Redbirds' Lynn fans career-high 16

When Lance Lynn was getting loose in the bullpen before Game 3 of the Pacific Coast League semifinals, there wasn't one sign that pointed to the dominant effort that was to come.

His fastball wasn't popping, his curveball wasn't breaking and he took the mound in the first inning feeling frustrated.

The former first-round pick allowed three consecutive one-out hits, but after spotting the Oklahoma City RedHawks a one-run lead, he decided to start from scratch.

Lynn retired the final 20 batters he faced, striking out a career-high 16, as the Memphis Redbirds beat Oklahoma City, 6-2, to sweep their best-of-5 series and return to the PCL Finals.

"I felt horrible [in the bullpen]," Lynn said. "It was one of those things where I wasn't throwing anything where I wanted it to. It was really frustrating. Then I gave up three straight hits in the first inning and I was like, 'OK, let's see how it goes.' And then after that, I was throwing the ball past them."

Lynn (13-10) avoided a big first inning by fanning Max Ramirez and Ryan Garko to strand a pair of runners. He didn't allow another ball to leave the infield the rest of the way.

The 23-year-old right-hander struck out the side in the third, sixth and seventh innings, fanning nine of his final 10 batters before turning over a 6-1 lead to the bullpen.

"It felt great," Lynn said. "To have a start like that at this time of the year and get the team to the next round is what it is all about. Anything else is just as added bonus."

Lynn was solid for much of the second half of the season, going 7-3 and twice striking out 11 batters. That momentum seemed to carry him through the rough opening inning and deep into his first postseason start of 2010.

"I was able to locate my fastball and it had good life on it, and I threw my off-speed pitches to keep them honest," he said. "It was one of those things where every pitch I threw was exactly where I wanted it to go. You just have to run with it, and I kept doing what was working."

Adam Reifer came on in the eighth after the University of Mississippi had thrown 109 pitches. Eduardo Sanchez tossed a perfect ninth to complete the sweep.

"They don't like us to go over 105 or 110 pitches and I was at 109 tonight," Lynn said. "With a five-run lead and two days of rest before the next game, it was easier to give our bullpen some work because they have been lights-out.

"It was more meaningful to have a good outing and to do this when you win. If you lose, it doesn't feel as good."

With pitching taken care of, all the Redbirds needed was to plate a couple runs to punch their ticket to the Finals.

Leadoff man James Rapoport went 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, while Donovan Solano also had three hits and scored two runs out of the No. 9 hole. Mark Hamilton's two-run double snapped a tie in the third and put Memphis in front to stay.

"We have just been hitting. I think we won 12 or 13 of our last 15 games, it was outrageous," Lynn said. "I think Oklahoma City just ran into a hot team."

The Redbirds will meet Tacoma or Sacramento in the best-of-5 Championship Series.

In other Pacific Coast League action:

Sacramento River Cats 6, Tacoma Rainiers 2

Michael Taylor slugged a three-run homer and Matt Watson added a two-run shot as Sacramento avoided the three-game sweep. Vin Mazzaro limited the Rainiers to one run on three hits over five innings for the win. Box score