Loggers Win "Brothers in the Boat" Series, Advance to World Series

The much-maligned Maine Logger franchise has been waiting for a World Series winner since 1994, but they had put themselves in good position by clinching home field with the league's best record.  Now, the fans were frothing at the mouth as the much more famous and successful franchise directly to their south was having to travel to the Lowe's Lumber Dome for the first two games.  But these weren't your daddy's Boston Bobcats.  There was no Alex Rodriguez or David Ortiz to throw fear into the opponent.  Managerial brothers, Steve and Andy Willnus, good friends in real life, would have to set aside that friendship for this week.

Game One was over before fans could even get settled in.  Boston went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, and anticipation was in the air as the Loggers came to bat in the bottom of one against Luis Severino.  Maine had the worst team batting average in the league (.223), but had drawn the most walks of any team.  That patience paid off immediately, as both Aaron Hicks and DJ Lemahieu walked to start the frame.  Up stepped part-timer Kerry Carpenter, and he wasted little time, lacing the first pitch he saw in his playoff career off the right field wall for a double.  Up stepped the man who was involved in the trade that sent Tyler Glasnow to Boston in exchange for the last pick of the first round in 2022 - the Loggers used that pick to select stud RF Adolis Garcia.  And Garcia sent the Maine fans into an absolute frenzy by launching a 3-run monster blast to left that even bat-flipping Jose Bautista would have been proud of.  With two down, light hitting Gio Urshella got himself a fastball down Broadway and did not miss it, homering to increase the advantage to 5-0.  Boston managed to respond, with three runs in the top of the second including a two-run shot by Drew Waters.  Then, it was the Martin Perez show.  Perez has shuttled between countless Friendship League teams over the years, but found a home in Maine, winning 10 games this year.  He was more than ready for his moment on the big stage - he shut down Boston for the next six scoreless innings.  And then with the score still 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, here came that bad man to the plate again.  Adolis Garcia launched a second three-run homer into the Maine night sky, causing the local college in Bangor, Maine to register a small earthquake of 2.7 on the Richter Scale.  Maine wins 8-3.  Garcia goes 3-4 with 2 HR's and 6 RBI.

Game Two started almost exactly the same way.  Boston went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, and the fireworks were launching from the digitized scoreboard in left-center in the bottom of the inning.  This time it was 2023 first-round pick Gunnar Henderson doing the damage, launching a 2-run shot to the give the Loggers the lead.  DJ Lemahieu, a trade acquisition three years ago, got into the fray, hitting a homer of his own in the third inning to give Maine a 3-0 lead.  With the man who finished third in the Cy Young voting on the mound, Maine was in control.  Jose Urquidy went eight strong innings, allowing one run on five hits , before handing the ball to Cy Young winner Jason Adam for the ninth.  Adam had a scare.  With two down and a runner on first, Ty France made a bid to tie the game, with a HR 1-5, Flyout 6-20.  With his back to the left field wall, Akil Baddoo watched the ball descend safely into his glove (a 16 on the split die) for the final out, and a 3-1 win.  

The scene shifted to Boston, where surprisingly, the Bobcats had gone just 20-21 in the regular season.  With the speakers blaring the saucy, racy "Bobcats" theme song, Boston fans were in a partying mood, ready to watch their team get back into the series.  Inexperienced Joe Ryan took the mound for Maine in his first playoff appearance.  Ty France, who had just missed the game tying homer for Boston in Game 2, was still flexing for Boston, homering in the fifth and seventh innings off of Ryan.  The Loggers had some flexing of their own going on, as ROY candidate Gunnar Henderson homered again.  But the big blow came from the often-maligned Isaac Paredes.  Parades, acquired in this year's draft, had had a dreadful first season in Maine, hitting just .126 while playing in 78 games.  Manager Kirk Gibsom, with few other options at first base, kept trotting him out there, hoping for the best.  Well, apparently he was saving his best for this day, launching a 2-run game-changing blast over the green monster in left.  Jason Adam saved the game in the 9th again, with the Loggers winning 4-2.     

In Game Four, the Boston Bobcats did their best Philadelphia Eagles impersonation, and decided to just mail in the season.  In what was a series-long theme, the Loggers jumped out to an early lead in the first, on yet another homerun from Gunnar Henderson.  Gio Urshella got into the act in the second with a three-run shot, and the Loggers jumped on Aaron Civale for 7 runs in the first two innings.  Second-round pick Luis Castillo fired 6 2/3 scoreless innings, and the Loggers pounded out 14 hits, leaving little doubt, winning 12-0.  

Bangor, Maine saw heavy damage from partying fans, who set fire to two police cars and Howard's Furniture on Elm Street.  Series MVP honors went to rookie Gunnar Henderson, who went 5-9 (.555) with three homers, and 7 RBI.   Of note: Henderson only had ONE homerun in 72 AB in the regular season.  The Loggers now await the winner of the Wichita - Mount Pleasant series.  Mount Pleasant was the only team to register a winning record this year against Maine, going 4-2.