Tuesday, October 20, 2015

MLB Playoffs: Day 12

Late in this season, the Royals picked up Johnny Cueto from the Reds in an effort to bolster their starting staff.  On paper, it seemed like a great move -- Cueto had a lifetime record of 92-63 with the Reds, and he went 20-9 last year.  This year, in 19 starts for the Reds, his E.R.A. was 2.62.  But in 13 starts for the Royals, he went 4-7 with a 4.76 E.R.A.  And last night, with a chance to give Kansas City a 3-0 lead over Toronto, he was dreadful:  2 innings pitched, 6 hits, 4 walks, eight earned runs.

After three innings, the Blue Jays led 9-2, and the game was basically over at that point.  The never-say-die Royals scored four runs in the top of the 9th to make the score respectable, but Toronto won 11-8.  So Toronto is back in this series.

National League Championship Series:
New York leads Chicago 2-0

American League Championship Series:
Kansas City leads Toronto 2-1

8 comments:

  1. Kansas City opens the game with four runs in the top of the first. The big blow was a two-run homer by Ben Zobrist.

    According to FanGraphs, the Royals now have an 81 percent chance of victory.

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  2. In the top of the 2d, Alex Rios hammers a home run to right, and the Royals now lead 5-0.

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  3. Still 5-0 in the top of the 2nd. Now the Royals have a 90.7 percent chance of victory.

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  4. In the bottom of the third, the Blue Jays get two runs on a single, a walk, a double, and a ground out. The Royals lead 5-2 after 3, and they now have an 82 percent chance of victory.

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  5. In the top of the 4th, Alex Rios of the Royals is called out when he slides into second safely -- but is tagged popping up into the air after the slide. I bet the players hate that rule.

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  6. After six innings, the Royals still lead 5-2. They have an 89.8 percent chance of victory.

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  7. In the top of the seventh, the Royals put up four more runs, and now lead 9-2. They have a 99 percent chance of victory.

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  8. If the Royals and Mets do, indeed, make the World Series, Bret Saberhagen should throw out the first pitch of every game.

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