Avast and Shiver me Timbers! Pirates Sweep Cardinals to Win 2022 World Series
With overwhelming starting pitching and timely big hits, the Pirates raped and pillaged the Cardinals in the 2022 World Series, keelhauling the Birds with a four-game plank-walking swabbing of the deck (that's a sweep in Pirate-talk).
Game 1: Pirates (Max Scherzer) at Cardinals (Freddie Peralta): Game 1 was all about Mad Max, as he silenced Cardinal bats until the game was out of hand. The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth, when the Pirates sent ten batters to the plate and scored four runs. The highlight (if you’re a Pirates fan anyway) was Fernando Tatis Jr.’s three-run dinger, plating Brandon Nimmo and Nicky Lopez ahead of him. The Pirates kept it up in the sixth, chasing Peralta with a Nimmo single, followed by a Tatis single, and then a two-run triple off reliever Colin McHugh by Brian Reynolds. The Cardinals managed to score in the eighth on a solo shot by Michael Brantley, and the ninth on a two-run shot by Freddie Galvis, but it wasn’t enough. Mad Max gets the win with a six-hit complete game, and Peralta takes the loss. Pirates lead series 1 game to zero.
Game 2: Pirates (Spencer Turnbull) at Cardinals (Corbin Burnes): Once again the Pirates starter goes the distance, making the Pirates bullpen into a bunch of spectators. The Cards did get to enjoy their first lead of the series, as Brandon Crawford delivered a two-run homer in the bottom of the first, scoring Garrett Cooper ahead of him. But a two-run shot by Bad Vlad Guerrero Jr. tied it up in the third. And then in the top of the sixth, the Pirates exploded with a six-spot, featuring a Tatis salami, as they again sent ten batters to the plate. The Cards fought back in the bottom of the inning, on a Myles Straw dinger followed by an RBI double off Matt Olson’s bat, but that was it for the Cardinals offense. Meanwhile the Pirates added single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, including a Tatis double and a triple by Jorge Alfaro. Final score 11–4 Pirates, Turnbull with a complete-game four-hitter for the win, and Burnes with the loss. Pirates lead series 2 games to zero.
Game 3: Cardinals (Brandon Woodruff) at Pirates (Lucas Giolito): Again the Pirates jump all over a Cardinals starter. In the second inning, Manny Machado starts off the scoring with a two-run homer, and Jake Cronenworth adds a triple, followed by an Alfaro double, as the Pirates put up four runs. Machado and Alfaro do it again in the fourth, with another dinger by the former and another double by the latter, staking the squad to a 6–0 lead. The Cards respond in the bottom of the inning, manufacturing a run on a Crawford single and stolen base, and an RBI single by Justin Turner. And they added single runs in each of the next two innings on solo shots by Straw and Crawford, but that was it, and the Pirates held on to win it 6–3. Still no sightings of the Pirate bullpen, as Giolito gets the complete-game, five-hit win, and Woodruff takes the loss. Pirates lead series 3 games to zero.
Game 4: Cardinals (Aaron Civale) at Pirates (Tristan McKenzie): If the playoffs were any guide, you would think the Cards had the Pirates just where they wanted them. But the Pirates quickly put hopes of another miracle in serious doubt, as Nimmo scored Lopez ahead of him with a two-run shot in the top of the first. And that was it, as McKenzie, with the help of a very well-rested Pirates bullpen, shut out the Cards, scattering seven hits. Not that it was easy; in the top of the ninth, down by two runs, the Cards loaded the bases with nobody out. But closer Adam Cinder slammed the door, recording the final three outs of the series strikeout-flyout-groundout—and the Pirates were home, with a 2–0 victory and a World Series sweep. McKenzie gets the win, Civale the tough-luck loss. Pirates win series 4 games to zero.
With some well-timed big hits, Jorge Alfaro won MVP honors for the Pirates, although there was plenty of competition in an overwhelming team effort.
Congratulations to the 2022 SOM Champion Pirates!
Final Regular Season Standings
Larry Division
- x-Yankees (46-34), .575, 0.0 GB
- y-Athletics (45-35), .563, 1.0 GB
- Red Sox (32-48), .400, 14.0 GB
Moe Division
- x-Pirates (46-34), .575, 0.0 GB
- Giants (40-40), .500, 6.0 GB
- Reds (35-45), .438, 11.0 GB
Curly Division
- x-Cardinals (48-32), .600, 0.0 GB
- Rockies (41-39), .513, 7.0 GB
- Mets (27-53), .338, 21.0 GB
x-Clinched division championship
y-Clinched wild card
Divisional Playoffs
Cardinals (Number 1 seed) vs. Athletics (Number 4 seed)
Cardinals win series 4 games to 3
MVP: Brandon Crawford
Pirates (Number 2 seed) vs. Yankees (Number 3 seed)
Pirates win series 4 games to 2
MVP: Max Scherzer
World Series
Cardinals (Number 1 seed) vs. Pirates (Number 2 seed)
Pirates win series 4 games to 0
MVP: Jorge Alfaro
2023 Draft Order
1. Mets
2. Red Sox
3. Reds
4. Giants
5. Rockies
6. Athletics
7. Yankees
8. Cardinals
9. Pirates
Next: Hot stove action starts now! See you in Bodega!
