After using a pair of one-run victories to edge the
Brooklyn Moabs in three games, the Cactus Division wild card-winning Frostbite
Falls went on the road: to Kansas, where the surprising St. Francis Kansans had
emerged as Grapefruit Division champs with a dominant stretch drive.
This
was the fifth straight trip to the postseason (and sixth overall in nine
campaigns), but it was unfamiliar territory for St. Francis GM Scott Hatfield
to earn a ‘bye’ as a divisional champion, and it definitely lent his club an
advantage over the visiting Squirrels, who had been forced to burn James
Paxton, Julio Teheran and Jake Arrietta in their nail-biting contest with the
Moabs.
As
such, Frostbite Falls GM Andrew Haynes would send out swingman Lance Lynn (8-4,
5.08 in 37 games) to match St. Francis ace Steven Strasburg. Originally drafted
by Hatfield at the end of the 2008 BARB draft, the often-brittle righthander
pitched too well down the stretch for the Kansans to pass up, and he was a
perfect 3-0 in six starts down the stretch to help Hatfield and Company win
their first divisional title!
But
that was then, and when Strasburg had trouble controlling the zone in the top
of the first, Mike Trout (BB) and Gary Sanchez (soft single) reached to begin
the game. But Strasburg, finding his stuff, bookended a long fly from the bat
of Evan Longoria with a pair of strikeouts (Harper, Goldschmidt) to escape the
drama.
That
brought up the powerful Kansans lineup, which had led the Grapefruit Division
with 976 runs in the regular season, and Lynn (0-1, 18.00) was in trouble from
the word ‘go’. Didi Gregorius hit a 2-1 pitch into the RF corner that Harper
had to leap at the wall to corral. With one out, Jose Altuve lined a double
where neither Harper or Trout could get to it. Justin Turner hit a 1-1 flare
over Kipnis’s glove to add a second runner, and J.D. Martinez CRUSHED a 2-2
offering for a 3-0 St. Francis lead. Bellinger just got under an 0-2 offering
that landed in Harper’s mitt. Hard contact, from five straight hitters. Lynn
finally put the string to bed by getting Ozuna to nub an easy one-hopper to
Longoria, but the damage was done:
ST. FRANCIS 3, FROSTBITE FALLS 0!
STRASBURG DOMINATES
Given
a lead, Strasburg dialed up the heat against the bottom of the Squirrels
lineup. Reddick chased a 3-2 to end the second, blew cheese past Lynn and Trout
to start the third, and struck out the side on just ten pitches in the fourth.
By that point, the Kansans
had done it to Lynn again: a sharp single from Altuve to lead off the bottom of
the third, an absolute BOMB from Justin Turner to score both of them, and a
solo shot from Bellinger!
With
a six-run lead, Strasburg (1-0, 1.50) became, for all purposes, unhittable. He
fanned Trout and Sanchez to end the fifth, and struck out the side AGAIN in the
sixth. In all, St. Francis fans hung 13 silhouettes of the state of Kansas
above the left-field bullpen (K’s . . . . get it?), as dominant a pitching
performance in any BARB post-season.
To
add insult to injury, the Kansans added another run when they loaded the bases
in the fifth off Tyson Ross, in relief of Lynn.
Frostbite
Falls finally got a run of its own in the top of the seventh. Strasburg, having
thrown 96 pitches, was allowed to start the frame, but Elvis Andrus lined a 2-2
pitch that fell in front of Kiermaier. The Squirrels managed to eke out a run
against St. Francis’s middle relief with a sac fly to get on the board, but
Cody Bellinger answered with a second solo HR in the bottom of the inning to
take any momentum away.
After
that, it was all St. Francis’s pen on display: in quick succession, Trevor
Cahill, Chris Devenski and Andrew Miller all put on shutdown innings, with the
game ending when pinch-hitter Justin Bour grounded a tailor-made double-play
ball: Altuve----to Gregorius---to Bellinger----GAME OVER:
FINAL: ST. FRANCIS 8, FROSTBITE FALLS 1
It
would be difficult to imagine a better start for the host Kansans: Justin
Turner went 4-for-4 with a bomb, Altuve doubled twice, Martinez started it all
with a first-inning blast, Cody Bellinger (2B, 2 HR) scored three of the club’s
runs. Meanwhile, Strasburg just handed the ball to the league’s best bullpen
(25 wins, 51 saves and three arms with 100-plus K’s in the regular
season!)----and the five arms combined for 15 K’s!
The
next game would also be at The Monastery. If the Squirrels were going to even
the series, they would need a big game from their surprising lefthander, James
Paxton(10-3, 2.36), in a marquee matchup with baffling southpaw Rich Hill
(12-6, 2.94). Stay tuned!
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