American League
Kansas City Royals (92-70) v Boston Red Sox (88-75)
Joaquin Andujar and, to a slightly lesser extent, Bruce Kison are two big losses here for the Royals and you just know the Red Sox rarely fail to take advantage of any edge presented them.
KC has the home-field advantage and will need to use it if they want to get to the final stage.
The Royals take a tight first game 3-1 behind Mike Krukow but the Red Sox tie the series the next day with a 6-3 win in which Wade Boggs and Ruppert Jones each have 4 hits.
KC shows they mean business with a blowout 10-2 win at Fenway in Game 3 and finish it off with a dogged 4-3 win in a seesawing affair to book their first-ever appearance in the Fall Classic.
George Brett wins the MVP.
National League
Los Angeles Dodgers (99-63) v Pittsburgh Pirates (95-67)
This series will in all likelihood come down to whether our bats can master their tremendous pitching staff.
It’s a big ask but we’re a group of gamers and if any bunch can do it ours can.
Our pitching will also need to be parsimonious with allowing runners on because they have a few big bats that can really punish you if you give them too many chances.
As we showed last year, we’re a decent hope here if we can just get a roll on and execute like we know we can.
We push them in the opener despite managing just 6 hits all up but eventually come up short as they score late and hold on for a 4-3 win.
We drop another heartbreaker the next night after John Candelaria pitches four no-hit frames and then keeps us in the game as we score in the top 9th to tie it but then lose 3-2 in 10.
Back at home for Game 3, Larry McWilliams is the only thing between us and elimination but he has to see off Lefty Carlton to keep us alive.
He does his level best but our bats have no answer to the quality of the opposing pitchers as we manage just 17 hits over the three games and drop out of the competition via another one-run defeat, this time 4 to 3.
Former Pirate Bill Madlock is named series MVP, mainly by dint of his 2-homer performance in the clincher.
