Metro Stars Fight Back from 3-0 Deficit, Defeat Impalers to Advance to United Cup (2039 - #19)

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Metro Stars Fight Back from 3-0 Deficit, Defeat Impalers to Advance to United Cup (2039 - #19)

Post by ThePreyingManta » Fri Sep 06, 2019 10:38 pm

In one of the most thrilling playoff series ever, and almost certainly the best series the UMEBA has seen in its short history, the Mumbai Metro Stars came back from being down 3-0 to beat the Bucharest Impalers and advance to the first United Cup in club history. To kick off the series, both teams scored early and fought back and forth throughout the entire game. Metro Stars’ starter Kevin Hicken went 7 innings, but they weren’t particularly good innings, allowing 5 runs on 9 hits. Bucharest scored a run in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game up and walked it off against closer Aurelio Fernandez in the 9th to take the first game of the series in a close 6-5 matchup. In the second game of the series, rookie sensation Tadamichi Yoshida shut the Metro Stars down, pitching 7 innings while striking 7 out and allowing no runs. Mumbai was unable to score any runs off of Bucharest’s lockdown bullpen either, negating a strong start from Reese Rayner to take the series to 2-0 in the Impalers’ favor. Game 3 saw the teams travel to Mumbai where the Metro Stars have fared much better all season. But the friendly confines of The Ballpark of Mumbai would offer no respite in the third game of the series. The game started off well enough for the Metro Stars, as they went up 4-1 following a Robert Gowron solo shot in the bottom of the 3rd. Bucharest pulled it closer with 2 runs in the top of the 4th before the wheels fell off for the Metro Stars in the 5th. The Impalers scored 4 runs off of starter Mike Manning and reliever Irving Espinoza, pulling ahead 7-4. They would score 5 more runs in the 7th to put the game out of reach. Mumbai rallied back for 5 in the bottom of the 9th, but it was a bit too little, too late. Bucharest took Game 3, 12-9, and set themselves up to take the series handily from the thoroughly outpitched Metro Stars.

Game 4, the possible series winner for Bucharest, started off with the Impalers scoring an early run in the 1st. A walk, an error, and a sac fly plated the Metro Stars’ first run in the bottom of the 1st to tie it up. Leonardo Gomez kept Mumbai in it, pitching 4 admirable innings before handing the ball over to the bullpen. The score would remain locked until the bottom of the 5th, when two walks would put runners on before CF Dave Molina walloped a monster home run to center field. The Mumbai bullpen would hold on to get the team its first win of the playoffs. The Metro Stars scored first in Game 5, putting two runs on the board thanks to a two-run jack by Honorio Queixada in the bottom of the 2nd. Impalers’ starter Armando Rasquilha tightened up after the 2nd, holding the Metro Stars scoreless through the 7th. Meanwhile, Metro Stars’ SP Kevin Hicken was unable to keep the Impalers quiet. Bucharest scored 1 in the 5th and 2 in the 6th to go ahead, 3-2. The score remained the same heading into the bottom of the 9th, with the Metro Stars facing elimination. C Honorio Queixada led off with a single through the 3-4 hole before Dave Molina flew out. This was where Metro Stars’ manager Mark Bruner made a decision that would forever change the history of baseball in Mumbai. Instead of letting the scheduled hitter Antony Henderson step up to the plate, he called upon 1B Roberto Perez. Perez, who was signed to a hefty contract with high expectations the week that GM Will Gibson took over, had long ago fallen out of favor in Mumbai with Juan Parra taking over at first. Perez only had 9 at bats in the month leading up to this moment and had not started a game in almost two months. With the game on the line, he quickly fell behind Jorge Ortiz 0-2. He then took a pitch wide and fouled one off. With the count at 1-2, Perez drove the next pitch deep into the Mumbai night, as the crowd of almost 25,000 went crazy, and the Metro Stars lived to fight another day.

With the series heading back to Bucharest, the Metro Stars were not expected to last much longer, as wins had been very tough to come by for anyone playing at Bucharest. In Game 6, Tadamichi Yoshida did not fare nearly as well as he did in Game 2. The Metro Stars scored 5 runs off of him in 5.2 innings. On the other side, Reese Rayner pitched an excellent game. Going 7.2 innings and only allowing 2 hits and 1 run while striking out 6, Rayner put together one of the dominant starts that he tends to throw every two weeks or so. The Metro Stars scored 6 runs in the game on only one extra base hit, a very uncharacteristic outing from the powerful Mumbai lineup. Regardless, it was more than enough to take the series to 7 games. The Metro Stars had quite the task at hand, facing 19 game winner Jose Olvera in Game 7. Bucharest once again struck early in Game 7, with 2 scoring on a single and a throwing error by LF Alfredo Gonzalez in the bottom of the 1st. Mumbai answered back with individual runs in the 2nd and 3rd to tie the game at 2. Starter Mike Manning did not last long for the Metro Stars, coming out of the game after 3.1 innings. Irving Espinoza took over on the mound and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings before giving way to the three-headed monster at the back end of the bullpen. With the game still tied at 2, Gilbert Hansen led off the top of the 7th with a double before LF Daniel McDaniel hit a go-ahead two-run homer. Leon Gonzalez, Motoichi Fujita, and Aurelio Fernandez each pitched scoreless innings to hand the Metro Stars the series victory over Bucharest and allow them to advance to the United Cup against Cairo.

DH Jose Olivarez was named MVP of the series after hitting .393 with only 3 runs scored and 1 RBI. His statline was indicative of the way the series went, as no one player really stood out for either team. It was truly a team win for the Metro Stars, with the bullpen playing a huge factor and clutch hitting playing an even bigger one. Reese Rayner’s two excellent starts were also a big boost for a Metro Stars club needing a big performance on the mound.
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Re: Metro Stars Fight Back from 3-0 Deficit, Defeat Impalers to Advance to United Cup (2039 - #19)

Post by 7teen » Sun Sep 08, 2019 10:04 am

Mike Manning sighting....

A former BBA guy drafted #1 twice. And here he is, winning UMEBA titles.
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Re: Metro Stars Fight Back from 3-0 Deficit, Defeat Impalers to Advance to United Cup (2039 - #19)

Post by allenciox » Sun Sep 08, 2019 1:27 pm

So me, the GM of Bucharest, say "congratulations" to you. You show much grit and determination (can share it, please, with some of my players?). You no longer Rats, you earn right be called Metro Stars.

Well done, and wait 'til next year!

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