The Birmingham Barons were facing elimination after blowing a Game 1 lead in a best-of-three Southern League division series.
Thankfully, a lights out start from former first-round draft pick Hagen Smith in Game 2 was followed up by nine runs from the Barons' offense in Game 3. In comeback fashion, the Barons won the series over Chattanooga and advanced to the Southern League Championship Series.
While Birmingham lost Game 1 by a score of 2-1 to the Montgomery Biscuits, this team has been in this very spot before.
The Barons will stay within the state, going to Montgomery for games on Tuesday night and Wednesday night. They need to win both games to be crowned champions of the Southern League.
The Barons have their best pitchers available
One thing the Barons can lean on is their starting pitching. 25-year-old Connor McCullough started Game 1 and only completed three innings before turning it over to the bullpen.
Tanner McDougal, who last pitched on Tuesday of last week, should be available for the Barons the rest of the way. Same thing goes for Hagen Smith, who last pitched on Thursday of last week. That's ample rest for either pitcher to take the mound and start a game for Birmingham.
Guillermo Quiroz has not yet named a starter for Game 2 on Tuesday, but it's hard to imagine anybody other than Smith or McDougal getting the ball.
Smith might make more sense than McDougal, especially with McDougal on a hard innings limit and the Barons needing some length from their starting pitching to protect a worn out bullpen.
Birmingham leaned on their pitching all season, and it carried them to the best regular season record in the league. Now, it's time for their stable of arms to do the job one more time.
Big bats need to keep producing
If the Barons want to stage another series comeback and take home the championship, they'll also need to get some early leads courtesy the heart of the batting order.
William Bergolla, Sam Antonacci, and Ryan Galanie have all been producing during the postseason thus far and they need to keep their foot on the gas, especially with top Chicago White Sox prospect Braden Montgomery injured and unavailable.
Bergolla is 8-for-16 (.500) in the playoffs with four (4) RBIs. Antonacci is batting .313 with three (3) RBIs. Galanie has a .906 playoff OPS and hit a big home run during Game 1 against the Biscuits.
This week provides a great opportunity for White Sox prospects to show some maturity and step up in a big moment.