As the 2023 postseason continues, here are three things we’ll be keeping an eye on around the baseball world throughout the day today:
1. Astros tie up the ALCS:
The Astros secured their second consecutive ALCS victory last night, pummeling the Rangers in Arlington for a 10-3 win. The victory for Houston ties up the series at two, with one more left to play at Globe Life Field this afternoon before the teams return to Houston for Game 5 on Sunday. Veteran second baseman Jose Altuve carried the night for the Astros, recording three hits with two doubles and a walk, scoring three times and knocking in one. Shortstop Corey Seager and outfielder Adolis Garcia tried to keep things competitive for the Rangers, as both went 2-for-4 with a home run, but the Astros bullpen shut down the rest of Texas’s lineup after a shaky 2 1/3 inning start from right-hander Jose Urquidy.
The Rangers will look to avoid being swept out of their three ALCS home games this evening, with the first pitch of Game 5 scheduled for 4:07pm CT. Tonight’s game will feature a rematch between left-hander Jordan Montgomery (3.20 ERA, 2.08 this postseason) and future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander (3.22 ERA, 1.42 this postseason). Montgomery won the pitching duel between the pair in Game 1, during which Verlander allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings of work while the southpaw silenced Houston’s bats for 6 1/3 scoreless frames.
2. DBacks stay in the NLCS with walk-off:
Much of last night’s game was dominated by a pitchers’ duel between Phillies left-hander Ranger Suarez and Diamondbacks righty Brandon Pfaadt, who went 5 1/3 and 5 2/3 scoreless innings, respectively. Pfaadt was particularly impressive, striking out nine while issuing no walks and allowing just two hits. As the game was handed over the the clubs’ bullpens, the game stay relatively low scoring, with first baseman Bryce Harper scoring on a wild pitch to represent Philadelphia’s lone run of the game. In the end, Arizona managed to walk it off on a single off the bat of Ketel Marte as veteran closer Craig Kimbrel struggled for the Phillies, allowing two walks and two hits while recording just one out.
Looking ahead to this evening’s game, which is poised to start at 7:07pm CT, Arizona will try to keep the momentum going and tie the series against Phillies Game 4 starter Cristopher Sanchez. The Diamondbacks, meanwhile, will counter with a bullpen game started by left-hander Joe Mantiply. Right-hander Slade Cecconi is likely Arizona’s best long-relief option ahead of today’s bullpen game, while Sanchez will be backed up by a handful of multi-inning options, including regular season starters Taijuan Walker and Michael Lorenzen.
3. Offseason Outlook Chat:
The Rays installment of of the 2023-24 edition of MLBTR’s Offseason Outlook series was published yesterday, as the club faces a choice between a record payroll in 2024 and radically altering a team that won 99 games this year. If you have any questions about the coming offseason in Tampa following the club being swept out of the Wild Card series at the hands of the Rangers, you can tune in at 11:00am CT for a live chat with MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald. This link will allow you to submit a question in advance, participate live, or read the transcript afterward.
I wish Texas had a real second baseman like Altuve instead of an overpaid one like Semien. Altuve is a superior hitter and baserunner. Altuve provides a hug upgrade for only 4 MM extra a year.
> Altuve provides a hug upgrade
> for only 4 MM extra a year.
You had me very intrigued at “provides a hug upgrade”. But you lost me at “only 4MM extra a year.” That’s too expensive, even if he includes a few October evening happy endings.
I can’t imagine Altuve is very huggable with all those buzzers stuck to his body…
Remember them electronic sticks of gum? That’s what Altuve hugs are like.
I’m still bitter about the Sox throwing the World Series back in ’19. I get it.
But didn’t the Yankees use the buzzers? BoSox had the Apple watches. Rockies used the massage gun on the bench. Rangers had a guy waiving a shirt in the OF. Blue Jay’s were caught with a t-shirt waiving fella around 2011 or so….but I’m pretty sure the Astros were banging trash cans (and haters’ mothers :D) when they heroically overcame the cheatin’ Sox, Yanks, and Doyers in 2017 ❤️
Altuve is a great player. But having watched the majority of his games played over the last decade, I can tell you he is not a particularly shrewd baserunner at this point.
100%. He is only an elite hitter. His base running and defense is mediocre at best.
Oops.
Jose Altuve homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Yainer Diaz scores. Grae Kessinger scores.
The last time the Rays DIDN’T have a Top-5 System, they were still called Devil Rays. There’s no excuse for them anymore to not get the best available talent at the deadline (Jordan Montgomery, Jeimer Candelario if they had needed a corner Infielder, kick the tires on Juan Soto)
Oh, you traded a pitcher or outfielder or something from Bowling Green (High-A) or Montgomery (AA) who made the All-Star Team 5-8 years after the Trade? Cool. You have 3 to 5 equivalent talents still in the system. Flags Fly Forever. Congrats on being too cheap (for the umpteenth time) to get past the ALDS
@BizzyDat
The Rays couldn’t get past the wild card round. But, given that the Braves, Dodgers & O’s had 100+ win seasons and couldn’t get past their first round, the playoffs are just random. The playoffs used to be about 51% chance the higher seed advances but not anymore.
I can’t say with confidence that the Braves win the division if Harper is 100% the entire season. The Dodgers’ pitching all got old/hurt/arrested at the wrong time of the season and their team is the worst to win 100 games that I can remember
I do feel bad for the Orioles. ALDS game 1 was a close one that they just lost, and the Rangers exploded for 18 runs combined the next 2 games.
Always something between the lines for 100 win teams that didn’t win it all. I think baseball will even out and someone (San Diego, Idk) who wins 105 next year will win it all
I find it very hard to believe an extra half season of healthy Harper helps them close a 15 game gap.
Nhworley:
When I say extra half season, I mean no bum elbow as well. Schwarber is DHing instead of being one of the worst OFs in Baseball. His bat pushes a weaker stick out of the lineup and improves the defense.
If you want to get real creative, there’s an alternate universe where the City of Philadelphia has turned on Alec Bohm so much that Harper is helping out at 3B and not 1B
There’s a lot of moving parts
The more playoff teams there are, the less chance the teams with the best record make the WS. But hey, that’s American greed for you, water down the playoffs more for more of that green salad of salvation, as the TV preacher would say.
Old York: That’s why they should go straight to the WS. The team with the best record in the AL (Baltimore) v the team with the best record in the NL (Atlanta). What’s the point of winning 99, 100, 101 games if you’re out after three games? It’ll never happen again because of interleague play, too many teams and, first and foremost, revenue.
“That’s why they should go straight to the WS”
Pretty boring last month of the season for roughly 90% of the league in that scenario
Are the playoffs really random when the same team has been in the ALCS for 7 years straight?
McClanahan went down after the August 2nd game. They did get Civale. They are not going to trade for 2 month rentals and I don’t blame them.
Actually they made a huge offer for ohtani. So they did try to acquire top talent that was a rental. So y’all are both wrong lol
Big whiffa: Wrong coast.
1. Finally, a Yankee that was able to silence the Astros bats. Too bad he’s no longer on the team.
Also, Game 5 of the ALCS is tonight while Game 6 is Sunday night.
What about game 7, 8 & 9? Oh wait, I’m still living in the 1919s – 1921.
Craig Kimblow can’t get out of town fast enough.
Arizona v Philly was a fantastic pitcher’s duel where both pitchers were foolishly taken out in the middle of the 6th inning. Neither had given up a run and I think they gave up 5 hits combined. Pfaadt had only thrown 70 pitches. My generation still talks about the Jack Morris v John Smoltz game. This generation is never going to get to enjoy a game like that.
Hitters have more advantages today than they did in 1991 unfortunately. The pitching duel is something people still talk about and yet baseball is too focused on boosting offense while shortening the length of games.
I think pitchers have more advantages these days with the increases in velocity and spin, or at least they did before this year’s rules changes.
Pitchers now are asked to go all out every pitch and then let the next guy take over. There’s no pacing yourself against the bottom third of the order when nearly every batter is a threat to hit a home run.
gbs42 pitchers have no advantage. They’ve spun balls for centuries. Hitters since 1991:
-wear padded protection on arms and hands
-crowd plate thanks to protection
-better background in CF to view
-smaller parks, especially foul territory to prolong at bats
-juiced baseballs
-better wood bats
-unlike pitchers, hitters use sticky substance
-hitters now use bat grips like kids using aluminum bats
-hitters are no longer hit when playing an infield position (crash the catcher, break up DP at second etc.)
Oh, and pitchers are checked between innings to find sticky substances and cannot wear certain items on the mound like white sleeves and other things deemed a distraction to hitters.
The reason for no pacing is because of the the advantages hitters have above, and the moment MLB teams build a pitcher up in the minors to “pace” themselves, a media writer will claim the team overused the pitcher the moment they get hurt. Advantage hitter.
hiflew
Arizona v Philly was a fantastic pitcher’s duel where both pitchers were foolishly taken out in the middle of the 6th inning.
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You cannot compare the two moves. Pfaadt had an ERA of 5.72. With rookies and weaker pitchers, sometimes you have to declare a win and pull him.
IRT Suarez, this borders on the Snell move by TB. The idea of Hoffman is okay, but as with every Thompson BP move, all it does is force you to use an RP that you’d prefer not to use. IN this case, Thompson used a guy with 3 ML IPs, and one(!) AAA inning.
Suarez, imo, should’ve finished the 6th, and probably the 7th. At that point, your team is set up for 8th, 9th, 10th, and 11th innings with guys that you mostly like, and then Strahm for multiple innings after that.
Dbacks swept 2 straight games against the Brewers to win the Wild Card series. Then, the Dbacks swept 3 straight games against the Dodgers to win the NLDS. Now the Dbacks have won the first of what will be 4 straight games, which will culminate in a Dbacks victory in the NLCS and a trip to the World Series!
As always, the Peyote is strong in AZ. Enjoy the hallucinations.
Time to accept that this Dbacks team is a juggernaut! Arizona is for real. Two straight now.
Dbacks just beat the Phillies in Game 7 and are headed to the World Series!
Nobody in AZ is hallucinating, but someone in Brooklyn is eating crow right now.
The strategy of hitting a star player to start a fight and then win back the game works. I hated that Semien contract all of 2 years and am justified with it. If he bunted and got the guys over, Seager’s flyout ties the game. If he didn’t popup every time he hits, Texas would be better off. Trade Semien for Chris Sale and cash/a prospect and get some real bullpen. Maybe, Chapman can try this bold new strategy on Alvarez or Altuve?
Pretty positive that “meanwhile” has to start the sentence and it can’t come in the middle.