Two wins.
Glenn Gaston / Special The Citizen
Pitching coach Antonio Caceres and catcher J.P. Arencibia visit the mound to talk with starting pitcher Luis Perez during Game 3 of a New York-Penn League first-round playoff series at Falcon Park on Tuesday.
Pitching coach Antonio Caceres and catcher J.P. Arencibia visit the mound to talk with starting pitcher Luis Perez during Game 3 of a New York-Penn League first-round playoff series at Falcon Park on Tuesday.
That's all the Auburn Doubledays need to become New York-Penn League champions for the first time under manager Dennis Holmberg.
It's a feat much easier said than done, especially if you look at what happened between the Doubledays and Brooklyn Cyclones earlier this season. Fans can expect much of the same when the two teams meet up today for the first game of the title series at Falcon Park.
The teams make up two of the best three records in the league, separated by only two games. And two games are what the Cyclones took the regular season series by on Aug. 11-13. Brooklyn came from behind to win 4-3 in the first game after losing 3-0 in the second. They won again in the third, 4-2.
The series figures to be just as close, and just as low-scoring the second time around.
For one, both teams have arguably the best array of pitchers in the league. With team ERAs of 2.93 and 3.44, the Cyclones and Doubledays are ranked one and two in the category, respectively. And while Brooklyn has allowed the least amount of hits (523), the Doubledays have been tops in total strikeouts (651).
Hits might be hard to come by, and home runs will be even sparser - the two teams are near the bottom in long balls allowed as well. There were none hit by either team in the regular season series.
So that leaves defense as the key to winning the league. Well, that and pitching - the Holmberg recipe for success. Unless errors snowball, which has rarely been the case for them this season, the Doubledays have been able to recover quickly from any misstep and turn some incredible defensive plays.
Starting infielders J.P. Arencibia (catcher), Manny Rodriguez (first base), Darin Mastroianni (second base), Luis Sanchez (shortstop) and Brad Emaus (third base) have been nearly flawless thus far this postseason, committing four errors in three games that led to one Oneonta run.
And after struggling a bit to start the season, the Doubledays' starting rotation can't be underestimated. Brett Cecil, Marc Rzepczynski and Luis Perez have been lights out in the opening round of the playoffs and Antonio Caceres' crew still has much more gas in the tank.
Not that the offense can be discounted. Even though they will surely face a tough group of Cyclones pitchers, the Doubledays' lineup has a penchant for coming up big in a different spot every night.
For the last two, it's been Emaus, with six hits, two home runs in his last eight at-bats. Rodriguez and Mastroianni have also hit well in the postseason against a collection of top-tier Oneonta pitchers, and the bottom of the order is due to break out as well.
And for the two best teams in the NY-P when playing in their own ballpark, home field will also be big. Both clubs have lost just 12 times at home and though the Doubledays play just one game at Falcon Park, they are more than capable of taking momentum with them to Keyspan Park if they can take Game 1.
“You can look at home field advantage,” Holmberg said. “We've got probably the best record in the league - we've done very well here. Our fans have been very supportive, creative and imaginative.”
If willing, those creative fans could make the five hour drive on Friday and make the Doubledays feel as welcome as they did in Oneonta in the first game of the playoffs. The one-run, extra innings loss was the fifth close loss for Holmberg in the last nine playoff games, though they certainly don't define his six-season, six-division titles tenure.
“Of all the clubs that I've managed here, all the playoff games have come down to a 3-2, 4-3, 1-0, 2-1, 1-0 loss,” He said. “We got beat, but we've represented this division. There have just been some tough ballgames that we've been in.”
Now there are about to be two more, with a possibility of a third.
Doubledays Look Ahead
A look at what's ahead for Auburn:
Today: vs. Brooklyn, Game 1, 7 p.m.
Friday: at Brooklyn, Game 2, 7 p.m.
Saturday: at Brooklyn, Game 3, 7 p.m. (if necessary)
It's a feat much easier said than done, especially if you look at what happened between the Doubledays and Brooklyn Cyclones earlier this season. Fans can expect much of the same when the two teams meet up today for the first game of the title series at Falcon Park.
The teams make up two of the best three records in the league, separated by only two games. And two games are what the Cyclones took the regular season series by on Aug. 11-13. Brooklyn came from behind to win 4-3 in the first game after losing 3-0 in the second. They won again in the third, 4-2.
The series figures to be just as close, and just as low-scoring the second time around.
For one, both teams have arguably the best array of pitchers in the league. With team ERAs of 2.93 and 3.44, the Cyclones and Doubledays are ranked one and two in the category, respectively. And while Brooklyn has allowed the least amount of hits (523), the Doubledays have been tops in total strikeouts (651).
Hits might be hard to come by, and home runs will be even sparser - the two teams are near the bottom in long balls allowed as well. There were none hit by either team in the regular season series.
So that leaves defense as the key to winning the league. Well, that and pitching - the Holmberg recipe for success. Unless errors snowball, which has rarely been the case for them this season, the Doubledays have been able to recover quickly from any misstep and turn some incredible defensive plays.
Starting infielders J.P. Arencibia (catcher), Manny Rodriguez (first base), Darin Mastroianni (second base), Luis Sanchez (shortstop) and Brad Emaus (third base) have been nearly flawless thus far this postseason, committing four errors in three games that led to one Oneonta run.
And after struggling a bit to start the season, the Doubledays' starting rotation can't be underestimated. Brett Cecil, Marc Rzepczynski and Luis Perez have been lights out in the opening round of the playoffs and Antonio Caceres' crew still has much more gas in the tank.
Not that the offense can be discounted. Even though they will surely face a tough group of Cyclones pitchers, the Doubledays' lineup has a penchant for coming up big in a different spot every night.
For the last two, it's been Emaus, with six hits, two home runs in his last eight at-bats. Rodriguez and Mastroianni have also hit well in the postseason against a collection of top-tier Oneonta pitchers, and the bottom of the order is due to break out as well.
And for the two best teams in the NY-P when playing in their own ballpark, home field will also be big. Both clubs have lost just 12 times at home and though the Doubledays play just one game at Falcon Park, they are more than capable of taking momentum with them to Keyspan Park if they can take Game 1.
“You can look at home field advantage,” Holmberg said. “We've got probably the best record in the league - we've done very well here. Our fans have been very supportive, creative and imaginative.”
If willing, those creative fans could make the five hour drive on Friday and make the Doubledays feel as welcome as they did in Oneonta in the first game of the playoffs. The one-run, extra innings loss was the fifth close loss for Holmberg in the last nine playoff games, though they certainly don't define his six-season, six-division titles tenure.
“Of all the clubs that I've managed here, all the playoff games have come down to a 3-2, 4-3, 1-0, 2-1, 1-0 loss,” He said. “We got beat, but we've represented this division. There have just been some tough ballgames that we've been in.”
Now there are about to be two more, with a possibility of a third.
Doubledays Look Ahead
A look at what's ahead for Auburn:
Today: vs. Brooklyn, Game 1, 7 p.m.
Friday: at Brooklyn, Game 2, 7 p.m.
Saturday: at Brooklyn, Game 3, 7 p.m. (if necessary)
