A battle of divisional foes. Went something like this …
Game 1 – Kershaw vs. Buchholz – Red Hill jumped out ahead early and did not look back. The first of two Nelson Cruz home runs landed in the bleachers in the first putting the Rollers up 3-0. Red Hill chased Clayton Kershaw after 2.1 innings and five earned runs. Clay Buchholz (6 ip) and J.P. Howell (3 ip) gave up just one hit (a Peter Kozma single) over nine scoreless frames en route to a 6-0 Rollers victory. WP – Buchholz (1-0); LP – Kershaw (1-2); Save – Howell (2)
Game 2 – Sanchez vs. Greinke – Milwaukee got on the board early when Chris Davis knocked in Hanley Ramirez for the game’s first run. Red Hill answered with a run-scoring single from Adam Lind in the fourth. A two-run blast by Chris Davis in the sixth put the Goiter ahead to stay. Milwaukee added an insurance run in the seventh to win 4-1. Anibal Sanchez fanned 12 allowing just one run over 6.2 frames. Four Milwaukee relievers closed out the Goiter victory. WP – Sanchez (2-0); LP – Greinke (1-2); Save – Uehara (3)
Game 3 – Miller vs. Medlen – Similar to the opening game of this series, Red Hill jumped on Milwaukee’s starter early. A four-run first and another run in the third sent Kris Medlen to the showers after just 2.1 frames. Nelson Cruz was at it again belting his third home run of the series. Stephen Drew (3-4) doubled three times and drove in a pair. Adam Lind (2-3) added a pair of hits and drove in a run in the 7-3 Rollers win. Both teams caught the injury bug with Red Hill losing Tyler Thornburg and Milwaukee Daniel Nava for the duration of the series. WP – Miller (3-0); LP – Medlen (1-1)
Game 4 – Kershaw vs. Buchholz – A combined six pitches left the yard between these two teams in what – on paper – appeared to be another marque pitching match-up. Milwaukee scored in five of the first six frames getting a pair of solo shots from Chris Davis (3) along with solo homers from Hanley Ramirez (2) and Victor Martinez (1). Red Hill got on the board in the sixth with an Ian Kinsler two-run tater. The Rollers chased Kershaw after 6+ frames following Nelson Cruz’ fourth homer of the series. Luke Hochevar, Mark Reynolds and Joaquin Benoit (2ip) closed out the 5-3 Goiter victory knotting the series at 2-2. WP – Kershaw (2-2); LP – Buchholz (1-1); Save – Benoit (1)
Game 5 – Sanchez vs. Greinke – Scoreless through 3 1/2 before Milwaukee rolled the dice with a Tony Abreu suicide squeeze to plate Hanley Ramirez and the game’s first run. Red Hill responded in the sixth with an RBI single off the bat off the game’s lead-off hitter – and Red Hill starting pitcher – Zack Greinke. Milwaukee answered in the bottom half of the frame when Coco Crisp knocked in Victor Martinez with the game’s final run. Anibal Sanchez fanned 12 for the second straight game allowing just five hits and a single run in the complete game 2-1 Goiter victory. WP – Sanchez (3-0); LP – Greinke (1-3)
Game 6 – Medlen vs. Miller – Milwaukee jumped on the board early thanks to a two-run shot by Josh Donaldson in the first. Red Hill answered with three in the third highlighted by an Andrew McCutchen homer and Nelson Cruz’ fifth blast of the series. The Goiter added three more in the sixth, two in the seventh and one more in the eighth. The Rollers made things interesting in the ninth, but Milwaukee held on to an 8-4 win advancing to its second World Series in franchise history. WP – Medlen (2-1); LP – Parnell (0-1)
Tough series. Congrats to Bill and the Rollers on another great season.