REGIONAL #187:  The team that caught my eye in this draw was the ‘65 Cardinals, who had won the Series the previous year and would win it again two years later.  I also figured that entries from the Astros and Dodgers could be contenders, and although the Reds had two representatives in the bracket I didn’t think that either of them would be formidable.  My hunch was that the Cards would best the Angels for the top half of the group, but their mid-60s offense would come up short against the greater depth of the more modern Dodgers in the final.  The ELO rankings saw things pretty much the same way, although indicating that the Dodgers’ path to the finals might be challenging.  

First round action

The 1965 Cardinals slumped to an 80-81 record after winning the Series the previous season, and although they had some weapons at the top of the order, aside from Bob Gibson (20-12, 3.07) it looked like they would need to make use of a pretty solid bullpen.   The 76-86 1976 Rangers looked like a mid-60s team in that they were largely punchless, but they had some workhorses in the rotation with Gaylord Perry (15-14, 3.24) constituting an interesting (and contrasting) matchup with Gibson.  In the top of the 3rd, Lou Brock finds and converts Perry’s HR 1-9 split for a 2-out 2-run shot and an early lead.  That lead extends in the 4th when the Cards record another run on an error by 1B-4 Mike Hargrove, and then 3B-4 Roy Howell can’t get to a Mike Shannon single that brings in two more to make it 5-0 St. Louis.  The Cards put in their ‘67 DP combo of Maxvill and Javier for defensive purposes in the 6th, but Hargrove finds Gibson’s HR result for a 2-run shot that narrows the lead.  From there, both HOF pitchers are in control and the game wraps up with a 5-2 Cardinals win, Gibson earning the win with a 5-hitter and Perry the loss despite allowing only four hits.  

The 1984 Angels lineup was populated by a bunch of free agents who had made their name elsewhere, but Gene Autry’s money only resulted in an 81-81 record; however, they did have a solid homegrown product in Mike Witt (15-11, 3.47) on the mound for the first round start.  They were slight favorites over an 89-loss 2005 Reds team that had a primary weapons in Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn’s 40 homers, although everybody in the starting lineup had a SLG% over .400; but there was not much in the rotation with Aaron Harang (11-13, 3.83) by far the best option.  The Angels move to an early lead when Fred Lynn launches a 2-run homer in the bottom of the 1st, and Witt starts out dominant, not allowing a baserunner until a Felipe Lopez single in the 4th.  However, Witt’s second time through the Reds order proves to be more troublesome, and a 2-out 2-run single by Edwin Encarnacion ties the game in the top of the 5th.  The Angels quickly respond in the bottom of the inning, and an RBI single by Lynn, a run-scoring fielder's choice on a Brian Downing grounder, and a 2-base error by Reds RF-2 Austin Kearns and it’s 5-2 Angels after five.  The Reds punch back in the 6th, with Adam Dunn converting a DO 1-3/flyB to drive in a run, but he’s nailed trying to score (1-12+2) on a Jason LaRue single for the third out.  Kearns leads off the 7th with a double and then PH Ryan Freel knocks him in with another double, and with the lead down to one the Angels are at Witt’s end and reluctantly summon their only decent reliever, Doug Corbett.  But he allows a single to Sean Casey, the fleet Freel flies home, and the game is tied. The rattled Corbett then delivers a hanging curve to Felipe Lopez, who deposits it somewhere by the base of the big A for a 2-run shot and a Reds lead.  That doesn’t last long, as Doug Decinces blasts a 2-run homer in the bottom of the inning that ties the game and the Reds summon THEIR only decent reliever, Brian Shackelford, and he survives some fielding lapses without further damage.  Doubles from LaRue and Kearns give the Reds a one run lead in the top of the 8th, and they load up on defensive replacements after having committed three errors already in the game.  It comes down to the bottom of the 9th, and Shackelford gets two quick outs to face Reggie Jackson.  With chants of “Reggie!” ringing loud, it’s a 2-7 roll, HR 1-7/flyB.  The split die comes to rest on a 16, and Mr. October and his teammates head back to the storage drawers as the Reds pull off the see-saw 8-7 victory.    

The 1995 Astros were the #2 seed in the group, going 76-68 in that strike-shortened season aided by some Killer B’s and they still managed to get 30 starts out of Shane Reynolds (10-11, 3.47).  They had the good fortune to be matched against the 2021 Pirates, a 101-loss team consisting of some of the ugliest cardstock this side of a recycling center; other than Bryan Reynolds, I doubted that anyone in the lineup could start for another team in this bracket, and Tyler Anderson (5-8, 4.35) was the best option in a shallow rotation that would likely need the seemingly endless supply of bad relievers who were carded for this team.  Of course, no sooner do I disparage the Pirates lineup than Anthony Alford finds and converts Reynolds’ HR 1-9 split for a 2-run shot in the bottom of the 1st.  The Astros get one of those runs back on a Dave Magadan fielder’s choice in the 2nd, but in the 3rd Alford gets another RBI as B. Reynolds races home on Alford’s 2-out single.  Wilmer Difo (who was apparently NOT the Green Goblin in the Spiderman movies) leads off the top of the 6th with a triple, and after a mound conference Houston leaves Reynolds in hoping for the strikeout.  However, Ke’Bryan Hayes singles to drive in the run, and Reynolds is gone as Todd Jones comes in just in time for Jacob Stallings to roll his HR split–it’s a miss, but Hayes scores on the resulting double and the Pirates are now up by five.  They get a scare in the 7th when their best hitter Reynolds goes down with an injury, but reports indicate that he’ll be ready to go for the second round.  A couple of singles in the 8th and the Pirates move to wild Kyle Crick out of the pen, but he escapes the inning unscathed after walking the bases full, and then sets Houston down in order as the Pirates, in classic #8 seed style, respond to my insults by rolling to a 6-1 upset win.

The 2013 Dodgers were the top seed in the regional courtesy of 92 wins and the NL West pennant, and they were two games away from a Series appearance.  Although their lineup was solid with a formidable 1.040 OPS from SS Hanley Ramirez (if he could stay healthy), their real strength was their pitching staff, anchored by Cy Young winning Clayton Kershaw (16-9, 1.83).  However, the 1996 Reds didn’t look like pushovers despite a mediocre 81-81 season, with a stellar DP combination in Barry Larkin and Bret Boone, although after John Smiley (13-14, 3.64) their rotation mainly elicited frowns.  In the top of the 1st, Yasiel Puig hits a solo shot clear out of Cinergy Field, almost beaning Reds owner Marge Schott who was banned from entering the stadium at the time.  From there both pitchers are in fine form, but when Smiley allows a leadoff hit in the 7th the Reds confer but let him try to work his way out of the inning.  He gets one out but then Juan Uribe finds and converts Smiley’s HR result for a 2-run shot and it’s time for closer Jeff Brantley.  Things do not go well for Brantley in the 8th, as after a Puig RBI single, Adrian Gonzalez rolls Brantley’s HR 1-14/flyB result and pops a 14 on the split die for a 3-run blast and Reds fans head for the exits, from which they get to witness Andre Ethier miss the same split later in the inning.  Making up that deficit against Kershaw ain’t gonna happen, and he ends with a 3-hit shutout as the Dodgers cruise to the semis with the 7-0 victory.  

The survivors

The #3 seeded 1965 Cardinals were facing life after Bob Gibson, but even with Tracy Stallard (11-8, 3.39) they had to be considered as substantial favorites over the #7 seed 2005 Reds with Brandon Claussen (10-11, 4.21) on the mound and their best reliever burnt.  And Claussen is quickly in a pickle as Lou Brock begins the game by finding a solid homer on the pitcher’s card, and they get another run in the 2nd when Ken Boyer races home on a 2-out Dick Groat single.  However, the Cards suffer a blow when their best hitter, DH Bob Skinner, is knocked out of the regional with an injury.  Boyer avenges his fallen comrade with a solo homer in the 4th, but Adam Dunn gets the first hit off Stallard, a solid pitcher’s card homer that wakes up the home crowd.  However, in the 5th LF-4 Dunn waves helplessly at a single by injury replacement Tito Francona that scores Lou Brock, and Bill White follows that with a 2-run homer that puts Claussen back in the jar and gets David Weathers for relief.  RBI singles from White and Tim McCarver extend the lead in the 7th, and Stallard doesn’t allow any more hits until there are two out in the bottom of the 9th as he closes out a 3-hitter and the Cards head to the finals with the easy 8-1 win.

This semifinal matchup was the Zoom game of the week, with loyal Pennsylvanian TT gamely taking the helm of the terrible #8 seed 2021 Pirates.  He faced me as manager of the top seeded 2013 Dodgers, although I only assumed that role because nobody else in the Zoom gathering liked the Dodgers either.  The starting pitchers were as lopsided as the rest of the lineup, with LA’s Zack Greinke (15-4, 2.63) against the Bucs’ Wil Crowe, (4-8, 5.48), whose prolific gopher ball tendencies were actually exceeded by the other remaining starters in the rotation.  However, it didn’t take long for the Dodgers to find one of Crowe’s homer nests, in the form of AJ Ellis in the bottom of the 2nd for a 3-run shot.  Andre Ethier hits a giant solo shot in the 4th, and Pirates fans are rooting for Crowe to let up his 5th run so that he can be pulled for a reliever, and that occurs in the bottom of the 5th with an RBI single by Ellis that brings in Pittsburgh reliever Chasen Schrieve.  Juan Uribe crushes one of his offerings for a 3-run blast in the 6th, and so the Bucs try Sam Howard to begin the 8th.  Three walks, an error, and a passed ball later, and Pittsburgh thinks that they’ve inadvertently pitched Moe Howard instead, so they summon closer David Bednar, who promptly allows a bases-loaded triple to Carl Crawford to send Howard off with a line of ⅓ IP, 0 hits, and 5 runs allowed. Adrian Gonzalez adds a homer to Bednar’s mistakes, and in the meantime the only offense Pittsburgh can muster is a converted split HR off Greinke’s card by #9 hitter Kevin Newman.  Greinke closes out a 5-hitter and the Dodgers roll to the finals with a 16-1 demolition of the hapless Pirates.  The 16 runs ties for third highest total in the tournament thus far, falling short of the 18 runs put up by the 1950 Red Sox in the finals of Regional #40.

The regional final matching the #1 seeded 2013 Dodgers against the #3 seed 1965 Cardinals was accurately predicted by both me and the ELO rankings, a fairly rare occurrence, with neither team really having been challenged in the first two rounds.  The Cards had outscored their opponents 13-3, which looked good until compared to the Dodgers’ differential of 23 to 1.  Ray Washburn (9-11, 3.63) was on the mound for the Cards, facing Hyun-Jin Ryu (14-8, 3.00), and the already limited Cardinal offense was further weakened by the injury to their DH Bob Skinner.  Both pitchers are in control the first time through the lineups, but in the bottom of the 5th the Dodgers begin the inning with five straight hits, and by the time Yasiel Puig contributes a base clearing double the Dodgers claim a 6-0 lead.  The Cards try to reassert themselves quickly, with Lou Brock leading off the 6th with a single, stealing second, and then heading for home on a Curt Flood base hit–but the 1-17 Brock runs into a split roll of 19 and Ryu escapes the inning with no damage.  Dodger PH Scott Van Slyke misses a HR 1-2/DO split on Washburn to begin the bottom of the inning, and Washburn is pulled for Don Dennis, who retires the side without incident.  The Cards finally get on the board in the 7th on an RBI double from Phil Gagliano, but the Dodgers respond in the bottom of the inning with RBI singles from Andre Ethier and AJ Ellis to provide additional padding.  The Cards try to make it interesting as DH substitute Tito Francona contributes a 2-out, 2-run single in the 8th, but in the 9th they can only muster a pinch hit from Bob Uecker, and Ryu closes out the 8-3 win to give the Dodgers the 10th regional win for their franchise.  A strong all-around team, these Dodgers have the makeup to last for a while in this tournament, even though they could not do so in the 2013 NLCS.

Interesting card of Regional #187:  A counterargument to the belief that they don’t make pitchers like they used to, this card represents the 2013 Cy Young winner who in this tournament started off the regional winners with a 3-hit CG shutout in round one–a pretty nice parallel to the 4-hit CG shutout he actually pitched on 2013 Opening Day.  Mind you, this card is from 10 years ago; this season, he is as of this writing leading the league in wins and has a WHIP under 1.00.  He’s been an imposing force on the mound since his high school days in Dallas, where he was backed up at shortstop by his teammate Matthew Stafford, who ended up playing for a different team in Los Angeles.  According to a recent graphic I saw, Kershaw currently has the lowest career ERA in history of any pitcher in MLB history with more than 1300 IP.  Can you name who is in second place on that list?