Divisional Series, get a lead and keep it too
It’s safe to say that the theme of the day was the ability to build a comfortable lead and close out the game. Some of the victories felt rather decisive today. It was a reminder of the value of a strong bullpen in the baseball playoffs. The Divisional Series has proven that no lead is safe. We saw today that no comeback is possible when the leading team can close out the game. Bullpen usage will continue to be a pivotal story in the Divisional series, with no days off. Pitchers need to be managed as great arms can be worn down easily. Let’s look at what the Divisional Series games helped us understand.
Miami Marlins-Atlanta Braves
Many are likely thinking of the Ronald Acuna home run that started the scoring in the game. The reason to discuss the homer is the following plate appearance saw Acuna hit by a pitch. Pelting batters with pitches just has to end at this point. Baseball is the only sport where if someone celebrates, they get punished the next possible time. Imagine if a receiver in the NFL beat a cornerback for a touchdown (and celebrated) and the next time he was in the game, the cornerback close lined the receiver. Hitting batters with pitches can become dangerous and it has to end.
After the homer, the Marlins were able to slap several hits to build up a 4-1 lead in the 3rd inning. They were outscored 8-1 for the rest of the game, making the first three innings the peak of the game for Miami Marlins. The Marlins are the deceiving team in the playoffs. Not many know about them, they have great games followed by some bad ones. This game might have exposed their pitching, yet it’s hard to knock a team that played a Braves lineup that is loaded with power.
Speaking of that power, we saw the long ball in full effect in the seventh inning with the game was tied. Travis d’Arnaud’s 3-run blast gave the Braves the 7-4 lead followed by Dansby Swanson’s icing on the cake two-run bomb. The 9-5 victory speaks to the ability of the Braves to not only overcome any deficit but for their pitching staff to be able to keep the score within striking distance.
Houston Astros-Oakland A’s
The baseball fan’s biggest nightmare might be coming true. Any fan of baseball is likely rooting against the Astros. It’s possible that the revenge tour is starting to form. After taking out the snakebitten Twins, the Astros look poised to dispose of the Oakland A’s. George Springer homered twice, Framber Valdez gave the Astros seven strong innings where he only surrendered two runs, and the bullpen closed out the game with the 5-2 victory.
It’s possible the A’s have hit their wall. It’s possible that the regular season covered up a lot of weaknesses. A few theories can arise. It’s possible that the A’s lack the star power and clutch hitting that a playoff team needs. We can also argue that the A’s pitching is overrated, now facing solid hitting, is being exposed. Every fan might think of the in-game factors, but we likely are all classifying the A’s with the historic failures they have placed on themselves in recent years.
New York Yankees-Tampa Bay Rays
Yankees fans are likely still screaming at the decision for Aaron Boone to pull the rookie Deivi Garcia from the game after the first inning. Garcia allowed a homer in the first but that was enough for Boone. In comparison to J.A. Happ, it was a stellar performance.
Both Mike Zunino and Manuel Margot hit two-run home runs off of Happ. Suddenly the Rays had a 5-1 lead. Tyler Glasnow had a great outing. Aside from the two Stanton swings (one which sent a ball to triple deck), Glasnow struck out 10 Yankees through five innings. The bullpen closed out the game, as it has done for most of the season, giving the Rays a 7-5 win and a tied series.
We have to credit Giancarlo Stanton for his heroics in this game. After hitting home runs in each of the past three games, Stanton hit a dinger in his first at-bat and then launched a 3-run homer in the fourth. Yet the rest of the Yankees offense was silent on the night. The Rays lineup was the opposite as we saw production throughout the batting order.
San Diego Padres-Los Angeles Dodgers
This was the only game that we could definitively say was decided in one inning. The Padres looked like they could steal the first game of the series with great pitching and a 1-0 lead. Everything unraveled in the sixth inning. The Dodgers started to put people on the bases and after a Mookie Betts double, the Padres manager Jayce Tingler made the worst possible decision in barking at the umpire to get himself ejected. After a pitching change, the Dodgers started to pile on the runs base hit after base hit. When you notice the final score was 5-1, you feel slightly surprised. The ultimate shock is when you notice the Padres defeated themselves in this game and weren’t beaten by the Dodgers in this game per se.
