Thursday, October 15, 2020

League Championship Series: Day Four

 Both of the LCS got a bit more interesting last night.  Down two games to zero, the Dodgers pasted Atlanta 15 to 3 behind an 11-run first inning -- the most runs ever scored in a single inning of post-season baseball.  Meanwhile, the never-say-die Astros hung on for a 4-3 win over the Devil Rays.  Tampa Bay still leads that series by three games to one, but if anyone can make up a three-zip deficit, it's the Astros.

National League:
Atlanta leads Los Angeles 2-1

American League:
Tampa Bay leads Houston 3-1

23 comments:

  1. George Springer leads off the bottom of the 1st with a home run, and the Astros lead 1-0.

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  2. In the top of the third, Brandon Lowe homers to center and the game is tied at 1.

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  3. In the bottom of the third, Michael Brantley singles in two runs and the Astros take a 3-1 lead.

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  4. Randy Arozaranea, the Rays' left fielder, whacks his sixth home run of the post season to right center field. Astros lead 3-2 in the top of the 5th.

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  5. Houston still leads 3-2 in the bottom of the 7th.

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  6. You have to remember that baseball today basically consists of two teams playing Home Run Derby with each other. In the top of the 8th, Ji-Man blasts a pitch deep into the right field bleachers, and the game is tied at 3. The Devil Rays have three runs on three solo homers.

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  7. Rays and Astros still tied at 3 going into the 9th. We will probably keep going until one team or the other hits a home run.

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  8. The Rays did not hit a home run in the top of the ninth, so they didn't score. Houston can now win the game in the bottom of the ninth.

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  9. In the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Correa whacks a home run to dead center field to win the game for the Astros. For the second day in the row, Houston beats Tampa Bay 4-3.

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  10. Meanwhile, in Arlington, the Dodgers and the Braves are tied at 1 in the bottom of the fourth. You won't be surprised to know that each team has hit a solo home run.

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  11. The Dodgers have won the NL West eight years in a row, and have not won the World Series, and Clayton Kershaw bears a great deal of responsibility for both of those facts. In the regular season, Kershaw is one of the greatest pitchers of all time -- he has a record of 175-76, with an ERA of 2.43. In the post-season, he is 11-11 with an ERA of 4.23.

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  12. Anyway, Kershaw is pitching tonight and the Dodgers need him to be better than usual.

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  13. If the Dodgers plan to win the 2020 World Series, they better win this game. I believe Houston can fight back from being down 3-0. I do not think the Dodgers can come back from being down 3-1.

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  14. The Braves started this game with Bryse Wilson, a 22-year-old who has only started seven games in his entire big league career. So far he's thrown five innings and allowed only one hit. That's a disaster for the Dodgers, who had a pitching matchup that was very much in their favor, but did nothing with it.

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  15. Wilson mows down the Dodgers 1-2-3 in the 6th, and the score is still 1-all.

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  16. Ronald Acuna, who is better than anyone who plays for the Dodgers (with the possible exception of Mookie Betts), leads off the bottom of the sixth by beating out an infield hit, and then scooting to second on a throwing error.

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  17. Freddie Freeman, who is much better than anyone on the Dodgers (with the possible exception of Mookie Betts), slams a double to right. Acuna scores, and the Braves lead 2-1. Kershaw is now on pace to take the loss, while Bryse Wilson is on pace to take the win.

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  18. Let's emphasize that point: The Dodgers are about to go down 3-1 in this series because Bryse Wilson, in the eighth start of his career, pitched better than Clayton Kershaw, who is headed to the Hall of Fame.

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  19. Dodger management, apparently not realizing that Marcell Ozuna homered the last time he came to bat, leaves Kershaw in to face Ozuna again. Ozuna promptly smacks a double to center to score Freeman, and the Braves lead 3-1. At this point -- about four batters too late -- the Dodgers finally pull Kershaw.

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  20. Now I see why the Dodgers stuck with Kershaw. Their relief pitcher, Brusdar Graterol, quickly gives up a single and a double, and Atlanta leads 5-1. As in Game One, the Dodgers' bullpen has imploded in a late-game situation.

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  21. So the Dodgers are going to lose this series. But they did score 11 runs in one inning yesterday, so they have that consolation.

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  22. I am rooting for the Dodgers and the Rays.

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  23. At this very moment, I am receiving a call from Oakland, California, on my home line. Unless that's Sen. Harris, it's got to be Bob Melvin.

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