Jays (5) sweep Halos (12)

Toronto takes it in 3...L.A deserved a better fate in game one but 4 errors and 2 throw outs at home were the difference.  Tulo (.455) and Donaldson (.364) raked.  Mike Trout also hit .455 in a losing effort.
--c.pester--

Nippon All Stars shock World Champs

Want to see an awesome format for a write up that includes the boxes ?  Click here to see what Isaac Corey put together.  I'll summarize a bit of it below, but you have to see the original.

Coming into the 5 game series against the Nippon Central All-Stars (NAS) the Chicago Cubs maybe should have paid a little more attention in the batting cage. The NAS held the perennial World Champs to a paltry .171 series batting average while allowing only 3 runs in the entire series. When Chicago coach Isaac Corey was asked about the lack of hitting he replied "Did you see them pitches? Babe Ruth would have hit .120 against that filth. Them little buggers sure know how to make us look like T-Ballers hitting against 6th graders."

Seiya Suzuki continued his torrid pace by hitting .500 in the 3 game series with 2 home runs, including the 337 foot blast to left field that sealed the deal in a 13 inning walk off series victory over the now vacation bound and hapless Cubs.

Nippon the 8th wonder in series opener

The Nippon Central All Stars exploded for 5 runs in the top of the 8th inning to spank the World Champion Chicago Cubs in the opening game of a 5 game series. Heading into the 8th knotted at 2 Sugiyama started the party with a shot down the left field line off Cubs reliever Rondon. Then with 2 outs and 2 on Tetsudo Yamada took the first pitch he saw and planted it in the seats in left center to give the All Stars a 6-2 lead. Two pitches later Tsutugo added the icing on the the party cake with a 392 foot bomb to right center.

That was all that the Cubs could handle as they went quietly in the 9th to give Nippon a 1-0 series lead in the best of 5 series.

Fast start puts Nippon up 2 games

The Nippon All-Stars picked up right where they left off and run away with a 5-1 victory and a 2 game lead in the best of 5 series against the Chicago Cubs. They will take the series across the globe to see if they can seal the deal on a very likely jet lagged Chicago squad.

In the top of the first NAS welcomed Cub starter Jon Lester to class as Tsutsugo doubled in Yamada who was hit earlier by a Lester pitch to take a quick 1-0 lead. Then red hot Suzuki continued his tournament prowess with a triple off the ivy in right to score Tsutugo. With a Haraguchi sacrifice fly Suzuki scored to give Nippon a 3-0 first inning lead as the silent Chicago crowd observed.

With runners at 1st and 3rd and no outs  in the bottom of the 5th the cubs looked like they might have something brewing but could only manage their only run on a passed ball that scored Baez. That was all the Cubs could muster up in yet another long, dreary night for the perennial champs.

NAS kept up its reputation for the long ball as they added 2 more home runs by Sakamoto and Maru to bring their series total to 6. But the real highlight was American Kris Johnson's taming of the Cubs as he went 7 innings allowing 3 hits and a meaningless unearned run for the win. Jackson came in to shut down any sort of rally by pitching a perfect 8th and 9th inning.

Optimism turned to anger and frustration not only for Cubs fans but players as well. Clubhouse leader David Ross was not willing to comment on what all went down in the locker room, but he did offer up a statement that he should have just stayed retired.

Suzuki at 4:40, Cubs at terminal

Seiya Suzuki put some wood on Wood in the bottom of 13 to lead the Nippon All Stars to a 1-0 13 inning walk off victory and a slot in the sweet 16 of the 2016-2017 Holiday Festivus Action PC Tournament.

A baserunning blunder by Kris Bryant in the top of the fourth may have cost Chicago the game and a chance at a game 4 as he missed the sign from the 3rd base coach on a Anthony Rizzo double into the right field corner. Bryant should have easily scored but decided to stay put at third, which he did just that, as the Cubs could not move him home an left him and Rizzo stranded on 2nd and 3rd with no outs.

The Nippon AS team left the bases loaded in the bottom of the 8th as they threatened to open up the scoring, but fireballer Aroldis Chapman was able to keep them at bay. 

Chicago posed another threat in the top of the 12th inning, once again started by Bryant and Rizzo only to leave the bases loaded and the Cubs fans that made the trip stymied.

Then lightning struck in the bottom of the 13th as, white hot, Suzuki took Cubs reliever Wood's 3-2 delivery down the left field line for and epic 337 foot home run that sends the Nippon All Stars to the Sweet 16.

As the cubs go home and lick their wounded souls the Nippon All Stars move forward to take on the rest of the Major League field of teams. The Cubs were absolutely no match for the very deep Nippon pitching staff and the power hungry hitters that show no signs of letting up. Cubs coach Isaac Corey warned future opponents to not take this team lightly, as they did, and look what happened.

Click here to see the original format & boxscores posted by Isaac Corey !!!

Cardinals move past Phightin's 3 games to 1

St Louis takes the series 3 games to one. Not as bad as it sounds though. Most of the games were close and entertaining.

We had a rash of "Runtime 9 Subscript out of range" crashes during the second game but no other major issues in the series. When the series shifted to Philadelphia after the first two games, my list of starters disappeared for the first game but was back for game two. Other than that there is little to report, except that the Phillies are really bad. I nearly went blind from watching the *Poor Play* tags flashing.

Thanks to Brian for the games and for, as always, being good company while we got 'em in. He also had a bonus...he's a Cards fan.

regards
abe brown

Game 1 Recap (STL 7, PHI 4)
  StL    1st: Scored 1 run on a hit.
  StL     Matt Carpenter hit a solo HR(1) to take the lead.  Phi 0 StL 1.
  Phi    2nd:
  Phi     Jimmy Paredes scored on a WP by Reyes to tie the score.  Phi 1 StL 1.
  Phi    5th: Scored 3 runs on 3 hits.
  Phi     Tommy Joseph hit a 3 run HR(1) to take the lead.  Phi 4 StL 1.
  StL    5th: Scored 2 runs on 2 hits.
  StL     Brandon Moss hit a 2 run HR(1).  Phi 4 StL 3.
  StL    6th: Scored 3 runs on 2 hits and one walk.
  StL     Stephen Piscotty hit a solo HR(1) to tie the score.  Phi 4 StL 4.
  StL     Randal Grichuk hit a 417 foot 2 run HR(1) to take the lead.  Phi 4 StL 6.
  StL    7th: Scored 1 run on a hit and 2 walks.
  StL     Matt Carpenter hit a fly ball scoring 1.  Phi 4 StL 7.
  Phi   Tommy Joseph: 2 for 4, HR, 3 RBI.
  StL   Brandon Moss: 2 for 3, double, HR, 2 RBI, 2 runs.
  StL   Kevin Siegrist pitched 2 innings and picked up the win: 2 IP, 0 hits, 0 BB, 4 K.
  StL   Seung Hwan Oh struck out the side in the 9th to record his 1st of the year.
  Phi   Michael Mariot was the loser: .1 IP, 3 earned runs, 2 hits, 2 BB.

Game 2 Recap (STL 6, PHI 1)
  StL    2nd: 
  StL     Randal Grichuk hit a fly ball scoring 1 to take the lead.  Phi 0 StL 1.
  StL    4th: Scored 2 runs on 2 hits, and an error.
  StL     Stephen Piscotty hit a 405 foot solo HR(2).  Phi 0 StL 2.
  StL     Adam Wainwright singled scoring Moss.  Phi 0 StL 3.
  StL    6th: Scored 1 run on a hit and one walk.
  StL     Randal Grichuk doubled scoring Piscotty.  Phi 0 StL 4.
  StL    7th: Sent 7 batters to the plate scoring 2 runs on 4 hits.
  StL     Matt Carpenter hit a 2 run HR(2).  Phi 0 StL 6.
    Phi    8th: Scored 1 run on a hit and one walk.
    Phi     Tommy Joseph hit a fly ball scoring 1.  Phi 1 StL 6.
    Phi   Cesar Hernandez: 2 for 4, double, triple.
  StL   Matt Carpenter: 2 for 4, HR, 2 RBI.
  StL   Stephen Piscotty: 3 for 3, double, HR, 3 runs.
  StL   Adam Wainwright pitched a great 6 innings for the win: 3 hits, 0 BB, 5 K.
    Phi   Jeremy Hellickson pitched 6 innings and took the loss: 3 earned runs, 7 hits, 2 BB, 3 K.

Game 3 Recap (PHI 5, STL 1)
    Phi    2nd:
    Phi     Cameron Rupp doubled scoring Bourjos to take the lead.  StL 0 Phi 1.
  StL    4th: Scored 1 run on a hit.
  StL     Jeremy Hazelbaker hit a solo HR(1) to tie the score.  StL 1 Phi 1.
    Phi    5th: Sent 7 batters to the plate scoring 3 runs on 3 hits and one walk.
    Phi     Maikel Franco doubled scoring 2 to take the lead.  StL 1 Phi 3.
    Phi     Peter Bourjos hit a grounder scoring 1.  StL 1 Phi 4.
    Phi    7th: Scored 1 run on 3 hits.
    Phi     Peter Bourjos singled scoring 1.  StL 1 Phi 5.
    Phi   Vince Velasquez pitched a great 6 innings for the win: 1 earned run, 4 hits, 1 BB, 8 K
  StL   Carlos Martinez pitched 5 innings and took the loss: 4 earned runs, 6 hits, 4 BB, 3 K

Game 4 Recap (STL 3, PHI 1)
  Phi    5th: Scored 1 run on 2 hits. 
  Phi     Alec Asher singled scoring Rupp to take the lead.  StL 0 Phi 1.
  StL    7th: Sent 8 batters to the plate scoring 3 runs on 2 hits and 2 walks.
  StL     Matt Carpenter singled scoring Peralta to tie the score.  StL 1 Phi 1.
  StL     Yadier Molina singled scoring Wong to take the lead.  StL 2 Phi 1.
  StL     Stephen Piscotty hit a fly ball scoring 1.  StL 3 Phi 1.
  StL   Jaime Garcia pitched a great 7 innings for the win: 1 earned run, 4 hits, 2 BB, 3 K
  StL   Seung Hwan Oh pitched a 1-2-3 9th to earn his 2nd of the year.
  Phi   Alec Asher pitched 6.1 innings and took the loss: 2 earned runs, 6 hits, 1 BB, 3 K.

O's bats take down gloveless A's

GAME 1 RECAP (BAL 6, OAK 4) 
It all came down to a 2 down, 2 on, 2 out walk off HR by Manny Machado

Oak       1st: Scored 2 runs on a hit and one walk.

 Oak       Stephen Vogt hit a 2 run HR(1) to take the lead.  Oak 2 Bal 0.

  Bal      2nd: Scored 1 run on 2 hits

  Bal            Chris Davis hit a fly ball scoring 1.  Oak 2 Bal 1.

  Bal      3rd: Scored 1 run on a hit and 3 errors.

  Bal            Adam Jones hit a grounder scoring 1, E5 to tie the score.  Oak 2 Bal 2.

 Oak      6th: Sent 7 batters to the plate scoring 1 run on 2 hits and 2 walks.

 Oak           Danny Valencia hit a solo HR(1) to take the lead.  Oak 3 Bal 2.

  Bal       7th: Scored 1 run on 3 hits and one walk.

  Bal            Adam Jones singled scoring Hardy to tie the score.  Oak 3 Bal 3.

 Oak      8th: Scored 1 run on 2 hits and one walk.

 Oak           Bruce Maxwell singled scoring Davis to take the lead.  Oak 4 Bal 3.

  Bal       9th: Scored 3 runs on 2 hits and one walk.

  Bal            Manny Machado hit a 3 run HR(1) to win the game.  Oak 4 Bal 6.

 Oak  Danny Valencia: 1 for 4, HR, 2 runs, 2 errors.

 Oak  Stephen Vogt: 2 for 4, HR, 2 RBI.

  Bal   Darren O'Day picked up the win: 1 IP, 1 K. He's 1-0 on the year.

 Oak  Ryan Madson took the loss: .2 IP, 3 earned runs, 2 hits, 1 BB, 1 K.

GAME 2 RECAP (BAL 4, OAK 1)

Oak       2nd: Failed to score on 2 hits and one walk

Bal      3rd: Scored 2 runs on 2 hits

Bal           Nolan Reimold hit a 2 run HR(1) to take the lead.  Oak 0 Bal 2.

Bal      5th: Failed to score on 2 hits and one walk.

Bal      6th: Scored 2 runs on a hit and 2 walks.

Bal           Jonathan Schoop hit a 2 run HR(1).  Oak 0 Bal 4.

 Oak       9th: Scored 1 run on 2 hits, and an error.

 Oak             Ryon Healy hit a solo HR(1).  Oak 1 Bal 4.

 Oak  Ryon Healy: 1 for 1, HR.

Bal   Nolan Reimold: 2 for 3, HR, 2 RBI.

Bal   Jonathan Schoop: 1 for 3, HR, 2 RBI, 3 great plays.

Bal   Brian Duensing pitched 1.2 innings and picked up the win: 1.2 IP, 1 hit, 0 BB, 0 K. He's now 1-0 on the year.

 Oak  Kendall Graveman pitched 7 innings and took the loss: 4 earned runs, 5 hits, 3 BB, 3 K. He's now 0-1 on the year.

GAME 3 RECAP (OAK 8, BAL 2)

  Oak      1st: Sent 8 batters to the plate scoring 5 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks.

  Oak            Coco Crisp hit a grounder scoring 1 to take the lead.  Bal 0 Oak 1.

  Oak            Ryon Healy hit a Grand Slam(2).  Bal 0 Oak 5.

      Bal      3rd:

      Bal           Adam Jones singled scoring Reimold.  Bal 1 Oak 5.

      Bal           Jonathan Schoop hit a grounder scoring 1, E6.  Bal 2 Oak 5.

  Oak      4th: Scored 1 run on 2 hits.

  Oak            Ryon Healy singled scoring Butler.  Bal 2 Oak 6.

  Oak      8th: Scored 2 runs on 2 hits and one walk.

  Oak            Ryon Healy hit a fly ball scoring 1.  Bal 2 Oak 7.

  Oak            Josh Phegley hit a fly ball scoring 1.  Bal 2 Oak 8.

  Oak  Billy Butler: 1 for 2, double, 2 runs, 2 W.

  Oak  Ryon Healy: 3 for 3, double, HR, 6 RBI, grand slam.

  Oak  Sean Manaea pitched a great 5.2 innings for the win: 1 earned run, 3 hits, 4 BB, 6 K.

  Oak  Ross Detwiler pitched a shutout the final 3.1 innings to record save number 1.

      Bal   Dylan Bundy pitched 4.2 innings and took the loss: 6 earned runs, 4 hits, 4 BB, 4 K.

 GAME 4 RECAP (BAL 8, OAK 7)

  Oak       1st: Sent 10 batters to the plate scoring 4 runs on 4 hits and 3

walks.

  Oak            Khris Davis singled scoring Burns to take the lead.  Bal 0 Oak 1.

  Oak            Coco Crisp singled scoring Davis.  Bal 0 Oak 2.

  Oak            Jed Lowrie singled scoring 2.  Bal 0 Oak 4.

      Bal     2nd:

      Bal           Pedro Alvarez doubled scoring 2.  Bal 2 Oak 4.

      Bal           J.J. Hardy singled scoring Alvarez.  Bal 3 Oak 4.

      Bal      3rd:

      Bal           Manny Machado doubled scoring Kim to tie the score.  Bal 4 Oak 4.

      Bal           Chris Davis hit a 2 run HR(1) to take the lead.  Bal 6 Oak 4.

      Bal      4th: Failed to score on 2 hits and one walk.

  Oak       4th: Scored 2 runs on a hit and one walk.

  Oak            Khris Davis hit a 2 run HR(1) to tie the score.  Bal 6 Oak 6.

      Bal      5th: Scored 2 runs on a hit.

      Bal           Pedro Alvarez hit a 2 run HR(1) to take the lead.  Bal 8 Oak 6.

  Oak       5th: Scored 1 run on 2 hits.

  Oak            Yonder Alonso hit a fly ball scoring 1.  Bal 8 Oak 7.

      Bal   Chris Davis: 1 for 3, HR, 2 RBI, 3 runs.

      Bal   Pedro Alvarez: 2 for 4, double, HR, 4 RBI, 2 runs.

  Oak  Khris Davis: 2 for 5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs.

      Bal   Vance Worley pitched 2 innings and picked up the win: 2 IP, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 0 BB, 0 K

      Bal   Zach Britton pitched a 1-2-3 9th to earn his 1st of the year.

  Oak  John Axford pitched 1.1 innings and took the loss: 1.1 IP, 2 earned runs, 1 hit, 1 BB, 1 K.