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2038 Playoffs

Divisional Round

In the east Boston would matchup with #1 seed Indianapolis in a re-match of the previous season’s divisional round between the two, while Atlanta, back in the playoffs for the first time in fifteen years would take on Chicago in a mouthwatering clash. In the west Las Vegas, owners of the best ever regular season record, faced off against wildcard team Denver, while Pacific division winners San Jose, would renew their playoff rivalry with OKC.

The series between defending champions Indianapolis and Boston saw a re-match of their divisional round matchup from the previous year with roles reversed, with Indianapolis now the defending champions and Boston aiming to unseat them. Each team featured offenses that could score runs for fun, with Boston relying heavily on the long ball (an NABL best 207 HR’s on the season) while Indianapolis preferred to get men on base (.352 OBP) to do their damage. With the wealth of offensive weapons at each team’s disposal the series would likely be won or lost with pitching, both staffs had had their troubles during the season but the Racers did have home-field advantage and ace Ramon Schoof had been almost unbeatable at Raceway Stadium (15-2, 2.24 ERA). Game one was the opposite of what most people expected as both starters, Ramon Schoof (IND) and Brett Knight (BOS), pitched deep into the game before Pilgrims catcher Eduardo Moreno slammed a ninth inning solo homerun off Racers reliever Jose Franco to eventually lift Boston to a hard fought 3-2 series opening victory. Game two was much the same with pitching holding sway until Boston LF Rob Penney broke Indianapolis hearts with a late 2-run homer to seal another 3-2 Boston victory. Back in Boston, game three continued the surprising trend as both starters held the opposition in check through the opening five frames, Indianapolis broke the deadlock on a CF Pancho Sousa RBI-Double in the top of the sixth, but failed to build on that lead when 3B Jose Villalobos hit into a double play to end the threat. That missed opportunity loomed large when next inning Boston 1B Alberto Rangel drilled a three-run blast to turn the game on its head, the Pilgrims added an insurance run in the eighth before Mike Mayfield retired the Racers in order to cap off Boston’s impressive series sweep. Indianapolis scored just five runs during the series (their regular season average per game was five) while also being becoming the latest defending champion to exit the playoffs at the first hurdle, a run that now extended to six straight years.

The other ELDS was the eagerly awaited matchup between Atlanta and Chicago, with the teams boasting the NABL’s top two scoring offenses and solid pitching an entertaining series was expected. On the occasion of their first meaningful postseason game in fifteen years it seemed Atlanta got stage fright, as the best pitcher in baseball Seung-Jae Park delivered a pitching clinic (7.0 IP,3H, 1R, 8K) and Chicago rolled to a comfortable 5-1 victory. The following night was a similar story as once again the home town Flames laid an egg, being out-hit 11-4 and making two costly errors in allowing Chicago to cruise to a 6-1 win leaving Atlanta on the verge of elimination. Mario Chavez took the mound for Chicago in game three, looking to deal the knockout blow to Atlanta’s hopes, and for five innings he held the Flames in check as the Zephyrs built a two-run lead, a RF Mike Hicks solo homerun and a 2-RBI double from CF Alex Blanca chased Chavez from the game and gave Atlanta their first lead of the series. Chicago’s Enrique Rodriguez coughed up another three runs in the seventh before the Flames padded their lead with a further two in the eighth, Chicago briefly threatened in the ninth, putting men on the corners before a double play put an end to the Zephyrs rally as Atlanta avoided the series sweep and elimination with an 8-2 victory. With ace Seung-Jae Park on the mound for game four Chicago fans were in confident mood but someone must have given Atlanta the wrong script as the Flames buried Park under an avalanche of runs, chasing him from the game in the second inning having surrendered seven runs while retiring only three of the eleven batters he faced. Chicago managed to stem the tide of runs the rest of the way but emptied their bullpen doing so and had to resort to using position player Peter Reddy to pitch the ninth as Atlanta waltzed to an easy 13-2 series tying victory. Back home in Atlanta and full of confidence for the decider, the Flames started where they left off in game four, battering Chicago starter Eugene Fey into submission scoring six early runs as they built a commanding seven run lead. Far from meekly laying down Chicago fought back, homeruns from Aaron Payton, Julio Cruz and Dave Cantrell helped cut the Flames lead to two heading into the final frame, where despite a nervy ninth for the home fans, Flames closer Rich Robinson got the job done as Atlanta held on for a 7-5 series clinching win.

Wildcard team Denver entered their series with 114-win Las Vegas as heavy underdogs, the Gamblers boasted the #1 scoring offense and the best pitching staff in the NABL by far and were many peoples favourite to lift the World Series. The wildcats by contrast led the WL in homeruns with 193 (second only to Boston in the NABL) but struggled to consistently put men on base to take advantage of their power, Denver also featured an erratic pitching staff that on their day could win a game by themselves but on another, just as easily lose a game.
The series opened in Las Vegas and the home side quickly got into a rhythm, scoring early and building a 3-0 lead, veteran starter Angel Castro was solid through six innings but an uncharacteristic collapse by the Gamblers bullpen (allowing 5 runs over the final two frames) swung the game in Denver’s favour as the Wildcats surprised Las Vegas to steal the series opener 5-3. Denver were far from their best the following night, putting on a wild rollercoaster ride performance featuring plenty of good (4 hits, 13 strikeouts) and plenty of bad (11 walks, 3 hit batsmen). In the pivotal sixth inning three Denver pitchers (starter Ivan Martinez along with relievers Jonathan Shearne and Randall Bradford) combined for three strikeouts, five walks, a hit batsman, a wild pitch and a balk, the Wildcats also made a pair of errors in the inning for good measure, all told ten Las Vegas batters came to the plate and faced a total of 38 pitches without once managing to make contact (not even a foul ball)!! Amazingly, despite all the help Las Vegas only scored three runs on the day and even though the Gamblers did not make the most of their chances, Denver never really threatened to make any inroads as strong pitching performances from Holden Willis and Phil Redmond held the Wildcats in check as the Gamblers evened the series with a 3-0 win. In game three both starters, Jesus Delgado (LV) and Valentin Morales (DEN) went six innings and put up identical numbers (6IP, 5H, 2ER, 2BB, 6K), Denver pushed ahead on 1B Daniel Kirk’s 2-run homer in the seventh only for 3B Joseph Floores and OF Khayn Triplett to hit homeruns for Las Vegas as the Gamblers scraped home 5-4 to edge ahead in the series. Game four was another close battle early on, before Denver broke the game open scoring six unanswered (including a four-run outburst in the 8th) to even the series at two. Back home for the decider, Las Vegas edged into the lead on a 3B Joseph Floores homer only for Denver pitcher Ivan Martinez to belt a homerun of his own to even things up, the two teams continued trading scores until a SS Joaquin Corona 3-run blast pushed the Gamblers into a comfortable three run lead and despite a wobble in the ninth when Denver scored twice, Las Vegas held on for a 7-6 win and booked their place in the WLCS for the third year in a row.

Oklahoma City faced off against San Jose in the other WLDS looking for their first playoff series win against the Spartans (having lost their two previous meetings), both teams boasted strong pitching but San Jose had the edge because of their free scoring offense (#2 in the west) and in particular their aggressive baserunning (an NABL record 173 stolen bases). It didn’t take long for the Spartans to challenge OKC on the basepaths, lead-off man Roberto Gonzalez walked and then stole second where he was stranded, he was at it again in the third, reaching first before stealing second where once again the Spartans offense sputtered leaving him stuck on base. The Outlaws took the lead in the fourth when CF Steve McCulloch took Pedro Rosario deep for the first run of the series, and when OKC starter Mark Graham left the game after seven strong innings the Outlaws held a slim 2-1 advantage. That lead disappeared quickly as Ken Maynard surrendered 3-runs to put the hometown Spartans in control, San Jose closer Dave Day wasted little time seeing off OKC in the ninth to preserve the hard fought 4-2 victory. Game two saw an excellent pitching performance from OKC starter Rafer MacNeil (7.1IP, 5H, 1ER, 6K) as the Outlaws built a 4-1 lead, OKC survived a scare in the ninth when CF Doug Matthews blasted a 2-out, 2-run homer but closer Uram Park recovered to strike out 1B Lucio Guerrero to end the game and tie the series. Outlaw starter Robert Warwick certainly enjoyed pitching at home in game 3, surrendering two runs on just four hits through eight strong innings before handing over to closer Uram Park, in an eerily similar performance to his game two outing Park struggled, surrendering a solo homerun to Lucio Guerrero and leaving men on the corners for John Watkins to deal with, Watkins took just two pitches to close out the game, enticing Tom Sterling to hit tamely into a double play. With the Spartans facing elimination, OKC starter Mark Graham chose the wrong time to have a poor outing, lasting just 4.2 innings and allowing six runs to put San Jose in the driving seat, OKC made a game of it cutting the lead in half but a Juan Rosario 2-run homer wrapped things up for the Spartans sending the series to a deciding game five. A disastrous start to the game put OKC behind the eight ball in their quest to finally overcome the Spartans in the playoffs. San Jose used power hitting and aggressive baserunning to open an early six run lead, a spirited fightback by Outlaws fell just short, as they dropped the decider 6-5. The Spartans improved their playoff record to 3-0 against the Outlaws and marched onto the WLCS for the fourth time in six years.