More will be written on this incredible team and incredible run in the coming days, but tonight nobody did a better job documenting the Thunder's 2013 title than they did themselves. Here is a look:

Thunder 8, Harrisburg 2

The Thunder won their fourth straight playoff game Tuesday night to grab a 1-0 lead over the Harrisburg Senators in Game 1 in the ELCS. You can check out my game story here and my piece on Tony Franklin's future here (our website just got a new design, of which I approve) but below are some video and audio highlights, as well as some of my thoughts on what went down.

Five in the third

The Thunder have been one of the lightest-hitting teams in the EL all season long, and with Zoilo Almonte back with the Yankees, it looked like they were going to have trouble with a very talented Harrisburg staff. Tony Franklin put Mason Williams back in the leadoff spot after dropping him to seventh with Zoilo in town, despite some pretty terrible numbers from the top prospect (he had been just 2-for-12 in the playoffs, and in 17 regular season games with the club had an OBP of just .164). Mason, however, came through with three RBI, including this two-run double that tied the game in the third:


That ignited a five-run third inning, which also included Willams scoring on a wild pitch and a Tyler Austin RBI single (seen below) and a Jose Pirela base hit RBI.





Despite not having pitched in nine days, Nik Turley threw a solid game, allowing two runs in six innings, with 10 strikeouts. He has more to say about here:

On the mound: LHP Nik Turley (11-8, 3.88) vs. RHP Blake Treinen (6-7, 3.64)


Thunder
Williams CF
Flores LF
Pirela 2B
G. Sanchez C
Austin RF
Roller 1B
Gamel DH
Corona 3B
Castillo SS

Harrisburg
Burns LF
Goodwin CF
Souza Jr.
Bloxom 1B
Hague 2B
Nicol 3B
Head DH
Howell C
Martinson SS

Notes: Before the game, LHP Fred Lewis was activated from the DL and RHP Manny Barreda was sent to Tampa. Lewis was placed on the DL August 14 with a recurring finger blister problem. He was 0-4 with 2.28 ERA in 20 appearances this with the Thunder this season. Barreda had a 4.35 ERA in five appearances.

Thunder 2, Binghamton 1

Thunder go up 2-0 in series

If it didn't go down to the wire, it wouldn't be Trenton Thunder baseball. Tony Franklin's club managed to pull out another one-run win Thursday (thankfully this one took just nine innings) to grab a huge 2-0 lead as the series shifts to Binghamton (gamer here). As always, here are some things that stood out:

Mikey O'Brien's gutsy start

O'Brien did not have his best stuff (final line: 6IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, 5BB, 4K) and was especially shky early, but was able to get his motion together and throw six strong innings. Here is what he had to say about it:

On struggling early...

Those first couple of innings, I really couldn’t get a rhythm for anything. I had to battle and hope that they hit it right at our guys.

On how he was able to rebound...

Try not to think about it, and try not to think about what I was doing, walking guys and falling behind. Cleared my mind and started over.

On going six innings... 

Being a starter pitcher especially, that’s your goal us to try to pitch deep in the game and save your bullpen. Battle, do whatever you have to do.

On facing Binghamton.... 

We’ve faced them a bunch this year and they’ve kind of had our number. I think we’re starting to execute our pitches and figue out what we’re doing with them, and a lot of it’s luck too. They’re hitting it right at our guys, that’s just how baseball goes. We have to execute and hopefully the result goes our way.

On Wednesday's comeback...

Coming back in the ninth inning last night off their closer definitely gave us a lot of momentum, and showed that we can come back and beat them no matter who is on the mound.

On if the Thunder considered themselves underdogs... 

Not really. Playoffs start over. Everybody’s record is the same. Playoffs are complete different than the regular season.

On if last year is in their minds... 

Not really. We just try to focus on what we are doing this year.

On blocking out negative thoughts...

Yeah especially when it was first and second in the third or fourth inning. I was trying to get a double play and minimize the damage, and luckily I was able to get out of that.

Enough offense to win

The Thunder's year-long inability to hit with runners in scoring position reared its ugly head again Thursday (they were 0-for-4 wRISP) but they were able to manage a pair of runs in two different ways.  In the third inning, it was all about Zoilo Almonte understanding what he had to do to get the runner on third home - drive the ball far enough the opposite way:

In the seventh, it was all about Mason Williams' speed, which he finally got to show off on the base paths with a pair of hits. After the game, Mason said he was heading home the whole way on this one:




The bullpen

Zach Nuding was very strong in his pair of scoreless innings, but I was most impressed with the way Tommy Kahnle came up big in the ninth. Considering that he had given up seven runs in his last six innings of work, it was very big for the Thunder going forward that he was able to work a clean inning. Here he is recording the final out:

On the mound: RHP Mikey O'Brien vs. LHP Darin Gorski (6-1, 1.83)

In the series: The Thunder won Game 1 in dramatic fashion Wednesday night, when Ben Gamel hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning. See game story here.

News and notes: The Thunder will have a familiar face Thursday as Zoilo Almonte returns to Trenton on a rehab assignment. Almonte, who hit .261/.305/.341 with nine RBI in 26 games for the Yankees this season, has played a total of 152 games with the Thunder over the 2011 and 2012 seasons. He's been on the Yankees DL since July 20 with a left ankle sprain. Here is some video of his pregame press conference:






The move certainly gives the Thunder a lineup a boost, but it's a tough break for Gamel, who gets rewarded for his game-winning hit with a night on the pine. The only other real candidate to sit was probably Mason Williams, who has looked completely overmatched at the plate in his 17 games here, hitting .153/.164/.264, but his defense has been spectacular - he made two crucial running plays Wednesday. The larger point, however, is that playoffs or not, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to take away at-bats from a guy who you hope is going to be a big part of the future and is so talented in as many other areas of the game. Manager Tony Franklin did, however, drop him to 7th in the lineup, which will hopefully take some pressure off.

Lineups
THUNDER
Flores LF
Almonte RF
Pirela 2B
G. Sanchez C
Austin DH
Roller 1B
Williams CF
Corona 3B
Castillo SS

BINGHAMTON
Muno 2b
Rodriguez 3B
Hughes 1B
Dykstra DH
Vaughn LF
Taijeron RF
Ceciliani CF
Forsythe C
Tover SS

Thunder 6. Binghamton 5, 10 innings

Wednesday night was, quite frankly, about as dramatic as baseball games come. For the full story, check out my Trentonian game story and pre-game piece on Tyler Austin, but here are some videos and thoughts about how the night progressed.

First inning: Bryan Mitchell gets out of a jam.


Mitchell wasn't as dominant Wednesday as he was in his previous start (5IP, 7H, 3R, 2ER, 4BB, 4K), but things could have been much worse if he didn't get this big double play in the first. He was very shaky early, giving up two hits and two walks in the first, but the DP seemed to settle him down.

Tyler Austin gets pumped.





Before the game, Tyler Austin said that it was going to be a "long night" for B-Mets starter and top Mets prospect Noah Syndergaard, and then went out and got three big hits, including these two doubles. This, of course, from a guy that just missed 47 games. Some people might have a problem with this, but I have no problem with a guy being confident and getting himself pumped up for a big matchup.

GAMEL SINGLES HOME AUSTIN!...in the fourth inning.



So, not the game winning hit, but a little preview of what was to come.

DANNY BURAWA: ESCAPE ARTIST



With all the dramatics at the end of the game, one thing that could get lost for the Thunder was that their bullpen was actually quite good. Besides Venditte giving up the runs in the tenth, the only real danger came n the eighth, when Burawa loaded the bases before recording an out. Though Burawa can drive you mad with his inconsistency, his stuff is always good enough to get three outs in a row, and that's what happened here (also, always nice to have a glove like Mason Williams in center.)

V FOR VENDITTE





Venditte was good in the ninth, but not so good in the tenth. This sac fly looked like it was going to have the Thunder down 0-1 in the series.

THE CARDIAC KIDS





So, as you may have guessed by now, I didn't get Gamel's walk-off hit on video (you try writing a gamer on deadline while shooting and posting video...it's hard). I did, however, get video of Gary Sanchez's clutch two-out, two-strike RBI and of Austin's base hit to keep the game alive, which gives you some idea of what had to happen before the lineup even got to Gamel.

Now that you've checked out my post though, here are some more legit highlights.

On the mound: RHP Bryan Mitchell (0-0, 1.93) vs. RHP Noah Syndergaard (6-1, 3.00)

Lineups
Thunder
Williams CF
Flores LF
Pirela 2B
G. Sanchez C
Austin RF
Roller 1B
Gamel DH
Corona 3B
Castillo SS

Binghamton
Muno 2B
Rodriguez 3B
Hughes 1B
Dykstra DH
Vaughn LF
Taijeron RF
Ceciliani CF
Forsythe C
Tover SS