NATIONAL LEAGUE:
San Diego leads Los Angeles 2-1
N.Y. Mets lead Philadelphia 2-1
AMERICAN LEAGUE:
N.Y. Yankees and Kansas City are tied 1-1
Cleveland and Detroit are tied 1-1
I did some more research last night, and it turns out that the Dodgers' best starting pitchers are all hurt, which explains why they have no starters. In fact, for Game Four tonight -- which will almost certainly end their season -- they are reduced to treating it as a bullpen game. (On MLB.com right now, the Dodgers' starter is listed as "TBD.")
These facts make me feel better about Dave Roberts's chances of survival. Of course it's painful to go out in only four games to a divisional rival after winning 98 games in the regular season. And of course it's even more painful if you are losing to a divisional rival in the divisional series for the third year in a row. But I don't see how Roberts can be blamed for not having starting pitchers, and I don't see how anyone can beat the Padres without good starting pitching.
Anyway, today is the last day of the year with four MLB games. Here is the schedule for today (all times Central; home teams listed first):
2:08 P.M.: Detroit v. Cleveland (TBS)
4:08 P.M.: N.Y. Mets v. Philadelphia (Fox Sports 1)
6:08 P.M.: Kansas City v. N.Y. Yankees (TBS)
8:08 P.M.: San Diego v. Los Angeles (Fox Sports 1)
It should be a great day of baseball (unless you're a Dodgers fan).
Tigers lead 2-0 after 4 1/2 innings. Cleveland has now been shut out for 16 innings in a row. You will recall that Detroit was shut out for 17 innings in a row to open the series.
ReplyDeleteTigers lead 3-0 after 6.
ReplyDeleteOK, here are some updates:
ReplyDeleteThe Tigers beat Cleveland 3-0. The Indians have now gone 20 innings in a row without scoring a run. All three games in this series have been shutouts. Tigers now lead 2-1.
The Mets got a grand slam from Francisco Lindor to beat the Phillies 4-1 and win the Divisional Series, three games to one. The Phillies will miss the N.L.C.S. for the first time since 2021. The Mets will be in the N.L.C.S. for the first time since 2015. Since 2019, four of the five teams in the N.L. East have reached the N.L.C.S.
ReplyDeleteI kind of rooted for the Mets when they were good in the middle 1980s, and I kind of rooted for the Yankees when they were good in the late 1970s. But in recent years, I've tried to kind of root for Chicago teams as my second favorites in all of the sports.
DeleteNow, the Yankees and Royals are playing a game that appeals to Gen-X nostalgia. The two teams are in the same stadium where they met in the 1970's, and their uniforms look almost exactly the same as they did back then. We even have Bob Costas on the call.
ReplyDeleteI love Bob Costas.
DeleteIt's a great game too -- the Royals and Yankees are tied at 2 after seven innings.
ReplyDeleteIn San Diego, the Dodgers lead 2-0 in the top of the 2d.
ReplyDeleteBut in Kansas City, Giancarlo Stanton has just blasted a home run to left, and the Yankees take a 3-2 lead.
ReplyDeletePatrick Mahomes and his wife are both at this game, both wearing Royals jerseys with number 15. I think watching a baseball game with Patrick Mahomes would be a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteI totally thought Patrick Mahomes's dad had played for the A's. I don't know how I got that wrong.
DeleteDodgers lead 3-0 in the bottom of the 2d.
ReplyDeleteWith one out and nobody on in the bottom of the 8th, the Yankees bring in Luke Weaver (7-3, 2.89 ERA in 62 games). Costas tells us that the Yankees are hoping Weaver can pull off a five-out save.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, give credit to the Yankees for bringing back John Sterling -- who retired back in May -- to do the radio play-by-play for the playoffs.
ReplyDeleteKansas City gets two singles and now has runners on first and third with two out in the bottom of the 8th. Weaver has not looked sharp so far. It's up to Yuli Gurriel, the 40-year-old first baseman of the Royals.
ReplyDeleteWeaver v. Gurriel:
Pitch 1: popped foul (0-1)
Pitch 2: fly out to center (three outs)
The Royals leave two, and the Yankees lead 3-2 with one inning left.
The Dodgers lead 3-0 in the top of the 3d.
ReplyDeleteThe Yankees benefit from an error and a walk in the top of the 9th, but they do nothing with these benefits. New York will be defending a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth.
ReplyDeleteThe Dodgers now lead 5-0 in the bottom of the 3d.
ReplyDeleteWeaver retires the Royals 1-2-3 in the 9th. The Yankees win 3-2, and take a 2-1 lead in the Series.
ReplyDeleteThe Royals and Yankees played last night in 1977, but I didn't watch a lick of it--I was wiped out after the Colts-Dolphins game.
ReplyDelete