inning.
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Pujols hammered a two-run homer to left in the first, a two-run double to center in the third and an RBI double to right-center in the fifth—driving in five of the Cardinals’ first six runs. He added another double for a 10-total-base evening, before handing it over to the rest of his offense.

MLB.com: Full Nelson: Cruz belts walk-off slam in 11th

Nelson Cruz, batting with no outs, hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Rangers a dramatic 7-3 victory over the Tigers in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series. It was the first walk-off grand slam in postseason history.

The victory, before 51,227 at the Ballpark in Arlington on Monday, put the Rangers up 2-0 in the ALCS with Game 3 scheduled for Tuesday night at Comerica Park in Detroit.
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Mike Adams was the winning pitcher as five Rangers relievers combined for 8 1/3 scoreless innings. They gave up four hits, walked two and struck out eight.

MLB.com: Six pack: Brewers flex in fifth to take Game 1

Harvey Kuenn’s ‘82 club won by bashing the baseball, which is precisely what the Brewers did in a 9-6 win over the Cardinals in Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Sunday, an opener owned by the offenses. If these NL Central rivals trudged any of their regular-season tension into October, they released it by swinging the bats.
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Ryan Braun led the way with four RBIs and hit one of the Brewers’ trio of two-run home runs in the opener of an all-NL rematch of ‘82 World Series entrants.

MLB.com: Carpenter’s gem sends Cardinals into NLCS

The Cardinals secured their first postseason series win since the 2006 World Series with a sensational 1-0 victory over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night. The win gave them a 3-2 National League Division Series triumph over the league’s best regular-season team, and moved them into the NL Championship Series for a delicious matchup with their Central Division rivals, the Brewers.

Rafael Furcal and Skip Schumaker teamed up to get a single run for the Redbirds before the game’s first out, and a magnificent Chris Carpenter, who tossed a three-hit shutout, made it stand up.

MLB.com: Royal Plush: Morgan’s hit lands Crew in NLCS

A hysteria-inducing 3-2 win over the D-backs in Game 5 clinched the NL Division Series, a win-or-go-home game decided in the bottom of the 10 inning on Nyjer Morgan’s single after John Axford’s first blown save since mid-April.

Carlos Gomez, at second after a single and a stolen base, raced home on Morgan’s hit to give Milwaukee’s its first postseason series win in 29 years.

The NL Championship Series opponent still awaited as the Brewers celebrated with 44,028 deliriously towel-waving fans, but this much was clear: Milwaukee is four NLCS wins away from the World Series.

MLB.com: With no late magic, Yanks’ season ends

The Yankees’ dreams of a 28th World Series championship were packed into winter hibernation on Thursday, as the Tigers defeated New York, 3-2, in Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
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Manager Joe Girardi’s bullpen usage raised eyebrows after starter Ivan Nova was pulled after two innings with right forearm tightness. But the Yankees managed only two runs against four Detroit pitchers, including Doug Fister, who pitched five good innings for the win.

Nova surrendered two first-inning solo homers to put his club down early. Don Kelly poked the first into the right-field seats and Delmon Young followed on the next pitch with a rocket to left field, marking the first back-to-back homers in Tigers postseason history.

MLB.com: D-backs’ thunder sends series to Game 5

The D-backs are headed back to Milwaukee for a decisive Game 5 after slamming their way past the Brewers, 10-6, on Wednesday night in Game 4 of the National League Division Series at Chase Field.

The two teams each won both games played on their home fields, and if the D-backs hope to advance to the NL Championship Series, they will have to beat Brewers ace Yovani Gallardo at Miller Park on Friday, something they were unable to do in Game 1.

MLB.com: Freese ‘birds: Cards extend NLDS stay

The Cards spotted Roy Oswalt a first-inning lead, but it didn’t matter as the irrepressible Redbirds pulled out yet another comeback win. This time it was hometown hero David Freese leading the charge with four RBIs in a 5-3 win at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals evened their National League Division Series with the Phillies at two games apiece, with a deciding fifth game in Philadelphia on Friday.
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The St. Louis native drilled a two-run double to put the Cardinals ahead in the fourth inning, and added a massive two-run homer in the sixth for some welcome insurance.

MLB.com: D-backs’ grand homecoming forces Game 4

A return home seemed to be what the Arizona Diamondbacks needed as they used an outstanding pitching performance from Josh Collmenter and a grand slam by Paul Goldschmidt to breeze past the Brewers, 8-1, in Game 3 of the National League Division Series on Tuesday.

The D-backs still have a hill to climb as they trail the best-of-five series 2-1 and need a win in Wednesday’s Game 4 to force a decisive game in Milwaukee on Friday.

MLB.com: With plenty of help, Burnett forces Game 5

A.J. Burnett and the Yankees staved off elimination with a 10-1 victory over the Tigers in Game 4 on Tuesday at Comerica Park.

Originally slated to be in New York’s bullpen during this series, Burnett rose to the occasion, delivering 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball to prolong the Yankees’ season for at least another two days.

Two terrific catches by center fielder Curtis Granderson aided the effort, as the former Tigers star patrolled his old stomping grounds with aplomb.

MLB.com: [Ben] Francisco’s homer puts Phillies up 2-1

[Jaime] Garcia had allowed a combined three earned runs in four career starts against the Phillies and had cruised through six innings until Ben Francisco hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run in the seventh in a 3-2 victory that gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.

The Phillies can clinch a trip to their fourth consecutive NL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Wednesday.

MLB.com: Belt-Trey: Three homers power Texas to ALCS

Adrian Beltre, 1-for-11 in the first three games, hit a playoff-record-tying three home runs as the Rangers advanced to the AL Championship Series with a 4-3 victory over the Rays in Game 4 on Tuesday at Tropicana Field. Neftali Feliz earned his third save in three games to preserve the victory for Matt Harrison and touched off another raucous ginger ale and champagne celebration in the visiting clubhouse.
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Ian Kinsler also hit a home run on the second pitch of the game from Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. They led the rest of the way and are returning to the ALCS for the second straight year.

MLB.com: Gutsy Verlander puts Tigers a win from ALCS

And after eight innings from [Verlander] in a 5-4 win, the Tigers are a win away from taking this AL Division Series with a 2-1 lead.

Minutes after Brett Gardner’s game-tying two-run double in the seventh inning brought a Verlander gem to a halt, Delmon Young’s second home run of the series gave him the lead back. Verlander didn’t waste it, working through the middle of the Yankees order. He had another two-out walk, the flaw that began New York’s tying rally an inning earlier, yet recovered to overpower Mark Teixeira on a popout to the left side.

MLB.com: Trop notch: Rangers on cusp of ALCS return

The Rangers scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning Monday and are now one win away from advancing to the American League Championship Series after holding on to 4-3 victory over the Rays.

Mike Napoli, with the Rangers down, 1-0, in Game 3 of the AL Division Series, hit a two-run home run off of Rays starter David Price to put his team ahead, and Josh Hamilton later added a two-run single.

Colby Lewis earned the victory by allowing one hit—a home run to Desmond Jennings in the fourth—over six innings.

MLB.com: Lee lets lead slip away as Cards even NLDS

The Phillies entered the 2011 postseason with high hopes behind the strength of their four aces.

The Cardinals got to one of them Sunday in Game 2 of the National League Division Series. Cliff Lee, who was a postseason hero for the Phils in 2009, tied a career high by allowing 12 hits and gave up five runs in six-plus innings in a 5-4 loss to St. Louis, evening the best-of-five series at 1.
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The Phils’ offense went into hibernation after the second. Carpenter retired the last four batters he faced and the bullpen retired 11 consecutive batters until Rollins singled to left in the seventh. He was caught stealing to end the inning.