2024 N.L. DIVISION SERIES #2

The game led off with an almost unnoticable long ball by TJ Friedl that just kept carrying until it cleared the wall that gave Bethesda an extremely early 1-0 lead. Although the Bandicoots pretty much had their way with Triple Creek starter Shane Bieber for the 5.1 innings he pitched, the baseline from 3rd to home may as well have been made of quicksand as the ‘coots just could not score. Chief among the guys that knocked Bieber around was Nick Castellanos (two doubles and a triple), but he could never seem to get a hit when someone was on base and neither could anyone bring him home. Bieber finally called it a day in the 6th but not before Bethesda managed to squeeze in another run when Paul DeJong singled home Adam Duvall to make it 2-0. As it turned, that was all the Bandicoots would need. Starter Mitch Keller gave the bullpen the night off as he struck out eight and walked two as part of a two-hit shutout with Bethesda taking the opener 2-0.

Bethesda 2 – Triple Creek 0

Win: Mitch Keller 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Shane Bieber 0-1 (3.38)

The stalled Triple Creek offense quickly unstalled itself in game 2 at the expense of Bethesda starter Merrill Kelly. Lars Nootbar’s turn for leadoff heroics as he clubbed Kelly’s pitch out of the park to start off the Patriots’ 1st inning and give them a 1-0 lead. Nootbar kept up the heroics the next inning when with Joey Votto and Willie Calhoun, Lars ripped a grounder through the infield that inspired Votto to rumble all the way home and somehow pulled off a Simone Biles-like move and avoided Connor Wong’s tag to make it 2-0 for the Patriots. In the Bethesda 3rd inning with the Bandicoots facing Kevin Gausman – he of the no-hitter Gausmans – Yu Chang greeted the righty ace with a solo blast to left field and then a few batters later Ryan O’Hearn hit a line drive just over the outstretched glove of 2nd baseman Jonathan India to bring TJ Friedl in to score easily from 3rd and tie the game 2-2. Kelly and Gausman calmed down after the rocky start and the score stayed that way until the 7th with Drey JAmeson taking over on the mound for Triple Creek. Jameson hung one to TJ Friedl and the Bethesda centerfielder hit a no-doubter out of the park to right for his second homer of the young series. In the bottom of the 8th, Bethesda’s manager played the odds and went to his closer in hopes of a 5-out save for Josh Hader. Hader had the lefty-lefty matchup on his side to start out as he faced Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger. Well … apparently nerves got the best of Hader and he threw eight straight balls and his night ended with runners on 1st and 2nd and one out. Hader’s successor, Jesse Chavez, got Lourdes Gurriel to ground into an inning-ending double play and keep the score at 3-2. Chavez got the first two hitters out fairly easily in the bottom of the 9th but then Votto came up and launched one deep to opposite field, but Jose Siri was able to track it down and end the game as the Bandicoots went up 2-0 in the series.

Bethesda 3 – Triple Creek 2

Win: Merrill Kelly 1-0 (2.45)
Loss: Drey Jameson 0-1 (5.40)
Save: Jesse Chavez #1

The cozy confines of Bethesda’s ballpark turned out to be a place that the Patriots could not wait to get out of … or at least knock the ball out of. The game was all Triple Creek. Max Scherzer was a force on the mound going 8 innings and giving up just three singles while striking out 11 and walking just one. In fact, the hardest hit ball was off Andrew Vaughn’s head as Scherzer plonked him and put him out of Bethesda’s misery (1 hit in 10 AB for the series thus far). The Patriots clubbed Bethesda starter George Kirby like a Newfoundland seal pup with Corey Seager providing a one-man massacre. Seager homered three times and also singled and drove in six of his teams runs in a 7-0 ass-whooping of the Bandicoots. The rest of the Patriots did not do much but Evan Longoria also did manage a home run.

Triple Creek 7 – Bethesda 0

Win: Max Scherzer 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: George Kirby 0-1 (8.44)

Is there a doctor in the house?
It took all of three batters for Bethesda starter Hyun-Jin Ryu to lose his mind and bean normally sturdy catcher Will Smith. Smith staggered off the field though and would be lost to the Patriots for the rest of the series (6 days). To the mind of the Bethesda manager this was only fair since its ace pitcher, Michael Wacha, had taken up permanent residence in the local hospital after suffering a one-month injury in the opening series against Arboga. Triple Creek starter Dean Kremer wasn’t giving up much of anything to the Bethesda hitters until in the 3rd inning Paul DeJong doubled to center field, advanced to 3rd on Shea Langeliers ground out and then scored on a Yu Chang ground out to make it 1-0. Where Ryu was pitching well, Kremer was absolutely brilliant and the one hit he allowed in the game up until his departure in the 7th was the double to DeJong. He left with seven strikeouts and narry a walk. The PAtriots almost tied it up in the 5th when Randall Grichuk ripped a double down the left field line and Cody Bellinger flew home only to be tagged out on Nick Castellanos’s perfect throw from left to keep it 1-0 Bethesda. Grichuk kicked it up a notch and in an effort to eliminate any risk of Bellinger being thrown out again he wrapped a fly ball around the left field foul pole for a two-run home run which gave the Patriots a 2-1 lead. Enter Matt Strahm who was brilliant for two shutout innings and handed the ball to BRyse Wilson in the 9th for the save. Wilson struck out pinch hitter Jose Siri and Yu Chang and then in a payback move for Smith being hurt earlier in the game, he nailed Friedl and knocked him out of action for the rest of the series (7 days). Wilson got tossed for his effort and Austin Pruitt got the call to nail down the game. Ryan O’Hearn bounced an easy one to Jonathan India who promptly let loose and fired the ball past 1st baseman Bellinger in into right field which allowed Ryan McKenna to race home and tie the game. That brought up hitless Adam Duvall who launched one into the stands for a bizarre walk-off 4-2 come from behind win for Bethesda.

Bethesda 4 – Triple Creek 2

Win: Jesse Chavez 1-0 (0.00)
Loss: Austin Pruitt 0-1 (0.00)

Adam Duvall started game 5 the same way he ended game 4 by launching a pitch (this one by Michael Lorenzen) into the cheap seats with no one on to give Bethesda an early 1-0 lead. The lead was short-lived though as Will Smith’s understudy, Carson Kelly, singled with two on to bring home Evan Longoria and tie it 1-1. The lead came back Bethesda’s way as quickly as it had left thanks to Nick Castellanos waking up after a three-game nap and smacking another Lorenzen pitch out of the park to make it 2-1. “Back at ye,” said the Patriots though as they took the lead the next inning when Evan Longoria clobbered a two-run homer off Mitch Keller to make it 3-2. Brandon Drury, getting some playing time thanks to rampant injuries, singled home a game-tying run in the bottom of the 3rd and it was a pretty f-ugly 3-3 game. It stayed there until the 6th when with Kevin Gausman on the mound trying to do what he could to stave off elimination for the Patriots he offered one up to Drury who smashed it with two runners aboard and made it 6-3 Bethesda. The Patriots got one back quickly thanks to Jonathan India’s solo shot in the 7th. The Patriots loaded the bases with none out forcing the Bandicoots to abandon their bullpen strategy and go straight to Jesse Chavez knowing Josh Hader couldn’t be trusted to pitch with the bases loaded. And who did Chavez come in to face? None other than Lourdes Gurriel who he faced in Game 2 in a key situation. And just like in Game 2, Chavez was able to get Gurriel to ground into a double play but this time a run came in to make it 6-5 for Bethesda. In the bottom of the 7th though Bethesda came back with some big hits which included a back-to-back homers by Duvall and Drury which made it 9-5 … and that’s the way it was.

Bethesda 9 – Triple Creek 5

Win: Mitch Keller 2-0 (1.93)
Loss: Kevin Gausman 0-1 (6.75)