REGIONAL #245: Another parade of 21st century teams, with the main entry that caught my attention being a Nationals team that would win the pennant the following season. There were two Cubs teams, one probably similar to their entry from the previous bracket that did pretty well, and the other a pandemic-year box of chocolates. I guessed that the Braves were starting to get good in 2018, and that the A’s were pretty terrible in 2022, and the other representatives from the Mariners, Rays, and Angels I figured were mediocre. Given their proximity to the pennant I selected the Nats to defeat the earlier version of the Cubs in the finals; the ELO rankings had it being an all-Cubs final, with the earlier version prevailing.
First round action
In a matchup of #1 and #7 seeds, the 2004 Cubs were the bracket favorite with a stronger version of the team that made the semifinals of the last regional; they won 89 games and projections indicated that they should have won five more, with MVP votes for Aramis Ramirez and Moises Alou and Carlos Zambrano (16-8, 2.75) finishing 5th for the Cy Young. The 2008 Mariners lost 101 games to contest for the bottom seed in this group, and featured a lackluster offense headed by Adrian Beltre in an off year, although Felix Hernandez (9-11, 3.45) wasn’t a bad round one starter. It’s Zambrano who gets roughed up in the top of the 1st, as a sac fly by Yuniesky Betancourt and an RBI single by Jeremy Reed puts Seattle up 2-0, but Ramirez narrows the gap with a long solo homer in the bottom of the inning. However, a two out error by Cubs SS-3 Neifi Perez opens the door for a Beltre RBI single and a two-run double from Betancourt, and Seattle moves out to a formidable lead. In the 5th, back to back errors by Cubs 3B-3 Ramirez and 2B-4 Todd Walker sets up an RBI single from Jose Vidro and that’s it for Zambrano, who gives way for Kent Mercker but another unearned run scores on a fielder’s choice from Kenji Johjima and it’s now 7-1 Mariners. The Cubs then get a leadoff homer from Corey Patterson in the bottom of the inning and they eventually score another on an error by C-3 Johjima, but Beltre responds in the top of the 6th by leading off with a homer of his own to provide more padding. However, Ramirez crushes a three-run homer in the bottom of the 7th and suddenly it’s a ballgame and the Mariners reluctantly pull their ace for Roy Corcoran from a not-very-good bullpen, and he sets the Cubs down in order. Mercker is perfect in his final inning of eligibility in the 8th, with the M’s missing two HR 1-4/flyB splits on his card, but his replacement Mike Remlinger is greeted with disaster in the 9th, as a 2-base error from RF-3 Todd Hollandsworth scores one, followed by a 2-run triple from Miguel Cairo. Ichiro then walks and steals second, so the Cubs try the infield in only to be greeted by the gbA++ from Raul Ibanez for two more. Now with a 13-6 lead, the Mariners bring in Brandon Morrow to preserve Corcoran and he sets down the Cubs in order so the 100-game losers eliminate the top ranked squad as Seattle heads to the semifinals.
The 2015 Rays had a middling 80-82 record, but they looked pretty good with Kevin Kiermaier getting some MVP votes, a couple of lower AB wonders (but still over 100 AB) available to DH, and a solid rotation topped by Chris Archer (12-13, 3.23) who finished 5th in the Cy Young voting. The 2022 Angels went 73-89 and apparently required 45 Strat cards to do so, more than double the allotment from my trusty Old Timer teams, but unlike those teams only two of these players were any good: MVP runner-up DH/P Shohei Ohtani (15-9, 2.33) and Mike Trout, who finished 8th in the MVP voting. Trout leads off the 4th by putting a ball into the dim reaches of Tropicana Field, and Matt Duffy later contributes a 2-out single with 1-10+2 Jared Walsh successfully lumbering home to give the Angels a 2-0 lead. Trout leads off the 6th with another long blast, but Logan Forsythe gets Tampa on the board with a 2-out RBI single in the bottom of the inning. In the 7th,, Archer allows two singles and a walk to load up the bases for Trout, which of course proves to be a mistake as Trout converts his own HR 1-9 split for his third homer of the game, a grand slam that emphatically demonstrates that Trout’s recent terrible injury in real life can’t put a damper on his Strat performance. The Rays send in Xavier Cedeno in what seems to be a lost cause, although the Rays do get a run back in the bottom of the inning with one scoring on a Kiermaier DP ball. Ohtani yields a 2-run homer to PH Joey Butler with two away in the bottom of the 9th, but it’s too little too late as the Angels close out the 7-4 win to advance.
The 2018 Nationals were a season away from a pennant, while the 2022 A's were a season away from one of the worst in history. This Nats team only went 82-80, but Cy Young runner-up Max Scherzer (18-7, 2.53) led the league in wins, innings, and WHIP, and he was backed by strong up the middle defense and a deep bullpen and Anthony Rendon received some MVP support. As for the A’s, they lost 102 games, which was still 10 games better than they would do the next season, but it was hard to imagine how they could be much worse, with their leading hitter posting a .250 average and nobody on the team fitting the “hitter” part of the DH role; Cole Irvin (9-13, 3.98) probably deserved better than this team. The game quickly develops into a pitchers duel; the A’s don’t get a hit until the bottom of the 5th, when Ramon Laureano converts a double split off Scherzer’s card and races home on a 2 out single by Sheldon Neuse. Then, in the 6th RF-3 Bryce Harper misplays a Shea Langeliers single that allows another run to score, and Laureano pokes a single under the glove of SS-2 Trea Turner to put the A’s up 3-0 as both of the fans at the Oakland Coliseum look on in disbelief. However, in the top of the 7th Matt Wieters cracks a 2-run single that makes it a one-run game, and the A’s summon “closer Dany Jimenez to try to hang onto that lead, and he retires the side without further damage. In the 8th, Juan Soto rips a 2-out double and 1-13+2 Harper slides under the tag at home to tie the game, and the Nats threaten again in the 9th but 3B-4 Neuse makes a stellar play to get Jimenez out of the jam. Both Scherzer and Jimenez hold serve through the 10th and at that point both are burnt for the regional, so it’s Zach Jackson for the A’s and Sean Doolittle for the Nats in the 11th, and they both do the job through the 11th and 12th. However, in the 13th Juan Soto leads off with a walk and Ryan Zimmerman follows with a double that puts two Nats runners in scoring position with nobody out; in comes the infield but Wieters comes through again by ripping a single under the glove of 1b-3 Seth Brown and two runs score. Brown tries to atone in the bottom of the 13th but misses a HR 1-9 split and Doolittle then whiffs Laureano for the final out as the Nats survive a 5-3 scare to move on.
In probably the best matchup of the first round of the regional, it was the pandemic-year 2020 Cubs against the 2018 Braves. The Cubs went 34-26 to win the NL Central but they were rapidly eliminated from the postseason; Ian Happ got a few MVP votes and Kyle Hendricks (6-5, 2.88) also got some for Cy Young although he finished well behind teammate Yu Darvish, with Hendricks mandated to start with more IP. The Braves won 90 games and the NL East, but like the Cubs they made a rapid exit from the playoffs, but Freddie Freeman was 4th in the MVP votes with Ronald Acuna and Nick Markakis also receiving some support, and Mike Foltynewicz (13-10, 2.85) finished 8th for the Cy Young in fronting a very strong rotation. The Braves normally excellent defense goes haywire as they commit three errors in the first four innings, the last one setting up a 2-run homer by Javier Baez, although the Braves get one back in the bottom of the inning courtesy of a sac fly from Johan Camargo. The Cubs lose C Willson Contreras to injury in the 5th for the rest of the regional, and they lose the lead to an RBI single from Ender Inciarte in the bottom of the 7th. The Cubs move to Jeremy Jeffress and his 1.54 ERA out of the pen to try to get out of the jam, but Markakis lofts a sac fly and the Braves move ahead 3-2. However, in the 8th PH Cameron Maybin finds and converts Foltynewicz’s HR split to tie the game once again, and both pitchers hold to send the game into extra innings. Both pitchers successfully conclude their eligibility in the 10th, so in the 11th it's Shane Carle from the pen for the Braves, who yields a double off his card to Baez but strands him at second. For the Cubs, it’s on to the rather wild Adbert Alzolay, but both relievers hang on until the top of the 13th, when injury replacement Victor Caratini doubles and 1-13 Jason Kipnis beats the throw home to put the Cubs up by a run. It’s now up to Alzolay, but he walks Inciarte and then a single by Dansby Swanson puts the tying run at 3rd with nobody out. The infield comes in for Markakis, but he rips a single to tie the game and Swanson dashes to 3rd as the winning run, still with nobody out. Freeman hits a grounder and Swanson is out trying to score on the fielder’s choice, so one is away with runners on 1st and 2nd. Up to the plate steps Acuna; he knocks a single, 1-10 Markasis sets sail for home, and he’s safe as the Braves pull off the 5-4 comeback win in the bottom of the 13th.
The survivors
Two upset winners from the first round, this semifinal matched the 2022 Angels and Reid Detmers (7-6, 3.77) against the 2008 Mariners and swingman Ryan Rowland-Smith (5-3, 3.42) selected over various other terrible options. Seattle’s offense picks up where it left off with Raul Ibanez crushing a solo shot in the top of the 1st, and they pile on four more in the 3rd, including a two-run single from Jose Lopez and an RBI double by Adrian Beltre. The Angels don’t even get a baserunner until Max Stassi walks in the bottom of the inning, but he goes nowhere and Ichiro converts Detmers’ HR split for a 2-run shot in the 4th that chases the LA starter for Ryan Tepera. A double by Brandon Marsh in the bottom of the 5th is the first hit for the Angels, and he scores when 3B-1 Beltre drops a Stassi grounder with two out; Taylor Ward then follows with an RBI single but P-4 Rowland-Smith surprises with a stellar fielding play on an Ohtani grounder to prevent further damage. But Beltre adds a sac fly and Lopez adds a 2-run homer as the M’s offense hits double digits for the second game in a row. Ward hits a two-run shot in the bottom of the 8th to try to get back into it, but the Mariners are determined to stick with Rowland-Smith to grant their pen some needed rest. He lasts until the 9th, when he gets two quick outs but then 1B-2 Miguel Cairo drops a grounder and Rowland-Smith walks two to load the bases for Mike Trout. Trout swings so hard he injures himself while striking out to end the game, and the Miracle Mariners move to the finals with a 10-4 win.
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By the ELO rankings, the regional final was a lopsided matchup between a good 2018 Nationals team and a not-so-good 2008 Mariners team, although Seattle was averaging over 11 runs a game in the bracket. It seemed like both offenses could flourish as both rotations were pretty much out of good options, with the Nats Tanner Rourk (9-15, 4.34) being their final 100 inning starter and Seattle’s Jarrod Washburn (5-14, 4.65) being their final option with an ERA south of five. Once again, the M’s offense picks up where it left off, as Ichiro leads off the top of the 1st by finding Rourk’s solid 5-9 HR result, and Raul Ibanez and Yuniesky Betancourt both double before the inning is over to push Seattle to a 2-0 lead. In the 2nd, a two out rally loads the bases for a 2-run single by Adrian Beltre, and meanwhile Washburn doesn’t allow a hit until the 4th, but it goes a long way as injury replacement Victor Robles converts Washburn’s HR split for a solo shot that makes it 4-1 Seattle. However, Beltre immediately responds in the 5th with a 2-run homer and the Nats move to the nearly unhittable Sean Doolittle in desperation, and he quickly ends the inning. He tosses four perfect frames to end his eligibility, and Wander Suero replaces him in the 9th and promptly yields a double and a Kenji Johjima triple that adds to the Mariner’s lead. Washburn then strikes out the side in the bottom of the 9th to finish out a 7-1 win on a 1-hitter, that being a solo homer, and the 7th seeded, 101-loss Mariners come from nowhere to blow out favored opponents in three straight games and clinch the 6th regional in franchise history, joining the 2007 team to form an unlikely mini-dynasty for Seattle. Adrian Beltre proves his mettle as the Mariner’s MVP with two homers and eight runs driven in across the three games.
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