Ketel Marte opened the scoring for SEW with a solo homer in the second, but the third was pivotal. With one out Noda hit a solo homer to make it 2-0 and the next batter walked. CMD went to the pen in an attempt to stop the rally before it started, only to watch Alexander walk the only batter he faced. Pressly was next up and Ward greeted him with a double that made it 3-0 and also put a runner on third, who later scored on a sac fly. Leading 4-0, Ohtani cruised through 3 innings but got into trouble in the 4th, surrendering three runs on four hits, among them a Goldschmidt 2-run homer and a 2 out RBI single by Arredondo that made it 4-3.
In the 5th Camden brought in Perdomo to face one batter, Ohtani leading off the inning, and he doubled. Two of the next three batters walked to give Sewell a bases loaded, one out situation. Devin Williams then got the next two batters to avoid major damage, but Ohtani did score from 3rd on a groundout to make it 5-3. A nearly identical sequence occurred in the bottom of the 6th, Ohtani walked a pair and got into his own bases loaded one out jam. Bieber entered to retire two batters but one was a sac fly that closed the gap to 5-4. However, Borucki and Moreta came on for Sewell and didnt allow a hit for the last three frames, so that was the final SEW 5, CMD 4
Game 2 Senga vs Woodruff
There was no scoring in the first two innings, but Woodruff worked out of a bases loaded jam in the first, so when Straw reached in the top of the second, CMD again went to the pen early and Perdomo closed out the inning by retiring lefty Noda. Camden opened the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd when two singles put a pair on for Seager who delivered a 2-out 2-run double. Sewell went to the pen in the 4th and the pens matched zeroes for the next four innings, with few threats. Camdens best opportunity evaporated memorably in the 6th when Machado and Call both walked but were both caught stealing. Marte got Sewell on the board with a solo homer in the top of the 8th and Kahnle came on for Camden. Sewell got a pair of walks to set up a two-on, two out situation for vet Sal Perez. He doubled to tie the game but the potential go-ahead run was hosed at the plate to end the inning. But in the 9th, Marte found himself at the plate against Chargois with a man on second and two out, and he doubled to break the tie. Moreta worked around an error in the bottom of the 9th to close it out. SEW 3, CMD 2
Game 3 France vs Strider
Sewell leadoff man Noda hit a fly ball that was muffed by CMDs gold glove center fielder Thomas, so he ended up on second and advanced on a pair of groundouts for a run without the benefit of a hit. Tough break right? Oh, just you wait. France pitched a perfect second, and in the third, he faced 5 batters, walking three and striking out two. CMD summoned Sewald to pitch to Ward with the bases loaded and two out, and Ward hit a grand slam, after which Bleday made it back to back homers. Sewald departed and a succession of 8 more CMD relievers pitched the rest of the game without allowing another hit or run. Thus Sewell finished the game having scored six runs on only two hits. Strider, meanwhile, faced the minimum 21 batters through seven innings, as CMD only had three baserunners and all three were immediately erased on double plays. In the 8th CMD finally got on the board as an error by Crawford and a walk opened the door for two CMD runs on one hit, a Machado single, and Strider left after eight innings up 6-2. CMD didnt go quietly in the 9th, loading the bases with nobody out on a double and two walks off reliever Thompson, but Naylor hit a meaningless sac fly and then Moreta came on two strike out Goldshmidt and Semien. SEW 6, CMD 3
Game 4 Manning vs Mikolas
After two quiet innings, Thomas opened the scoring in the top of the 3rd with a solo homer. That would be the only run Mikolas allowed in his 5 inning, 2 hit effort. In the bottom of the 3rd, Manning walked the leadoff batter and CMD went to the pen. Sewell got to a first and third one out situation but Perdomo got out of it when Ohtani grounded into a double play. But in the bottom of the 5th, Ohtani would have his revenge. CMD pitchers melted down, walking the first four batters of the inning, and then Devin Willians surrendered a grand slam to Ohtani that suddenly made it 5-1. The Sewell bullpen pitched a perfect 6th and then in the bottom of the inning Sewell got a solo homer from Myles Straw, which matched his home run total for the entire regular season. Down 6-1, CMD battled against Sewells best relievers, getting a solo homer from Acuna in the 7th, stranding a pair in the 8th, and then getting another pair on in the 9th when Nick Allen grounded into a series-ending double play. SEW 6, CMD 2
So, yeah, that happened. Ketel Marte is the MVP, hitting 385 with four walks and the only player on either team with two homers, plus the game winning RBI in game 2. Honorable mention to Moreta who pitched 4.2 innings without allowing a hit and earned a win and three saves in the process.
I dont know what to say, Travis had a really good team and consistently made logical moves, but just didnt get the breaks. Camden has a lot more power in their lineup, but Sewell ended up outhomering them 7-3. The heart of the Camden order was surprisingly quiet, and their pitching staff held Sewell to a .208 batting average but killed themselves, not only walking 26 but bunching those walks. I dont know if Luck is a Lady, but she was definitely blowing on my dice in this one.
Congrats to Kevin!
