Mules dominate to force Game 5

Whoa, save some runs there, Mules! Allentown seemed to take out all of their frustrations of the past three games on Scorpions ace Jake Arrieta, throttling Tucson, 10-0, in Game 4 to stay alive in their Best-of-7 semifinal series.

John Lackey tossed a 2-hit shutout in his first postseason start of 2016. He hit a batter in the 1st, walked another in the 3rd and yielded singles in the 2nd and 6th but that was it. He struck out 3 and walked 1 and only needed 106 pitches.

Allentown scored all they needed in the 1st but kept going for good measure. Ian Kinsler singled to lead off the game and Jacoby Ellsbury's single to right field was misplayed so badly by Nelson Cruz that Kinsler scored all the way from first.

Ellsbury came home on Adrian Gonzalez's double and Jose Abreu later launched a two-run homer. At the end of one inning, the Mules had gone through the order and led 4-0.

Two more singles by Kinsler and Ellsbury to lead off the 2nd and that was it for Arrieta. Dellin Betances came in, and after a passed ball, surrendered a 3-run blast to Mike Trout, making it 7-0. Arrieta was charged with 6 runs on 8 hits in just one inning. A couple of singles and a walk and Betances was faced with the bases loaded before mercifully getting out of the 2nd.

Betances settled down to throw 2 more innings of one-hit ball before Carlos Villaneuva came in for a scoreless 5th inning. Antonio Bastardo yielded a two-run homer to Giancarlo Stanton in the 6th, expanding the margin to 9-0, then toughed his way through the 7th. Ken Giles got some work in the 9th when Stanton hit his second dinger.

Lucas Duda and Kyle Schwarber were the only Scorpions to get hits. The other side of the ledger was a bit busier with 19 hits. Eight starters had at least one hit and four Mules had 3 hits apiece: Kinsler, Ellsbury, Stanton and Yadier Molina -- who had neither a run scored an RBI out of the No. 8 hole. Stanton and Trout each had 3 RBI, Abreu had 2. Allentown even managed to leave 11 men on base.

The 5th-seeded Mules hope to bring the series back to Allentown for Game 6 but until then, it's Game 5 in Tucson on Saturday. A win by the top-seeded Scorpions puts them in the final against defending champion Arkansas. Zach Greinke is expected to go for the Scorpions against Hirashi Iwakuma for the Mules.