Playoff Baseball began last night, and let me tell you, it was awesome. Both of the teams I picked to advance won last night, with the Dodgers looking especially dominant. Rachel texted me yesterday asking if the Nats had a chance, and last night proved my point. The Dodgers are just too good and too talented, holding Washington to just 2 hits in a 6-0 shutout. I also said to look out for Gavin Lux. All the 21 year old did was hit a homer in his first career playoff at bat. The early game though was very entertaining. The Braves took a 3-1 lead off some rare defensive miscues from the Cardinals in the sixth inning. Paul Goldschmid put the Cards within one with a monster 450 foot home run in the eighth, before Matt Carpenter came off the bench with a pinch hit double off Braves closer Mark Melancon to tie the game. The Cards would score four runs off of Melancon in the ninth to take a 7-3 lead going into the bottom of the inning. That’s where it got interesting, as Cards closer Carlos Martinez just didn’t have it last night. He walked Billy Hamilton and then gave up long home runs to both Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr to make it 7-6. The Braves couldn’t score another and it was “a Winner” 7-6. One interesting tidbit on the Acuna homer, he stood there and watched it for a while, which incensed Martinez who claimed he deserved more “respect” as a “veteran pitcher.” This could be just me, but maybe next time don’t let a guy hit a ball no less than 800 feet off of you. But I digress…
The ALDS starts today and it doesn’t include my Red Sox, so I guess I’ll try to stay objective. But no promises.
ALDS Series #1
Astros(1) vs. Rays(4)
Key Starters:
HOU: Alex Bregman, George Springer, Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve (and many more)
TBR: Austin Meadows, Kevin Kiermaier, Brandon Lowe, Tommy Pham
Key Pitchers:
HOU: Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke, Roberto Osuna
TBR: Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Charlie Morton, Emilio Pagan
Possible Impact Players:
HOU: Josh Reddick, Ryan Pressly, Aledmys Diaz
TBR: Avi Garcia, Yandy Diaz, Nick Anderson
This series might be even more unbalanced than the Nats-Dodgers one. On paper the Astros might have the best playoff roster of all time. The Rays are a great story, making the playoffs with a tiny payroll, and they will do their best to play the matchups. The only issue is just how stacked this Houston team is. Their first three starters are three of the ten best pitchers in the last five years, they have a very good back end of the bullpen and their lineup is absolutely terrifying. This team is better than the one that won it all in 2017. Tampa will put up a fight in every game, but it won’t matter. Astros in 3.
ALDS Series #2
Yankees(2) vs. Twins(3)
Key Starters:
NYY: Aaron Judge, Gleyber Torres, Gary Sanchez, Didi Gregorius
MIN: Eddie Rosario, Nelson Cruz, Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco
Key Pitchers:
NYY: Luis Severino, Zack Britton, Aroldis Chapman, Masahiro Tanaka
MIN: Jose Berrios, Taylor Rodgers, Sergio Romo, Jake Odorizzi
Possible Impact Players:
NYY: Edwin Encarnacion, Gio Urshela, Chad Green
MIN: Marwin Gonzalez, CJ Cron, Martin Perez
This should be another fascinating series. These two teams finished with the two highest home run totals in a season ever. Couple that with the fast that at least two games will be played in the little league field that is Yankee Stadium, and we are certainly set to see some big flies. Neither team has what I would call good starting pitching, with Luis Severino just coming back for the Yanks, and CC out with a shoulder issue. Neither Paxton, nor Tanaka has been consistent enough for me to trust them in a big game. The Yankees might have the best bullpen in the playoffs, but the Twins pen has been sneaky good in the second half of the season. If the Twins relievers don’t cost them games, I can absolutely see this series going the distance, which would probably see the immensely talented Jose Berrios going up against the very inconsistent James Paxton. It what could be an incredible upset, I am going with the underdog here and saying Twins in 5 for a multitude of reasons. Not just the fact that I hate the Yankees with every fiber of my body. Honestly though, it probably won’t matter because no one is getting past Houston.
