Giants at Nationals, 12:00PM PT, TV: FS1
The Giants start 13-year veteran Jake Peavy, the mid-season acquisition who was 1-9 with a 4.72 ERA for the Red Sox but 6-4 with a 2.17 ERA when he got back to the National League with the Giants. Their ace, Bumgarner, pitched and won the wild card game on Wednesday and won’t be available until Game 3 of this series on Monday. The Nationals have had their rotation set for two weeks, and tomorrow they start Stephen Strasburg, who was 14-11 with a 3.14 ERA this season. He’ll be making his postseason debut; in a controversial move the Nats’ management shut him down before the season ended in 2012, the last time the Washington team made the playoffs. (They missed the wild card by four games last season, and Strasburg was recovering from Tommy John surgery anyway).
Cardinals at Dodgers, 3:30PM PT, TV: FS1
Clayton Kershaw vs. Adam Wainwright. The best pitching matchup of any of these four series. We could see a double no-hitter.
Can Molina stop Dee Gordon and the other Dodger base stealers? Can the Dodgers keep from going into another hitting slump like they did last year?
We’ll find out this afternoon.
NPUT
Angels are getting the pitching but no hitting and down 0-2, going to KC.
If the Dodgers can bounce back with Zack, they get to go on the road . . . just what they want!
Puig strikes out to end the Dodgers game, Trout strikes out to end the Angels game.
What a crazy game. Go Greinke!
Silver Lining Dept.: they didn’t roll over.
Safe travels, RBI — enjoy Italy!
He’s looking to end it….. long swing….. will never happen
100mph vs. long swing…… Velocity wins virtually 100% of time.
C’mon, Puig!
Wild pitch . . .
How come Ellis didn’t hit like this all season?
What better time than now?
Wish Dee would hit like he hit during the season.
Pretty significant early injury had a lot to do with it, IIRC.
I’d forgotten that.
Our fans need to get Loud… Loud… Loud…..!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andre!
Jonny, I think this gives you an answer — they aren’t rolling over!
C’mon, Andre — remember those glory days?
To answer the questions from your lead post, Link, the Dodgers CAN run and they CAN hit.
I don’t think anyone would’ve questioned if Kersh could’ve held a 5-run lead.
I wonder if Kershaw and Ellis just got stubborn about his fastball and didn’t believe they could hit it.
If so, I hope they learned from it.
And I hope they get a chance for redemption this year. This will be a TOUGH thing to carry through the off-season . . . after such a great year, to be Carpentered/Cardinaled again.
Forget Freddie vs. Jason . . . the new horror story for Dodger fans is Kershaw vs. Carpenter.
I’m back home now, listening to Vin and able to stay in touch with all of you . . . the way it was all year, the way things should be.
I was in a casino sports book, watching on one of their screens: surrounded by smokers, Kershaw-haters, lack of Dodger announcers (or ANY audio), and both batteries in my laptop dead.
Sounds like you had almost as bad a night as the Dodgers did. ;-])
It was all tolerable when they were winning!
Re what Foul Tip wrote about Kersh with the FB, I heard analysis yesterday re he and Wainwright, that hitters will try to “ambush” them and hit earlier in the AB, to avoid the nasty stuff. . . . Don’t know if that means Kersh was pitching any differently than before, or not . . . but I believe Vin said he had set down 17 in a row at one point, before . . . That Inning.
The only difference is there WAS a runner at 2nd most of the time. Of course, they needed two singles to get a runner there, so perhaps Kersh was “off” from the beginning of the inning.
The “Ambush Technique” – funny it was called that…. 🙂
…
Personally, I like it. When I played in college, I frequently swung at one of the first couple of pitches. Kersh was pitching with a lead and wanted to be ‘around the plate’ early and often I’m sure, hoping to get some fly balls or ground outs….
Well, the Cards just so happened to ‘square a few up’… to the tune of 8 runs.
….
Many times, in our Dodgers’ quest to see more pitches, our guys end up taking the absolute best pitch of the entire at-bat …….. just to end up swinging at the junk that the pitcher wants our guys to swing at. Hat’s off to the Cards!
Agree to the hats off . . . they scraped and scrambled and beat the best the Dodgers have to offer . . . but hopefully LA still gets the W!
It will sure be interesting to see….
….
Does anybody on this club say, “Sorry…. NOT this year!….”
We’re goona ‘get it done’ this time around….????
….
I hope Adrian Gonzalez just answered my question as I typed… 🙂
…
I sure don’t want the Dodgers to become baseball’s version of the Buffalo Bills…..
Adrian!
Following up on the sign stealing or “relaying,” announcer just said Cards 5 are for 7 with a runner on 2B tonight. Said he could be wrong about the sign thing but doubted it.
Kinda makes you wonder about last year, too. Were pitches pilfered then?
Could be Kershaw tips the pitch when he pitches from the stretch.
Right, but are they only stealing signs in the playoffs?
I think it was a heat/adrenaline thing.
Greinke has to win tomorrow.
Agree — but also hope something can happen tonight. It would be the first time all year . . . but what better time?
Thus is enough to believe their destiny is not positive.
Announcers with very valid point that there should have been some chat among the Dodgers in the middle of all that in regard to signs, which they think Cards are stealing. Also wondering why Kersh kept throwing FB after FB.
Good bit of analysis this game and in prior days about Kersh starting almost every hitter he faces with a FB for a strike. Since it’s that well known, good idea to vary something.
Thanks for insight. I don’t have audio and wondered speculation.
My son is there. Texted me one word: Brutal.
Double brutal
I was debating all week whether to make the drive and overnight stay or not. Right before the game I regretted not going.
Now . . .
Never before with 4 runs has Kersh lost.
Hopefully they can come back.
First step is not to concede an 8th run here
ouch
Arghhhh!!!!
Stunned
Deja vu
Get the K
1 more
DP please
Uh-oh.
Impressed by the offense tonight — right up to that double play… Feeling a little more optimistic.
Have a great trip, RBI!
Rats.
I am irked that not even the jinky streams are working tonight. Thanks, MLBTV. Thanks, Selig.
Playoffs Kershaw vs. Cards Round 3 is MUCH more fun than the previous 2!
AJ!!!!!!!!!
I’ll bet you’re flying high already!
Are you packed?
Ha! Yes! Packed to the Nats/Gnats game.
A.J.!
Plus his earlier hit!
Go, Blue!
Hits plural. He’s three for three.
Cards now making the kind of contact v Kershaw you’d expect….weak to none.
2-out hits . .. now THAT’s the kind of offense I dreamt of!
Better now!
Another good inning.
That was a good inning.
Sweet!
HBP and steal lead to runs — Go, Blue!
Angriest I’ve ever seen A-Gon.
Who’dve thunk that after Puig is hit, he is NOT the catalyst of the brouhaha?
Positively beet-faced.
Is that part of the “Classy” Cardinals’ playbook, take out opponents with HBP? Sure worked last year.,
I’m not gonna get on the offense’s case . . . yet.
Dee seems to be pressing lately, so I wasn’t expecting too much from him . . . and he DID drive up the pitch count.
They ARE getting the opportunities, so hopefully the offense from the last couple of weeks will kick in — and they’ll get the hit . . . or they’ll be the Angels of last night.
Agh! 4 LOB already!
I have to watch this in a sports book — apparently there were a lot of SF fans cheering the end of that game.
So far, reflections on the postseason:
Angels showed Dodger habit of not getting clutch hit. (Hopefully a habit they’ve outgrown — that WAS a good shot in the 1st inning).
The Tigers’ bullpen is as scary as the Dodgers’ can be.
The Giants keep winning in the postseason.
Go, Blue!
So far Cards making more contact than you’d like.
Pins & Needles
Is any one surprised by our roster, I think they have it about right
http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/story/_/id/11634546/2014-nlds-los-angeles-dodgers-announce-25-player-roster
Surprised a bit at Elbert over Paco. Was probably 50/50 another reliever or Barney.