[JayW UK]

2034 Playoffs

Divisional Round

In the east, heavy favorites Tampa Bay would begin their title defence against Philadelphia while Chicago matched up with playoff debutants Charlotte, in the west Oklahoma City would get a chance to avenge their 2033 WLCS defeat to San Jose and Dallas would take on Minneapolis in the first playoff meeting between the two teams.

In a tight pitching duel Charlotte’s Greg Bailey was the unlucky loser in game one, a seventh inning error by 3B Brandon Townsend allowed CF Josh Deric to score the go-ahead run. Chicago tacked on an insurance run in the eighth courtesy of 2B Ignacio Castro’s homer but Zephyr’s starter Logan Jones did not need it, hurling eight innings of three hit ball and striking out twelve before handing over to closer Harvey Widdowes to finish proceedings. Neither starter had their A-game the following night, Chicago’s Eugene Fey lasted only five innings and surrendered four runs while Charlotte’s Jim Jacques didn’t get out of the sixth inning, also giving up four runs, but whereas Chicago’s bullpen stopped the rot, Charlotte’s didn’t. The Zephyrs scored four more times including a monster 450-foot homer by Josh Deric (his second of the night) as Chicago took the game 8-4 and opened a commanding 2-0 series lead. Game three was another tight battle with both starters, Mike Harden (CHI) and Joe Downey (CHA) pitching seven strong innings. With the score tied at two Charlotte’s Tynan Ashley took the mound and proceeded to blow things up, surrendering back-to-back hits, the second of which was a towering 2-run blast to LF Roberto Escobar to put Chicago in the driving seat. Despite getting two men aboard in the ninth the Express were not able to complete the comeback, as Harvey Widdowes struck out both 3B Brandon Townsend and SS Jamie Henson before CF Josh Deric made a superb running catch for the final out, ending Charlotte’s playoff adventure and sending Chicago on to the ELCS.

Philadelphia arrived in Florida for their Date with Tampa Bay as heavy underdogs and were expected by most to play the part of plucky losers in the Hurricanes march to a second consecutive championship. In game one it was Tampa Bay’s ace Angel Castro who started the game as though he had the weight of the world on his shoulders giving up a second inning Grand-Slam to Will Clayton to plunge Tampa Bay into an early 4-0 hole, Castro shrugged off his early struggles to show why he was one of the top pitchers in the league, pitching into the seventh without further trouble before handing over to fan favourite Larry de Meza to see out the game. Unfortunately for the Hurricane pitchers their teammates couldn’t lay a bat on Philly starter Shane Olson who pitched a sublime seven innings (2H, 0R, 1BB, 9K) and only a three-run outburst in the ninth inning made the game interesting as Philadelphia stunned the Hurricanes in their own backyard, taking game one 4-3. The following night was a classic pitcher’s duel with both starters, David Adams (PHI) and Ramon Schoof (TB) pitching eight innings while surrendering only a single run each, Philadelphia CF Will Clayton drove in the go-ahead run off Hurricane reliever Pedro Escobar in the top of the ninth before John Ford (a starter during the regular season) took the mound to close out the game and give the Independence an unexpected 2-0 series lead. Homeruns from 1B Matt Henderson and 3B Todd Gilliatt (2) paced Philadelphia to a 4-0 lead against Tampa starter Dave Cramer while the Hurricanes fearsome offense was once again held in check by inspired pitching from Philadelphia, a late Hurricane rally fell short when John Ford struck out 1B Ryan Porter to end the game and complete the stunning sweep. Entering the series no one had given Philadelphia a chance against the 105-win juggernaut that was Tampa Bay, but behind an offense that used timely hitting to do just enough and a pitching staff that held the NABL’s most explosive offense in check (allowing just 3 homeruns and 7 runs total in the series!!) the Independence pulled off the shock of the postseason and would head to the ELCS full of confidence.

Oklahoma City owners of the best record in the WL entered their series against San Jose as the overwhelming favorites and looking to avenge their 2033 playoff exit against the Spartans. With a pair of blowouts in the opening two games the Outlaws went a long way to realising that ambition, Rafer MacNeil and Antonio Valdes combined to four hit San Jose in a 6-0 game one victory while the Outlaws rolled over the Spartans in game two collecting ten runs on sixteen hits (even pitcher Chris McInnes got in on the act with a 2-RBI double), only a ninth inning RBI double by Armando Burrios denied the Outlaws a second shutout of the series. After being thoroughly humbled in Oklahoma the Spartans returned to California determined to avoid a series sweep, twice Oklahoma went ahead in game three and twice the Spartans tied things up before in the sixth inning that man Armando Burrios hit another RBI double to put the Spartans ahead for the first time in the series, although both teams put men on base neither of them could muster another score the rest of the way as San Jose scraped home 3-2 to stay alive. The following night OKC’s Rafer MacNeil was superb, scattering three hits over eight innings, his only blemish being a third inning solo homerun surrendered to 2B Emilio Mereno and with the Outlaws protecting a narrow 3-1 lead closer Kikaku Aoki took the mound for the ninth. Kikaku immediately ran into trouble as back-to-back doubles by RF Lucio Guerrero and Kenny Henry cut the Outlaws lead to one and when next man up Gregg Bambridge drew a walk it prompted a mound visit from manager Roberto Rodriguez. The pep talk seemed to galvanize Kikaku as he struck out star 3B Tom Sterling before enticing 1B Pablo Gonzales to ground out to 3B Levi Bute bringing SS Connor Brantley to the plate. Brantley a veteran of two World Series wins with Indianapolis used all of his experience to battle Kikaku to a standstill before (after an epic 11-pitch at bat) launching a bases clearing 3-run walk-off homer to hand the Spartans a stunning come from behind 5-3 victory, sending the series back to Oklahoma for a deciding game five. Fresh from snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the Outlaws returned to Oklahoma determined to rediscover their free scoring form and finally put the series to bed. A first inning Chance Merritt homerun got OKC off and running and although they loaded the bases in the third and fourth inning, the Outlaws couldn’t find a way to add to their lead against a Spartan team playing inspired defense. San Jose tied the game in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Gregg Bambridge (his first RBI of the series) before taking the lead in the seventh when C Eduardo Cabrera slammed a 2-run homerun. Clearly feeding off the inspired defensive play, the San Jose pitchers upped their game as from the fifth inning onwards a combination of Julio Torres, Rick Sauer and Vincent O’Carey kept OKC off the basepaths and off the scoreboard as the Spartans took the game 3-1 and sent OKC home for the second consecutive year. The disappointed OKC fans were left to wonder just how their team, who had outhit (49-31) and outscored (22-12) the Spartans, had managed to lose the series after winning the opening two games in such dominant fashion.

The other WL divisional series saw playoff regulars and the hottest team in baseball Dallas face off against Minneapolis who were making their postseason return after sixteen years in the wilderness. Game one saw two of the best pitchers in baseball, Cristobal Chapa (DAL) and Mark Fort (MIN) face off, the game didn’t start well for Fort as the Mustangs scored twice in the first before in the fourth, a 3-run homerun from 3B Wayne Radke sparked a five-run outburst which chased Fort from the game, although pitchers Blair Ford and Arnold silver held Dallas at bay from then on, the Mustangs were never in danger of losing as they rolled to an easy 7-1 win. Game two was the turn of Minneapolis to score early and coast, as homeruns from 1B Loren Delgado, CF Manuel Ruiz and SS Kyle Sheringham helped the Bears to a comfortable 8-3 series tying victory, Game three, saw Minneapolis host their first playoff game since game five of the 2018 World Series, however the party atmosphere didn’t last long as the visiting Mustangs trampled all over Minneapolis starter Steve Gream, hammering three homeruns en-route to a 7-2 victory. The following night the fans finally got to see some quality pitching as Mark Fort and Cristobal Chapa kept the opposition guessing, both pitched seven innings and struck out ten but, in the end, it was a 2-run homer from CF Manuel Ruiz that put Minneapolis ahead for good, catcher Mike Marshall’s RBI single in the eighth added an insurance run before closer Pablo Arellano cruised through the ninth to once again tie the series. Two nights later it was the turn of Munemitsu Kiyomizo (MIN) and Brad Wright (DAL) to take the mound, but unlike Chapa and Fort two nights before the duo did not pitch well surrendering a pair of homeruns each, but where Wright’s were solo efforts, Kiyomizo gave up a 2-run shot to C Carlos Barron and a three-run monster blast to LF Alfonso Sosa to scupper Minneapolis’ hopes. Dave Day and Luis Lagunas combined to shut out the Bears over the final four innings as the Mustangs added another run to give the final 6-2 scoreline a flattering look, Dallas would now head off to their fourth WLCS in six years where, awaiting them, were defending Western league champions San Jose.