November 27, 2018 -- World Series Wrap-Up

Aaaarrrrgggghhhh!

Shiver me timbers! Pirates' pitching keelhauls Athletics' offense to claim 2018 Redwood SOM Championship

The Athletics' 2018 offense was impressive indeed. Majestic. Unbeatable. Unsinkable. Truly, the Titanic of baseball offenses.

But the Pirates' pitching in the 2018 Redwood SOM World series was a very large iceberg. An offense that was shut out only three times during the entire 2018 season suffered two shutouts in six games against the Pirates staff, and completed the last 24 innings of 2018 without scoring so much as a run. Blimey!

Game One: Pirates (Lucas Giolito) at Athletics (James Paxton). The game was tight all the way, scoreless through six and a half innings. Pirates starter Lucas Giolito carried a no-hitter into the bottom of the seventh inning, and had just struck out Bryce Harper. Everyone, including Athletics management, was honoring the great unwritten rule of baseball that a pending no-hitter not be commented upon. Then, someone in the booth (who shall remain unnamed, so that he might suffer the shame and indignity in solitude, although he is league commissioner for goodness' sake) piped up with "Hey, has he even given up a hit yet?" Immediately, Kris Bryant and Alex Avila delivered back-to-back dingers to stake the Athletics to a 2-0 lead. The Pirates tied it up in the top of the eighth on a Josh Reddick double, a single and stolen base by Charlie Blackmon, and a single by Chris Taylor. But in the bottom of the eighth, the Athletics' Adam Eaton got on base with a fielder's choice, Rhys Hoskins was safe on a rare error by Freddy Freeman, and Harper went deep with a three-run shot to put the Athletics up 5-2. Roberto Osuna preserved the win in the ninth and the Athletics were up one game to none. Pat Neshek was the winning pitcher in relief of Paxton; Giolito took the loss with an assist from the booth; and Osuna notched the save. Athletics lead one game to zero.  

Game Two: Pirates (Stephen Strasburg) at Athletics (Yu Darvish). This one was all Pirates from the start, as they scored early and often on Darvish. The game was over in the top of the first inning, with the Pirates plating six runs before the first out was recorded. Taylor's three-run homer was the highlight, and the Pirates ended up with a seven-spot in the top of the first before the Athletics had so much as an at bat. Darvish did settle down after that, the Pirates scoring just two more runs the rest of the way on a seventh-inning homer by Freeman. But the Athletics never got back in the game, despite two home runs by Harper. Final score 9-3 Pirates. Strasburg gets the complete-game win; Darvish the well-deserved loss. Series tied one game each. 

Game Three: Athletics (Kyle Hendricks) at Pirates (Max Scherzer). The Athletics got off to a quick start in the Pirates’ home park, picking up a run in the top of the third on two singles (Hendricks, Corey Seager) and a double (Eaton). They added two more in the top of the fifth, as Eaton doubled and Avila walked, both eventually scoring on Seager’s single. A pinch-single by George Springer in the top of the eighth plated Billy Hamilton, and Seager singled again to score Kurt Suzuki in the top of the ninth. Meanwhile the Athletics pitchers combined on a shutout. Starter Kyle Hendricks lasted just three innings, during which kept getting into, and out of, jams; in the first inning, for example, the Pirates loaded the bases with no outs, only to be thwarted by a Jorge Alfaro strikeout and a Freeman double-play ground ball. The Athletics bull pen managed things the rest of the way, as Neshek, Brad Hand and Addison Reed kept the Pirates at bay. Final score 6-0 Athletics. Neshek gets the win in relief of Hendricks; Scherzer takes the loss. Athletics lead series two games to one.

Game Four: Athletics (Rich Hill) at Pirates (Seth Lugo). The Pirates had Hill’s number on this one, as they put up a quick three-spot in the first inning on singles by Kolton Wong and Blackmon, followed by doubles by Freeman and Wil Myers. The Athletics, however, quickly tied it up in the top of the second, sparked once again by a hey-he-hasn’t-given-up-a-hit-yet remark from the Commissioner. Immediately, just like in Game One, the Athletics smacked back-to-back dingers, this time a two-run shot by Bryant and a solo shot by Seager. They took a one-run lead in the top of the third, as Eaton walked, stole second, and scored on Harper’s single. It was to be the last run the Athletics scored in the series. Athletics management, after swearing that Hill would be removed at the first sign of trouble, stayed with him one batter too long in the bottom of the fourth, allowing Freeman to blast a three-run shot plating Reddick and Wong, giving the Pirates a 6-4 lead. The Pirates added another run in the fifth, when Andrelton Simmons walked, stole two bases and scored on Reddick’s sacrifice fly ball. Adam Warren kept the Athletics quiet the rest of the way. Final score 7-4 Pirates. Lugo gets the win; Hill the loss. Series tied at two games each.

Game Five: Athletics (James Paxton) at Pirates (Lucas Giolito). This time the Commissioner kept his mouth shut, and Giolito made a single Pirates run in the first inning hold up as he spun a complete-game, three-hit shutout. The only run of the game came on Blackmon’s first-inning single, scoring Jose Altuve, who had singled himself and stolen second. And that was it! Paxton and Osuna held the Pirates scoreless the rest of the way, but it didn’t matter as Gioilito allowed just a single Athletics runner past second base. The Athletics did get runners at first and third with no outs in the second inning, but failed to score. Their only other threat came in the eighth, with a lead-off double by Harper, but he was stranded at second as Giolito retired Bryant, Avila and Seager without incident. The Athletics suffered another key injury, losing Springer for a game to go with the already-injured Michael Conforto and Eugenio Suarez. Final score 1-0 Pirates. Giolito with the win; Paxton with the hard-luck loss. Pirates lead series three games to two.

Game Six: Pirates (Stephen Strasburg) at Athletics (Yu Darvish). Strasburg improved on Giolito’s three-hit shutout with a two-hit shutout of his own. The Athletics never really threatened to score in this one, as they managed only five base runners, only one of whom made it as far as third base (on a double-play grounder with runners at first and second). The Pirates, meanwhile, stole Darvish blind (that’s what a +5 hold will do for you). In the second, Altuve walked, stole second, stole third, and scored on Starling Marte’s single. Marte then stole second and scored on Simmons’s single. Blackmon added a solo dinger in the third. Strasburg helped himself out with his own solo shot (his second of the series) in the fifth. The Pirates tacked on one more absolutely unnecessary run in the eighth on three singles and a Bryant error. Final score 5-0 Pirates. Strasburg gets the complete-game win; Darvish the loss. Pirates win series four games to two.

All in all the Pirates utterly shut down the Athletics’ previously-impressive offense. A few telling stats: Athletics team batting average was .151, team OBP just .249. Rhys Hoskins, who hit 28 home runs in the 80-game regular season, with an OBP of .348, went 0 for 22 in the series, with an OBP of .154 due to a couple of walks. Other Athletics stalwarts were equally unavailing in the series: Bryant batted .174; Eaton .136; Avila .062. You get the picture.

Strasburg, after winning MVP honors in the playoff series against the Yankees, did it again in the World Series. As a pitcher he went 2-0 with a 1.50 ERA and a WHIP of 0.50. As a hitter he batted .286 with two dingers in 7 at bats. 

Congratulations to the 2018 Redwood SOM Champion Pirates!       

Final 2018 Regular Season Standings

Larry Division

1. x-Athletics (49-31), .613, 0.0 GB
2. Mets (38-42), .475, 11.0 GB
3. Red Sox (33-47), .413,  16.0 GB

Moe Division

1. x-Giants (44-36), .550, 0.0 GB
2. Reds (40-40), .500, 4.0 GB
3. Cardinals (31-49), .388, 13.0 GB

Curly Division

1. x-Yankees (46-34), .575, 0.0 GB
2. y-Pirates (45-35), .563, 1.0 GB
3. Rockies (34-46), .425, 12.0 GB

x - Clinched Division Championship
y - Clinched Wild Card

Post-Season Madness 2018

Divisional Playoffs

Athletics (Number 1 seed) vs. Giants (Number 4 seed)
Athletics win series 4 games to 0
MVP: Rhys Hoskins

Yankees (Number 2 seed) vs. Pirates (Number 3 seed)
Pirates win series 4 games to 3
MVP: Stephen Strasburg

2018 World Series

Athletics (Number 1 Seed) vs. Pirates (Number 3 Seed)
Pirates win series 4 games to 2
MVP: Stephen Strasburg

2019 Draft Order

1. Cardinals
2. Red Sox
3. Rockies
4. Mets
5. Reds
6. Giants
7. Yankees
8. Athletics
9. Pirates

Next action: Hot stove action begins now! See you in Bodega in February!