NALB 2019 World Championship Series - Game 1

K. Fields
2020-09-14T14:23:55-04:00
Baseball

For the sixth year in a row, the Brooklyn Knights (108-54) are in the World Championship Series and hosting game one. The Phoenix Rattlers (91-71) are making their third appearance in the WCS. Their previous trips were in 2003 and 2009. Each team won a hard fought seven game League Series to get here. Both teams suffered playoff injuries to key players. The Knights' top hitter, outfielder Blas Ramos, hurt his knee in game seven of the League Series and was sent to the injured list. Likewise, the Rattlers sent starting pitcher Ralph Kerfoot to the IL.

The Rattlers had lefty ace Heath MacKissock (15-10, 2.76 ERA) on the mound for the opening game. The Knights starter was Darius Luxton (13-12, 4.37 ERA).

Right fielder Arturo Guerrero was the player of the game. Guerrero went 2 for 5 with 2 home runs and a walk. He drove in 3 runs and scored twice. His first home run keyed a three run fourth inning for the Rattlers. His second homer was a solo shot in the sixth inning. The Knights finally pushed some runs across in the seventh inning. DH Joe Barnstaple blasted a three run homer as Brooklyn scored four runs to tie the game. The game went into extra innings and lasted until the 13th inning. With Norman Forbes on the mound for Brooklyn, center fielder Carl Gwinn led off with a home run to give Phoenix the win. It was extra sweet for Gwinn to have this big WCS moment in Brooklyn as he played for the Knights from 2010 to 2013.

Final score: Phoenix 5, Brooklyn 4

             1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13   R  H  E
Phoenix      0 0 0 3 0 1 0 0 0  0  0  0  1   5 12  0
Brooklyn     0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0  0  0  0  0   4  7  2

W: N. Chávez
L: N. Forbes