Remember, Games 6 and 7 always get their own posts so as not to spoiler whether there is a Game 7 by the length/position of the scroll bar in your browser alone. 
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2048 CONTINENTAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Portland Raccoons (93-69) @ San Francisco Bayhawks (112-50)
Game 2 opponents Bubba Wolinsky and Jesse Bulas would meet again as the series returned to the Bay, with the Raccoons now holding a 3-2 edge and looking grimly determined to not have to throw the dice with Nolte again in Game 7.
Game 6 – Bubba Wolinsky (7-2, 3.23 ERA) vs. Jesse Bulas (12-7, 3.31 ERA)
Wolinsky had been lit up quite badly in Game 2, but with the shutout in Game 5 and the day off after that, the bullpen was completely reset and had three long guys available, so we would probably not waiting around forever for Bubba to find his mojo. Speaking of the bullpen, none of the eight relievers had been in more than two games so far, and the top three of Moreno, Porter, and Lynn had all just made one appearance for a total of 2.2 innings.
POR: SS Adame – CF Herrera – 3B Maldonado – RF Preble – 2B Waters – 1B Gurney – LF Watt – C Gonzalez – P Wolinsky
SFB: CF Fink – SS Dau – LF Crum – 3B Copeland – 2B Quiroz – 1B A. Marquez – C J. Hill – RF P. Colon – P Bulas
Wolinsky soon made it a habit to put the leadoff man on base. Fink doubled in the first, but was stranded three poor outs, while Quiroz drew a leadoff walk in the second, was forced out by Marquez, and then Marquez was stranded with a K and a pop. Bulas, who retired the Raccoons in order the first time through, then singled to begin the bottom 3rd. Sigh! Fink flew out, Dau doubled, and a run scored on Ken Crum’s groundout before Copeland struck out. Not ideal…
Armando Herrera took it upon himself to tie the game in the fourth, hitting a liner into the cavernous left-center parkland and by the time John Fink retrieved the ball, Herrera was already taking a big turn for third base. He was waved on for home plate, Dau relayed Fink’s throw to home plate, but it was too late – Herrera tied the game with an inside-the-park home run!!
The Coons continued with a Maldo single to center, while Preble grounded to Quiroz for what oughta have been two, but became none with a wide throw past Todd Dau. Waters hit into a force at second base, but Gurney singled through the right side to chase home Maldonado from third base, giving Portland a 2-1 lead…! Waters dashed to third on the play, but Watt stranded them on the corners by whiffing.
Bottom 4th, and AGAIN the leadoff man was on base with a leadoff single for Quiroz…! Oh, Bubba!! The tying run in Quiroz was at third base by the time there were two outs, and the #8 spot was up. Show us what you got, Baybirds – Colon was walked intentionally, bringing up Bulas, with double action in the Raccoons’ pen to counter any move for a pinch-hitter with an appropriate reliever. No pinch-hitter game forth again, Bulas hitting for himself, and grounding out to Maldo. The fifth was the first inning where Wolinsky got out the leadoff man, then walked Dau with one gone instead, but that run also stuck to the bases.
Hill’s 2-out single in the sixth led nowhere, while Waters got on to begin the seventh, but was caught stealing. It was still 2-1 for the Critters, with Wolinsky coming back for two outs in the bottom 7th, but that put him at 101 pitches, which was well enough. Preston Porter came on in a double switch, Baskins replacing Watt in left. He walked Dau in a full count, but rung up the switch-hitter Crum, who didn’t have much luck from either side of the plate in this series.
While Baskins crammed a double with one out in the eighth into the corner, neither Adame nor Herrera found a hit to plate him against Bulas. Porter returned for the bottom 8th with Lynn lined up behind him. Porter conceded singles to both Copeland and Quiroz, and now we were in the ****. Lynn came on for Marquez, but the Baybirds countered with the Coons’ right-handed nemesis, Ted ********* Del Vecchio. Lynn got a strike in before Del Vecchio slapped a sharp grounder into play. Adame! To Waters! To Gurney! Double play! Copeland moved the tying run to third, however, and John Hill had batted .500 since taking over for the fallen Sean Suggs. The righty wouldn’t get to hit, as we waved the go-ahead run on base to get to Colon. Montes batted for Colon, but that was *still* a lefty bat – Tony Romero would have been a righty option on the bench. Montes grounded out to Waters on the first pitch, ending the inning.
Top 9th, Maldo socked a leadoff double off Jeremy Mayhall, and yes please, I would very much like an insurance run. I didn’t get it though. Preble was now walked with intent, Waters whiffed, and Gurney kicked into a double play to throw the chance away.
BUT – Gurney’s double play preserved Lynn’s existence in the #7 spot and thus the game, and when the Bayhawks began the bottom 9th with Mike Jaros batting in the #9 hole, the Raccoons held back Moreno and instead continued with Lynn on the mound – mind that Fink in the #1 hole was also a lefty. Lynn secured a groundout and a strikeout from those two, and THEN the Coons went to Moreno with two outs on the board, tying to get the last one from Dau. Moreno entered with Glodowski in another double switch that took Preble out of the game and Moreno’s fuzzy bum out of the leadoff spot in a potential 10th inning. There was no 10th inning. Dau held out until 2-2, then grounded up the middle. Adame zoomed over, threw to first, and thus ended a 112-win team.
Raccoons 2, Bayhawks 1 – (Raccoons win 4-2!)
Maldonado 2-4, 2B; Baskins 1-1, 2B; Wolinsky 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 K, W (1-1); Lynn 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K;
The Coons go to the World Series! The Coons go to the World Series!!
