I simultaneously enjoy watching and talking about the MLB Postseason even after the Chicago Cubs are out of it, and also absolutely hate it. At least it gives me high stakes baseball, but it is a reminder that the Cubs could’ve been the team … getting pantsed by the Braves.
Speaking of which, the Marlins got pantsed by the Braves in Game One of their NLDS, with Sandy Alcantara (remember him?) getting tagged for five runs, and then the Marlins bullpen (remember them?) giving up another four.
The Marlins got so chapped that they threw at Ronald Acuña for enjoying a monster bomb, though he shared his thoughts on the matter after the game:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGBHE9jgK8-/
https://twitter.com/ronaldacunajr24/status/1313618076190019585
The Braves are up 1-0 in the series, as are the Dodgers over the Padres. Walker Buehler was dominant, and the Dodgers won things with a bunch of dribblers and dunkers in the 6th:
Mike Clevinger tried to come back for the Padres in that one, but as you could see, he lasted just over one inning before his ongoing arm issues shut him back down. He’s gotta be toast for the postseason at this point, which is a big problem for the Padres.
Over in the American League, the dang Astros are now up 2-0 on the A’s after another homer-filled win:
Now the A’s have to win three straight to save us from the Astros reaching the ALCS, and bringing more chatter about how they’re actually on a redemption tour or some BS.
The Yankees and Rays are now tied at one in their series after the Rays took Game Two:
Watching that got me digging in a bit on Tyler Glasnow, wondering how on earth a guy can pitch like he does – just unbelievable stuff – and not have good results in terms of earned runs. It’s been his story for a few years now: absolutely obscene strikeout totals, not a ton of walks, but then a whollllle lotta homers given up. That was actually the tale for a lot of the Rays’ best pitchers over the years, and I don’t know if that’s just a coincidence, or if it’s a matter of the way they are developing and deploying these guys. With Glasnow, in particular, his stuff necessarily has him working up in the zone, and with premium velocity, you’re just gonna be swinging out of your shoes anyway. I guess that could mean a lot of strikeouts, but also a lot of really hard-hit fly balls.
All four series go again today, starting with the Marlins and Braves at 1pm CT, and concluding with the Padres and Dodgers at 8pm CT.