Tampa Bay Rays v Houston Astros (Rays lead 3-2)
The Astros had some real mojo going when they won 7-4 to force game seven on Friday. They are the second team in MLB history to come back and force a game seven after being down 3-0. The first being the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who beat the New York Yankees in game seven and then won their first World Series title.
The Astros stood at 29-31 when the season ended and didn’t have much support coming into these playoffs. But right now, the Astros are playing good baseball. The Astros are a team full of guys who have made it into the postseason for the past five seasons. SP Framber Valdez(6IP 3H 1ER 3BB 9K 101PC 1W) was one of the most significant factors in their victory over the Rays. The big four for the Astros OF George Springer, 2B Jose Altuve, DH Michael Brantley, and SS Carlos Correa, who went a combined 8-15 4R 5RBI.
The Rays planned for what they wanted if this series made it to a game six and seven, with their two big-time hurlers, Blake Snell and Charlie Morton. Despite being fully rested, the Astros outpitched and hit Snell in game six. Snell (4IP 3H 2ER 4BB 4K 82PC 1L) had a shutout going through four innings, but in the fifth inning, the Astros were able to knock Snell out of the game. The Astros pushed across four runs, and the Rays weren’t able to answer. The Rays are a pitching dominated team, but the offense needs to come up big right now.
The Rays will run out Charlie Morton, and the Astros will counter with Lance McCullers Jr. in what should be a great pitching matchup in game 7.
Los Angeles Dodgers v Atlanta Braves (Braves lead 3-1)
The Braves had a chance to take out the heavy favorite to win it all, but one mistake turned the tide. In this game, the Dodgers took full advantage and rode the momentum to a huge 7-3 win.
The Braves ran RP AJ Minter (3IP 1H 0ER 0BB 7K 42PC) to make his first career start. This was one of the most impressive three innings of work in the 2020 postseason. The Braves got precisely what they hoped for. They were up 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning, but a baserunning error by DH Marcell Ozuna stalled that inning from scoring more runs and lit a fire under the Dodgers butts. After that mishap, the Dodgers scored the next seven runs in this game.
The Dodgers ran young phenom Dustin May (2IP 3H 1ER 2BB 3K 55PC) out to start game five, but it didn’t go well. He only made it through two innings. The bullpen (7IP 4H 1ER 1BB 7K 88PC) came up with their best performance of the postseason, and the Dodgers absolutely needed it in this game. They were on the ropes after May’s shotty performance, but this pen shut it down and let the offense come back. SS Corey Seager(2-4 2R 3RBI 2HR) has been the only consistent bat in the Dodgers lineup all postseason and has been the team’s MVP, even with superstars OF Mookie Betts, OF Cody Bellinger, SP Walker Buehler, and SP Clayton Kershaw on this roster.
If the Dodgers want to keep this comeback alive in game six, they need to get some production from those big bats, and their starting pitcher needs to have a big game.