REGIONAL #255:  It’s down to the penultimate bracket in the tournament, and although there were no pennant winners, a few were fairly close.  There were Red Sox and Phillies teams that would win a pennant the following season and a Dodgers team that would win in two years later.  There was the final entry from the White Sox that would test my jinx against them, and squads from the Indians, Rangers, and a more recent version of the Red Sox that were probably middling but probably still had a better shot than the play-in teams.  With two Red Sox versions, I figured why not pick an all-Boston final and guessed that the 2017 variant would triumph over the 2021 team in the end.  The ELO ratings matched that prediction perfectly, although they indicated that the favorite would face perhaps their biggest challenge in the first round, from that Dodgers representative.

First round action

Play-in game:  In the play-in game between the 2018 Padres and the 2023 Royals (the last of four such play-in games in the tournament), I knew nothing about these two teams other than their ELO ratings suggested that they were terrible.  In fact, as I dug them out of my storage drawers, I tested myself and discovered that without looking, I could name hardly anybody on either team with 100% certainty, a sad commentary on my knowledge of contemporary baseball (but just ask me about a team from the 1930s or 1950s!).   The Royals lost 106 games and although Bobby Witt Jr. came in 7th in the MVP voting and Nelson Velazquez was an imposing DH with 17 homers in 162 ABs, their rotation was simply abysmal, with Brady Singer (8-11, 5.52) one of the worst round one starters I’d seen in a long time.   The 96-loss Padres didn’t have anyone to compare with those offensive weapons, but swingman Robbie Erlin (4-7, 4.21) had a far better card than Singer and the Pads had some decent arms in the pen.  Travis Jankowski leads off the game with a walk off Singer’s card, and he steals second off aging C-4 Salvador Perez and scores when Hunter Renfroe finds a DO** 1-19 at 5-7 on Singer’s flawed cardstock.  Austin Hedges then singles in Renfroe, but at least has the courtesy to do so off his own card, but the Padres quickly lead 2-0 before the Royals can bat.  Two walks begin the top of the 2nd before Jose Pirela finds that 5-7 double for another run, but SS-2 Witt turns a nice DP to prevent further damage and a Perez RBI single in the bottom of the inning cuts the lead to 3-1 San Diego.  A Hedges solo shot in the 3rd extends that lead, but the Royals get it back when MJ Melendez rips an RBI single past SD 2B-4 Pirela in their half of the inning.  Singer then pitches two scoreless innings so the Royal decide to let him begin the 6th rather than pulling him, and that decision is rewarded by an Eric Hosmer leadoff homer off Singer’s card, and Cole Ragans gets the call and he ends the inning but SD is now up 5-2.  But three straight singles to begin the bottom of the 6th sends Erlin to the showers in favor of Jose Castillo, although he can’t stop the flood as Drew Waters raps a 2-run single to make it a one-run game after six.  The Padres then lose DH Franmil Reyes to injury for a couple of games, although immediately afterwards Renfroe avenges his fallen colleague with a solo homer that pads the Padre lead somewhat.  San Diego then brings on closer Kirby Yates for the final two innings, and he preserves the 6-4 win that sends the Padres on to the tournament proper, for better or worse.  

This game was one of those first round matchups where the top two seeds face off in an effort to get their toughest competition out of the way.  The 2017 Red Sox won 93 games and the AL East although they were eliminated from the postseason by the trashcan Astros; they had Mookie Betts in 6th place for the MVP, Andrew Benintendi as the Rookie of the Year runner-up, and Chris Sale (17-8, 2.90) was the Cy Young runner-up while leading the league in strikeouts.   The second-seeded 2015 Dodgers won 92 games and the NL West, but they also made a quick postseason exit; Adrian Gonzalez got some MVP votes but their real weapon was their 2-3 finish in the Cy Young, with Zack Grienke (19-3, 1.66) getting the runner up spot and the game one start.  With two great pitchers, the game is a scoreless tie until the 6th, when the Dodgers get their first hit, a solo shot from Andre Ethier, but in the bottom of the 7th Jackie Bradley Jr. nails the only solid hit on Greinke’s card for a two-out RBI single that ties the game.  In the top of the 9th, Red Sox 3B-3 Eduardo Nunez makes a 2-out error, and the next batter, Joc Pederson, crushes a 2-unearned run homer, so now it’s up to Greinke to hold serve in the bottom of the 9th.  He gets one out, but Mitch Moreland draws a walk and the Red Sox insert pinch runner Rajai Davis as the tying run.  Christian Vazquez then rips a single and 1-17 Davis heads straight to third–but he’s out on a 19 split and that’s two away, Vazquez advancing to 2nd on the play.  In comes another pinch runner, but the Dodgers elect to stay with their ace to try to get out number three, but he issues the only walk on his card at 6-3 and now the winning run is at the plate in the form of Bradley Jr.  But Bradley pokes a grounder 2B-3 Enrique Hernandez who fields it cleanly, and the Dodgers pull off the 3-1 upset even though Sale allows only 3 hits while striking out 13 in the loss.  

The Zoom game of the week provided an opportunity to witness my White Sox jinx in real time, as the final entry from the South Siders in the tournament was the 89-win 2008 White Sox, who won the AL Central but rapidly exited the postseason losing the ALDS.  Even so, there were MVP votes for Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye, and Alexei Ramirez was Rookie of the Year runner-up; John Danks (12-9, 3.32) got the nod at the front of a decent rotation.  Aside from my jinx, the Sox were favored against the 1982 Indians that would be directed by Cleveland’s own Colavito fan, who indicated that he’s probably attended a number of their games in person that season.  The 78-84 Indians also had two MVP votegetters in Toby Harrah and Andre Thornton, Von Hayes got votes for Rookie of the Year, and Rick Sutcliffe (14-8, 2.96) led the AL in ERA and came in 5th for the Cy Young, so the teams looked more evenly matched to me than their ELO rankings or their records would suggest.  And ColavitoFan didn’t take long to start beating up on Danks, with three consecutive doubles in the bottom of the 1st providing RBI for Hayes, Ron Hassey, and Mike Fischlin and a 4-0 Cleveland lead.  In the top of the 2nd, Paul Konerko pesters the Indians with an RBI single that narrows the gap, and Danks seems to settle down, allowing only one further hit through five innings.  However, he loses his cool when CF lays down two consecutive bunts resulting in snake eyes for two hits, and Matt Thornton comes in to pour gasoline on the fire by allowing a bases-loaded single to Rick Manning for two more runs, and Mike Hargrove’s fielder’s choice scores another.  That provides the final 7-1 margin as Sutcliffe wraps up a three-hitter, and the Indians move on as the Sox join many of their franchise-mates in cold storage.

As the second part of a Friday Night Strat zoom doubleheader, Philadelphia’s own Tall Tactician elected to guide his 2021 Phillies while brother Chuck gamely accepted responsibility for the 2021 Red Sox despite having no dog in this fight. However, it was the Phllies who were underdogs in this match, as this Boston team won 92 games and came within two games of the pennant before falling in the ALCS. They had a strong lineup with Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers receiving support for MVP, but after Nathan Eovaldi (11-9, 3.79) who was 4th in Cy Young voting the rotation was pretty bleak. The Phillies were barely above .500 at 82-80, with NL MVP Bryce Harper a big weapon but with holes in the defense that could haunt Ranger Suarez (8-5, 1.36) even though his card was even better than Cy Young runner-up Zack Wheeler. Odubel Herrera starts things off in the bottom of the 2nd driving in a run, but the Phils strand runners and fail to turn it into a big inning. That big inning would have come in handy as Bogaerts and Kyle Schwarber go back to back with solo homers in the 4th, and Boston moves ahead 2-1. The Phils continue to threaten and Chuck spends a lot of time on the phone to the bullpen, but Eovaldi consistently manages to get out of trouble. Even so, when the Phils hit Eovaldi’s 4-7 walk for the umpteenth time to lead off the bottom of the 7th, Chuck looks for a reliever with a better outcome at that roll, and Garrett Whitlock and his 1.96 ERA fill the bill and Whitlock locks down the Phils. Another solo homer by Christian Arroyo gives Boston some insurance in the 8th, and looking ahead to going deeper into a bad rotation, Chuck preserves Whitlock and Tanner Houck comes in for a perfect 9th to close out the 3-1 win and send at least one Red Sox team to the semifinals.

Having survived a play-in game, it was time for the 2018 Padres to move on to more challenging opponents, and the 2004 Rangers were an 89-win team with a formidable lineup headed by MVP vote getters in Michael Young, Hank Blalock and Mark Teixeira; however, their rotation was not good, with Ryan Drese (14-10, 4.20) the best of the bunch.  However, the Padres would be without injured DH Franmil Reyes, and number two starter Joey Lucchesi (8-9, 4.08) had some trouble keeping the ball in the park.  The Padres get a run in the bottom of the 3rd when Freddy Galvis triples, and scores on a sac fly from Jose Pirela, but the lead proves short lived when Eric Young leads off the 4th by converting Lucchesi’s HR split;  two batters later, Teixeira converts the same split and then Kevin Mench nails Lucchesi’s solid HR to go back to back.  The pounding continues with an RBI single from Gary Matthews Jr. and a run-scoring fielders choice by Rod Barajas, and after walking the bases loaded the Padres can take no more of Lucchesi and try reliever Matt Strahm, who gets the final out but Texas leads 5-1.  A solo homer by Christian Villanueva in the bottom of the inning narrows the gap, and a 2-out double by Galvis in the 5th sets up a run-scoring single from Pirela that gets by 2B-4 Alfonso Soriano that brings the Padres within two.  Villanueva gets a 2-out double in the 6th but he’s cut down trying to score on a single by Austin Hedges; when SD gets two on in the 8th, the Rangers move to closer Francisco Cordero, and he closes things out as the final out is made by defensive replacement 2B-3 Andy Fox as the Rangers head to the semifinals with a 5-3 win due to one good inning, with only two hits to show for the rest of the game.  

The survivors

The #2 seeded 2015 Dodgers had eliminated the regional favorite in round one, and now they looked to have an easier task with the #7 seed 1982 Indians, who would not have the benefit of ColavitoFan’s winning management in this semifinal round.   Adding to Cleveland’s challenge was Clayton Kershaw (16-7, 2.13), who finished third in the Cy Young ballots, although Len Barker (15-11, 3.90) was a last decent option on the mound for the Indians before the rotation got ugly.  In the bottom of the 1st Von Hayes continues his successful tournament with a two-out RBI single to give Cleveland the early lead, but Barker begins the 4th with two straight walks and a squib single to load the bases with nobody out.  That sets up a 2-run single by Howie Kendrick that puts the Dodgers ahead, and from there Kershaw goes to work.  He holds the Indians scoreless, although in the bottom of the 9th he issues his first walk of the game to Toby Harrah, who ends up at second with two out as the tying run, and Mike Fischlin at the plate.  But Kershaw strikes him out for his 10th K of the game and the Dodgers squeak by with the 2-1 win; they make the finals despite only recording a combined 7 hits in their two games.  

The ELO ratings portrayed this as a pretty evenly matched semifinal game between the 2021 Red Sox and the 2004 Rangers, and they shared the similarity of having some wear on their bullpens with big dropoffs moving to their #2 starters:  Nick Pivetta (9-8, 4.53) for Boston and Kenny Rogers (18-9, 4.76), whose record was a lot better than his card.  With two sturdy lineups, the game promised to be a high scoring affair, and Rafael Devers starts off the scoring with a 3-run blast in the top of the 3rd to put Boston out front.  The Red Sox then miss two HR 1-12 splits on Rogers’ card in the 5th, but the resulting doubles give them one run and a single off the pitcher’s card by JD Martinez adds another; Hunter Refroe then misses another HR split on his own card but Martinez races home on the double, and Bobby Dalbec, apparently recovered from his first round injury, leaves nothing to the split die with a solid homer on his card and it’s 8-0 Boston and it’s time to fold ‘em on Kenny Rogers.  The Rangers get on the board in the bottom of the inning courtesy of an unearned run from a 2-base error by RF-2 Renfroe, but Xander Bogaerts converts a HR 1-3 split to get the run back for Boston, and the Red Sox go all in on the defensive replacements with the big lead.  The Rangers nonetheless pick up another unearned run resulting from an error by Red Sox 2B-2 Christian Arroyo, but it’s not needed as Pivetta cuffs the Rangers and the Red Sox head to the finals cruising to a 9-2 victory.

The regional final looks to be a competitive one, matching the #2 seeded 2015 Dodgers and the #3 seed 2021 Red Sox.  The ELO advantage of the Dodgers was somewhat negated by the fact that the rotation must now move past their two dominating starters, although Mike Bolsinger (6-6, 3.62) was still a better option than Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez (13-8, 4.74).  But Bolsinger gets into trouble in the bottom of the 1st, allowing a two-out RBI single to Bobby Dalbec but the Red Sox leave the bases loaded so it could have been far worse.  Enrique Hernandez, who is in the starting lineup for both teams, dribbles an RBI single under the glove of SS-2 Jimmy Rollins to put Boston up 2-0, although again it could have been worse as 1-10+2 JD Martinez is out at the plate trying to score on a Christian Arroyo single and ends the rally.  However, not to be outdone, the LA version of Hernandez swats a homer to lead off the top of the 4th, but Rollins get injured in the 5th to create a big defensive hole for LA.  Although Rodriguez is pitching well, the Red Sox move to their pen to begin the 6th, with Tanner Houck getting the call.  After a leadoff single by Kyle Schwarber in the 7th, the Dodgers respond with their closer, Kenley Jansen, and he prevents any damage but the Red Sox still cling to a one run lead.  So Boston decides that it’s time for Garrett Whitlock and his 1.96 ERA to begin the 8th, and they load up on the defensive replacements, having already committed three errors in the game.  However, in the 9th 2b-2 Arroyo starts things off with an error, and then Howie Kendrick singles to push the tying run to 3rd.  With nobody out, the infield comes in, and although Whitlock gets one out, PH Yasiel Puig converts a SI* 1-9 off Whitlock’s card to tie the game heading into the bottom of the 9th.  But the Red Sox begin the inning with two singles against Jansen, and now THEY have the crucial run on 3rd with nobody out and the infield comes in.  Jansen whiffs defensive replacement Alex Verdugo, but Hunter Renfroe delivers a single off a 3-11 roll and the Red Sox walk it off for a 3-2 win and the regional title.  

Interesting card of Regional #255:  With most of the teams in this bracket having been of recent vintage, there really weren’t too many obscure cards of interest in the batch, especially ones on teams that showed any life during the regional.  So I figured I’d go with a card from the winning Red Sox team, although this particular card was not eligible for use in the tournament–when players receive two cards (typically because they were traded across leagues), it is the higher AB/IP (combined stats) card that must be used, reflecting the total season contributions of the player.  As it turned out, Schwarber’s combined card was pretty good also, but either his eyes got better later in the season or the AL pitchers had worse control, because his OBP went up nearly 100 points upon being traded from the Nationals to the Red Sox at the trading deadline.  Officially on the disabled list when traded, he obviously recovered from his injury nicely because he helped lead Boston to the postseason, where he was a key factor in the Wild Card and ALDS rounds before the Red Sox were shut down in the ALCS.  Those 41 games with Boston were the sum total of his stint in the American League thus far in his career, as he became a free agent after the 2021 season and went on to lead the NL in homers in 2022 with the Phillies.  Still, the Red Sox were glad that he came for a visit, however brief, because he was instrumental in the 13th and final regional win for the historic franchise.