[BirdWatcher]

With Charlotte now leading the series 2 games to 1, Columbus manager Aaron Toth did in fact send out Taiwanese left-hander Decheng Lei to the mound to start game 4. And Charlotte countered with their 4th starter, Nick Tolbert, also a lefty and a fine groundball specialist.

Tolbert prevailed and the Sting are now one win away from their first WPK Championship.

Charlotte had a 2-1 lead going into the 6th and then things really started to unravel for Lei as he walked lead-off man Jim Decker (who stays hot, going 2 for 4 and has hit .563 so far in the WS), got a pair of relatively harmless outs (one of them moved Decker to second), then intentionally walked the dangerous Matt Sisk. On came pinch-hitter (and former Brewer) Tanner Yurek. Yurek worked a 2-2 count. As we know from his past as a Brewer, Tanner is a pretty good 3 true outcomes guy. In an earlier similar situation in the series the outcome was a strikeout. But he is also pretty good at working a walk. Then again, as a Brewer, he became pretty legendary for his well-timed home runs. And in this game, at a crucial juncture, that is exactly the outcome he produced. Three-run HR, Charlotte now on top 5-1. And it was really never in doubt after that, the Sting winning 7-2.

With one game left in Columbus, the Whalers need a win just to send the series back to Charlotte. And, of course, then need to win the final two games on the road if they are to capture their 3rd WPK championship title. It's a tall order, but with Jake Harris on the mound tomorrow at least they have a chance of staying alive a bit longer.