GLBL Fall Classic
Chicago @ Thunder Bay
Games 3-5
After splitting the 2 games at home it sure would be nice to get the game back in the first game. Just not trailing and facing elimination in game 5 is a huge step. All of Thunder Bay's playoff series this year and last year have followed the same pattern. Splitting the first 4 games and then they win the last 2. Hopefully we can change that format this season.
World Series Game 3: Chicago @ Thunder Bay
Chicago’s Val Imbert vs. Thunder Bay’s Ralph Baxter
Imbert and Baxter were teammates on the Thunderbirds from 2048-52.
Top 2. Thomas Arnaud doubles. José Gómez singles. Ex-Caribou Sean White hits a sac fly. Chicago 1, Thunder Bay 0.
Top 3. Samuel Amsden doubles. Matt Graves singles. Prowler Ashley hits a sac fly. Chicago 2, Thunder Bay 0.
Top 5. Pedro Farulla walks. Ralph Baxter gets pulled. Jason Connel in to pitch. Fielder’s choice. Prowler Ashley singles. Reagan Osborn walks. Bases loaded, one out. Thomas Arnaud flies out. Larry Davis doubles! All three runners scored. Chicago 5, Thunder Bay 0.
Bot 6. Imbert walks Gerald Powers. Imbert had pitched five perfect innings. Sean Lane also walks. Nobody gets a hit, however.
Bot 7. John Calder singles on the first pitch of the inning, breaking up the no-hitter. Michael Jackson also singles. Val Imbert gets pulled. Ken Shannon in to pitch. Cecil Phillips singles, loading the bases with nobody out. Ron Hinton hits a sac fly. Shannon gets the final two batters. Chicago 5, Thunder Bay 1.
Final line on Val Imbert: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4. He retired the first 15 Caribou batters he faced. Amazing performance from Val!
Bot 9. Larry Stott in to pitch for the Tects. The Caribou need four. Michael Jackson gets a swinging bunt single. Cecil Phillips doubles. Pat Wright comes in to pitch. Micheal Ward pinch-hits. He flies out.
Gerald Powers flies out.
Emerson Coleman grounds out.
CHICAGO WINS, 5-1! Chicago leads the best of 7 series 2-1
World Series Game 4: Chicago @ Thunder Bay
Chicago’s José Cedeño vs. Thunder Bay’s Carlos Pérez.
These two squared off in Game 1, where Cedeño picked up his third win of the postseason.
Bot 2. Michael Jackson doubles, and Cecil Phillips hits a two-run home run! Thunder Bay 2, Chicago 0.
This postseason, Phillips is 15-for-35 (.429) with four doubles, two home runs, five walks, 10 runs scored, and 11 RBIs. He’s been on-base 50% of the time, and he’s slugging .714.
Top 5. Juan Durán singles. Pedro Farrulla singles. John Lambert triples in both runners, tying the game. Prowler Ashley singles, scoring Lambert. Chicago 3, Thunder Bay 2.
Carlos Pérez was pulled after that Farrulla single. The first two runs get charged to him. Emmett Dodman came in in relief, and Lambert’s run gets deducted from his account.
Bot 8. After a Sean Lane leadoff single, José Cedeño gets pulled. His line on the night: 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K. Ken Shannon in to pitch.
3B Michael Jackson was injured while running the bases (Chicago @ Thunder Bay)
8th TB: Michael Jackson leaves the game with an injury and will not return for the remainder of the series. A big blow for Thunder Bay.
Robinson González singles. Jamal Amador walks. Fielder’s choice. Bases loaded, one out. Michael Jackson doubles in all three runners! Cecil Phillips singles in a fourth run! Thunder Bay 6, Chicago 3.
Top 9. The Tects get two runners on, but Ling-Kung Liao retires the next three.
THUNDER BAY WINS, 6-3! Thunder Bay evens the series at 2-2
World Series Game 5: Chicago @ Thunder Bay
Joe Johnson vs. Terry Noble.
Top 1. Chicago’s speedy leadoff man, Matt Graves, singles on the first pitch of the game. He steals second, and moves to third on a ground out. With two outs, Prowler Ashley singles him in. Chicago 1, Thunder Bay 0.
Top 2. José Gómez singles. Samuel Amsden reaches base on an error. Matt Graves gets plunked. Bases loaded, two outs. Walker Dunse grounds out.
Bot 2. Emerson Coleman and Sean Lane single. Kent Noseworthy (in the lineup to replace Michael Jackson) singles in Coleman. Tie game, 1-1.
Top 3. Rain!
And we’re back! It’s 45 degrees with rain and wind blowing from left to right at 19 mph. The 38,126 fans in attendance are hardy indeed!
Bot 3. Cecil Phillips doubles, and Ron Hinton singles him in. Thunder Bay 2, Chicago 1.
Bot 5. Deja vu. Cecil Phillips doubles, and Ron Hinton singles him in. Thunder Bay 3, Chicago 1.
Top 6. Jim Ashley walks, steals second, and moves to third on a groundout to first. Larry Davis hits a sac fly to right. Thunder Bay 3, Chicago 2.
The Architects’ last hit was in the second inning.
Top 8. Reagan Osborn singles. That’s hit #4 for the Tects today, and their first since the second. Prowler Ashley grounds into a fielder’s choice, and Sean White strikes out.
Top 9. Thunder Bay brings in Emmett Dodman to close things out. Larry Davis is at the plate.
He lines out.
José Gómez, who scored Chicago’s first run, grounds out.
Last chance for the Tects.
Samuel Amsden flies out.
THUNDER BAY WINS, 3-2! Thunder Bay leads the best of 7 3-2
Summary - The Architects took that game 3 but the Caribou roared back and won the next 2 games. I hate losing game 5's they are often the pivotal game in these close 6-7 game series.
We head back to Chicago for game 6 and we will stay away from using the LHSP Cliff Simpson even though the thought and discussion with the field manager was long. We decided that TB's lineup against LHSP was just too tough. We will go back to the hot hand in Val Imbert who had a tremendous game 3. It will be on a day short of full rest, but he should be pretty good to go.
If we can force a game 7 it will be Jose Cedeno on the hill. We moved Simpson out of the protected rotation spot as the thought was to use him in game 5 or 6 potentially. He will be one of the setup men in the bullpen with Larry Stott and behind closer Pat Wright.
Right now Caribou C Cecil Phillips is running away with the MVP Award the Caribou win the series.