8th-inning rally caps Game 6, first title for Tucson

An 8th-inning rally secured Game 6 for Tucson over Arkansas, 6-5, and with it the 2016 DMBL World Series title.

The triumph in Arkansas on Wednesday night was the third straight victory for Tucson after being down 2 games to 1. The Scorpions also avoided a Game 7 in which they probably would have faced Arkansas ace Dallas Keuchel (against Zach Greinke).

Nolan Arenado was the hitting star of the game, going 4-for-5 with a home run and 3 doubles. He and RBI and 3 runs scored. Tucson's postseason hero, Nelson Cruz, went 2-for-3 with 2 runs and 2 RBI and again had a key 4th inning home run for the top-seeded Scorpions.

On the other side, Anthony Rizzo was 3-for-3, carrying the No. 2 and defending champion Golden Falcons with a home run and a double. Lorenzo Cain scored 2 more runs, giving him a league-high 11 in 10 postseason games. He and Cruz had the most postseason hits with 14.

Tucson starter Jon Lester, who tossed a 4-hit shutout in Game 2, was less than stellar. He scattered 9 hits over 5 innings, giving up 5 runs (3 earned). He got the hook after Mitch Moreland homered to lead off the 6th, giving Arkansas its biggest lead at 5-3. Carlos Villaneuva had another sterling postseason effort, going the final 4 innings in relief. He struck out 5, walked 1 and gave up just 1 hit to earn the win.

Edinson Volquez was good for Arkansas, striking out 8 and walking 3 over 6 innings while giving up 3 earned runs on 3 hits. He was pulled after 6 innings and 99 pitches, despite striking out his final 3 batters. Sam Dyson suffered his second loss of the series, yielding 4 hits and 3 runs in just 1 1/3 innings.

Dyson worked through the 7th despite two hits but the top of the 8th was his undoing. A one-out double by Arenado and a single by Cruz put two in scoring position before Dyson walked Kyle Schwarber to end his night.

Joaquin Benoit entered a tough spot and walked his first batter, pinch-hitter Yavergis Solarte, to bring home Arenado and making it a 1-run ballgame. Benoit came back to strike out Brandon Crawford for the second out but then Jose Altuve ripped a two-run single to give Tucson a 6-5 lead and Quisenberry Memorial Park suddenly went quiet.

Benoit got out of the inning and finished up in the 9th but was tagged with the blown save. The Golden Falcons only managed one hit over the last 3 innings -- a two-out Rizzo double in the 7th -- against Villaneuva.

Both Rizzo and Arenado led off their team's half of the 2nd inning with solo home runs to open the scoring. The Golden Falcons followed with 2 more runs in the 3rd to expand a 3-1 margin, taking advantage of a Brandon Crawford error. Jhonny Peralta's infield single led off the inning and Billy Burns struck out before Crawford misplayed Gregor Blanco's ground ball, putting men on 1st and 2nd. Tucson got the lead runner on Cain's grounder to 1st but Rizzo and Buster Posey each followed with two-out singles to bring home two runs.

Tucson responded in the 4th with a two-run blast by Cruz, which was preceded by Arenado's first of three doubles, to make it a 3-3 tie. Arkansas scratched out a run in the very next inning, taking advantage of a momentarily wild Lester. With two out, Cain singled and then Posey and Rizzo both reached on walks to load the bases. Martin Prado came up with a clutch single to right -- scoring Cain for a 4-3 lead -- but Posey was thrown out at the plate by Cruz to cut the rally short. On deck was Moreland, who would lead off the 6th with a home run, chasing Lester after 81 pitches.

Game 6 was the highest-scoring one of the series but three of the six games were decided by 2 runs, and the other three by just a run. Overall, Tucson outscored Arkansas 18-15 over the six games. It's the first DMBL crown for the Scorpions, who came into the postseason as the top seed.

For the third straight year, the defending champion lost in the final. Second-seeded Arkansas defeated San Francisco last season for the title, and in 2014 San Francisco knocked off Hoboken, the 2013 champ.