Suns crushed in Asheville

I was going to wait on a post on the SAL championship series between the Hagerstown Suns and Asheville Tourists and just post a short review of the game from the radio from the two games in North Carolina.

However,considering that the Tourists slammed their way to a 14-0 lead and eventually cruised to a 16-7 win and a one game to nothing lead,I'll pass on a review,but I will add some thoughts on the series which features the best two teams in the SAL.
Editor's Note;Most of this article was written before the Asheville 16-7 win on Monday.
That isn't always the case in minor league playoffs as teams that win first halves often aren't the same team by seasons end after promotions and injuries take their toll.

The Asheville Tourists were the top overall team in wins this season in the SAL South and made a key move late in the season that upgraded their lineup and might have tipped the scales in any potential series-They demoted David Dahl back to Asheville after Dahl performed well there earlier this year.
Dahl performed reasonably well at High A Modesto,but was demoted in a surprising move.
Parent clubs rarely give that much credence to minor league playoffs,let alone care enough to drop a player of Dahl's talent,so I was surprised that the Colorado Rockies did that.
The Rockies also kept top prospects in the SAL all season in Ryan McMahon,Raimel Tapia,Jose Bricano and Correlle Prime when a valid case could be made that any or all could have been moved higher in the system and Colorado even quickly accelerated the movement of 2014 first rounder Kyle Freeland to Asheville as well.
So these Tourists are talented,can the Suns hang with them in a best of five?

Short answer? Yes.
The pitching for the Tourists is good not great and it will depend on that.
Asheville has their own phenom or their Reynaldo Lopez,if you will in Antonio Senzatela and he could possibly pitch in either game 4 or 5 as would the aformentioned Freeland.
Game one features Asheville's Connor Wade vs Nick Pivetta and that's an even match,
Game two might be the most interesting and pivotal matchup as the Tourists throw their Pivetta in Johendi Jimenan (lots of wins,average ERA) against the erratic Wander Suero.
Despite the home field advantage,I firmly believe the Suns need to win one game in North Carolina to win the series.
Hagerstown sends Reynaldo Lopez against Zach Jemiola (9-10 ERA over five) in game three,so you have to think the Suns look good there.
No starters have been announced in the event of a 4th or 5th game.

Prediction time.
I like Asheville.
I'd love to pick the Suns and I'll be rooting hard for them,but Asheville is the better hitting team and without Lucas Giolito,the pitching is closer than it was during the season.
Go ahead and hate me,but I like Asheville in 4.
Hope I'm wrong....