Federal League Division Series Redwood vs. Santa Fe

Wild card Redwood goes up against Central League champion Santa Fe for the right to face Camden in the League Championship Series.  Redwood defeated Surprise in the one-game wild card contest, while Santa Fe won the Central division and #1 seed with 113 wins.  This series is a rematch of the 2017 League Championship Series, where Santa Fe advanced to the World Series by defeating Redwood in 5 games.

Game 1 Redwood 5, Santa Fe 4

Gio Gonzalez (RDW) vs. Max Scherzer (SFE)

Redwoods Gio Gonzalez allowed just one hit and one run through 4+ innings, but struggled with his control with 5 walks and failed to make it through the 5^th with a 4-1 lead.  Santa Fe tied it at 4 in the 6^th inning as Josh Donaldson homered and the tying run scored on a wild pitch by Redwood reliever Blake Parker.  Redwood took the lead for good in the top of the 8^th on an Orlando Arcia single and Redwood wins game one, 5-4.  Max Scherzer took the loss, allowing 10 hits, 5 earned runs, and 4 walks through 7 innings, striking out 12.  Redwoods Gregor Blanco had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run with a solo homer and outfield counterpart Ben Gamel doubled, had two hits and drove in two.  Blake Parker earned the win in relief with 1+ scoreless innings, walking two and striking out three.  In what would be a recurring theme in this series, Redwood issued 8 walks to Santa Fe hitters.

Game 2 Santa Fe 6, Redwood 5

Andrew Cashner (RDW) vs. Marcus Stroman

Redwood took a 5-0 lead into the bottom of the 6^th on the strength of a three-run homer by Ryan Schimpf and a solo homer by Trayce Thompson as Stroman got knocked around early.  Redwoods Andrew Cashner took a no-hitter into the 5^th, but Santa Fe would pour on 10 hits over the final 3 frames as a battered Redwood bullpen game up the five-run advantage as Santa Fe takes game two, 6-5.  The big blow was pinch-hitter Jeremy Hazelbakers two-out triple with the bases loaded as Santa Fe put up four runs in the 6^th.  They would then take the lead in the 7^th on singles by Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi.  Santa Fe scored all 6 runs with two outs, as AJ Ramos earned the win in relief with 2+ stellar hitless inning, walking one and striking out 5.  Cam Bedrosian got the save with a clean 9^th inning.  The loss could be pinned on the whole Redwood bullpen as 5 different relievers had a hand in allowing the six-run comeback, but Blake Parker took the loss while allowing 3 hits and 1 run in getting a single out.

Game 3 Santa Fe 5, Redwood 0

Chase Anderson (RDW) vs. Sean Manaea (SFE)

SFEs Sean Manaea stifled Redwoods bats for 5+ innings, as he allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks and struck out 4 in the strong outing.  The Santa Fe bullpen took it from there, as four relievers allowed just two Redwood baserunners over the final four innings in the Santa Fe shutout.  Redwood could muster just 3 hits and 3 walks of offense on the night.  On the flipside, Santa Fes bats were electric, as they scored all 5 runs on 3 homers off Anderson.  Andrew McCutcheon and Ex-Pioneer Robinson Cano both had two-run blasts and Brett Gardner had a solo shot.  Manaea earned the win while Anderson took the complete-game loss.

Game 4 Santa Fe 8, Redwood 7

Gio Gonzalez (RDW) vs. Max Scherzer (SFE)

After the decisive 5-0 Santa Fe win in game three, the series went right back to tight, tense baseball with another one-run contest.  Two recurring themes were in play; Santa Fe scoring with two outs, and Redwoods pitchers failing to find the plate.  Redwood issued 10 walks on the night, while Santa Fe scored 4 runs with two outs in the late innings as the Redwood bullpen took another one on the chin.  Gonzalez allowed 2 hits and 2 runs through four innings, walking 5.  The next 6 RDW relievers allowed 9 hits, 6 runs, and walked 5 over the last 5 innings.  Josh Donaldson had 3 RBIs for Santa Fe, with Jesus Aguilar chipping in two and Brett Gardner, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman each driving in one, as Freemans was the only extra-base hit (a solo HR) for Santa Fe as they had 10 singles in the game.  Redwood tried to storm back late as Ryan Schmipf had a grand slam in the bottom of the 8^th to cut the deficit to one, but Will Harris shut down the Pioneers in the finial frame for the save.  Max Scherzer notched the win while allowing 6 earned runs and 4 walks over 7+ innings.  Anthony Swarzak took the loss in relief for Redwood.  Santa Fe was now just a game away from taking the series, up 3 games to 1.

Game 5 Redwood 3, Santa Fe 1

Mike Montgomery (RDW) vs. Marcus Stroman (SFE)

Hoping to close out the series early, Josh Donaldson put Santa Fe on the board in the 1^st with yet another 2-out RBI, but Redwood answered back in the 2^nd on a double by Gregor Blanco and an RBI single by Buster Posey.  Redwood lefty Montgomery would then settle down and keep Santa Fe off the board for the next 5 innings, as Redwood scored single runs in the 6^th (Solo homer by Ryan Schimpf) and the 7^th (RBI single by Ben Gamel) for a 3 1 win to stave off elimination and send the series back to Santa Fe.  Stroman pitched effectively in the loss, allowing just 4 hits and 2 runs over 5+ innings, while Montgomery earned the win for Redwood with 6+ strong innings, allowing a single run on five hits.  Santa Fe rallied in the 9^th, loading the bases off Sean Doolittle and Blake Parker, Parker was able to strike out Donaldson for the final out.

Game 6 Redwood 5, Santa Fe 2

Andrew Cashner (RDW) vs. Paul Blackburn (SFE)

Redwood jumped on top early as Orlando Arcia clubbed a grand slam in the 2^nd for a quick 4-0 lead.  But Cashner was having serious control issues and Santa Fe answered back with 2 runs in the bottom half, one on an RBI groundout by Robinson Cano and the other on a bases-loaded walk to Brett Gardner.  Cashner would only last 3+ innings, as he walked 8 Gecko Lizards, but Santa Fe couldnt get the big hit to take advantage of the free passes.  In the 4^th, Redwood extended their lead to 5-2 on sac fly by Alexei Amarista, and the Redwood bullpen took it from there, shutting out Santa Fe over the next 5+ innings, allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 6 for the 5-2 Pioneer win.  Anthony Swarzak earned the win with 2 innings of hitless relief, striking out 4.  Blackburn took the loss, allowing 4 earned runs over 6 innings.  Arcia was the offensive star for Redwood, with 3 hits, 2 runs scored, and 4 RBIs on the grand slam.

Game 7

Chase Anderson (RDW) vs. Max Scherzer (SFE)

It was as it should be, with the series tied at three games apiece and both teams sending their aces to the mound in the decisive game 7.  Neither starter would disappoint.  Baserunners were scarce as a scoreless game entered the bottom of the 6^th, with Redwoods Anderson carrying a no-hitter into that frame.  But Santa Fes Jarrod Dyson lined a clean one-out single to break up the no-no and then stole second.  Xander Bogaerts then followed with another single, scoring Dyson and putting Santa Fe up 1-0.  Meanwhile Scherzer continued to cruise, putting more goose eggs on the scoreboard in the 7^th and 8^th, as the game went into the top of the 9^th, still 1-0 Santa Fe.  Scherzer retired the first two Pioneers in the inning, but with two outs, Buster Posey singled.  Justin Smoak then strode to the plate and rolled a Ballpark Homer chance of 1-5.  Fortune smiled on Redwood as a 4 was pulled from the split cards, resulting in a two-out, two-run go-ahead homer, and Redwood now led 2-1.  In the bottom of the 9^th, Redwoods Blake Parker retired pinch-hitter Andrew McCutcheon leading off the inning.  Brett Gardner then stepped to the plate and rolled a Ballpark HR chance of his own, as Santa Fe hoped to repeat Smoaks fortunate pull the inning before.  But Fortune did not smile on the Gecko Lizards, as the resulting split card resulted in a fly out for the second out of the inning.  Josh Donaldson then struck out for the final out, giving Redwood the improbable 2-1 victory and the series win.  Chase Anderson pitched brilliantly for Redwood, allowing just 2 hits and 7 Ks over 7+ innings, issuing no walks.  Justin Wilson earned the win by getting the final out in the 8^th, and Parker got the save.  Scherzer took the hard-luck loss despite his strong start, allowing just 6 hits and 1 walk in the complete game effort, striking out 9.

This was a crazy series, and both me and Tom frequently commented to each other on the insanity unfolding.  But that paled in comparison to the late inning events that decided the final game.   The highly unlikely turn of events, two outs and nobody on with Scherzer on the mound, a single and a 1-5 HR pull deciding the game, then Strat rubbing salt in the Santa Fe wound by denying them the tie on the same pull, was simply crazy.  Santa Fe deserved better.  It was a pleasure netplaying the games with Tom, who impeccably managed a great squad.  Our chat box was very active and Tom deserves high praise for having to put up with me!

Its tough to win a series when your ace goes 1-2 with a 5.01 ERA, as Scherzer put up decent stats but could not get the needed results.  Despite not walking in the final game, Santa Fe still managed 40 walks in the series.  Mookie Betts led the team with a .333 average and .419 OBP, but he managed just 1 run scored, no extra-base hits, and just 2 RBIs.  Donaldson led the team with 5 RBIs and 6 walks, while Bogaerts (.176) and Gardner (.176) led with 4 runs scored apiece.  For Redwood, MVP Ryan Schimpf did what he has done all seasonwalk, strikeout, or hit a homer.  He led the team with 3 HRs, 8 RBIs, 6 walks, and 13 Ks.  Ben Gamel had a strong series with a .385 average and 3 RBIs, and Orlando Arcia hit .367 with a HR and 5 RBIs.  Blake Parker led the team with 3 saves.