You can win by 1 or 12 but it only counts for one win
If you watched the two games Wednesday, you might doubt if both games were from the same caliber of play. A final score of 15-3 seems more natural in a Single-A Minor League game, an Independent League game, or even a Little League game (if they don’t have a mercy rule). But the Major Leagues can consider this absurd, especially in the Championship Series. The 15-3 win is going to be celebrated as the Dodgers now cut the Braves 2-0 series lead in half.
There is a saying in baseball “momentum is only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher”. Game Three proved the point and tomorrow will give us a more definitive answer on whether this win was able to flip the momentum of the series.
Braves-Dodgers
Dodgers first inning ends game
Yogi Berra once famously said, “It gets late out there early”. Like many of the things Berra said, you don’t understand it until you finally see it play out in real life. At the top of the 1st inning, L.A. plated 11 runs, the Braves had yet to bat in the game. Last year in Game 5 of the NLDS, the Braves suffered a similar fate. They gave up 10 runs in the top of the first inning to the St. Louis Cardinals, essentially ending the game before even having a chance to respond.
Kyle Wright was already struggling in the inning to put batters away. Joc Pederson and Edwin Rios went back-to-back to bring the lead to 6-0 and end the optimistic night for Wright. Kyle Wright had been lights out this postseason and one could say that this was a mental defeat (after Mookie Betts was called out at first but the call was overturned, you could tell it affected Wright). This game could also be seen as a situation where the Dodgers figured out Kyle Wright and had his number throughout the inning. At the end of the day, we have to view this as a bad start from a great pitcher, some of the best get beat, and they have to find a way to overcome it. Wright may have to pitch again this series. He will need to forget about this drubbing.
After Wright got pulled, the fortune for the Braves did not improve. In case the Braves hadn’t already thrown in the towel on the game, Max Muncy smashed a grand slam to cap off the incredible inning. With the score being 11-0, it was a game that the Braves wish they didn’t have to continue.
Did anything happen after that?
If you watched the rest of this game (and chances are you didn’t), you would find yourself in either two states emotionally. Either you were a Dodgers fan rejoicing the ideal response from a World Series caliber team or you were bored. Not much happened. Cody Bellinger homered in the second and knocked a run-in with a base hit. The Dodgers had 15 runs by the end of the third inning and didn’t score after that. Christian Pache hit a home run which was his first career hit. The Braves scored 2 runs in the 9th inning and lost 15-3. The series is 2-1 in favor of Atlanta and they have to still feel good about their chances. The Dodgers haven’t lost three in a row all season, so a bounceback was expected. It’s going to be interesting to see how Game Four unfolds.
Astros-Rays
Altuve was the offense for the Astros to start
Everyone has been talking about Jose Altuve’s inability to field during the ALCS. Altuve didn’t make an error all regular season. Suddenly he cost the Astros a few games in this series with wild throws and poor decisions from second base. At the plate, nobody has been better for the Astros than Altuve. In the 1st inning, Altuve again rapped a home run with a pitch that was a high heater. The homer was Jose’s 3rd of the ALCS. When he hit an opposite-field RBI single in the 3rd inning, it was his 4th RBI of the ALCS. Altuve has batted in 4 of the 9 runs the Astros scored in this series, he is the offense.
As good as Altuve has been, Arozarena has been better
Zack Greinke was phenomenal for the Astros, giving a pitching performance necessary to stay alive in the series. Unfortunately, one of his few mistakes came to one of the Rays best hitters this postseason. With a runner on base, one has to think that Greinke tried to avoid giving Arozarena anything to hit out of the park. The at-bat would seem to initially indicate that.
With a 3-1 count (which is established as a hitters count) Zack Greinke left a hanging breaking ball over the heart of the plate. A pitch begging to be crushed, Arozarena pulled the ball into the warehouse that is beyond the left-field fence. It was Randy’s 5th home run this postseason and it tied the game at 2.
George Springer adds to his postseason accolades
All the momentum suddenly was on the Rays’ side. Tyler Glasnow was in rhythm, the Rays tied the game and looked poised to take the lead as they have done throughout this series. This is where Glasnow, like Greinke the inning earlier, made the game-ending mistake with a poor pitch.
George Springer has been known for pouncing on the fastball. In the 5th inning, Tyler Glasnow served him a juicy fastball right over the heart of the plate. Anyone could tell from the connection on the swing that Springer hit a home run. The ball landed in the fourth deck of the warehouse building (the same one Arozarena hit earlier) and was an appropriate and decisive blow for the game. The Springer homer gave the Astros a 4-2 lead that allowed Dusty Baker to manage the Astros bullpen in a save situation fro the first time all series.
The Rays made it close until the end but to no avail
With a runner on first base, Willy Adames managed to get the barrel of the bat on the pitch. Because Adames got ahead of the pitch, he lined the ball into the gap in left-center field. If Adames would have gotten the sweet-spot of the bat or have connected with more power, we would have seen the game tied. Instead, the line drive went to the wall and was an RBI double. With the game now 4-3, and Adames suddenly in scoring position, one could feel the tension in every pitch. The Astros escaped with the final out being a loud one to the game hero George Springer.
The Rays had a 3-0 series lead entering the game. This likely indicated that they were playing with more leeway and a more relaxed attitude. The Rays have to feel good with the current position they have in the series, considering they are only one game away from the World Series. The Rays will not worry after tonight’s game, rather will feel more inclined to end the series tomorrow night for the extra days off. The Astros on the other hand will have to play every game from here on as if it were Game Seven. They have looked like the worse team throughout the ALCS and it is hard to see them getting lucky enough to win this series.
