The New York Mets dump the 97-win Padres in a sweep to set up a NLCS against fellow Wild Card Cardinals, as they beat the Braves in a Game 5 decider.
In the AL, Tampa Bay take out Seattle 3-1, and will face the Royals for the American League pennant as Kansas City ensures there is one bye team that makes it to the LCS.
Remarkably, the Royals-Rays series will be the first debut post season match for Stewart in an American League postseason series. The Rays were one of the few teams to have a winning record against the Royals in the regular season, taking 4-6 games. They are the reverse of the Yankees, having scored the 6th most runs while ranking 13th in runs against.
The Rays bats have ability throughout what is a young line up. Rookie DH Ernesto Chairez led the club with a .301 average, while hitting 26 HRs and 79 RBIs. Leading the HR (28) and RBI (95) totals was 2B Bobby Paulin, but he will miss the series with a sprained ankle. The star of the show, though, is LF Ramiro Rivera, who only appeared in 66 games due to injury but had an OPS of .958 and over 2 WAR in that short season.
On the pitching side, the Rays didnt manage to have a starter with an ERA under 4. Ed Lanham was closest, a 4.02 ERA with 14 wins across 186 IP a good season of work. Their second best pitcher Chris Bodnar will miss the series with bicep tendinitis, while they will feature one LHP in Mike Botsford. In the bullpen only Jonathan Apt had an ERA below 4.00 while Daniel Montoya managed 18 saves at just over 80% success rate.
The Rays had a balanced record against LHP and RHP so another decision for Colin Stewart to make as to the make up of the rotation for the series especially after the Yankees pushed Kansas City to a game 5, meaning T.J. Nooks wont be available to pitch game one.
Game 1 in Kansas City: Cason Willard vs Ed Lanham (2036 1st Round)
Kansas City wins 7-0
Willard (W): 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R
Lanham (L): 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R
Kansas City HRs: A.J. Terry (7th, 2R)
1-0 Kansas City
Game 2 in Kansas City: Ben Lane vs Jon Wentworth (2048 Trade BAL)
Kansas City wins 5-2
Lane (W): 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R
Wentworth (L): 5.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R
Chris Morrow (SV): 0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
Kansas City HRs: Bobby Nickelberry (1st)
Tampa Bay HRs: Ramiro Rivera (4th), Gilberto Castro (6th)
POTG: Bobby Nickelberry (KC) 3-4, HR, 2 RBI
2-0 Kansas City
Game 3 in Tampa Bay: Benton Geldart vs Jonathan Clanton (2046 Trade ARI)
Kansas City wins 6-4
Geldart (W): 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R
Clanton (L): 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R
Morrow (SV): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R
Kansas City HRs: Nelson Saiz (1st, 2R), A.J. Terry (3rd)
Tampa Bay HRs: Joe Rose (4th), Andres Morales (5th), Castro (6th)
Julio Balbuena (TB) INJ hit by pitch OUT pending
POTG: Jorge Corujo (KC) 3-4, BB, 3 RBI
3-0 Kansas City
Game 4 in Tampa Bay: T.J. Nooks vs Mike Botsford (2047 Trade CWS)
Kansas City wins 6-2
Nooks: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R
Botsford: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R
Mike Krebs (W): 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Daniel Montoya (L): 0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R
Kansas City HRs: Saiz (4th)
Bobby Nickelberry (KC) INJ running the bases DTD 1 week
Rodolfo Pesina (TB) INJ pitching DTD 5 days
POTG: Nelson Saiz (KC) 2-5, HR, 3 RBI
4-0 KANSAS CITY WINS
Series MVP: A.J. Terry (KC) 7-15, 2 HRs, 3 RBI