Here's a way of thinking about how well the BayBears played in this series: out of 38 innings played between these two clubs, the BayBears either led the game or were tied with Tennessee after 33 of them (granted, 10 of those innings ended 0-0 in Mobile's 11-inning 1-0 marathon win). Mobile was definitely the better team in the series.
BayBears of the Day:
Trevor Bauer: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 7:2 K:BB, HR, 3:3 GO:AO, 20 batters faced
Matt Davidson: 1-3, HR, BB, 2 R, RBI
Mobile 6, Tennessee 4. (3-1) Remember how Trevor Bauer was so tired from his extensive workload this year that his command had collapsed and he couldn't get anybody out and thus needed to be shut down? Well, so much for that, apparently. Bauer pitched Tennessee like it was August 25 again, whiffing over a third of the batters he faced, and his hits allowed count dipped again. If nothing else, this allows the club to shut down Bauer on a positive note, and brings his minor-league innings total up to 33.2 (including playoffs), right within the 30-35 inning range that the club was reportedly hoping to see him pitch after signing. Whatever changed - if something has actually changed - from his last two starts to this one, there's one thing we know. The dude's good at pitching.
Mobile built a 2-1 lead in the second inning on a two-run home run from Josh Ford, then the Mobile bats tacked on four more runs in the top of the sixth right after Bauer finished his last inning of work. Matt Davidson left off the inning with a home run, adding a walk to his evening to cap off a phenomenal Championship Series with the BayBears in which he went 3-9 with a double, a home run, two HBP's, and a walk. A walk, two singles, an error, and a sacrifice fly later, three more Mobile runs had crossed the plate and the BayBears were up to stay.
That's not to say that the Smokies failed to make things interesting. Tennessee scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh off of reliever Bryan Woodall - who was out for his second inning of work after a scoreless sixth - to bring the game within two runs. The big blow of the inning from Tennessee came courtesy of center field prospect Jae-Hoon Ha, who doubled in two runs that inning and was also responsible for the solo home run surrendered by Bauer in the first inning. Thankfully, Billy Spottiswood got the final out of the seventh, Yonata Ortega notched two outs in the eighth, and then Evan Marshall notched a four-out save while giving up just one hit and striking out three.