The playoffs begin today. The American League gets it kicked off with the Texas Rangers and the Tampa Bay Rays at 5:07pm. The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers get the nightcap tonight at 8:37pm. Justin Verlander takes on CC Sabathia tonight in the Yanks-Tigers series. The NLDS gets under way tomorrow with the Milwaukee Brewers and the Arizona Diamondbacks at 2:07pm and then the Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals follow them at 5:07pm. Should shape up for a great first round. Tristan Tschoepe got us started with his predictions earlier, here are mine.
Tampa Bay Rays (91-71) @ Texas Rangers (96-66) 5:07 pm Friday
It is no secret what happened to the Rays on Wednesday and how they got into the playoffs. After Evan Longoria’s walk off home run on Wednesday, the celebration ensued in Tampa. My question is… did the Rays already win? We saw that happen to the Phillies in 2007 when they made the playoffs and that was the main goal- not the World Series. I don’t know if this is the case for the Rays or not but it does raise some question. I think the Rays enter the playoffs with more momentum than any other team in baseball, except the Rangers. Unfortunately for them, they face the Rangers who won 14-16 down the stretch. The Rangers are one of the most balanced teams in baseball. They can hit for power (Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz), they can hit for average (Michael Young), they can steal bases (Ian Kinsler and Elvis Andrus), they can pitch (C.J. Wilson), and they can close out games (Neftali Feliz). The Rays have a tall task at hand and it certainly doesn’t help that they have rookie starter Matt Moore starting Game 1 opposite of Rangers ace C.J. Wilson (16-7, 2.94 ERA). I look for this to be a chest match but it is hard to pick against the Rangers overall balance.
Prediction: Rangers in 5
Detroit Tigers (95-67) @ New York Yankees (97-65) 8:37 pm Friday
The Yankees once again put up big numbers. Mark Teixiera and Curtis Granderson were ranked #2 and #3 in the Majors in home runs. Robinson Cano put on a display at the Home Run Derby and showed that he is as dangerous a hitter as anyone else in that lineup. Derek Jeter had another solid year hitting just a shade under .300 at .297. The Tigers also have some guys who can hit the ball too. Miguel Cabrera lead the Majors in hitting at .344 and switch hitting catch/designated hitter Victor Martinez hit a solid .330. Pitching is the big question mark for both teams this series. Game 1 features likely AL Cy Young winner and potential AL MVP candidate Justin Verlander going for the Tigers and Yankees ace CC Sabathia. If the Yankees take Game 1, I see them winning this series. If the Yankees take game one they practically force the Tigers to pitch Verlander on short rest. If the Tigers win Game 1, they take pressure off game two starter Doug Fister. The pitching matchups Verlander v. Sabathia, Fister v. Nova, and Scherzer v. Garcia. Fister has been outstanding since joining the Tigers in a midseason trade from the Mariners. They both have great closers in the bullpen. Jose Valverde was perfect in save opportunities this year and the Yankees have the ageless Mariano Rivera. Again, if the Yankees win Game 1, I think they win the series. But I don’t think the Yankees get the best of Verlander but this is going to be a great series to watch.
Prediction: Tigers in 5
Arizona Diamondbacks (94-68) @ Milwaukee Brewers (96-66) 2:07 pm Saturday
The Diamondbacks have surprised everyone this year by defeating the reigning World Series champion Giants and winning 94 games. The Diamondbacks are anchored by Cy Young candidate Ian Kennedy but also have solid starters behind him in Daniel Hudson and Joe Saunders. Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton is as close to a five tool player as you get (along with Hunter Pence). The Diamondbacks can put up some runs and can pitch out of jams as well. Whatever the Diamondbacks can do, the Brewers can do better. The Brewers trot out stud pitchers in Yovani Gallardo, Zack Greinke, and Shaun Marcum. They also put up some big numbers offensively. Prince Fielder had the season of his life (ironic that it is his contract year?) and MVP candidate Ryan Braun had a 30-30 year and contended for the NL Batting Title until the last day of the season. The Brewers boasted the best home record in the Majors but were 3 games under .500 on the road. I think the Diamondbacks will put up a fight against the Brewers (especially at home) but I think, in the end, the Brewers will be too much for the Diamondbacks.
Prediction: Brewers in 4
St. Louis Cardinals (90-72) @ Philadelphia Phillies (102-60) 5:07 pm SaturdayThe best team in baseball faces off against a team that needed all 162 games and some help to get into the playoffs. The Cardinals owe the Phillies their season for sweeping the Braves and allowing the Cardinals the opportunity to make it. Now they face off. The Phillies are where they were expected to be. Fifth straight division champions and they have the best record in baseball for the second straight year. The Cardinals had an up and down year but made it to the postseason regardless. The status of Cards LF Matt Holliday is uncertain with his left hand injury. St. Louis feared he would be out for the season but he was able to play through some pain against the Astros but aggravated it the other day and remains day-to-day. Albert Pujols has shown that he is pretty much the same Albert Pujols who was one of the most feared hitters in baseball. The Cardinals are sending former Phillie Kyle Lohse to start Game 1 against Roy Halladay and then Chris Carpenter will go for the Cards in Game 2 on three days’ rest against Cliff Lee. The Cardinals pitching isn’t where the Phillies staff is. The Phillies hold the edge there and the Phillies can put up some offensive numbers with the new juggled lineup that has Chase Utley batting second and Hunter Pence batting third. The Phillies are clearly the better team in this series.
Prediction: Phillies in 4-Steve Dolan
It goes without saying that last night was one of the greatest regular season nights in baseball history. Two of the Wild Card games went 12 innings or more and another game was won with a two out rally in the bottom of the ninth. I was fortunate enough to be watching in Philadelphia so I could watch the Phillies on CSN, Red Sox-Orioles on ESPN, and Cardinals-Astros on ESPN2. The longer the night went on the more crazy it got.
Steak and Eggs and boy, was last night a treat for baseball fans. Wild Card Wednesday was more wild than you could ever imagine.
Let’s get started with the only non-suspense filled game. The Cardinals blanked the Astros last night 8-0 behind ace Chris Carpenter and a five run explosion in the first inning off former Phillie Brett Myers. This game started an hour later than the other three but ended a solid 45 minutes before any of the other three ended. More here.
The Phillies and Braves went at it last night too and they needed a little bit more than nine innings. The Phillies got a quick run in the first but the Braves responded in the bottom half to tie it at 1. Dan Uggla hit a two run homerun in the third inning to give them a 3-1 lead. Tim Hudson looked good until he ran into trouble in the seventh. The Phillies got a run in the seventh then Chase Utley came through with a sacrifice fly to tie the game in the ninth. In the thirteenth, Hunter Pence came through with a huge infield single that brought home Brian Schneider. David Herndon closed the door in the home half and the Braves, thanks to the Cardinals win earlier, were eliminated from playoff contention. More here.
Moving on to the Red Sox-Orioles. The Red Sox and Orioles were playing a back and forth game through the first couple of innings. Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia seemed to be the spark that the Sox needed driving in the first run in the third, then hitting the go ahead home run in the fifth. Then came the hour and 26 minute rain delay. The Red Sox came back from the rain delay and weren’t the same. They were getting outs when needed but the pitchers were putting runners on base. Heading into the bottom of the ninth with a 3-2, Jonathan Papelbon came on. He got two quick outs then Chris Davis doubled down the right field line. Nolan Reimold, with two strikes and two outs, doubled into left center to drive in Davis to tie the game. Robert Andino then singled to left that hit Carl Crawford’s glove and that drove home Reimold as the Orioles pull out the 4-3 win. More here.
The Yankees and Rays game was a little different. The Yankees jumped out to a seven nothing lead and had all but shut down the Rays until the eighth inning. Johnny Damon lead off with a single. After another single and two hit batsmen, the Rays were finally on the board. The Rays cut the lead to 7-3 when Evan Longoria stepped up and hit a two out three run home run to cut the Yankee lead to 7-6. In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees got the first two outs then, with two strikes and two outs (notice a theme here) pinch hitter Dan Johnson hit a solo home run down the right field line to tie the game. It would remain that way until, three minutes after the Red Sox lost, with one out in the bottom of the 12th Evan Longoria hit a solo homerun to left field to win it for the Rays and they clinched the AL Wild Card. More here.
Video of the Day:
Steak and Eggs! Exciting night last night and only going to get more exciting tonight as it comes down to game 162 for the Rays, Red Sox, Braves, and Cardinals.
The Phillies took it to the Braves last night at Turner Field 7-1. They roughed up Braves starter Derek Lowe, dropping him to 9-17 on the year. Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, and Hunter Pence all went deep for the Phillies. The Phillies tied the franchise record for wins in a season with 101 and Charlie Manuel tied Gene Mauch for most wins all time as Phillies manager. More
here.
The Cardinals took advantage of the Braves loss last night by exploding in the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings to a 13-6 win over the Astros to tie up the NL Wild Card race. Cards ace Chris Carpenter faces off against former Phillie Brett Myers tonight in Houston. More
here.
The Red Sox squeaked out an 8-7 victory over the Orioles last night. Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon got Adam Jones to ground out to third with the tying run on second to end the game. They remain tied with the Rays for the AL Wild Card lead. More
here.
The Rays and Red Sox remain tied because the Rays beat the Yankees 5-3 last night at Tropicana Field. The Rays even turned a triple play to get out of a bases loaded jam in the 6th. More
here.
Video of the Game:
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