Terre Haute and San Francisco met in the CL playoffs for the second consecutive year, as the Seawolves swept the Explosion last year but were then swept themselves by Harmony Grove.
Game 1
Fried vs. Gomber
Muncy gives TER a quick 1-0 lead with a solo homer in the top of the 1st, but Hilliard does the same for SF leading off the 3rd to tie it up. In the 5th, TER opens the inning with consecutive singles, chasing Gomber with righty Carlos Martinez taking the ball, and he retires the next two batters. But then....BOOM, pinch-hit extraordinaire Chris Owings blasts a three-run homer, and then Muncy strikes again with another solo shot, putting the Explosion up 5-1. SF cuts the lead to 5-2 on a Luplow RBI single in the bottom half, but in the 6th, TER plays long ball again with an Alavarez solo shot for a 6-2 lead. Luplow continues the HR Derby theme with a solo homer in the 7th to cut the lead to 6-3. In the 8th, Melancon replaces Fried and gives up a solo blast to Cronenworth. Mize comes in and walks Fraley and gives up a single to Story, then Whitley comes in and walks Garver to load the bases. The flustered Whitley (and 17 balk rating) then balks to score a run, cutting the TER lead to 6-5. Barlow opens the 9th and avoids any trouble other then a walk to Phillips to save the 6-5 TER win.
Game 2
McCullers vs. Ryu
TER would live up to its name in this one. They would score first again on an Alvarez run-scoring single in the opening frame, but SF would take the lead in the bottom half on a two-run double by Tucker. TER would regain that lead in the 2nd on a solo blast by Albies and a RBI single by 'Cutch. They would then extend that lead to 4-2 in the 3rd on an Albies single. Story and Phillips would hit back-to-back doubles for SF in the 4th to cut the lead to 4-3, but then the 5th inning happened. TER would score 7 runs in the inning with no extra base hits....6 singles, 2 HBP, and 2 walks off three relievers for a 11-3 lead. SF would try to keep the game competitive by scoring 3 in their half of the 5th on a Nunez double, a Fraley single, and a Urias walk, then another run in the 7th on a Tucker sac fly, cutting the lead to 11-7. A Verdugo RBI single in the 8th would close out the scoring on a 12-7 TER win.
Game 3
Buehler vs. Mahle
With a 2-0 series lead and the teams headed to Terre Haute's yard with Buehler on the mound, a revengeful sweep looked like a real possibility. Strat had other ideas......
Tucker gave SF a 2-0 lead with a two-run double in the 3rd. In the 4th, a Straw two-out single would get TER on the board, now down 2-1. But in the 4th, Phillips would lead off with a solo homer to put SF up 3-1. That lead would shrink to a single run again after a McCutcheon sac fly in the 5th. That 3-2 SF lead lasted into the 8th when Grandal hit a leadoff homer for a 4-2 lead, then Fraley walked and Story singled to chase Buehler. TER went with Melancon and he allowed a Urias sac fly and SF was now up 5-2. Alvarez, Rasmussen, and Kittredge held down the TER offense over the final two innings for the SF 5-2 win. Buehler gave up 5 earned runs over 7 innings, allowing 7 hits and 6 walks. Mahle went 4+ for SF, allowing 2 runs, but 6 relievers held TER scoreless over the rest of the way for the win.
Game 4
Cobb vs. Lucchesi
In probably the most unlikely matchup, the series has its first pitchers duel. Through the first 3 innings, there was as a total of 2 singles between the two teams. In the top of the 4th, which usage rules would require the last inning for RDWs Lucchesi, Knebel took over to face lefty mashers Taylor, Contreras, and Albies, which he maneuvered unscathed. In the top 6th, TER removed Cobb in favor of Leone who worked through a leadoff double to post another scoreless inning. The scoreless game entered the top of the 8th with Leone still on the mound. Walsh hit a one-out single and Whitley replaced Leone and he struck out Garver. But he then balked Walsh to second, walked Grandal, gave up a run-scoring single to Fraley, and walked Story to load the bases. Romo relieved and gave an RBI single to Phillips, then a bases-clearing double to Urias. SF now led 5-0. In the bottom of the 9th, TERs Belt hit a two-run homer off Thielbar. One out later Muncy would double, forcing SF to go to their closer Kittredge, would shut down the rally to save the 5-2 SF win.
Game 5
Fried vs. Gomber
In a rematch of game one between the two lefties, runs would be hard to come by this time around. After two scoreless innings to start, Albies got TER on the board with an RBI single. In the 4th, Grandal did the same for SF to tie the game at one. In the 5th, Luplow led off the frame with a solo homer for a 2-1 SF lead. That one run lead held into the bottom of the 7th when TERs McCutcheon worked a leadoff walk. Two outs later, Taylor walked. With Contreras coming up and the tying run at second, SF removed Gomber for righty Rasmussen. TER flipped the script and removed Contreras in favor of the incredible card of Owings. With runners at first and second, SF opted to walk Owings to load the bases and instead face Albies, so far the best hitter of the series. TER again flipped the script and brought in Belt, but he flew out to end the threat. The 8th and 9th went down without incident and SF takes the pivotal game five, 2-1.
Game 6
Buehler vs. Ryu
SF now heads home with a 3-2 lead in a series where a home team and has not yet won a game. With a Buehler/Ryu matchup, TER looked great on paper to continue that trend, especially with several Seawolves starters being rested due to usage (Urias, Fraley, Grandal, Phillips).
Well, so much for how things look on paper. In the bottom of the first, Wade walked and stole second, then scored on Cronenworths single. Tucker singled, Walsh Kd, then Garver launched a three-run homer for a 4-0 SF lead. In the 4th, Garver struck again with a run-scoring single for an unearned run following a Chris Taylor error, and SF now led 5-0. TER get on the board in the 4th on a Taylor sac fly off reliever Rasmusssen to cut the lead to 5-1, then they went to work in the 5th. Albies homered to start the inning, and Thomas walked. After a Wade error, Verdugo hit for McCutcheon and hit a three-run homer to tie the game at five. In the 6th, it was that man again as Garver took Buehler deep again for a solo homer and a 6-5 SF lead. That score held into the 9th with TER down a run. Muncy and Verdugo flew out, bringing up Belt with the Explosion down to their last out. Belt rolled a 1-10 for the HR 1-16/TR chance to tie the game, but the split came up 20 for the triple. With closer Kittredge now tired and with righty Pollock coming up, SF went to Lucas Sims to close out the series. TER countered with Brantley, and SF chose to walk Brantley and instead face Yadier Alvarez. Alvarez rolled a 2-6 for the strikeout, giving SF the 6-5 win and the 4-2 series victory.
Once again, Strat seems to have a grudge to settle with Tom. From Buehler going 0-2 with a 6.60 ERA to Belt missing the 1-16 HR in the 9th to tie the game, Tom seems to be on the short end of the breaks. Terre Haute had a great season and deserved better in this series. He always handles the adversity with a quiet dignity, seemingly unsurprised and accepting of the misfortune.
This was an extremely tight series, as TER was only outscored 30-28. Albies was the best hitter in their lineup, hitting .381 and leading the team in runs (5), HRs (2), and RBIs (6). But the team couldnt overcome the poor outings of Buehler, Romo, McCullers, and Whitley, who combined for 22 earned runs in just 23 innings. SF now faces Harmony Grove in the CL Championship Series for the second consecutive year.
