After KC eliminated the possibility of another SFE/SUR battle in the FLCS, most are probably rooting for the WAS/KC Father/Son matchup. In fact, most were probably rooting for that anyway, although SFE/SUR would have pulled better TV ratings. However, would the Senators be up for the challenge of taking down a Zombie team that won 30 more games in the regular season?
G1: Danks vs. Wolf The Senators ended the 1st with a DP, left the bases loaded in the 2nd, and scored their only run on a DP in the 3rd as the crafty Wolf mostly frustrated them. The younger lefty Danks didn't handle the Zombie attack well at all. Bay and Gomes hit RBI doubles in the 1st, but WAS did save another run on a great throw home. Wieters hit a solo homer in the 2nd and Salazar found Scott hiding in R, scoring on a brutal DO+E in the 3rd. Bay added a 2-run HR in the 5th and Danks was done. McLouth hit a 2-run HR in the 7th and Tejeda was nearly perfect in 2.2 relief innings. Surprise easily won the opener, 8-1.
G2: Bannister vs. Jackson Just looking at those names, you have to expect a classic pitchers' duel, right? No? Well, that's what it was. In the bottom of the 1st, SUR found Scott again and this time he made an error at 1st, but Gonzalez hit into a DP. Neither team scored through 5 innings, but SUR got a rally going in the 6th. Sanchez led off with a single and then SUR PH for Wieters, despite the fact that he doubled and made it to 3rd in his only other PA. It worked as Maxwell drew a walk and then McLouth bunted the runners into scoring position. Escobar delivered the RBI single, but WAS somehow gunned down the speedy Maxwell at home. Baez struck out Gonzalez to keep the score at 1-0. That seemed to wake up the Senator bats. Scuturo's leadoff single chased Jackson, but Okajima got 2 outs before walking Scott. In came Tejeda, who walked Blake to load the bases and was immediately pulled. SUR turned to Fu-Te Ni, who escaped the jam.
WAS threatened again in the 8th when AJP singled and was replaced by PR Johnson. Kendrick drilled a double into the gap and Johnson motored around 3rd, but McLouth unleashed a strike and gunned him down at home! WAS drew a 2-out walk, but Ni escaped again and SUR held onto their 1-0 lead. Baez walked a pair in the 8th and was replaced by Sanches. Escobar came through again and drove in the 2nd run on a clutch single. Rodriguez took over in the 9th with a 2-0 lead. Hawpe-K. Scott-Groundout and adding injury to insult, was lost for 7 games! Blake-K. Surprise wins 2-0.
So the Zombies took care of business at their place as the Senators just couldn't get any offense going. Losing Scott for the series isn't likely to help as he's one of their best hitters.
G3 - Baker vs. Nolasco didn't look much like a playoff pitching matchup, but one of the two lived up to the moment. That would be Scott Baker, who mostly shut down his former team, allowing 2 runs in 9 innings. As for Nolasco, he failed to adequately scatter 7 hits, allowing 4 runs in the process. Tejeda didn't provide much relief and WAS picked up a desperately needed win, 5-2.
G4 - In the rematch of lefties Danks and Wolf, both pitched very well. Wolf had a 1-0 lead through 6 thanks to a Gomes homer, but the idiotic Zombies manager (a CM for this one) pulled him to start the 7th. That went fine in the 7th, but Tejeda's wildness hurt us in the 8th when Kendrick drove home the speedy Anderson. WAS loaded the bases in the 9th and 10th, but failed to score either time. SUR had a few good chances also, but neither team scored until the 14th. Fu-Te Ni got the 1st out, but the pesky Janish singled to set up a Hawpe homer off the lefty that sent the WAS fans home happy again with a 3-1 win. Just like that, the series was tied. Mujica pitched a heroic 4.2 scoreless relief innings to pick up the win.
G5 - The drama ended early in this one, as the mercurial Edwin Jackson could not come even close to duplicating his game 2 success. WAS rocked him for 5 runs in the 3rd, with the death blow coming from Casey Blake's unlikely triple. Surprise rallied for a couple, but the Senators cruised to an easy 9-2 victory. Randy Freaking Winn went 4-4 with 2 DO and a TR.
So the once mighty Zombies were clearly on the ropes with the series heading back to Surprise. Does destiny demand a Father vs. Son War of the Fryes?
G6 - Back in Surprise with their season on the line, the Zombies turned to their longtime ace, Jake Peavy. He would face Brian Bannister, who had been tough in game 2. Not this time. The Zombies chased BB in the 1st with a 2-out 2-run single by Uribe. The quick hook worked well for WAS as Mujica held the Zombies in check until Uribe's error allowed them to tie the game in the 4th. He giveth and taketh away. WAS took a 3-2 lead in the 5th on doubles by Anderson and Winn, which sent the home fans into panic mode. However, SUR quickly tied it again with a 2-out single by Gonzalez. WAS kept coming and Peavy hit the showers with 1 out in the 6th after walking a pair. Ni got the 2nd out, but then Tejeda walked the bases loaded. Could Scutaro deliver the big hit? No. Both teams had other chances, but the game remained tied through 9 innings. In the 10th, Sanches finally tied after 2 outs and a walk. Baez walked the bases loaded and the Zombies sent in pinch-hitter extraordinaire Oscar Salazar. He ripped the first pitch into the outfield for a game-winning single! Surprise escapes with a 4-3 win.
G7 - In the 3rd matchup of Danks and Wolf, the Zombies struck first with a 2nd inning sac fly. Salazar's leadoff single in the 3rd sent Danks to a surprising early shower. Could Mujica shut us down again? Well, he immediately got Bay to hit into a DP. Then Bay screwed up again by allowing an RBI double to the hated AJP. Leading off the 4th, Wil Venable pinch hit and crushed a huge homer off Mujica. Gomes just missed a double later in the inning and Salazar was thrown out at home in the 5th as SUR couldn't extend their 2-1 lead. Mujica finally tired in the 6th and SUR put 2 more baserunners on before Uribe hit into a killer DP. WAS chased Wolf in the 7th with a 1 out single by their pesky #9 hitter Janish. SUR sent in rookie Feliz and WAS countered with Zombie-Killer Randy Winn. Advantage WAS as Winn's single put runners on the corners. However, Randy got greedy and Wieters gunned him down trying to steal. Scutaro walked to bring up extra base machine Casey Blake, but Feliz got the big strikeout. The WAS 8th started quietly with 2 flyouts, but Dukes singled and SUR summoned closer Rodriguez. PH Kendrick walked, but PH Catalanatto choked in the clutch! The 2-1 lead lives on. SUR threatened again in the 8th with a leadoff walk, but instead of bunting, they had Sheff PH against LOOGY Herrera and of course he hit into a DP. Just as inevitably, Gonzalez followed with a single. Less likely was Adrian's stolen base. PH Hinske was given the IBB, but Sanchez couldn't make them pay. On to the 9th! The Zombies made their defense worse at RF and 3B with that failed 8th inning rally, but would it matter? Janish caused trouble again with a leadoff walk and advanced on a bunt. Could K-Rod save the day? He whiffed Scutaro to bring up Blake again. Casey swings...and finds the replacement 3B Tatis. But Fernando makes the huge play for the final out! Zombies win! Zombies win!
Congratulations to Ken for putting up a heck of a battle with his WAS team that sure looked overmatched on paper, particularly after the Scott injury. WAS actually outscored SUR 22-21 in the series, but SUR pulled out a few of the close ones.
Part-timers Salazar, Gomes, and Venable were the leading hitters for Surprise as most of their starters struggled. Wolf lived up to his ace status by going 2-0 with a 0.96 ERA in 3 starts. Rodriguez had 2 big saves and Feliz won game 6 in relief.
WAS was led by Winn (7-20, 4 DO, 1 TR), Kendrick, AJP, and Hawpe (only 2 HR). Blake was only 5-28 with 14 K, but had 3 DO and 2 TR. Giambi was 0-12, but with 7 BB. The bullpen was mostly awesome, led by Mujica and Sanches pitching 21 innings with only 3 runs allowed. Unfortunately for WAS, that was enough for them each to lose a game.
Okay, enough on the FLDS. The FLCS should be interesting, with KC and SUR both coming off 7-game battles. Can I beat both the father and the son? We'll soon find out...
