The Cape Cod Baseball League playoffs are officially underway with eight out of the ten teams securing a spot after the conclusion of the regular season on Sunday. Still atop the East Division, the Y-D Red Sox will take on the fourth-place Orleans Firebirds on Tuesday in a one-and-done single-elimination game.

In the regular season, the two teams met five times—Y-D winning three of the matchups. Despite the number of times they have played, a lot has changed for both teams regarding roster and team dynamics throughout the season. Here is how Y-D and Orleans compare now heading into the postseason.

Pitching

Y-D’s bullpen continues to dominate with a team ERA of 3.97 (second in the league) and a win count of 24 (tied for first in the league). The pitching staff also has the highest number of strikeouts in the league with 399 and the lowest number of losses with 12.

Carson Ballard (ERA: 3.63) will start on the mound for Y-D Tuesday in the first game of the playoffs. The right-hander out of Georgia Tech has had four starts for the Sox, including one in the most recent faceoff with the Firebirds on July 30 which resulted in a walk-off win for Y-D.

In this game, he threw for 4.1 innings and had four strikeouts. He also allowed three hits and three runs to Orleans and walked four. In his second start against the Firebirds, Ballard will look to set the tone for Y-D defensively and compete with Orleans’ strong pitching staff.

Two of Y-D’s wins over Orleans had Aiven Cabral and Dylan Delvecchio closing on the mound. Cabral has been a reliable closer for Y-D, leading the league in wins with five. He closed out the most recent matchup with Orleans, coming in during the last inning and throwing back-to-back strikeouts to shut the Firebirds down on offense.

Delvecchio closed for Y-D the second time they faced Orleans on July 5. He threw for 2.2 innings and collected three strikeouts. He allowed one hit and one run in the game and the left-hander is currently maintaining a 3.06 ERA.

Orleans’ bullpen is a force to be reckoned with as they lead the league in saves (12) and in walks and hits per inning pitched (1.31). Their two ace pitchers, Itsuki Takemoto and Callan Fang, sit at the top of the league in multiple categories. Takemoto leads the league in three categories with an ERA of 0.71, a 0.75 WHIP, and a .138 batting average against.

Fang will take on the starting pitcher role in Tuesday’s matchup. The Harvard pitcher’s ERA of 2.15 is third in the league and he currently leads the league in strikeouts with 39. He started in the most recent showdown between the two teams, throwing for five innings and striking out six. The right-hander allowed one hit and two runs to Y-D in the game as the Sox came out victorious in the end.

The Firebirds’ Tucker Biven and Lucas Litteral both closed against Y-D in the regular season and could see the mound in Tuesday’s matchup. In his two outings against Y-D, Biven has allowed two runs and four hits in 2.1 innings. Litteral closed for Orleans on July 19 and struck out four. He held Y-D to one run in three innings and picked up a save after the outing.

Hitting

At the plate, Y-D has demonstrated their dominance leading the league in home runs with 46 and ranking second in the league with a .400 slugging percentage. Between power hitters who can crush the ball and quick hitters who can execute clutch squeeze plays, Y-D has a vast artillery that can do a lot of damage on offense.

Ethan Petry and Easton Carmichael have set the tone for Y-D at the plate week after week. Petry, the home run derby champion, leads the league in multiple hitting categories including home runs (11), slugging (.760), on-base percentage (.480), and extra-base hits (18). He is also third in the league with a batting average of .360.

Carmichael, the East Division MVP of the All-Star game, has maintained a consistent bat since week one. Hitting .299, the utility player is second in the league with 10 doubles this season and he leads Y-D in hits with 38 so far. Both Petry and Carmichael logged a hit in the most recent showdown with Orleans and could potentially hit in or around the cleanup spot in Tuesday’s matchup.

Some hitters to keep an eye on for Y-D are Anthony Martinez and Michael Ball. Martinez just came off a 10-game hit streak and Ball has one or more hits in eight of the last 10 games he has played in. As solid defenders in the field for Y-D, the two infielders could potentially see the lineup for Tuesday’s game.

While Orleans’ offense stacks up last in the league for hits (289) and runs (155), the Firebirds still have dynamic hitters that can put the pressure on at the plate. Ben Zeigler-Namoa leads the team in a few categories including batting average (.311), RBIs (17), on-base percentage (.436), and slugging (.467). Zeigler-Namoa is also currently on a hit streak, notching one or more hits in the past seven games—including one with Y-D.

Hudson Shupe and Mike Mancini have also been key hitters for the Firebirds. Shupe leads the team in hits with 40 and runs with 21. Mancini leads the team with four triples and nine extra-base hits. Both batting over .300, the two hitters had one or more hits in the most recent game against Y-D and could see the plate on Tuesday for Orleans.

Outlook

With strong pitching from Orleans and powerful hitting from Y-D, Tuesday’s single-elimination faceoff will bring out the best of the best from each team. Whoever wins Tuesday’s game will move on to round two of the playoffs, which is a best-of-three series with another East Division opponent before the final championship series. The first pitch will be at 4 P.M. at Red Wilson Field.

Photos by Sophie Solarino