FINAL FOUR:  Tournament Semifinals

Two seemingly unstoppable squads clash in the first game of the Final Four, with the Tall Tactician once again at the helm of his hometown 2011 Phillies, while I would manage the 2014 Tigers as I had in their previous nine consecutive wins.  The Phils would have Cy Young runner-up and Hall of Famer Roy Halladay (19-6, 2.35) on the mound, while Detroit would counter with David Price (15-12, 3.26) who finished 6th in the Cy Young voting while pitching for two different teams.  An RBI single in the top of the 2nd by Miggy Cabrera gives the Tigers the early 1-0 lead, but that seems to wake up Halladay who goes on a strikeout binge.  On the other hand, the Phils’ bats aren’t doing much either, and that isn’t helped when Raul Ibanez goes down to injury in the 4th.  However, it’s his replacement, Ben Francisco, who treats the Phillies fans with an RBI single in the 6th that ties the game, and in the bottom of the 7th Price seems to be showing signs of discomfort after a long 7th inning stretch trivia break.  With two aboard, I opt for Al Albuquerque from the pen, and his first roll is greeted by a three-run homer from John Mayberry Jr..  His second roll results in a Ryan Howard homer, and I’ve seen enough–two batters faced, two homers.  Joe Nathan comes in to end the inning, but he yields an RBI double to Placido Polanco in the 8th and Justin Verlander has to come in to get the final out, but it’s far too late; Halladay closes out a 4-hitter in which he strikes out 14 and the Phils win 6-1 to earn a spot in the finals of the perhaps not-so-endless tournament.

2014 Tigers    010 000 000   1 4 1
2011 Phillies  000 001 41-   6 8 0

DEA: Price 6.2(5H,3R), Albuquerque 0(2H,2R), Nathan 1(1H,1R), Verlander 0.1(0H,0R)
PHN: Halladay

HR:  Mayberry Jr., R. Howard
RBI: M. Cabrera, Francisco, Mayberry Jr. 3, R. Howard, Polanco
INJ: R. Ibanez 2 games

The next stop on the Cinderella express for the 1947 Senators was a formidable roadblock in the form of the 1999 Braves.  However, the challenge was considerably lessened because it was John Smoltz’s turn in the rotation for the Braves, but brother Chuck had gotten Smoltz permanently injured on the last roll of his previous game, and replacement Terry Mulholland (10-8, 4.39) was nowhere near the regulars in this rotation, particularly because the Braves only had his combined season card that included some terrible outings with the Cubs.  Furthermore, Eaglesfly would go for his third straight upset with the Nats with the aid of Hall of Famer Early Wynn (17-15, 3.64) on the mound and .500 hitter Gil Coan in the starting lineup as an injury replacement.  All of this portends well for the Senators, and the dice gods show further favor upon them in the top of the 1st as a walk, an unthinkable 2-base error by CF-1 Andruw Jones, and a sac fly give them a quick 1-0 lead without recording a hit.  However, this is no ordinary team they are facing, and Ryan Klesko’s RBI double quickly ties things in the bottom of the inning.  With first base open, Eaglesfly opts to walk dangerous Brian Jordan to pitch to Bret Boone, and Boone booms a three-run homer to put Atlanta well in the lead.  Wynn then can’t find the strike zone, setting up an RBI single for Brian Hunter and after one inning, the Braves are up 5-1.  However, never count these Senators out; Jerry Priddy singles in a run in the 4th and then #9 hitter Mark Christman converts Mulholland’s HR split and it’s a one-run game.  After Mulholland goes the requisite five, Chuck races to his pen and Russ Springer comes in to toss two perfect innings, and in the bottom of the 7th the dice gods abandon the Senators as errors by SS-3 Christman and 3B-2 Eddie Yost open the floodgates.  Wynn can’t get anybody out and by the time Tom Ferrick comes in to retire the Braves, four more runs have crossed the plate.  With a five-run lead, Chuck summons Kevin McGlinchy to mop up in the 8th, but the Nats are not to be taken lightly, and McGlinchy doesn’t make it out of the inning as Mickey Vernon and Tom McBride each drive in runs.  It’s then time for Rudy Seanez, and he strands two runners to close out the inning with the Braves still clinging to a three run lead.  In the 9th, Coan raps a double but the Senators can muster no further offense against Seanez, and the clock strikes midnight for Cinderella as the Senators finally go down 9-6 and the Braves head to the tournament final.

1947 Senators 100 300 020  6 10 3
1999 Braves   500 000 40-  9  8 1

WAA:  Wynn 6(7H,8R), Ferrick 2(1H,1R)
ATN:  Mulholland 5(5H,4R),Springer 2(0H,0R), 
        McGlinchey 0.2(4H,2R), Seanez 1.1 (1H,0R,save)

HR: Boone, Christman
RBI: Vernon 2, Klesko, Boone 4, Hunter 2, Priddy, Christman 2, 
        G. Williams, A. Jones, McBride