N.L. CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Selkirk Steelers @ Tempe Tempers |
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  SERIES PREVIEW – The National League playoffs had fewer surprises leading up to the NLCS with the #1 seed facing the #3 seed. On paper, Tempe and Selkirk were two of the best pitching (starting and relieving) teams in MWBL going into the playoffs. And not surprising, pitching dominated the series. |
| GAME #1 – Ian Anderson (6-0 0.95) vs. Adam Waingwright (10-0 1.58)
Selkirk sent their ace Anderson to start game one, but Tempe went with Wainwright as an opener. Markakis led off with his first of three doubles on the day, but Ramirez came on and bailed out Wainwright in top of the 1st. Freeman doubled to start the bottom of the 1st, Azuna singled him to third and a Peralta sac fly gave Tempe the early 1-0 lead. Doubles by Plawecki and Freeman in the fifth off Anderson put Tempe up 2-0. Tempe 2 – Selkirk 1 Tempe up 1 Game to 0 |
| GAME #2 – Max Fried (5-5 2.75) vs. Yu Darvish (13-2 1.84)
Another pitchers duel saw the first run of the game scored in the 5th as Selkirk struck first on an Alonso solo home run. Tempe responded in the bottom of the 6th to tie it at 1-1 after Azuna doubled and Freeman singled him home. Darvish only lasted 4 innings for Tempe, but Fried went 8.2 innings for Selkirk. The game went into extra innings and neither team could score as each team sent 20+ grade relievers out there inning after inning. Finally, in the to of the 14th, Winker doubled and then moved to 3B on a wild pitch. With the infield pulled in, Lewis snuck a grounder through the infield to give the Selkirk a commanding 2-1 lead. Y. Ramirez pitched a scoreless bottom of 14th to complete and secure the win. Selkirk 2 – Tempe 1 (14 Innings) Sereis Tied at 1 Game Each |
| GAME #3 – Kwang-Hyun Kim (6-1 2.05) vs. Brad Keller (0-3 5.61)
Keller pitched 8 solid innings and only allowed a two-run homer to Albies in the third and a rbi double to Brantley in the 6th. Kim was nearly perfect for Tempe and only allowed two hits in 6.1 innings. Rendon added an insurance solo shot in the 9th of Quantrill. E. Ramirez pitched the final 2.2 innings for the save. Tempe 4 – Selkirk 0 Tempe up 2 Games to 1 |
| GAME #4 – Kenta Maeda (7-4 2.11) vs. Antonio Senzatela (5-6 4.54)
Selkirk used Senzatela as an opener for the first inning and then shifted to the pen in the 2nd. Tempe scored two in the 2nd on a timely double by Plawecki. The Steelers responded in the bottom of the 2nd on a three-run jack off Maeda by Alonso. In the sixth, Tempe retook the lead on a Brantley rbi double and a Plawecki rbi sac fly. In the bottom of the sixth, Selkirk tied it up at 4-4 on a Winker solo shot off Sherriff. In the bottom of the 8th, Plawecki came through again with an RBI single with two outs. Valdez, Kolarek, Hahn, and Anderson combined for a scoreless 8th and 9th. Tempe 5 – Selkirk 4 Tempe up 3 Games to 1 |
| GAME #5 – Yu Darvish (13-2 1.84) vs. Ian Anderson (6-0 0.95)
The aces for both teams squared off with Anderson hoping to prevent elimination and Darvish looking to close out another series. Both starters were dealing early. In the 4th, Dickerson hurt his old team with his only hit of the series, an RBI double. He was thrown out trying to make it a triple. The Steelers came back and tied it the bottom half of the 4th when Lewis broke up the current no-hitter with a solo shot off Darvish. Tempe went to the pen at the end of the 5th, but Anderson stayed into the 8th. In the top of the 8th, Plawecki singled. Albies executed a perfect hit and run to put runners on the corners. Freeman then walked to load the bases. Anderson had finally ran out of gas and Selkirk brought on Quantrill to face Tempe’s MVP (Ozuna) and get them out of a tough jam. Ozuna launched a deep sac fly to right that scored a run and moved Albies to 3B. With the infield back, Tempe executed a suicide bunt with Peralta to score Albies. Hahn pitched a perfect 8th. In the bottom of the 9th, Sherriff recorded the first out, but Winker crushed a double to bring up the potential tying run to the plate. This was only Selkirks second hit of the game. Anderson then came on and got Lewis to pop up for the second out. Tempe then rolled the dice and intentionally walked Alonso allowing the potential winning run to come up in Longoria. Selkirk then brought on Rooker (960 OPS) to pinch-hit for Longoria. Rooker grounded back to the pitcher and Tempe secured the NLCS. Tempe 3 – Selkirk 1 Tempe Wint the Series 4 Games to 1 |
| SERIES SUMMARY – Regardless of the series standings, this was a nail biting back and forth series where the outcome of four games could have changed with a different outcome in just one at bat. The pitching and defense in this series performed even better than expected. Selkirk’s pitching limited Tempe to a .190 AVG (32 hits) and only two home runs. Tempe held the Steelers to a slightly lower .155 AVG, but surrendered four home runs. Only one error was made during the series by Tempe and the Selkirk defense was perfect. Neither team dared run much. Selkirk was 2-0 in SB. Tempe, previously 10-0 in the Divisional series, was completely afraid of Hedges and only ran (2-2) when he had exited the game. Selkirk had four quality starts and Tempe only had one due to the quick hooks. In the end, Tempe benefited from better hitting with runners on base and a nearly unhittable bullpen. The pen combined to go 3-1 with a 0.90 ERA in 30 innings over just five games. Winker led all hitters with a 1.121 OPS, but some of his fellow team mates were awful. The number three hitter Cano went 2 for 19 and Divisional hero Semien went 2 for 17. Alonso was also 2 for 17 but the two hits were homeruns. Plawecki hit .455 with a 1.098 OPS and 4 RBI to lead Tempe. Tempe’s number three hitter Peralta went only 1-19, Bogaerts was 2 for 18, and Dickerson was 1-11. |