Miami-Chicago, San Diego-St. Louis, We will see you tomorrow night!
Thursday gave us four games as the City of Chicago experienced terrible weather. The Cubs and Marlins will have to play behind schedule since there isn’t a roof option at Wrigley Field. The four games saw three teams that clinched a spot in the divisional round. We still have one game left in the Wild Card round and the last spot left to be clinched. But, the series that was extended gave us a thrilling game that anyone watching will remember. The last series in the American League was clinched, and we have a lot to look forward to in the ALDS because of it.
Braves vs. Reds
The Braves have finally done it. They advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The Braves had an ideal ball game on Thursday. Ian Anderson helped the cause by going six strong innings with no runs allowed and 9 strikeouts. One could sense the Braves were ready to deliver the knockout swing once Ronald Acuna hit the double to bring in the first run. The eighth inning was the dagger with Marcell Osuna hitting a two-run bomb followed by an Adam Duvall two-run shot. The Braves will now have to wait for the Cubs and Marlins to finish their series.
The Reds have proven that you can’t build a team that lives and dies by the home run ball. The lineup was built to clear the bases but only by swinging for the fences. The series displayed numerous times that you need batters that can lace a single to bring in two runs. Also, possibly hit a hard grounder and force the opponent to make a play. The Reds blew a strong season, and now they have to face a difficult off-season with multiple pending free agents.
A’s vs. White Sox
As the postseason began, I mentioned how easy it is to underestimate the #7 seeded White Sox. Winning the first game and building a 3-0 lead in the rubber game made anyone convinced that the White Sox were ready to advance and continue their World Series quest. Yet, the fourth and fifth inning was where everything unraveled and put Oakland in the driver seat. Sean Murphy hit a two-run home run, but then the White Sox loaded the bases and then walked in two runs. The following inning gave the A’s another bases-loaded opportunity, and all it took was a Chad Pinder hard grounder past Tim Anderson to drive in two runs.
The A’s took the 6-4 lead and went to the strength that has carried them throughout the season in their bullpen. Like the Braves, the A’s have finally won a playoff series. For the first time since 2006, the A’s have advanced and will face a familiar foe in the Houston Astros (needless to say, we must all become Oakland A’s fans for the next week).
Padres vs. Cardinals
Like the night game from Wednesday night, this was the game of the day. We saw a lot of runs and a lot of home runs. Instead of the back and forth like last night, we saw the epic comeback.
The Cardinals built the early 4-0 lead and felt secured as the Padres failed to capitalize in the fourth inning with bases loaded (I guess Slam Diego is only a branding name). With a strong bullpen, the Cards had to feel themselves at the doorstep of advancing.
The Padres didn’t just come back from 6-2, they did so with their best players. Fernando Tatis gave the Padre’s life with a three-run bomb followed by a Manny Machado smash to nearly the same location. The next inning saw Wil Myers pull one to left and Tatis go opposite field for another two runs. The Cardinals kept responding to bring the game within one run at times. The second home run for Wil Myers was enough to give the Padres an 11-9 victory, and a deciding game will happen tomorrow.
Dodgers vs. Brewers
Whenever one watches Clayton Kershaw in the postseason, they watch with bated breath. Kershaw has a recent history of choking away games, and it’s a tragedy for one of the best pitchers of our generation to never be able to overcome the playoff demons. The 13 strikeouts in eight scoreless innings were exactly what you’d hope for if you were a Dodgers fan. This can be argued as Kershaws finest pitching performance in his Hall of fame career, and the Dodgers offense didn’t need to do much to seal the series.
The 3-0 victory continues the Dodgers championship or bust season. The Dodger will have to wait for the Padres and Cardinals to finish their series to see who they will play. They will likely be the favorite but wary of recent season’s collapses.
Miami-Chicago, San Diego-St. Louis, We will see you tomorrow night!
Thursday gave us four games as the City of Chicago experienced terrible weather. The Cubs and Marlins will have to play behind schedule since there isn’t a roof option at Wrigley Field. The four games saw three teams that clinched a spot in the divisional round. We still have one game left in the Wild Card round and the last spot left to be clinched. But, the series that was extended gave us a thrilling game that anyone watching will remember. The last series in the American League was clinched and we have a lot to look forward to in the ALDS because of it.
Braves vs. Reds
The Braves have finally done it. They advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 2001. The Braves had an ideal ball game on Thursday. Ian Anderson helped the cause by going six strong innings with no runs allowed and 9 strikeouts. One could sense the Braves were ready to deliver the knockout swing once Ronald Acuna hit the double to bring in the first run,. The eighth inning was the dagger with Marcell Osuna hitting a two-run bomb followed by an Adam Duvall two-run shot. The Braves will now have to wait for the Cubs and Marlins to finish their series.
The Reds have proven that you can’t build a team that lives and dies by the home run ball. The lineup was built to clear the bases but only by swinging for the fences. The series displayed numerous times that you need batters that can lace a single to bring in two runs. Also, possibly hit a hard grounder and force the opponent to make a play. The Reds blew a strong season, now they have to face a difficult off-season with multiple pending free agents.
A’s vs. White Sox
As the postseason began, I mentioned how easy it is to underestimate the #7 seeded White Sox. Winning the first game and building a 3-0 lead in the rubber game made anyone convinced that the White Sox were ready to advance and continue their World Series quest. Yet, the fourth and fifth inning was where everything unraveled and put Oakland in the driver seat. Sean Murphy hit a two-run home run but then the White Sox loaded the bases and then walked in two runs. The following inning gave the A’s another bases-loaded opportunity and all it took was a Chad Pinder hard grounder past Tim Anderson to drive in two runs.
The A’s took the 6-4 lead and went to the strength that has carried them throughout the season in their bullpen. Like the Braves, the A’s have finally won a playoff series. For the first time since 2006, the A’s have advanced and will face a familiar foe in the Houston Astros (needless to say, we must all become Oakland A’s fans for the next week).
Padres vs. Cardinals
Like the night game from Wednesday night, this was the game of the day. We saw a lot of runs and a lot of home runs. Instead of the back and forth like last night, we saw the epic comeback.
The Cardinals built the early 4-0 lead and felt secured as the Padres failed to capitalize in the fourth inning with bases loaded (I guess Slam Diego is only a branding name). With a strong bullpen, the Cards had to feel themselves at the doorstep of advancing.
The Padres didn’t just come back from 6-2, they did so with their best players. Fernando Tatis gave the Padre’s life with a three-run bomb followed by a Manny Machado smash to nearly the same location. The next inning saw Wil Myers pull one to left and Tatis go opposite field for another two runs. The Cardinals kept responding to bring the game within one run at times. The second home run for Wil Myers was enough to give the Padres an 11-9 victory and a deciding game will happen tomorrow.
Dodgers vs. Brewers
Whenever one watches Clayton Kershaw in the postseason, they watch with bated breath. Kershaw has a recent history of choking away games and it’s a tragedy for one of the best pitchers of our generation to never be able to overcome the playoff demons. The 13 strikeouts in eight scoreless innings were exactly what you’d hope for if you were a Dodgers fan. This can be argued as Kershaws finest pitching performance in his Hall of fame career and the Dodgers offense didn’t need to do much to seal the series.
The 3-0 victory continues the Dodgers championship or bust season. The Dodger will have to wait for the Padres and Cardinals to finish their series to see who they will play. They will likely be the favorite but wary of recent season’s collapses.
