MLB The Show 13: Simulated Season & Playoffs
By Jeff Schafer
March 26, 2013; Lakeland, FL, USA; Atlanta Braves right fielder Jason Heyward (22) doubles during the fourth inning against the Detroit Tigers at Joker Marchant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
In my first MLB The Show 13 article, I got through the first half of the season to the All-Star break. Jason Heyward was on record setting pace, Craig Kimbrel was racking up the saves and lowing his ERA day by day, the strikeouts were noticeable but the amount of times the ball was flying over the fence the Braves we ok with the K’s.
Now for an opening day special, I’ve gone through the entire season and playoffs.
After the All-Star break the Braves seemed to have caught fire. At the halfway point they were 4.5 games behind the Washington Nationals. In August they made a run, it seemed the records were getting closer and closer by the day.
On August 22nd the Braves and Nationals were tied for the NL East division. Atlanta knew it was time to shine and began winning almost everyday. By September 16th they had a 7.5 game lead over the high-powered Nationals. At years end the Braves ended with a record of 95-67 winning the NL East over the Nationals 91-71 record. The Cincinnati Reds won the NL Central with a 96-66 record and the L.A. Dodgers won the NL West. Washington will have to play in the Wild Card Game against the Braves favorite, St. Louis Cardinals. The AL East was accomplished by the New York Yankees, AL Central was won by Detroit Tigers and the Texas Rangers took the AL West. The AL Wild Card Game will feature the Angels and the Blue Jays.
I was not controlling the Braves so the computer made a trade deadline deal with the Angels shipping Howie Kendrick to the Braves for second baseman Dan Uggla.
Jason Heyward did indeed put up smashing numbers in 2013 as he won the NL MVP award, a Silver Slugger award and a Gold Glove award. He finished the year batting .313 with 44 home runs and 128 RBI’s.
Andrelton Simmons won a Gold Glove award at shortstop and Freddie Freeman won the Gold Glove for the first base position.
The 2013 Playoffs went like this…
St. Louis Cardinals beat the Washington Nationals in thrilling fashion for the Cardinals second time (ugh…) and Toronto Blue Jays beat the Angles to move on.
October 5, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Braves starting pitcher Kris Medlen (54) reacts after giving up a run against the St. Louis Cardinals in the fourth inning of the 2012 National League wild card playoff game at Turner Field. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Braves will take on the L.A. Dodgers in the first round. Clayton Kershaw faced Kris Medlen in game 1 with Kershaw dominating the Braves throwing a complete game five hit shutout with nine strikeouts to win 6-0. Medlen went only five innings giving up three runs off six hits. A home run by Hanley Ramirez and everyone in the Dodgers lineup getting at least one hit, leads L.A to a 1-0 lead.
Game 2 will have Tim Hudson facing Zack Greinke. The Braves offense hasn’t showed up yet this series and weren’t able to get a string of hits put together. They put nine hits on the board but only one run off Greinke. Following in Kershaw’s steps, Greinke goes nine complete innings with six strikeouts and only one run in the ninth inning. Hudson only reaches the 4th inning. Upton was the only offensive star for the Braves with having three hits but the Braves fall 4-1 to go down 2 games to none.
Game 3 features Brandon Beachy on the mound for the Braves, he throws six innings keeping the Braves in contention. Facing elimination, the Braves finally get the offense going in the 7th inning putting three runs on the board from the bats of Heyward and Justin Upton. The Braves tack on five more runs in the 9th inning to win 9-3. Heading into another elimination game, the Braves trail 2-1 in the series.
In the fourth game of the series the Dodgers put Clayton Kershaw back on the mound to finish off the Braves while Medlen will try to force a game 5. Kershaw pitches into the 8th inning not giving up a run and having six K’s. The Dodgers are able to put the first runs on the board in the 7th inning off Medlen to give L.A. a 2-0 lead. In the 9th inning, the Braves we able to get runners on base and score a run but with 2 outs Brian McCann hits a pop fly to center field to end the game and the year for the Braves. The Dodgers move on winning the series 3-1.
The rest of the Divisional Series ends with the Reds move past the Cardinals to face the Dodgers for a chance to win the World Series. In the AL, the Yankees beat the Rangers and the Tigers tackle the Blue Jays.
In the NLCS, the Dodgers sweep the Reds to move into the World Series. The ALCS ended a little more dramatic with the Tigers coming back from a 3-0 lead by the Yankees to win the series 4-3 and move on to face the Dodgers.
The Dodgers beat the Tigers 4-1 in the 2013 World Series.
A little dissatisfying for the Braves fans again this season but I guess we can say we lost to the World Series champs. It was fun doing this with MLB The Show 13 but I can’t agree with them, the Braves will be the 2013 World Series champions!!