CHICAGO (AP) — Aaron Judge and the New York Yankees, Mookie Betts and the Los Angeles Dodgers, Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros — they’re all just looking for more of the same.

The Atlanta Braves’ title defense is rolling along, and Julio Rodríguez and the Seattle Mariners are looking to crash the playoff party.

As baseball returns from the All-Star break — all packed up and ready to go after the AL’s 3-2 victory at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night — the postseason picture is quite crowded, thanks to the addition of a third wild card in each league.

The October equation can change in a hurry, too.

Just ask Rodríguez and the Mariners, winners of 14 in a row.

Or the contenders looking at the Aug. 2 trade deadline, with Cincinnati Reds ace Luis Castillo, Chicago Cubs catcher Willson Contreras and, yes, Washington Nationals slugger Juan Soto, all believed to be on the market to varying degrees.

Welcome back, indeed.

“We still got a long way to go,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “A lot of baseball to play.”

Roberts’ club is one of three teams with at least a nine-game lead in their respective divisions heading into the second half.

Led by Betts and Freddie Freeman, Los Angeles is 10 games up on Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres in the NL West.

“Just a lot of good things happened in the first half for us,” Freeman said.

Altuve and Houston still have a nine-game lead in the AL West, even with the win streak for Seattle.

The Astros and Mariners close out their season series with seven more games this month, beginning Friday night in Seattle.

“I thought the Mariners had a good team from the very beginning, and I told everybody that then at the time, they finished extremely strong last year, and you know, you have to beat them,” Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “They are not going to beat themselves.”

The AL East has been the best division in baseball — every team is .500 or better, even the 46-46 Baltimore Orioles — but that hasn’t affected New York very much at all.

The Yankees begin the second half with a gaudy 64-28 record and a whopping 13-game lead over Tampa Bay.

While Giancarlo Stanton has delivered his usual power and Clay Holmes has been one of the game’s most dominant relievers, it’s Judge leading the way for the Bronx Bombers.

He is batting .284 with 33 homers and 70 RBIs, joining Shohei Ohtani among the frontrunners for AL MVP.

“I think he continues to get better and better as a leader, which has always been, I think, a positive trait of his,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “But I would just say he’s a more complete, refined, veteran player that is also in the prime of his career.”

Judge and the Yankees are trying to chase down the franchise’s first championship since 2009 and No. 28 overall.

But there are all sorts of potential roadblocks — both nearby and further away.

The crosstown Mets are on top of the NL East, looking to hold off the Braves and take the franchise’s first division title since 2015.

Each of baseball’s Central divisions had a mediocre first half, but Milwaukee and St. Louis have an array of stars, and Carlos Correa could power Minnesota back into the playoffs — after it finished last in the AL Central in 2021.

Even the Chicago White Sox, who underperformed early on, showed some positive signs while taking three of four at the division-leading Twins in the runup to the break.

“We’ve been talking about it for a while. We’re going to turn the corner,” White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech said. “Things are going to start going our way.”

The return of switch-hitting catcher Yasmani Grandal could provide a lift for the White Sox, who are looking for their third consecutive playoff appearance.

The injured list might have a more dramatic effect on the pennant races than the trade deadline.

Mets ace Jacob deGrom is coming back after he was sidelined by a stress reaction in his right scapula.

Second baseman Ozzie Albies could rejoin Atlanta’s loaded lineup next month after he broke his left foot on June 14.

Philadelphia slugger Bryce Harper, San Diego shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. and Houston right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. also could return in time to help their teams down the stretch.

DeGrom, a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner, hasn’t pitched all year.

He could team with Max Scherzer to give New York a dominant 1-2 punch at the top of its rotation.

“We all want Jake back,” Mets left-hander David Peterson said. “We all want him healthy, that’s the most important thing. We want him to be productive and we want him to be Jake, the Jake that we love.”

* * *

AP Baseball Writer Jake Seiner, AP Sports Writers Greg Beacham and Dave Campbell, and AP freelance reporter Jeremy Rakes contributed to this report.

CHILLICOTHE — Now this was worth the early Wednesday wakeup call, and even 9 a.m. first pitch, if you’re Portsmouth Post 23.

And, to be honest, nobody inside sunsplashed VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe could have possibly — reasonably — predicted this.

While most objective observers, and even the two head coaches, believed Wednesday’s winners’ bracket final between second-seeded Portsmouth and top-seeded Waverly was primed for a low-scoring pitcher’s duel —that indeed was far from the case.

Instead, Portsmouth’s bright and early offensive onslaught against Shocker starting pitcher and Valley product Carter Nickel kick-started another lopsided Region V American Legion Baseball Seniors Tournament triumph for Post 23.

Portsmouth poured out 16 runs on 16 hits to punch its Region V Tournament title tilt ticket, and sent a dozen batters to the first-inning plate for a second consecutive day —all part of a 16-3 throttling, and quite a shellshock to the Shockers.

Actually, it was quite a stunner to all inside VA Memorial Stadium, including Post 23 head coach Josh McGraw.

That’s because Nickel is a top-notch pitcher —as the Valley senior-to-be was a Division IV all-Ohio first-team hurler this past season, per the Ohio High School Baseball Coaches Association.

But, Wednesday was NOT Nickel’s morning.

A day after erupting for 13 runs on 13 hits, including eight runs on five hits and two Chillicothe errors in the opening inning on Tuesday, now 17-6 Portsmouth put up five earned against Nickel —all on four extra-base hits.

Post 23 had 12 at-bats in the first for a second straight game, as five runs on five hits and a pair of Waverly errors extended the half-inning to 22 total minutes.

The entire inning itself spanned a half-hour —for context.

“The score is surprising,” admitted McGraw. “They (Shockers) are a great ballclub and they threw a really good pitcher at us, and we just got on him in the first inning. Nickel is legit. He just left some balls up in the zone and we made them pay. You’re coming into this game expecting a 3-2 or 4-3 ballgame or some score like that. We just found a groove, which is abnormal against a team like that, and rode with it. The kids did great, kept hitting the ball hard. A lot of those 16 basehits were extra-base hits. Not only that, we had some sacrifice flies and ground balls with guys on third. Everybody one thru nine in the lineup, including the subs we put in, doing their jobs. “

It all started as leadoff man Holden Blankenship blistered a missile liner — right off Shockers’ second baseman Jase Hurd’s glove.

But the rocket of a shot had so much exit velocity on it that it steamrolled all the way to the wall, as the speedy Blankenship mad-dashed his way around the bases for a highly-rare inside-the-park home run.

That, of course, set the tone.

Nickel hit Brock Kitchen on the next at-bat, before back-to-back doubles by Cooper McKenzie and Caeleb McGraw —combined with a throwing error on McGraw’s two-bagger —made it 3-0 only four batters in.

McGraw then scored on an error off Isaiah Kelly’s bat, designated hitter Lane Hutchinson hit into a 3-6 fielder’s choice to reach, and Jakob Tipton doubled to left center to score Hutchinson for the sudden 5-0 advantage.

Only seven batters in, Roger Woodruff replaced Nickel, as Woodruff lasted only seven batters himself — allowing a Landon Hutchinson single and a Jacob Sloan walk in the first — before getting two outs with the bases loaded.

McKenzie and McGraw paced the winners with three hits apiece, followed by two from Landon Hutchinson, Kelly and Blankenship — including a second-stanza triple by Kelly and a seventh-inning three-bagger by Blankenship.

In the second, Post 23 added two runs on three consecutive hits, including Kelly’s aforementioned triple.

Woodruff was relieved for Peyton Harris at that point, but Lane Hutchinson singled in Kelly to make it 7-0.

Three-quarters of Portsmouth’s 16 hits came courtesy of its top two-thirds in the order.

“Holden (Blankenship) is a legit baseball player, one of the better ones around. He leads us, and as he goes we go. Our two, three, four, five, six hitters behind him, they crushed the baseball. It accumulated off that first inning,” said Coach McGraw. “It was fun to watch.”

Only if, though, you’re not part of the Shockers’ contingent —for it was Waverly’s worst run-differential loss of the entire summer.

“They barreled a lot of baseballs. First ball of the game goes right off Jase Hurd’s glove and turns into a home run,” said Post 142 coach Jonathan Teeters. “Maybe if we catch that ball, it’s a different game. But Portsmouth’s lineup one thru nine, they can swing it and hit it. They just jumped on us early. Credit goes to them.”

Harris pitched the remainder of the game for the Shockers —going the final five and two-thirds frames and facing 30 total batters.

After Lane Hutchinson’s second-inning single, the only baserunners he allowed until Portsmouth’s late blitzkrieg was a third-inning Sloan leadoff walk — and a fifth-inning Landon Hutchinson one-out safety.

In between, in the third, the Shockers scored all three of their runs on four hits —but Portsmouth amounted the final nine runs over the final two frames.

In the sixth, Post 23 combined four singles, a walk to Kelly, two errors, and an Aodhan Queen sacrifice fly for its four runs.

Kitchen had a leadoff single, and Hunter Thomas tallied an RBI-single to make it 10-3.

In the seventh, Portsmouth added on five runs and three hits and the final Shocker error —combining walks to Kelly and Caeleb McGraw, and back-to-back sac flies from Queen and Thomas, as Thomas tacked on the 16th and final marker with his.

By then, the outcome wasn’t in doubt — only the final score.

And, whether or not Portsmouth pitcher Bryson Brown could finish off a complete-game gem.

He came oh so close, reaching by rule his pitch count limit in the last —following his final of eight hits allowed, his seventh and final strikeout, and his one and only walk (to Hurd).

Trenton Williams saw two Shockers, and induced back-to-back game-ending flyouts.

But what Brown did was bear down, retiring the Shockers 1-2-3 in the opening two innings —and facing the minimum three in the fifth, thanks to Blankenship assisting on back-to-back groundball outs, including an inning-ending 6-3 double play.

In the fourth, with Waverly trailing 7-3, the Shockers singled with one and two outs —only to see Brown escape the jam with a strikeout.

In the sixth, Portsmouth made its only error and the leadoff man made it on —but Brown got the final three outs to keep it 11-3.

“It was good to see Bryson back out there. He had a lot of rest coming in and hadn’t pitched in a while,” said Coach McGraw. “He had to come out because he reached his pitch-count limit, but he was dominant again today except for one inning.”

That inning was the third, which Waverly’s Ben Nichols punctuated with a two-run triple.

But Brown left Nichols at third, and benefited from an infield fly for the second out, which Teeters argued over —especially since the popup was dropped in the outfield.

“We got something going there, and that infield fly ruling was very questionable, as that’s the best way I can word it. It was an infield fly call in right field. I’ve never seen it or even heard of it being called that far out,” said the coach. “But baseball is about breaks, and that was the break that we lost but we couldn’t afford to lose.”

Speaking of lost, the loss dropped the now 15-13 Shockers into the losers’ bracket —where Wednesday afternoon they played sixth-seeded Yeager-Benson in the losers’ bracket final.

The winner was to play Portsmouth on Thursday in the championship game, which is set for a 10 a.m. first pitch at Chillicothe High School’s field.

A second championship bout, if needed, will immediately follow around 1 p.m.

But Post 23 has to lose twice — whether Waverly or Yeager-Benson was the opponent.

All a red-hot Portsmouth club has to do is win once, and it will win the Region V championship — coupled with an automatic berth in next week’s Ohio American Legion Baseball state tournament in Lancaster.

McGraw hopes Thursday’s conclusion to the region tournament goes just as well as the first two days have —with wins.

“It has gone well, and whoever we play has to beat us twice. We’ll be ready to go, the kids will be ready, and it’s going to be a great team no matter who we play,” he said. “This tournament couldn’t have gone better for us so far, we’ve only used two pitchers (Brown and Vinnie Lonardo), we’re hitting the ball well, we’re hot at the right time and we’re rolling right now. We’ll see what we’ve got tomorrow (Thursday) and hopefully win one more.”

* * *

Portsmouth 520 004 5 —16 16 1

Waverly 003 000 0 — 3 8 5

Portsmouth: Bryson Brown 6 1/3IP, 3R, 3ER, 8H, 0HB, 1BB, 7K, 28BF; Trenton Williams 2/3IP, 0R, 0ER, 0H, 0HB, 0BB, 0K, 2BF

Chillicothe: Carter Nickel 1/3IP, 5R, 5ER, 4H, 1HB, 0BB, 0K, 7BF; Roger Woodruff 1IP, 2R, 2ER, 3H, 0HB, 1BB, 1K, 7BF; Peyton Harris 5 2/3 IP, 9R, 6ER, 9H, 0HB, 4BB, 1K, 30BF

W — Bryson Brown; L — Carter Nickel

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Giancarlo Stanton homered into an especially sweet spot in his Dodger Stadium homecoming at the All-Star Game, putting his name alongside some of the sluggers he loved watching from the left field seats as a kid.

Byron Buxton followed with another drive and the American League won its ninth straight Midsummer Classic, beating the National League 3-2 on Tuesday night.

AL manager Dusty Baker reminded his team of the winning streak before the game.

“We had to hold it down for him and keep it going,” Stanton said.

Fans rooting for a tie score after nine innings so they could see a first-time home run derby decide the winner instead of extra innings didn’t get their wish.

Instead, the back-to-back homers in the fourth inning were the difference — as the AL boosted its overall edge to 47-43-2.

Facing 11-game winner Tony Gonsolin of the Dodgers, Stanton’s impressive 457-foot, two-run shot landed in the left-field pavilion.

“He smokes them,” NL manager Brian Snitker said. “Big, strong kid.”

Stanton and his father, Mike, would sit out there after buying tickets off scalpers for whatever price they could afford.

“My Pops took me to my first Dodger game, showed me how to have love for this game and now we’re here,” the New York Yankees slugger said. “Look at us, it’s just incredible.”

Despite his love for the home team, Stanton thrilled at seeing the visiting sluggers.

“It was really the big boppers when they came into town,” he said. “I wanted to see (Mark) McGwire, (Sammy) Sosa and (Barry) Bonds, even if it was two at-bats. All that wraps around full circle.”

Stanton was chosen the game’s MVP, receiving a glass bat engraved with his name from two-time MVP Steve Garvey and Billie Jean King, part of the Dodgers ownership.

“It hasn’t fully sank in,” he said. “It’s going to be an amazing memory for all of our lives.”

The homer ended Stanton’s career 0 for 7 skid in the game and at 111.2 mph, it was the hardest-hit homer in an All-Star Game tracked by Statcast.

Also scoring was José Ramírez, tying the game 2-all.

Four pitches later, Buxton went deep to give the AL a 3-2 lead against a clearly frustrated Gonsolin, who took the loss.

Nine-time All-Star Clayton Kershaw got the first start of his career for the NL in his home ballpark, with the Dodgers hosting for the first time since 1980.

Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani got the game’s first hit on Kershaw’s first pitch.

Framber Valdez of Houston got the win, tossing a scoreless third inning.

AL starter Shane McClanahan of Tampa Bay gave up two runs and four hits.

The first-time All-Star, who owns an MLB-leading 1.71 ERA, had allowed four hits or fewer in his last seven starts.

McClanahan combined with 10 other pitchers on the five-hitter.

Cleveland closer Emmanuel Clase put on quite a show, striking out the side in the ninth to earn the save.

Austin Riley’s single in the eighth was the NL’s only hit after the first inning.

Ohtani led off for the AL as the designated hitter.

Interviewed moments before the start, the Japanese superstar said, in English, he was going to swing.

He cracked a 91-mph fastball into center field on the first pitch.

“I was definitely swinging a hundred percent,” Ohtani later said through a translator. “Kershaw has really good command.”

His hit snapped an 0 for 8 streak as a hitter against Kershaw.

Last year, Ohtani was the starting pitcher and led off as the DH in the AL’s 5-2 win at Denver.

He didn’t pitch this year so he can start for Friday in the Angels’ first game after the break at Atlanta.

“I mean, you can’t throw the first pitch of an All-Star Game as a breaking ball,” Kershaw said. “You kind of had to give him a heater there, I think just for everything. Had to do it.”

But the three-time NL Cy Young Award winner had the last word.

Kershaw fired a pickoff throw to first that caught Ohtani off the bag.

“Honestly, I didn’t know quite know what to throw yet. Sometimes I throw over there for a second to be convicted with the pitch,” Kershaw said. “I wasn’t trying to pick him off. I was trying to delay the game for a bit, but it worked out.”

Then the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, who leads the majors in home runs, went down swinging.

After Rafael Devers walked, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded into a fielder’s choice, and Kershaw walked off to applause from the appreciative crowd.

“I tried to take a minute at the beginning to take it all in and look around, which I usually never do,” Kershaw said. “It kind of calmed everything down for me and then I had a lot of fun.”

The NL wasted no time in taking its first 2-0 lead in 10 years.

Styling in yellow spikes and alternate yellow and red sleeves, Ronald Acuña Jr. led off the bottom of the first with a ground-rule double to left and scored on Mookie Betts’ single.

Paul Goldschmidt hit a solo homer with two outs.

In between runs, Guardians second baseman Andrés Giménez made a defensive stop on Manny Machado — and followed with a dazzling behind-the-back toss to shortstop Tim Anderson, who threw to first to complete the double play.

A sellout crowd of 52,518 filled Dodger Stadium two years after the third-oldest ballpark in the majors was supposed to host before the game was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

HERE’S TO YOU, MS. ROBINSON

Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, with all of the other All-Stars bunched behind him, led the crowd in sending out 100th birthday wishes to Rachel Robinson. On his 1-2-3 count, the crowd and players shouted “Happy birthday, Rachel!” The widow of Jackie Robinson didn’t travel from her home in Connecticut. She visited Dodger Stadium in April on Jackie Robinson Day to mark the 75th anniversary of her husband breaking baseball’s color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Jackie Robinson’s achievement was honored with on-field comments by Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington and a presentation on the video boards.

FIRST PITCH

Backed by a mariachi band, Dodgers great Fernando Valenzuela tossed out the ceremonial first pitch. Fittingly, first-time All-Star Alejandro Kirk of Toronto served as catcher. Kirk and Valenzuela were both born in Mexico. Fernandomania gripped the Dodgers in 1981, when the left-hander won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in helping LA win the World Series.

FASHION CRITICS

The reviews were mostly negative for the second straight year on the All-Star uniforms. The AL wore dark gray uniforms that blended into the plate umpire’s black shirt and dark gray pants. The NL wore all-white uniforms. Both had gold lettering. Fans were critical on social media, with “atrocious” a frequent critique. Last year, MLB went away from wearing traditional jerseys, which met with heavy online criticism.

MIC’ED UP MANOAH

Alek Manoah, Toronto’s expressive right-hander, wore a microphone and earpiece while pitching the second inning, engaging in an entertaining conversation with Fox analyst and Hall of Famer John Smoltz. “How hard am I throwing?” Manoah asked early. He also sought scouting reports on Joc Pederson and Acuña Jr. Manoah did fine, striking out three and also plunking Jeff McNeil with a pitch. A lot of players were mic’ed up. Fans heard Judge and Stanton talking back and forth while playing the outfield, and Yankees batterymates Nestor Cortes and Jose Trevino talking while working together.

THE SHIFT IS STILL ON

Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman batted in the third to the now familiar chants of “Freddie! Freddie!” Even in the exhibition game, an extreme shift was on and he was thrown out from right field. Home Run Derby champion Juan Soto got thrown out by the third baseman playing much closer to second base to end the fifth. Next season, the shift is likely going away in the majors.

TAKING IT EASY

Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully, the voice of the Dodgers for 67 years before retiring in 2016, watched the game from his Los Angeles home. The Bronx-born 94-year-old began calling games when the franchise was located in Brooklyn — and followed the team out West ahead of the 1958 season.

UP NEXT

The regular season resumes with six games on Thursday, including Stanton, Judge and the Yankees playing a doubleheader at Houston. The Yankees own the best record in the majors at 64-28. Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez and Baker’s Astros have the second-best mark in the AL at 59-32.

Also, it will be Freeman, Betts, Trea Turner and the Dodgers, topping the NL at 60-30, hosting the Giants.

CHILLICOTHE — Apparently, top-seeded Waverly wasn’t about to let third-seeded Hillsboro have another upset.

That’s because the Post 142 Shockers, despite needing nine innings, won in walkoff fashion for their winners’ bracket victory on Tuesday in the Region V American Legion Baseball Seniors Tournament —taking it 3-2 in a morning matchup inside Chillicothe’s VA Memorial Stadium.

That’s correct, with Waverly’s Jase Hurd hitting a deep fly ball into left field in the bottom of the ninth — which went over the Hillsboro defender’s head, and landed for a one-out game-winning single.

It was the Shockers’ 10th and final hit, as Waverly was no-hit by Hillsboro and shut out 7-0 in an SCOL contest only 10 days ago —for the Shockers’ only league loss in eight games played.

Tuesday’s tilt stood tied 2-2 —as the Shockers scored twice in the third, before Hillsboro battled back with both of its points in the fifth.

Going all the way to the ninth, Roger Woodruff —relieving Shocker starting pitcher Ben Nichols on the mound after eight impressive innings —gave up only one Hillsboro hit.

In the bottom half, Woodruff drew a leadoff walk, Tra Swayne sacrifice bunted him over to second, and Alex Boles walked with one away.

The leadoff hitter Hurd hit his high fly to left field, and it was beyond the reach of the Post 129 defender — and which Woodruff crossed when it dropped.

So not only was Woodruff the winning pitcher, he scored the game-winning run.

The Shockers are now 15-12 and, more importantly, play Portsmouth Post 23 in Wednesday’s winners’ bracket final.

First pitch between the top two seeds, right back bright and early at VA Memorial Stadium, is set for 9 a.m.

Portsmouth punched its ticket to the winners’ finals, by erasing a 3-0 deficit against fifth-seeded Chillicothe —and scoring the final 13 runs en route to a 13-3 six-inning mercy-rule rout (see related story).

Nichols notched eight innings pitched for the Shockers, allowing two earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out 10.

“Benny was outstanding on the mound for us and Woody came in and threw very well right after him,” said Post 142 coach Jonathan Teeters. “Big win for us to open the tournament. We are excited to remain in the winners’ bracket.”

Hillsboro scored twice off Nichols in the fifth —all with two outs and for all three of his hits.

Isaiah Curtis singled, took second on a wild pitch, Spencer Wyckoff walked, and two batters later, Hunter Burns singled in Curtis and Wyckoff.

The Shockers scored twice in the third —when Boles doubled with one out, L.T. Jordan tripled him home with two outs, and Nichols singled him in.

Jordan, Nichols and Hurd had two hits apiece, as Peyton Harris had a triple in the seventh while Boles walked —but neither scored and sent the game to extra innings.

Other opportunities for the Shockers included Jordan singling in the first and Swayne singling in the fourth but both being stranded, Hurd singling in the fifth but being caught stealing, Roop singling in the sixth but being doubled up as part of a 6-4-3, and Nichols singling but being left at second in the eighth.

But, as it turned out, Waverly wasn’t about to let Hillsboro have another upset —so the Shockers walked it off in the ninth.

CHILLICOTHE — The Colts may have had a fast and early pace on Tuesday, but like any good horse jockey or driver, Vinnie Lonardo quickly —and calmly —reeled Chillicothe in.

It didn’t take long, either, for Portsmouth Post 23 to crack the proverbial whip with the sound of its bats —and mix in some Chillicothe errors, and eight issued free passes.

That said, if the minimum number of victories is three this week for an Ohio Region V American Legion Baseball Seniors Tournament championship, then check off Post 23 for the first leg of that Triple Crown.

That’s because, trailing the Colts 3-0 after their initial at-bat, Portsmouth broke free for the final 13 runs —and as a result corralled Chillicothe 13-3 in six innings in a winners’ bracket bout inside sunsoaked VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe.

That’s correct —the fifth-seeded and upset-minded Colts, which were hammered 28-2 by Portsmouth merely a week ago at Chillicothe’s Hoffman Field for an SCOL regular-season tilt, charged out front for three earned runs on four singles and Post 23’s only error of the day.

The Portsmouth left-hander Lonardo also walked one of his early eight batters, but after David Magill’s two-out and two-run single for the Colts made it 3-0 —Lonardo dealt, and simply dominated, Chillicothe after that.

Meanwhile, Portsmouth provided Lonardo plenty of run support —for starters how about eight runs on five hits and two Chillicothe fielding errors, with a dozen batters seeing the plate in the first.

Throw in a pair of Austin Magill walks, a McGill wild pitch, and even Caeleb McGraw’s RBI-groundout which made it 3-2, and the Blue Jays were the ones off and racing —or rather flying to Wednesday’s winners’ bracket finals.

With Tuesday’s triumph, called following six innings with the 10-run mercy rule, Post 23 raised its record to 16-6 —and shook off any doldrums looming from an entire week of only two games, regular-season wins at Chillicothe (28-2) last Tuesday and at Waverly (5-0) last Thursday.

Speaking of Waverly, and Wednesday’s winners’ bracket final, second-seeded Portsmouth plays the top-seeded Shockers in that affair at 9 a.m. —right back at venerable, and what might be at another steambaked, VA Memorial Stadium.

The winner will advance to Thursday’s championship game —which is being played at Chillicothe High School’s Mount Logan Field.

The Shockers swept Post 23 in regular-season SCOL competition, thus earning the top seed of six for the Region V Tournament.

Thursday’s 5-0 shutout was a non-league duel, as the Shockers needed nine innings on Tuesday morning — nudging Hillsboro 3-2 in that winners’ bracket battle.

Hillsboro had upset on the brain — and so did Chillicothe — although its opening-inning success didn’t include Lonardo fielding a bunt and flipping to catcher Cooper McKenzie for a force out on a squeeze play, the first of Lonardo’s 10 strikeouts, or Isaiah Kelly catching a key fly ball in right field for the third out with two Colts on.

After that, for Chillicothe, as Newfound Glory once sang, it was all downhill from here.

Lonardo allowed only one walk with three hits over his final five frames, as he retired the Colts 1-2-3 in innings three and six —and faced four batters apiece in stanzas two and five.

He struck out two Colts in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth —as Braylon Leach landed two singles as part of Chillicothe’s final three hits, which included D.J. Crocker’s leadoff triple to right field for the fifth.

But Lonardo left him there, ending that threat with the second groundout of the game to shortstop Holden Blankenship.

Post 23 head coach Josh McGraw discussed Lonardo’s difference for the final five innings.

“Vinnie is one of our guys, but he hadn’t thrown in a while, so he was finding his feel on the mound. He struggled in the first inning, his fastball was up and didn’t have much of a curveball. But a lot of guys, a lot of teams, they will feel that pressure right there at that point and shut it down. A game you should win, but in the top of the first you are down 3-0. But we lit it up after that. Scored eight runs in the bottom of the first, two two-run doubles in that inning, and that triggered a little bit in Vinnie,” said McGraw. “From the top of the second through the sixth, he was dominant and I am very proud of him. We needed him to go the whole game. That was our goal, to save pitching for the rest of the tournament, he needed to have this whole game and he did a fabulous job. The top of the fifth, they get a leadoff triple, but he didn’t score. Vinnie wasn’t out there just throwing, but he was big-time pitching.”

Lonardo handled his business on the mound, while the remainder of the Post 23 unit took care of its at the dish.

Blankenship and Brock Kitchen started with singles to center off Austin Magill, then McKenzie doubled to left center, bringing Blankenship in.

Caeleb McGraw grounded out to cross Kitchen, then Kelly reached on an error —setting up designated hitter Lane Hutchinson hitting a grounder, which rolled all the way to the left-centerfield wall for a two-run lead-staking double.

Jakob Tipton reached on another fielding error, then following a fielder’s choice, Jacob Sloan and Blankenship both drew Magill walks —with Sloan’s loading the bases and Blankenship’s bringing in Tipton to make it 5-3.

Hunter Thomas scored on a wild pitch, then Kitchen doubled to left center similar to Hutchinson’s —as Sloan and Blankenship scored for the now 8-3 advantage.

With that, Magill —with only three earned runs allowed and seeing 11 batters —was replaced by Peter Brockman.

Portsmouth pounded out 13 hits, including two apiece by Kitchen, Blankenship and McGraw —as Blankenship led off the fifth with a double, but he and Kitchen who walked fell victims on the bases to the Colts turning a rare but incredible triple play.

However, that was Chillicothe’s high point proceeding the opening inning.

In the fourth, Tipton singled in Kelly who walked, as Thomas reached on an infield hit —with Tipton racing around and in from first as the result of a throwing error.

In the sixth, it was McGraw reaching on an infield hit against Brockman and Landon Hutchinson drawing a one-out walk — as pinch-hitters Aodhan Queen and Tyler Brammer both had back-to-back RBI-singles for a 12-3 lead.

Sloan, who singled in the third, was hit by a Leach pitch to load the bases —and two batters later, Kitchen’s at-bat resulted in an error, bringing Brammer across and ending it.

“Our offense was rolling, and our first six or seven hitters really led us today. We put it in play and we hit the ball hard. When our first five guys get on base, and it all starts with Holden Blankenship in that leadoff spot, we can be dangerous,” said Coach McGraw.

McGraw coaches the Jackson Ironmen in the high school season, as Blankenship represents the Red and White —as does Portsmouth pitcher for Wednesday with Bryson Brown.

Brown gets the ball against the Shockers, as Post 23 tries to punch its ticket to Thursday’s championship.

“Waverly is a very good ballclub. We know what they are and they know what we are,” said the coach. “Just go out and play and see what happens. I expect it to be a great pitching game, and we’re going to go after it pretty hard. A win tomorrow (Wednesday) will put us in the driver’s seat, but you have to play inning by inning, because you’re going to play good teams no matter what.”

* * *

Chillicothe 300 000 — 3 7 4

Portsmouth 800 203 —13 13 1

Chillicothe: Austin McGill 2/3IP, 8R, 3ER, 5H, 0HB, 2BB, 0K, 11BF; Peter Brockman 4 2/3IP, 4R, 3ER, 7H, 0HB, 5BB, 2K, 23BF; Braylon Leach 1/3IP, 1R, 0ER, 1H, 1HB, 0BB, 0K, 4BF

Portsmouth: Vinnie Lonardo 6IP, 3R, 3ER, 7H, 0HB, 2BB, 10K, 27BF

W — Vinnie Lonardo; L — Austin McGill