Strikeouts and Home Runs have been deciding these games
In today’s game, you can ignore small-ball. Batters are swinging for the fences and don’t care if they strikeout anymore. The Championship Series reflects this style of play as 12 of the 15 runs scored in the three games have come via home runs. There won’t be many and they won’t bring in many runs, but the few home runs will determine who will win the pennants.
Rays-Astros
The start of the game belonged to a man named Manny
Lance McCullers threw an outside breaking ball that was likely intended to force Manuel Margot to chase and miss. The off-speed pitched dropped right into the strike zone. Margot was able to get the barrel of the bat on the ball and send it to deep center field. The ball barely sailed over the fence but went out fast enough to avoid a robbery. The three-run homer put the Rays instantly in the driver’s seat for the game and allowed Charlie Morton to pitch under less pressure.
If you are just starting to watch the Rays now, you likely don’t know who Manuel Margot is. As is the case with many of the Rays stars, Margot was acquired in a masterful trade deal. The Rays acquire Margot this off-season from the Padres (and a prospect) for Emilio Pagan. The star outfielder reminded us of the plays he could have been making for San Diego as he ended the second inning with an incredible over-the-wall snag. It was the play of the game and a reminder to many teams why investing in good fielders is a valuable action.
After that, it was all pitching
The three-run homer appeared to be all that the Rays would need. Charlie Morton went five scoreless innings. Pete Fairbanks allowed the only run for Tampa off the bat of Carlos Correa but struck out 3 Astros on the way to two strong innings. Aaron Loup and Ryan Thompson combined for a scoreless frame. While Nick Anderson surrendered a run, he earned the save and closed out Game Two.
We have to credit Lance McCullers. After surrendering the three-run bomb, McCullers tossed five scoreless innings to keep the Astros in the game. The 11 strikeouts are also absurd even by today’s standards and the outing allows Dusty Baker to continue to utilize his bullpen in the upcoming games of this series.
Mike Zunino stays hot, seals victory
Mike Zunino delivered the game-clincher in Game One with a liner past a diving Altuve. With the shadows creeping in, pitches became harder to see. Leave it to a catcher to locate a pitch. Mike Zunino was given a hanging pitch by McCullers (his second costly mistake of the game) and rapped it far beyond the left-field fence. The solo shot game the Rays a 4-1 lead, giving the Rays the dagger of Game Two.
Like many players on the Rays, you start to wonder how Mike Zunino got to this point. Like Manuel Margot, Zunino is another example of a mastered trade by the front office of Tampa Bay. The Rays acquired the power-hitting catcher from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for Mallex Smith and Jake Fraley. Mike Zunino has not only proven to be the power bat the Rays have desired but is becoming one of the clutch hitters that any postseason team needs to win a World Series.
A late scare stopped by great fielding once again
In some ways, this game felt like a re-run from Game One. Mike Zunino had a late clutch hit and Brandon Lowe had a gem in the field. In the top of the ninth, the Astros were threatening with bases loaded. Brandon Lowe was positioned perfectly for the Springer hit (Lowe was up the middle but on the short stop side of the bag). Lowe snatched the grounder, stepped on second and fired to first for the double play. A run scored but the game was essentially over. The next at bat saw Alex Bregman line out to end the game.
The Rays won 4-2 but more importantly, take a commanding 2-0 series lead. The Rays have looked like the best team in baseball. A team that has built their roster to compete with great trades and smart signings. The Rays may shock the average baseball fan but when you see how they play, you understand why they won 40 games in the 60 game season.
Dodgers-Braves
Missed Location=Crushed Baseballs
Walker Buehler is one of the best pitchers in baseball. Working the lower half of the strike zone against Freddie Freeman, Buehler worked himself to a 1-2 count. Beuhler hoped to force an awkward swing with a high and inside fastball on Freeman. Unfortunately, Buehler missed the location of his 4th pitch and Freddie Freeman clobbered a low-inside heater well over the fence. The low-inside location allowed Freeman to jump on the pitch and pull it to the right field, an error that put the Dodgers in a 1-0 hole before they could even step up to the plate.
Max Fried made a similar mistake in the fifth inning that tied the game at 1. Fried was trying to serve Enrique Hernandez off-speed pitches as the Dodgers hitters were swinging for the fences. Instead of throwing a breaking pitch in low and inside, as intended, the pitch was left over the heart of the plate. A sailing pitch that is left over the middle of the plate is going to be a home run regardless of who is at-bat. Hernandez pulled the pitch far over the left-field wall and suddenly it was anybody’s game.
The game developed into a pitcher duel and the swings reflected such
The Braves pitching has been outstanding in the postseason. The pitching staff tossed four shutouts in the first five games. They only surrendered one run to one of the best lineups in baseball in Game One. Max Fried tossed six innings of one-run ball (the only run off his only mistake of the night) while striking out 9 batters. The Braves relievers not only held the Dodgers scoreless but didn’t allow a baserunner in the final three innings.
Walker Buehler calmed the storm after his first-inning mistake. He kept the game to one-run while striking out seven batters. Once Beuhler was pulled the Dodgers bullpen tossed another three scoreless innings as they struck out 4 in the process.
The Strikeout totals seem to be high (and they are). This was a reminder to anyone watching that the batters were well aware that the pitchers were dealing. Both teams knew that it would be doubtful that they would be able to build a rally or bring base runners around to score. They needed to end the game with one swing. As a result, we saw elongated swings and hacks with the intention of sending the ball over the fence, and thus more swings and misses.
It all unraveled in the ninth
Blake Treinen has been one of the more reliable relievers for the Dodgers this season. Unfortunately, like the star pitchers earlier in the game, missing his location decided the game. After berating Austin Riley with low sinkers out of the zone, Treinen left a fastball over the heart of the plate. The pitch was intended to be inside but allowed Riley to extend and power the ball deep. This pitch was gone from the moment it left the bat and everyone knew it.
After Ronald Acuna got on base with a double and was brought home on a Marcell Osuna single, the dagger was sent into the Dodgers’ hearts. Blake Treinen was replaced by Jake McGee with a runner on for Ozzie Albies. McGee left a fastball right down the pipe and Albies made him pay, sending the ball over the left-field wall for the third home run of the night for Atlanta. The Braves took a 5-1 lead and deflated any chances of a Dodgers comeback. The Braves had four runs in the previous 17 innings, they had four in the wild ninth.
