Tag: ek Holiday

Miss yesterday?  Well, you didn’t miss much if you’re a Tigers fan.  Though it was only a three run margin, by comparison with the single score victories in the previous two games the Athletics crushed them.

The big blow was of course in the 5th inning with Brandon Moss’ Solo Shot and Seth Smith’s 2 Run Homer so you could argue that it’s just two bad pitches, but worst of all from a Detroit standpoint is they gave back home field advantage and now they have to win out to advance.

Oakland will be putting up Dan Straily (10 – 8, 3.96 ERA R) against Doug Fister (14 – 9, 3.67 ERA R).  Don’t let the slightly better stats fool you, as recently as August 28th the Athletics lit Fister up for 7 runs and 13 hits.  If the Tigers win we will head back to Oakland County Coliseum on Thursday @ 9 pm ET.  Tonight’s game starts @ 5 pm on TBS.

The Dodgers can put the Braves away today at Dodger Stadium and that would be just fine by me.

On Friday Atlanta won a close one.  Dodgers scored in the 1st off a Walk and an RBI Double.  Brave answered in the 2nd with a Single, a Sacrifice, and an RBI Double.  Braves got ahead again in the 4th on a Leadoff Double a Sacrufice, and an RBI Single.  Braves took the lead for good in the 7th with a leadoff Walk, a Single, a 2 Out Walk, and a 2 RBI Single.  The Dodgers’ attempted comeback in the 8th was 1 Run short, off a Leadoff Walk and a 2 RBI Home Run.  Braves 4 – 3, Series tied at 1.

Sunday the Dodgers dominated at home after falling behind in the 1st to the Braves who had a 1 Out Double, a 2 Out RBI Single, a Walk, and another RBI Single.  In the 2nd the Dogers started to put it away, Single, Single, Walk to load them, 2 RBI Sacrifice, 2 RBI Home Run.  Braves answer in the 3rd with a Single, a Single, a 1 RBI Sacrifice, an RBI error, then an inning ending Double Play.  The Dodgers added to the misery in their half with a Leadoff Double, an RBI Single, an error and an RBI Single.  There was a meaningless Wild Pitch.  The bats remained silent unti the Dodgers 8th, HBP, 2 Out Walk, RBI Single, RBI Single, RBI Single.  Too little too late for the Braves in the 9th with a 1 out Single and a 2 RBI Home Run.  Dodgers 13 – 6, lead the Series 2 – 1.

Today the Dodgers send out Ricky Nolasco (13 – 11, 3.70 ERA R) to put the Braves away.  They counter with  (1 – 2, 1.65 ERA R) who’s only pitched 13 innings to ‘earn’ his spectacular ERA.  Game starts at 9:30 pm ET on TBS.

This Series may not go much father either if the BoSox can put it away on the road at Tropicana Field, the last domed stadium in the Majors.

Friday the Sox fell behind the Rays in the 2nd on a solo shot and went 2 down in the 4th after another.  The Sox came roaring back in the Bottom of the inning on a Single, a Double, a 1 Out 2 RBI Double, a 2 Out RBI Single, a 2 Out RBI Double, a Passed Ball that should have ended the inning, and another RBI Single.  Not that it mattered much, the Sox put the nail in the coffin in the 5th with a 1 Out Double, an intentional Walk, a 2 RBI Double, another intentional Walk, and a 2 Out RBI Single.  Amazingly the Rays left Moore in there until the 8th when the BoSox added 4 more meaningless runs on a Single, a Steal, an RBI Single, another Single, a Walk, Walked in a Run, an RBI Double Play, and an RBI Single.  Red Sox 12 – 2, lead Series 1 – 0.

Saturday Boston was pretty much just as dominant.  They scored 2 in the 1st on a Single, a Steal and an error, a 1 Out RBI Sacrifice, and a solo shot.  They never lost that lead.  In the 2nd the Rays got 1 back with a Walk, a Single, and an RBI Sacrifice.  In the Sox 3rd there was a Leadoff Double, an RBI Double, a Single, a RBI Sacrifice, and an inning ending Double Play.  In the 4th they added another on a leadoff Walk, an error, and an RBI Triple.  The Rays pulled within 2 in the 5th with a Double, a HBP, and a 2 RBI Double.  The Sox answered in the Bottom of the 5th with a Single and an RBI Double.  The Rays scored their last in the 6th on a Single, a Sacrifice, and an RBI Single.  The BoSox padded their score with a Run in the 8th with a solo shot.  BoSox 7 – 4, 2 – 0 for the Series.

The Sox will be sending Clay Buchholz (12 – 1, 1.74 ERA R) against Alex Cobb (11 – 3, 2.76 ERA R) who is playing against his home town team.  The game is at 6 pm ET on TBS.

Time to put up the rally squirrel-

The Cardinals are in a bad way.  With the Pirates’ 7 – 1 victory on Friday at Busch Stadium they gained home field advantage and that puts them in position today to close out the Series at PNC Park.

Friday Gerrit Cole threw 99+ mph fireballs into the 6th inning with the sole blot a solo shot by Yadier Molina in the 5th and a meaningless 1 Out Double by Beltran in the 1st.

On the other hand the Cards sucked early and often starting in the 2nd when Cole helped his own cause with an RBI Single.  The Pirates scored again in the 3rd with a 2 RBI Homer by Alverez and added 2 more runs in the 5th on back to back 1 Out Doubles that chased Lynn and an RBI Single off Marness.  They completed their scoring with a 2 Out RBI Single in the 7th and a solo shot in the 8th.  7 – 1 Pirates, Series tied at 1.

Sunday at PNC Park Pittsburg got off to an early 2 – 0 lead in the 1st with a 1 Out Walk, a Single, a runner advancing error, and a 2 RBI Single.  The Cards tied it up in the 5th with a Single, a Walk, a 2 Out Double Steal, and a 2 RBI Single.  The Pirates took the lead again in the 6th witha lead off Walk, a meaningless 1 Out Double, an intentional Walk, and an RBI Sacrifice.  The Cards tied it up again in the 8th with a solo shot, but the Pirates put it away in the Bottom of the 8th on a Double, a 1 Out Walk, and 2 RBI Singles.  5 – 3 Pirates who lead the Series 2 – 1.

Today it’s win or go home for the Cardinals away at PNC Park.  They will be sending Michael Wacha (4 – 1, 2.78 ERA R) who almost threw a No-No against the Nationals in his last start against Charlie Morton (7 – 4, 3.26 ERA R).  In his last start against the Cardinals he injured his left foot.

This game will be broadcast at 3 pm ET on TBS.

Rule #1- Never take untested equipment on the road.  It will fail and you won’t have the tools you need to fix it in the field.

So what do we know after this weekend?  Detroit got a split in Oakland  which is a bigger deal than it seems because they now have home field advantage, needing only 2 games at Comerica Park to advance to the Junior League Championship Series.

At that it could have been better. In Game 1 Max Scherzer looked pretty unbeatable until Yoenis Cespedes hit a 2 RBI Home Run in the 7th.  Detroit’s damage was already done with 3 runs in the 1st (Leadoff Double, HBP, RBI Single, Double Play (runner advances), RBI Double).  Some people say Oakland threatened to tie it up in the 8th, but a 1 Out Walk does not a threat make.  Detroit 3 – 2, 1 – 0 in the Series.

Everyone expected great things from Justin Verlander (only 20 game winner in the Majors this seaon) but he got trapped in a boring Pitcher’s Duel with the unheralded rookie Sonny Gray.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.  But he got pulled for Smyly in the 8th and in the bottom of the 9th Smyly loaded them up and was replaced by Porchello who promptly gave up the walk off, game winning RBI Single in what was a ‘must win’ for the Athletics.  Oakland 1 – 0, Series tied at 1.

Today Anibal Sanchez (14 – 8, 2.57 ERA R) faces Jarrod Parker (12 – 8, 3.97 ERA R) in the 1 pm ET game which will be carried exclusively on MLB Network which kind of sucks if you’re a fan and don’t get it.  The best I can offer you is the New York Times Gameview as a poor substitute.

Meta

So here’s the deal- I’m away.  TheMomCat is also away.  Consider these Open Threads rather than live blogs.  I’ll come back later and fill in the inning by inning detail.  Don’t be afraid you’re jumping the Tip Jar.

I don’t need mojo here.

Senior League Division Series: Pirates @ Cards Game 2

There is no denying the Pirates got a good thumping last night, but as a Manager you say “Just a W.  We’ll kick their ass today.

Well, will we?

The Cards looked very strong, just as you always do in a 9 – 1 rout.  The Pirates had other flaws besides the melt down of A.J. Burnett, they also committed 3 errors. Carlos Beltran seemed like the reincarnation of Reggie Jackson, but Reggie wasn’t that good either.

Today they put up Lance Lynn (15 – 10, ERA 3.97 R) against Gerrit Cole (10 – 7 3.22 ERA R) So it looks more even.  Remember, if you can steal a single victory in the away park it gives you an advantage going on.

This shapes up to be a classic display of hitting vs. pitching.  The Dodgers unquestionably have superior pitching with their 2 aces, Clayton Kershaw and Zack Greinke.

Kershaw (16 – 9, 1.83 ERA L) is considered the top Cy Young contender in the Senior League and has tonight’s start.  He’ll be opposed by Kris Medlen (15 – 12, 3.11 ERA R).

But the Braves are the marginal favorites because of their hitting and they have a great bullpen.  There will be a game 3 at Dodger Stadium and neither Kershaw nor Greinke will pitch it.

Now as bad as the history of the Dodgers is (and it’s very dodgy) and regardless of the fact that the Braves have been a clearly superior organization, reliably getting into the post-season for over 30 years now, I just can’t bring myself to root for Atlanta.

But you can’t rule them out, they’re a great team.

Baseball will always break your heart.  This Series pits the Pirates (Argh) against the Cards (Squirrels!, Squirrels!) and I sure hope the eventual League Champion emerges from this bracket instead of the Dodgers (traitors), Braves (evil opponents of my Mets) one.

The Cardinals clinched their Division with 2 to go in the season and rode a 6 game winning streak to the end.  As you can tell by the seeding they’re considered the best on the Senior circuit.

Adam Wainwright (19-9, 2.94 ERA R), tonight’s starter, is generally considered the best pitcher left playing, though both team have outstanding staffs.  He was 1 – 0 with a 3.00 ERA in three starts against Pittsburgh this season.  He’ll be available on full rest for a deciding Game 5 if necessary.

The Pirates won the season series 10 – 9, but were swept at home by the Cards in early September.

They’ll start A.J. Burnett (10-11, 3.30 ERA R), late of the Yankees.  He’s 3-1 with a 3.67 ERA in his career against the Cardinals, but the last time they faced each other he was chased after 5 runs in 3 innings.

Pirates fans should not be discouraged, these teams are very evenly matched and pitching ought keep the games very close.

Well, happy endings like that only happen in Madam Chao’s Massage Parlor and Hollywood, though Cleveland manager Terry Francona is looking forward to a rematch against the Red Sox, at team he only helped break an 86 year World Championship drought.  Can he have a sequel with the Indians?  After all it’s been a mere 65 years for them.

The fact that they’re forced to scramble for a Wild Card Sudden Death win after finishing up with a 10 game win streak (errorless fielding too) and going 15 – 2 down the stretch tells you everything you need to know about how badly they played in the beginning of the season.  They’ll be starting rookie Danny Salazar (2-3, 3.12 ERA R).

Tampa won four of the six games against Cleveland this season, but the teams haven’t met since early June so that tells you not much.

Alex Cobb (11 – 3, 2.76 ERA R) missed 50 games with a concussion, but he’s been a different pitcher since the injury, going 5 – 1 with a 2.41 ERA in nine starts.

The Rays have gone from inoffensive against Team W (for steroids) to obstacles in the way of the sentimental favorites.  Not that I’m ungrateful, just that in playoff Baseball your loyalties change depending on the opponent.

Game start @ 8 pm ET on TBS.

Argh Mateys.  This be Cap’n Hank Bloodbeard and for the first time in a long, long time the Pirates be ready to pillage and plunder the Senior Circuit.  If’n it helps ye hate on the scurvy Reds remember they be the team o’ Pete Rose, a cut throat player who turned out to be so corrupt a Cap’n he’d bet agin’ his own side.

No Hall for you.  Ever.

The Reds be takin’ the field first behind Johnny Cueto (5 – 2, 2.82 ERA R).  He be better than he look, 8 – 2 at PNC Park, 7 – 2 with a 1.43 ERA in his last 12 starts agin’ the Pirates.

They be puttin’ up Francisco Liriano (16 – 8, 3.02 ERA L) who be vulnerable.  Liriano went 0-3 in four starts against the Reds this season though lack of run support be a significant factor.  But this be his home field, 8 – 1 with a 1.47 ERA in 11 starts at PNC Park. And the Pirates keelhauled Cincinnati on the final weekend of the season.

The Pirates be in the playoffs for the first time in 21 years.  They have 20 straight losing seasons, longest among the four major professional sports.  The Pirates went 50-31 at PNC Park this season 5 – 4 against the Reds.

The Reds be in the playoffs it for the third time in four years and are 13 – 7 against the Pirates in the postseason.  They also took two of three at PNC Park in their last series there Sept. 20 – 22.

And ye think this not be a grudge match between ’em they plunked 28 batsmen this season.

The format o’ the game be rightly called… Sudden Death.