REGIONAL #246:   This bracket involved a collection of quite modern teams with one die-cut outlier from LA, including a couple of pandemic-year squads and a couple that I thought might be pretty good.  The teams that stood out most to me were a Rays team from shortly after their Series appearance, and a pandemic Braves teams shortly before their, and my guess was that those two squads would meet in the finals, although sentimentality would make me pull for the Dodgers from the final year of the classic cards.  As far as guessing the winner was concerned, I figured that the pandemic restrictions might do weird things to the Braves rotation and that the Rays would duplicate the feat of their team from the prior season and take the bracket.  The ELO rankings had those Rays losing to the pandemic-year A’s in the final, which was not something I would have considered possible given how bad Oakland has been in the recent past.

First round action

The 2015 Padres were the #8 seed in this group, although they weren’t a terrible team with a 74-88 record and Tyson Ross (10-12, 3.26) on top of a rotation that was decent enough.  However, they drew the #2 seed in the 2020 Braves, who went 35-25 to win the pandemic NL East but lost the NLCS in seven games; these Braves had NL MVP Freddie Freeman with Marcel Ozuna also finishing among the top ten, and Max Fried (7-0, 2.25) was 5th for the Cy Young, although the mandated rotation would be a whole lot worse after Fried’s turn.  Things start auspiciously for the Padres when the second batter in the top of the 1st, Yonder Alonso, is knocked out of the game with an injury.  The Braves threaten in the early innings but can’t score, while in the top of the 5th Jedd Gyorko gyorks a double off Fried’s card but Yangervis Solarte (1-12+2) is cut down at the plate for out number three. That seems to wake up the Atlanta offense for the bottom of the inning, as back to back RBI doubles by Dansby Swanson and Freeman precede a two-run homer from Ozuna and the Braves lead 4-0 after five.  And that’s how it ends up, with Fried whiffing Derek Norris for his 12th strikeout to complete the 4-0 shutout on a 5-hitter and the Braves ride their one productive inning to the semifinals.

The 2020 A’s were the top seed in this group with a 36-24 record that won the pandemiced AL West, although they didn’t get past the ALDS in the post-season.  Number one starter Chris Bassitt (5-2, 2.29) and reliever Liam Hendriks both received Cy Young votes, while Matts Chapman and Olson provided home run threats.  The 2021 Reds were over .500 at 83-79 and they garnered a few MVP votes for Nick Castellanos and Joey Votto, while Tyler Mahle (13-6, 3.75) fronted a pretty good rotation.  A’s catcher Sean Murphy is knocked out of the game with an injury in the top of the 2nd; in the bottom of the inning the Reds get a walk and two squib singles to load the bases for Eugenio Suarez, and Bassitt walks him to put Cincinnati up although SS-3 Marcus Semien turns a key DP to prevent further damage.  A 2-out RBI single by Tommy La Stella in the top of the 3rd quickly ties it up, while Bassitt loads the bases again with three straight walks in the bottom of the inning but escapes unscathed, assisted by a nice catch from CF-1 Ramon Laureano.  In the top of the 7th, it’s the A’s turn to load the bases, but this time Matt Chapman takes full advantage with a colossal grand slam, and Art Warren and his 1.29 ERA come out of the pen to end the inning, but Oakland leads 5-1.   In the bottom of the inning Castellanos pokes a 2-run shot and Votto follows with a solo homer and the A’s lead is down to one.  The A’s desperately want to save their pen and so Bassitt takes the game into the 9th; he gets two quick outs but then walks Jonathan India to bring up Castellanos, who rips a solid double and 1-15+2 India scores easily and the game is tied.  Bassitt then retires Votto and the game heads to extra innings, where both Warren and Bassitt survive their final inning in the 10th.  The Reds bring in Tejay Antone for the 11th, but he walks Robbie Grossman and then allows a 2-run homer as Chapman adds to his totals.  The A’s then hand the game to Joakim Soria and he does the job to wrap up the 11-inning 7-5 win, with the A’s moving on and will get Murphy back in the lineup for the semifinal.  

The 2018 Pirates had an 82-79 record that was better than many of their efforts over the past decades, and it was good enough to make them the favorite in this first round matchup, particularly with Trevor Williams (14-10, 3.11) being a solid starter at the top of the rotation.  The 2023 Red Sox went a disappointing 78-84, three games under their Pythagorean projection, and they had Rafael Devers receiving some MVP support, while Nick Pivetta (10-9, 4.04) had two primary challenges, his gopher ball tendencies and his teams’ terrible infield defense.  Gregory Polanco caps off a two-out rally in the top of the 3rd with a three-run homer, and the Bucs get another run in the 5th on a two-out RBI double from Corey Dickerson.  When Pivetta gets into a jam in the 6th, the Red Sox summon reliever Chris Martin and he puts out the fire with no damage, and Devers pokes a solo shot in the 7th to bring Boston a little closer.  But that was only the second hit off Williams, and it turns out that’s all the Red Sox will get as the Pirates move on with a 4-1 win.

The 1986 Dodgers would be one of the last teams of the 80s to enter the tournament, although not a particularly good one with a 73-89 record despite a typically strong rotation led by Cy Young runner-up Fernando Valenzuela.   The 2022 Rays had a much better record at 86-76 and made a brief postseason appearance as a wild card, but aside from Yandy Diaz, who got a couple of MVP votes, the offense wasn’t great at getting on base, although Shane McClanahan (12-8, 2.54) was 6th in the Cy Young ballots.  Valenzuela has a rough spot in the bottom of the 3rd, walking three including one with the bases loaded, and then a fielder’s choice and a 2-out 2-run single by Manny Margot and the Dodgers are suddenly looking at a 4-0 deficit.  However, in the top of the 4th they respond with a Greg Brock solo shot and a Mike Marshall two-run homer that makes it a one-run game, although a 2-out RBI single from Wander Franco in the 6th gives the Rays a little padding.  A Bill Madlock single in the 8th and the Rays decide to go to their fairly deep bullpen for Jason Adam’s 1.56 ERA, and he records two quick strikeouts to end that threat.  He also tosses a perfect 9th and the Rays move on with a 5-3 win; even though they could only muster six hits against Valenzuela, they were timely ones.    

The survivors

The top two teams in the bracket, both from the pandemic season, match up in this semifinal between the top seeded 2020 A’s and the #2 seed 2020 Braves.  With the constraint of limited innings, neither team had a choice of their starter and both the A’s Jesus Luzardo (3-2, 4.12) and the Braves’ Josh Tomlin (2-2, 4.76) had some trouble with the long ball.  The Braves see a long ball from Freddie Freeman in the top of the 1st that gives them a quick 1-0 lead, and then Adam Duvall leads off the 2nd with another solo shot to extend that margin.   A two out RBI double from Matt Chapman makes it 2-1 Atlanta after three, but in the top of the 4th A’s SS-3 Marcus Semien makes a two-base error that sets up a 2-run double by Austin Riley.  Luzardo comes unglued, and after a few walks he gets a DP ball that scores another, but it only clears the bases for a solo shot from Dansby Swanson.   That’s it for Luzardo as the desperate A’s summon closer Liam Hendriks to record the final out, but they are now down 6-1.  The Braves put in defensive replacements in the 6th, but that looks like it may be premature as Ramon Laureano finds Tomlin’s solid HR results for a two-run shot in the bottom of the inning to make things more interesting;  A leadoff single in the bottom of the 8th chases Tomlin for Jacob Webb, who yields a squib single but then strikes out three straight to prevent any damage.  Defensive replacement Ozzie Albies then leads off the 9th by converting his HR split and the cardboard cutout fans in the stands begin packing for Las Vegas.  Webb yields another hit in the bottom of the 9th but otherwise strikes out the side once again to earn the save in the 7-3 win that propels the Braves to the finals.  

The #3 seeded 2022 Rays and a very solid Jeffrey Springs (9-5, 2.46) would take their shot at the bracket finals against the 2018 Pirates and Jameson Taillon (14-10, 3.20).  Pirates 2B Josh Harrison leaves the game with a minor injury in the 3rd, but they get a run in the 4th on a Corey Dickerson sac fly to strike first.  Jose Siri leads off the bottom of the 5th by converting Taillon’s HR split to tie the game, although the Rays strand two in scoring position to squander a chance for more.  A leadoff single by Yandy Diaz in the bottom of the 8th chases Taillon for Kyle Crick, who ends the threat uneventfully.  Both pitchers toss perfect 9th innings and we head to extra frames, where Springs winds up his eligibility to give the Rays a chance to finish it.  But they can’t paddle against Crick and so Pete Fairbanks and his 1.13 ERA takes the mound for the Rays in the 11th.  That immediately goes badly as Josh Bell misses a triple split for a single to lead off the inning, and then Gregory Polanco sends one into the dim recesses of the Trop for a 2-run shot.  The Bucs then bring in Keone Kela to close things out in the bottom of the 11th, but he promptly throws a Brandon Lowe grounder into the dugout for a 2-base error, and then yields a double to Manuel Margot to make it a one run game with the tying run in scoring position and one out.  He strikes out Siri, but PH Ji-Man Choi converts a DO 1-8/flyB off Kela’s card and the game is tied.  In the 12th, Randy Arozarena also converts that same split off Kela but 1-11 Diaz is out at the plate and we head to the 13th.  In the top of that frame, Corey Dickerson hits a 2-out double and 1-11+2 Josh Bell heads for home–he’s safe, and again the Pirates move ahead.  However, a leadoff double by Brandon Lowe and an error by SS-2 Wander Franco and Kela is in another jam with nobody out.  He bears down and gets two out, but Franco atones with a 2-out RBI single and once again the game is tied and heads to the 14th.  Fairbanks is perfect in his last inning of eligibility, as is Kela and things move to the 15th with two new pitchers.  For the Rays, it’s the unhittable JP Feyereisen and his 0.00 ERA, and he gets in and out of a jam to send things to the bottom of the inning with Felipe Vezquez the new Pittsburgh pitcher.  Siri gets injured hitting into a DP and we’re off to the 16th and beyond.  When the game hits the 19th it’s time for new relievers for both squads, and Brooks Raley for Tampa and Richard Rodriguez for the Pirates continue the offensive futility.  In th top of the 20th Adam Frazier misses a HR 1-12 split with a 13 roll, and in the bottom of the inning Brandon Lowe misses a HR 1-4 split with a 5 roll, and the game marches on.  In the bottom of the 21st Harold Ramirez doubles and 1-15 Margot sets sail for home, and he’s out on a 17.  Finally, in the top of the 22nd Starling Marte lofts a sac fly that scores Polanco, and Rodriquez strikes out the side in the bottom of the inning and the Pirates manage to survive the 22-inning marathon for the 5-4 win, but they will have no bullpen to speak of for the bracket final.  

I almost predicted the regional final matchup accurately, but a 22-inning win by the 2018 Pirates got them the task of facing the 2020 Braves for the bracket crown.  Both teams would be facing pitching challenges; with the pandemic inning limitations, the Braves’ Tommy Milone (1-4, 6.69) would have one of the worst cards ever to start a regional final, while Joe Musgrove (6-9, 4.06) of the Pirates had better do well because the Pittsburgh bullpen was toast after the marathon semifinal. A 2-base error by Bucs SS-3 Jordy Mercer gives the Braves a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st, but the Pirates immediately go to work on Milone’s terrible card in the bottom of the inning, recording a double followed by a solid HR from Gregory Polanco and Pittsburgh moves ahead 2-1.  In the 4th, Starling Marte also rolls Milone’s solid HR result for a solo shot, but Milone makes it through his mandatory 5 innings without further damage, so Ian Anderson picks up the flute to begin th e 6th, but Marte drives an RBI single and the Bucs’ lead is now thick as a brick.  Or so it appears, as the Braves load the bases against Musgrove in the top of the 8th, and a glance at the bullpen reveals no help so Musgrove stays in and delivers to Ronald Acuna, who slaps a 2-run single and it’s a one-run game with the tying run on 3rd and one away.  The infield comes in, Acuna sets off for second, and he’s out on a 19 split and Polanco hauls in a long fly and the Pirates still lead by a run.  That puts the game in Musgrove’s hands for the 9th, and although he yields a single to the quick Ozzie Albies, he fans PH Tyler Flowers for the game’s final out.  This is the 9th bracket win for the Pirates franchise, but their first from the 21st century, and it was mainly due to regional MVP Gregory Polanco, who homered in all three rounds while driving in seven to lead the Pirates to the win as a #5 seed.

Interesting card of Regional #246:  Tommy Milone, the starter for the 2020 Braves in the regional final, received two cards for that pandemic-shortened season–one for his combined stats and one for his performance only with the Braves.  According to tournament guidelines, the card with the higher IP/AB must be used in such cases; the bad news was that Milone’s combined card IP was third highest among Braves starters and thus he had to start the final, but the good news is that at least the Braves didn’t have to use this card.  It looks like Milone made three starts for the Braves, and they must have been ugly, although somehow he managed to avoid earning the loss in any of the three.   Milone was not without some career highlights–for example, he homered in his first major league at-bat for the Nationals in 2011.  Bouncing around nine different teams in a 13-year career, he ended up with a .500 record and last played in the majors in 2023.  However, he didn’t have many opportunities to play in the postseason, and it’s pretty easy to see why the Braves opted not to use him in their 2020 playoff run.