REGIONAL #54:  Some wild 1st round action in the next "regional" in my endless single elimination tournament: Kirk Gibson hits 2 HRs (call that, Vin Scully!) as the 1994 Tigers best the 1959 Tigers, despite an answering homer from the late great Al Kaline; Ed Bailey hits a walkoff 3-run HR in the 10th to lead the 1957 Reds in an upset over the 1967 Twins; the HR-crazy 2019 Twins hit 3 HR in the first 2 innings against Tim Hudson, but have to hold off a furious comeback to win a 9-7 decision against the 2000 A's; and a grand slam by Randy Winn off Pedro Martinez is all the 71-win 2007 Giants need to upset the 2002 Red Sox, with a young Tim Lincecum notching the CG win. My last regional was characterized by a bunch of pitching duels and shutouts; don't think this one will turn out that way!

 

 

And the wildness continues in the first semifinal, as the 1994 Tiger's Chris Gomez, tapped to start in front of an aging Alan Trammell, responds with TWO GRAND SLAMS--both off 1957 Reds starter Hal Jeffcoat's card-- and the Tigers romp 14-2. His slams were in the 1st and 2nd inning. I'm not sure I've ever seen two grand slams by the same player in the same game, let alone in consecutive innings!

 

In the other semifinal, Giants pitcher Matt Cain keeps the HR-happy 2019 Twins from hitting any long balls, but Jake Ororizzi is even better, holding the 2007 Giants to 5 hits in a 3-1 win for the Twins. Jonathan Schoop, who paced the 2016 Orioles in winning the last regional, continues his clutch run with 3 hits and an RBI. The stage is now set for the regional finals, with the '94 Tigers, last place in the AL East, being huge underdogs against the 101-win Twins--and one of Detroit's best hitters, Junior Felix, will miss the game due to injury.

 

In the regional finals, the underdog 1994 Tigers jump out to a 5-1 lead over the powerful 2019 Twins, with a 2-run HR by Kirk Gibson chasing Minnesota starter Michael Pineda in the 3rd. However, 2019 Twins reliever Trevor May comes in and slams the door on the Tigers, while the floodgates open for the Twins sluggers. When the dust clears, the Twins knock 7 homers (two each by Cruz and Sano) and they Cruz to a 12-5 win, with May notching the win in relief with 4 shutout innings. The 2019 Twins are a formidable team, with a pretty strong bullpen to augment their awesome power. However, their starting pitching depth is unimpressive, and in the three games of the regional they committed 7 errors, pointing to another potential weakness. But, as someone on the boards recently said, this team will never be out of a game, and they could go far in this single elimination format.