Still, Brownsville shows promise in
playoff debut
GAME TWO
With Yuma leading the series, 1-0, after
a nail-biting 3-1 Game One, the Cutters put young righty Jose Fernandez on the
hill to face David Price. Price got himself into trouble right away by walking
two batters in the top of the first, but only one run scored. That run almost
didn’t cross the plate, but Michael Cuddyer beat Price to first on a slow
roller with two out for the single and RBI.
BROWNSVILLE
1, YUMA 0
The lead extended to three in the
fourth, as Cuddyer, Manny Machado and Evan Gattis lashed a double-single-double
in succession. The inning ended with Gattis stranded at third base, and that
unscored potential run would loom large as the game progressed.
BROWNSVILLE
3, YUMA 0
Yuma got one of the runs back with the
first hitter in their half of the fourth, Andrew McCutchen. After his offense
managed a lone single against Fernandez the first time through the order,
“Cutch” took matters into his own hands and crushed an 0-1 slider deep into the
desert night.
BROWNSVILLE
3, YUMA 1
With that bomb the pitchers seemingly
changed roles. Price got out of a two-on, one-out jam the next inning and
settled down for a shutdown sixth before handing it to the bullpen. Fernandez,
meanwhile, didn’t make it out of the fifth inning. The only out he recorded in
the frame was a strikeout of Price, but only after his counterpart worked the
count full. The big hits contributing to the three runs were a Brian Dozier
leadoff solo shot, Andrelton Simmons double and Joey Votto two-run double to
take the lead.
YUMA
4, BROWNSVILLE 3
With the lead, the Firebirds bullpen did
its job, allowing just two runners over the final three innings for the victory
and 2-0 series lead.
FINAL:
YUMA 4, BROWNSVILLE 3
GAME THREE
The first divisional-round playoff game
at Cockerton Field saw the hosts get off to a fast start. Brownsville’s offense
came out hot against Carlos Carrasco with a walk, single and Alex Rodriguez
three-run homer.
BROWNSVILLE
3, YUMA 0
The Cutters extended their lead on a
Machado solo shot in the sixth.
Edinson Volquez was in control, facing
just four batters over the minimum through six. He tired in the seventh and was
pulled after a Dozier homer and a Steve Pearce walk. Five relievers picked up
the final three frames, and Machado added an insurance run in the eighth with
his second jack of the contest to put Brownsville on the board in the series
and hopefully give them momentum to pull off the upset.
FINAL:
BROWNSVILLE 5, YUMA 1
GAME FOUR
Let’s just say this one was over almost
before it began. Some Brownsville fans were seen leaving the stadium…in the top
of the first inning.
Cutters ace Core Kluber was the home
squad’s starting pitcher, and he almost didn’t get three outs.
On the second pitch of the ballgame,
Votto laced a triple to right-center. McCutchen brought him home with a double
and Corey Seager tallied an RBI with a bouncer up the middle. After a pop out,
Michael Brantley lined a double down the line and Dozier was walked
intentionally to create a force at every base. Kluber got ahead of Pearce at
1-2, but a changeup didn’t drop and the slugger didn’t miss. In just a matter
of seconds Pearce was slowly trotting around the bases and the Brownsville
crowd was dead silent.
It was safe to say the Brownsville momentum
gained in a Game Three win was lost less than 30 pitches into Game Four. Kluber
erased the next two hitters, but the damage was done.
YUMA
6, BROWNSVILLE 0
While Kluber was setting down the
Firebirds in order the next two innings, his offense was threatening their own
big inning against Gerrit Cole. Runners reached first and third with two out in
the bottom of the first, but a harmless grounder ended the chance. The Cutters got
on the scoreboard in the second as George Springer doubled (his first hit of
the entire series), advanced on a groundout and score on a Cole wild pitch.
YUMA
6, BROWNSVILLE 1
Other than that, Brownsville hit some balls
hard but directly at Yuma fielders. The Firebirds added to their lead in the
fourth (Cole solo home run) and sixth (Brantley infield single after Kluber was
knocked out of the game).
YUMA
8, BROWNSVILLE 1
As the game went on the crowd thinned
out. Those who stayed got to watch one of their young stars, Machado, homer twice
for the second game in a row (both solo shots, as in Game Three). Yuma added two
runs on an eighth inning single, and Jeff Samardzija and David Robertson closed
out the final three innings to send Yuma back to the BARB World Series.
FINAL:
YUMA 10, BROWNSVILLE 3
An anticlimactic ending to what was, for
the first three games, an exciting series. In an unusual move, officials gave
the MVP award to a player on the losing team. Yuma’s performance was
well-rounded, but no one player stood out. Brownsville’s Machado, on the other
hand, demolished Firebird pitching to the tune of a .467 average, five home
runs, six RBI and seven runs scored (the team scored 12 as a whole in four
games). “What might have been” was the cry for the Grapefruit wild card, as
they saw Springer, Gattis and A.J. Pollock combine to go 4-for-46.
The Cactus division champs, however,
felt they were on a roll heading into a World Series showdown of division
winners. Yuma would surely be the favorite in their quest for a fourth World
Championship, and second straight.
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