Jacksonville Jaguars (92-70, .568) @ Green Bay Packers (93-69, .574)
Easily the glamour matchup of the 2nd Round – there’s not a lot that separate these clubs; they’re built on the same template – Pitching, defense, and more pitching. Jacksonville’s staff finished the regular season ranked 3rd in Starters ERA, 4th in Bullpen ERA, 1st in FIP, and 1st in Pitching WAR – in short, they know what they’re doing on the mound. Green Bay knows a little bit about pitching too – 2nd in Starters ERA, 5th in Bullpen ERA, 3rd in FIP, and 3rd in Pitching WAR. This could be a series of low scoring pitching duels, that war of attrition that delivers high drama even if it isn’t the most aesthetic brand of baseball.
Game 1 (10/7): Nat Millard (12-6, 3.10) @ Abe Meinecke (17-8, 3.17)
Jacksonville survives a 4-run outburst from Green Bay in the bottom of the 2nd to take game 1 by a score of 6-5. Isidro Lutz finishes the game at 4 for 5 with a HR, a double, a run, and 5 RBI – a one-man wrecking crew for the Jags. Billy Brown, Jacksonville’s slick-fielding SS, finished 3 for 5 with 2 runs and an RBI – neither starter makes it past 5 in this one with Meinecke doing his best Kershaw impression for 3.1 innings – he gets chased out of the game after letting 6 plate.
Chicago Fire (85-77, .525) @ Seattle Sounders (91-71)
Another good matchup here, featuring the balanced attack of the Chicago Fire against Seattle’s top-rated pitching staff, defense, and balanced offense. They’ll be a tough out for Chicago… patient at the plat and lights out on the mound – featuring the 2075 Triple-Crown winning (and Pacheco shoo-in) Bradley Hughes on the bump and the power of Aitor Cubas (34 HR) and Austin Rollins (29 + a league-leading 122 RBI). Honestly, I expect this one to be over in no less than 5 games, but that’s why we baseball, right?
Game 1 (10/7): Jeffrey Egan (9-9, 5.12) @ Bradley Hughes (20-8, 2.73)
Hughes did what he does, what he’s done all year, and gives Seattle 8 innings where he allows only 5 hits and 1 earned (he started to unravel in the 9th a little bit), and Egan was mostly equal to it over 7 innings where he allows only 2 to plate. 9 K’s for Hughes though, who was good throughout and great when he had to be. Cubas goes 1 for 2 with a run and 2 walks, Rollins finishes 0 for 4 (I expected at least a hit…), and Lance Tabor went 2 for 3 with a solo HR for Seattle in their game one victory. Seattle wins this one – a closely contested tilt – by a score of 2-1.
