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2028 Playoffs
World Series
The 2028 World Series saw Detroit return to the fall classic for the first time since winning in 2015 while for their opponents Seattle, this was the third appearance and second in four years under manager William McDonald. While the Giants had the homefield advantage due to their better regular season record, Seattle were seen as slight favorites because of their recent big game experience. In game one Detroit got on the board first on John Ladbrooke’s RBI-single, Seattle rebounded immediately to plate two runs off Detroit starter Bradley Starks courtesy of a C Stephen Miller two-run homer. After the early scoring, runs were hard to come by for both teams, Seattle not helping their cause by failing to take advantage of numerous baserunners and Detroit flat out struggling to hit anything. Seattle finally added a run in the top of the eighth to push their lead to 3-1 before Pedro Rivas closed the door on the Giants in the ninth to hand Seattle the 3-1 win. Having laid an egg in game one, Detroit were eager to prove a point, but it was Seattle who took the lead on a Kirby Watts sacrifice fly in the second inning and they were threatening to score again in the fourth with two men in scoring position and two out, Jose Montoya hit a flyball deep into rightfield which looked to be clearing the wall but an astonishing play by Detroit RF Roberto Cornell (who caught the ball at full stretch, collided with the wall and somehow still held onto it) provided the crucial final out. After making the play Cornell stayed down holding his shoulder and appeared to be in some considerable discomfort, things did not look good for him as he was helped from the field of play with his arm in a makeshift sling. Spurred on by Cornell’s heroics Detroit broke out of their malaise ripping five runs (including a 3B Ryan Scott 3-run homer) off Seattle’s ace Matt Powell to turn the game on its head. The Pioneers couldn’t find a way to answer and Detroit added another run in the eighth before Seattle finally scored a second run in a messy ninth for the home side that required the services of three pitchers to navigate, ageless Anthony Barrett claiming the final out to secure the 6-2 victory and sending the series back to Seattle tied at one. Roberto Cornell didn’t travel to Seattle with the team and before game three manager Keith Bennett confirmed what many suspected, announcing Cornell would miss the rest of the season with a broken collar bone suffered during game two. Seattle called on Daniel Werner to start while Detroit countered with Jermaine Diffin, both pitchers coughed up runs in the first inning but things settled down from there with both men lasting until the sixth before running into trouble again. Werner surrendered three runs including a catcher Jorge Maldonado’s 2-run homer while Diffin gave up a solo homerun to SS Craig Meyers (in his first game back from injury). Detroit’s bullpen suffered a meltdown in the eighth blowing a 5-2 lead before Seattle reliever Pedro Rivas decided to emulate Detroit’s pitchers from the previous inning, allowing two runs to score handing the lead back to the visitors, Giants closer Greg Gray wasn’t as charitable in the home half, pitching a clean inning to preserve the lead and give Detroit a 7-5 win. Game four quickly became a pitching duel between Detroit starter Gonzalo Tellez and Seattle’s Domingas Fidi with neither man allowing a baserunner through the first four innings. Both teams swapped runs in the fifth before Seattle took the lead on an error by SS Bo Southall in the seventh. Pioneers starter Domingas Fidi continued his serene outing, not allowing any Detroit hitters to reach base until the ninth where he wobbled allowing a pair of singles, after a visit from his pitching coach he steadied himself and got over the line to hold onto the 2-1 win and tie the series at two games apiece. Detroit got off to a flying start the following night, plating three runs off Pioneer starter Trevor Kaiser in the first inning giving the Giants an early 3-0 lead. The lead didn’t last long as Seattle scored a run of their own in the home half and then tied the game at three with a Gabriel Nestor 2-run blast in the second, from there the game fell into a lull with neither team troubling the scoreboard through the middle innings. With both starters back in the clubhouse after seven innings it was down to the bullpens to win the game, Detroit’s hitters took advantage of some below par Pioneer relief pitching to score four times over the final two frames while their own relievers held Seattle off the board securing a 7-3 victory and leaving the Giants one win away from their second world championship. The series returned to Michigan and game six began with a slow burn with both starters Matt Powell for Seattle and Rajion Samit for Detroit in control, the visitors broke the deadlock in the fifth when with Craig Meyers on base RF Manny Romero smashed a two-run homer to give the Pioneers the lead. Detroit managed to pull even with an Arthur Davie 2-RBI double and slipped ahead when Bo Southall scored on a Ryan Scott sacrifice fly in the sixth. The Pioneers wouldn’t lie down though and put two men on base in the eighth against Samit prompting a switch, with closer Greg Gray getting the call to attempt a five out save, Gray retired the first man he saw but then surrendered a bases clearing triple to Kirby Watts instantly blowing the lead and putting Seattle ahead. After the bullpen collapse the previous game Seattle manager William McDonald elected to keep starter Matt Powell in the game rather than rely on his pen, but with Powell running on fumes his decision backfired when Alonso Gonzales drilled a sharp two out RBI-single to left to once again tie the game. Greg Gray was back on the mound for Detroit in the ninth and he breezed through the inning before McDonald reluctantly turned to his bullpen to try to send the game to extra innings, Maurizio Villani duly obliging by retiring the Giants in order. A series of relievers for both sides kept the hitters off balance and the scorers unemployed until the bottom of the 13th when with one out Giants CF Orlando Gonzalez smashed the cover off a Ken Kramer fastball depositing it deep into the upper deck in leftfield for a walk-off homerun, sending the crowd wild and delivering the game, and World Series in the most dramatic of ways !!
2028 Playoff Recap
Divisional Series
EL: Detroit 3-1 Tampa Bay, Washington 3-1 Indianapolis
WL: San Diego 3-1 Las Vegas, Seattle 3-0 Kansas City
Championship Series
EL: Detroit 4-3 Washington
WL: Seattle 4-2 San Diego
World Series
Detroit 4-2 Seattle
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