AL Championship Series

Game 1 - The Coolers roared out of the gates in game one, scoring three times in the first inning. With two outs and a man on, Cooler DH David Ortiz legged out an infield single. Brad Hawpe followed with a three run bomb off Chatham’s Jered Weaver. California plated three more in the second on back to back homers by Nick Markakis and Carlos Beltran, sending Weaver to an early exit. Vicente Padilla replaced him and promptly allowed another pair in the third on a Marco Scutaro single and a Robinson Cano fielder’s choice ground out. The eight run lead was more than enough for Gil Meche, who held the Bluefish scoreless until a two-run Ryan Church homer in the fourth. Meche surrendered a harmless solo homer to Raul Ibanez in the sixth before giving way to Geoff Geary and Grant Balfour, who slammed the door shut with three combined hitless innings of relief, giving the Coolers a 1-0 series lead. 

Game 2 - The Bluefish started early, scoring twice in the first on an Albert Pujols double. Kevin Youkilis and Pujols then notched an RBI each in the second off Cooler starter Tim Hudson, giving Chatham a 4-0 lead. Bluefish starter John Lackey sailed through the first six innings, and his hitters gave him two more runs to work with in the seventh on a Pujols blast to left center. The Coolers mounted a comeback, getting on the board with a Ramon Santiago sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the inning. Chatham responded with a Freddy Sanchez RBI ground out in the eighth before the Coolers went to work on the ‘Fish bullpen. California plated four in the eighth, all charged to Hideki Okajima, with Robinson Cano’s three run shot serving as the big blow. Chatham summoned Jonathan Papelbon to quell the threat, and the vaunted Bluefish closer worked a quick ninth as well, wrapping up the 7-5 Chatham victory that knotted the series at one. 

Game 3 - With the series shifting to Fenway Park for the pivotal game three, the defending champs pleased the home fans by tallying three runs in the bottom of the first off Zack Greinke. Hanley Ramirez knocked a double high off the Monster in left center, then Raul Ibanez launched a two-run shot to center. The Coolers got one back in the second on a David Ortiz solo shot off Chatham’s Chien Ming Wang. The score stayed 3-1, Bluefish, through five, when Wang was pulled after an easy 90 pitches, with Chatham’s manager perhaps looking ahead to using Wang again later in the series. The Coolers were ecstatic to see him go, jumping on Darren Oliver immediately in the sixth as Kenji Johjima crushed a grand slam into the Monster seats. The Coolers onslaught continued as they grabbed a 10-3 lead in the eighth off the underbelly of the Chatham bullpen. Chatham answered with a pair off Brian Bruney, but Geoff Geary and Grant Balfour took over, allowing just one hit over the final two frames, making a winner of Greinke and giving the Coolers a 2-1 series lead. 

Game 4 - Game one winner Gil Meche took the mound on short rest, looking to give his Coolers a commanding 3-1 series lead in Chatham. He was brilliant from the start, holding the potent Chatham lineup hitless until the third inning and scoreless through six. California staked him to a 2-0 lead in the fourth on back to back homers by Adrian Gonzalez and David Ortiz. The Coolers added an insurance run in the seventh on a Kenji Johjima sac fly (.318 average, 8 RBIs in the series) and another in the eighth on a Big Papi bomb to right. The Cooler bullpen was once again superb, as Cesar Jimenez and Grant Balfour combined for two and two thirds innings of hitless relief. The Coolers breezed to a 3-1 series lead, and their brilliant bullpen had not even summoned closer Mariano Rivera to do it. 

Game 5 - Facing an elimination game for the first time since game seven of last year’s World Series, the Chatham Bluefish began playing like anything but winners. California jumped on John Lackey with one in the first, with Carlos Beltran lacing a triple into the triangle. He promptly scored on an Adrian Gonzalez single, silencing the Fenway faithful. The Coolers did more damage in the second on a Ramon Santiago homer and a Kenji Johjima RBI single, making it 3-0. Meanwhile, Tim Hudson breezed through the first three innings. The Coolers went to work on Lackey again in the fourth, with Brad Hawpe leading the inning off with a blast to right. After retiring just one batter in the inning, the wheels came off for Lackey and the Bluefish. Marco Scutaro walked, then Kevin Kouzmanoff, Kenji Johjima, and Nick Markakis all singled, sending Lackey to an early, ugly exit. Being an elimination game, Chatham went right to Hideki Okajima to stop the bleeding. But he could not, surrendering a mammoth three run shot to Adrian Gonzalez (.522 SLG%, 6 RBIs for the series). That made it 9-0, Coolers, as the clubhouse attendants put the champagne on ice in the visitor’s locker room. 

Would the back-to-back champs truly go out so easily, without even a whimper? Chatham finally got on the board with a pair in the bottom of the fourth on a Scott Rolen homer following a Raul Ibanez single. After Okajima got a 1-2-3 fifth, the ‘Fish bats went to work again, scoring three times, aided by a Bad Hawpe error. The third run scored on a Raul Ibanez single, chasing Hudson. Ramon Ramirez came on for the Coolers and worked out of the jam, leaving the score at 9-5 through five. The Cooler bats lit right back up in the sixth, as Chatham looked to squeak an inning out of Vicente Padilla. No such luck. Kouzmanoff greeted him with a Monster shot, followed by a two-out Carlos Beltran shot. Chatham went to Darren Oliver, who wrapped up the ugly inning as the scoreboard read 11-5, California. 

Chatham counterpunched in the bottom of the sixth. Melky Cabrera pinch hit for Freddy Sanchez and knocked a single to right. After a Denard Span strike out, Kevin Youkilis reached on a costly error by Adrian Gonzalez. Pujols crushed a gargantuan three run blast to left center. The Coolers went to veteran lefty Andy Pettitte, who got out of the inning as the Coolers clung to an 11-8 lead after six. With things still looking desperate, Chatham elected to bring in closer Jonathan Papelbon in the top of the seventh, and he shut the Coolers down for two innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Span led off with a single. Geoff Geary came on and promptly served up a two run jack to Kevin Youkilis, which made it 11-10, Coolers. After a Pujols fly out, Hanley Ramirez launched another bomb off Geary, sending the Fenway crowd into a frenzy as the ‘Fish had come all the way back from a 9-0 deficit to tie the game at 11. Geary hit the showers after an Ibanez walk. Enter Mariano Rivera. Rolen fanned on a filthy cutter, but the inning continued after a Rich Aurilia error at second. Rivera worked out of it, however, inducing a Dionner Navarro ground out. 

Chatham went to Arthur Rhodes to deal with the left handed meat of the Coolers order in the top of the ninth. California countered by pinch hitting for Gonzalez, their #3 hitter, with seldom-used lefty masher Matt Macri. The move paid off as he smoked a single past the dive of Ramirez. But he advanced no further, as Big Papi popped out and Chris Denorfia fanned. Rivera got two quick outs with the score still tied in the bottom of the ninth. He made it a 1-2-3 inning on a Kevin Youkilis ground out, but at a price—Rivera was forced to leave the game (and the series) with an undisclosed injury. 

LaTroy Hawkins came out of the depleted Bluefish bullpen to work the tenth. He got two quick outs before Kouzmanoff got his third hit of the day on a double down the left field line. But Hawkins ended the threat by getting Brandon Inge to fly out. California called on Cesar Jimenez to start the tenth and he walked the ever-dangerous Pujols to start it. The leather-lunged crowd got even louder as Pujols advanced on a wild pitch. Jimenez then settled down, striking out Ramirez before intentionally walking Ibanez to set up a potential double play. Scott Rolen worked a walk to load the bases. California went to Balfour, who had been untouchable (four and a third scoreless innings in the series at that point). Balfour blew away Ryan Church for out number two. But Navarro dumped a single into right field and Pujols jogged home with the winning run in the most unlikely of comebacks. Final score, after ten innings: 12-11, Chatham. The ‘Fish stayed alive, but the Coolers were heading home with two chances to grab the American League pennant. 

Game 6 - Zack Greinke took to the hill back home as the Coolers looked to shake off their game five meltdown and wrap up a trip to the World Series. But Chatham began by pounding the ball just as they had during their historic comeback. Kevin Youkilis was hit by a pitch in the first and Albert Pujols quickly made it 2-0 with a bomb over the ivy in straightaway center. The Coolers answered valiantly in the bottom half, scoring on an Adrian Gonzalez double that also plated another run on an error by game five hero Dionner Navarro. The game remained deadlocked at 2-2 until the fourth, when Navarro atoned for his miscue with an RBI single. The Bluefish once again used their bullpen aggressively, pulling Chien Ming Wang after five with the 3-2 lead. Manny Delcarmen entered and worked out of a jam in the sixth, striking out Marco Scutaro and Kevin Kouzmanoff with two men on. It stayed 3-2 through the seventh, with the Bluefish bullpen using both Arthur Rhodes and Hideki Okajima. Having settled down, Greinke worked into the eighth, but left after a one out walk to Pujols. Brian Bruney entered and allowed a Hanley Ramirez single but retired Raul Ibanez and Scott Rolen to escape the jam. California got a one-out single from Robinson Cano in the bottom of the eighth but he was immediately caught stealing as the Coolers tried to get the crucial tying run into scoring position. Scutaro then struck out to close out the eighth. 

Grant Balfour managed to work a scoreless ninth despite two errors behind him in the inning, as he retired Denard Span and Kevin Youkilis on consecutive fly outs with two on. This sent it to the bottom of the ninth, where the Coolers had to deal with Papelbon yet again, the red hot closer who had not allowed a postseason run since game four of the division series in 2007. Paps got the job done yet again, retiring the Coolers in order, improbably knotting the series at three games apiece.

Game 7 - The battle-tested Bluefish sent Jered Weaver to the mound for game seven, where he faced Gil Meche, the veteran who already had two wins to his credit in the series. But his attempt to nab a third W and send his club to the World Series hit a bump in the very first inning. Kevin Youkilis knocked a one out single to center and then Albert Pujols, as he has done for Chatham so many times before, followed with a towering home run, this one just fair down the left field line. Meche then settled, but Chatham held a 2-0 lead. Neither team scored in the second, but the Bluefish struck again in the third. Pujols was once again in the middle of the rally, plating one run with a double down the line that scored Denard Span. Albert himself then scored on a Hanley Ramirez single up the middle that made it 4-0, Chatham. 

This looked like more than enough for Weaver to work with, as he cruised through the first five innings, striking out nine. But the Coolers got something going in the sixth. Jody Gerut doubled with one out, then Marco Scutaro flied out deep enough to left that Gerut advanced to third. Chatham once again leaned on their bullpen, going to lefty Darren Oliver, who retired Kevin Kouzmanoff on a pop up to snuff the rally. The Cooler relievers continued the good work that gave them the series lead, with Geoff Geary entering with one out in the seventh and a man on second. He walked Span, but got Youkilis to ground out and then got Pujols on a rare and crucial strike out. Oliver stayed in for Chatham and got a three up, three down seventh, holding the 4-0 lead. Geary countered with his own 1-2-3 inning in the eighth, all on fly outs to center. Hideki Okajima came on for the bottom of the eighth, and he quickly retired Carlos Beltran and Adrian Gonzalez. Big Papi Ortiz then put the Coolers on the board with a big fly to deep right. But Okajima got Gerut to fly out, making it 4-1, Bluefish, after eight. 

The Bluefish quickly went down in order in the ninth and once again turned the ball over to Jonathan Papelbon to finish it off. Scutaro got the crowd into it by leading off with a single up the middle. Pinch hitter Brad Hawpe then struck out. With one down and one on, Robinson Cano flied harmlessly to left, leaving it all on the shoulders of Brandon Inge, who had entered as a replacement after a pinch hitter in the eighth. Inge hit a routine grounder to short, Ramirez fielded it cleanly, and threw across to Pujols, who fittingly ended the series when he touched the bag, completing an epic comeback and sending the Chatham Bluefish back to the World Series for a chance at a three-peat. The legendary Pujols was voted ALCS MVP after his staggering performance: .370 average, .469 OBP, .926 SLG%, 4 HR, 8 R, 13 RBI. The outstanding offensive line he produced stood out even more because the Bluefish hit just .216 as a team in the series, with no other regular batting over .260 during the seven games. The Bluefish will have little time to savor the sweet victory, as they have just two off days to rest up before hosting game one of the World Series at Fenway Park against the 109 game winners of the National League pennant, the San Francisco Quakes.

ALCS MVP