MLB Tournament of Champions: ALDS Series 2

The MLB Tournament of Champions continues as we resume the Division Series round of the playoffs!

Every series has gotten its own post for each series to get the spotlight, and giving me a chance to go in depth on each game, something I couldn't do during the regular season due to sheer volume. Here in a short series though, it's easy to bring focus onto a handful of games, especially in this critical series.

The 2001 Seattle Mariners are one contender in this set, fresh off a two game sweep of the 1970 Baltimore Orioles thanks to a walk off walk in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. They won 52 games in the regular season and threatened the AL West title, but couldn't quite pull it off. The sweep puts them just 11 wins away from the promised land, something they fell short of in that legendary 2001 campaign.

They take on the 1995 Cleveland Indians, the best team in the American League from the regular season. Cleveland spent much of April in second place looking up at the 1984 Detroit Tigers before surging into first place in May, then running away with the division, ending up as the first team to punch their postseason ticket, and the first to clinch their division. They even spent some time with the best record in the tournament thanks to a potent lineup and strong starting rotation.

Like many of the postseason matchups, the Indians and Mariners ended up splitting their six games in the regular season, which means this is anyone's series. However, by virtue of having the best record in the AL, the Indians have home field advantage, which will be played in a 2-2-1 format. I am also keeping stats this postseason, which you can view by series and in aggregate here. All simulations are provided by WhatIfSports.com. Let's play some playoff baseball!


Monday, July 24th

Game 1
@ '95 CLE 6, '01 SEA 2
W: Ogea (1-0) | L: Moyer (0-1)

The two teams didn't get anything going in the first two innings, but Seattle changed that in the third as with two outs, Ichiro Suzuki singled, stole second, then scored when Mark Mclemore lined one into the seats for a two run homer. Cleveland responded immediately, as Sandy Alomar led off the bottom half of the inning with a solo blast to make it 2-1 Seattle. Indians starter Chad Ogea settled in after the Mclemore homer, retiring seven straight batters and getting a lead in the bottom of the fifth when Omar Vizquel hit a one out single, stole both second and third, then scored when Kenny Lofton went deep to make it 3-2 Cleveland. The Mariners got the first two men on to start the sixth, but a double play helped end the threat and maintain the lead, and Cleveland added three more runs on an Alomar single, Vizquel double, and Lofton sac fly. The Indians turned it over to the bullpen from there, which wasn't really threatened en route to a Game 1 victory.

Ogea threw six strong innings and probably could have gone longer, but settled for allowing two runs on four hits, walking one and striking out five. Lofton drove in three runs for the Indians, Vizquel went 3-3 with two doubles, three stolen bases, two runs scored, and an RBI, and Alomar finished 2-4 with a homer, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Ichiro had three of Seattle's six hits, including a double, Mclemore had the big blow with a two run homer, and starter Jamie Moyer took the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits in six innings, walking three and striking out five.

Tuesday, July 25th

Game 2
@ '95 CLE 4, '01 SEA 2
W: Martinez (1-0) | L: Pineiro (1-1) | SV: Mesa (1)

Seattle spent the first several innings of Game 2 getting runners on base, including putting men on first and third with nobody out in the second, but couldn't cash in on any opportunities, leaving six men on base in the first four innings, then in the bottom of the fourth Cleveland broke through as Albert Belle launched a solo home run to lead off the frame. The Mariners left two men on in the sixth, and the Indians capitalized on a chance of their own in the bottom half as Belle tripled home Kenny Lofton, though the Indians would leave two more men on. The in the bottom of the seventh, Cleveland loaded the bases with one out, and with two down, Belle came through again with a two run single up the middle to make it 4-0. Seattle finally broke through in the top of the eighth on a David Bell two run single to cut Cleveland's lead in half, but that was all they could muster, as Eric Plunk ended the threat after that, and Jose Mesa worked a perfect ninth to give the Indians a 2-0 series lead.

Belle finished the day 3-4 a double shy of the cycle and knocked in all four Cleveland runs. Lofton went 1-2 with two walks and a run scored, all in support of Dennis Martinez, who lasted 7 2/3 innings allowing two runs on nine hits, walking two and striking out six. Joel Pineiro took the loss for Seattle despite a quality start of six innings allowing two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out four. Bret Boone went 3-4 with a run scored, and Bell went 2-3 with both Seattle RBIs.

Thursday, July 27th

Game 3
'95 CLE 2, @ '01 SEA 1 (16)
W: Black (1-0) | L: Rhodes (1-1) | SV: Mesa (2)

A marathon game came to an end early this morning after both teams had to scratch and claw to get runs on the board. Seattle actually scored first in the bottom of the fourth as Bret Boone doubled, reached third on a passed ball, and after a walk, scored on a fielder's choice. Meanwhile, Freddy Garcia was dealing and seemed poised to make that run stand up until the top of the seventh when Albert Belle struck again, launching a solo home run to tie the game. Garcia limited the damage to that, with the Mariners leaving four runners stranded over the next three innings as the game went to extras. Cleveland had chances in the 10th, 11th, and 12th, but Garcia escaped all those jams while Seattle missed out on a chance in the 11th. With the game being in the hands of the bullpens, the Indians couldn't cash in in the 14th or 15th when presented opportunities, and after the Mariners left the bases loaded in the 15th, Cleveland finally got back on the board when Manny Ramirez hit a one out single and scored on a two out double by Paul Sorrento. Seattle had one last desperate chance in the bottom of the 16th, getting two runners on with only one out, but Jose Mesa retired the final two men he faced to escape with the save and a sweep for the Indians.

Charles Nagy threw eight brilliant innings of one run ball allowing five hits, walking two, and striking out eight, while the bullpen combined to throw eight scoreless innings allowing seven hits, walking three and striking out ten. Belle went 2-7 with the game-tying home run in the seventh, Ramirez went 3-6 and scored the series-winning run, and every other starter had one hit for Cleveland. Garcia did all he could in the elimination game for the Mariners, going an eye-popping 12 innings allowing just one run on six hits while walking two and striking out four. Ichiro Suzuki and Mike Cameron each went 3-8, while Bret Boone went 2-7 with Seattle's only run, though he did earn a Golden Sombrero in the loss.

To see the updated bracket, click here.

Congratulations to the 1995 Cleveland Indians, who complete the sweep of the 2001 Seattle Mariners and advance to the ALCS! They will take on the 2011 Texas Rangers, who finished off the 2004 Boston Red Sox in four games yesterday. Their series will begin on Monday as we await the National League matchup result between the 1975 Cincinnati Reds and 2016 Chicago Cubs. I will have those results posted at the conclusion of the series. Check back in a couple days to see who won that series and what the NLCS matchup will be in the MLB Tournament of Champions!