There will be two game 4's tomorrow as both NLDS's were extended today.
The Nationals had Doug Fister on the mound to attempt to save their season as they were facing a 2-0 deficit in the series against the San Francisco Giants. AT&T park was the place of game 3, and Madison Bumgarner was the pitcher going for the Giants. This looked like it was going to be another sweep in the world of October baseball for 2014. That was far from the case.
From the beginning, Bumgarner couldn't find the consistency of the strikezone and he seemed frustrated especially in the 1st inning. Eventually he settled down though and Fister looked just as good matching up with him eye to eye until the 7th inning when finally the Nationals broke out the bats and Madison made a game costing error that would dictate what would happen next in the series. Wilson Ramos laid down a sacrifice bunt in the top of the 7th and Ian Desmond was heading for 3rd as Bumgarner decided to throw to third to get the force. He threw wildly and both Desmond and Harper, who was on first, came into score to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead. Wilson Ramos went to 2nd on the error and Asdrubal Cabrera eventually knocked him in to make it 3-0 Nationals heading into the 7th inning stretch.
A shocker considering how well Bumgarner had played in his previous appearance in Pittsburgh. The came would cruise to the 9th where the door was finally slammed on the Giants as Bryce Harper hit a solo smash to make it 4-0 Nationals. The Giants made a 9th inning rally scoring 1 run in the process, but the lead was just too much as the Nationals ultimately won 4-1 cutting the series to 2-1 with San Francisco leading. Both teams play tomorrow at 6 pm pacific time (9 pm eastern) on Fox Sports 1.
The other game was similar in that there was little action but there was definitely more drama. The Los Angeles Dodgers headed to St. Louis to play the Cardinals where the NLDS had been knotted up at 1 win a piece and Ryu was pitching for the Dodgers for the first time in nearly a month where as Lackey was ready to get the party started for the Cardinals. It definitely was a nerves party, but, it was another fantastic finish.
The action started in the Bottom of the 3rd inning where Matt Carpenter (that guy again) hit a solo shot to make it 1-0 Cardinals. The game would cruise until the 6th inning when the Dodgers answered with a Puig triple (to end his 7 strikeout streak) and a Hanley Ramirez base hit to tie the score up at 1-1.
The game would again slowly move into the 7th where the magic happened for the Cardinals once again. Yadier Molina started off the inning with a leadoff double, and then came up Kolten Wong. A young man who's 24th birthday is in 4 days and is from the beautiful islands of Hawaii hits a 2 run homerun to give the Cardinals a 3-1 lead ultimately sealing the victory for the Cardinals. The Cardinals now lead the series 2-1 and they play tomorrow afternoon at 2 pm pacific (5 pm pacific) on Fox Sports 1.
We'll see tomorrow if Game 5's will be afoot or if the NLCS will be determined after nights end. But for now, another October night is in the books.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Swept into the ALCS
On a day that saw two potential sweeps, they both came through and answered the door. One team did it on one swing of the bat, the other did it on multiples swings. We'll be seeing two teams battling for an AL Pennant for the first time since the mid 80's and it truly has been a long time coming. Let's break down how they did it on this lovely Sunday shall we?
The Tigers went back home looking to get back into the series as they started David Price who is known to be a game saver as he did his job the entire night. The only problem? His competitor Bud Norris of the Orioles matched him step for step if not a step better.
Everything was going rather smoothly until Nelson Cruz came up in the top of the 6th where unfortunately Alex Avila (Catcher for the Tigers) had to be pulled for a foul ball caroming of his mask which shook him up enough to have him leave the ballgame. This is where the feathers were ruffled for the Tigers, and they let Adam Jones get on base with a single, and Nelson Cruz hit's an up and out fastball to the shortest part of the outfield wall in fair territory down the right field line for a home run giving the Orioles a 2-0 lead and putting Nelson Cruz 9th on the all time postseason homerun list. This pretty much did the Tigers in as they had zero offense the rest of the game.
The Tigers answered in the 9th with a rally to put one run on the board but no more as the Orioles win 2-1, and sweep the Tigers in the best of 5 ALDS 3-0. First time the Orioles have been to the ALCS since 1997 when they faced the eventual world champions in the New York Yankees. I will admit, there were a couple seriously questionable calls that the umpires made regarding the Tigers behalf at certain points in this game. The 2nd inning is a pretty good place to start as Andrew Romine hit a ground out that would have ended the inning but the play was so close that a review came up and the review showed that he was safe. This cost the Tigers a 1-0 lead and a chance to inch their way that much closer to getting back into the series. There was another blown call in the 3rd inning where Kelly was at 2nd base and the shortstop grabbed a ground ball, threw it over to the second basemen (Schoop) who was covering the bag, blocked Kelly from sliding back in, dropped the ball, and while the ball was loose holding Kelly off the bag, Schoop eventually tag him out and the umps called the runner out. It was a terrible call and the whole world saw it and nothing could be done by review. Those two outs could have given the Tigers a better shot at making this a 2-1 series instead of a 3-0 sweep, but we are here now with the Orioles in the ALCS for the first time since 1983.
We go a little further south now as the Angels were taking on the Royals in Kansas City and the Angels were trying to keep themselves alive and it looked highly likely after the top of the first. Mike Trout broke out of his 0-8 slump and hit a solo shot to left field giving the Angels an early 1-0 lead to start the ball game. The Royals had other plans.
They came out in the next half inning, had the bases loaded with two outs, and Alex Gordan hit a bases clearing 3 run triple to give the Royals a 3-1 lead after the first inning. What also helped the Royals cause is they managed to get C.J. Wilson (The Angels starting pitcher) pulled after Alex Gordan hit the triple. This was when the Angels bullpen became used as a battering ram the rest of the game instead of being used as a weapon.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Eric Hosmer hit a 2 run homerun to make it 5-1 Kansas City. Then the ultimate dagger in the hearts of Angels fans was when Billy Butler got aboard via walk and then stole 2nd base, which was his first steal since July of 2012. That's when you knew the Angels were out of it mentally.
Albert Pujols hit a solo shot in the top of the 4th to cut it to 5-2, but the Royals again responded in the bottom of the 4th when the Angels couldn't add anymore when threatening in the top of the 4th. Mike Moustakas hit another crank shot to respond to Albert's solo blast making it 6-2, then Escobar tagged up from 3rd on a Lorenzo Cain fly ball to make it 7-2 Kansas City. Cain also provided in the next half inning (Top 5th) two of the most energizing catches Kansas City has ever seen.
The writing was on the wall at this point, Nori Aoki added and RBI Single in the bottom of the 6th making it 8-2 Royals, and the Angels picked up another run in the 7th to make it 8-3 Royals which would ultimately be the final score as the Royals are now heading to Baltimore for Game 1 of the ALCS on Friday October 10th to battle for the American League Pennant.
Two sweeps. On a Sunday ready to see a continuance, two teams seasons ended and a long awaited Pennant chase by two franchises who havn't been their in a long time will get to dust off their playoff swagger for yet another opportunity to get back to the World Series. It all starts on Friday the 10th!
I'll see you tomorrow!
The Tigers went back home looking to get back into the series as they started David Price who is known to be a game saver as he did his job the entire night. The only problem? His competitor Bud Norris of the Orioles matched him step for step if not a step better.
Everything was going rather smoothly until Nelson Cruz came up in the top of the 6th where unfortunately Alex Avila (Catcher for the Tigers) had to be pulled for a foul ball caroming of his mask which shook him up enough to have him leave the ballgame. This is where the feathers were ruffled for the Tigers, and they let Adam Jones get on base with a single, and Nelson Cruz hit's an up and out fastball to the shortest part of the outfield wall in fair territory down the right field line for a home run giving the Orioles a 2-0 lead and putting Nelson Cruz 9th on the all time postseason homerun list. This pretty much did the Tigers in as they had zero offense the rest of the game.
The Tigers answered in the 9th with a rally to put one run on the board but no more as the Orioles win 2-1, and sweep the Tigers in the best of 5 ALDS 3-0. First time the Orioles have been to the ALCS since 1997 when they faced the eventual world champions in the New York Yankees. I will admit, there were a couple seriously questionable calls that the umpires made regarding the Tigers behalf at certain points in this game. The 2nd inning is a pretty good place to start as Andrew Romine hit a ground out that would have ended the inning but the play was so close that a review came up and the review showed that he was safe. This cost the Tigers a 1-0 lead and a chance to inch their way that much closer to getting back into the series. There was another blown call in the 3rd inning where Kelly was at 2nd base and the shortstop grabbed a ground ball, threw it over to the second basemen (Schoop) who was covering the bag, blocked Kelly from sliding back in, dropped the ball, and while the ball was loose holding Kelly off the bag, Schoop eventually tag him out and the umps called the runner out. It was a terrible call and the whole world saw it and nothing could be done by review. Those two outs could have given the Tigers a better shot at making this a 2-1 series instead of a 3-0 sweep, but we are here now with the Orioles in the ALCS for the first time since 1983.
We go a little further south now as the Angels were taking on the Royals in Kansas City and the Angels were trying to keep themselves alive and it looked highly likely after the top of the first. Mike Trout broke out of his 0-8 slump and hit a solo shot to left field giving the Angels an early 1-0 lead to start the ball game. The Royals had other plans.
They came out in the next half inning, had the bases loaded with two outs, and Alex Gordan hit a bases clearing 3 run triple to give the Royals a 3-1 lead after the first inning. What also helped the Royals cause is they managed to get C.J. Wilson (The Angels starting pitcher) pulled after Alex Gordan hit the triple. This was when the Angels bullpen became used as a battering ram the rest of the game instead of being used as a weapon.
In the bottom of the 3rd, Eric Hosmer hit a 2 run homerun to make it 5-1 Kansas City. Then the ultimate dagger in the hearts of Angels fans was when Billy Butler got aboard via walk and then stole 2nd base, which was his first steal since July of 2012. That's when you knew the Angels were out of it mentally.
Albert Pujols hit a solo shot in the top of the 4th to cut it to 5-2, but the Royals again responded in the bottom of the 4th when the Angels couldn't add anymore when threatening in the top of the 4th. Mike Moustakas hit another crank shot to respond to Albert's solo blast making it 6-2, then Escobar tagged up from 3rd on a Lorenzo Cain fly ball to make it 7-2 Kansas City. Cain also provided in the next half inning (Top 5th) two of the most energizing catches Kansas City has ever seen.
The writing was on the wall at this point, Nori Aoki added and RBI Single in the bottom of the 6th making it 8-2 Royals, and the Angels picked up another run in the 7th to make it 8-3 Royals which would ultimately be the final score as the Royals are now heading to Baltimore for Game 1 of the ALCS on Friday October 10th to battle for the American League Pennant.
Two sweeps. On a Sunday ready to see a continuance, two teams seasons ended and a long awaited Pennant chase by two franchises who havn't been their in a long time will get to dust off their playoff swagger for yet another opportunity to get back to the World Series. It all starts on Friday the 10th!
I'll see you tomorrow!
Belted into the Night
6 hours. 23 minutes. 18 innings. History.
Anthony Rendon and Jordan Zimmerman looked like the ultimate stars in the Nations capital tonight as they both put on a performance that was looking like a game for the ages. The next thing you know, Joe Panik takes a walk to end the 20 batters in row retired streak for Jordan Zimmerman who by the way in his last start threw a no-hitter! Matt Williams came out to the mound and decided to make the pitching change that ultimately was the right move in the scheme of things in a one run ball game bringing in Drew Storren who hadn't given up a run since August.
The gritty Giants then put together a 2 out rally with Buster Posey getting a 2 out hit, and then Pablo Sandoval continued his 13 game postseason hitting streak that tied the ballgame and initiated a review that could have given the Giants a 2-1 lead, but in the end was upheld as the third out of the top of the 9th. The next thing you know, this quick 9 inning game turned into the longest baseball game in the history of Postseason baseball.
The fireworks started in the 10th when Asdrubal Cabrera slammed his helmet and got ejected for a high fastball that clearly was a strike that he didn't agree with, getting him and his manager ejected for arguing balls and strikes. The crowd decided to become sarcastic the rest of the inning every high pitch that wasn't a strike. This would be the last time for the next 2-3 hours the crowd would get into the game for it was another 8 innings when that ultimate moment happened.
Brandon Belt. A 26 year old, baby faced guy from an average sized town in Texas, made history that may not see a breaking point in anytime soon. Top of the 18th inning, 6 hours in, he hits a solo blast into the upper deck in the Nation's capital to give the Giants a 2-1 lead ultimately handing them a 2-0 series lead heading back to the west coast to the most beautiful ballpark in the game. Funniest thing, Tim Hudson started this game tonight for the Giants, he also started in that game in 2005 for the Braves when they went 18 innings against the Astros. Adam LaRoche was also involved in that matchup as well. Crazy how both guys ended up in the same spot nearly 10 years later on a night in DC.
Then there was the game that was played in Los Angeles on this night.
The Dodgers have found this guy in A.J. Ellis who might become a new household name when I comes to success in the postseason. He got the double that started the run production in the 3rd inning of Game 2 of the NLDS against the Cardinals which ultimately got the Dodgers 2 runs giving them a 2-0 lead heading into the 4th. The crazy part is there was a phantom tag that scored the first run when it should have been the end of the inning. Zach Grienke (who also was the starting pitcher) was the one who received the phantom tag and ultimately scored on an Adrian Gonzalez 2 out RBI single. The Cardinals really couldn't do anything else till later on in the ballgame and shockingly enough, neither could the Dodgers.
Then comes Matt Carpenter, the new dagger in the back of the Dodgers, he hits a two run homerun on the first pitch that he sees in the 8th inning and ties the ballgame at 2-2 sucking the air out of Dodger stadium. Well, at this point, I was figuring we'll see another extra inning game and I'll be up late again writing my blog. Not the case, Matt Kemp hit a bomb to left field and the Dodgers took a 3-2 lead into the top of the 9th where Jansen shut the door on a Cardinals comeback. The coolest part (since I didn't watch the game on television) I heard Vin Scully call a game winning Home Run. How cool is it to know that I heard a living legend call a game winning homerun and he's been doing it for nearly 60 years. It truly is incredible how timeless the game can be.
Dodgers and Cardinals are now tied in their series 1-1 as they head to the Midwest in a best of 3 series with the Cardinals holding home field advantage for those last three games.
Should be an awesome Sunday worth of ALDS baseball along with NFL action included. Today, was the craziest college football day in the history of college football, and keeping up with everything was truly insane. What a great Saturday in sports!
Anthony Rendon and Jordan Zimmerman looked like the ultimate stars in the Nations capital tonight as they both put on a performance that was looking like a game for the ages. The next thing you know, Joe Panik takes a walk to end the 20 batters in row retired streak for Jordan Zimmerman who by the way in his last start threw a no-hitter! Matt Williams came out to the mound and decided to make the pitching change that ultimately was the right move in the scheme of things in a one run ball game bringing in Drew Storren who hadn't given up a run since August.
The gritty Giants then put together a 2 out rally with Buster Posey getting a 2 out hit, and then Pablo Sandoval continued his 13 game postseason hitting streak that tied the ballgame and initiated a review that could have given the Giants a 2-1 lead, but in the end was upheld as the third out of the top of the 9th. The next thing you know, this quick 9 inning game turned into the longest baseball game in the history of Postseason baseball.
The fireworks started in the 10th when Asdrubal Cabrera slammed his helmet and got ejected for a high fastball that clearly was a strike that he didn't agree with, getting him and his manager ejected for arguing balls and strikes. The crowd decided to become sarcastic the rest of the inning every high pitch that wasn't a strike. This would be the last time for the next 2-3 hours the crowd would get into the game for it was another 8 innings when that ultimate moment happened.
Brandon Belt. A 26 year old, baby faced guy from an average sized town in Texas, made history that may not see a breaking point in anytime soon. Top of the 18th inning, 6 hours in, he hits a solo blast into the upper deck in the Nation's capital to give the Giants a 2-1 lead ultimately handing them a 2-0 series lead heading back to the west coast to the most beautiful ballpark in the game. Funniest thing, Tim Hudson started this game tonight for the Giants, he also started in that game in 2005 for the Braves when they went 18 innings against the Astros. Adam LaRoche was also involved in that matchup as well. Crazy how both guys ended up in the same spot nearly 10 years later on a night in DC.
Then there was the game that was played in Los Angeles on this night.
The Dodgers have found this guy in A.J. Ellis who might become a new household name when I comes to success in the postseason. He got the double that started the run production in the 3rd inning of Game 2 of the NLDS against the Cardinals which ultimately got the Dodgers 2 runs giving them a 2-0 lead heading into the 4th. The crazy part is there was a phantom tag that scored the first run when it should have been the end of the inning. Zach Grienke (who also was the starting pitcher) was the one who received the phantom tag and ultimately scored on an Adrian Gonzalez 2 out RBI single. The Cardinals really couldn't do anything else till later on in the ballgame and shockingly enough, neither could the Dodgers.
Then comes Matt Carpenter, the new dagger in the back of the Dodgers, he hits a two run homerun on the first pitch that he sees in the 8th inning and ties the ballgame at 2-2 sucking the air out of Dodger stadium. Well, at this point, I was figuring we'll see another extra inning game and I'll be up late again writing my blog. Not the case, Matt Kemp hit a bomb to left field and the Dodgers took a 3-2 lead into the top of the 9th where Jansen shut the door on a Cardinals comeback. The coolest part (since I didn't watch the game on television) I heard Vin Scully call a game winning Home Run. How cool is it to know that I heard a living legend call a game winning homerun and he's been doing it for nearly 60 years. It truly is incredible how timeless the game can be.
Dodgers and Cardinals are now tied in their series 1-1 as they head to the Midwest in a best of 3 series with the Cardinals holding home field advantage for those last three games.
Should be an awesome Sunday worth of ALDS baseball along with NFL action included. Today, was the craziest college football day in the history of college football, and keeping up with everything was truly insane. What a great Saturday in sports!
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Friday Night Fights; From Beltway to SoCal
Since 9 am pacific time till 10:30 pm pacific time (13 1/2 hours) I have been glued to my television set, and it wasn't for football, breaking news concerning tragedy and despair. No, it involved something much more enthralling, Major League Baseball in it's grandest form. This Friday October 3rd 2014 was probably one of the best days of baseball I can remember, or is it just because this is how the postseason is every single year? I don't know but today was no exception to that idea of how unbelievable today was. We had fights, game winners, intensity, comebacks, and best of all PURE LIVE DRAMA! Yes, drama and baseball in the same sentence! So feast your eyes upon the blog, and enjoy reading everything you missed for this was an unbelievable day 4 in the postseason.
For what now feels like a week ago that was only
this morning, Detroit and Baltimore played their second game of their layout of
the ALDS. For what will look like an epic collapse for the entire city of
Detroit will look like sweet, sweet revenge for one Delmon Young. A guy who
spent a great season in 2011 and then got shipped off for battery parts in
Philly, finally got to take a real shot at the team who he thought would give
him a real chance to shine.
Early in this game, it took both teams a while to
heat up and then the 3rd inning we finally saw some offense. The big
second basemen Schoop hit a 2 out single and Nick Markakis hit a questionable 2
run homerun that looked as though it should have been a double. Tigers fans
will blame it on the home crowd favoring of the umpires for years to come, but
it seriously looked like the Tiger fans had room to gripe as it looked like it
bounced off of the fence. Yes! It was difficult to see, but on a couple of
angles they had, it looked like it never went over the fence. This homerun was
so early in the game that people eventually forgot about it, but it did make a
big difference in the end.
Well, Detroit didn’t give two rat’s behinds as they
responded in the next half inning (top of the 4th) and scored 5 runs
to make it 5-2 Detroit. Miguel Cabrera was heated in this inning as J.D.
Martinez hit a 3 run bomb to make it 4-2, Miggy decided to jabber at the
Baltimore crowd while he was on base, that’s never a good idea when you are on
the road. Soon after J.D. hit the homerun, Nick Castellanos hit a solo shot of
his own to solidify Miggy’s trash talking ideations towards the Baltimore
crowd. Could any of them hear/understand him? Probably not, but it’s a Triple
Crown winner yelling his statements, surely they were important.
The Orioles answered in the 4th with a
J.J. Hardy 2 out single to cut the score 5-3, and at this point the Orioles
needed to bank on their bullpen to carry them through to get the W. The Orioles
also had multiple chances to add to the score as in the 5th inning
they failed, along with the 6th inning they also couldn’t put a run
together, and then the 8th inning came once again.
This time, the Tigers seemed to put the nail in the
coffin as Victor Martinez hit’s an RBI double that almost got the Tigers two
runs but Miggy got thrown out at the plate. Still, it’s a 6-3 ballgame for the
Tigers, and if their pitching could hold the lead, they could steal a game in
Baltimore and head back to Detroit with home field advantage in virtually a 3
game series. All they needed was 6 outs, but if you remember Thursday night’s 8th
inning, this just became another chapter in this ALDS that seemed to rewrite
itself for the implosion of the Tigers. Up 3 in the bottom of the 8th
Adam Jones gets plunked by a pitch, Cruz gets a ball past the infield to get on
base, and the gritty gutty Orioles were at it again as Pierce rips an RBI
single to put a run across the board. 6-4. Then J.J. Hardy works a walk from
the new incoming pitcher Soria who recently had been known for his struggles.
Then came up the former Tiger who again proved his worth in the 2011 postseason
with clutch hit after clutch hit and he now 3 years later, he gets the chance
to prove it once again in a pinch hit situation in the Bottom of the 8th
with the bases loaded down 2 runs. He rips it down the line, the crowd going
absolutely bananas, as all three runners get across home plate to take a 7-6
lead in the bottom of the 8th!!! Yes it wasn’t an implosion like Game
1 for the Tigers, but the chapter may as well have been just as gut wrenching
as a former face hit the decisive blow in Game 2. I can’t describe to you how
incredible the atmosphere sounded from the television and knowing that it was a
TBS broadcast where they filter the sound, you knew the place was absolutely bumpin’.
Zach Britton came in for the 9th, shut it down, and the Orioles will
pack up their bags run to Detriot with a 2-0 series lead in a best of 5, and
try to finish off this team who has the best hitter in the game who can’t keep
his mouth shut. On to Detroit they go.
Let’s stay in the Beltway shall we? Except this time
we’ll head back to the Nation’s Capital where we breakdown Game 1 of the NLDS
of the 2 time champion San Francisco Giants and the fiery Washington Nationals.
The only funny thing is, nobody was more fiery than the Giants starting pitcher
on this day. That man was Jake Peavy. If you poured gasoline on this guy on
this day, Obama would have had to call national security that’s how hot Peavy
was. The best part too? He held a no hitter against one of the best offensive
teams in the game up until the 5th inning.
Strasburg was absolutely fabulous as well. The only
time he gave up runs was when the Giants found a way to manufacture them and
the grittiest of ways. In the top of the 3rd, Panik hit an RBI
single after the Giants had sacrificed a man to second, the Nationals then had
a pass ball that moved the runners up to 2nd and 3rd, then Panik made it 1-0.
Then came the top of the 4th, where Hunter pence hustled out a potential double play and was safe at
first base, he steals second base, then Brandon Belt scores Pence on an RBI
single making it 2-0 Giants.
After the Nationals broke through with their first
hit in the 5th inning off of Jake Peavy on a Bryce Harper infield
single, they threatened with the bases loaded in the 6th inning but
couldn’t score. Then the Giants again get a huge triple in 7th by
Joe Panik, and Buster Posey knocks him in for an RBI single making it 3-0 San
Francisco Giants in the Nation’s Capital.
That was what really put Bryce Harper over the edge,
because in the next half inning (after an amazing rendition of God Bless
America), he hit a ball in the third deck. This reignited the entire crowd as
the National fans got right back into the flow of the game. Two batters later,
Asdrubal Cabrera decided to stamp another letter to the fans with another solo
shot making it 3-2 Giants. They crept back into it and they did it against the
future closer, 100+ MPH throwing, lighting rod pitcher of Hunter Strickland. He
was pulled after the second homerun. I’m sure the fear was strong with San
Francisco after those two moon shots.
The bottom of the 8th was another frightening
inning as Sergio Romo almost cost the game again, but he managed to get out of
a situation leaving 2 men on base where the Nationals again found themselves
short of the runs they needed. They didn’t have another chance to win, and the
Giants sealed it in the 9th. This was one of those 4 hour,
intensified, magnifying games that felt as though each run was a touchdown in
football. If you saw the game, you know exactly what I mean. The Giants win
Game 1, 3-2 and now lead the series 1-0 and they will play again Saturday.
You want to talk about where the real matchup was
this Friday? That’s right, Los Angeles California where two of the best teams
in baseball were hosting playoff games. SoCal was soaking in the hot night and
the pitching matchup out in the National League, was just itching for a
showdown like no other, but who would have thought it would have ended the way
it did.
Dodgers. Cardinals. Wainwright. Kershaw. Popcorn.
Ready.
Need I say anything else?
Both these teams are the rematch of the 2013 NLCS
and bad blood had been rejuvenated between the two after what happened to Hanley
Ramirez last postseason when he had his ribs shattered on an inside fastball.
The pitching matchup wasn’t too bad either.
I think coming into this game looking at a 2-1, 3-2,
4-3 game would have been expected, but right out of the gate Randal Grichuk didn’t
want a pitcher’s duel as he brought Clayton Kershaw back to earth on a solo
blast in the 1st inning to give the Cardinals an early 1-0 lead. It
also didn’t help that the Dodgers couldn’t get anything going on offense
against Adam Wainwright in the first couple innings and left a total of 4 men
on base. Then came the brawl.
Well, it was more of a pushing match that ended in a
benches clearing scuffle, but fists were on the verge of being thrown. In the
bottom of the 3rd, Yasiel Puig got plunked pretty good and that set
off Adrian Gonzalez to get in the face of Yadier Molina and both had to be separated
by the home plate umpire. The benches cleared, players and coaches cooled down
and everything got back to normal rather quickly, but it was definitely a spark
that the Dodgers needed.
The Dodgers then proceed to score two 2 out runs to
get the lead back at 2-1 in the bottom of the 3rd. Which is all that
Clayton Kershaw needed. He fanned all three batters in the 4th, the
Dodgers added two more 2 out runs in the 4th to make it 4-1, and
Kershaw shut down the 5th as well. AJ Ellis, the Dodgers number 8
hitter on this day, hit a 2 run bomb to then give Kershaw a 6-1 lead heading
into the top of the 6th. Mind you, Kershaw is 111-2 when given this
kind of lead in his career and knowing the kind of year he has had, it’s over.
Kershaw cruises to get the first two outs in the 6th
until Matt Carpenter hits a solo shot to make it 6-2 Dodgers. Still, only two
runs allowed on only two homeruns, Kershaw is cruising, and Adrian Gonzalez
made an incredible catch on a foul ball to rejuvenate the Dodgers heading into
the bottom of the 6th. The Dodgers didn’t respond with any runs, but
Kershaw was in the driver seat to get the Dodgers Game 1 of this division
series. Then came the top of the 7th inning.
So many questions, so many angles, so many different
perspectives to pick from, but I can tell you this much, this is just what the
Cardinals do. Matt Holliday gets a base hit, then Peralta, then Molina, then
Adams knocks in Holliday to make it 6-3 Dodgers. 4 straight hits and now the
bases are loaded. Pete Kozma strikes out, and then Jon Jay gets an RBI base hit
to make it 6-4 and Kershaw still has the bases loaded. Mattingly goes out to
the mound decides to keep Kershaw in (because duh, it’s Clayton freaking
Kershaw) and have him try to finish out the inning. Kershaw K’s Taveras for the
second out in the inning, then there’s that bad man in Matt Carpenter. What
does he do? Breaks the spirit of the Dodgers and hits a bases clearing, two out,
3-run double to give the Cardinals a 7-6 lead. Kershaw is then pulled, and his
replacement walks the man who hit the first home run of the game in Randal Grichuk,
gets walked and Matt Holliday (who led off the inning with a single) hit’s a
towering 3 run bomb that gives the Cardinals a 10-6 lead… WHAT! CLAYTON
KERSHAW?! Now he has the chants of Clayton Manning with the way he performed in
that 7th inning! A 7 run 7th inning and the Cardinals
were 5 for 7 with 8 RBI’s when there was a guy on second base facing Kershaw.
Can you say tipping your pitches? Oh yeah. It was clear as day.
Another crazy stat, Clayton Kershaw is the only
pitcher in MLB history to give up 7+ runs in consecutive postseason starts
(both of which were to the St. Louis Cardinals). Again, mind boggling
considering this is the same man being considered with the likes of Bob Gipson
in winning the Cy Young & MVP Awards for this upcoming November. Baseball,
it’s a crazy game for a reason.
The Dodgers couldn’t respond in their half of the 7th,
but they did find some magic in the bottom of the 8th. Puig finds a
way to get on with a walk, and Adrian Gonzalez hits a 2 run bomb to make it a
10-8 ballgame as they chipped away to get that much closer to the Cardinals.
Then came the bottom of the 9th where the last ups for the Dodgers
were that close. A.J. Ellis got his 4th hit to keep the Dodgers
hopes hanging by a thread, and then Andre Eithier came on to pinch hit for the
pitcher’s spot and he hits a double that puts Ellis on 3rd Base. Two on, men on
2nd and 3rd base with 1 out and Dee Gordon all he needs
his a base hit to tie it. He grounds out, but gets Ellis to score making it
10-9 Cardinals with 2 outs in the inning, the tying run on 2nd base
and Yasiel Puig is up at the plate with one out left in the ballgame. He could
tie it, he could win it, or he could lose it. Unfortunately, he struck out
swinging and the Cardinals took Game 1 of this best of 5 NLDS with a 10-9 win
in Los Angeles.
This game was by far game of the day, but
considering the prior two games, it really was just the icing on the cake.
Nobody expected Wainwright to be taken out before the 5th, nobody
expected Kershaw to blow it in the 7th, this game was easily the
most unexpected game I can remember in a very long time. It isn’t the best game
I’ve ever seen, but it’s definitely one of the most exciting. The funniest
thing too, is that there was one more game to be played on this already crazy
Friday in Postseason Baseball.
The Angels and Royals were already zipping along
with their two young studs all the way up until about the 5th inning
when the action started to occur. This was the first game in postseason history
where two rookie starting pitchers were facing one another and by the looks of
it, it won’t be the last time these two see each other again. Other than the 2nd
inning, where Eric Hosmer got to second base on an error by the right fielder
and Alex Gordon knocked him in to make it 1-0 Royals early, it was a back and
forth pitcher’s duel all night long.
Josh Hamilton drilled Salvador Perez in the head on
his follow through by accident and the training staff had to come out and do concussion
tests on Perez to see if he was ok. Ultimately he was fine and stayed in, but
it would have been a huge blow for Kansas City if he had to leave the game.
But, the bottom of the 6th is where the Angels would ultimately
respond as Albert Pujols put himself in playoff lore once again as he got a two
out, opposite field, base hit to knock in the tying run (Calhoun) to score
making it a 1-1 tie.
The game moved quickly into the 8th where
the Angels nearly won the game and the Royals made an amazing double play to
kill the momentum of the Angels. C.J. Cron hit’s a leadoff double and gets a
pinch runner in Collin Cowgill. Chris Ianetta hits a fly ball to Jarrod Dyson
(who had just entered the ball game for defensive purposes) and Collin Cowgill decides
to tag up and go to third. Jarrod Dyson throws an absolute pea shot to third
and throws out Cowgill by half a step making that an F8-5 double play. 2 outs,
bottom of the 8th, now with nobody on base. The definition of an
inning killer, but Kansas City still couldn’t capitalize as they left 2 men on
base in the top of the 9th.
The game ultimately goes to extra-innings and it’s
the first time a team (Kansas City Royals) has played in 3 straight extra-inning
games in postseason history. Huston Street (who worked the 9th
inning) came in and worked the 10th inning as well, it was the first
time he had worked more than 1 inning since 2011. He made it through. The
Angels again got a runner on in the bottom of the tenth but an amazing double
play got the Royals to the 11th. That’s where the magic happened
again.
Lorenzo Cain beats out an infield single, and Eric
Hosmer decides to rain down a towering 2 run bomb to give the Royals a 3-1 lead
in the top of the 11th. The Royals then decide to add on and the man
who got hit in the head earlier punched a base hit to get the man Jerrod Dyson
(who made that spectacular throw in the 8th) over for a score to
make it 4-1 Royals in the 11th. They went to the bottom of the 11th
and one solid question came up as Greg Holland ended the ballgame giving the
Royals a 2-0 series lead, and the first team in MLB history to win three
straight extra-inning games. Where is Mike Trout?
This guy is 0-fer in his postseason debut thus far
and he’s supposed to take over as the new face of the game. The prior face of
the game was this guy in Derek Jeter (I don’t know if you’ve heard of him) but
he was known to be clutch in the postseason from his first full year in the
league in 1996. Mike Trout can’t even buy a hit and looks like a complete scrub
at the plate right now. Outside of that, the Angels aren’t playing that bad of
ball, it’s just the Royals are that magical right now.
There were three 4 hour games today. The last time I
checked, nobody cared, and today was absolutely one of the best days of
baseball I can remember in quite some time when it included a 4 game schedule
of all day baseball from 9 am pacific time to 10:30 pm pacific time. Crazy
baseball, you gotta love it!
I’ll see you tomorrow night!
Thursday, October 2, 2014
More Magic Out West
On a night where there was another terrible showing on Thursday Night Football in the NFL and the #2 team in the nation in college football lost on their home turf, there was still magic occurring in the world of postseason baseball.
Not so much magic in Baltimore as there was in the Los Angeles of the Anaheim variety as the Royals once again find some magic out of a hat to put the Angels on their back in this best of five Divisional Series.
First let's get to Baltimore where 8th innings are places to die for one Detroit Tigers ball club. 8 runs allowed in the 8th inning all off of a Romine misplayed ball at shortstop to allow the first run of the inning making it 5-3 in the 8th. After that, finding a way to stop the bleeding in the 8th couldn't be found. Up until the 8th inning, this was looking like a very classic 4-3 ballgame getting late. The Tigers in their half of the 8th were putting quite the scare into the Orioles as their championship grip was showing as the Orioles needed to put in Zach Britton to hold the lead heading into the Oriole half of the inning, which turned out to be a barn burner. The Orioles ultimately won the game 12-3 and took a 1-0 lead in the ALDS over the Detroit Tigers.
Let's get to Los Angeles where the real drama ensued.
Another extra inning magic show by yours truly, the Kansas City Royals. Boy, the Angels sure did have a power outage late inning after late inning when they could not put the go ahead run across home plate as they consistently seemed to have 2 runners on every bottom of the inning until they lost ultimately in the 11th.
Early in the game, Weaver was on his game and the only time the Royals scored was when they put together a late inning rally to manufacture one run to get on the board. Then once they did that, the Angels responded with a solo blast to tie it. 3rd inning it was Chris Ianetta who answered the bell, and in the 5th it was David Freese who once again added on to his already heroic efforts in the postseason for his career. After that, it was a pitchers duel as two friends in Jered Weaver and Jason Vargas both kept their teams in check to get the win. Vargas just did enough, where as Weaver was an absolute master of shutting down those Royal bats.
Vargas also got some serious help in this game. Lorenzo Cain made 2 great catches along with Nori Aoki making 2 game saving catches (which truly weren't the prettiest things to view). Vargas and the rest of that pitching staff definitely have to find a way to own it back to those two for finding the ball in their gloves on those 4 plays. But the real hero was the Moose,
Mike Moustakas came up to the plate in the top of the 11th, and made another stamp in the history books for what defines magic. After multiple innings of the Angels getting so close to ending the game, the Moose was fed up and decided to silence the already inconsistent crowd at the ballpark in Anaheim and put the first run on the board that had an exclamation point next to Kansas City in the box score. A homerun that could find a way to shift the power within this series as the road team (with momentum) now holds home court in a series that is already short enough as it is (5 games). One more win for Kansas City, and the Angels could find themselves sitting on their couches faster than they thought a week ago tonight.
This was a 4+ hour game. I didn't hear anybody complain about how long it was. Stop talking about needing pitch clocks because those may take away from the romance and drama that games like this provided tonight. They are still partying like it's 1985 in Kansas City, they are 2 wins away from an ALCS appearance (just like the Baltimore Orioles established tonight).
We got 4 games tomorrow! I'll be covering all of them and I'll be writing about them again tomorrow! Should be another fantastic day across America when it comes to the game played on the Diamond in October!
Not so much magic in Baltimore as there was in the Los Angeles of the Anaheim variety as the Royals once again find some magic out of a hat to put the Angels on their back in this best of five Divisional Series.
First let's get to Baltimore where 8th innings are places to die for one Detroit Tigers ball club. 8 runs allowed in the 8th inning all off of a Romine misplayed ball at shortstop to allow the first run of the inning making it 5-3 in the 8th. After that, finding a way to stop the bleeding in the 8th couldn't be found. Up until the 8th inning, this was looking like a very classic 4-3 ballgame getting late. The Tigers in their half of the 8th were putting quite the scare into the Orioles as their championship grip was showing as the Orioles needed to put in Zach Britton to hold the lead heading into the Oriole half of the inning, which turned out to be a barn burner. The Orioles ultimately won the game 12-3 and took a 1-0 lead in the ALDS over the Detroit Tigers.
Let's get to Los Angeles where the real drama ensued.
Another extra inning magic show by yours truly, the Kansas City Royals. Boy, the Angels sure did have a power outage late inning after late inning when they could not put the go ahead run across home plate as they consistently seemed to have 2 runners on every bottom of the inning until they lost ultimately in the 11th.
Early in the game, Weaver was on his game and the only time the Royals scored was when they put together a late inning rally to manufacture one run to get on the board. Then once they did that, the Angels responded with a solo blast to tie it. 3rd inning it was Chris Ianetta who answered the bell, and in the 5th it was David Freese who once again added on to his already heroic efforts in the postseason for his career. After that, it was a pitchers duel as two friends in Jered Weaver and Jason Vargas both kept their teams in check to get the win. Vargas just did enough, where as Weaver was an absolute master of shutting down those Royal bats.
Vargas also got some serious help in this game. Lorenzo Cain made 2 great catches along with Nori Aoki making 2 game saving catches (which truly weren't the prettiest things to view). Vargas and the rest of that pitching staff definitely have to find a way to own it back to those two for finding the ball in their gloves on those 4 plays. But the real hero was the Moose,
Mike Moustakas came up to the plate in the top of the 11th, and made another stamp in the history books for what defines magic. After multiple innings of the Angels getting so close to ending the game, the Moose was fed up and decided to silence the already inconsistent crowd at the ballpark in Anaheim and put the first run on the board that had an exclamation point next to Kansas City in the box score. A homerun that could find a way to shift the power within this series as the road team (with momentum) now holds home court in a series that is already short enough as it is (5 games). One more win for Kansas City, and the Angels could find themselves sitting on their couches faster than they thought a week ago tonight.
This was a 4+ hour game. I didn't hear anybody complain about how long it was. Stop talking about needing pitch clocks because those may take away from the romance and drama that games like this provided tonight. They are still partying like it's 1985 in Kansas City, they are 2 wins away from an ALCS appearance (just like the Baltimore Orioles established tonight).
We got 4 games tomorrow! I'll be covering all of them and I'll be writing about them again tomorrow! Should be another fantastic day across America when it comes to the game played on the Diamond in October!
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Who's that Bum?
Moonshine Stupid.
As in, so good they could not be in the right state of mind.
Madison Bumgarner proved again why nobody can touch his brilliance when it comes to the Postseason once again. This guy only allowed 4 hits, 1 walk, and had 10 strikeouts in a Complete Game, 109 pitch, masterpiece in a one game playoff where you couldn't ask for anything much better. This guy was bananas, out of this world, ridiculous, but most of all calm and collected.
Who else do we know of who could come into hostile territory and pitch a lights out game similar to this as to what Madison Bumgarner did? The only thing that comes to my mind is how Cliff Lee performed in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series and he didn't even have a shutout. Yes, Roy Halladay threw a no hitter, but it was at home in front of his home crowd, and it wasn't an elimination game. How good can Bumgarner be? Just look at tonight's game and don't tell me he's not a stud.
This guy Brandon Crawford is O.K. too. I mean, he was only batting 7th in the lineup and decided to hit the first grand slam as a shortstop in the history of postseason baseball. Take that Alex Rodriguez!
This Giants ball club is just a scary bunch in general. When it comes to elimination games they can't be stopped this decade winning every single time they are on the brink because they have never lost a postseason series in the 2010's! Think about that for a second. The other crazy thing that's going to happen, they are going back to Washington where they ended that teams last playoff appearance run when they spoiled a 2-0 series lead back in 2012 coming back in classic comeback fashion. I bet Nationals fans are thrilled beyond compare because they totally want to see the Giants once again when it comes to postseason play.
All in all, this 8-0 game wasn't anything special except the Grand Slam and the Bumgarner Brilliance. But let me just say something to all you people who feel like the Giants aren't capable of getting it done come postseason time in 2014. Just go back to 2010 & 2012. They were underdogs then too.
As in, so good they could not be in the right state of mind.
Madison Bumgarner proved again why nobody can touch his brilliance when it comes to the Postseason once again. This guy only allowed 4 hits, 1 walk, and had 10 strikeouts in a Complete Game, 109 pitch, masterpiece in a one game playoff where you couldn't ask for anything much better. This guy was bananas, out of this world, ridiculous, but most of all calm and collected.
Who else do we know of who could come into hostile territory and pitch a lights out game similar to this as to what Madison Bumgarner did? The only thing that comes to my mind is how Cliff Lee performed in Game 1 of the 2009 World Series and he didn't even have a shutout. Yes, Roy Halladay threw a no hitter, but it was at home in front of his home crowd, and it wasn't an elimination game. How good can Bumgarner be? Just look at tonight's game and don't tell me he's not a stud.
This guy Brandon Crawford is O.K. too. I mean, he was only batting 7th in the lineup and decided to hit the first grand slam as a shortstop in the history of postseason baseball. Take that Alex Rodriguez!
This Giants ball club is just a scary bunch in general. When it comes to elimination games they can't be stopped this decade winning every single time they are on the brink because they have never lost a postseason series in the 2010's! Think about that for a second. The other crazy thing that's going to happen, they are going back to Washington where they ended that teams last playoff appearance run when they spoiled a 2-0 series lead back in 2012 coming back in classic comeback fashion. I bet Nationals fans are thrilled beyond compare because they totally want to see the Giants once again when it comes to postseason play.
All in all, this 8-0 game wasn't anything special except the Grand Slam and the Bumgarner Brilliance. But let me just say something to all you people who feel like the Giants aren't capable of getting it done come postseason time in 2014. Just go back to 2010 & 2012. They were underdogs then too.
Culmination Game for Oakland
What else is there to say other then that the Kansas City Royals put together a game that will live in infamy in the heartland of America. A game that was played into October if there wasn't any other way, and the drama that opened those October sky's provided the drama looking to be written in the greatest month sports has to provide.
The blue rally towels were waving, the crowd sounded nervous but antsy. They were ready when the Royals were ready to strike. But it wasn't the Royals that struck first it was Brandon Moss who brought the thunder to the park.
A 2-run homerun by Brandon Moss who hadn't homered in 2 weeks, provided the spark that the Oakland A's needed to jump on the early excitement that the Royal fans were anticipating to pounce on. Well instead, Brandon Moss became the party pooper.
But the Royals came back to chip away at the deficit, and ultimately took the lead as Eric Hosmer hit a clutch 2 out hit to help the Royals take the lead at 3-2 at the end of the 3rd inning.
After that offensive output early on, both John Lester and James Shields settled down for a couple innings to let the fire churn a little bit. Then came the 6th inning. Known as the inning that got away from the Royals.
Shields got pulled early with two men on base, then Brandon Moss decided to mash another pitch over the centerfield wall making it 5-3 Oakland which opened the flood gate and allowing a couple more 2 out runs making it 7-3 going into the bottom of the 6th inning where it looked like the Royals only had 12 outs left in their season against a zoned out John Lester, which spells a automatic W where Lester is 85-1 in his career when being handed a 3+ run lead. Good Luck.
Remember, this the playoffs, nothing is ever set and stone, and the Royals were ready to remind the world of how the Oakland A's got to this point.
Lester went 1-2-3 in the 6th & 7th, only allowing 6 more outs in the season for Kansas City heading into the bottom of the 8th, where the magic ensued.
Lester left the ball game with men on base again, and the Royals decided to literally steal the show as they stole base after base (ultimately 7 altogether) and grinding their way to getting within 1 run heading into the 9th.
Down 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th, 1 out, and a runner getting to third, Nori Aoki stepped up and hit a ball far enough easily tying the game, ultimately getting the Royals to extra inning baseball.
The next couple innings both teams run stagnant, but then came the 12th inning.
Top of the 12th, the A's score a run making it 8-7, and again testing the might of the Royals. Similar as to how A's had their entire season up until the dog days of August, they were up and they looked like they would just keep cruising to that victory like they did in the first half of the season. But much like the second half of the season, the second half of the 12th inning proved to be the nail in the coffin.
Both Johnny Gomes and Nick Fuld collided in the outfield, providing Eric Hosmer to triple with only one out in the inning. Then Christian Colon hit a chopper so high, that the likes of David Ortiz could run it out and Eric Hosmer tied the game. Colon made it to 2nd on a dropped pitchout, and the man who was up to bat hadn't had a hit all game. He was 0 for 5, and he hit a ball that looked about 3 feet off the plate down the leftfield line, where Josh Donaldson laid for what seemed like forever watching his season trickle down the line and hearing footsteps of all the teams that caught them down the stretch of the regular season as Christian Colon ran home and won the game 9-8 for the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 AL Wildcard Game.
The culmination of an entire season wrapped up into one game. From the top of the 6th inning on till the very final hit in the bottom of the 12th. The Oakland A's went from the best team profoundly in the game midway through the 2014 season to one of the more mediocre teams to finish the season who barely got into the final playoff slot of the postseason. This game finally ended that terrible 2 month drought that the Athletics had been feeling similar to the water drought in California.
It just dried up late, and never became replenished! On to the NL Wild Card Game Wednesday Night!!!
The blue rally towels were waving, the crowd sounded nervous but antsy. They were ready when the Royals were ready to strike. But it wasn't the Royals that struck first it was Brandon Moss who brought the thunder to the park.
A 2-run homerun by Brandon Moss who hadn't homered in 2 weeks, provided the spark that the Oakland A's needed to jump on the early excitement that the Royal fans were anticipating to pounce on. Well instead, Brandon Moss became the party pooper.
But the Royals came back to chip away at the deficit, and ultimately took the lead as Eric Hosmer hit a clutch 2 out hit to help the Royals take the lead at 3-2 at the end of the 3rd inning.
After that offensive output early on, both John Lester and James Shields settled down for a couple innings to let the fire churn a little bit. Then came the 6th inning. Known as the inning that got away from the Royals.
Shields got pulled early with two men on base, then Brandon Moss decided to mash another pitch over the centerfield wall making it 5-3 Oakland which opened the flood gate and allowing a couple more 2 out runs making it 7-3 going into the bottom of the 6th inning where it looked like the Royals only had 12 outs left in their season against a zoned out John Lester, which spells a automatic W where Lester is 85-1 in his career when being handed a 3+ run lead. Good Luck.
Remember, this the playoffs, nothing is ever set and stone, and the Royals were ready to remind the world of how the Oakland A's got to this point.
Lester went 1-2-3 in the 6th & 7th, only allowing 6 more outs in the season for Kansas City heading into the bottom of the 8th, where the magic ensued.
Lester left the ball game with men on base again, and the Royals decided to literally steal the show as they stole base after base (ultimately 7 altogether) and grinding their way to getting within 1 run heading into the 9th.
Down 7-6 in the bottom of the 9th, 1 out, and a runner getting to third, Nori Aoki stepped up and hit a ball far enough easily tying the game, ultimately getting the Royals to extra inning baseball.
The next couple innings both teams run stagnant, but then came the 12th inning.
Top of the 12th, the A's score a run making it 8-7, and again testing the might of the Royals. Similar as to how A's had their entire season up until the dog days of August, they were up and they looked like they would just keep cruising to that victory like they did in the first half of the season. But much like the second half of the season, the second half of the 12th inning proved to be the nail in the coffin.
Both Johnny Gomes and Nick Fuld collided in the outfield, providing Eric Hosmer to triple with only one out in the inning. Then Christian Colon hit a chopper so high, that the likes of David Ortiz could run it out and Eric Hosmer tied the game. Colon made it to 2nd on a dropped pitchout, and the man who was up to bat hadn't had a hit all game. He was 0 for 5, and he hit a ball that looked about 3 feet off the plate down the leftfield line, where Josh Donaldson laid for what seemed like forever watching his season trickle down the line and hearing footsteps of all the teams that caught them down the stretch of the regular season as Christian Colon ran home and won the game 9-8 for the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 AL Wildcard Game.
The culmination of an entire season wrapped up into one game. From the top of the 6th inning on till the very final hit in the bottom of the 12th. The Oakland A's went from the best team profoundly in the game midway through the 2014 season to one of the more mediocre teams to finish the season who barely got into the final playoff slot of the postseason. This game finally ended that terrible 2 month drought that the Athletics had been feeling similar to the water drought in California.
It just dried up late, and never became replenished! On to the NL Wild Card Game Wednesday Night!!!
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