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2020 Playoffs
Cleveland’s first ever playoff game ended in defeat when they went down 4-1 in Atlanta, they won their first playoff game and evened the series the following night courtesy of a 10th inning homerun from 1B Albert Massey. The series moved to Cleveland where the Corsairs took game 3 behind a strong pitching performance from Jaime Hurtado only for the Flames to even the series in extra innings the following night. The deciding game was another close affair until Cleveland broke the game wide open with a five-run outburst in the 7th inning, eventually holding on to win 8-5 and advance to the Pennant series. The Corsairs opponents were Indianapolis who’s journey to the Pennant series was much smoother, sweeping the Washington Generals aside in three lopsided games.
In the west, Los Angeles took on the wildcard entry Denver and were shocked, losing the series 3 games to 1, being well beaten in both games played at home after splitting the first two in Denver. Top seed Oklahoma City took on Las Vegas in a repeat of the 2018 Divisional Series and much like then, the Gamblers had no answer for the Outlaws, going down meekly in four.
The Eastern league Pennant series pitted division foes Cleveland and Indianapolis against each other. In a series that did not disappoint, Cleveland took game one on the road 8-5 before succumbing in extra innings in game two. Game 3 back in Cleveland went the way of defending champions Indianapolis by the score of 4-3, game four once again went to extra innings this time Cleveland coming out on top, winning on a Netuno Ermida walk off homerun in the 14th. The Corsairs took game five in much less dramatic fashion, shutting out the Racers 5-0 to put them on the verge of the World Series. The Racers would not give up their hold on the title easily and took game six to set up a winner takes all game seven. In a dramatic back and forth affair it was Cleveland who came out on top when, with runners on second and third with two out in the ninth, offseason acquisition Curt Rice struck out Gabriel Mendez to end the game and continue Cleveland’s magical season. In the west, the Pennant series was no less dramatic with Oklahoma City storming out to a 3-0 lead before Denver found a way to stay alive in game four. Down 3-0 in the seventh inning first Ben Douglas then Charlie May hit homeruns to tie the score before veteran OF Steve Wolfe scored the winning run on a Ben Douglas sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth. Game five was a pitcher’s duel between OKC star A.J Merriweather and Denver’s Anthony Barrett, the game remained scoreless through six before Denver’s bats got to Merriweather, scoring 4 off him in the seventh and a further 2 in the eighth to hand him his first loss in the playoffs. Game six, back in Oklahoma City was never close with Alfredo Flores pitching an almost flawless game, his only blemish being a Ben Douglas homerun, taking his team to a 4-1 win and leading OKC to their first World Series.
Cleveland’s dream season continued into the World Series as they took game one in Oklahoma City 5-3 behind a solid start from Ernesto Caraballo (6 inns, 2 ER) and an eighth inning 2 run double from Richie Rambeaux. OKC recovered to take game two, Rick Lynch got the start and shut down Cleveland’s offense, allowing just 1 run over eight strong innings before handing over to closer Jesse Jones to shut the door. Game 3 in Cleveland was an instant classic, both Starters went seven innings allowing just a single run each before handing over to the bullpens, the Outlaws struck first when Cleveland LF Chandler Harrington misplayed a Daniel Roldan line drive allowing Jose Cruz to score from first and give OKC the lead. Robert Grove struck out all three Cleveland batters he faced in the eighth before handing the ball over the star closer Jesse Jones, he struck out 1B Albert Massey before Ronald MacKinney punished an errant slider by taking him deep to tie the score and send game into extra innings. After a scoreless 10th Cleveland got to the OKC pitching again in the 11th putting two men on base with no-one out, Mark Powers did his best to get out of the jam by retiring the next two batters before Culley Clare managed to squeeze a single through the infield to allow Netuno Ermida to score from third sending the Cleveland faithful home elated. Games 4 and 5 belonged to Oklahoma City, their offense dismantled the Cleveland pitching with dominant displays of hitting, winning by scores of 14-2 and 11-3. With their team coming off two dominant performances and one win away from a World Series title, the Oklahoma City fans had Sherriff Field rocking for game six. Staked to an early 5 run lead everything appeared to be a walk in the park for starter Ball Warner until he ran into trouble in the fifth inning allowing Cleveland to score four times. OKC plated three more runs in the seventh to run the lead to 8-4, but Cleveland once again stormed back, scoring twice and loading the bases with one out in the eighth before Robinson Cruz induced Chandler Harrington to hit into a double play to escape the jam. The ninth inning by contrast was a walk in the park for closer Jesse Jones as he retired the Corsair batters in order to collect the save and deliver the World Series to Oklahoma City.
2020 Playoff Recap
Divisional Series
EL: Cleveland 3-2 Atlanta, Indianapolis 3-0 Atlanta
WL: Denver 3-1 Los Angeles, Oklahoma City 3-1 Las Vegas
Championship Series
EL: Cleveland 4-3 Indianapolis
WL: Oklahoma City 4-2 Denver
World Series
Oklahoma City 4-2 Cleveland
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