LEAGUE CHAMPION

JOHN MOSCARIELLO
SHORELINE SOCKEYES

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2023 WORLD SERIES

Game 1:  Eflin vs Kershaw

Shoreline turned to an unlikely starter in Game 1, Zack Eflin.  Eflin only had 3 regular seasons starts, but took the rubber to try to do something Shoreline hadn't done yet - win Game 1.  After a 1-2-3 first, Jose Altuve started the bottom of the 1st with a solo lead off home run.  Eflin was strong, only letting up 2 hits through the first 6 innings.  Shoreline added a run in the top of the 6th with another solo home run, this time by Mike Trout.  However, the Destroyed pounced on Eflin in the 7th.  Hunter Renfroe hit a solo home run and Eflin walked the next batter, Jose Miranda.  Shoreline played the matchups and brought in Tanner Banks.  Banks was almost out of the inning but Kolten Wong hit a two out RBI single to tie the game 2-2.  After a quiet 8th, Hunter Renfroe started the top of the 9th with a lead off walk against Collin McHugh.  After a Jose Miranda foul out, the Strat Gods had it in for McHugh.  The dreaded consecutive wild pitches advanced Renfroe to 3rd and Brandon Marsh hit a sacrifice fly to bring him home and put the Destroyers up 3-2.  Michael King got the heart of the Shoreline lineup (Trout, Alvarez, Carpenter) out in order to give Virginia the win

Virginia 3, Shoreline 2

Game 2:  Keller vs Bassitt

Shoreline was down again and wanted to manage to at least split the 2 game home stretch.  They went to another unlikely starter, Mitch Keller.  Shoreline once again started strong, this time playing small ball.  They loaded the bases with one out against Bassitt who managed to escape only down 2-0.   Keller was in control and pitched perfect ball through 4 1/3 innings before Hunter Renfroe smacked a double.  Shoreline extended the lead to 3-0 in the 6th with a solo home run by Yordan Alvarez.  Keller started the top of the 7th but gave up a solo home run to Oscar Gonzalez and was promptly replaced by Liam Henriks.  Things got rocky for the Sockeyes in the top of the 8th.  Shoreline brought in Scott Effross to bridge the gap to the closer Daniel Bard.  Effross did no such thing, giving up a lead off walk, followed by a single.  With runners on first and 2nd, Josh Bell found Shoreline's defensive Achielles heel, Eric Hosmer at first base.  Hosmer booted Bell's grounder to load the bases with no outs.  Shoreline brought in Daniel Bard to get the 2 inning save.  Bard limited the damage to just a sacrifice fly to keep the game 3-2.  Destroyer starter Bassitt was still going strong going into the bottom of the 8th.  However, Mike Trout laced 1 out a triple into the gap and was eventually plated to give Shoreline an insurance run.  Bard closed the door in the top of the 9th to even the series at one a piece

Shoreline 4, Virginia 2

Game 3:  Castillo vs Stroman

Tied at 1, the series went to the significantly less hitter friendly park at Virginia.  The Destroyers got to Castillo first.  With Carson Kelly on first, Josh Bell roped a double.  Virginia was aggressive on the base paths and Shoreline let Kelly score and gunned the speedy Bell out trying to get to third.  The game then went back and forth for a bit.  Virginia added another run in the bottom of the 4th due to an uncharacteristic Adley Rutschman fielding error.  Shoreline cut the to 2-1 with a Trayce Thompson solo home run in the 5th, but back to back doubles by Bell and Amed Rosario almost immediately put Virginia up by 2 again.  Shoreline scratched together another run in the 6th, compliments to Stroman balking a runner to 3rd.  Up 3-2, Virginia was on the cusp of blowing the game wide open.  They loaded the bases with no outs against Tanner Banks.  Liam Hendriks came in and looked like he was going to leave unscathed.  However, after striking out Jose Miranda and Brandon Marsh, the dreaded strat wild pitch came back to extend Virginia's lead to 4-2.  Shoreline got a solo home run in the top of the 9th, but it was too little too late.  Virginia goes up 2 games to 1.

Virginia 4, Shoreline 3

Game 4:  McKenzie vs Luzardo

Down 2 games to 1, Shoreline went to 21 game winner Triston McKenzie to face off against tough lefty Jesus Luzardo.  Hits were at a premium, in fact Shoreline didn't get one until the 6th inning.  Both pitchers were practically flawless through 6 innings.  Going into the 7th the score was tied at 0-0 and Luzardo had let up just 1 hit.  Shoreline broke the seal In the top of the 7th with a two run home run by Seiya Suzuki, only the 2nd hit of the day off Luzardo.  McKenzie finished his 7 strong letting up only 3 hits and Shoreline went to the McHugh-Bard combo to close out the game.  Virginia didn't make it easy though.  Bard entered the 9th and promptly gave up singles to Hunter Renfroe and Brandon Marsh.  With the tying run on 1st and winning run at the plate, Bard settled down and got three straight strikeouts.

Shoreline 2, Virginia 0

Game 5:  Wainwright vs Kershaw

Virginia went back to their lefty ace in Clayton Kershaw, but Shoreline was able to get to him early.  Mike Trout launched a solo home run in the top of the 1st and Mitch Garver followed with a solo homer in the 2nd.  Up 2-0, Wainwright was almost flawless. his only mistake was a solo home run to Ha-Seong Kim.  Up 2-1, Shoreline added on some insurance in the 7th, this time an Albert Pujols solo home run.  Shoreline went Effross, McHugh, Bard who blanked the Destroyers.  Shoreline goes up 3 games to 2 in a game with only solo home runs.

Shoreline 3, Virginia 1

Game 6:  Keller vs Bassitt

Game 6 was a rematch of Game 2, and both Keller and Bassitt were up for the challenge.  Shoreline hit one of their many solo home runs of the series in the bottom of the 2nd, this time by Matt Carpenter.  That was all Bassitt let up, going 6 2/3 letting up just 4 hits, walking none and striking out 11.  However, the pitching story was Mitch Keller who had a no hitter through 6 innings!  In the bottom of the 6th and up 1-0, everyone in Shoreline just thought McHugh was getting warm just in case.  However, Shoreline shocked everyone when they removed Keller with the no hitter intact.  This clearly backfired as Hunter Renfroe led off with a home run.  Now tied 1-1, McHugh continued to struggle. allowing a doble to the next hitter, Jose Miranda.  Brandon Marsh barrelled a ball, but it was right at Wander Franco for the line out double play.  The game was tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the 8th.  Up came Albert Pujols in his farewell season and he went out with a bang.  Pujols crushed a lead off solo home run against Ryan Helsley to put Shoreline up 2-1.  Later in the inning, Adley Rutschman doubled home Wander Franco to give Shoreline the 3-1 lead.  Once again, it was Bard time, but Bard continued to have a rough series.  He gave up a lead off single to Amed Rosario and hit Oscar Gonzalez with a pitch.  Up came Sockeye slayer Hunter Renfroe who crushed a double to the gap.  Shoreline made the decision not try to throw out the tying runner, which had the risk of putting the winning run on 3rd with no outs.  The cut the ball off allowing the game to be tied and keeping Renfroe on 2nd.  Bard looked like he was settling down, getting the next two batters out, but then gave up a 2 out hit to Ha-Seong Kim.  Virginia waved Renfroe home and had the odds on their favor (65% split) but the cards were in Shoreline's favor as Judge gunned him out at the plate.   Tied 3-3 in the bottom of the 9th, Altuve started the charge with a 1 out single.  Shoreline brought in Isaac Paredes to pinch hit for Nick Pratto and he drew a walk.  Wander Franco laced a 1 out single and the Sockeyes waved Altuve home.  He beats the throw and the Sockeyes walk off champions in front of their home crowd!

Shoreline 4, Virginia 3

I really didn't expect such a pitching dominated series.  Shoreline slashed .283/.360/.543 in the regular season only to slash .162/.243/.391 in the World Series.  Virgina wasn't better going .178/.252/.297.  MVP was Mitch Keller.

Mitch Keller (1-0), 0.75 ERA, 12 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 11K

Remember regular season MVP Aaron Judge?  I remember him too but he seems like a fond memory. This series Aaron batted .095 with 0 HR and 0 RBI and 14 Ks in 21 ABs.  Thanks for nothing!  

Once again, thanks for Keith for a great series.  He had a great team.  Also, it was amazing to have the chance to compete in GUSSOMO!  It's my 3rd year (I think) and proud to show the newbies they can take home the crown!

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QUARTER FINALS RESULTS
(Fenway at Shoreline)

GAME # 1

Faithful.......... 0 2 0  2 0 0  1 0 1  -  6 10  0

Sockeyes........ 2 0 0  0 0 0  1 0 0  -  3  5  0

The Fenway Faithful bested the Shoreline Sockeyes by a 6 to 3 score at
T-Mobile Park.

Fenway brought 2 runs across the plate in the top of the 4th inning.  Carlos Correa led off and got things going when he doubled.  After an out was recorded, Lars Nootbaar came to bat and drew a walk.  Byron Buxton then doubled plating two runs.  Caleb Thielbar was perfect in relief and got the save, his 1st. 

Julio Urias (1-0) allowed 3 runs in 6 and 1/3 innings, and picked up the victory. Adam Wainwright (0-1) ended up with the loss.  He allowed 7 hits and1 walk in 6 and 1/3 innings. 

GAME  # 2

Faithful.......... 0 2 3  0 0 0  0 3 0  -  8 13  1

Sockeyes........ 0 0 1  0 3 0  0 2 0  -  6  8  0

In a tight game it was the Fenway Faithful 8, the Shoreline Sockeyes 6 at    T-Mobile Park.

In the 2nd inning Fenway went on top for good when they came up with 2 runs on 2 hits.  The big moment was provided by Salvador Perez who silenced T-Mobile Park as he lifted one out of the park for a two run home run.  Fenway finished with 13 hits while Shoreline ended up with 8. 

The win went to Garrett Whitlock (1-0) who allowed no runs in 2 innings. Whitlock got help from Adam Cimber who earned his 1st save.  Mitch Keller (0-1) ended up with the loss.  Fenway knocked him around a bit, as he gave up 5 runs in 3 innings. 

Two teams couldn't have been more evenly matched - Fenway prevails in a 13-inning game 7!

Bullpen depth proved to be the difference and the Faithful hang on after getting a solo HR in the top of the 13th.

Wild game 7, with neither ace (Alcantara and Burnes) pitching well, a comeback to tie it in regulation, and then a dramatic finish. Congratulations to Jason and good luck in the next round!

GAME # 3 Kopech vs Urias

Julio Urias pitched a 3 hitter at The Dube Dojo where the Fenway Faithful beat the Michigan Marvels by the score of 2 to 1.

Michigan never recovered after Fenway took the lead in the 3rd inning scoring one runner utilizing 2 base hits.  Michigan went down without a fight in the 9th. 

The victory went to Urias (1-0) who went the distance allowing 1 run. The loss was charged to Michael Kopech(0-1).  He gave up only 3 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings.

GAME # 4 Burnes vs Alcantara

Corbin Burnes had an impressive outing as the Michigan Marvels defeated the Fenway Faithful by the score of 4 to 0 at The Dube Dojo.

Michigan tallied 3 runs in the 3rd inning when they had 3 base hits. After an out was recorded, Freddie Freeman kicked off the action when he smacked a single. Kyle Tucker followed next and he delivered a single. J.T. Realmuto then belted a three-run homer. The 3 run HR was a 1-2 or an out.

The HR later in the game was a 1-5 or an out. Damn split cards. 

That early run support was all thatBurnes (2-0) required.  Fenway was out-hit by Michigan, 8 hits to 5. 

Sandy Alcantara(0-2) was charged with the loss.  He pitched 7 innings giving
up 6 hits and 2 walks.

GAME # 5 Nola vs Mahle
                

With the series tied at 2 games a piece, with a pivotal game 5.

Tyler Mahle (1-0) joined a select group of baseball pitchers in Fenway by tossing a PERFECT GAME as the Fenway Faithful defeated the Michigan Marvels 2 to nothing. I didn't realize till afterwards that it was a perfect game. My hand was shaking as I hit the button the last time!

Mahle was obviously at the top of his game as he set the Michigan batters down like so many dominoes.  What an evening for the fans.  They were on the edge of their seats from the 7th inning on.  With every out, the electricity in the air mounted.  Both teams' bats went to sleep after the 4th inning with no runs scored after that point. 

Aaron Nola (0-2) was the loser.  He struck out 11 batters in 7 innings despite
losing the game.  Mahle was in a jubilant mood after the game.  "If I'd known I was going to throw a no hitter, I would have gotten a haircut!" he said, much to the delight of the clubhouse gathering.

So Fenway heads back to Michigan with a 3-2 lead.  Good luck Will, great back and froth series so far.

WILD CARD - Albany Internaitonals at Seattle Pilots

Max Fried and Pete Alonso came alive in game 5 to send the series back to Seattle.

Good luck!

                         R  H  E                 R H E

10/ 4   Seattle   0   2   1   Albany   5  9  0    L. Lynn (1-0)    C.Quantrill (0-1)

10/ 5   Seattle   1   6   0   Albany   3  7  0    T.Megill (1-0)   S.Bieber (0-1)

10/ 6   Seattle   6  11  0   Albany   1  5  1    M.Fried (1-0)    T.Gonsolin (0-1)

Pretty representative of a Seattle vs. Ralph Polumbo playoff series for the last 37 years.  Ralph takes it in six games.

Joe Musgrove held the Pilots to six hits over 8 innings and former Pilot Kenley Jansen pours salt in the wound to get the save.  The Pilots just couldn't muster much of an offense over the series.  Lourdes Gurriel and Justin Turner just murdered Pilot pitching, each hitting over .400 and driving in six runs over the 6-game series.  Ralph's mastery at getting the right match-ups continued even through his CM.  

Congratulations to Ralph for a well-earned series win.  I think if anyone has a chance to derail Shoreline this year it will be Ralph.  His guys just find a way to win.

Good luck, Ralph!

Jim

WILD CARD  - Concord Grape at Washington Senators

Concord wins two of three at home. Leads series three games to two.

10/ 4 WAS  2  8  0  COG  3  8  2 10   C.Edwards Jr (1-0)    B.Burke (1-1)

10/ 5 WAS  6 11  0  COG  3  6  0      M.Mikolas (1-0)       P.Sandoval (0-1)

10/ 6 WAS  4  9  0  COG  6 12  0      T.Walker (1-0)        B.Ober (0-1)

Game 3: Starling Marte homered in 10th to win it. 

Game 4: Sandoval gone by the second. You jumped to 3-0 lead, I trimmed it to 3-2, you increased lead to 6-2. I scored a run in ninth.

Game 5: Ober got shelled. Last year he won me $450 in an ESPN fantasy league. He didn't have it in Game 5 of our playoff. I was up 6-0 after three. You came back with two in seventh and one each in eighth and ninth. Walker pitched very well. My bullpen wasn't very good in that game, but I had a big enough lead.

Thanks to Mike for a great series.  Mike put together a great pitching staff that threw the Sockeyes for a loop.  He wasn't shy to make the changes needed to give his pitchers the advantage.  Here's a write up for the league.

Game 1: Darvish vs. McKenzie

Concord 3; Shoreline 0 

Off of a 127 win regular season, the Shoreline fans were at a frenzy for the start of the game.  The game barely started before the stadium got so quiet you could hear a pin drop.  McKenzie let up a lead off single before striking out Austin Slater to strike out.  Starling Marte forced a walk and then Austin Riley took McKenzie deep to put Concord up 3-0. Darvish was dealing.  He let up his first hit, a lead off single, in the bottom of the 4th.  He immediately got Matt Carpenter to hit into a double play.  Shoreline threatened in the 7th with Judge and Carpenter starting the inning off with back to back walks.  Mike took out Darvish for Lange.  Trout's ground out gave Shoreline 1st and 3rd with 1 out.  However, Lange got Yordan Alvarez to strike out and then retired Albert Pujols.  Shoreline threatened once again in the 8th with a 2 out double by Eric Hosmer, Altuve, Thompson, and Judge left him stranded.  Scott Barlow closed the door in the 9th to give Concord an impressive 3-0 win in which they held Shoreline to a total of 2 hits.

Game 2:  Walker vs Castillo

Shoreline 7, Concord 2

Shoreline was reeling after taking a huge punch to the gut in Game 1.  Concord kept the pressure on as they started the game with another first inning home run, this time by Starling Marte.  Shoreline quickly responded in the bottom of the 1st with an RBI single by Adley Rutschman.  Shoreline jumped all over Taijuan Walker, hitting him up for 4 runs in two innings pitched.  Up 4-1, things settled down until Carl Edwards Jr. gave up a 2 run HR to Albert Pujols.  Jose Altuve added a solo home run in the 6th to put Shoreline up 7-1.  Shoreline decided to be cute in the 9th and put in Craig Kimbell to mop up.  After walk, wild pitch, and a RBI single by Austin Hays, Collin McHugh came in to force a double play and the subsequent game ending ground out.

Game 3:  Wainwright vs. Urquidy

Shoreline 13, Concord 8 (10 innings)

The series went to Concord tied up at 1 apiece.  This was the game of the series.  For the 3rd game in a row, Concord scored in the 1st.  The first two batters singled and Dalton Varsho blasted a 3 run HR.  However, the Grape weren't done.  After an Austin Riley strike out, Rhys Hoskin got a single and Austin Hays hit a two run bomb.  The Concord crowd was loving it as the Grape were up 5-0.  Shoreline showed some resiliency as they started the top of the 2nd with a Trout single, a Carpenter double and a Trayce Thompson 3 run home run.  Shoreline tied the game at 5 in the 4th with a Yordan Alvarez 2 run homer.  The 4th ended up being the last inning for Urquidy as Concord brought in Alex Lange.  Adley Rutschman welcomed him with a solo home run to put the Sockeyes up 6-5.  However, Concord came right back.  After a ground out, Dalton Varsho hit a one out single.  That was enough to force Shoreline to take out Wainright in favor of Scott Effross.  It would be nice to say that Effross didn't have his best stuff.  It went single, walk, RBI groundout, walk.  Scoreline brought in Liam Hendriks who wasn't any better.  He let up back to back RBI singles.  Concord was up 8-6 with the bases loaded and Hendriks was about to get Steven Kwan to ground out.  Shoreline cut the gap in half in the 8th with a Matt Carpenter HR but they were still down 8-7 going into the top of the 9th.  Scott Barlow came in to try to close the door.  After retiring pinch hitter Ramon Urias, Altuve took Barlow deep to tie the game.  Daniel Bard pitched his 2nd inning 1-2-3 inning to send the game to extras.  With two on and two out in the top of the 10th, Ramon Urias took Carl Edwards Jr deep to give Shoreline a 11-8 lead.  Mitch Garver piled on some insurance with a 2 run blast.  Up 13-8, Craig Kimbrel came in to finish it out.

Game 4   Eflin vs Sandoval

Concord 6, Shoreline 3

Shoreline went to their ace in the hole, Zack Eflin, in Game 4.  Eflin broke Concord's streak of scoring in the 1st inning and Isaac Parades gave him a 2-0 lead with a two run home run in the top of the 2nd.  Concord had a short leash for Sandoval, removing him after giving up a lead off single in the top of the 3rd.  Dylan Coleman came in to leave that runner stranded.  Shoreline's defense fell apart in the bottom of the 3rd.  After Vazquez and Kwan got out, Isaac Parades booted a ball at 3rd and Jose Altuve botched the next play as well.  Concord took advantage with the heart of the order going single, single, double to score 3 runs and give Concord the 3-2 lead.  That's when the Grape bullpen took over. all told, they pitched 7 innings only giving up 2 hits and 1 run. 

Game 5   McKenzie vs Darvish

Shoreline 16, Concord 2 

Yu Darvish tried to rekindle his Game 1 magic but Shoreline wasn't having it.  Simply put this game was a blow out.  Shoreline scored in each of the first 5 innings and was up 13-2 after 5 innings.  Darvish gave up 11 hits and 9 runs in 2 1/3 innings.  Jose Suarez was no better giving up 7 runs in 4 2/3.  Shoreline benefited by home runs by Seiya Suzuki, Aaron Judge, Matt Carpenter, and Albert Pujols.

Game 6:  Castillo vs Walker

Shoreline 5, Concord 0

Shoreline came back home up 3 games to 2.  The game started off as a pitcher's duel with both Walker and Castillo blanking the opposition for the first 4 innings.  Shoreline struck first in the bottom of the 5th with RBI doubles from Trayce Thompson and Wander Franco.  Castillo pitched himself into a jam in the top of the 7th and left the game after 6 2/3 innings with runners on 1st and 2nd with two outs.  Collin McHugh came in and promptly walked the bases loaded before getting Starling Marte to ground out.  Up 2-0, Shoreline got some insurance in the 7th without getting a hit.  Matt Carpenter, Mike Trout, Isaac Parades, Jose Altuve, and Mitch Garver all walked, the last two forcing in runs.  With Shoreline up 4-0, McHugh pitched another strong inning.  Mike Trout added another insurance run and Shoreline.  Even though it wasn't a save situation, Shoreline took no chances and brought in their closer Daniel Bard to shut the door and win the series

MVP:  Matt Carpenter:  0.429/.500/1.071 (1.571 OPS).  3 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI,. 5 Runs

Honorable Mention:  Luis Castillo.  2-0, 0.66 ERA, 1.10 WHIP