0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
Altoona (Western Division champions; 82-60) vs. Harrisburg (Western Division Wild Card; 77-65)Altoona won the season series, 12-8.Game 1 at Altoona, Sept. 8 at 6:30 p.m. ETGame 2 at Altoona, Sept. 9 at 6:30 p.m. ETGame 3 at Harrisburg, Sept. 10 at 7:00 p.m ETGame 4 at Harrisburg (if necessary), Sept. 11 at 4:00 p.m. ETGame 5 at Altoona (if necessary), Sept. 12 at 5:00 p.m. ETAltoona clinched the Western Division title for the first time since 2004 and is playing in the postseason for the first time since '06. But the Curve had to wait until the last day of the regular season before their postseason opponent was revealed as Harrisburg edged Bowie for the Wild Card spot.The Senators are seeking their seventh EL title and first since Milton Bradley's walk-off grand slam gave them their fourth consecutive title in 1999.For Altoona second basemen Jim Negrych, the division title means a little something extra. Late last season, Negrych suffered a season-ending abdominal injury that briefly left him contemplating life without baseball."This is unbelievable -- to be sick and everything last year -- and from last year to go from the worst record in franchise history [62-80] to one of the best," Negrych told the Altoona Mirror when the team clinched. "It's a really special moment to win a division, but our goal is to win this whole thing and bring home a championship."This could be a low-scoring series as Harrisburg and Altoona hold the lowest team ERAs in the league.
Frederick (North Division first-half champions; 71-68) vs. Potomac (North Division second-half champions; 70-69)Frederick won the season series, 11-9Game 1 at Frederick, Sept. 8 at 7 p.m. ETGame 2 at Frederick, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. ETGame 3 at Potomac, Sept. 10 at 7:03 p.m. ETGame 4 at Potomac (if necessary), Sept. 11 at 6:35 p.m. ETGame 5 at Potomac (if necessary), Sept. 12 at 1:05 p.m. ETEven before a first-round playoff pairing with the Potomac Nationals was solidified, Frederick outfielder Ronnie Welty was pretty sure he knew what script the Carolina League Northern Division series would follow."It's a matter of doing the little things, bunting when we should, executing," said Welty. "When you've got runners on first and second with nobody out, move the runners over. A lot of times, the playoffs come down to one run, so the team that executes better is the team that usually wins."Frederick rolled in the first half, winning the Northern Division by nine games over Wilmington. But the second half was a disaster as the Keys finished in last and limped into the postseason minus key players like first baseman Joe Mahoney and Xavier Avery, who've jumped to Double-A Bowie.After such a grueling second half, Welty is thankful the Keys' first-round opponent in the Potomac Nationals, who are a short trip on the other side of Washington, D.C."Potomac is close," Welty explained, "so you won't be dragging, like you would if you had to travel more."Though they've never met in the postseason, the two teams have taken two of the past three league titles -- Frederick winning in 2007 and Potomac in 2008.Another wrinkle: Home-field advantage has meant little in their head-to-head series in 2010, as the visitor has won 13 of the 20 games.While pitching often dominates the Carolina League, a Frederick-Potomac first-round series shapes up to be an offensive showdown.Welty hit Potomac pitching to a .319 clip with seven homers and 17 RBIs. The Nationals feature slugging first baseman Tyler Moore, the Carolina League MVP after leading the loop in home runs and RBIs, and shortstop Jose Lozada, who battered Keys hurlers for a .346 average.Rivalry extended: When Frederick and Potomac meet in the first round, it will mark the first time a Baltimore Orioles affiliate has faced a Washington Nationals farm club in the postseason since the Montreal Expos relocated to Washington, D.C., before the 2005 season.
why 2 games then 3?
Logistics. Minor league teams don't have the luxuries of air travel.
Good luck to Harrisburg and Potomac. Tom Milone and Danny Rosenbaum will being getting the starts tonight versus Altoona and Frederick.
JMU alumni-That's not right. Sens scored five runs in that inning and Milone remains on the hill.
@JMUWhere did you get that big extended quote? It would be nice to tease, cite, and help whoever wrote it get some traffic for those kinds of things.
@JMU -Totally cool with the reporting. It was "both opposing pitchers have been pulled" that got me. I'm a big Milone fan, and I my heart would have skipped a bit if I wasn't listening. ;-)
Surprised Rosenbaum is getting torched. He's probably our best pitching prospect, no?
I might not even have him in the top 5. He only lasted an inning and was pulled after giving back 7 runs to the Keys. Patrick Lehman took over in the 2nd and the teams are now tied at 8 going into the 4th.
Calsgr8-Frederick is not but so hard to get to. I live in DC and I find Frederick much easier to get to than Potomac. Don't know where you're coming from. Frederick's a wild little bandbox and it's 8-7 after one inning with Rosenbaum on the bump for the P-Nats. I think he gave up a grand slam at then end of a rough inning. I'm listening to Harrisburg and I'll probably write some kind of summary over at Federal Baseball. Milone fell behind 3-0 after one. I believe he gave up a 2R HR and a Lombardozzi error led to an unearned run. Sens were down 3-0 after one. In the top of the second the Sens sent 10 men to the plate. Milone has settled down now and is back to his stuff defying strikeout self. Struck out four of five guys at one point. Don't know what his pitch count is now. He's on a 90-105 pitch limit according to the announcer. We'll see what happens for the Sens going forward, and I hope Milone can bridge to the better arms in the bullpen by going 6. Needs some quick innings for sure.
