The League Championship Series are set and the Giants are the only home team to have made it to the pennant series. In the American League, we are back in the 2040s as the Astros and Royals will face off, as they did six years in a row from 2041-2046, after the Astros took our the AL-leading Road Warriors and the Royals took out the Angels, both series ending 3-1. Over in the National League it’s a less regular match up as the Giants will face the Brewers for only the second time in postseason history, and first since a 2031 Division Series San Francisco won in five games.
The Giants took the regular season series 4-2 and have the edge in runs scored (3rd to 6th) and runs against (2nd to 4th) but it shapes up to be a great series, even if most eyes will be on the Royals-Astros games.
1B Ernesto Chairez was the lynchpin of the offense, leading the team with a .322 batting average and 101 RBI and second with 33 HR. DH Frank Valadez managed one more HR and contributed 97 RBI, as did LF Nelson Rivera. That helped the offense record top 6 rankings across all the major hitting statistics.
On the pitching side, Milwaukee will miss SP Tony Cutler who tore his UCL in September, but have three pitchers in Ben McClelland, Danny Thacker, and Innocenzio Pedraza who recorded ERA under 3.75, with LHP Thacker leading the team with 17 W but McClelland leading both the strikeout rankings, 224, and IP, 204.2.
In the bullpen, Mike Lake had 44 SV with a 1.76 ERA while they have four LHP to mix up the looks they give to opposing batters.
Game 1 in San Francisco: Juan Montoya vs Ben McClelland (2049 1st Round)
- Milwaukee wins 3-1
- McClelland (W): 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R
- Montoya (L): 6.1 IP, 9 H, 3 R
- Mike Lake (SV): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
- Milwaukee HR: Frank Valadez
- San Francisco HR: Gianvito Heaton
- 1-0 Milwaukee
Milwaukee struck first in the 2nd inning when Alejandro Serpas laced an RBI single. The Brewers blew the game open in the 5th as Frank Valadez launched a 419-foot solo homer and Nelson Rivera delivered an RBI double, staking Milwaukee to a 3–0 lead. Giants starter Juan Montoya settled in after the fifth, logging seven strong innings. San Francisco finally dented the scoreboard in the 7th on Gianvito Heaton’s solo blast, but Milwaukee’s bullpen—anchored by Esteban Collazo and Mike Lake—shut down the final eight batters. The Brewers held on for a 3–1 victory, seizing a 1–0 edge in the NLCS.
Game 2 in San Francisco: Andy Frederick vs Danny Thacker (2055 Trade SA)
- Milwaukee wins 9-7 (10)
- Thacker: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R
- Frederick: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R
- Lake (BS)(W): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R
- Rickey Eggett (BS)(L): 1.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R
- Esteban Collazo (SV): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
- Milwaukee HR: Juan Rivas, Frank Garras
- San Francisco HR: Ernesto Pantoja, David Rojo, Jim Clarke
- POTG: Juan Rivas (MIL) 3-4, HR, BB, 3 RBI
- 2-0 Milwaukee
Juan Rivas’s 382-foot homer gave Milwaukee a 1–0 lead in the first, but David Rojo answered with an RBI double. After scoreless middle innings, Ernesto Pantoja’s fourth-inning jack and Rojo’s three-run fifth pushed San Francisco to a 6–1 advantage. The Brewers rallied for four sixth-inning runs—capped by Kulia West’s two-run double—to close within 6–5. In the ninth, Rivas’s go-ahead double seemed decisive until Jim Clarke’s tying solo shot. Extra innings belonged to Milwaukee, as Frank Garras’s 428-foot, two-run homer in the tenth sealed a 9–7 Brewers victory.
Game 3 in Milwaukee: Jorge Ramirez vs Innocenzio Pedraza (2049 Trade LAD)
- Milwaukee wins 7-6
- Pedraza: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 3 R
- Ramirez: 5.2 IP, 10 H, 4 R
- Collazo (W): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
- Eggett (BS)(L): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R
- Milwaukee HR: Valadez
- San Francisco HR: Rojo, Chafer, Juan Magana
- POTG: Juan Magana (SF) 4-5, HR, 3 RBI
- 3-0 Milwaukee
Game 3 was decided by a ninth-inning walk-off as Milwaukee edged San Francisco 7–6. Frank Valadez opened the scoring with a leadoff solo homer in the bottom of the first, but the Giants answered in the second when David Rojo and Ernnie Chafer hit back-to-back solo shots. Milwaukee countered with a three-run second, capped by Juan Rivas’s RBI single, to lead 4–2.
San Francisco battled back, tying it 4–4 on a Jim Clarke double in the fourth and Rojo’s steal-and-score single in the fifth. In the sixth, Juan Magana’s two-run homer gave the Giants a 6–4 edge. Milwaukee rallied in the eighth on Jesus Perea’s double and a throwing error to knot the game. In the ninth, two walks set the stage for Frank Garras’s game-winning single, sealing the Brewers’ comeback.
Game 4 in Milwaukee: Nate Hudson vs Kevin Flaig (2054 Waivers HOU)
- San Francisco wins 5-3 (10)
- Hudson: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R
- Flaig: 6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R
- Eggett (W): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R
- Jensy Weimer (L): 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R
- Ken Coyle (BS): 0.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R
- Rickey Martino (SV): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R
- Pete Lamar (SF) INJ pitching DTD 4 days
- POTG: Kevin Flaig
- 3-1 Milwaukee
A scoreless duel unfolded through four innings until Milwaukee broke through in the fifth. After an errant play and a bases-loaded walk, Ernesto Chairez’s single drove home two, giving the Brewers a 2–0 lead. San Francisco knotted it in the seventh when Steve Boyd’s leadoff walk turned into a run on a Jim Clarke error, and pinch-hitter Mike Moffitt’s RBI single plated Clarke. Neither side could push a winner through the ninth in a pitchers’ showcase, sending the contest into extras. In the 10th, Nate Morris laced a leadoff double, and Juan Magana’s single ignited a three-run rally capped by David Rojo’s run-scoring double and Steve Boyd’s RBI knock. Milwaukee’s Juan Rivas answered with a solo homer but couldn’t muster more, and the Giants prevailed 5–3.
Game 5 in Milwaukee: Juan Montoya vs Ben McClelland
- San Francisco wins 8-7
- Montoya: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R
- McClelland: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R
- Dan Caines (W): 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
- Ben Rinehimer (BS)(L): 0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R
- Nate Brodt (SV): 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R
- Milwaukee HR: Alejandro Serpas, Nelson Rivera
- San Francisco HR: Gianvito Heaton (2), Dane Cook
- POTG: Gianvito Heaton (SF) 3-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI
- 3-2 Milwaukee
Game 5 was a wild slugfest with seven lead changes before San Francisco prevailed 8–7. The Giants struck first as Gianvito Heaton’s two-run homer in the opening frame gave the Giants the lead. Milwaukee answered in the first and second—Juan Rivas’s RBI grounder and Alejandro Serpas’s solo shot tied it 2–2. Dane Cook’s third-inning blast gave San Francisco a brief lead, but Nelson Rivera’s homer knotted the game again. In the fourth, Frank Garras and Jesus Perea delivered a two-run double and heads-up baserunning to push Milwaukee ahead 5–3. The Giants rallied in the sixth on Ernesto Pantoja’s double, Heaton’s two-bagger, and Steve Boyd’s walk setting up a tying fielder’s choice. Milwaukee regained a two-run edge when Josh Shepherd’s double plated two, but Heaton ended it in the seventh with a three-run shot, and the bullpen shut the door.
Game 6 in San Francisco: Andy Frederick vs Danny Thacker
- San Francisco wins 3-0
- Frederick: 5.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
- Thacker (L): 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R
- Mike Stark (W): 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
- Eggett (SV): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R
- San Francisco HR: Heaton, Clarke
- 3-3 Series Tied
Game 6 was a pitchers’ duel until the seventh inning broke the stalemate. Giants starter Andy Frederick delivered six scoreless frames, issuing just two walks while keeping Milwaukee off the board. The Brewers’ best threat arrived in the sixth when Nelson Rivera roped a double, but San Francisco’s infield held him at third to preserve the tie. In the bottom of the seventh, Gianvito Heaton launched a 429-foot solo homer, and Jim Clarke followed with a two-run shot off Danny Thacker to put the Giants ahead 3–0. San Francisco’s bullpen then slammed the door over the final two innings, recording six straight outs to secure the 3–0 victory.
Game 7 in San Francisco: Jorge Ramirez vs Innocenzio Pedraza
San Francisco wins 3-2
(16)- Ramirez: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R
- Pedraza: 6.2 IP, 6 H, 2 R
- Nate Brodt (W): 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R
- Alfredo Pastrano (L): 1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R
- San Francisco HR: David Rojo, Jaquan Willie
- Jim Clarke (SF) sets SF playoff record with 5 SO
- 4-3 SAN FRANCISCO WINS
After trailing the series 3–0, the Giants completed one of the most dramatic reversals in franchise history, edging Milwaukee 3–2 in a 16-inning marathon to win the pennant 4–3.
The Brewers struck first in the fifth when Alejandro Serpas’ infield hit set up Jesus Perea’s RBI single. San Francisco answered emphatically in the sixth: Gianvito Heaton ripped a double and David Rojo launched a 431-ft two-run homer to grab a 2–1 lead. Giants ace Jorge Ramirez spun almost seven frames of two-run bal, and a steady bullpen—anchored by Rickey Martino, Rich Eggett, and Josh O’Neal—kept Milwaukee off the board through 12 innings.
Milwaukee rallied in the seventh when Frank Garras walked, Serpas doubled home the tying run, and Rickey Martino was summoned to silence the Brewers the rest of the way. Both teams traded zeroes from the eighth through the 15th, highlighted by Nate Brodt’s strikeout of Chris Schow and a clutch double from Ernesto Chairez in the top of the 16th.
With their season on the line, the Giants sent up outfielder Jaquan Willie in the bottom of the 16th. On a 2–0 pitch from LHP Alfredo Pastrano, Willie deposited a 432-ft line drive into the left-center bleachers for a walk-off solo homer—capping a stunning comeback and sending San Francisco into delirium.
This epic Game 7 will be remembered not just for its length, but for the resilience and timely power that defined the Giants’ historic turnaround.
Series MVP: David Rojo (SF) 10-31, 3 HR, 8 RBI