Tier 3 Playoffs

Fishes 2, Rockies 0: These division rivals had clashed twice during the regular season, with the Rockies winning both contests, but the Fishes got their revenge here in the consolation tournament. Game 1 was a total romp for the Fishes, who collected a 24-15 victory at the Rockies home field of Playground Commons despite a relatively strong performance by Colorado. Game 2 was a completely different story, as at the Fishes’ Dirt Yards both teams struggled both to score and to keep their AI rivals from scoring. Ultimately, the home team advantage proved decisive for the Fishes, as their 20% run modifier let them overcome a game with a +4 run differential to take the contest, 5.8-5, and sweep the series to continue their playoff dominance.

Rangers 2, Athletics 0: A series between division rivals that had each won one game against the other started with a game that could have easily gone either way. Rangers round one pick Ken Griffey, Jr. made the difference, hitting a solo homerun for the AI Rangers and a three-run shot in their main game, as the home field advantage allowed them to take the first game 2-2. While the A’s continued to struggle in Game 2, the Rangers broke out, easily taking the second contest with a score of 9-1 to advance to the Tier 3 World Series.

World Series matchup: Fishes vs. Rangers. Rangers coach GreenDayEagles will no doubt be looking for revenge after the Fishes beat his other team in the Rockies. The Rangers also have an excellent defense which the Fishes will struggle with, but have been scoring less runs per game lately than the Fishes.

Tier 2 Playoffs

Brewers 2, Melonheads 0: The Melonheads had put out an impressive performance to win the division series, but their offense almost completely dried up against the Brewers, with seven of their nine hitters combining to go 9-for-37 across the series. Nevertheless, the first game was a very close one, with the Brewers behind until the bottom of the sixth inning, where a walk-off hit propelled them to a 3-2 victory (aided once again by the home team modifier). The Brewers then proceeded to clean house in Game 2, winning in a 17-7 romp to sweep their division rivals and advance.

Red Sox 2, White Sox 0: Game One of this series saw the White Sox put up the worst total in any game of Season 3. An AI Red Sox team took advantage of some tired players to start scoring some runs, the White Sox decided it was hopeless and stopped trying to win, and the result was a game where the AI team outscored them by a massive 11 points, leading to the Red Sox winning Game 1 27-(-11). In Game 2, the White Sox had a resurgence and played an impressive game, but the Red Sox continued to be red-hot and were able to win in a very close 30-28 contest to take their second sweep of the playoffs.

World Series matchup: Brewers vs. Red Sox. It’s hard to tell who has the advantage in this matchup, as the Red Sox can put up big totals but compensate by having a relatively vulnerable defense that the Brewers may be able to take advantage of to put up even bigger totals. Games Two and (if applicable) Four will also take place at Sandy Flats, where the Brewers are known to be weak but the Red Sox are untested.

Main Playoffs

Expos 2, Astros 1: A blockbuster series between the two best teams in the NL did not disappoint. The Expos and Astros were both desperate to advance, and both put up extremely high totals, triggering the 50-run limit five times in three games and scoring a total of 330 runs during the series. The Astros took Game Two 47-34 when the Expos faltered, but in the other two games the Safety Net rule was invoked, giving the win to the team that gave up the least runs. That allowed the Expos’ superior defense to make the difference, as they held the Astros scoreless in both games to take 50-49 and 50-47 victories and advance their coach gmchappe to the World Series for the second season in a row.

Indians 2, Royals 0: The Kansas City Royals were the juggernauts of Season 3, going into this series with some very impressive scores and a 15-1 record. However, that one loss came at the hands of their opponents for this series, the Indians. While the Royals were able to shake off the Indians defense and score more than 3 runs in their games this series, they weren’t able to put up as high of scores as they sometimes had during the regular season, while the Indians didn’t seem to mind their normally-tough defense and put up giant scores of their own. The Indians won Game One in dominant fashion, with a score of 43-26. Game Two was a much closer affair with the potential to be decided by the home team modifier – but in a small setup error, both squads played as the away team and made a blind agreement to be bound by the results. The two teams scored equal numbers of runs in Game Two, but the AI Indians were able to score four against the Royals, giving the underdogs a 32-28 victory and a series sweep on their way to the world series.

World Series matchup: Indians vs. Expos. Notably, neither of star coach psanchez55’s teams made the World Series, despite both making the league champsionship series. It remains to be seen whether the Expos will give coach gmchappe his second consecutive championship or if the Indians’ underdog story will conclude with a victory.