Rainiers, Clippers vie for Triple-A title

The Triple-A Baseball National Championship takes place at Oklahoma City's Bricktown Ballpark on Tuesday evening, pitting the Pacific Coast League champion Tacoma Rainiers against the Columbus Clippers of the International League.

This winner-take-all championship will not only be the final game played by the teams in question -- it will be the final game of the entire 2010 Minor League season.

After the last out is recorded, fans will have to wait until Opening Day 2011 to once again get their affiliated professional baseball fix. But at least the Minor Leagues will go out in style, since the Triple-A championship will be broadcast on the Versus Network nationally and globally via the Armed Forces Network at 8 p.m. ET.

The Rainiers will play as the road team, and this designation suits them just fine. An extensive renovation project rendered their longtime home of Cheney Stadium unavailable for the entirety of the PCL playoffs. Tacoma played at Seattle's Safeco Field in the semifinals against Sacramento, while the Championship Series was played exclusively at Memphis' AutoZone Park.

No matter, as the Rainiers put a decisive halt to a Redbirds team that entered the series having won nine consecutive playoff games dating back to their 2009 championship-winning season. Tacoma outscored Memphis, 26-16, en route to a three-game sweep, with former first-round pick and second baseman Dustin Ackley scoring the go-ahead run in the 11th inning in the decisive third game.

Ackley, one of the highest-regarded prospects in the Seattle organization, has homered twice and driven in seven runs in the playoffs. Outfielders Mike Wilson (.353 average, seven homers, 17 RBIs) and Greg Halman (.313, two homers, six RBIs) also caught fire in the postseason, but the Rainiers suffered a blow when the incendiary Justin Smoak received a callup to Seattle over the weekend (along with reliever Dan Cortes).

Columbus also dispatched a defending league champion en route to Bricktown Ballpark, needing four games to defeat the Durham Bulls. The Clippers got it done on both ends, scoring 18 runs in Game 1 and 13 more in Game 4 while receiving quality starts in each contest. Veteran right fielder Jerad Head was the standout performer in the series, driving in six runs in the opener and reaching base five times in Game 4. First baseman Wes Hodges homered three times and drove in 10 runs.

Clippers skipper Mike Sarbaugh is sticking with 2010 playoff tradition by sending southpaw David Huff to the mound. The 26-year-old started Game 1 in both the Semifinals and Finals, receiving a no-decision in the former and a win in the latter. He has compiled a 1.93 ERA over 14 postseason innings after going 8-2 with a 4.36 ERA over 12 regular season starts for Columbus.

Tacoma is countering with Ryan Feierabend, who allowed a run on two hits over eight innings in must-win Game 5 of the semifinals series with Sacramento. The left-hander hopes to retain that playoff magic after going 2-5 with a 5.47 ERA over his final 10 regular season outings.

But should either pitcher scuffle, they shouldn't expect to be on the mound for long. This is the last game of the season, after all.

"One nice thing about [the game] is that you've got everybody available, pitching-wise," Sarbaugh told The Columbus Dispatch. "Pretty much everybody can throw."

In brief

Inaugural appearances: 2010 marks the first time that either Tacoma or Columbus has appeared in the Triple-A championship. The contest was won by Tucson in 2006, Sacramento in 2007 and '08 and Durham in 2009.

Homer happy: Both clubs have experienced postseason power surges, with Tacoma bashing 14 and Columbus crushing 13. The Rainiers hit 185 home runs during the regular season, the most in all of Triple-A. Halman led the way with 33, while Mike Carp bashed 29.

Looks familiar: The game features a Mariners affiliate taking on an Indians affiliate, and this matchup is not without precedent in the 2010 playoffs. The Class A Midwest League Championship Series pitted Seattle's Clinton LumberKings against Cleveland's Lake County Captains, with the Captains emerging victorious Monday in Game 5. It was Lake County's first season in the league.