Game 1, Paxton at Snell

Shiners lefty-killer, limited-use Joey Galloway made the first of his 8 allowable PAs count by blasting a 2-run homer in the first off Paxton for a quick 2-0 lead.  The Blondes would extend that lead to 4-0 in the 3^rd and then 6-0 in the 6^th, featuring a run-scoring double by Jose Ramirez and a RBI triple by Steven Souza.  San Francisco would rally late behind a solo homer by Elias Diaz and 2-run double by Tommy Pham, but Felipe Vazquez came on to snuff out the momentum and preserve Shiners 6-3 win.

Snell pitched well, allowing just 5 hits and a walk, striking out 9 in his 7+ innings of work, while Paxton struggled to find the elusive third out of the inning, giving up 6 earned runs and 4 walks in 6 innings.  Of the 6 Shiner runs, all 6 of them scored with two outs, including a wild pitch.  On the flip side, the Seawolves offense struggled to get the big hit, going 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and stranding 8 runners.

Game 2, Minor at Gonzales

It was SFs turn to score first in this one, but not without some help.  Shiners Juan Soto (e3), almost immediately after some chatter overheard in the owners box about the organizations fondness for the young player, made a critical two-out error, thus allowing unlimited-use Devin Marreros two-run single to give the Seawolves a 2-0 lead in the second inning.  San Francisco would score another run in the 6^th on a Robinson Cano single, and another in the 8^th on Mitch Garvers single for the 4-0 SF win to even up the series at one-game apiece.

It was SFs turn to find the clutch-hits, as all four runs were scored with two outs.  Marco Gonzales pitched well in the defeat, allowing two unearned runs, 4 hits, and no walks in 5 innings of work.  Shiner then wore out the path from the dugout to the mound, using 10 pitchers over the final 4 innings!!  The Seawolves Mike Minor was stellar in absolutely shutting down Shiner, allowing just 4 hits and no walks over 8 innings.  Shiner went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position and stranded 9 total runners.

Game 3, Miley at Gant

With the series split at one game apiece, we move to the smaller dimensions and homer-friendly confines of San Francisco.  Both starters put up zeroes through the first two frames, but now its Shiners turn to score first, as Jose Peraza drives in two runners with a two-out double and the Blondes are up 2-0.  Miley continues to cruise against the potent Seawolves, as Shiner adds to their lead with a single run in the 6^th off lefty reliever Austin Gomber.  The Blondes bullpen takes over for the stellar Miley and continues to stymie the Seawolves, as David Hernandez, Andrew Miler, and Richard Rodriguez combine for 4 innings of scoreless relief.  Shiner tacks on single runs in the 8^th and 9^th for the 5-0 win to take a 2-1 series lead.

Wade Miley was impressive in allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks in 5 shutout innings for the win, while Richard Rodriguez allowed one hit and one walk in 2+ innings of relief for the save.  San Franciscos John Gant was wild, walking 5 batters through 3+ innings in taking the loss.  Jose Peraza was a machine for Shiner, going 3 for 4, with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, with 2 doubles and a triple.  The score could have been much worse as Shiner left 11 runners on base and was 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, perhaps a harbinger of things to come later in the series?

Game 4, Sabathia at Wacha

So far in this flip-flopping series, the team to score first has won each game.  San Francisco hopes to carry on that precedent as they put up 2 runs in the bottom of the first on a Trevor Story single and an Elias Diaz groundout.  Sabathia loses manager Eric Brashers confidence 3^rd, but Nova comes in to close out a scoreless inning.  The score remains 2-0 into the bottom of the 5^th when the damn breaks against the Shiner bullpen, as San Francisco puts up a 4-spot, highlighted by Yasmani Grandals run scoring double off Matt Strahm and Anthony Rizzos two-run double off Hirano.  San Francisco would add to that lead with a single run in the 6^th (Jake Caves solo homer) and a single run in the 8^th (Grandal single), which was aided by gold-glover Matt Olsens 2^nd error of the game.  Shiner would avoid the shutout as Jose Ramirez homered off Juan Nicasio in the 9^th as San Francisco evens up the series at 2 with the 8-1 win.

The Seawolves Michael Wacha was terrific with 7 innings of shutout baseball, allowing just 3 hits and 3 walks in shutting down the Shiner bats.  In fact, Shiner was able to advance a runner to second base only twice all game, and stranded those runners both times.  So far in the series, Shiner and San Francisco have taken turns with victories..Shiner hopes that pattern continues into game 5.

Game 5, Snell at Paxton

In an ominous sign for Shiner, San Francisco would score first in the bottom of the opening frame on a sac fly by the struggling Charlie Blackmon (hitting .063 at the time).  But, this game would defy all expectations.  I could write 5 paragraphs on the overall ****ery that each team had to endure during this ridiculous game, as Strat pulled out all the stops with errors, multiple range-pull hits, and rare plays and pick-offs.  In the end, each team committed 3 errors for a total of 5 unearned runs, and the SF staff allowed 8 walks.  Shiners Blake Snell got the win with 6+ plus inning solid work, while James Paxton took the loss with 9 hits, 5 walks, and 3 earned runs over 5 innings.  It was a crucial win for the Blondes, who take the 3-2 series lead back home to Shiner, needing one win in two games to advance.

Game 6, Gonzales at Minor

Shiner and San Francisco continue to take turns winning games, so if the pattern continues, its the Seawolves turn to notch a victory.  On the hill for SF is Mike Minor, who pitched a gem in their game 3 win.  David Robertson and Steven Duggar got the Sewolves going early with a 2-run double and an RBI groundout in the 2^nd inning for a 3-0 lead.  Shiner would get on the board with a single run in the 4^th on a solo homer by Juan Soto, but SF would strike back in the top of the 5^th with a 4-run inning on 3 doubles and a 2-run homer by Grandal for a 7-1 lead.  Shiner would get 2 runs in the 7^th (Freese HR and a passball), but SF would answer back with 2 of their own in the 8^th (Leonys Martins unlikely HR against lefty Duffy).  A single run by the Blondes in the 9^th capped off the scoring as SF evened up the series (and kept the alternating victories pattern intact) at 3 games apiece with the 9-4 win.  Mike Minor picked up his 2^nd win of the series with 6+ innings of solid work, while Marco Gonzales was ineffective in taking the loss.

Game 7, Strahm at Gomber

In the winner-take-all finale, can Shiner continue the pattern of flip-flopping wins, or can San Francisco break the cycle and win two games in a row?  Both managers make unlikely picks for starting pitchers, as Shiner goes all lefty with their seventh consecutive lefty starter in Matt Strahm, and SF elects to avoid the power of Ramirez and Olson against righties and pick young lefty Austin Gomber.  The Seawolves waste little time in getting started as Charlie Blackmon finally shows up in the series and hits a 2-run homer in the opening frame for a 2-0 SF lead.  Gomber gives up two, two-out singles in the 2^nd inning, and with Peraza coming up, SF goes with the percentages and brings in righty John Gant to close out the inning to keep Shiner scoreless.

The 2-0 score holds into the top of the 4^th when lightning strikes again.  Due to usage issues, SF is forced to play Leonys Martin against a lefty, and suffice to say that his card leaves much to be desired against southpaws.  But for the second time this series, he finds the HR chance and blasts a homer (this time off Strahms card) of the 3-run variety and the Seawolves take a 5-0 lead.  The Shiner bullpen takes over and the game remains 5-0 into the 8^th inning, but Edubray Ramos gives up 3 singles and a groundout and San Francisco tacks on 2 more runs for a 7-0 lead.  The Seawolves would then score a single run in the 9^th to finish off the scoring in a 8-0 SF win, breaking the pattern on alternating wins, and sending them into the LCS for the 2^nd straight year.

In a recurring them in the series, Shiner had trouble cashing in on scoring chances.  They went 0-5 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12 total runners.  This series was a test of patience for both managers, as Strat really pulled out all the stops for a very unique and strange 7 game series.  Eric was very gracious as Strat continued to mess with him, as he must have done something to anger the games deities.  For the series, Jose Peraza started out hot for the Blondes, then cooled off in the second half, but still was the teams top performer, although his 2 errors (and a few pull-singles) were costly.  The top two Shiner bats, Jose Ramirez and Matt Olson, were non-factors, hitting .174 and .182 respectively, with just 4 combined RBIs.  Blake Snell was very strong, notching two wins with a 2.51 ERA over two starts and 14+ innings.  For the Seawolves, Leonys Martin and Yasmani Grandal paced the offensive attack, collecting 3 HRs and 9 RBIs between them.  But Shiner just couldnt get anything going offensively, as San Francisco posted a 2.76 ERA for the series, led by Wacha, Lugo, and Minor who notched 4 wins and allowed just 3 earned runs over 28 collective innings.

Congratulations to Eric on a great season with Shiner, and good luck to his Surprise squad over in the Federal League playoffs.  San Francisco will now wait for the results in the GAL/HAR series.