St. Charles Saints 82-80 vs. California Coolers 106-56

California wins series 4-1

Game 1 – Wrigley Field – A.L. Division Series 1 opened at Wrigley, under ideal conditions… for pitchers that is.  The seasonably warm temperature of 67 degrees was countered by a stiff 27 mph wind blowing in from Right Center.  18 game winner Dylan Cease took the “hill” for California and St. Charles countered with Zach Eflin, winner of 9 games.  The game was scoreless halfway thru two, when the Coolers scratched out a run on an RBI single by Leody Taverez, scoring Andy Ibanez who had singled earlier in the inning.  The Saints broke thru in the 5th inning, as Anthony Rizzos’ 2 out rbi, scored Trevor Larnach, who had reached base on a 1 out double. Cease then lost all command, walking Jared Duran and Zach Neto, bringing the dangerous bat of Juan Soto to the plate. Soto was robbed of a 1st inning HR, by Aaron Judge’s leaping catch in Center Field, and also walked in the 4th. So the first tense moment of the series had the roaring crowd on their feet. With the count 1-2, Cease induced a weak grounder to Triston Casas at 1st base ending the threat, and keeping the score tied at 1-1. It stayed that way as the Saints threatened in the 6th, 7th and 8th inning, but stranded 5 runners in scoring position. Meanwhile, the Coolers bats failed miserably, with only a 6th inning BB to show for their efforts, while piling up the Ks.  In the bottom of the 8th, JD Davis led off with a walk, issued by Saints reliever Reynald Lopez, who struck out the side in the Cooler 7th. A balk moved Davis to 2nd,  Lopez then struck out Ibanez for the 1st out. Pinch Hitter Amed Rosario lined a single between 3rd and Short, advancing Davis to 3rd.  Saints Manager Brandon Orlando then called on flame- throwing Jose Alvarado, hoping for more Coolers Ks. Coolers next batter, Tavarez trying to bunt Davis in, hit it back to Alvarado, who “checked” Davis back to 3rd, and tossed to 1st for the 2nd out. Alvarado then “uncorked” a wild pitch with Michael Conforto at bat, allowing Davis to scamper home with the go ahead run. Conforto ended up flying out to deep Right Field for the 3rd out. Remarkably, the Coolers, with their meager 3 singles and 2 BB, now lead 2-1 with AL Saves Leader Devin Williams headed to the mound to close out the Saints in the 9th. The pesky Saints got the tying run on base with 1 out, on a walk to Rizzo, but Williams recovered to Strikeout Austin Slater and Zach Neto, preserving a 2-1 Coolers win.

Game 2 – playoffs_baseball-image.pngOctober 3 – Wrigley Field’s ever changing weather conditions saw a stiff 28 mph wind blowing out to straight away center, which usually means a good day for the hitters. Today’s starting pitchers are Corbin Burnes for the Coolers and Brady Singer for the Saints, two pitchers that tend to keep the ball in the park. Pregame comments from the managers highlighted the importance of today’s game. Saints’ manager, Brandon Orlando commented that “we were close yesterday, we held their bats down, we need more of the same today, but we need a win here at Wrigley! Coolers skipper, Roberto Blanco, put it succinctly, “we can’t have a repeat of yesterday’s performance at the dish, or we’ll be in trouble. We were lucky yesterday. The Coolers got on the board in the 1st, as Tavarez led off with a triple and scored on a sac-fly off the bat of Michael Conforto, Coolers up 1-0. It soon became apparent that the wind would not be a factor, as the goose-eggs on the scoreboard piled up. It remained 1-0 until the bottom of the 5th, when the Coolers added another run on a 2-out rbi single from Taveras, plating JD Davis, prompting a call to the bullpen for the Saints. Coolers starter Burnes, continued to be in cruise control, allowing only 2 hits, 2 BBs, and 7 Ks thru 6 innings. The top of the 7th opened with Burnes recording his 8th K. Then lightning struck for the Saints. A one out single by Ozzie Albies was followed by Trevor Larnach’s deep fly down the RF line clearing the wall, and just like that, tie game, 2-2. Both teams squandered scoring opportunities in the 8th and 9th innings. In the top of the 10th, Zach Neto lined a 1-out single to RF, scoring Anthony Rizzo, Saints up 3-2. The Coolers made a pitching change, bringing in Trevor May to face Juan Soto. Soto promptly laced a single to RF, and now with 2 on and 1 out, the Saints were threatening to blow it wide open. May, though, recovered, and struck out Riley and Meyers. In the bottom of the 10th, the Coolers had the heart of their order due up, Judge, Casas, and Suzuki, righty, lefty, righty. St. Charles, with options few in the pen, countered with De Los Santos, lights out against RHers, suspect vs LHers. On cue, Judge strikes out.. 1 down. Saints chose to pitch to Casas, and paid dearly for it, as Casas doubled down the RF line, plating Amed Rosario, tying the game. Switch-hitting Aaron Hicks came on to PH and was given a free pass, a double play away from sending this game to the 11th. Now it gets interesting, as the Coolers, with all righties due up, only have 1 LH hitter on the bench, Brandon Crawford, former starting SS, but part-time player now, and a miserable .109 BA vs righties. Coolers manager Blanco rolls the dice, and sends Crawford to the plate. Crawford comes thru and lines a single to RF, but the hunkering Casas is only able to advance to 3rd. Double play extends the game, hit or deep fly wins it. JD Davis then sends a towering fly ball to LF that was caught, but scores Casas, winning the game 4-3, putting the Coolers up 2 games. Saints’ manager Orlando lamented afterwards, “we shouldn’t have pitched to Casas….” All Coolers’ manager Blanco could say was “Whew! that was exciting, huh!

Game 3 – Game 3 moved to Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Wild Card Saints.  After losing 2 closely fought games, the Saints were looking to get back in this series, with 3 straight home games.  Today’s starters are 14 game winner Aaron Nola of the Saints, and the Coolers 10 game winner, Jesus Luzardo. For the 3rd straight game, the Coolers jump out early, plating single runs in the 1st and 2nd innings, on Sac Flies by Judge and Ibanez. Coolers up, 2-0. Once again, the Coolers were getting a strong performance from their starter as Luzardo cruised thru 4 innings, allowing only a single and a BBs, while striking out 5. For the 2nd time in this series, the Saints bounced back in the 5th. A leadoff BBs to d’Arnaud followed by a single by Jake Meyers set the table for Neto’s 1 out bases clearing Double, tying the game 2-2.  And there it stayed, as both teams’ bullpens dominated. There was not another run scored until the 12th inning, when each team managed to push across runners on 2 out singles from Tavarez, and Neto, respectively.  Game tied 3-3.  Game 3 finally ended in the bottom of the 13th, as Ozzie Albies walked it off with 2 outs.  Albies hammered a 3 run blast down the LF line off a tiring Tyler Holton, propelling the Saints to victory, 6-3. The unrelenting Saints are on the board, with their 1st victory, prompting Saints skipper Orlando to comment that “we will all sleep better tonight!”  Coolers manager Blanco said “we knew going in, that this would be hard fought. It doesn’t matter that the Saints are a wild card team, with Brandon Orlando at the helm, these scrappy Saints are a tough out!

Game 4 – Guaranteed Rate Field – After 3 closely fought white knuckle affairs, Game 4 figured to be more of the same, as the Saints hoped to get this series all tied up at 2 games apiece. JP Sears, 12-9 started for the Saints and the Coolers countered with Alex Faedo, who pitched well down the stretch, going 6 and 3. The Coolers wasted no time getting on the board. Aaron Hicks doubled down the 3rd base line, plating Michael Conforto who had reached on an HBP. Andy Ibanez then homered to left and the Coolers lead 3 zip, after 1 inning, as the Saints go down in order. The Coolers put up another 3 spot in the 2nd inning, as Seiya Suzuki, hammered a HR to left, scoring Miggy Rojas who had singled with 2 outs. Conforto then followed with HR to RF. In the bottom of the 2nd, the Saints got a lead off Single from Austin Riley, and he eventually scored on a Sac Fly from Ozzie Albies. Coolers lead 6-1 after 2 innings. The Saints got a 4th inning HR from Juan Soto, to “inch” closer, 6-2. The Coolers countered in the 5th, as Aaron Judge went deep for the Coolers 4th HR of the game, pushing the lead back to 5 runs. The Saints again rally back, as Jarren Duran’s 2 out double plated Francisco Alvarez who reached on a walk., Coolers lead 7-3 after 5. In the top of the 6th, the Coolers blew this wide open. With 1 out, Tristan Casas homered and JD Davis doubles of the wall. A pitching change by the Saints only added fuel to the rally, highlighted by 2 rbi singles each from Judge and Ibanez, as the Coolers plate 6 runs to lead 13-3. And that’s the way it ended, as the Coolers pounded out 16 hits that included 5 HRs. Coolers now have a commanding lead, 3 games to 1, needing 1 more win to return to the Al Championship Series.

Game 5 – Guaranteed Rate Field – The Saints, with their backs against the wall, were on the brink of elimination and the Coolers knew they would get everything the Saints could muster to pull this one out. Coolers skipper, Roberto Blanco commented prior to game time that, “elimination games tend to be grueling for both teams, lots of pressure to perform”. Brandon Orlando  praised his team and the fans, saying,” our guys have given 100% this series, and our fans have been awesome, we want to send this series back to Wrigley.     It’s a rematch of game 1 starters, Eflin for the Saints and Cease for the Coolers. The visiting Coolers continued their 1st inning magic, plating 2 runs on a Casas HR, scoring Judge who had singled with 2 outs. The Saints got on the board in the 2nd, as a 2 out single by Alvarez scored Larnach who had Doubled. Coolers strike again in top of 3rd, as Casas Homers for the 2nd time, Coolers up 3-1. The Saints rallied back in the bottom half, tying the game 3-3 on Austin Hays 400 foot Bomb to left, plating Soto who walked. All tied up 3-3 after 3 innings. Coolers go up 5-3 after 6, tallying single runs in the 5th and 6th innings. In the bottom half of the 7th, the game got exciting for the hometown fans, as the Saints tie it 5-5, on a Travis d’Arnaud HR, and a 2 out rbi Single by Soto.  In the bottom of the 8th, the Saints surged into the lead, as another 2 out rally saw d”Arnaud hammer his 2nd HR, a 423 ft 2 run bomb to left center. Saints lead 7-5 and now are 3 outs away from sending this series back to Wrigley. ( side note… underlying theme of this game …2 out rallies) The Saints call on Closer Andres Munoz to preserve this hard fought Saints lead, and prolong this series.  Munoz K’s Conforto and then strikes out Judge on 3 pitches! Guess what folks, it’s 2 away.  Right on cue, Casas singles, Suzuki walks, Diaz singles scoring Casas, and PH Ernie Clement singles, scoring Suzuki. Tie game 7-7. The bottom of the 9th saw the Saints in position to win it. With Cooler reliever Trevor May on the bump, the Saints get a lead off Single by Meyers, a Sac bunt by Neto, and a Single from Soto, making it 1st and 3rd, 1 out. May then gets a huge K, striking out Riley. Uh Oh, 2 OUTS! Not this time though, as May gets Albies on a shallow fly to right. Still tied, and on to the 10th. In the 10th, the Coolers get it going. With Ibanez at 2B, Rojas walks, and Taveras gets a bunt single, loading the bases with no outs. Conforto then clears the bases Doubling of the wall to right center. That is all the Coolers got, but the 10-7 lead looked really good to the visitors. The gritty Saints, perhaps somewhat dejected after failing to hold the 9th inning lead, went down without a whimper, as Cooler Ace Devon Williams struck out the side on 10 pitches.  Coolers advance to play the Aztecs for the AL pennant. Casas and Conforto share series MVP. Casas batted .350 with 3 HRs and 5 rbi, and Conforto contributed a .368 average with  1 HR and 6 rbi.