Mexico was picked to finish last in the league, but their starters have done an incredible job of giving them 4 or 5 great innings for an 0.98 ERA, the best in the majors. However, in overall runs allowed per game they are only 3rd in overall runs allowed - giving up around 3 runs a game after the starter leaves for an overall average of 3.50 due to a number of players needing to play out of position in the field and weaker middle relieving until they get to great 8th and 9th inning closers. Agrazal, Gonzalez and Loasiga have all giving scoreless starts of between 4 and 6 innings, but do not have the endurance for long starts.
The SEC is the truly dominant pitching staff, with Scherzer (6 IP, 1 ER, 12 K), Gray (7,0,4) and Buehler (5.2, 1, 9) all dominating and only Woodruff (4,3,3) struggling a little the first time through the rotation. The Pac-12 may have the most dominant 1-2 punch with 13 strikeouts each for Bauer (8 innings, 1 run) and Cole (8,2) who had terrible defense behind him and was the hard-luck loser against the best start to date - Japan's Yu Darvish (no hitter with 13 strikeouts).
To give two examples if what the cards look like if you want to play your own games, Acuna's card shows he on Venezuela's team in this set, he was born in Venezuela, and in the MLB packet he is on Atlanta's team (Ven/Ven/ATL). Scherzer is on the SEC team, he pitched for the University of Missouri, and in the MLB set he is on the Washington Nationals.
The following is a summary of each game for each team. The teams are listed alphabetically and each game is listed in reverse chronological order:
ACC Games:
Dominican Republic 6, ACC 1 (Sweep). The Dominican Republic
then scored 5 more in the first three innings of the second game, and held onto
the sweep 6-1 to improve to 9-3 and drop the ACC to 6-6.
Dominican Republic 15, ACC 7 (sweep, max runs recorded in line
is 10). After the ACC moved into 1st with a 6-0 mark by blitzing Cuba. The
scored 7 more runs against the defending champion Dominican Republic, but it
was not nearly enough. Ozuna hit 3 of the Champs 7 home runs - all in the first
5 innings, for the 15-7 win that gave them sweep credit and tied the two teams
at 6-3.
ACC 9, Cuba 3 (sweep credit): The lack of pitching for Cuba
became an alarm bell after a second straight sweep left them 0-6, having been
outscored 17-6 in the two games. They have two of the top relievers in Chapman
and Raisal Iglesias, but had to use them earlier in the game to get out of
jams, and ran out of arms as Smith's 2nd homer or the game, a 3-run homer, made
it 9-1 after 8 top secure the 5-run lead needed for a sweep. The other
Iglesias, shortstop Jose, hit a 2-run homer in the 9th to add to Alvarez
earlier homer, but they still fell short 9-3.
ACC 8, Cuba 3 (sweep credit): In the only offensive
explosion in the first set of games with all aces pitching, the ACC jumped on
Peacock (we let Cuba have Miami-born players) for 3 in the 1st and then a 3-run
homer by Brad Miller (Clemson-St. Louis) helped the ACC get the 1st sweep (win
after +5 lead after 8 innings).
Big-12 Games:
Big-12 5, Cuba 3. Arrieta (TCU) won the second game with 1
run allowed in 7 innings. The weak Big-12 bullpen surrendered a 2-run homer to
Roberts in the 8th to cut it to 5-3, but that was the final.
Cuba 6, Big-12 3. Muncy (Baylor) led off the game with a
Homer to start a 3 run first for the Big-12, but Perez settled down to not
allow anything else, and Cuba's killer PB2-9s Iglesias and Chapman locked down
Cuba's 1st win, 5-3. Robert homered in both games.
Big-12 5, Dominican Republic 4: The Big-12 used a 3-run
pinch hit HR by Orf and a 2-run homer by Mayfield and then clung to a 5-4 win
against the powerful defending champion Dominion Republic. Three DEEP drives by
the Dominican Republic were all caught for long outs (we play these games as
neutral batter-hitter parks, meaning each DEEP drive is a homer on a 11-48 or
caught by the wall on a 51-88). Ramirez started the 9th with a homer, and then Marshall
issued two walks to (like the SEC against Mexico in Game 2) but the winning run
on base in the 9th, but Marshall induced a ground out by Cano to end the game.
Dominican Republic 5, Big-12 2: McBroom's 2-run homer off
the defending champs ace Castillo gave the Big-12 a 2-0 lead. However Meija
proved the hero for the Dominican Republic, reaching all 4 times including
scoring the tying run after a single, and then delivering a 2-out, bases loaded
single in the 7th, though he did take a wrong turn at 1st base and was thrown
out.
Cuba (or Miami-born) Games:
Big-12 5, Cuba 3. Arrieta (TCU) won the second game with 1
run allowed in 7 innings. The weak Big-12 bullpen surrendered a 2-run homer to
Roberts in the 8th to cut it to 5-3, but that was the final.
Cuba 6, Big-12 3. Muncy (Baylor) led off the game with a
Homer to start a 3 run first for the Big-12, but Perez settled down to not
allow anything else, and Cuba's killer PB2-9s Iglesias and Chapman locked down
Cuba's 1st win, 5-3. Robert homered in both games. The 2020 Playoff hero Randy Arozarena homered. He bats third against lefties, while 2019 Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez (Astros) bats in the same spot against righties, and would homer in the 5-3 loss.
ACC 9, Cuba 3 (sweep credit): The lack of pitching for Cuba
became an alarm bell after a second straight sweep left them 0-6, having been
outscored 17-6 in the two games. They have two of the top relievers in Chapman
and Raisal Iglesias, but had to use them earlier in the game to get out of
jams, and ran out of arms as Smith's 2nd homer or the game, a 3-run homer, made
it 9-1 after 8 top secure the 5-run lead needed for a sweep. The other
Iglesias, shortstop Jose, hit a 2-run homer in the 9th to add to Alvarez
earlier homer, but they still fell short 9-3.
ACC 8, Cuba 3 (sweep credit): In the only offensive
explosion in the first set of games with all aces pitching, the ACC jumped on
Peacock (we let Cuba have Miami-born players) for 3 in the 1st and then a 3-run
homer by Brad Miller (Clemson-St. Louis) helped the ACC get the 1st sweep (win
after +5 lead after 8 innings).
Dominican Republic Games:
Dominican Republic 6, ACC 1 (Sweep). The Dominican Republic
then scored 5 more in the first three innings of the second game, and held onto
the sweep 6-1 to improve to 9-3 and drop the ACC to 6-6.
Dominican Republic 15, ACC 7 (sweep, max runs recorded in
line is 10). After the ACC moved into 1st with a 6-0 mark by blitzing Cuba. The
scored 7 more runs against the defending champion Dominican Republic, but it
was not nearly enough. Ozuna hit 3 of the Champs 7 home runs - all in the first
5 innings, for the 15-7 win that gave them sweep credit and tied the two teams
at 6-3.
Big-12 5, Dominican Republic 4: The Big-12 used a 3-run
pinch hit HR by Orf and a 2-run homer by Mayfield and then clung to a 5-4 win
against the powerful defending champion Dominion Republic. Three DEEP drives by
the Dominican Republic were all caught for long outs (we play these games as
neutral batter-hitter parks, meaning each DEEP drive is a homer on a 11-48 or
caught by the wall on a 51-88). Ramirez started the 9th with a homer, and then
Marshall issued two walks to (like the SEC against Mexico in Game 2) but the
winning run on base in the 9th, but Marshall induced a ground out by Cano to
end the game.
Dominican Republic 5, Big-12 2: McBroom's 2-run homer off
the defending champs ace Castillo gave the Big-12 a 2-0 lead. However Meija
proved the hero for the Dominican Republic, reaching all 4 times including
scoring the tying run after a single, and then delivering a 2-out, bases loaded
single in the 7th, though he did take a wrong turn at 1st base and was thrown
out.
Japan-S.Korea (and born in Hawaii) Games:
Venezuela 17, Japa-S.Korea (max 10 runs recorded on line).
Peralta hit two 3-run homers and Venezuela's .432 batting average and 6 HRs were
both the best batting marks of the 1st 2 series for any team (20 total games).
Venezuela 2, Japan-S. Korea 0. Lopez shut down Japan for 7
strong innings with 9 Ks, the turned it over to the dominant closers Castillo
and Vazquez to complete the shutout, as Peralta's RBI double and Aguilar's
homer provided the 2-0 wins.
Japan-S.Korea 11, Pac-12 3 (sweep, record max of 10). A rare
offensive explosion from Japan was led by homers by Tsutsugo, Choi and Choo.
Japan-S. Korea 2, Pac-12 0: Darvish no-hit the Pac-12, and
only missed a perfect game due to hitting Conforto with a pitch in the 4th.
Cole had a duel no-hitter into the 6th despite terrible fielding, until Ohtani
homered. Later in the inning Tsutsugo hit a grounder down the line that third
baseman Lamb misplayed into an RBI double for the 2-0 final. Under the new
stamina system Darvish PB dropped to a PB: 2-8 for the 8th and PB: 2-7 for the
9th (averages 5-6 innings per appearance, so his remaining SR is eliminated at
the end of the next inning, the 7th).
Mexico (or Central American born) Games:
Pac-12 7, Mexico 6 (10 innings). The normally light-hitting
Mexican team exploded in the 1st two innings with 2-run homers by L. Urias,
Paredes and Kirk to take a 6-2, but the team's normal strength, the bullpen,
let it slip away for a 2nd straight game. Healy went 4 for 4 including the RBI
single in the bottom of the 9th to force extra innings and an earlier homer.
Pac-12 5, Mexico 1. Bauer dominated for 8 innings except for
a HR by Kirk, but had to wait until he was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the
8th to go ahead, with his pinchhitter Semien delivering the key 2-run double.
The normally dominant Osuna allowed 4 runs in the 8th without retiring an
opposing batter.
Mexico 1, SEC 0: The Mexican pictures continued to look like
Fernando Valenzuela, with four pitchers combining for a 3-hits shutout against
the powerful SEC line-up. Second inning singles by R. Urias, R. Urias and then
Arauz (whose grounder got past the 1st baseman) gave Mexico their only run to
secure a surprise split. Gallego dodged a bullet in the 9th when Bradley and
Alonso singled to put the winning run on base, and then Yastrzemski blasted a
clutch batting foul home run, before striking out.
SEC 2, Mexico 1: Light-hitting Mexico led most of the
way on a third inning homer by Arauz off of Schweizer (Mizzou), and the game
ended with Camargo driving a clutch batting (BD) drive just foul that would
have made it 3-2 Mexico. However two Red Sox came though for the SEC with
Bradley delivering one of his 3 hits to load the bases with 2 outs in the 6th
then pinch hitter Benintendi drawing and RBI-walk to break the shutout.
J. McCann the led off the 8th with a Homer for the 2-1 win.
Pac-12 Games:
Pac-12 7, Mexico 6 (10 innings). The normally light-hitting
Mexican team exploded in the 1st two innings with 2-run homers by L. Urias,
Paredes and Kirk to take a 6-2, but the team's normal strength, the bullpen,
let it slip away for a 2nd straight game. Healy went 4 for 4 including the RBI
single in the bottom of the 9th to force extra innings and an earlier homer.
Pac-12 5, Mexico 1. Bauer dominated for 8 innings except for
a HR by Kirk, but had to wait until he was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the
8th to go ahead, with his pinchhitter Semien delivering the key 2-run double.
The normally dominant Osuna allowed 4 runs in the 8th without retiring an
opposing batter.
Japan-S.Korea 11, Pac-12 3 (sweep, record max of 10). A rare
offensive explosion from Japan was led by homers by Tsutsugo, Choi and Choo.
Japan-S. Korea 2, Pac-12 0: Darvish no-hit the Pac-12, and
only missed a perfect game due to hitting Conforto with a pitch in the 4th.
Cole had a duel no-hitter into the 6th despite terrible fielding, until Ohtani
homered. Later in the inning Tsutsugo hit a grounder down the line that third
baseman Lamb misplayed into an RBI double for the 2-0 final. Under the new
stamina system Darvish PB dropped to a PB: 2-8 for the 8th and PB: 2-7 for the
9th (averages 5-6 innings per appearance, so his remaining SR is eliminated at
the end of the next inning, the 7th).
Puerto Rico (or New York born) Games:
SEC 5, Puerto Rico 3. Puerto Rico jumped to a 3-0 lead in
the nightcap, but Alonso (Florida) hit 2 homers to tie it, and then in the 9th
Renfroe, who hit a massive homer for the Rays in the real world series game,
blasted a 9th inning walk off homer off closer Diaz. Based on the line-ups ops
and starting rotations era, the loaded SEC was picked 2nd of 10 teams behind
the Dominican Republic and just ahead of Venezuela. The series made them 7-5 in
third place and expecting to contend - 2 games behind those two teams after 12
games.
SEC 4, Puerto Rico 0. The SEC road Gray's 7 innings if 3 hit
ball to a 4-0 win, but Correa threw Yaz out at home on a grounder to third in
the bottom of the 8th to prevent them from recording a 5-0 sweep. Because
Puerto Rico has three Clutch Defense 5, gold glove nominees at shortstop,
Lindor playa SS, Baez plays 2b and Correa plays 3b.
Venezuela 7, Puerto Rico 0 (sweep). Flores hit 2 HRs, and
Suarez went 4 innings and combined with four relievers on a shutout.
Puerto Rico 4, Venezuela 3 (10 innings): Puerto Rico won on
2 pinch hits. Rosario's pinch hit homer in the 5th tied the game 3-3, and after
2 great defensive plays by Lindor kept it tied, Panik delivered a pinch hit
single in the 10th for the win.
SEC Games:
SEC 5, Puerto Rico 3. Puerto Rico jumped to a 3-0 lead in
the nightcap, but Alonso (Florida) hit 2 homers to tie it, and then in the 9th
Renfroe, who hit a massive homer for the Rays in the real world series game,
blasted a 9th inning walk off homer off closer Diaz. Based on the line-ups ops
and starting rotations era, the loaded SEC was picked 2nd of 10 teams behind
the Dominican Republic and just ahead of Venezuela. The series made them 7-5 in
third place and expecting to contend - 2 games behind those two teams after 12
games.
SEC 4, Puerto Rico 0. The SEC road Gray's 7 innings if 3 hit
ball to a 4-0 win, but Correa threw Yaz out at home on a grounder to third in
the bottom of the 8th to prevent them from recording a 5-0 sweep. Because
Puerto Rico has three Clutch Defense 5, gold glove nominees at shortstop,
Lindor playa SS, Baez plays 2b and Correa plays 3b.
Mexico 1, SEC 0: The Mexican pictures continued to look like
Fernando Valenzuela, with four pitchers combining for a 3-hits shutout against
the powerful SEC line-up. Second inning singles by R. Urias, R. Urias and then
Arauz (whose grounder got past the 1st baseman) gave Mexico their only run to
secure a surprise split. Gallego dodged a bullet in the 9th when Bradley and
Alonso singled to put the winning run on base, and then Yastrzemski blasted a
clutch batting foul home run, before striking out.
SEC 2, Mexico 1: Light-hitting Mexico led most of the
way on a third inning homer by Arauz off of Schweizer (Mizzou), and the game
ended with Camargo driving a clutch batting (BD) drive just foul that would
have made it 3-2 Mexico. However two Red Sox came though for the SEC with
Bradley delivering one of his 3 hits to load the bases with 2 outs in the 6th
then pinch hitter Benintendi drawing and RBI-walk to break the shutout.
J. McCann the led off the 8th with a Homer for the 2-1 win.
Venezuela Games:
Venezuela 17, Japan-S.Korea 3 (max 10 runs recorded on line).
Peralta hit two 3-run homers and Venezuela's .432 batting average and 6 HRs
were both the best batting marks of the 1st 2 series for any team (20 total
games).
Venezuela 2, Japan-S. Korea 0. Lopez shut down Japan for 7
strong innings with 9 Ks, the turned it over to the dominant closers Castillo
and Vazquez to complete the shutout, as Peralta's RBI double and Aguilar's
homer provided the 2-0 wins.
Venezuela 7, Puerto Rico 0 (sweep). Flores hit 2 HRs, and
Suarez went 4 innings and combined with four relievers on a shutout.
Puerto Rico 4, Venezuela 3 (10 innings): Puerto Rico won on
2 pinch hits. Rosario's pinch hit homer in the 5th tied the game 3-3, and after
2 great defensive plays by Lindor kept it tied, Panik delivered a pinch hit
single in the 10th for the win.
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