The 2015 RABL World Series featured the two teams with the best records in the league.  The Pittsburgh Pirates come in with a record of 105-57 with hopes of winning it all after a disappointing loss to the Boston Red Sox in the 2014 World Series.  The Baltimore Orioles will fill the Camden Yards in the first two games after finishing with a 101-61 record in their first season in Baltimore after moving from Tampa Bay.  Both teams have young and impressive pitching finishing 4^th and 5^th in team ERA on the season and the Pirates are loaded with power hitters, leading both leagues with 234 Homeruns on the regular season.  Managers Bob Krofcheck of the Pirates and Jim Williams of the Orioles enter the games with confidence.

Baltimore sends Alex Cobb to the mound.  Cobb was 10-5 on the season with a 2.51 ERA.  Pittsburgh starts Sonny Gray with a ridiculous ERA of 1.69 and a 12-6 record on the season.  In the top of the 1^st, Jose Reyes reached first on a Starlin Castro error, stole second, went to third on a Mike Napoli single, and scored on a Mike Trout double.  Williams had Cobb put Jason Werth on the load the bases.  Marcel Ozuna popped up and Chris Carter flied out on the warning track in centerfield.  Pittsburgh leads 1-0

Gray cruised through 6 innings two singles and a double.  Cobb regained composure after surviving the 1^st giving up only one run and he cruised through 6 1/3 innings giving up a total of 6 hits and the 1 run.  In the top of the 7^th after Cobb retired Ben Zobrist, he was relieved by Justin Wilson who gave up a single to Jose Reyes then walked the bases full, recording only 1 out, and let fly a wild one which plated Reyes.  Antonio Bastardo came in to record the final out of the 7^th.  Pittsburgh 2 Baltimore 0

Gray finished strong his outing in the 7^th and got the WIN.  He gave up NO runs, 3 hits and recorded 7K’s.  He was relieved by AJ Ramos who was perfect in the 8^th and Ken Giles recorded the Save with a perfect  9^th. 

Final: Pittsburgh 2  Baltimore 0… Pittsburgh takes a 1-0 lead in the series

Baltimore sends their ACE Corey Kluber to the mound.  Kluber lead both leagues with 253 strikeouts and had a 18-11 record with a 2.50 ERA.  Pittsburgh counters with Yu Darvish who was 13-5 with a 3.52 ERA. 

Pittsburgh jumped all over Kluber in the 1^st, scoring 4 runs on 3 hits, highlighted by a homerun by Travis Snider.  Kluber settled down and pitched perfect  2^nd and 3^rd innings.  Baltimore finally got on the board in the 3^rd on a 3 singles by Cody Asche, Jason Heyward, and Anthony Rendon.  The Baltimore mini rally seemed to fire up the Pirates as in the top of the 4^th Snider singled and Yasmani Grandal hit a two run homer off Kluber.  Pittsburgh 6  Baltimore 1 after 3 ½ innings.

It just got worse for Kluber after the 3^rd.  He went 7 full innings giving up 12 runs (10 earned) on 14 hits;  he did manage to strike out 12 of the free swinging Pirates in the Loss.  Mike Trout had his first homerun of the series, Snider had his, and Grandal hit two off Kluber.  Yu Darvish got the WIN on 6 innings of work giving up 2 runs on 6 hits.  Anthony Rendon homerun in the 8^th inning when there was no doubt about the final outcome for the game.  For Pittsburgh  Jason Werth went 3 for 5, Grandal went 3 for 5 with 2 HR, Snider went 2 for 5 with a HR, and Mike Napoli went 2 for 4. 

Final:  Pittsburgh 12  Baltimore 3, Pittsburgh takes a 2-0 lead.

Pittsburgh sends 21 game winner Julio Teheran to the mound and Baltimore starts Mike Fiers who spent most of the regular season in the bullpen.  Teheran was 21-5 with a 3.00 ERA.

Teheran did not disappoint the home fans going 7 innings giving up only 4 hits, but one was a Jason Heyward homerun in the 6^th.  Fiers pitched up to the competition going 7 innings giving up 7 hits but one was a solo shot by Travis Snider in the 5^th.  Both starters left after 7 with the score knotted at 1.

The bullpens took control and the game remained tied at 1 until the top of the 14^th inning.  In the top of the 14^th the Orioles’ Starlin Castro hit a homerun which barely cleared the fence off Kenley Jansen to give Baltimore the lead.  In the bottom of the 14^th when Branyon Pena drew a walk off a tiring Hector Rondon, PH Edison Volquez sacrifice him over to 2^nd, and with 2 out Ben Zobrist doubled off the wall driving Pena home.  After 14, Baltimore 2  Pittsburgh 2

In the top of the 15^th DJ Lemahieu led off for the Orioles with a triple.  Hector Rondon came to the plate because Baltimore had no more relievers and he hit a flyball to centerfield which scored Lemahieu.  In the bottom of the 15^th  Rondon continued on the mound and Pirates Spangenberg flied out, Trout lined out, Werth singled, and Snider went down swinging.  Rondon went 3 1/3 innings for the win giving up 1 run on 2 hits. 

Final in 15:  Baltimore 3  Pittsburgh 2, Pittsburgh leads the series 2-1

Pittsburgh sends Edison Volquez to start game 4 and lefty Drew Smyly draws the start for Baltimore. 

Pittsburgh draws first blood in the bottom of the 2^nd on singles by Jason Werth, Jose Reyes, and Branyon Pena.  At the end of 2:  Baltimore 0  Pittsburgh 1

Baltimore pulls even in the top of the 3^rd on a Jason Heyward homerun.  The score remained tied at 1 until the top of the 6^th.

In the top of the 6^th Baltimore scored three on back to back doubles by Jarrod Saltalammachia and Starlin Castro, and singles by Chris Coghlan and Adam Eaton.  Baltimore takes a 3 run lead. 

In the bottom of the 6^th Trout walked with one out, Travis Snider doubled, and Manager Williams ordered Smyly to load the bases by walking Jose Reyes to get to Branyon Pena who hits .184 vs left hand pitchers and is followed by the pitcher.  Pena doubles in all 3 runners.  Game tied at 4.

In the bottom of the 7^th Pittsburgh takes a 1 run lead as Smyly walks Mike Napoli, Mike Trout singles, and Snider had an RBI single. 

In the bottom of the 8^th with 1 out, Ben Zobrist got a seeing eye single between short and third, was sacrificed over to second and driven in by a Nyjer Morgan single.   Baltimore 4 Pittsburgh 6.

Glen Perkins held the lead and Ken Giles got his second save.  Edison Volquez got the win.

Final:  Baltimore 4  Pittsburgh 6, Pittsburgh leads the series 3-1

The fans come in droves expecting to see their Pirates win the World Series.  The Pirates send Sonny Gray who was almost unhittable in Game 1 to the mound to face Baltimore’s Alex Cobb again.

In the Baltimore 1^st AJ Pollock led off with a single and then Gray had control problems, walking Heyward, Adam Dunn, Saltalammachia plating Pollock, and finally plating Dunn with a base on balls to Coghlan. 

In the bottom of the 1^st Ben Zobrist singled, Reyes walked, and Jason Werth drove them both in with a double.  Baltimore 2  Pittsburgh 2

In the bottom of the 2^nd Pena singled, Zobrist drew a walk with 2 outs, Reyes doubled in Pena but Zobrist was thrown out at the plate.  Baltimore 2  Pittsburgh 3

In the top of the 4^th Lemahieu singled, Pollock singled, and Heyward blasted another homerun giving the Orioles a 5-3 lead.

Baltimore scored the next 4 runs in the 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th.  Dunn contributed a solo homerun in the 7^th.  Pittsburgh added a run in the 8^th off Jepsen, but it wasn’t enough.  Alex Cobb gets the win going 6 2/3 inning giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and striking out 8.  Gray gets the loss going 8 innings giving up 9 runs on 12 hits.

Final:  Baltimore 9  Pittsburgh 4, Pittsburgh leads series 3-2

Baltimore starts Kyle Hendricks who was the elimination game winner in both AL playoff series to face Pittsburgh’s Yu Darvish. 

After Hendricks got 3 groundouts in the top of the first, the Orioles came to bat HOT.  Adam Eaton singled, Heyward singled, Anthony Rendon plated Eaton and went to second on the throw home.  Adam Dunn walked loading the bases.  Rickie Weeks singled in both Heyward and Rendon.  Then Chris Coghlan singled in Dunn.  Pittsburgh 0 Baltimore 4 at the end of 1.

Hendricks was masterful after getting the lead.  He went 7 1/3 innings giving up 2 runs on solo shots by Napoli and Trout.  Baltimore added 2 runs in the bottom of the 8^th off Brad Brach on singles by Eaton, Rendon, and Dunn followed by an RBI sac fly by Salty and a RBI single by Weeks.

Hendricks gets the win to even up the series while Darvish takes the loss.

Final:  Pittsburgh 2  Baltimore 6, series tied at 3 games each.

Baltimore sends Corey Kluber to pitch against Julio Teheran.  Ace against Ace.

Kluber puts the Pirates down in order in the 1^st.  In the bottom of the inning, Adam Eaton singles but it thrown out trying to stretch it to a double.  Rendon singles and Dunn hits a homerun to give the O’s the lead.  Pittsburgh 0 Baltimore 2

In the top of the 2^nd, Mike Trout leads off with a double, with 2 out Snider singles but Trout is held at third.  Pedro Alvarez draws a walk and Kluber fans Napoli to end the threat. 

In the bottom of the 2^nd, Coghlan doubles, Lemahieu drives him in with a single, Eaton singles, and Heyward singles in Lemahieu.  Pittsburgh 0  Baltimore 4

In the 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th Kluber gives up 1 hit while striking out 5.  In the bottom of the 5^th Baltimore strikes again when Rendon singles, Dunn walks, and Saltalammachia hits 3 run homer.  Pittsburgh 0 Baltimore 7

Baltimore adds 2 more runs in the 7^th and 8^th.  Kluber still on the mound as Pittsburgh comes to bat in the 9^th.  Nyjer Morgan singled, Trout and Werth struck out, Travis Snider walked and Grandal hit a 3 run homer.  Joaquin Benoit comes in and gets Napoli to flyout to Adam Eaton.  Kluber goes 8 2/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 5 hits striking out 13 for the win.

Final:  Pittsburgh 3  Baltimore 9