Pinto Division
Giants 10, Reds 9
Offensively, the Giants were led by Andrew Bueno, who hit a two-run home run in the first inning to start the Giants’ scoring. Trenton Cisewski followed with an RBI double in the second inning. Justin Salgado hit a two-RBI single in the third inning, followed closely by Joey Trillo hitting an RBI single. Mitch Crowley scored a runner in the fourth inning on a sacrifice, and the Giants scoring ended in the fifth inning with Jackson Davis hitting an RBI sacrifice and Cody Holme slamming home two runners with a well hit single.
The Giants defense was tough all afternoon. In the first inning, pitcher Jaryd Pollard teamed with first baseman Andrew Bueno for all three outs. In the third inning, pitcher Joey Trillo fielded and threw out a runner.
The Giants recorded a double play in the fourth inning when shortstop Mitch Crowley fielded a grounder and doubled up the Reds runners on first base. Andrew Bueno made a grass-height grab of a fly ball in the sixth inning.
The Reds’ offensive effort was led by Curtis Theard, who hit RBI singles in the first and sixth innings; Garrett Taylor, who hit an RBI sacrifice in the second and an RBI single in the fifth; Ty Gardner, who hit a two RBI double in the fifth; and Kevin Nielson, who hit RBI singles in the first and fourth innings. Dylan Kral had an RBI single in the fifth inning, and Daniel Ancheta hit an RBI single in the fifth.
The Reds’ defense was tough to score against. In the first inning, shortstop Brett Kirchick fielded a grounder and tagged the runner coming from second base, and pitcher Ty Gardner robbed the Giants of a hit by catching a hot line drive. In the second inning, pitcher Kevin Nielson quickly fielded a dribbler down the first base line and tagged the runner, and second baseman Gardner fielded a sharply hit grounder and relayed to Curtis Theard on first base for the out.
The Reds recorded a double play of their own in the fifth inning when third baseman Gardner caught a fly ball and then threw to Kevin Nielson on first before the runner could get back.
Mustang Division
Angels 16, Rangers 3
The Angels beat the Rangers behind an all around strong team performance.
The Rangers led off the first inning scoring two runs with three hits, including a double from Steven Villarreal. The Angels countered with five runs. Hits included a triple by Anthony Biondi, and doubles by Ryan Webb and Ryan Hennings.
The Angels pitching and batting then dominated to go on a 11-1 run. Julio Aguayo of the Rangers doubled in the third inning, and Ben Hartl for the Angels tripled in the fourth inning.
Trevor Hickey of the Angels went 2-for-2, scoring three runs and pitching two innings. Angels Philip pitched two scoreless innings throwing only 13 pitches.
Yankees 19, Athletics 9
The No. 1 seeded Yankees won the first playoff game with a pitching effort of Tyler Kiefer and Nicholas Pusateri, who combined for 10 strikeouts. Every Yankee players scored at least one run. Tyler Martz led the team with four runs and also led the team defensively at first base, catching three line drives and making an unassisted play for play. Christian Theard also made a great catch at shortstop. Vince Barajas and Pusateri each scored three runs. Pusateri was a double short of the cycle, driving in six of the 19 Yankee runs.
The A’s came off the bench swinging and had 10 hits in the game. Bryant Gamboa led the Athletics with three hits including a home run in the sixth inning. Brian Gomez also connected for a home run in the same inning. Defensively, the A’s pitchers Gomez, Michael Garrett and Michael Grimmer combined for six strikeouts. Gomez also made some great plays at first base in the fourth inning with help from Garrett at shortstop and Grimmer on the mound.
Twins 9, Rangers 4
Kai Von hit a home run, and Chase Chadban had great diving catch in second inning for the Twins. Chadban, Von and Nick Price combined for 10 strikeouts. Leland McDonald went 3-for-4 for the Twins. Alexander Ukanwa reached base in the sixth inning and came around to score an insurance run. Bill Berry had a couple good innings on the mound for the Rangers. Eli Aguio, Berry and Conor Boulger scored runs for the Rangers. Catcher Anthony Villarreal had a great pickoff at third base.
Diamondbacks 10, Giants 4
The Diamondbacks beat the Giants for the third time this year. Kyle Mendez hit a triple for the Diamondbacks, and Tyler Schmidlin had two hits. Mark Harris stuck out seven batters. Richie Martinez caught two line drives – one with the bases loaded to get out of the inning. Jess Toraable made a nice catch in the outfield.
Giants Brett Fuller pitched well and also hit a double. Aaron Wallace pitched well in relief, and Kyle Dunne played well defensviely for the Giants.
Reds 15, Mets 11
The Reds defeated the Mets 15-11 in the first round of the playoffs. Leading the way for the hot hitting Reds was Andy Muller who went 4-for-4 with a double, four RBIs and two runs scored. Rhett Ramirez batted 3-for-4, blasting two triples and driving in three RBIs and scoring three runs. Mike Gallucci hit 3-for-3, lining two triples. Jacob Martin drilled an RBI single and scored once. Ryan Laird reached base three times including a double and walk, and scored twice. Ricky Clift and Chad Amundson went 2-for-3. Clayton Howard reached base twice with a single and walk and scored one run. Pierre Gerard and Brian Maggio each walked twice and scored one run. And Chris Houle walked and scored.
The Mets offense was led by Franky Palmer, who reached base four times hitting two singles and walking twice. Palmer drove in two RBIs and scored three runs. Matt Zarubi hit two singles with four RBIs and two runs scored. Kevin O’Rourke drilled an RBI triple, singled and scored. Ryan Roth and Patrick Tuttle singled and scored. Marcus Andrade reached base twice and scored two runs. And Evan Kennedy scored once also.
Reds starting pitcher Mike Gallucci pitched two strong innings to get the win. Rhett Ramirez pitched two effective middle innings for the Reds to get the game to Reds closer Andy Muller. Muller then preserved the win by retiring the Mets in the last two frames.
Reds 16, Braves 9
The Reds defeated the Braves in a 16-9 slugfest in the second round of the playoffs. The Reds hot hitting attack was led by Chad Amundson who belted a triple and two singles for three RBIs. Rhett Ramirez blasted a RBI double. Mike Gallucci hit two singles for three RBIs and scored two runs. Jacob Martin and Ryan Larid each hit a double and a single. Chris Houle reached base three times including a key RBI single. Andy Muller reached base three times including a single and scored twice. Clayton Howard walked twice and scored two runs. Pierre Gerard walked and scored a run. And Ricky Clift walked twice, and crushed a huge home run for the Reds early in the game.
The Braves resilient hitting attack was led by Travis Saenz, who tripled twice and doubled. Timmy Giles hit a double and single and scored twice. Colin Douglas doubled. Brandon Grose hit three singles. And David Rotter clubbed an RBI double and came around to score.
The defensive play of the game was turned in by Braves center fielder Tyler Lerma. Lerma made a diving catch on a sinking line drive robbing a hit away from the Reds and then fired a strike to second base to double off an advancing Reds base runner.
Reds starting pitcher Ricky Clift picked up the win with relief help from Mike Gallucci in the middle innings. And Andy Muller closed the game out to seal the victory.
Mets 15, Padres 6
Kevin O’Rourke was 4-for-4 with two triples and Frankie Palmer hit a home run for the Mets.
Bronco Division
Angels 10, Athletics 7
Michael Singleton pitched five inning, and JP Howard closed out the game for the Angels. Jefferey Roberts 3-for-4.
Robby Coy and Kevin Saign hit home runs, but it wasn’t enough to help the No. 1 A’s avoid the upset against the No. 4 team.
Yankees 15, Mariners 2
Yankees used three pitchers to defeat the Mariners. Rauley Cambra pitched three innings. Ryan Herraez pitched the middle three, and Ryan Williams closed the last inning.
Giants 10, Reds 8
The Giants opened it up in the sixth inning. With the score tied going into the bottom of the sixth, the Reds got the first two out, but then after three consecture walks, Bryan Bradley hit a hard hit grounder to score two runs. The giants scored two runs after that.
The Reds answered with two runs in the seventh with hits by Eric Sanchez and Sean LaBranche, who both eventually scored.
Tom Gallucci pitched four good innings for the Reds with seven strikeouts. And Alika Bantilan pitched four innings for the Giants, striking out seven. Sanchez went 2-for-4 for the Reds, and LaBranche was 3-for-4. Adam Galucci had a big triple for the Reds in the top of the fifth inning. Bantilan went 3-for-4 for the Giants, and Jaret Thomas was 2-for-4.
Both sides turned several double plays. Chris Bradley caught a hard line drive at shortstop in the fourth inning to prevent two runs from scoring. LaBranche caught a hard line drive at second to strand a run. Chris Bradley came in to close it out for the Giants. He allowed two runs in the final two innings.
Cardinals 7, Diamondbacks 4
John Nishita, who was voted MVP, had a key hit in the game that scored the tying run and then scored the go-head run for the Cardinals. Ross Donaghay had a great bunt and then scored an insurance run. Catcher Shea Adams threw out two runners at second base. Joe Foestieri pitched four shutout innings. Ronnie Pollard made two outstanding catches in center field. Catcher Cody Neet tagged out a runner in a close play at the plate as the runner tried to test Pollard’s arm and score from second. Matt Carroll pitched well for the Diamondbacks. Both the Braves and the Cardinals, who play on Wednesday, are 1-1 against each other this year.
Pony Division
Angels 15, Twins 0
In their first playoff game on Saturday, the Angels shut out the Twins, using excellent defense, sound pitching and the long ball. Anthony Guidry notched his fifth win of the season, pitching five innings with eight strikeouts. Kevin Grove came in to pitch the final two innings and allowed only two hits.
The Angels scored single runs in both the first and second innings. Billy Hill drew a one-out walk. And after stealing second and third, he scored on a error. In the second inning, Derek Campagna reached base on an error, and eventually scored on a balk. Meanwhile, Guidry was sailing along, as he struck out seven of his first 11 batters he faced. Catcher James Johnson threw out a base runner in the second inning to prevent a Twins rally. Johnson was just a single away from hitting for the cycle, as he went 3-for-5, with three runs scored and five RBI’s. Leadoff hitter Danny Nelson blasted an inside pitch over the left fielder for a home run in the fourth inning.
The Angels recorded two double plays in this game (six in their last three games). In the top of the fifth, with one out and runners on second and third, Twins slugger Eric Mendez hit a long fly ball to center fielder Grove, who threw a strike to Hill at the plate for the third out on the runner who had tagged up. In the top of the seventh, the Angels ended the game as first baseman Chris Sanine fielded a hard shot and threw to shortstop Jonathan Hughes for the second out. Hughes fired back to Nelson covering first base for the final out of the game.
For the Twins, Steven Davis, Vince Hatakeyama and Derek Pastorino all had base hits. Isaiah Martinez went 2-for-3 with a double. In addition to Johnson and Nelson, Guidry blasted a triple, and Hughes went 2-for-4 for the Angels’ offense. Hill and Grove also had base hits.
Yankees 8, Braves 7
In the first round of the Pony Division playoffs, the Yankees overcame four unearned runs by scoring the tying and winning runs in the last two innings to complete the comeback The Yankees will meet the Cardinals in the second round Tuesday.
In the first inning, the Braves’ Robert Barsanti hit a hard single with two outs. Blaine Sutton then hit a long homer to centerfield for two runs.
The Yankees came right back in their half of the first frame. Chris Barber led off with a single and Derrick Rinauro walked. With one out, Cameron Willis doubled, and Jim Molner bashed a triple. Timmy Davey brought Molner him with a well-placed grounder to second to make the score 4-2 for the Yanks.
In the second inning, Chris Nichols walked and scored on Mike Kozacek’s groundball. The Yankees countered with a triple by Barber that bounced off the Mustang fence. Michael Guio brought him home with a grounder.
The Braves took a 7-5 lead. Chris Arce walked and Christian Lam was safe on a throwing error. Barsanti struck out, but reached base on a passed ball. Sutton walked to force in a run. Three more runs scored when Nichols’ soft liner to the outfield was dropped.
After Sutton pitched a scoreless fifth inning, and the Yankees struck in the sixth to tie the game. Jake Plafker ignited the rally with a single, and Joey McGee walked. Robert Silva grounded hard to first base to drive in a run. McGee scored on a passed ball with his speed to tie the score at seven. Molnar led off the seventh by coaxing a walk and then stole second base. The Yankees loaded the bases with no outs. Blake Winzeler then won the game with a hard single up the middle.
The Yankee pitchers were tough throughout the game. Barber didn’t give up any hits in the four innings and struck out nine. Kenny Howell took the mound in the top of the seventh and struck out the first batter. Chris Wong singled and made it to third with one out. Howell then struck out the next two batters to preserve the tie going into the bottom of the inning.
Cardinals 6, A’s 2
The Cardinals scored four runs in the first inning and will advance to play the Braves. Stephen Smith doubled in the inning. Adam Perez and Edward Gomez both had singles to get the Cardinals started. Perez had a strong inning behind the plate and had two hits. Gomez pitched the first four inning and had two hits. Smith closed the game off.
Giants def Diamondbacks
