NL Divisional Series 2

 Chino Valley wins series 4-3

Game 1 - October 1, 2011 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.  The Chargers were nipped by the Outfit by a score of 5-4.  Joakim Soria was credited with the win.  On the losing end was Armando Galarraga.  Jose Bautista blasted a homerun and drove in three, going 3-4 on the day.

Game 2 - October 2, 2011 at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.  The Chargers won it by a 10-6 tally.  The Chargers offense was hot, hammering out 16 hits in this contest.  Cliff Lee got the win.  He threw 120 pitches and struck out nine.  Matt Cain was tagged with the loss.  Chino Valley’s #1 pick, Austin Jackson, led the Chargers, going 4-5 with one 2B, one HR and four RBI.  Mike Aviles chipped in a 4-6 day for the winners.  Dan Uggla did what he could for the Outfit with one 2B, a dinger and two RBI.

Game 3 – October 4, 2011.  Brian Matusz, who was the winner in Chino Valley’s tie-breaker game, allowed four hits and fanned six in six innings of shutout ball for the win. Magglio Ordonez hit a 2-run homer in the bottom of the first and finished 3-3 on the day to provide all the offense the Chargers would need.  Max Scherzer was tagged with the loss.  Huston Street earned the save.

Game 4 – October 5, 2011. This was all Roy Halladay as he pitched a 2-hit shutout against the power-hitting Outfit. Ordonez homered again in the bottom of the first for the only run Halladay would need. Halladay even chipped in a sacrifice fly in the 3-run 2nd inning.  Gio Gonzalez was the pitcher of record for Chicago.  Chino Valley 4-0.

Game 5 - October 6, 2011. Adam Wainwright was asked to hold off elimination as he took the hill in game 6. He responded by allowing only 2 runs in 7.1 innings, leaving the game with a 4-2 lead. Papa Grande (Jose Valverde) made it interesting in the 9th. He allowed back to back doubles, bringing the tying run to second with nobody out. Wil Nieves bunted the runner to third. Manager Wayne Pulley chose to intentionally walk Ian Kinsler, putting the go ahead run on first. The gamble paid off as Danny Worth grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and the Outfit escaped to take the series back to Chicago. Cliff Lee got the loss. Buster Posey was 3-4 for Chicago. Dan Uggla and Jose Bautista were both 2-4 as well. Yuniesky Betancourt hit his 2nd homerun of the series for Chino Valley.

Game 6 - October 8, 2011. Game 6 saw Matt Cain take the mound and rebound from a rough game 3 as he shuts down the Chargers 6-0.   Cain allows 4 hits while Outfit pound out 10 hits as Dan Uggla and Jimmy Rollins lead attack with 2 each.

Game 7 - October 9, 2011. Game 7 saw Roy Halladay  take the mound and shut down the Outfit, throwing 7 shutout innings.  Joba Chamberlain and Huston Street close the door in the 8th and 9th innings for the Chargers.  Max Scherzer pitched well but Mag Ordonez provided all the runs Chargers would need with a 2 run shot in the sixth inning.

For the series Ordonez was unstoppable batting close to .400 with 3 hr’s.  For the Outfit prize rookie Mike Stanton was awful going 1-23 while Mark Texiera was equally as bad going 2-23

* Note - Chino Valley won a one-game tie-breaker for the Wild Card. See boxscore.