REGIONAL #64:  The draw for Regional #64 in the endless single elimination tournament offered two NL pennant winners, some interesting matchups and great names.  The 1987 Cardinals won the NL with a AAA season for Vince Coleman, but he could have an interesting footrace against Rickey Henderson and Frankie Frisch, the Fordham Flash.  In the pitching department, we'll see Walter Johnson, Dennis Eckersley, and two different appearances by the gone-too-soon Jose Fernandez, including his Rookie of the Year season.  Throw in Andrew McCutcheon, Mark McGwire, Hack Wilson, Bill Terry, Ichiro, and both Meusal brothers (Irish and Bob), and it promises to be an adventure.

In the first game of the first round, Jose Fernandez makes an emotional return to the mound for the 2016 Marlins and earns the win, scattering 7 hits in a 5-2 complete game victory over the 2011 Pirates.  Ichiro drives in one and scores two, and Justin Bour makes up for some sloppy fielding and getting cut down trying to score by blasting a solo HR.   Note that this won't be Fernandez's last start in the first round, as his 2013 version is also slated to pitch in the bottom half of the bracket!

Two old school teams have a wild first round matchup.  The 1920 Senators feel good about sending HOFer Walter Johnson out to the mound against the 59-win 1930 Reds, although this was not one of the Big Train's best years.  The Nats jump out to a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st on singles by Milan and Judge, but the Reds tie it in the 4th on a 2-run double by Stripp.  Judge knocks in another in the 5th to put Washington back on top, but Bob Meusal answers with an RBI double in the 8th.  All game, Johnson is struggling, repeatedly working himself out of jams, but his luck seems to run out in the 9th when Reds CF Curt Walker drives in Swanson for the go-ahead run.  Reds starter Benny Frey then retires the first two Senators in the bottom of the 9th, and utility infielder Frank Ellerbe is sent in to pinch hit for light-hitting C Patsy Gharrity.  Ellerbee raps a sharp GBx past Reds 2b Hod Ford (2b-2) for a single, and Frey falls apart, walking two straight batters.  The Reds turn to their own Johnson, Si, out of the bullpen to try to salvage the win, but Clyde Milan raps a hard single into the gap to score two and give the Senators and Walter Johnson (who allowed 15 hits!) the walk-off win.

In perhaps the most anticipated 1st round matchup of this regional, the NL champion 1987 Cardinals face Rookie of the Year Jose Fernandez and the 2013 Marlins.   The Marlins strike first with a run in the top of the first, and then keep chipping away at Cards starter Joe Magrane's card with a knack for finding his hits.   Meanwhile, Fernandez is shutting out the Cards going into the 7th, when an untimely error by 2b Donovan Solano opens the door for three Cardinal runs to tie the game 3-3.  Fernandez remains in and shuts down the Cards, but things head to extra innings and Jose reluctantly leaves the game after 10 with things still knotted at 3-3.   So they remain until the 15th inning, when the Marlins tag the 4th Cardinal pitcher, Rick Horton, with four hits and three runs, with a 2-run double by Placido Polanco being the decisive blow.  Steve Cishek comes in to start the bottom of the 15th and sets the Cards down in order, giving the 100-loss Marlins the unlikely 6-3 upset against a pennant winner.

The final first round game featured the second NL pennant winner in this bracket, the 1924 Giants, facing off against the 1994 A's from that strike-shortened season.  This time, the pennant winners came through with a 5-3 victory, getting 3 RBI from Ross Youngs and a solo HR from George Kelly that gave starter Art Nehf the support he needed.  The A's did put up a fight--they were a second place team in the AL West, although like EVERY team in that 1994 division, they had a losing record.   But the difference was that the Giants' stars came through when needed, while the A's did not:  Ricky Henderson never got on base, and Mark McGwire, limited by injury that season, made one appearance as a pinch hitter--and promptly got injured!

The survivors

The initial regional semifinal matched two sub-.500 teams, the 1920 Senators (.447 winning percentage) and the 2016 Marlins (.491).  Both teams could thank their aces, Walter Johnson and Jose Fernandez, for getting this far, but now the teams must show that they are more than a one-pitcher wonder.  And, Washington starter Tom Zachary did just that, leading the Senators to a 4-1 win.  Zachary allowed a leadoff double to Ichiro followed by a Yelich RBI single to start the first inning, but then it was 27 outs without a run.  In the meantime, Braggo Roth and Bucky Harris nailed HRs off the card of Miami starter Adam Conley, and that dashed the hopes of fans in south Florida for an all-Marlins regional final.

The second semi featured NL champs 1924 Giants, against a 100-loss 2013 Marlins team that had already upset a different NL champ.  And it didn't take long for the Marlins to send a wakeup call, with a 1st inning 2-run HR by Giancarlo Stanton to put the Marlins up early.  Giants starter Hugh McQuillan then settled down, and things were quiet until the 6th when MIA C Jeff Mathis drove in two with a bases-loaded single to put the Marlins up 4-0.  Meanwhile, Marlins starter Nathan Eovaldi was shackling the Giants, aided by 4 double plays, most started by SS defensive whiz Adeiny Hechavarria.  In the end, the Giants could not push a run across the plate, giving the Marlins their second consecutive upset of a pennant winner with a 5-0 win and an improbable spot in the regional finals.

Regional MVP Placido Polanco

Two teams with losing records faced off in the regional finals, but both had demonstrated that they are winners in this format.  The 2013 Marlins upset two consecutive pennant winners, which I believe is the first time that a 100-loss team has done that in this tournament, while the 1920 Senators were fresh off an easy victory over the 2016 version of those Marlins, arguably a better team than the 2013 group.  With the teams needing to go deeper in their rather limited rotations for round 3, there was some promise of offensive fireworks, and it was the Marlins who supplied it, putting up crooked numbers in the first three frames to lead 7-0 going into the 4th.  Meanwhile, the Marlins' Henderson Alvarez took a no-hitter into the 5th, but lost it and the shutout with a Shanks single putting the Senators on the board, although the Marlins matched that run in the 6th.   In the 8th, the Senators finally got untracked, loading the bases for a Braggo Roth triple that cut the margin to 8-4 and gave Washington fans hope for a 9th inning comeback.  But the Marlins dashed those hopes in the bottom of the 8th, scoring six runs that included a Polanco grand slam, knocking around a terrible Senators bullpen.  The Senators surrendered quietly in the 9th, giving the 100-loss Marlins the 14-4 blowout win and the regional title.  Although the Marlins are certainly the first 100-loss team to defeat two pennant winners in a row, they are not the first 100-loss team to win a regional; they now join the 103-loss 1993 Mets, winners of Regional #49, in that distinction.