Fall baseball is heating up in the minor leagues, too.
While the major leagues are still in the thick of the postseason race, the lower levels of the minor leagues, Low Single-A and High Single-A, have begun their postseasons.
On October 16 (KST), the Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres) and the Great Lakes Loons (Los Angeles Dodgers) played Game 3 of the Upper Single-A Midwest League Division Series at Dow Diamond in Midland, Michigan.
The game ended in a 2-1 victory for Great Lakes, which took the series 2-1 and advanced to the Midwest League Championship Series.
You wouldn’t think a minor league postseason would be lukewarm.
“It’s different from the regular season,” said right-hander Hyun-il Choi, who plays for Great Lakes. It’s like win or die,” Choi said of the postseason atmosphere.
He gestures down the hallway to a pile of vinyl. It’s from a champagne party in the clubhouse. Celebrating victory is not unlike the major leagues.
On this day, Great Lakes was led by the Dodgers’ No. 1 prospect, Dalton Rushing, who went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI.
Choi said, “He’s good. He’s a no-nonsense player. He’s one of those hitters that if I were facing him, I wouldn’t throw a fastball. He’s good at pitch calling,” Choi said of his teammate.토토사이트
On the mound, starter Jared Carros pitched five innings of two-hit ball with one walk and six strikeouts.
Carros is the son of Park’s former Dodgers teammate, Eric Carros. He was selected by the Dodgers in the 16th round of the 2022 draft. He is pursuing his big league dreams with his father’s former team.
Great Lakes will open the championship series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Minnesota Twins) two days later on April 18. The series will be a best-of-three series.
Choi will start Game 1. “Seeing them pop champagne like this today, it would be great to win two more games and win the championship,” he said.