Elysian Fields Wins 2018 World Series

Here are the Strat game recaps from the 2018 World Series, in which the No. 1 Elysian Fields Dutchmen defeated the No. 2 Mohawk Valley Lions four games to none.

Game One
Dutchmen 5, Lions 4
Zack Greinke @ Max Scherzer

Max Scherzer retired 10 batters on strikeouts at Elysian Fields as the Elysian Fields Flying Dutchmen beat the Mohawk Valley Lions by the count of 5 to 4.

Scherzer (3-2) delivered a fine performance for Elysian Fields. He went 7 innings allowing 6 hits and 3 walks. Mohawk Valley made it exciting in the 9th, but they were unable to push the needed runs across.

Scherzer got help from Roberto Osuna who earned his 3rd save. The loss was charged to Andrew Miller (0-1) in relief.

Drivers Prevail In Dramatic 2017 World Series

GAME 1
Gators 4, Drivers 0
Aaron Sanchez was masterful for the Gators, throwing a compete-game two-hitter. Wilmer Flores tagged Brandon Finnegan for two homers, driving in three of the Gators' four runs.

GAME 2
Drivers 5, Gators 3
The Drivers scratched together a run in the first inning and Goldenrod tied it up in the third. Each team threw up a two-spot in the fourth. Things settled down for the next three innings until the eight when Todd Frazier dropped a bloop single into left field, scoring Yoenis Cespedes and Jedd Gyorko. The Death Valley bullpen of Alex Wood, Chris Devenski and Kelvin Herrera locked down the last three inning to help get the W for the Drivers.

GAME 3
Drivers 2, Gators 1
This was another surprising pitcher's duel. The Gators were able to get to Aaron Nola in the fifth for a run when Jarrod Dyson plated Russell Martin. It looked like that was all the Gators would need as they entered the bottom of the ninth, but then Randal Grichuk stepped to the plate and dumped a home run into the right field seats. Todd Frazier came in to pinch-hit and singled, followed by a Adeiny Hechavarria single. With two on and one out, Welington Castillo shot a grounder up the middle to plate Frazier, and the exuberant Driver faithful celebrated the walk-off and a 2-1 series lead.

World Series: Lake County 4, Spokane 3

Game recaps from the Strat box scores. In the World Series, the No. 3 Spokane Hooded Crows (99-63) met the No. 8 Lake County Nighthawks (x).

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Game One
Crows 4, Nighthawks 3

Starters: Mark Buehrle @ Clayton Kershaw

49,923 fans watched an exciting game at The Crows Nest. The Spokane Hooded Crows ended a long winless drought and topped the Lake County Nighthawks by the slimmest of margins, 4 to 3.

The game was won by Spokane with a run in the bottom of the 8th inning. Chris Colabello was hit by a pitch. Juan Uribe stepped up to the plate and he was hit by a pitch. After an out was recorded, Joc Pederson then slapped a single to load the bases. D.J. Lemahieu followed next and he hit a sacrifice fly scoring the run. Lake County threatened in the 9th but their rally came up short.

Carson Smith (1-0) got the win allowing no runs in 2/3 of an inning. Smith was helped out by Roberto Osuna who recorded his 4th save. Kevin Siegrist (0-1) was the loser in relief.

Lions Capture Second Straight MMDA Title

The Mohawk Valley Lions roared to a second straight MMDA title with an unlikely sweep of the top-seeded Northwest Stars in the World Series. The Lions overcame early deficits in three of the four games, a feat made possible by a pitching staff (and defense) that allowed just seven runs and a 1.75 ERA in the World Series.

Andrew McCutchen hit .333 with two home runs and
six RBIs in four World Series games

Luck never seemed to leave the Lions' side in the 2015 postseason. They went 5-2 in one-run games, 4-0 in extra-inning games and 7-1 on the road. They lost their first two playoff games at home, when they scored only one run in 18 innings against the Pilots' Jake Arrieta and Carlos Carrasco. Then they played 19 extra innings in six tense games with the Crows in which Spokane outscored Mohawk Valley by one run. The Lions lost the first game of that series at home, too.

Two of Mohawk Valley's biggest stars shined brightly in the World Series, when league MVP Andrew McCutchen and league Cy Young Award winner David Price stepped up their games. McCutchen hit .333 (5-for-15) with two home runs, a double, three walks, four runs and six RBIs. He drove in the game-winning runs in Games One and Four. Price picked up the win in the title-clinching Game Four, and in his two starts logged a 1.74 ERA with 12 strikeouts, three walks and nine hits allowed in 10 1/3 innings.

Brief capsules of each World Series game follow.

World Series: Mohawk Valley 4, Northwest 0

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this World Series matchup, the No. 1 Northwest Stars (117-45) had home-field advantage versus the No. 2 Mohawk Valley Lions (113-49).

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Game One
Lions 3, Stars 2

Starters: David Price @ Doug Fister

Mohawk Valley brought 2 runs across the plate in the 5th inning when they had 3 base hits. The key at-bat was by Andrew McCutchen who quieted the crowd when he clubbed a two-run home run.  Northwest made it exciting in the 9th, but they were unable to push the needed runs across.

The win went to Fernando Abad (2-0), who allowed no runs in 1 2/3 innings. Abad was helped out by Joe Smith, who recorded his 4th save. Doug Fister (0-2) was the losing pitcher. 

Third Time's A Charm For Lions

Mohawk Valley shined in the 2014 postseason, winning 12 of 16 games, with a stingy pitching staff and grinding offensive attack. 

Lions pitchers (and defenders) allowed just 2.69 runs per game in a playoff context in which no other team allowed fewer than 4.00 R/G (Goldenrod). That performance might have been expected based on Mohawk Valley's regular-season showing, in which the club led the MMDA in strikeout rate (8.3 per nine innings) and ranked third in ERA (3.44) and opponent average (.237). 

The Lions offense, on the other hand, exceeded expectations during the playoffs, scoring 4.56 runs per game, which was a better rate than all but Goldenrod (5.07) and Rochester (4.86). During the regular season, Mohawk Valley led the MMDA in only one category (doubles) and ranked outside the top 10 for scoring, but with a condensed roster during the playoffs the Lions were able to put their best foot forward. They ranked third among postseason participants with a team .340 on-base percentage and strikeout rate of 17.1 percent, and they logged the top walk-to-strikeout ratio of 0.55.

But good fortune has not always smiled on Mohawk Valley, at least when it mattered most.

"Winning in 2014 is especially gratifying for the Lions," manager Matt Eddy said, "because we lost the World Series in 2012, then lost a taut, seven-game LCS in 2013. To come so close three times without winning the ring? Well, that would have been tough."

Lions End Huskies' Bid For Back-To-Back Titles

Three, two, one . . . blast off!

Mohawk Valley captured its first MMDA championship in its 13th year in the league by defeating the No. 3 Fighting Irish in the first round, the No. 2 Brooklyn Dodgers in the second round and the No. 1 Northeast Huskies in the World Series. The Lions went 12-4 (.750) in the playoffs while defeating a trio of opponents who could objectively be labeled as the three best teams during the regular season because they led the MMDA in runs scored and run differential.

Yu Darvish fired 7.2 shutout innings in Game Seven of the
World Series to pitch the Lions to victory

In the World Series, the Lions jumped out to a two games to one advantage before dropping two in a row at home to send the series back to Northeast, with the Huskies needing only one victory to clinch a second straight MMDA title. The fate of the Mohawk Valley season hinged on Games 6 and 7 starters Stephen Strasburg and Yu Darvish, plus whatever help ace relievers Joe Nathan and Koji Uehara could provide.

As it played out, that quartet of pitchers held the Huskies scoreless on 10 hits over 18 innings, and the Mohawk Valley offense scored just enough runs to win two games and claim the World Series. The Lions eked out a 2-0 win in Game 6, with the runs scoring on a wild pitch and an infield groundout, and then led Game 7 by a 1-0 score heading into the ninth inning, when a series of fluke defensive outcomes goosed the lead to 5-0.

World Series: Mohawk Valley 4, Northeast 3

Game recaps from the Strat-generated box scores. In this World Series matchup, the No. 1 Northeast Huskies (101-61) had home-field advantage versus the No. 6 Mohawk Valley Lions (87-75).

Game One
Huskies 2, Lions 0

Chris Archer (1-0) and Yu Darvish (3-1) locked horns in a pitcher's duel with Archer and the Northeast Huskies coming out on top of the Mohawk Valley Lions 2 to 0.

Northeast drew first blood jumping out to an early lead in the first inning scoring a single run. That was all the runs Archer needed. Neither team managed to score after the 2nd inning. 

Archer was helped out by Casey Janssen who recorded his 2nd save.

Huskies Capture MMDA Championship

Congratulations to the Northeast Huskies, who capped a six-year run of regular-season domination with a championship, topping the Northwest Stars in seven games to capture the MMDA World Series.

Huskies DH David Oritz blasted the World Series-winning
home run in the 17th inning of Game Seven

John Tresca's club led the league with 115 wins during the regular season, landing in a familiar place: atop the Northeast Division (named for its geographic location, though it could just as well be in honor of its dominant team). That marked six consecutive seasons in which the Huskies have either won the division outright or tied for first.

Since bringing up the rear with a 54-108 record in 2007, the Huskies have gone 659-313, good for a .678 winning percentage. During that span they posted the best record in the league three times (2009, 2012, 2013). For all that dominance, however, there is one thing that eluded them: a title.

In five years the Huskies have advanced to the final series only once, falling to the Bulldogs in seven games in 2009. But this year they rolled through, topping the West Side Bluejays in five games in the first round of the playoffs, then withstanding the defending champion Goldenrod Gators in six games in the semi-finals.

The Stars, however, took the Huskies to the brink with a seven-game challenge. The final game was an epic affair in which the home club won in the 17th inning on a two-run shot by DH David Ortiz.