2062.66 Sim 25 Recap CHA vs MTL

[Krathan]

The Atlantic Division race is as close as it could possibly be. Going into the week, the top 3 teams were separated by just a half game in the standings and the 2 teams tied at the top of the division had a 4 game series this week. The Charlotte Flyers and Montreal Blazers battled it out at Ubisoft Field. Charlotte then finished the week off with the first of 4 games in New Orleans.

Game 1: It sounded like a potentially epic pitchers' duel on paper. Bob Anderson vs. Lucio Juarez. In reality, The Blazers kept chipping away at Anderson, led by Dan Wilkinson's 2 home runs, and the Flyers never really gained traction against Juarez. The Blazers landed the first blow with a 6-2 win.

Game 2: This game featured another good pitching matchup. Buwono Mainaky vs. Peter Ramsey. The Blazers scored 1 in the second and another in the 3rd before Lawrence Stewart tied the game in the top of the fourth. Jaime Serna drove in 2 more off of Mainaky in the 6th to put Montreal back on top. The big blow came in the seventh, as Reynaldo Serrano broke the game open with a 3 run home run off of rookie reliever Jose Gonzalez, who allowed 4 runs in just a third of an inning. Gonzalez had only allowed 1 run in his previous 10 appearances. Montreal held on to win 9-4.

Game 3: Arturo Trevino got things turned back around for the Flyers, by allowing just 1 hit and 1 run in 7 scoreless innings for his 6th win of the season. Domingo Chavez added a grand slam to lift the Flyers to a 5-0 victory.

Game 4: Montreal jumped out to an early lead with 2 in the bottom of the first against rookie southpaw Ignacio Lewis. Charlotte turned things around by scoring 1 in the second, 2 in the third, and 5 in the fourth before Montreal had a chance to answer back. The Blazers tried to climb back into it with a run in the fourth and 2 in the fifth, but that was where it ended. Charlotte won the game 8-5, earning a series split.

When the Flyers left Montreal, they were tied with the Blazers and the Jimmies for first place in the Atlantic.

Game 5: Bob Anderson struggled again, allowing 7 runs, 5 earned in just 5.1 innings, bringing his ERA since coming to Charlotte to 7.46. However, Anderson got the win because the offense showed up in a big way. The Flyers won the game 9-8 and Josh Dougherty earned his 42nd save of the season.

Because Montreal and Charm City both lost on Sunday, Charlotte leads the Atlantic Division by 1 game over both teams with just 3 games to play. All three teams have clinched a playoff spot, but the division title, a first round bye and home field advantage throughout the Johnson League playoffs are still at stake.

[lordtoffee]

Something tells me that we could have a Game 163 for all the marbles.

[Krathan]

Something tells me that we could have a Game 163 for all the marbles.

There has been so much back and forth that it feels like there absolutely a good chance this happens.