REGIONAL #72:  This regional gave the Expos/Nationals franchise a good chance for their first regional win, given that they held three of the four spots in the upper half of this bracket.  However, they faced a bulky obstacle in the form of a nameless card situated on the 2003 Giants.  The bottom half of the bracket featured two versions of the Indians, who have 5 regional wins to their credit ('48, '54, '61, '67 and '75), along with Phillies and Mets teams that boast a couple of decent pitchers such as Steve Carlton and Doc Gooden.  Not a pennant winner in the bunch but a few competitive teams; I have no idea who will win.  Maybe a Nationals/Mets final--who knows?

First round action:

Working on the lineup for the 100-win 2003 Giants, I was thinking "how did these guys lose to the Marlins in the NLDS?"  It certainly didn't seem like the 79-win 1973 Expos had much of a shot, but Les Expos jumped to a 4-0 lead against SF starter Jason Schmidt in the 1st, led by a 3-run blast from Bob Bailey.   The Giants retaliated in the 3rd with a 2-out rally that scored three, largely because of control issues with Expos starter Steve Renko loading things up for a JT Snow double.  Both Renko and Schmidt settled down, and things remained at 4-3 until the 7th, when Montreal CF Ron Woods misplays a Grissom flyball into two Giants runs, and that decided the game.  Schmidt allowed only two hits in the final eight innings to earn a CG 5-4 win, saving a good Giants bullpen for later rounds.

The 86-win 2013 Nationals had to be favored over the 1995 Expos, who only managed a 66-78 record in a strike shortened season, but the matchup did feature two of the best starting pitchers in the history of this franchise:  Pedro Martinez vs. Stephen Strasburg.  When Denard Span greeted Martinez with a leadoff triple in the 1st, with Werth then singling him home, the Nationals looked formidable.  But that 1-0 lead lasted only until the 2nd, when Expos C Darren Fletcher homers off Strasburg's card to tie the game, and in the 3rd the Expos rapped four hits to score two more.   By this time Martinez was in fine form, and although Werth had three chances to tie the game, he could convert none of them, and the Expos hold on for the 3-1 win.  This leaves the '95 version of this franchise, probably the weakest of their three entries in this bracket, as their only remaining regional hope, with by far their best starter burned.

The 89-win 1989 Mets looked to be big favorites over the 62-win 1969 Indians, but Cleveland starter Sam McDowell accounted for 18 of those 62 wins and had a formidable card.  However, McDowell walked four Mets in the 1st inning, leading to four runs on only one hit (a double by Magadan), and the Indians were in a hole they would never recover from.   Behind 8-0 in the 6th and with Sid Fernandez throwing a no-hitter, Fernandez suddenly lost control himself, walking three and allowed two unearned runs courtesy of a Juan Samuel error in CF.   And that is how it ended, an easy 8-2 win for the Mets, Fernandez ending with a 4-hitter.   However, the Mets won despite making four errors, and their porous defense will become increasingly concerning as they go deeper into their rotation.

The 1972 Phillies won 59 games to finish comfortably last in the NL East; amazingly, Steve Carlton won 27 of those games, a remarkable feat that won him the Cy Young award.  His opponent, the 1976 Indians, won 81 games and while not exactly the '27 Yankees, they had a lot more weapons than the Phils.  However, Cleveland starter Jim Bibby was not exactly in Carlton's league, so anything could happen, and so it did:  The Indians get to Carlton early, scoring twice in the bottom of the 1st led by singles from George Hendrick and Ray Fosse.  Hendrick adds a solo HR in the 4th, but the Phils finally get on the scoreboard when Willie Montanez hits a 2-run shot in the 5th.   However, that was it for the Phils; Bibby tosses a 4-hitter, while Carlton looks mortal in allowing 10 hits, and the Indians move on with a narrow 3-2 win.

The survivors:

The 2003 Giants won 34 more games than the 1995 Expos in their respective seasons, but neither team was blessed with a very deep pitching staff, and the Sidney Ponson vs. Carlos Perez matchup was hardly one for the ages.  However, Perez came through with flying colors, holding the Giants to 2 hits and no runs as the Expos scratch out a 3-0 win, led by two doubles from Mike Lansing.  Barry Bonds was a non-factor, going 0-4 and drawing nary a walk.  This undistinguished version of the Expos is the 5th version of the franchise to make it to the regional final, with all four previous efforts (all Expos teams from the seventies) falling short.

The 1976 Indians had knocked around Steve Carlton in the first inning of their first round matchup, and Doc Gooden of the 1989 Mets met a similar fate, as the Indians scored three in the 1st and added another in the 2nd to move out to a quick 4-0 lead.   By the beginning of the 8th, Cleveland had a commanding 8-3 lead and their starter Dennis Eckersley was in control, but Eckersley took a line drive to the face with one out and was placed on the 15-game DL--in other words, out for the tournament.  Not wanting to dip too deeply into their strong bullpen, the Indians put Tom Buskey on the mound, but Buskey was a disaster, allowing a 2-run shot to Kevin McReynolds and putting the tying run at the plate before finally retiring the side.   Not taking any chances in the 9th, the Indians called on closer Dave LaRoche, who retired the side in order to preserve the 8-5 victory and earn a trip to the finals.

Regional MVP

In an effort to capture the first regional win for the Montreal franchise, 1995 Expos starter Butch Henry did what neither Steve Carlton or Doc Gooden could do--he held the 1976 Indians scoreless in the first inning.   Unfortunately, that did not apply to the 2nd or 3rd innings, and Henry was yanked after 2.3 innings having allowed 7 hits and 6 runs, including a two-run George Hendrick blast.   A series of Montreal relievers then held the Indians in check while the Expos attempted to solve Cleveland starter Pat Dobson, and a two out rally capped by a 3-run David Segui homer made it 6-3, but Jim Kern came in to lock down the Expos and preserve the 6-3 win and the regional for the '76 Indians.  This was an interesting reprise of the victory by the '75 Indians in the very first regional of this tournament, played roughly 35 years ago.   Something about those mid-70s Indians teams, mediocre on paper, seems to be magic in this format.