Wild card: Las Vegas vs Charlotte

 Game 1: This was a slugfest. LV knocked out starter George Dixon with 6 runs in 2 innings, and poured on more late. For LV, four players had 3 hits, Yoon-Tae Kim knocked in 5, and Mike Rondon drove in 4 to lead a 15 run attack. For Charlotte, Bubba Donaldson was on base all 5 times including a 3 run homer in the 9th. Las Vegas won 15-9.

Game 2: A first inning homer by Kim gave LV a 1-0 lead. Shawn Finley started, pitched into the 6th, and gave up no runs. It was still 1-0 into the top of the 8th. Angel Garcia singled and stole second, but went nowhere on 2 short flyball outs. Simon Burgos singled with 2 outs to tie the game, as Garcia slid around the tag to beat the throw home by Raul Saldana. Next batter was Bubba, and he hit another homer to take a 3-1 lead. Jaime Lannister homered in the bottom of the inning to make it a one run game.

Bottom 9th, still 3-2, Adrian Banuelos struck out the side to force game 3.

Game 3: Angel Garcia led off the game with a triple and scored on a flyout. Charlotte added another in the 5th on back to back doubles by Fuller and Sampson. Meanwhile, starter Barrett Cordova had a no-hitter going.

That was broken up in the 6th as LV put runners on the corners with one out. Lefty reliever Alex Munoz got Lannister and Kim out, but did allow one inherited run to score. It was still 2-1 going to the top of the 9th.

With 2 out, Luis Alfredo Garcia walked and stole second. Next batter was Jason Fuller, who hit .290 in September after a .336 season in AAA. Light hitting shortstop William Auger was up next, and due to pinch hitting, injury, and defensive replacements Charlotte had nobody left on the bench. Auger hit .197 with 3 homers on the regular season. With a 2-2 count, Ryan Robinson threw him a sinker that didn’t sink, and Auger channeled the spirit of Bucky Dent and gave the Hawks a 5-1 lead with a 3 run homer.

In the bottom 9th, Paul Hayes got the first 2, then gave up a single and 2 run homer to Rondon. Antonio Rodriguez struck out Raul Saldana to finish the series. With a .625 average, 2 homers, and 5 RBI, Bubba Donaldson was named series MVP.

Bill the Cat’s club will face Toledo next.