Los Angeles Dodgers v Atlanta Braves (Braves lead 1-0)
The Dodgers need a huge pick me up after their disappointing loss to the Braves on Monday night. They thought they would have SP Clayton Kershaw for this game, but he got scratched due to back stiffness. Instead, P Tony Gonsolin, who has been good for the Dodgers, would have the first postseason start of his career.
Gonsolin (4.1IP 3H 5ER 3BB 7K 1L 88PC) wasn’t awful, but the Braves were able to take advantage of his inexperience. There is no guarantee that Kershaw would’ve won this game. He did have postseason struggles, and the Braves are playing near-perfect baseball. The Dodgers did make quite the comeback but ultimately fell short, 8-7. The offense being able to come alive late is a good sign for the Dodgers and might knock some confidence out of the Braves’ arms.
Braves’ SP Ian Anderson (4IP 1H 0ER 5BB 5K 85PC) pitched well enough to keep the Dodgers off the scoreboard before departing, but those walks will haunt his next start if he doesn’t get his control back. The bullpen (5IP 9H 5ER 1BB 6K 82PC 1W) was pretty awful and extremely close to blowing this game for the Braves. Luckily their bats gave them enough offense to hold off the Dodgers’ assault late in Tuesday’s game. 1B Freddie Freeman (2-4 2R 3RBI 1HR) blasted a two-run home run in the 4th inning to make it 2-0. That home run got the Braves’ offense going, scoring five more runs in the next three innings to go up 7-0.
Tampa Bay Rays v Houston Astros (Rays lead 2-0)
The Rays are up in this series, but it has more to do with the huge errors the Astros (mostly All-Star 2B Jose Altuve) are making. It seems like karma was finally coming back on him and the Astros for their big cheating scandal that dominated the offseason.
SP Jose Urquidy (5IP 4H 1ER 1BB 4K 75PC 1L) was the latest of the Astros’ starting pitchers to pitch well enough to win but ultimately lose. Like in the previous games, the Astros played well, but Altuve’s error led to their ultimate demise, 5-2. In the 6th inning, Altuve made a throwing error, and the Rays took full advantage and advanced base runners to first and second. The next biggest issue the Astros face is their big bats going cold against the Rays. OF George Springer, 3B Alex Bregman, OF Kyle Tucker, and 1B Yuli Gurriel were a combined 0-14 with three strikeouts.
SP Ryan Yarborough (5IP 3H 2ER 2BB 5K 82PC 1W) did an honorable job and ate up five innings for the Rays, which is about all they ever ask out of him. They know the bullpen will hold up whatever he does. The pen (4IP 4H 0ER 2BB 4K) shut it down once again.
The Rays are now one victory away from reaching their second World Series in franchise history. They will have one of their big three pitchers going in Tyler Glasnow as the Astros will send out their veteran All-Star pitcher Zach Grienke in what should be a great elimination matchup.