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2045 Playoffs
World Series
The 2045 World Series between Sanfrancisco and Philadelphia was the first in the 32-year history of the NABL to feature two 100-win teams, with both protagonists possessing rock-solid pitching and high-powered offenses the series was expected to be one of the best of all time. Pitching dominated game one, with neither team able to muster much in the way of offense (the two teams combined for just seven hits), all the scoring came by the way of a pair of homeruns, one for each team. But where Sanfrancisco’s was a solo effort from RF Carl Crawford, Philly’s lone deep ball was a three-run blast off the bat of RF Desmond Starks as the hometown Independence edged the opener. The following night was a similar story as once again pitching held sway, Bryan Marburg (SF) and Orlando Fernandez (PHI) both went deep into the contest where despite Marburg’s best efforts (8.0 IP, 5H, 2ER, 8K) it was an uncharacteristic error by SS Oliver Leal that gifted Philadelphia a late lead which closer Jeremiah O’Hearne had no trouble protecting as Sanfrancisco slipped to a second narrow defeat. The series moved to Sanfrancisco for game three where offense was once again at a premium, Sanfrancisco scraped together three runs on just six hits but that was more than enough to take the win as Sean O’Lannigan and Chris Miller combined to blank the visitors, surrendering only a single hit (C Sancho Guerra’s single in the third inning) along the way. With run support hard to come by, Philadelphia’s game four starter Alfonso Zamora took matters into his own hands, collecting two hits and driving in a pair of runs to boot, as Philadelphia squeezed past Sanfrancisco to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. Game five was Sanfrancisco’s last home game of the season no matter the outcome, as games six and seven would be back in Philadelphia. In front of a raucous crowd Sanfrancisco edged into an early lead courtesy of a C Kent Blanton and 3B Michael Langley RBI-singles but Philadelphia dug deep and fought back to tie proceedings on Adrian Bolton’s eighth inning homerun. With the game seemingly heading for extra innings Sanfrancisco produced some late fireworks, back-to-back singles from RF Carl Crawford and 2B Jose Villalobos set the stage for shortstop Oliver Leal to drill a sharp liner into rightfield for a walk-off RBI-single, ensuring the series would return to the east coast. Game six saw both aces take the mound, Bryan Marburg for Sanfrancisco and Mariano Rojo for the hometown Independence, fans of pitching and defense were treated to seven innings of flawless baseball as neither team managed to score and could only muster five baserunners between them. With their starters tiring both managers turned to their bullpen with mixed results, Philadelphia immediately took the lead when Desmond Starks deposited an Anthony Wilson fastball into the seats but failed to build on that lead allowing Sanfrancisco to turn the tables when, first 2B Tom Carter and then RF Carl Crawford drove in runs in the top of the ninth, after PH Brandon Townsend drew a walk to load the bases Philly manager Jose Pacheco turned to 37-year-old reliever Steve Berg to save the day. Berg successfully escaped the jam while keeping the deficit to one and fellow veteran Josh Deric sent the game to extra-innings with a dramatic 2-out RBI-single, Berg continued his dominance in the 10th taking just six pitches to retire the Gold in order. When 1B Vernon Hanna walked to the plate in the bottom of the tenth with two down and a man on third the tension was palpable, but Hanna proved equal to the task ripping a walk-off single into leftfield to win the World Series for Philadelphia and ruin Sanfrancisco’s bid to become the third team to win back-to-back titles.
2045 Playoff Recap
Divisional Series
EL: Philadelphia 3-2 Indianapolis, New York 3-2 Miami
[B]WL: Sanfrancisco 3-1 Phoenix, Seattle 3-2 Omaha
Championship Series[/B]
EL: Philadelphia 4-1 New York
WL: Sanfrancisco 4-0 Seattle
World Series
Philadelphia 4-2 Sanfrancisco
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