Shiner had Harmony Grove on the ropes after winning the first two games on the road. However, HAR did exactly the same thing last year before Shiner stormed back to sweep the next 4 games and head to the World Series. So yeah, anything can happen...
Game 3: Hellickson vs. Hamels. Victorino led off the game with a homer, but SHI struck back with 2 runs in the 2nd. Victorino was in the middle of a 2-run 3rd, but SHI knocked out Hellickson with a pair of homers and grabbed a 5-3 lead. Surely their ace could hold it, right? Well no, not so much. After a run in the 4th and another in the 5th, the score was tied at 5. At least he got out of a bases loaded game in the 5th. Grilli took over and looked great until a leadoff double in the 8th. HAR bunted him over and then Upton drilled another double off O'Flaherty. SHI responded with nothing after that as the HAR pen totally shut them down for the last 6 innings. The home field disadvantage continues!
Game 4: Leake vs. Dickey. Beltre led off the 2nd with a homer, but Willingham erased that lead with a 2-run HR in the 3rd. Once again, the HAR starter left early, but once again their bullpen frustrated the Shiner offense. Shiner squandered their 15 baserunners (including 12 hits), leaving 11 runners on base. However, Cy Dickey had his knuckleball mojo working big time as he went the distance in a tight 2-1 SHI victory. HAR has several strong LVP candidates, but I'll let Travis make those nominations if he wants to reopen the wounds.
Game 5: Lohse vs. Bedard. HAR really needed a good effort from Lohse after tiring out most of the pen in the last 2 games. That's exactly what they got, as he only allowed 2 hits in 7 innings. Meanwhile, Bedard wasn't good at all, departing in the 4th after allowing 3 runs, one due to his own error. Casilla pitched well in relief, but still allowed a big insurance run in the 5th. Shiner rallied for 2 runs in the 8th to make it 4-3 and tired Adams with a 1-out single in the 9th. HAR turned to a tired Valverde with their season on the line and he came through, retiring Giambi and Molina to save a 4-3 HAR win.
Game 6: Ogando vs. Kuroda. So the series went back to Harmony Grove, where Shiner has been unbeatable in the last 2 playoff seasons. Could they keep their streak going or would HAR force a game 7? SHI did grab a 1st inning lead on a HR by the torrid Markakis, but HAR struck back with a 2-out 2-run HR by the presumed dead Hamilton! He technically returned from his injury in game 3, but was less than worthless in the 3 @SHI games. He came up with a similar opportunity in the 3rd, but SHI walked him and Ogando escaped the jam. Kuroda lost his thin lead in the 5th when SHI rallied for 2 runs, with Markakis and Willingham driving in the runs. The 3-2 lead held up through 3 more tense innings, but then Papelbon suffered a stunning meltdown with 2 outs in the 9th. He hit Markakis, then walked 2 batters, then made a 2 base error, and then misplayed another grounder for a single. Just like that SHI had increased their lead to 6-2! HAR got a 1-out single, but couldn't rally as Casilla closed out the series clincher.
It's tough to pick an series MVP for Shiner. Cabrera and Markakis both hit .364, but Markakis had the better effort overall. Willingham and Pujols both had 2 HR and 6 RBI. On the pitching side, Dickey and Ogando pitched great, as did most of the bullpen. I'm inclined to go with Dickey though. He kept it close in the wild extra inning win and went the distance in a 2-1 victory.
Whew! Congrats to Travis on assembling another great team that came up short in the playoffs. I certainly know the feeling. Through 13 games in this postseason, SHI is only 3-4 at home, but 4-2 on the road. Fortunately, it looks like the FL has home field "advantage" in the WS this year. Bring on SFE or BTM!
