Tampa Bay Rays v Houston Astros (Rays lead 1-0)
The Astros offense came into the ALCS hot, but the Rays dominant pitching shut them down on Sunday night. Things didn’t get any easier for the Astros in game two. They had to face SP Charlie Morton, who has been money in the bank for the last two seasons.
The Astros sent out Lance McCullers Jr. (7IP 4H 1ER 0BB 11K 1L 100PC), who, in my opinion, was the better pitcher between the two starters. Unfortunately, an early error by 1B Yuli Gurriel allowed the first inning to keep going and end with a three-run home run. The Astros failed to recover; they fell 4-2 in Monday’s game.
The Rays have been good about pouncing on any opportunity to shut down their opponent’s offense. They have incredible pitching talent on their roster that have kept the Astros to three runs over two games. A far cry from the Astros’ offense against the Athletics. In the divisional round, it seemed like every other hit was a home run.
Morton (5IP 5H 0ER 1BB 5K 96PC 1W) rode that score in the first inning to a victory. He blanked the Astros through five innings and let the bullpen do the rest. OF Manuel Margot and C Mike Zunino both had home runs that accounted for all the runs in this game. Some points of concern for the Rays are 1) the offense only mustered up four hits, and 2) RP Nick Anderson (1IP 3H 1ER 2BB 0K 18PC) was very close to blowing this game.
Los Angeles Dodgers v Atlanta Braves
The battle of the top two seeds in the National League got underway on Monday night. Both teams came into the playoff matchup undefeated in the postseason play. The Dodgers sent out SP Walker Buehler, and the Braves sent out their number one pitcher Max Fried, in what was an all-out pitching duel. At the top of the 9th, the Braves showed up to take the game, 5-1.
Buehler (5IP 3H 1ER 5BB 7K 100PC) pitched well. He gave up five walks in five innings, not great, but he pitched himself out of trouble for most of the game until he left the game. The Dodgers didn’t come to play on Monday. C Will Smith, OF Mookie Betts, OF Cody Bellinger, and 1B Max Muncy went a combined 0-15 with six strikeouts.
The Dodgers were completely outmatched by the Braves pitching. RP Blake Treinen (.1IP 3H 3ER 0BB 0K 1L 20PC) was shelled in the top of the 9th inning and might need some extra time until he pitches again. He was, by far, the worst player on the field.
Fried (6IP 4H 1ER 2BB 9K 96PC) was flat out filthy on Monday night. He pitched well enough to win the game but left when the game was tied. The Braves’ bullpen was able to pitch three clean innings to take down the Dodgers. This pitching staff has been amazing with a .93ERA for the postseason. 1B Freddie Freeman, 2B Ozzie Albies, and 3B Austin Riley were all able to hit home runs and power the Braves late in this game to take game one.