NLCS Recap: The Titans seemed to be cruising against the Lake Shores, taking a commanding 3-0 series lead and outscoring their opponents a resounding 17-2 in those three games. Cleveland showed the hearts of a champion though, and wouldn't go down quietly. They won the next two games, and started to put the pressure back on Milwaukee. The Titans responded with an exclamation point in Game 6 though. They routed the Lake Shores 12-2 to win the franchise's 3rd NL Pennant and the 2nd in as many seasons. The Titan offense has struggled a bit these playoffs though, against higher caliber pitching. The team that was ranked 3rd in the NL in scoring, and led the NL in home runs, has only mustered up a .305 team OBP during the postseason. Alberto Lima has been the exception and has carried the lineup. He leads his team in nearly every offensive category these playoffs: hits, doubles, home runs, RBI, AVG, and SLG. He is hitting .362 with 4 HR and 11 RBI in 11 games. As much as the offense has struggled, the pitching has been that good. The team playoff ERA is 2.79. Lonny Sanchez, in particular, has really stepped up. He is 2-0 in his 3 starts. He has thrown 20 innings with a 1.80 ERA.
ALCS Recap: For the third straight season, the Revolution have met and defeated their division rival from Philadelphia in the ALCS. This last series (and last season's 5-game series in the NLDS with Norfolk) have really been the toughest tests for a Revolution team that has been outright dominant over the last 3 seasons, especially in the playoffs. The first four games especially were very tight, very hotly contested and could have gone either way. In those first 4 games, each side won 2. Three of the four games were decided by a single run and the fourth was decided by 2 runs. Three of those games also went into extra innings: 11-innings, 10-innings and 12-innings. It looked to be the start of possibly the greatest playoff series the SPL had ever seen. But the Revolution took control of the series in the last two games winning by 5 runs and 6 runs. Philly's heart was broken yet again. Many fans (and media pundits) thought that it would be the Stomp this season that would finally end the dynasty in Baltimore. Instead, the Baltimore faithful continue to proudly wear their "Join the Revolution" T-shirts. A number of players have been hitting well for Baltimore. Aurelio Diaz, Alex Chen, Jung-Lee Martin and Deivi Borges are all hitting over .300 in the playoffs. Borges also leads the team in HR with 6 and RBI with 15. Surprisingly, MVP favorite Bruce Donovan, has been a near no-show. He is only hitting .154 and has 0 home runs. On the mound, it has been all about Tony Espinosa and Sammy Aquino. In their 6 starts, they have a combined 3-0 record. In their 39.2 postseason innings, they have only allowed 2 ER (one each) for an ERA of 0.45. Fans have noticed that the offseason's $100M man, Randy Muelens, has yet to throw a single pitch these playoffs. Many are quietly tossing around the word, "bust." It shows just how deep this team is when they can keep a 4-time All Star buried in their bullpen.
Editors' Pick: Round Three. These two franchise's square off in the World Series for the second consecutive season, and the third time overall. In Season 12, it was the Titans who pulled off the huge upset for the franchise's 1st (and so far, only) World Series title. Last season, the Revolution were able to avenge their Season 12 loss and win their third consecutive title. Both pitching staffs are very good, but Baltimore's lineup is unmatched in the league. Its also troubling that Milwaukee's lineup has struggled so far these playoffs and that Baltimore will be the best rotation they've seen thus far. On Baltimore's side, Espinosa and Aquino are pitching out of their minds. If those two continue to pitch even close to as well as they have thus far, it'll be four-in-a-row for the Rev. Baltimore wins in six.
