World Series

Saints win World Series 4-3

Game 1 - Indoors at Safeco – a perfect 70 degrees for Game 1 of the 2011 SWBA World Series between the San Diego Tigersharks and the St. Charles Saints.  Game 1 match-up was between the aces for each club with Johan Santana taking the bump for San Diego and Felix Hernandez getting the call for St. Charles; both 20 game winners in the regular season – 21 for Johan and King Felix with a league leading 25 wins.

The Saints took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first with huge two-out double by Corey Hart down the first base line.  With both pitchers settled in through the third, the Tigersharks would get on the board in the top of the fourth on a two-out single by former Saint Michael Cuddyer. However, this RBI single wasn’t the biggest impact of the inning instead it was a fluke leg injury to Joe Mauer after flying out to centerfield. The Saints answered in the bottom half of the inning with three runs via the long ball. B.J. Upton went yard on Santana giving the Saints a 5 -1 lead. A lead they wouldn’t relinquish.  B.J. Upton added another run for the Saints in the bottom of the 5^th with an RBI single. King Felix was dealing, going 8 innings and giving up just two runs. The Tigersharks threatened in the Top of 9^th with three consecutive singles off Trever Miller but managed to only score one run with Brian Sanches closing out the game and giving the Saints a 6 to 2 victory.

Game 2 - Game 2 saw Kory Klecker starting proven veteran Barry Zito for San Diego and Brandon Orlando countering with his lefty ace David Price.  Another perfect 70 degree game inside Safeco as the Tigersharks looked to get their first win of the series. After a scoreless two innings, San Diego pounded David Price n the Top of the 3^rd for 5 runs capped off by a three-homer shot to deep left off the bat of Miguel Tejada. “They are still looking for the ball in Seattle” claimed announcer Jimmy Piersall; “it left Safeco and is headed on a south bound train.”  With San Diego leading 5 to 0, the Saints finally got to Zito with two runs in the bottom of the fourth with a solo homerun by Paul Konerko and a RBI ground out by Corey Hart.  The Saints closed the gap to 5-3 in the bottom of the 7^th on a pinch hit single by ALCS MVP Corey Patterson. It proved too little too late as the Tigersharks added to lead in the Top of 9^th with a RBI single by Mark Ellis giving the Tigersharks a 6 to 3 victory and evening the series at one game apiece.

Game 3 – The series moved on to Petco Field in the beautiful Gas Lamp District of San Diego.  Just a few blocks away from Moose McGillycuddy’s which happened to be a favorite spot for Saints GM\Manager Brandon Orlando and Chatham Bluefish GM\Manager C.C. McCandless over spring break in 1996. Needless to say, Orlando was very comfortable in his surroundings at Petco. The Saints sent knuckleballer R.A. Dickey to the mound to face crafty lefty Ted Lilly for the Tigersharks.  The Saints struck in the top of the first.  After Scott Podsednik scored from first base on a single and throwing error from right fielder Omar Infante, Paul Konerko hit a two run homer to left center giving the Saints an early 3-0 lead. The Tigersharks came back with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning on a RBI ground out off the bat of Joe Mauer scoring Infante.  This play epitomized the series for Mauer who struggled to get the big hit after getting injured in Game 1.  It remained 3 to 1 until the Saints scored their fourth run in the top of the third. The Tigersharks added a run in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Infante to get within two runs.  The Saints pushed another run across the plate in the Top of 7^th with a sac fly from James Loney.   With one run across in the bottom of the seventh, on a single from Justin Morneau, the Tigersharks were mounting a major threat and on the verge of a huge inning. Morneau’s single gave the Tigersharks first and third with nobody out. However, the Tigersharks were only able to muster a second run with a two-out single by Jose Reyes and trailed the Saints 5 to 4.  K-Rod closed it out in the ninth, picking off Mark Ellis at first. Tigersharks fall to the Saints 5-4.

Neither starter had their best stuff, giving up eight hits apiece, and sixteen in total over eleven innings. The Saints bullpen did just enough on this day giving their team a 2 games to 1 lead in the series heading to Game 4.

Game 4 - 71 degrees at game time with a brisk wind coming off the Pacific (moving from left to right field) at 18 mph.  Gavin Floyd took the hill for the Saints with Tom Gorzelanny starting for the Tigersharks.  Brandon Orlando was wondering if he would ever see a right handed starter in this series.  His hope never came true as the Saints faced lefty starters in each game of the series.

BJ Upton led off the game with a double to right field and would score two batters later on a RBI ground out from Paul Konerko.  Both starters pitched well through the first four innings. The Saints took a 2 to nothing lead into the top of the fifth when Stephen Drew, who led the inning off with a triple, scored on a RBI ground out from Ryan Hanigan. The Tigersharks got on the board in the bottom half of the inning via “small ball.” Jose Reyes singled to start the inning, advanced to second on a Mark Ellis sacrifice bunt, and landed on third after a wild pitch from Gavin Floyd. Reyes eventually scored on a RBI ground out by Miguel Tejada and the Tigersharks now trailed by a score of 2 to 1. Both teams exchanged runs in the  sixth with the Saints getting their run via the long ball on an absolute blast to right center off the bat of Paul Konerko. The Tigersharks scored their run on a RBI single from Justin Morneau scoring Joe Mauer from second.  The Tigersharks threatened in the bottom of the seventh getting a leadoff single from Mark Ellis. San Diego’s manager Kory Klecker then pulled off one the best of moves of the series. He inserted Barry Zito as a pinch hitter for starter Tom Gorzelanny.  Knowing Zito was an “excellent” sacrifice bunter, Klecker instructed Zito to do just that and it paid off in spades with Zito ending up with a bunt single!  So with runners on first and second and nobody out, Brandon Orlando knew he needed to get a strike out with the speedy Carl Crawford coming up. He made the call to the pen and brought in lanky lefty Chris Sale. Sale proceeded to strike out Crawford and the next hitter Omar Infante. He got out of the inning when Joe Mauer grounded out to Stephen Drew at short. Saints held a 3 to 2 lead. What a turn of events!   Momentum appeared to be on the Saints side…..but that would all end in the bottom of the ninth. With the Saints clinging to a 1 run lead, closer Francisco Rodriguez was called in to try and close it out and give them a 3 games to 1  lead in the series.  The stage was set as K-Rod got Jose Reyes to ground out to lead off the inning. The next batter Mark Ellis walked.  Pinch hitter Ty Wigginton then struck out. So with two outs, and a man on first, Carl Crawford stepped to the plate.  He didn’t waste any time swinging at the first pitch hitting a no-doubter to right field. The Tigersharks players ran to home plate to greet Crawford “walk-off” style.  Series tied at 2 and the momentum clearly with San Diego heading to Game 5.

Game 5 - A sell-out crowd at Petco saw a rematch of Game 1 starters with Johan Santana going against Felix Hernandez.   It was an epic battle with neither team scoring in regulation. Santana threw 8 shut-out innings giving up only four hits to the Saints along the way. King Felix went nine shutting out the Tigersharks and collecting twelve strikeouts. To say these horses were dealing would be an understatement.  A couple big plays contributed to the scoreless juggernaut. Konerko was thrown out at the plate, in the top of the first,  on a great throw by Infante who chased down a Hamilton double in right center to get Paulie. And then, Jason Castro threw out Jose Reyes at third on a double steal to close out the bottom of the fifth. Fast forward to the Top of the eleventh, with one out Josh Hamilton walked off reliever Will Ohman. Ohman then walked Edwin Encarnacion.  Saints manager Brandon Orlando pinch hit for Stephen Drew bringing Jeff Keppinger to face the lefty. This move forced Tigersharks’ manager Kory Klecker to bring in a righty given Keppinger’s success against left handed pitching.  Kevin Loe proceeded to walk Keppinger loading the base. Obviously flustered, Loe then walked Howie Kendrick scoring Hamilton to give the Saints a 1 to 0 lead. Juan Uribe, the last man on the Saints bench, pinch hit for the pitcher Brian Sanches, and lined a single to center scoring Encarnacion giving the Saints a 2 to 0 lead heading to the bottom of the eleventh. Francisco Rodriguez retired the Tigersharks in order in the eleventh giving the Saints a 3 games to 2 lead in the series. Orlando admitted later that he debated bringing in K-Rod after his blown save in Game 4 but went with his gut and it proved to be the right move in this one.

Game 6 - Back to Seattle and back indoors as Game 6 saw a rematch of Game 2 with Barry Zito taking the ball for San Diego and David Price, who was rocked for 5 runs in Game 2, taking the hill for St. Charles.

Each team exchanged a run in the first inning with San Diego scoring in the top half of the inning with a RBI single from Miguel Tejada that scored Mark Ellis. The Saints answered on a delayed double steal that saw BJ Upton steal home. With the scored tied at 1, the Tigersharks  took the lead in the top half of the second on a Omar Infante single to left that scored Carl Crawford from second. Crawford singled and took second with his third stolen base of the series.   San Diego’s speed was a huge factor in the series as they swiped nine bags with Jose Reyes leading the way for the Tigersharks with five stolen bases.  Leading 2 to 1, San Diego added a run in the fourth off reliever Gavin Floyd. Floyd was inserted for David Price who got injured after giving up a lead-off single to Miguel Tejada in the inning.  Tejada would cross with the third run on a RBI single from Carl Crawford.  The Tigersharks increased their lead to 4 to 1 in the top of the fifth on a moon shot from Michael Cuddyer.  After increasing their lead to 5 to 1 in the seventh, the Tigersharks broke the game open in the top of the eighth adding 3 more runs to take a commanding 8 to 1 lead. The Saints managed to score three meaningless runs in the ninth giving the Tigersharks an 8 to 4 victory and tying the series up at 3 games apiece.  Barry Zito was on cruise control for the most part giving up one run in his six and two third innings which was more than enough as the Tigersharks offense pounded out 14 hits never letting the Saints back into the game.  A Game 7 was now a reality.

Game 7 - “What you always dream about, a Game 7 of a World Series. Does it get any better than this boys!” an excited Brandon Orlando said as he addressed the media ahead of the decisive finale.  A reporter then asked, “What will you tell your players?” Orlando gave a pretty straight forward response.  “Nothing…..they know its Game 7. This isn’t football or hockey, its baseball.  I don’t need to give a Mike Ditka or Herb Brooks type of speech. They know what’s ahead of them. It will be a great game against a great opponent in San Diego. I have all the respect in the world for Kory and what he’s done with that club over the last 8 years or so.  It should be a great game.”

The finale was a rematch of starting pitchers from Game 3, with 16 game winner Ted Lilly going for San Diego and R.A. Dickey getting the nod for St. Charles. Dickey already had a Game 7 victory under his belt in the 2011 playoffs that coming in the ALCS.   The stage was certainly set for a dramatic Game 7.

The Tigersharks started off quick getting a lead-off double from Carl Crawford, his fourth of the World Series.  Omar Infante legged out an infield single advancing Crawford to third. With runners on the corners and no one out, Joe Mauer grounded into a 6-4-3 double play scoring Crawford. Mauer noticeably limped down the line; he was in obvious pain which was a huge factor all series.  With San Diego leading 1 to 0, the Saints put a run on the board in the bottom of the second with Paul Konerko hitting his fourth homer of the World Series.  Brandon Orlando later described Konerko as a “stud.” And went on to say, “that’s how you get a 14,000 square foot house in Scottsdale.”

The tie was short lived as San Diego struck again picking up a run in the top of the third on a clutch two out RBI single from Ryan Ludwick scoring Carl Crawford. The Saints minimized the damage as the Tigersharks had first and second and nobody out. Jose Reyes was gunned down at third by Ryan Hanigan on a “strike’em out, throw them out,” play with Infante looking at strike three.  It was a huge play in retrospect. The Tigersharks would pick up their third run in the fourth on a laser beam off the bat of Justin Morneau into the right field stands.  Morneau’s first of the series to go along with an impressive .391 AVG, .517 OBP, and .565 SPC. A MVP candidate for sure if the Tigersharks were to prevail.

The Saints closed the lead to 4 to 3 with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the fourth.  Josh Hamilton hit his first homer of the series on 0-1 hanger from Lilly. Corey Hart hit a two-out double and scored on the very next play as Stephen Drew hit a double of his own down the first base line past a diving Justin Morneau.  It was the only RBI for Drew all series.  At the conclusion of the inning, James Loney ran out to first base to take the field in the top of the fifth. Paul Konerko was removed from the game?  Manager Brandon Orlando was questioned about the move. “Yeah he ran out of low-side Abs with Kory starting 7 lefties . Nothing we could do. Obviously, I wanted Paulie out there for more than 4 innings in a Game 7.  But rules are rules and we followed them.”

The Tigersharks lead expanded to 5 to 3 in the top of the fifth on an opposite field two run shot from Joe Mauer. Images of Kirk Gibson and his bum leg rounding second base in the 1988 World Series came to mind as Mauer trotted around the bases.  It was the first real big impact hit of the series for Mauer who struggled by his standards with a .269 average in the series.

The game remained 5 to 3 through seven innings. Each manager had gone to their pen with JC Romero and Brian Sweeney pitching a scoreless six and seventh for the Tigersharks. The Saints turned to starter Felix Hernandez pitching on two days rest after throwing 140 pitches in Game 5.  King Felix retired the order in the seventh and then thwarted a self inflicted threat in the top of the eight after walking lead-off hitter Joe Mauer, and then giving up a single to Ryan Ludwick. Hernandez found himself with runners on the corner and nobody out!  He promptly struck out Justin Morneau and induced Ty Wigginton into a 6-4-3 inning ending buster. The Saints avoided disaster and still had a sliver of hope heading into the bottom of the eighth.

With Tigersharks reliever Brian Sweeney still pitching, Ryan Hanigan led the eighth inning off with a double down the third base line for the Saints. Kory Klecker quickly came out of the dugout and went to the pen bringing in the 41 year-old right hander Takashi Saito.  Orlando countered, inserting pinch hitter Corey Patterson for BJ Upton. A sac fly to center from Patterson moved Hanigan to third with one out.   Scottie Pods followed with a RBI single to right pulling the Saints closer and now trailing 5 to 4. Lefty Doug Slaten was brought into the game to face AL MVP candidate Josh Hamilton. Pods was off on the first pitch stealing second. With one out, and with Pods on second, Hamilton hit an incident slow roller back to the mound. Slaten’s throw to first base was errant allowing Pods to score from second and Hamilton to take second base.  The noise created by the crowd at Safeco was deafening. They were starting to believe that fate was on their side. James Loney stepped to the plate and hit an infield single to short advancing Hamilton to third. Wow! Jose Reyes didn’t get Loney on a bang bang play.  Another call to the pen, Klecker called for righty Darren O’Day to face Corey Hart.  Still with one out, Hart hit a fly ball to center just far enough for Josh Hamilton to score the go-ahead run.  The noise levels at Safeco were now reaching a Van Halen concert (Sammy Hagar version) as the fans waved their orange and black Saint hankies with the fleur de lis logo prominently displayed. With the Saints leading 6 to 5, and with Loney still on first, Stephen Drew singled advancing Loney to third. Could they add an insurance run? It was in the hands of Howie Kendrick. O’Day kept the lead at one, getting Kendrick to ground out into a force at second putting an end to a nightmare eighth inning for the Tigersharks.

Heading to the mound to try and close the game for the Saints was J.J. Putz not Francisco Rodriguez. This was not a total surprise as Brandon Orlando went with Putz over K-Rod in Game 7 of the ALCS.  Putz promptly retired the Tigersharks in order and it was Captain time in Seattle!

For the Saints, it was their first World Championship under GM/Manager Brandon Orlando and their second overall in franchise history.  An improbable ending for sure and a major shock to an otherwise well played series.  Brandon Orlando later articulated his feelings by saying, “I feel awful for Kory and his team to lose in that fashion but you can’t take anything away from the effort of our players. They showed a lot of heart coming back the way they did in the 8^th.”

Congratulations to Kory Klecker and his NL Champion San Diego Tigersharks…..great series Kory! You are one of the best owners in the league and I expect to see your team back in the World Series in the near future.

World Series MVP – Paul Konerko

.500 Avg, 1.150 SLG, 4 HR, 6 RBI