2025 AMERICAN LEAGUE WILD CARD SERIES “B”
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| SERIES PREVIEW – The AL #2 seed Fremont Cannons take on the #7 seed Cincinnati Skyliners. Cincinnati makes their second postseason ever but second in three years, while the Cannons make it for the fifth year in a row. Fremont has the 1-0 lead from the ghost won before the series starts. Fremont dominated the regular season series with Cincinnati, going 10-3 against the Skyliners.
Batting: Fremont was the 2nd highest scoring team in the AL, while Cincinnati was down at #11. The Skyliners finished 3rd in home runs compared to the Cannons second-place in the category, but batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging average were all strongly on Fremont’s side. Baserunning: Fremont was middle-of-the-pack in steals, while Cincinnati was dead last. Cincinnati was slightly more successful when they did run, at 79.7% compared to the Cannons 77.3% success rate. Fielding: Only a slight edge in fielding for Cincinnati: .982 to .981 Pitching: Fremont’s 2.89 team ERA ranked 3rd, while Cincinnati comes in almost a run higher at 3.78. This edge was about the same for both starting pitching and relieving. Fremont has a big edge in strikeouts, but both teams are stingy on the free passes, finishing 3rd and 4th in that category. |
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GAME #1 – Zack Littell 5-15 (3.63) vs. Tarik Skubal 17-6 (1.75) The series kicks off with Fremont’s ace facing Cincinnati’s #3. Fremont threatens first with a leadoff double from Teoscar Hernandez in the bottom of the second, but they can’t bring him home. After a Michael A. Taylor walk, Dansby Swanson puts the first runs on the board with a two-out homerun to give the Skyliners the 2-0 lead. A single and steal by Shohei Ohtani in the bottom of the inning puts a runner in scoring position for the Cannons, but Vladimir Guerrero Jr. flies out. The Cannons get a leadoff double by Byron Buxton in the fourth, but again the Cannons fail to bring in a run. Cincinnati has their chance with a single and sacrifice in the fifth but get nothing. Vinnie Pasquantino leads off the sixth with a bloop single. Ramon Urias steps up and knocks the ball over the fence to double the Skyliners lead to 4-0. Fremont brings out the pinch-hitters but to no avail. Littell is in control heading into the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, Ohtani gets a walk but Littell strikes out Guerrero Jr. as his final batter. Mitch Haniger sends an Osvaldo Bido offering into the stands in the ninth for an insurance run, then Pierce Johnson closes it out for the Cincinnati 5-0 victory. Littell pitched a strong 8 innings, allowing 5 hits and just 1 walk while striking out 9. HR: CIN- Dansby Swanson (1), Ramon Urias (1), Mitch Haniger (1); FRE- none Cincinnati 5 – Fremont 0 Win: Zack Littel 1-0 (0.00) |
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GAME #2 – Aaron Civale 11-9 (4.33) vs. Bailey Ober 12-9 (3.02) Cincinnati’s #4 vs Fremont’s #2. More of the same at the start of the game, as a two-out single by Cal Raliegh is followed up by a Vinnie Pasquantino homer and the Skyliners take a 2-0 lead in the first. Fremont finally gets on the board in this series in the second with a Byron Buxton single followed by a run-scoring double from Elly de la Cruz to cut it to 2-1. The Skyliners threaten in the top of the third, putting runners on first and third with no outs, but a pop out and strikeout ends the danger. Fremont gets two on in the bottom inning, but a pop out from Shohei Ohtani and GIDP from Vladimir Guerrero Jr. quashes those chances. Cinci gets a runner on second in the fourth but Michael A. Taylor strikes out. Fremont gets the bottom of the fourth started with a Carlos Correa triple, but sees him stranded. A double in the sixth from Correa gives the Cannons another chance to tie it, but Civale strikes out Buxton and Teoscar Hernandez to end the inning. A Correa error gifts Cincinnati a runner in the seventh, but a timely double play keeps it from costing the Cannons. In the top of the eighth, Cal Raleigh thumps one towards the pole, but it goes just foul. He grounds out to end the inning. As time is starting to tick down on the Cannons, Dennis Santana comes in to face the top of the Fremont lineup and sets them down in order in the eighth. In the ninth, Hunter Goodman doubles to give Cincinnati a shot at an insurance run, but he’s picked off at second base by Elias Diaz. Lucas Erceg comes on to close it out for the Skyliners. Carlos Correa leads of the bottom of the ninth and is replaced by a pinch-runner. Buxton flies out, then Teoscar Hernandez grounds it to second. They get the runner at second but just miss turning the game-ending double play. That would prove costly as an RBI triple from Elly de la Cruz ties it at 2-2. DLC would be stranded at third, sending the game to extra innings, though Fremont would be without the DH the rest of the way. Sean Reid-Foley sets down the Skyliners in order in the top of the tenth. Jose Iglesias leads off the bottom of the inning with a single, but is erased in a double play. Shohei Ohtani doubles to give Fremont a chance for the walk off, then Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is intentionally walked to bring up the pitcher. Pinch-hitter Mike Yastrzemski grounds out to end the inning. Robert Suarez comes in, taking Ohtani’s spot in the lineup, and also gets a 1-2-3 inning. Teoscar Hernandez hits a one out single in the tenth off of Trent Thornton. The next batter is Elly de la Cruz, and he strokes one over the fence for a walkoff homer and a 4-2 victory for the Cannons in eleven. Civale wasn’t exactly dominant but did enough to limit Fremont to one run over seven innings. After Ober departed, the Fremont bullpen held Cinci to just one hit and no walks the final six innings. De la Cruz was the star in this one, coming up a single short of the cycle and driving in four. HR: CIN- Vinnie Pasquantino (1); FRE- Elly de la Cruz (1) We head to the Queen City with Fremont ahead 2-1 by virtue of the ghost win. All of the Skyliners runs have come from the long ball this far, and the series has an eerie feel similar to Fremont’s upset by Southwest Detroit last year. The Cannons bats still haven’t been firing, and they go up against the Skyliners ace, Nate Eovaldi next. Fremont 4 – Cincinnati 2 (11 Innings) Win: Robert Suarez 1-0 (0.00) |
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GAME #3 – Carlos Rodon 16-8 (2.91) vs. Nathan Eovaldi 12-12 (3.08) The series shifts to Cincinnati’s Glen Sample Field for game four of the best of seven series with Fremont. The Cannons lead the best of seven series, two games to one. Fremont struck first, in the first inning. With one out, Shohei Ohtani blasted a shot to right for a 1-0 lead for the Cannons. The lead did not last long, as with two outs, Cal Raleigh grounded a ball to third baseman Jonah Bride, who bobbled the ball to give the Skyliners their first baserunner of the game. Vinnie Pasquantino followed with a two-run blast to right and Cincinnati led, 2-1, after the first inning. The game took a turn in the top of the second, when Pasquantino was injured pursuing a foul ball and will be forced to miss the remainder of the series as a result. Cincinnati’s second saw Michael A. Taylor walk, Christopher Morel singled to left to put a pair aboard. After Dansby Swanson popped to short, Cal Raleigh worked a walk to fill the bases with one out. Hunter Goodman, replacing Pasquantino – singled to left, to plate two more and give the Skyliners a 4-1 edge. Ramon Urias walked to once again load the bases, before Tyler O’Neill and Mitch Haniger both struck out to end the inning. Fremont made a move in the top of the fifth, with two out, Ohtani whaled his second homer of the night and the Cannons crept to within two, at 4-2. Carlos Rodon left the game with one out in the sixth for Fremont – after striking out a dozen batters. Robert Suarez closed out the sixth by getting both Skyliners hitters. In the seventh, the Cannon got a walk from Elly De La Cruz and then a hit-and-run single to right from Jose Iglesias to put runners at the corners and no one out. Nathan Eovaldi departed at that point for Pierce Johnson. Elias Diaz greeted Johnson with a sacrifice fly to left, to close the gap to 4-3. Bride then followed with a two-run homer to left and the Cannons grabbed the lead at 5-4. With one out in the seventh, Cincinnati evened things up with a Taylor walk and then a Dansby Swanson double into the right field corner got him home and the game was tied at 5-5. With Dennis Santana on the mound in the eighth for Cincinnati – Carlos Correa walked and Byron Buxton hammered a shot of Santana’s leg to put two aboard. The rally was snuffed out as Santana retired the next three batters to work out of the jam. Diaz walked to lead off the ninth for the Cannons. Two ground outs later – pinch-runner Dairon Blanco scored and Fremont held a 6-5 edge. Edwin Uceta entered to pitch the bottom of the ninth and set the Skyliners down 1-2-3 to end the game. Fremont made a statement in this contest, wiping out a three-run deficit early and now holds a commanding three-games-to-one edge in the best of seven series. The Cannons can close out the series tomorrow night. HR: FRE- Jonah Bride (1), Shohei Ohtani 2 (2); CIN- Vinnie Pasquantino (2) Fremont 6 – Cincinnati 5 Win: Sean Reid-Foley 1-0 (0.00) |
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GAME #4 –Yusei Kikuchi 13-9 (3.64) vs. Tarik Skubal 17-6 (1.75) Fremont leads the series with Cincinnati, three games to one – including the ghost win. The Cannons opened the scoring in the second inning when with one out Teoscar Hernandez singled to left and Jonah Bride drilled a two-run homer to left to give Fremont a 2-0 edge. Following that, Joey Bart and Austin Hays both singled before Jose Iglesias blew the game wide open with a three-run homer. The lead extended to 5-0. Cincinnati then pulled Kikuchi in favor of Fraser Ellard. Cincinnati got a measure of revenge in its half of the second when Hunter Goodman singles and Manuel Margot ignited a two-run homer, to cut the deficit to 5-2. From here, Tarik Skubal locked things down as the Skyliners only had two baserunners over the next five innings. The game went to the ninth with the score, 5-2. In the ninth, Austin Hays led off with a double, moved to third on an Iglesias single and would score on a passed ball by Cal Raleigh. Shohei Ohtani then hammered a two-run homer, his third of the series and Fremont extended the lead to 8-2. Skubal set the Skyliners down 1-2-3 in the ninth to close out the 8-2 win in the game and four games to one in the series. The Cannons advance to the MWBL American League semifinal series and Cincinnati closes out a surprising season that saw the Skyliners return to the postseason. HR: FRE- Jose Iglesias (1), Shohei Ohtani (3), Jonah Bride (2); CIN- Manuel Margot (1) Fremont 6 – Cincinnati 5 Win: Tarik Skubal 1-1 (3.60) |
| SERIES SUMMARY – Fremont takes the series 4-1 in a tougher battle than the record would tell you. Without their late-inning heroics, games 2 and 3 could have gone Cincinnati’s way. Even game 4’s runs only came in two innings, and the Cannons were shut out the other seven. Losing Pasquantino didn’t do the Skyliners any favors.
Despite the closeness of the series, Fremont (.259/.318/.524) majorly out-hit Cinci (.143/.208/.293). The Cannons had more extra-base hits than the Skyliners had hits. Fremont picked up the lone stolen-base in the series, though Cincinnati had several hit-and-run attempts. Of players with significant playing time, Fremont had three players with an OPS above 1.000 (Jose Iglesias, Shohei Ohtani, and Jonah Bride), while Cincinnati’s best was Vinnie Pasquantino (1.333) who left injured in Game 3. Fremont moves on to host Coconut Creek as chalk won out in the Wild Card round, while Cincinnati can begin to prepare for the contraction draft. |