Sardine City works overtime as playoff race tightens

Sardine City has been working overtime to try to hang on to their division lead, twice having wice played games lasting nearly 20 innings within a week.

The Straphangers succumbed to Tucson in 18 innings on 9/15, as the King Snakes retook the division lead over Arkansas with the win. Just five games earlier, the Straphangers pulled out a 5-3 win over Hillsborough in 19 innings on 9/11. Sardine City is 14-6 in 20 extra-inning games; only Arkansas (13-8) has played more, and two other teams have played 19 (Vancouver & San Francisco, both 11-8)

The marathons came just weeks after the longest game this season. Both games have impacted what's become a tight playoff race in the past month. Sardine City had been leading the Piazza Division comfortably most of the year but Marietta has gotten hot and is within 2 games with about a dozen games to go. Meanwhile, Tucson has been fending off Arkansas for the Clemente Division, each leapfrogging one another in recent days, still separated by just 1/2 game. Unlike the battle for the Piazza, whichever team fails to lock up the Clemente might not have the wild card to fall back on, trailing Hillsborough by a game for the No. 6 seed and Philly just 2 games behind them.

At Hillsborough, Sardine City tied the game at 2-2 in the 8th before it went extras. They took the lead in the 10th on a home run by Edwin Encarnacion, who led all batters with 4 hits (4-5), 4 BBs, 2 runs and 2 RBI). Hillsborough countered with a pinch-hit homer by Miguel Sano off Andrew Miller to remained tied, 3-3. The two squads went another 8 scoreless innings from there,

The Hit Men made 9 calls to the bullpen after Justin Verlander went 5 1/3 wild innings (9 Ks, 6 BB), holding Sardine City to just one run. Hillsborough used 10 pitchers in all, including their other four starters, finishing with 21 strikeouts and 14 walks. Joakim Soria went 4 innings.

Carlos Martinez (10-13), the next day's starter, took the loss, walking 4 and striking out 4 in 3 innings of work. He exited the game with two out in the 19th, leaving the bases loaded for Jose Berrios, who walked Javy Baez to force in the go-ahead run. He gave up a run-scoring single to George Springer for a 5-3 lead before Eddie Rosario gunned down Corey Seager at the plate to end the inning.

Sardine City's five pitchers tallied 19 strikeouts to just 6 walks. Tyler Olson (5-1) got the win, scattering 2 hits over the final 3 innings, with Miller going four innings and Keone Kela another 3 in extras. Their batters left 21 men on base. Three Straphanger batters finished with four strikeouts: Tyler Flowers, Christian Yelich and Corey Seager.

The second extra-inning game may have been even more impressive. After Tucson and Sardine City both plated a run in the second, the two teams put on a pitching clinic, going 15 scoreless innings.

The King Snakes bullpen tossed 11 2/3 no-hit innings after Max Scherzer went the first 6 2/3. Luis Garcia (6-5) got the win, going the final 3 innings but Craig Kimbrel may have been even more impressive. He took the mound to start the 13th inning and promptly struck out the first 7 batters he faced. He retired two more to go 3 innings, throwing 40 pitches, 26 for strikes. The 7 consecutive strikeouts could very well be a league record.

Andrew Miller was the 7th Straphanger pitcher when he came on in the 17th. He took the loss (10-4) after serving up Andrew McCutchen's pinch-hit, walk-off home run with two outs in the 18th.