MLB Playoffs, Day Twelve

Well, my summary at the end of the Day Eleven posting did not turn out to be very accurate.  The Dodgers fought back from a 5-2 deficit in the bottom of the eighth, after looking absolutely hopeless for most of three hours.  They tied the game on a three-run homer by Cody Bellinger, and then got the winning run a few batters later on a two-out double by Mookie Betts.  So here are the Dodgers' last four games:

Thursday, October 14:  Los Angeles 2, San Francisco 1 (Dodgers scored the winning run in the top of the 9th)

Saturday, October 16:  Atlanta 3, Los Angeles 2 (Braves scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th)

Sunday, October 17:  Atlanta 5, Los Angeles 4 (Braves again scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th)

Tuesday, October 19:  Los Angeles 6, Atlanta 5 (Dodgers scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th for a come-from-behind victory)

You could not ask for more drama.  The Dodgers have played 36 innings in a row where every game was up for grabs.  And they play again tomorrow.

Meanwhile, in Boston, the Astros got the pitching that they needed.  They got one and one-third innings from Zach Greinke, then two thirds of an inning from Brooks Raley, three innings from Cristian Javier, one inning from Phil Maton, two innings from Kendall Graveman, and one inning from Ryan Pressly.  If you add it all together that's nine innings, and in those nine innings the previously red-hot Bostons only got five hits and two runs, and they struck out 10 times.  For hours, Boston clung grimly to the 2-1 lead it had enjoyed after the first inning, but the relentless Astros struck for one run in the 8th to tie the game -- and SEVEN in the 9th to win it by 9 to 2.

So in both series, the advantage has shifted toward a team that seemed to be in huge trouble just a few hours ago.  Atlanta still has both a 2-1 lead and home field advantage, but the Braves lost the chance to pretty much finish off the Dodgers this afternoon.  Houston is tied 2-2 with Games Six and Seven scheduled for Minute Maid Park, so the Astros will like their chances.

Here are tomorrow's games (potentially the last game of the year in Fenway):

4:08 P.M. Central:  Houston at Boston  (Fox Sports One) (series tied 2-2)

7:08 P.M. Central:  Atlanta at Los Angeles (TBS) (Atlanta leads 2-1)

Remember the other day when I talked about that great relaxed feeling you have at the beginning of a new seven-game series?  Well, that's all over now.  These are now four very anxious fan bases.