2015 WORLD SERIES

HollywoodTempeTempe Tempers vs. Hollywood Werewolves

Welcome to the 2015 MWBL series which pits the four-time American League Champion & (and defending World Series Champion) Hollywood Werewolves vs the National League Champion (& eight-time World Series) Tempe Tempers.

They are facing each other for the 3rd time in the World Series. Hollywood won the series last year & Tempe won the first match up back in 2005. Tempe has an incredible pen and a very deep bench, but they lack an overall ace. Hollywood on the other hand has two bonafide #1 Aces, a deep pen, but a relatively weak bench.

Hollywood made surprisingly quick work of the Chicago Mobsters in the ALCS and entered the World Series completely rested. Tempe rallied late against the Clovis Wheat Kings in game seven of the NLCS so they needed to expand their pen to eight relievers for the World Series.

This year’s outcome is a tossup according to the Jarl Jackson’s 2015 World Series Preview, so settle in as we bring you the details & highlights. games.

Game #1: Clayton Kershaw (27-2 1.18) vs. Cory Rasmus (7-2 1.88)

TulowitzkiWSG#1

Hollywood jumped out quickly to a two run lead in the 2nd on a Gordon single, a Kinsler double, and a Castro single. Hollywood threatened again in the 3rd, but Tempe pulled Rasmus in favor of a lefty and Chen got Gordon to ground out with a runner on. In the 4th, Castro doubled off Clippard, but he was left stranded when Kershaw was forced to bat in the national league park. Kershaw had a perfect game going through the first five innings with strikeouts of 8 of 15 batters. In the bottom of the 6th , Kershaw picked up where he left off and quickly recorded the first two outs. Tempe feeling they needed a mix things up called on “El Oso Blanco”  to bat for the pitcher. Gattis responded with Tempe’s first hit of the game, a solo homerun. The next GattisWSG#1batter, Tulo launched Tempe’s second hit and second homerun to tie the game at 2-2. In the top of the 7th, Iannetta was left on 2B after Kershaw popped up and Werth grounded out. In the bottom of the 7th, Beltre walked and Kelly pinch ran and stole 2B. Cano then came up with Tempe’s 3rd hit of the game to score Kelly. In the 8th, Cargo who entered as a defensive sub in the prior inning singled and stole 2B. Hollywood intentionally walked Tulo to face the pitcher. The pinch hitter, slugger Chris Davis was then hit by Lopez and lost for the rest the series. Hollywood brought in Storen with bases loaded and the game on the line. Storen induced Cuddyer to ground into an inning ending double play. In the 9th and down by one run, Kinsler led off the 9th with a double. He then moved to 3rd on an Iannetta fielder’s choice. Castro then walked to put the winning run on 1st and the tying run on 3rd. Hollywood brought in weak hitting Endy Chavez to pinch hit but Holland recorded a quick strikeout & then popped up Werth for he final out.

Final Score: Tempers 3, Hollywood 2

 

Game #2: Johnny Cueto (24-5 2.07) vs. Hisashi Iwakuma (13-7 2.21)

MelkyCabreraWSG#2Tempe jumped on Cueto early with back to back doubles by Cano and Melky in the 1st inning to take an early 1-0. In the top of the 3rd, Castro led off the inning with a double. Iwakuma struck out Cueto for the first out and then Tempe went to the pen for the top of the order. Thorton came on with the double switch and recorded the next two outs. In the bottom of the 3rd, Cano walked, stole 2B and then scored on a Cabrera’s second RBI double of the game. Top of the 5th, Iannetta walked and then stole 2B with one out, but Thorton responded by popping up Castro and striking out Plouffe who hit for Cueto. Neshek and Crocket each pitched two quiet innings for their respective teams. In the 8th, Tempe called on Otero to close out the game with Holland and Smith both worn out from pitching in LCS G7 and WS G1. Otero pitched a quiet 8th and then ran into troubles in the 9th. Yelich led off with a single and then Cabrera also singled to put runners on the corners with two outs. Gordon came to the plate as the winning run, but Jay Howell who wasn’t even on the roster for the Division series came in and recorded the strikeout for the save.

Final Score: Tempers 2, Hollywood 0

 

Game #3: Cory Rasmus (7-2 1.88) vs. David Price (16-11 2.54)

MiguelCabreraWSG#3PriceWSG#3Things didn’t look very good for Hollywood down 0-2 and only a 12 grade lefty facing Tempe’s right handed lineup. But the game ended up being an incredible pitching duel between David Price and Tempe’s pen. Each team only managed three hits and Tempe’s pen didn’t allow a single hit over the last 5.1 innings. However, they did allow a solo homerun to Miguel Cabrera in the 4th and that was all Price needed. Price went 7.2 innings and struck out 9 batters. McGee pitched a perfect 9th for the save.

Final Score: Hollywood 1, Tempe 0

 

Game #4: Hisashi Iwakuma (13-7 2.21) vs. Clayton Kershaw (27-2 1.18)

In the top of the 1st, Melky singled off Kershaw and then stole 2B. Beltre then singled to right with two outs but Werth and his 36 arm gunned Cabrera at home. In the 2nd, Ryan Braun crushed a Kershaw fastball for his first hit and homerun of the series. With the early 1-0 lead, Tempe called on their setup man Smith to work multiple innings. Kershaw settled down after a shaky first two innings and went a solid six innings. Smith pitched 3.1 scoreless innings before turning the BraunWSG#4ball over to Tempe’s closer Holland who also went 3.1 scoreless innings. Clippard pitched a scoreless 8th and was in the game to start the 9th with Tempe still leading 1-0. In the bottom of the 9th, Hollywood finally got something going. Yelich walked to start the inning and Tempe brought in Crocket. Goldschmidt hit a liner off Crocket for an infield hit. Tempe brought in Otero and he popped up Cabrera for the first out. Tempe then brought in Thornton to face Gordon, Gordon smashed a single to right field and Yelich came around to tie the game at 1-1. Tempe cut the throw to 3rd, but Goldschmidt made it in safely. Kinsler popped up to Braun in CF, but Hollywood was forced to keep the winning run at 3B due to the depth of the fly. The next batter Iannetta hit a liner to RF, but Cargo now playing for defense made an incredible catch. In the 10th, a Kinsler error allowed Tulo to reach 1B with one out. Cozart then ran for Tulo and stole 2B. Hollywood brought on their closer McGee and he recorded the final two outs to end the inning. In the bottom of the 10th things got exciting. Pennington walked and then moved to 2B on a hit and run fielder’s choice. Tempe then called on Vincent to replace Thorton. Vincent got Werth to ground out, but the winning run moved to 3rd. Vincent wasn’t on the playoff roster during the first two series and the rust showed as he then walked the next two batters to load the bases. Tempe called on starter Wei-Yin Chen to face Miguel Cabrera with the bases loaded. Miggy again failed to produce in the clutch and grounded out. In the 11th, Cano led off with single and then stole 2B. Braun couldn’t get the bunt down and eventually popped out. McGee then struck out Kelly and Granderson who had previously entered for defense and running. In the 11th, Howell came on to pitch for Tempe and recorded three quick outs. In the top of the 12th, Cishek replaced McGee and popped up Molina for the 1st out. The next batter, Cozart (930 pinch runner now playing for Tulo) crushed a double in his only plate appearance of the series. A double by the next hitter Cargo gave Tempe the 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the 12th, Howell popped up Pennington and then struck out Castro and Werth to give Tempe the 3-1 series lead.

Final Score: Tempers 2, Hollywood 1 (12 Innings)

 

Game #5: Cory Rasmus (7-2 1.88) vs. Johnny Cueto (24-5 2.07)

CuddyerWSG#5

Cueto ran into trouble in the 3rd when Cespedes and Melky each launched solo shots to put Tempe up early. Hollywood feeling the pressure of a potential elimination game responded in the bottom of the 3rd. Ianneta worked a walk and then stole 2B on a failed hit and run. Rasmus recorder the next two outs and it looked like he was going to get out of the inning without any damage until Kinsler took him deep to tie the game. Tied 2-2, Tempe turned the ball over to the pen in the 4th and Crocket worked a perfect 2.1 innings. In the 6th , Tulo singled and then stole 2B on a failed hit and run. He then scored the go ahead run on a Braun double. Tempe 3-2. Crockett ran out of gas in the 6th and Otero replaced him.

CanoWSG#5

Goldschmidt and Werth each doubled to tie the game at 3-3 and a Gordon single gave Hollywood their first lead of the game. Hollywood 4-3. In the top of the 7th, rumor has that Manager Douglass asked Cano to hit a leadoff homerun. The 2015 MVP did as requested. Hitting a game tying home run that knocked Cueto out of the game. In the bottom of the 7th, Otero recorded the first two out before walking Yelich. Howel came on and promptly hit Kinsler to put runners on 2nd and 1st before getting Goldschmidt to ground out. In the top of the 8th, Cuddyer took Storen deep for Tempe’s 4th solo homerun of the game and his second hit of the series. Tempe 5-4. Neshek replaced Storen and recorded the final two outs. In the bottom of the 8th, Tempe brought on Votto for defense and Thorton to close out the game (Smith and Holland were both tired). Cabrera led off the inning with a single and Pennington pinch ran for him. Thorton popped up Werth and then got Gordon to line into a double play with Pennington running on a hit and run. Neshek pitched a quiet 9th inning. In the bottom of the 9th, Tempe abandoned the DH in favor of defense moving Kelly to LF. Thorton then retired Castro, Plouffe and Iannetta in order for the save and the World Series win.

Final Score: Tempers 5, Hollywood 4

 

Tempe pulled off the shocker and eliminated the Hollywood juggernaut in five games. Tempe’s bullpen was amazing with nine different pitchers combing to go 4-1 with a 0.99 ERA and 32 SO. The team only hit a meager .185 avg, but they made the most of every opportunity and had contributions from every player. Tempe hit seven homeruns in the series by seven different players, stole 9 of 10 bases by seven different players, and scored 12 runs by 9 different players. Tempe also only made 1 error, turned 7 double plays and only allowed 3 stolen bases.

Hollywood ended up losing all four games that were started by their two aces. Kershaw and Cueto finished the series 0-2 with a 3.91 ERA, and 6HR in 23 IP. Miguel Cabrera led all starters with a .368 avg, but he also failed to drive in the winning runs when the game was on the line in games 2 and 4. Hollywood’s other sluggers were atrocious. Goldschmidt hit .111 and slugged .167, Werth hit .095 and slugged .143 and Iannetta hit .067 and slugged .067.

CanoWSMVPCabreraWSMVPThe MVP award can’t go to an entire bullpen so it is being shared by Melky Cabrera and Robinson Cano.

Cano – .278 AVG .350 OBP .500 SLG, HR 1, RBI 2, R 3 , SB 1

Cabrera – .294 AVG .294 OBP .588 SLG, HR 1, RBI 3, R 1, SB 1

 

 

 

 

 

WSBatting
WSPitching
WSFielding

TRADE DEADLINE
WEDNESDAY 07/24/2024
AT 11:59 PM - ET!

Days
1
1
7
Hrs
1
5
Min
4
7
Sec
5
3