[JayW UK]

2022 Playoffs

New York entered the playoffs with the best record in the east and were matched up against defending EL champions Tampa Bay. The Senators made the most of home field advantage taking the first two games 4-3 and 6-2 before Tampa Bay’s bats came to life in game three lighting up NY starter Ray Charles to the tune of seven runs over just four innings the Hurricanes ran out comfortable winners taking the game 11-3. Game four was much closer with New York holding a slim 3-2 lead into the ninth, Senator closer Min-Jae Choi couldn’t hold the lead though, allowing all three TB batters he faced to collect hits including the game winning 3-run homerun by Juan Santos. The fifth and deciding game back in New York was also a tight affair, this time when he was called upon, Min-Jae Choi delivered, closing the door on Tampa Bay in the ninth and sending the Senators on to the EL Championship series for the first time.
Washington met Indianapolis in a repeat of the 2020 Divisional series, just as they had then the Racers jumped on Washington’s pitchers in game one cruising to a 6-1 win, game two went to the Generals to even the series. Back in Washington for game three, the Generals stopped the Racers dead in their tracks, shutting them out 9-0, the Racers ensured there would be a deciding game five back in Indianapolis by taking game four. Washington exorcised their playoff ghosts by winning the decider and advancing from the first round of the playoffs for the first time.
Houston returned to the playoffs for the first time in five years but had the misfortune to run into Los Angeles, in a series that was closer than most people thought would be the Stars drew first blood taking game one on the road 7-5, LA came roaring back smashing Houston 11-1 in game two and 10-3 in game three. Houston kept the series alive behind a strong pitching performance from Armando Luna who threw 7 shutout innings and some timely hitting to win 5-3 and send the series back to LA. The deciding game 5 matched the two staff aces, LA’s Max Castle and Houston’s Marc Birstall, against each other. In a tight pitcher’s duel it was a mistake by Birstall, when he gave up a 2-run homerun to Clayton Martin in the seventh, which proved the difference in a 3-1 LA victory.
The only series in the Divisional round not to go the distance was the matchup between San Diego and Oklahoma City, the Mariners opened the series in OKC with a victory before the Outlaws evened things up in game two. Games three and four in San Diego followed a very similar script, first Benny McCauney shut the Outlaws down, giving up one run through seven innings, before handing a 3-1 lead over to the bullpen to finish. Felipe Sanchez followed a similar path the following night pitching six strong innings (2 ER on 4 hits with 8 K’s) before handing over a 4-2 game to the pen, Thomas Zimmerman collected the final out to send the Mariners on the the Pennant series and a date with divisional rivals LA.

The Eastern league Pennant series saw New York take on wildcard entry and division rivals Washington, both teams had come through hard fought five game first round series to get this far. In game one both teams were well below par, in a sloppy, error filled game New York eventually scraped to a 4-3 tenth inning victory courtesy of a Steve Gardner wild pitch. Game two belonged to New York again, this time Ray Charles pitched a four-hit shutout of Washington, game three saw the Washington offense wake up with home runs by Ron Massey and Steve Burgess staking the Generals to a 6-0 lead after just 3 innings and chasing New York Starter Guillermo Lopez from the game, the Senators came back into the game with runs in the fourth, fifth and seventh inning to cut the lead to 6-4, but Washington’s bullpen then stepped up to close out the victory. The Generals rode the home field advantage in the next two games not allowing New York to settle into a rhythm, winning both games 4-2. With the series back in New York, the Senators kept their World Series hopes alive taking game six setting up a winner takes all game seven, against all the odds Washington took the decisive game in extra innings, recovering from an early 4-0 deficit to eventually win 5-4 in the eleventh.
In the west the Championship series was fought out between division rivals Los Angeles and San Diego. Games 1 and 2 went to the LA Lynx who enjoyed the confines of their home field on the way to convincing 8-2 and 11-4 victories. Game 3 in San Diego went the way of the Mariners who used a strong start from Pedro Escobar and some excellent defense to win 5-1, the following night it was the turn of LA to take the victory in a closely fought 3-1 win with closer Dave Wyatt stifling a San Diego ninth inning rally by striking out Dustin Polk to strand two on base. Game five was do or die for the Mariners, starter Diego Camacho went the distance in a controlled San Diego win keeping the series alive. LA were in no mood to mess around when the series resumed two nights later, Luis Manuel Quinones shut down the San Diego offense allowing a single run from eight innings while striking out 11 Mariners. Run support was provided in the shape of three homeruns, two from Gabriel Mendez and one from Gary Ferguson as LA ran out 5-1 winners to become the second team, Atlanta 2017/2018 being the other, to reach back-to-back World Series.

The 2022 World Series was a David and Goliath matchup between hot favourites Los Angles and Washington, LA boasted the NABL’s top pitching staff and the western league’s top offense while Washington were middle of the road in both categories. Game one went to script with LA ace Max Castle shutting the Generals down while the Lynx batters got to grips with Washington’s pitching, launching four home runs on the way to an 8-2 victory, game two was more of the same, another four homeruns, including two from Gabriel Mendez, saw LA cruise to an 11-3 win. Game three back in Washington was no better for the Generals as former Lynx pitcher Zander Pace ran foul of the LA batting line up, he was roughed up through four innings serving up eleven runs (including a grand slam) before he was mercifully removed from the rout, LA went on to record a World Series record seventeen runs in a dominating 17-3 win. Washington finally stopped the bleeding in game four, Benedict Lewis keeping the LA batters guessing on the way to a five-hit shutout, the following night Katsumi Sugano drew the short straw for Washington, he pitched well for five innings before the wheels came off in the sixth with LA scoring five times and chasing him from the game. From then on, a procession of pitchers for both sides saw the game and the series draw to its inevitable conclusion, LA ran out 6-1 winners and claimed their second World Series title while also becoming the first team in NABL history to repeat as champions.

2022 Playoff Recap

Divisional Series
EL: New York 3-2 Tampa Bay, Washington 3-2 Indianapolis
WL: Los Angeles 3-2 Houston, San Diego 3-1 Oklahoma City
Championship Series
EL: Washington 4-3 New York
WL: Los Angeles 4-2 San Diego
World Series
Los Angeles 4-1 Washington