Jo Adell struck out three times in game 1 of this series, but it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. He had a mammoth game on Wednesday, driving in three runs with a triple and showing exactly why the Guardians went and got him at the deadline. His three-bagger along with another three-bagger from Jose Ramirez kept the Guardians out in front and extended their season by at least one more game as the White Sox look to put it away at home tonight at 8:00.
It truly was great seeing Chris Sale deal for at least the first portion of his outing Tuesday, even until Playoff Kiké Hernandez emerged and took him out of the park. On Wednesday, the Braves sure looked like they were going to make this series even more interesting with a run in the first inning, as they also put the pressure on Tyler Glasnow with walks and got to the bullpen in the fifth. Their own Tyler (Mahle) pitched 6 1/3 solid innings, but then Andy Pages put the game – and the series – away in the seventh. I keep seeing “this lockout going to hit hard if the Dodgers win the Series again” and I honestly think people saying that are kind of right.
Happy Yankees elimination day to you and yours. There are 2009 reasons to love the result of this series, but you also can’t help but wonder how good the Red Sox would have done against this dynamic Tampa pitching staff. Ryan Vilade and Victor Mesa. Jr., though, did what the Sox couldn’t; they took Max Fried out of the short porch twice. And speaking of that short outfield, Anthony Volpe hit a routine pop fly… I mean, a double straight into a fan’s hands with two men on. The crowd erupted, as they thought the game had become a tie on a play that started with the Yankees’ win probability at just 24%. That was not the case, as it was ruled fan interference (and was likely going to come about six inches short of the wall anyway) and Spencer Jones would unceremoniously strike out in the next at-bat and leave Volpe stranded. Another postseason . Cue Big Papi:
Even though seeing Xander Boegarts, Nick Pivetta and Walker Buehler play in postseason ball was fun, I like this Brewers team that just finds ways to beat teams. That Misiorowski outing against the Dodgers is going to be appointment viewing. Jackson Chourio has struggled in October but his single to score Garrett Mitchell made a big difference. Aaron Ashby, who feels like he’s linked to the Red Sox due to how many rumor wires I’ve had to read in the last decade that involve him, coming out of the pen and pitching three hitless propelled the Brewers to an NLCS berth. They went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position Wednesday, but the win didn’t need to be flashy.
