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California Coolers 85-77 vs.
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| Game | Location | Results | Win | Loss | Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | at Hannibal | Cannibals 6, Coolers 0 | J.Kelly(1-0) | G.Richards(0-1) | A.Gomber(1) |
| HR – E.Hosmer(1) | |||||
| 2 | at Hannibal | Cannibals 9, Coolers 0 | L.Giolito(1-0) | N.Pivetta(0-1) | None |
| HR – M.Olson(1), J.Chisholm(1), M.Chapman(1) | 3 | at California | Coolers 8, Cannibals 4 | G.Richards(1-1) | R.Hill(0-1) | None |
| HR – A.Judge(1), F.Mejia(1) | |||||
| 4 | at California | Cannibals 10, Coolers 8 | T.Skubal(1-0) | C.Burnes(0-1) | J.McGee(1) |
| HR – J.Realmuto(1), A.Rosario(1), B.Crawford(1), Y.Hernandez(1) | |||||
| 5 | at California | Coolers 6, Cannibals 5 | C.Brogdon(1-0) | A.Gomber(0-1) | H.Castellanos(1) |
| HR – Y.Hernandez(2) | |||||
| 6 | at Hannibal | Cannibals 5, Coolers 2 | J.McGee(1-0) | T.May(0-1) | None |
| HR – J.Realmuto(2), Y.Chang(1) | |||||
Hannibal wins the series 4-2
Game 1 – Corbin Burnes(no runs, 8 K, 3 H, 5.2 IP) and Lance Lynn(no runs, 5 K, 4 H, 6.2 IP) locked heads in a pitchers’ duel. Hannibal got on the board in the bottom of the 7th when JT Realmuto walked, went to 3rd on Eric Hosmer’s single and scored on Jazz Chisholm’s sacrifice fly. One inning later, the Cannibals pushed 5 more across the plate with the big hits being a 2-run double by Trea Turner and a 2-run dinger by Hosmer. The Wild Card Coolers fall to the Ryan Division champs 6-0. Hosmer was 3-4 at the dish, the only player with multiple hits. Joe Kelly got the win and Austin Gomber the save. Garrett Richards was on the hill in the bottom of the 7th and took the loss.
Game 2 – Brandon Nimmo’s 2-run double in the bottom of the 3rd started the party for Hannibal. Matt Olson led off the Cannibal’s 6th with a homer to left. Then the next two batters fanned befor JT Realmuto was hit by a pitch and Eric Hosmer walked. Jazz Chisholm stepped to the plate and hit a rocket 391 feet to right center, blowing the game wide open at 6-0. That was way more than Lucas Giolito needed. He struck out 10 and allowed only 3 hits in 8 innings for the win. California finished the first two games in Busch Stadium scoreless, falling 9-0 in this one. Matt Chapman and Raimel Tapia each had 2 hits for HAC. Jared Walsh had 2 of CAC’s 3 hits. Nick Pivetta was saddled with the “L”.
Game 3 – California ended their scoring drought in the bottom of the first. They scored 3 times on a passed ball, a grounder to short and a single by David Fletcher. Hannibal came back with two in the 2nd on a double by Jazz Chisholm and a single by Matt Chapman. They took a 4-3 lead in the 3rd on a sac-fly by Alex Verdugo and a JT Realmuto single. The Coolers played long ball in the bottom half, as Aaron Judge led off with a solo shot to left-center. Francisco Mejia sent Rich Hill to the showers with a 3-run blast down the LF line, giving the Wrigley faithful a 7-4 lead to cheer about. The Coolers tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the 8th, winning game 3 by an 8-4 margin. Garrett Richards got the win, Hill the loss. Mejia, Fletcher and Andy Ibanez each had a pair of hits for CAC. Chapman had two for HAC.
Game 4 – JT Realmuto hit a first inning grand slam that set the tone for this game. Amed Rosario hit a lead-off dinger for the Coolers in the bottom of the first to keep the game within 3 runs. It was short-lived as Matt Olson had an RBI single in the top of the 2nd to make it 5-1 Hannibal. Brandon Nimmo tacked on a run with an RBI single in the 4th and the Cannibals plated 4 more in the 5th on a double by Jazz Chisholm and singles by Raimel Tapia and Olson. The score was 10-1 in favor of the visitors entering the bottom of the 6th. The Coolers rallied with 4 runs on a Francisco Mejia triple, a David Fletcher single and a 2-run shot down the RF line by Brandon Crawford. Yadiel Hernandez homered to start the bottom of the 7th and four batters later, Jared Walsh had an RBI single and the Cannibal lead was cut to 10-7. In the bottom of the 9th, Hernandez and Manuel Margot singled to lead off the inning. Aaron Judge stepped to the dish and gave one a ride to deep, deep left-center. The Wrigley faithful were all standing, ready to explode for their hometown Coolers, but it didn’t make it over the ivy and Tapia caught up with it for a long sac-fly. Jake McGee got a flyball and strikeout on the next two batters for the save. Hannibal takes a 3-1 series lead with the 10-8 final. Tarik Skubal got the win. Corbin Burnes was saddled with the defeat. Realmuto was named game MVP, going 3-4 with the grand slam and a double. Alex Verdugo also added 3 hits to the 15-hit Cannibal attack. Margot collected 3 of CAC’s 14 hits.
Game 5 – Wrigley Field was jam-packed to support their Coolers in a must-win situation. Brandon Crawford had an RBI single in the bottom of the first to give those fans something to cheer for. Yadiel Hernandez followed that with a sacrifice fly and California was up 2-0. Hannibal took a 3-2 lead in the top of the 4th when Eric Hosmer plated a runner with a single and scored along with JT Realmuto on Jazz Chisholm’s triple down the 1B line. The crowd was silenced in the top of the 5th when Brendan Rodgers(who replaced Trea Turner who got injured batting in the 4th) doubled off the left-center wall for 2 more runs and a 5-2 Cannibal advantage. The Coolers were able to stir a little excitement in the bottom half. David Fletcher reached base on Jazz Chisholm’s error(now playing SS) and then scored on a throwing error by the pitcher, Austin Gomber. In the Cooler 7th, Yu Chang led off with a single and Crawford made it 1st & 2nd with no outs with a single of his own. Yadiel Hernandez stepped to the plate. He had hit 16 dingers in 303 PA in the regular season. That got the home fans on their feet. Gomber fell behind 2-0 and didn’t want to walk the bases loaded for Aaron Judge, so he threw one down the middle and Hernandez hit it 364 feet down the RF line and it landed about 5 rows up into the bleachers and the crowd went crazy. The Coolers had come back to go up 6-5. The bullpen held up in the top of the 8th with a 3-up, 3-down inning. In the top of the 9th, Alex Verdugo hit a 2-out single to RF and Hannibal had the go-ahead run at the plate in Realmuto. He drilled Humberto Castellanos’ 1-0 offering deep down the RF line. The Coolers’ fans’ hearts stopped as they held their breath. They watched their all-star right fielder race back to the warning track and catch the fly ball at the wall. The Coolers hung on to win 6-5 and force a game 6 back at Busch Stadium. Hernandez was named Game MVP with the clutch HR and 4 RBI. Crawford had 3 of CAC’s 10 hits. Verdugo finished with 3 hits in 5 AB to lead HAC. Connor Brogdon got the win, Gomber the loss and Castellanos the save.
Game 6 – The California Coolers loaded the bases with one in the top of the first inning. Jared Walsh lined a single between first and second, but he hit it too hard and only one run could score. The next better lined out, bringing up Yu Chang. Chang gave Lucas Giolito’s 1-2 pitch a ride down the LF line. It wasn’t quite far enough though and Raimel Tapia caught it to end the inning. The Coolers maintained their 1-0 lead until the bottom of the 5th when JT Realmuto sent one about 15 rows up into the LF bleachers to tie the game. Yu went yard to open the 6th and the Coolers were up by one run again. Trevor May came on to pitch the bottom of the 8th for California. Jazz Chisholm greeted him with a single, stole second base and scored on a Matt Chapman single. The Coolers’ pitchers committed a couple errors and a sac fly, wild pitch and RBI single by Alex Verdugo resulted in 3 more Cannibal runs for a 5-2 lead. In the top of the 9th, Yadiel Hernandez hit a one out single to give the California fans a little hope. He was caught stealing for the second out though and David Fletcher struck out to end the game. The Hannibal Cannibals are the only higher seed to win a Divisional Series in the 2022 playoffs. They will host the St. Charles Saints in the ALCS. Jake McGee earned the win in this game. May got the loss. The Coolers out-hit the Cannibals 9-7 with Hernandez, Fletcher and Brandon Crawford getting two hits apiece. Alex Verdugo had a pair for HAC.
