#2 Diamondbacks (16-8) vs. #8 Giants (13-12)
Season Head to Head:
Teams split season series 1-1, Giants won 7-0 via forfeit (15-9), DBacks won 17-6
Playoff Leaders
Diamondbacks
Nicholas Sauve .667 Avg, 1.417 OPS, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 4 R
JP Willner .625 Avg, 1.681 OPS, 1 2B, 1HR, 6 RBI, 3
Dylan Schaefer 1-0, 7IP, 3.00 ERA, 6 K, 1 CG
Giants:
Sid Gillies .545 Avg, 1.182 OPS, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 3 R
Steven Latos .500 Avg, 1.183 OPS, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R….1-0, 7 IP, 1.00 ERA, 8 K
Jack Varney .429 Avg, 0.841 OPS, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 1 R, 1 SB
Preview: The Diamondbacks dynasty continues on as they have got hot at the right time, disposing of the Wolfpack rather easily in Round 1. They have won 6 of the last 8 league titles and are looking to add some more hardware. There isn’t much to say here other than this team plays good baseball in all facets and has great depth.
The Giants meanwhile are riding high after knocking off the #1 seed Dukes in the Quarterfinals. We talked about their defense needing to show up in Round 1 and they did, committing only 1 error in the final 2 games of that series, both Giant victories. That trend will surely need to continue.
These teams met in last year’s Semi-Final, won by the DBacks 2-0. Both of the DBacks starting pitchers from that series have not played this season, though staff ace Tom Gayef has returned healthy. The Giants have been playing well and will not be an easy out, so this series could be interesting.
#5 White Sox (14-11) vs. #6 Dinos (14-11)
Season Head to Head:
Dinos won season series 2-1. Dinos won 10-0 & 10-5, White Sox won 5-4
Playoff Leaders
White Sox:
Brett Brittany .667 Avg, 2.026 OPS, 3 2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 R
Carlos Charmell .455 Avg, 1.098 OPS, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R
Taylor Kipnes 1-1, 13.0IP, 1.62 ERA, 11 K
Dinos:
Wyatt Rogi .556 Avg, 1.414 OPS, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 5 R, 1 SB
Dryden Harding .500 Avg, 1.283 OPS, 1 3B, 5 RBI, 3 R,
Jaydon Wielders 1-0, 7IP, 3.00 ERA 13K
Preview: The White Sox bats got hot when it counted in their opening round win over the Longhorns, scoring 10 runs in Game 3. Now they will look to avenge their season series loss to the Dinos. Their bats are likely going to need to lead the charge again as their team pitching staff may be thin with workhorse Jarvis Greiner at Senior Nationals and ace Taylor Kipnes on short rest.
Much like their opponent, the Dinos also got hot at the right time pumping out 17 runs in a decisive Game 3 win over the Canadians. They have a good mix of speed and power in their lineup and put the ball in play a ton, putting pressure on defenses. They do look to have one advantage with a few more arms available here.
Regardless, this series should have a lot of runs scored. It features the #2 and #3 ranked offenses going at it against the #7 & #8 ranked pitching staffs. Barring wind being a factor, it could be a good old fashioned slug fest.