Redwood and Brooklyn hooked up for their first postseason meeting.

Game 1 - Burnes vs. Alcantara

Following an uneventful 1st inning, Corbin Burnes had an inning to forget in the 2nd.  The Redwood righty couldn't get the elusive third out, committing an error that could have ended the frame, and the Blow Monkeys turned two walks and the key error into a 4 run inning, highlighted by Trout's 3-run double.  4-0 Brooklyn

In the third, Burnes troubles continued as he couldn't find the plate.  He walked three and gave up a two-run triple to Mondesi and Brooklyn now led 7-0.  Redwood would chip away with single runs in the 3rd (Mullins solo HR), 4th (Lowe groundout), 6th (Walker single), and 8th (Nottingham single), but Minter shut them down late and Brooklyn opens the series with a 7-4, despite getting outhit 8 to 5.

Game 2 - Greinke vs. Castillo

Redwood jumped out of the gate fast with two runs in the first on a Yaz double and a Lowe groundout, then got a solo homer from Nottingham in the second and were up 3-0.  Greinke held Brooklyn in check with three scoreless innings to start, but gave up a single run in the 4th on a double by Grisham.  A Olivares double would chase Greinke in the the 5th, but Castano got Trout on a popout to end the threat.

The score remained 3-1 into the 7th as lefty Baragar came to face Brooklyn's Grisham, but the strategy backfired as pinch-hitter Evans launched a solo homer to cut the Redwood lead to 3-2.  But Devin Williams would come in to post two perfect innings in the 7th and 8th, and Pomeranz pitched a perfect 9th for the save and the 3-2 Redwood win, evening the series at one game apiece as they headed to Redwood for game three.

Game 3 - Hill vs. Kershaw

After two scoreless innings to start, Brooklyn's Suarez had a rough third inning.  Suarez allowed two x-chart single pulls, and then booted two grounders for errors, and Redwood led 3-0.  But Redwood's own defensive issues would follow in the 4th, as Brooklyn scored two runs on LFer Slater's errant throw home.  Clinging to a 3-2 lead in the 6th, Redwood's Merrill Kelly gave up a run-scoring single to Miguel Rojas and a 2-run homer to....what...Adalberto Mondesi?, and Brooklyn took control, 5-3.  The Blow Monkey's would put up two more in the 7th on a two-run blast by "trying to redeem myself" Suarez, and Kershaw shut down the Redwood bats over 8 strong inning for a 7-3 win and 2-1 series lead.

Game 4 - Castano vs. Morton

Now trailing in the series 2-1, things didn't start well for Redwood as super-hot Rojas led off the game with a double and super-hot Mondesi followed with a single.  Rojas scored on Trout's groundout and Mondesi scored on Abreu's single and Brooklyn led 2-0.  But in the bottom half, Redwood would tie it up on Yaz's two-run homer.  Both pitchers would then settle down and the score remained 2-2 into the bottom of the 6th.  Freeman worked a one-out walk and Brooklyn chose to pull Morton in favor of the lefty-lefty matchup of Dayton against Yaz.  But that move backfired as Yaz launched a two-run shot for a 4-2 Pioneers lead.  Redwood would tack on a single run in the 7th on a Mullins double and the bullpen held Brooklyn scoreless over the last 5 innings for a 5-2 win, tying the series at two.

Game 5 - Burnes vs. Alcantara

In a rematch of game one, Burnes found his control and luckily didn't have to field any comebackers over the first few innings.  The Redwood bats would show up early as Freeman hit a two-run homer in the first and Walker hit a two-run single in the third.  Brooklyn picked up an unearned run on a passed ball and groundout, but trailed 4-1 in the 5th.  Odor led off that frame with a double, and a Trout walk and Abreu single would load the bases and tire Burnes.  Redwood called on Kelly to face Gamel, and Brooklyn countered with pinch-hit extraordinaire Andrew Stevenson.  But Stevenson couldn't come through and Brooklyn still trailed 4-1.  Redwood would then add a run in the 7th on a Yaz sac fly following Mullins lead-off triple, and again the Redwood bullpen was solid over 5+ innings to grab the 4-1 win and 3-2 edge in the series.

Game 6 - Greinke vs. Castillo

Needing a win for force a decisive game 7, Brooklyn would fall behind early as Redwood scored a single run in the 2nd (Freeman double, Walker groundout) then a three-spot in the 3rd (Yaz two-run double, Freeman single).  Meanwhile, Greinke was solid, allowing just a Will Smith single over the first three innings.  Redwood's Nottingham increased the lead to 5-0 on a solo shot in the 4th, and then Strat hijinks bit Brooklyn in the 5th as two, two-out Grisham errors led to three Redwood runs for a 8-0 heading into the 7th.  Brooklyn's Suarez would hit then hit a three-run homer to chase Greinke and cut the deficit to 8-3, but Devin Williams followed with 2+ innings of strong relief and Slater would add a solo homer in the 8th in the 9-3 Redwood win, closing out the series 4 games to 2.

After taking a 2-1 series lead, Brooklyn's bats abandoned them as they scored just 6 total runs over the next three games.  Over that span, Jon just couldn't roll.  It's tough to win a series when your big bat fails to show up, and for Brooklyn, that's Trout hitting .087 for the series.  He had two RBI's on a double in game one, but after that, he just didn't make any noise.  Mondesi and Rojas were the most consistent hitters in the Brooklyn lineup, both checking in at .353, but there just wasn't enough traffic on the bases when they came to the plate, as the team hit just .204 with a .257 OBP.  On the flip side, Brooklyn could not contain Yaz, as the series MVP hit .409, scored 8 runs with 5 doubles, 2 homers, 4 walks, and 9 RBI's.  Also instrumental in the series win was reliever Devin Williams, with 6+ shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 10.

It was a pleasure playing against Jon, who really makes the game enjoyable.  Congrats on a great season!  Redwood now waits for the results on the Surprise/Camden series.