[Sundance]

NL Wild Card

Los Angeles Dodgers (0) vs New York Mets (1)

AL Wild Card

Detroit Tigers (0) vs Los Angeles Angels (1)

NL Division Series

San Diego Padres vs New York Mets

Game 1 in San Diego
Shane Bieber (16-5) vs Thomas Szapucki (15-9)

With both teams throwing out their aces to start the series, you knew this one was going to be a low-scoring affair. Both starters looked strong as they each held their opposing sides scoreless through the first five innings. When push comes to shove, you’ve gotta lean on your stars, and that’s exactly what we did. In the bottom of the 6th, we finally broke through. A 1-out single by Tatis Jr. followed by a 2-run homer from Machado opened up the scoring.

A 2-out walk to Shane Bieber in the bottom of the 7th was followed by an RBI double from Tucupita Marcano to give us another run. Bieber stayed strong on the mound and our bullpen ensured things stayed the way they were. A nice simple win to open the series.

Final Score: 3-0
Player of the Game: SP Shane Bieber - 7.0 IP, 0 R, 8 K, 1 BB

Game 2 in San Diego
Ryan Weathers (12-8) vs JT Ginn (11-7)

If Game 1 was all about the pitching, then Game 2 was all about the offense. The Mets got things started early with a lead off single in the second and a 2-out home run by 3B Dansby Swanson. Machado answered back with a solo shot in our half of the inning, but the Mets would go on to extend their lead with a 2-run single from Swanson in the 4th and a 3-run home run from CF James Wood in the 5th.

We would start chipping away at their lead in the second half of the game. One run in each of the 5th, 6th, and 7th, and two more runs in the 8th. Unfortunately, the damage was done and the deficit too great to overcome. The series is tied.

Final Score: 6-8
Player of the Game: 3B Dansby Swanson - 2-2, 1 BB, 2 R, 4 RBI
Note: Mets catcher Mitch Garver tied the NL record by going 0-5 with 5 strikeouts

Game 3 in New York
Blake Snell (8-5) vs Matt Allan (3-2)

Having suffered three different throwing arm injuries in three straight years, Snell might never be the pitcher that he could have been. But that didn’t stop him from reminding everyone of his potential. The 31 year old was absolutely brilliant, choosing the playoffs to throw one of his best ever games. The Mets were helpless against him.

For Allan’s part, he actually tossed a pretty good game himself. However the long ball would haunt him. A 2-run shot by Machado in the 2nd gave us an early lead. Reyes and Dickerson added solo shots in the 6th to extend our lead to 4. With the way Snell pitched, those subsequent blasts were nothing more than insurance. We take the lead in the series once again.

Final Score: 4-0
Player of the Game: SP Blake Snell - 9.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 14 K

Game 4 in New York
Chris Paddack (13-6) vs David Peterson (8-12)

Despite the moniker “Slam Diego,” sometimes all we need is a little small ball. That’s how we started Game 4 anyway. Marcano worked a lead off walk, Tocci bunted him over, Tatis Jr. hit a single to put runners on the corner, and Machado bround in the run with a sacrifice fly.

Chris Paddack was cruising until the 6th when the Mets hit back to back home runs to give them a 1-3 lead. Thankfully, we were able to answer right back. In the top of the 7th, MJ Melendez was able to work a 2-out walk, which the pinch hitting CJ Abrams followed up with a 2-run home run. Marcano would make it a back to back affair with a solo shot of his own to give us the lead once again.

The Mets did manage to tie things up, but we put the game out of reach in the 9th. Ha-Seong Kim stepped up and hit a pinch hit solo shot, Tocci got on with a 2-out triple, and Tatis Jr. brought him in with a 2-run homer. We advance!

Final Score: 7-4
Player of the Game: SS Fernando Tatis Jr. - 2-4, 1 BB, 1 R, 2 RBI

Series MVP: 3B Manny Machado - 6-16, 3 HR, 5 RBI

Atlanta Braves (3) vs Milwaukee Brewers (2)

AL Division Series

Cleveland Indians (3) vs Los Angeles Angels (2)
Boston Red Sox (2) vs Seattle Mariners (3)

NL Championship Series

San Diego Padres vs Atlanta Braves

Game 1 in San Diego
Shane Bieber (16-5) vs Ian Anderson (14-10)

Perhaps inspired by the outing of Snell, Bieber decided to open up the series against Atlanta with a gem of his own. We’ll get to that in a second.

We opened up the scoring in the 3rd with an RBI double from Marcano. We added three more in the 4th thanks to a 2-run home run from Dickerson and an RBI walk from Marcano.

That run support proved to be more than enough for Bieber who tossed a complete game. The lone damage the Braves were able to cause came from a solo home run in the 6th off the bat of LF Tyler O’Neill. Game 1 is ours.

Final Score: 5-1
Player of the Game: SP Shane Bieber - 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 9 K

Game 2 in San Diego
Ryan Weathers (12-8) vs Chriss Bassitt (17-11)

The hope was to see Weathers bounce back from his awful first start in these playoffs, and we saw just that. The young arm looked strong as he shut down the Braves’ lineup. The 24 year old tossed 7 shutout innings.

For our part, we racked up a ton of hits, but not very many runs. Our lone breakthrough came in the 4th when Dickerson got things started off with a lead off single. Kim hit a 1-out single to put runners on the corner, and Campusano drove both of them in with a double. Weathers stepped up to the plate and helped himself out by driving in Campusano with a single of his own, giving us the lead 3-0.

We tagged Braves’ pitching for 12 hits, but only those 3 runs. Still, with the way Weathers pitched, it didn’t matter. Our bullpen came in and slammed the door shut. Game 2 goes to us.

Final Score: 3-0
Player of the Game: SP Ryan Weathers - 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K

Game 3 in Atlanta
Blake Snell (8-5) vs Max Fried (10-8)

After two straight gems from our starters, the Braves finally cracked our pitching staff. Snell was absolutely awful. He lasted just two outs, giving up 7 runs (5 earned) in the process. Elledge came on in relief and promptly surrendered 2 more runs before finally ending the top of the 1st.

There’s not much you can do when you start the game down 9 runs. Our offense didn’t fare much better, scoring 2 runs on just 5 hits. This game was just ugly. The less we say about it the better. Hopefully we can turn things around before the Braves can launch this into a series turning moment.

Final Score: 2-12
Player of the Game: SP Max Fried - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K

Game 4 in Atlanta
James Paxton (15-6) vs Mike Soroka (15-11)

After the horrific performance of the previous game, I knew that we needed to shut the Braves down before they could swing the momentum of the series. So I made the choice to bump Paddack and go with the veteran arm of our former ace, James Paxton.

The Braves got to Paxton early with a 2-run single in the first (Neither run was earned). However, the veteran quickly settled down after that, shutting down their lineup for the rest of his outing. Our bullpen looked dominant and held the Braves helpless.

It took a little while for our offense to get going, but we got to Soroka the second time through. In the top of the 5th, Reyes started things off with a leadoff double, which was followed by a double from Kim to bring him home. Marcano would go on to bring Kim in with a 2-out RBI single, tying up the game. We added another 2 runs off of Soroka in the 7th thanks, once again, to some clutch hitting from Marcano - a 2-run double this time. We stopped the Braves dead in their tracks.

Final Score: 4-2
Player of the Game: SP James Paxton - 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 7 K

Game 5 in Atlanta
Chris Paddack (13-6) vs Ian Anderson (14-10)

Desperate to salvage the series, the Braves opted to go with a shortened rotation and brought back Anderson to try and force the series back to San Diego.

It was a move that didn’t pay off as Anderson lasted just one out before being pulled for a sore shoulder. He left the game with the bases loaded and we pounced on the opportunity to crush their spirits even further. We knocked in 5 runs to start the game.

Unfortunately for the Braves, this was just the beginning of the end. A 2-run shot from Tatis Jr. in the 2nd, two more runs in the 3rd, a solo shot from Reyes in the 5th, and four more runs in the 6th.

All Paddack had to do was hit cruise control. He did more than that, pitching fairly well. He gave up 3 runs over the course of 7 innings.

We’re going back to the World Series to defend!

Final Score: 14-3
Player of the Game: RF Franmil Reyes - 4-5, 4 R, 1 RBI
Note: RF Franmil Reyes ties the NL playoff game record with 4 runs

Series MVP: RF Franmil Reyes - 10-19, 2 HR, 2 RBI

AL Championship Series

Cleveland Indians (4) vs Seattle Mariners (1)

World Series

San Diego Padres vs Cleveland Indians

Game 1 in San Diego
Shane Bieber (16-5) vs Aaron Civale (8-9)

In the end, the two best teams in baseball faced each other in the World Series. While Cleveland fiddled with their rotation in the days leading up to the series, there was little doubt who was going to get the ball for us.

We got on the board early with one run in the first - Tocci hit a 1-out double and Machado brought him in with a 2-out single. We added three more runs in the 3rd with a pair of singles from Marcano and Tocci, an RBI double from Machado, and an RBI single from Dickerson.

That was more than enough run support for Bieber who held the Indians in check for most of the night. He surrendered a single run in the 4th before we went to the pen in the 8th. A combination of Elledge, Hill, and Cederlind would close out the game.

Final Score: 6-1
Player of the Game: CF Carlos Tucci - 4-4, 3 R, 1 RBI

Game 2 in San Diego
Ryan Weathers (12-8) vs Brady Singer (5-2)

Just like in Game 1, we got on the board early in this one. Back to back 1-out singles from Tocci and Tatis Jr. in our half of the first were followed by a 3-run homer from Machado. Unfortunately for us, we came out strong and fizzled early.

Weathers started the game off well, keeping the Indians in check through the first five innings of the game. They finally broke through in the 6th. Weathers hit the lead off man, and then gave up a 2-out RBI double to get the Indians on the board. They tagged him again in the 6th, this time with a 2-run double.

The game remained tied through nine. Both bullpens were looking tough to beat. In the 12th we brought in Elledge to hold them. He gave up a lead off double to 2B Luis Guillorme. He would get the next two batters out before giving up an RBI single to SS Andres Gimenez. Unfortunately for us, we weren’t able to answer back. The series is tied.

Final Score: 3-4 (12)
Player of the Game: SP Ryan Weathers - 6.1 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K

Game 3 in Cleveland
Chris Paddack (13-6) vs Daniel Espino (8-3)

After Snell’s disastrous start in Atlanta, I decided to once again mix up the rotation. This time it was Paddack who got the call. The Indians managed to get to Paddack a couple of times - the first, a solo shot in the 1st and the second, a solo shot in the 4th. But aside from those two, Paddack pitched pretty well.

Unfortunately, our offense was nowhere to be found. We managed to get one across in the 6th with an RBI double from Dickerson, but despite having nearly twice as many hits as Cleveland, we just couldn't put together a string of them. Advantage Cleveland.

Final Score: 1-2
Player of the Game: SP Daniel Espino - 5.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 B, 9 K

Game 4 in Cleveland
James Paxton (15-6) vs Lenny Torres (11-8)

Salt. In. Our. Wounds. Paxton got off to a rough start, giving up a leadoff homer to start the bottom of the 1st. He then gave up an RBI double to RF Josh Naylor and an RBI single to LF Daniel Johnson. Still in the first, he gave up a walk to Luis Guillorme. His cleat caught the dirt and he toppled over sideways during his follow through. Torn meniscus.

It was going to be a long day for our bullpen. They were up for the task, but the damage had already been done. Once again, our offense was nowhere to be seen. We’ll need to salvage a win on the road to hopefully take the series back to San Diego to fight for our lives.

Final Score: 2-4
Player of the Game: SS Andres Gimenez - 1-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI
Note: SS Fernando Tatis Jr. ties the NL playoff game record with 5 strikeouts

Game 5 in Cleveland
Shane Bieber (16-5) vs Aaron Civale (8-9)

With the series on the line, there was only one man we could turn to. Bieber got the call to pitch on short rest to try and force the series back home. He answered that call.

We drew first blood in the top of the 3rd. Marcano got it started with a 1-out single and was followed by a double from Tocci. Tatis Jr. brought in Marcano with a ground ball to first that the first baseman wasn’t able to handle.

Cleveland answered back with a solo shot from 1B Nolan Jones in the 4th. However, aside from that home run, Bieber was able to keep their lineup in check. Dickerson gave us back the lead in the top of the 6th with a 2-run blast.

The Indians tried to mount a comeback in the 8th, but Green was able to bend and not break. We live to fight another day. The series is coming back home.

Final Score: 3-2
Player of the Game: SP Shane Bieber - 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K

Game 6 in San Diego
Blake Snell (8-5) vs Brady Singer (5-2)

Headed back home I had a decision to make. Do we go with the young arm of Ryan Weathers? Or do we go with the rested arm of Blake Snell? I opted to go with the most rest arm in our rotation and gave Snell the nod.

Snell labored through 4.2 innings of work, but despite his troubles, he kept the game close. The Indians managed a solo shot in the 1st and an RBI single in the 4th. It wasn’t the prettiest outing, but it was enough to keep us in the game.

Unfortunately, our offense decided to once again be a no show. It wasn’t until the 9th inning that we finally scored. With two out, Reyes hit a double. He moved to third on a Kim single. Campusano drove him in with a single of his own. There were now runners on first and second with two out. Mj Melendez hit a double that scored Kim and moved Campusano to third. Bottom of the 9th. Two out. Runners on second and third. Down two runs. Up stepped Tucupita Marcano. He gets a ball in the zone and…

Ground it to shortstop. Game over. The Indians take the series.

Final Score: 2-4
Player of the Game: CF Keith Curcio - 2-3, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 RBI

Series MVP: SS Andres Gimenez - 7-24, 1 HR, 3 RBI