Oct 13

ALCS Game One, 2018

Astros at Red Sox, 5:09 PM PDT, TV: TBS. Brian Anderson and Ron Darling will be the broadcasters.

Two of the best pitchers the AL has to offer face one another in this game: RHP Justin Verlander (16-9, 2.52 ERA) goes for the Astros and LHP Chris Sale (12-4, 2.11 ERA) for the Red Sox. Verlander went 5 1/3 innings in Game One of the ALDS against the Indians, striking out seven while walking only two and allowing just two hits. Sale got the win in Game One of the Red Sox’ ALDS matchup with the Yankees, going 5 1/3 innings, striking out eight, walking two and giving up just two runs.

Today in Astros’ history:

  • 2017 Dallas Keuchel gives up four hits in seven innings of shutout ball against the Yankees in a 2-1 win in Game One of the ALCS.

Today in Red Sox’ history:

  • 1903 In Game 8 of the series, the Boston Pilgrims (Red Sox) defeat the Pirates, 3-0, to take baseball’s first ever world championship, five games to 3. In the 95-minute contest, Bill Dinneen gets the win over Pittsburgh’s Deacon Phillippe in front of a Huntington Avenue Baseball Grounds crowd of 7,455 fans.
  • 2003 A tearful 72 year-old Don Zimmer apologizes for his part in yesterday’s brawl during Game 3 of the ALCS between the Yankees and Red Sox. During the fourth-inning matinee melee at Fenway, the Yankees’ assistant to the manager is thrown to the ground by Pedro Martinez, after charging the right-hander.
  • 2013 David Ortiz hits a game-tying grand slam home run in the 8th inning against the Tigers.

Lineups when available.

Oct 13

NLCS Game Two, 2018

Dodgers at Brewers, 1:09 PM PDT, TV: Fox

Lefty Hyun-Jin Ryu goes for the Dodgers. He has come off a three-month stint on the DL like gangbusters, going 7-3 with a 1.97 ERA. He went seven innings in Game One of the NLDS and got the win against the Braves, too. He’ll face lefty Wade Miley (5-2, 2.57 ERA), who threw a 4 2/3 inning shutout performance of the Rockies in Game Three of the other National League divisional matchup.

Today in Dodgers’ history:

  • 1974 Herb Washington, representing the tying run in the top of the ninth is picked off first base by Dodger closer Mike Marshall for the second out of Game 2, the only contest the A’s will lose in the Fall Classic. The world-class sprinter, who will never have a plate appearance in his brief 105-game career, was selected by Oakland owner Charlie Finley to become the team’s “designated runner,” a position that doesn’t exist with any other major league club.

Today in Brewers’ history:

Lineups when available.

Dodgers’ lineup:


Brewers’ lineup:


Oct 12

NLCS Game One, 2018

Dodgers at Brewers, 5:09 PM PDT, TV: FS1. Who’s gonna do the talking on FS1?

For the National League Championship Series and World Series, Smoltz reunites with multi-Emmy Award-winning announcer Joe Buck in the booth, as well as Rosenthal and Verducci.

The Dodgers start LHP Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73 ERA), who’ll be making his 21st postseason start. He’s 8-7 with a 4.08 ERA in his playoff career. The Brewers give LHP Gio Gonzalez (10-11, 4.21 ERA) the ball. This will be his 7th postseason start; the previous six were with the Nationals, from whom the Brewers acquired him in August. He was 3-0 with the Brewers in September, but his postseason record is 0-0 with a 4.78 ERA.

Today in baseball history:

  • 1916 In front of a record crowd of 43,620 fans at Braves Field, Red Sox right-hander Ernie Shore three-hits the Robins in Game 5 of the World Series, 4-1, to capture the team’s fourth World Championship in the 13-year history of the Fall Classic. Boston, as it did last season, plays its Fall Classic home games in their crosstown National League rival’s larger ballpark, which allows more fans to attend the game than if the contest had held at Fenway Park.
  • 1920 At Cleveland’s League Park, the Indians’ hurler Stan Coveleski blanks the Robins, 3-0, to win the 1920 World Series. The Tribe, en route to the franchise’s first World Championship, wins the best of nine series five games to 2.
  • 1948 The Yankees surprise their fans and a skeptical press when they name Casey Stengel to replace Bucky Harris as the team’s manager. In his previous stints as the skipper with the National League’s Braves and Dodgers, the ‘Old Perfesser’ had never finished higher than fifth place.
  • 1949 Vin Scully, working his first broadcast ever, does the play-by-play when Maryland defeats Boston University at Fenway Park, 14-13. The football assignment marks the start of a 67-year career in the broadcast booth for the Hall of Fame baseball announcer, who becomes the iconic voice of the Dodgers.

Today in Brewers’ history:

  • 1982 In Game 1, the Milwaukee Brewers’ leadoff batter Paul Molitor becomes the first player to collect five hits in a World Series game. The third baseman’s 5-for-6 Fall Classic performance helps Harvey’s Wallbangers rout the Cardinals, 10-0, the largest shutout margin since the Yankees blanked the Bucs 12-0 in 1960.

Lineups when available.

Dodgers:


Brewers:


Oct 09

ALDS Game Four, 2018

The Red Sox, befitting their record as best team in the American League, have a two games to one lead over the Yankees. They look to win the series today and get ready for the Astros.

Red Sox at Yankees, 5:07 PM PDT, TV: TBS

The Red Sox send RHP Rick Porcello (17-7, 4.28 ERA) to the Yankee Stadium mound to face the Yankees’ ageless lefty C.C. Sabathia (9-7, 3.65 ERA). Porcello got the first two outs of the eighth inning in Game One, after the Yankees had trimmed a 5-0 Bosox lead to 5-3 in the sixth and seventh. He’s gone 0-3 with a 5.47 ERA in five postseason trips before 2018. This will be Sabathia’s 23rd postseason start; he has a 10-6 record with a 4.20 ERA in his previous 22 playoff appearances with Cleveland, Milwaukee and the Yankees going back to 2001.

The Red Sox have little history on October 9: On this date in 1915 they won Game Two of the Fall Classic in a game more notable for being the first World Series game ever attended by a US President.

The Yankees have often played on October 9, but perhaps the most memorable game was played in 1996. With the Yankees trailing 4-3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Derek Jeter ties the game with a deep fly ball to right field that is ruled a home run by umpire Rich Garcia, despite the protest of outfielder Tony Tarasco and Orioles manager Davey Johnson, who claim there was spectator interference that prevented the ball from being caught. Video replay clearly shows 12 year-old Jeffrey Maier reaching over the fence and bringing the catchable live ball into the stands, forever changing the outcome of Game 1 of the ALCS, and, many believe, of the series.

Lineups when available.

Oct 09

NLDS Post-mortem stories

From The Athletic:

Machado and the Dodgers’ attempts to keep him from pressing.

Freese, seemingly impervious to big-moment pressure.

Madson and the late-season adjustment.

From the LA Times:

Plaschke on Game Four.

Dylan Hernandez on Freese.

Andy McCullough on Machado and more.

Jorge Castillo and Andy McCullough on NLCS Game One starter Kershaw.

Houston Mitchell on the Dodgers’ previous results against the Brewers.

Oct 08

NLDS Game Four, 2018

The NL has only one divisional series still going. Game Four will be played between the Dodgers and Braves at Sun Trust Field at 1:30 PM PDT and will be televised by FS1.

The Dodgers ask Rich Hill (11-5, 3.66 ERA) to finish the Braves off without a need for a Game Five. The Braves send Mike Foltynewicz (13-10, 2.85 ERA in the regular season), who lost Game One of this series on October 4, going just two innings and giving up three hits and four earned runs including two homers. Hill will make his first start of this postseason; in last year’s playoffs he made four starts and posted a 2.55 ERA with no decisions in 17 2/3 innings.

How did Kiké get his groove on at the plate?

Dodgers’ history on October 8 has ups and downs. Don Larsen pitched his perfect game on this date in 1956, but three years later the Dodgers beat the Chicago White Sox in Game Six of the World Series to win it. The Braves lost Game Two of the 1948 World Series on this date.

Lineups when available.

Dodgers lineup:


Braves lineup:


Oct 08

ALDS Games Three, 2018

The early game will be played at Progressive Field (formerly The Jake) in Cleveland between the Astros and the Indians at 10:30 AM PDT. It will be shown on TBS.

The Astros send LHP Dallas Keuchel (12-11, 3.74 ERA) to the hill to try to sweep the series. The Indians ask RHP Mike Clevinger (13-8, 3.02 ERA) to stop them. Keuchel is 4-2 with a 3.24 ERA in eight career postseason starts for the Astros. Clevinger has made six postseason appearances, going seven innings in 2016 & 2017 with a 6.43 ERA.

The Indians beat the Braves on this date in 1948 as seen in the NLDS post below, but they also beat the Yankees in the ALDS in 2007 to advance to the ALCS for the first time since 1995. The Astros beat the Mets 1-0 in Game One of the 1986 NLCS behind Mike Scott.

Lineups when available.

In the late game the Red Sox and Yankees face off in Game Three of their series. Each team has won one game. It will be played at Yankee Stadium at 4:40 PM PDT and shown on TBS.

The Sox send out mid-season acquisition (and former Yankee/Dodger) RHP Nathan Eovaldi (6-7, 3.81, but 3-3 and 3.33 ERA with the Red Sox) to do battle with the Yankees’ Luis Severino (19-8, 3.39 ERA). Eovaldi has pitched 16 innings against the Yankees since he’s been with the Sox and has yet to give up a run to them. RHP Severino started the Wild Card Game and walked four while striking out seven in four shutout innings. He’s made five starts against the Red Sox this season, most recently on September 19 when he gave up just one run in seven innings. That gave him a 3.56 ERA for the year against the Boston team.

The Red Sox haven’t played much on October 8. In fact, the only notable thing they’ve done on this date was to pitch Ken Brett against the Cardinals in the 1967 World Series, which was only of interest because he was just 19 years old at the time, thus the youngest player ever to pitch in a World Series. The Yankees have frequently played on October 8. As noted in the NLDS post, Don Larsen pitched his perfect game against the Dodgers 62 years ago on this date. They also lost an ALDS Game Five thriller to the Mariners in 1995 on October 8 and lost to the Indians in Game Four of the ALDS in 2007, which cost Joe Torre his managerial job.

Lineups when available.

Oct 07

NLDS Games Three

The Brewers at Rockies play the early game today at 1:37 PM PDT. It will be televised on MLBN.

The Brewers send LHP Wade Miley (5-2, 2.57 ERA) to the mound in Coors Field to face the Rockies’ German Márquez (14-11, 3.77 ERA). Miley made 16 regular-season starts and never allowed more than three earned runs in any of them. Márquez has a string of seven consecutive quality starts at home since July; he had a 1.90 ERA during that stretch.

Brewers lineup:


Rockies lineup:


It’s the Dodgers at Braves in the second game of the day at 5:07 PM PDT on FS1. Both pitchers will be making the first postseason starts of their respective careers: the Dodgers send their rookie RHP Walker Buehler to the Sun Trust Park mound to face LHP Sean Newcomb (12-9, 3.90 ERA). Buehler threw 6 2/3 innings against the Rockies in last week’s tiebreaker against the Rockies, while Newcomb threw two scoreless relief innings in Game One on Thursday. Each pitcher faced the other team once during the regular season. Buehler gave up one run in 5 1/3 innings against the Braves on June 8, while Newcomb nearly no-hit the Dodgers on July 29, giving up a two-out single to Chris Taylor.

Dodgers history is mixed for October 7th past. Braves history is shorter but happier for the same date.

Lineups when available.
Dodgers lineup:


Braves lineup:


Oct 06

ALDS Games Two, 2018

The first game today is Indians at Astros, 1:37 PDT, TV: TBS. The Astros lead the series 1-0.

The Indians send RHP Carlos Carrasco (17-10, 3.38 ERA) to the mound to try to stop the Astros’ juggernaut. He’ll face Houston’s RHP Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.88 ERA). In his career Cole is 1-2 with a 3.94 ERA in the postseason, all with the Pirates. Carrasco is 0-0 with 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball in the postseason, against the Yankees in 2017.

Indians lineup:


Astros lineup:


The second game today is Yankees at Red Sox, 5:15 PM PDT, TV: TBS. The Red Sox lead the series 1-0.

The Yankees send RHP Masahiro Tanaka (12-6, 3.75 ERA) to the mound in Fenway Park. He’ll face the Red Sox’ LHP David Price (16-7, 3.58 ERA). Tanaka is 2-2 with a 1.44 ERA in the postseason and is coming in cold; in his last two starts he gave up eight earned runs in eight innings. Additionally he had a 7.58 ERA against the Red Sox this season. Price has been on a roll, going 6-1 with a 2.25 ERA since the All Star break, but he’s got to overcome the memory of his postseason career (2-8, 5.03 ERA).

Lineups when available.

Oct 05

NLDS Games Two, 2018

Rockies at Brewers, 1:15 PM PDT, TV: FS1

The Rockies send LHP Tyler Anderson (7-9, 4.55 ERA) to the hill at Miller Park to face the Brewers’ RHP Jhoulys Chacin (15-8, 3.50 ERA). The Brewers hammered Anderson back on August 4, when he went just four innings and gave up seven runs including three homers. He made five starts in September and had a 3.25 ERA to show for them. This will be Chacin’s first postseason appearance and his first time ever pitching on only three days rest.

Lineups when available.

Rockies:


Brewers:


Braves at Dodgers, 6:37 PM PDT, TV: FS1

Lefty Clayton Kershaw (9-5, 2.73 ERA) takes the mound for the Dodgers against the Braves’ Aníbal Sanchez (7-6, 2.83 ERA). Kershaw spent time on the DL for the third straight season and his velocity has dropped a couple of miles per hour from what it once was, but he’s still one of the best pitchers in the league. He beat Atlanta on July 27, going 7 2/3 innings and giving up one run on six hits. Sanchez had the best year he’s had in ERA terms since 2013. He beat the Dodgers June 9 and lost to them July 26.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic covers the Kershaw/Ryu Game One start story.

Oh, doctor! On October 5, 1947 Al Gionfriddo of the Dodgers robbed the Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio of a home run in Game Six of the World Series.

Lineups when available.

Dodgers:


Braves: