Phenoms pack Saturday’s AFL title game

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — After the wildest regular season in Arizona Fall League history, the Mesa Solar Sox and Surprise Saguaros will meet in a one-game playoff for the championship.

Five of the AFL’s six teams remained in contention for a division title on the final day of the regular season on Thursday. Surprise (17-14-1) nearly squandered a two-game lead with three to play in the West Division before rallying for a 4-2 victory of the Salt River Rafters in their season finale.

Mesa and Surprise square off at Scottsdale Stadium at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, with the game broadcast live on MLB Network and MLB.com. It’s the first playoff appearance for both clubs since the 2013 championship game, when Mookie Betts drove in a run in a 2-0 Saguaros victory. The Solar Sox last won the AFL title in 2003.

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“We are all pretty stoked about playing in the championship,” Saguaros outfielder Tanner English (Twins) said. “This is a tough league and to be able to play in this game is a pretty cool opportunity. We are going to go out there, continue to do what we’ve been doing, have some fun and see if we can win this thing.”

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The Rafters were three outs from eliminating Mesa (16-15-1) in the East on Tuesday before the Solar Sox scored three runs in the bottom of the 11th. Salt River dropped its last two games, allowing Mesa to win the East by a half-game with a 6-6 tie against the Scottsdale Scorpions on Thursday.

“It would be awesome to win a championship at any level, from A ball to the World Series,” Solar Sox outfielder Bradley Zimmer (Indians top prospect) said. “We’ve had a lot of …

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