October 19, 2021

ALCS 4: Astros 9, Red Sox 2 

Astros  - 100 000 017 - 9 12  1 
Red Sox - 200 000 000 - 2  5  2

Things Not To Do In A 2-1 ALCS Game Against The Team With MLB's Top Average & On-Base Percentage
Squander runners at first and second with 2 outs in the 1st inning.
Squander runners at first and second with 1 out in the 2nd inning.
Squander a runner at second base with 2 outs in the 3rd inning.
Squander a one-out triple in the 4th inning.
Squander a one-out double in the 5th inning.
Squander a leadoff walk in the 6th inning.
Get no one on base in the 7th inning.
[See, now the game is tied 2-2.]
Do pretty much nothing (a two-out walk) in the eighth inning.
[Oh, the other team just got seven more runs.]
. . . so it doesn't fucking matter what you do in the 9th inning.
In short: Leave 11 men on base and go 0-for-9 with RATS.
As the innings went by and the Red Sox, having played like an unstoppable machine over the last two games, kept squandering scoring opportunities, and as the number of the Astros' remaining outs got smaller, the chances of the score remaining 2-1 were somehow also getting smaller.

Jose Altuve had been a very quiet 0-for-3 when he homered off Garrett Whitlock's first pitch of the eighth inning, erasing a 2-1 Boston lead that had stood for six innings.

Nathan Eovaldi took the mound in the ninth inning and gave up a leadoff double to Carlos Correa. He struck out Kyle Tucker on three pitches, with the out going catcher-to-first. The Red Sox opted to intentionally walk Yuri Gurriel, setting up possible forces at second and third. Pinch-hitter Aledmys Díaz fanned for the second out. Eovaldi got two strikes on Jason Castro, but did not get a strike three call from plate umpire Laz Diaz on a 1-2 pitch that caught plenty of the strike zone. Instead, the count was 2-2. Castro grounded a single into right field, Correa scored, and Houston led 3-2. Eovaldi walked Altuve on a full count pitch and Alex Cora decided to bring in Martín Pérez.

Did this decision make sense to anyone out there? Pérez was bounced from the rotation in early August  (4.77 ERA in 22 starts) and in 14 relief appearances, he pitched 14 innings and gave up 17 hits and 12 runs. Was he really Cora's best option to get an out with the bases loaded, thusly holding Houston at three runs? Despite having zero faith in Pérez and being utterly baffled by Cora's decision, I was still shocked and a bit dazed at how quickly and completely the game was flushed down the shitter.

It took only two pitches – two!! – for the Astros to score four additional runs and still have runners at first and second. As the meme says: That Escalated Quickly.

Michael Brantley drove Pérez's first pitch to the gap in right-center; all three runners scored. 6-2. Alex Bregman was intentionally walked, which did nothing but give the Astros a free baserunner. Yordan Alvarez lined Pérez's second pitch to left, bringing Brantley in. 7-2. Correa saw six pitches in his at-bat, before knocking a dribbler on the grass to the third base side of the mound. Pérez fielded the ball, but was charged with an error when his throw got past Kyle Schwarber. Another run scored. 8-2. And then Tucker hit the first pitch he saw for a run-scoring single. 9-2. Gurriel, the 12th batter of the inning, flied out to left, presumably on purpose because I'm sure he could have doubled off the Wall if he really had wanted to.

The ALCS is tied at 2-2 and is now a best-of-3, with the last two games (if necessary) in Houston. Chris Sale will start tomorrow. He better bring his (at least) B+ game.

Nick Pivetta's line looks great (5-2-1-2-3, 65) but he appeared somewhat dicey for a time in the second inning. First, Bregman homered on a 2-0 pitch right down the middle in the first inning. With two outs in the second, Gurriel grounded near Devers along the foul line. Devers scrambled after the ball and launched a throw that sailed over Schwarber for an error. Pivetta then walked Chas McCormick on four pitches and his first pitch to Martín Maldonado was wild, putting Astros at second and third. He went to 3-1 on Maldonado before getting him to pop to center. That out began a stretch in which Pivetta retired 10 of 11 batters.

The Red Sox answered in their half of the first, also with two outs. Zack Greinke walked Devers and Xander Bogaerts crushed a slider over everything in left for a two-run homer. And despite a decent chance at scoring in nearly every inning after that, the score remained 2-1.

Greinke threw 28 pitches in the first inning and was pulled after only two batters in the second (1.1-1-2-3-0, 37). In the four games of the ALCS, Houston's starters have recorded a total of 20 outs, an average of 1.2 innings per game.

With the Astros needing almost eight innings from their bullpen, you had to figure not every arm that was brought in would be golden. But they were all silver, at least. In 7.2 innings, they threw 136 pitches, walking four and giving up four hits, but no runs. They also struck out 10.

Christian Arroyo tripled to right with one out in the fourth, but Schwarber (6-3) and Kiké Hernández  (PF2) could not get him the final 90 feet. It was the first postseason triple for Red Sox at Fenway since Stephen Drew in Game 2 of the 2013 ALDS. It was also the third postseason triple hit by a Red Sox #9 batter. The other two: Spike Owen, in Game 6 of the 1986 ALCS, and Cy Young, in Game 5 of the 1903 World Series.

Nate Eovaldi is the second pitcher in Red Sox postseason history to give up 4+ runs, get ≤ 2 outs, and take a loss. Jose Santiago did it as the starting pitcher in Game 4 of the 1967 World Series. And Eovaldi and Martín Pérez are the first Red Sox teammates to each give up 3+ runs while getting ≤ 2 outs in the same postseason game.

Sarah Langs reports: "The Astros' 7 runs with 2 outs in the 9th inning were tied for the 2nd-most runs with 2 out in a postseason inning, behind only the Dodgers' 10 2-out runs in the 1st of 2020 NLCS Game 3. No team had ever scored more than 4 runs with 2 outs in the 9th or later in a PS inning."

This was the Red Sox's first postseason game ever in which they scored multiple runs in the first inning and were then shutout for the rest of the game.

ROBOTS: Laz Diaz has consistently been one of the worst umpires in MLB for more years than I can count. And he keeps getting rewarded for his incompetence with plum assignments like the ALCS. With him behind the plate for Game 4, you knew we were guaranteed a straight-up shit performance on balls and strikes. And Good Ol' Laz did not disappoint. But that will be a separate post.

NLCS: The Dodgers were five outs from a 2-5 loss to Atlanta and a 0-3 deficit in the NLCS. But Cody Bellinger hit a game-tying, three-run homer and Mookie Betts drive in the go-ahead run, and the Dodgers won 6-5. Andrew Simon and Matt Kelly (mlb.com):
In 81 previous postseason games in which the Dodgers trailed by at least three runs in the eighth inning or later, the franchise had lost every time. Per Baseball Savant's win probability metric, Los Angeles only had a 6 percent chance to win after the seventh inning.

Zack Greinke / Nick Pivetta

Astros Starting Pitchers
Game 1: Framber Valdez – 8 outs
Game 2: Luis Garcia  – 3 outs
Game 3: José Urquidy – 5 outs

That's a grand total of 5.1 innings over three games (13 hits, 8 walks, and 14 runs given up.) By comparison, Eduardo Rodriguez pitched 6 innings last night all by his lonesome.

When the ALCS began, Astros Dusty Baker said Zack Greinke (who has pitched 3.1 innings since September 19 (today is October 19)) has been stretched out to about 40 pitches. "It's kind of like 'Groundhog Day'. A recurring nightmare where you hope to get some innings out of these guys."

This is the Red Sox's plan:
1. Show up.
2. Pound the shit out of the ball.
3. Profit.

The Astros are fucked. You could set your watch by it.

by allan at 4:00 PM 1 comments
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Rafael Devers Is First Player In MLB History To Hit A "Home Run Cycle" With His First 4 HR Of A Postseason

October  8 - ALDS 2 - 2-run home run in 8th inning off Michael Wacha
October 11 - ALDS 4 - 3-run home run in 3rd inning off Shane McClanahan
October 16 - ALCS 2 - 4-run home run in 2nd inning off Jake Odorizzi
October 18 - ALCS 3 - 1-run home run in 8th inning off Ryan Stanek

Tuesday's Globe:

 



by allan at 3:20 PM 0 comments

October 18, 2021

ALCS 3: Red Sox 12, Astros 3 

Astros  - 000 300 000 -  3  5  2
Red Sox - 063 002 01x - 12 11  0
The Red Sox pounded the Astros' pitching staff for the second game in a row, hitting four home runs, including a 430-foot grand slam by Kyle Schwarber (on a 3-0 pitch!).

On Alex Cora's 46th birthday, the Red Sox took a 2-1 lead in the ALCS. With more logical bullpen choices in Game 1, the team could have been on the verge of a sweep.

Boston's offensive punch in the past two weeks has been historic.

The Red Sox are the first team in MLB history to have 10+ hits in six consecutive games of the same postseason.

The Red Sox are the first team in MLB history to hit three grand slams in a postseason series.

It's also the first time in Red Sox history (regular season or postseason) that the team has hit three grand slams in a two-game span. In 2021, the Red Sox hit a total of three grand slams in the entire regular season!
Good Eddie was in the house on Monday night! Eduardo Rodriguez (6-5-3-0-7, 97) was fucking nails, with the exception of the fourth inning. And who really cares? Houston's runs at that point were like a bit of lint on your shoulder: you just brush it off and get on with the important tasks of your day. In the other five frames, Rodriguez faced 16 batters, allowed one single, and struck out seven. 

Rodriguez had the Fenway crowd on its feet, roaring, after he struck out the side in the second, consistently hitting the mid-90s with his fastball. Astros starter Jose Urquidy also had the crowd on its feet, roaring, but that was because he got lit up like Luna Park.

Urquidy threw a clean first inning, got Xander Bogaerts on a called third strike to open the second, and was ahead of Alex Verdugo 0-2. But he could not put him away, and trouble ensued. Verdugo battled, fouling off five pitches and eventually walking on Urquidy's 11th offering (it was the longest plate appearance of Verdugo's career). J.D. Martinez smashed a double off the Wall in left-center. Verdugo stopped at third and after Hunter Renfroe walked, the bases were loaded. Christian Vázquez went the other way, lining a single to right, scoring Boston's first run.

Christian Arroyo chopped a ground ball to Jose Altuve at second. The ball took a high hop and Altuve, who had his glove down, could not adjust. The ball hit him in the chest and rolled away behind second base. Martinez scored on the E4. Fox's Joe Buck and John Smoltz worked overtime to explain away how The Great Altuve could have made an error. Buck claimed the ball took "two weird hops" even though numerous replays showed the baseball took zero weird hops. They were still spinning this yarn in the later innings. (Is a denial of reality a requirement to work for Fox in any capacity?)

Urquidy missed with his first three pitches to Schwarber. Then he came in with a strike and Schwarber was waiting for it like a snake in the grass. He crushed it, sending it high and deep to right field and causing pandemonium throughout Fenway Park.

Schwarber's shot was only the second postseason grand slam by a Red Sox lead off batter. The other one was courtesy of Johnny Damon, who also gave the Red Sox a 6-0 lead, back in 2004 ALCS 7, and prompted the greatest exhalation of nervous energy in New England history. And they wore the same  #18! Schwarber's shot also got David Ortiz, who on this day 17 years ago won two do-or-die games in extra innings against the Yankees with walkoff hits, in a mood to dance!


Astros manager Dusty Baker must have been in shock because he left Urquidy in to face four more batters! He did get an out, but Kiké Hernández and Bogaerts both singled and by the time Urquidy (1.2-5-6-2-1, 57) was sent back to the dugout, he had thrown 46 pitches in the inning.

Yimi García got the third out in the second, but got torched in the next inning. With one out, Renfroe worked an eight-pitch walk. On the first pitch to Vázquez, Renfroe stole second. He continued on to third when All-Star Altuve failed to glove Martin Maldonado's one-hop throw. The ball went into center. Jose Siri's throw to third was off-target, as well, but the play was backed up and Renfroe had to stop . . . but only for a minute because Vázquez popped the next pitch into short left field. Michael Brantley came in at less-than-full speed and watched the ball fall in front of him. Renfroe scored. (He is the first Red Sox player with a stolen base and two runs scored in a postseason game despite having no hits.) Arroyo hit Garcia's next pitch on a line into the first row of the Monster Seats for a two-run homer and a 9-0 lead.
The Red Sox are hitting .405 and slugging .750 in the first three innings of games this postseason. Those averages are currently above the major league records for a single postseason (minimum four games). The 2007 Red Sox batted .377 and the 1989 Cubs slugged .646. . . . The Red Sox have outscored the Astros 20-1 in the first three innings of this ALCS.

As mentioned, the Astros scored three runs in the fourth, on Kyle Tucker's three-run homer. Of the five hits Houston managed off Rodriguez, four came in this inning. However, EdRo rebounded nicely. Rafael Devers made a great backhand pick and throw for the final out of the fourth and Rodriguez retired the Astros in order in both the fifth (nine pitches) and sixth (14 pitches). In fact, Yuri Gurriel's single following Tucker's long-ball was Houston's last hit of the night. The final 16 batters managed only two walks, both of which were immediately erased on double plays.

Carlos Correa grounded out to end the top of the sixth and as Rodriguez walked off the field, he tapped his right wrist, the same "My time" gesture Correa had made at the plate after homering in Game 1. (He did it before he began running out of the box!) Alex Cora screamed out at Rodriguez: "Hey! . . . No! No!"


After the game, Cora said: "We don't act that way. . . . I let him know. We don't have to do that."

Rodriguez said it "was just part of the game". . . .Correa thought it was funny. "Why would it bother me? . . . We should all go out there and have fun. I love it. It was great.

There was also a fan behind the Astros dugout that mocked Correa as he made his way back to the Astros dugout after being called out on strikes in the second.


Devers walked to start the home sixth. Two outs later, Phil Maton came in and Martinez took him over everything in left for a two-run dong. In the ninth, Devers went to the opposite field off Ryan Stanek for a solo dinger.

The Red Sox have now hit 20 home runs in eight postseason games this month. That ties the franchise history in a single postseason, with the 2003 team.

Kiké Hernández had a bad night at the plate, only two singles in five trips. He has 17 hits in his last six postseason games, which is a new major league record for a six-game postseason span.


Robots!
José Urquidy / Eduardo Rodriguez

In 2021, you never knew which Eduardo Rodriguez you would get when he took the mound.

Would it be six shutout innings (July 2) or four runs in five innings (July 7)? 

Six runs in 3.1 innings (July 29) or five shutout innings with 10 strikeouts (August 4)?

Six runs and eight hits in 3.2 innings (September 7) or one earned run in six innings (September 13)?

The Red Sox need Good Eddie, who turned in five solid innings in ALDS 4 last Monday, to show up tonight. If Nick Pivetta is not needed in relief, he will probably start Game 4. Chris Sale is expected in Game 5.

Rodriguez faced the Astros twice this season, on May 31 and June 10. In each start, he allowed six runs in 4.2 innings.

José Urquidy has not pitched since October 3, the final day of the regular season.

In six postseason games, Houston's starting pitchers have a 7.17 ERA in 21.1 innings. The bullpen's ERA is 3.69 ERA in 31.2 innings.

The Astros have scored at least five runs in all six games. Only the 1987 Twins have had a longer stretch to begin a postseason (seven games).

Ken Rosenthal (The Athletic) reports on Kiké Hernández's batter's box adjustment that has led to the Red Sox outfielder setting records for extra-base hits (9), hits (15), and total bases (34) in a five-game postseason span, and has him batting a cool .500 in the playoffs (16-for-32).

Throughout his career, Hernández has struggled to hit breaking balls. In the regular season, he is a career .196 hitter against breaking pitches, according to Statcast. But this postseason he is 7-for-10 with three homers off breaking stuff. The difference, Red Sox hitting coach Tim Hyers said, stems from an adjustment most hitters are unwilling to make: Hernández, just before the postseason began, moved slightly closer to home plate.

"He's scooted up a hair, trying to get the ball maybe a hair closer to him," Hyers said. "That little bit has helped him out. His plan, seeing the ball close to him, getting it up and not chasing the breaking ball away. He's just not missing it right now. He has found a good move, his mechanical move. His upper body and lower body are just in sync so well. Getting the ball close to him, it's worked for him."

Hernández was 10 years old when he first met Alex Cora. He was a bat boy for Cora's winter-league team in Puerto Rico. Hernández later played for Cora in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and he chose to sign with the Red Sox in part because he wanted to play for Cora again. . . . Hernández was also childhood friends with Christian Vázquez. The current Red Sox teammates were also Little League teammates in Puerto Rico. "I've known Christian -- I played with Christian when I was 7 years old in Puerto Rico. He's always been a stud ever since we were that young, he's always been a stud."

NLCS: Atlanta leads the series 2-0 after two walkoff victories in its home park. Three other teams have won the first two games of a postseason series via walkoffs: 1969 Orioles (ALCS vs Twins), 1981 Astros (NLDS vs Dodgers), 1997 Marlins (NLDS vs Giants).

Watching NLCS 2 last night, I found it astonishing, in 2021, that thousands of adults will mime the racist tomahawk chop like brainless automatons while yelling the accompanying racist chant. I also found it entirely predictable, because there are tens of millions of racists in the US.

How in the world has Atlanta avoided the scrutiny and pressure that led (finally) to Cleveland changing its nickname and dumping Chief Wahoo into the dustbin of history? During the 2019 postseason, the team spewed some bullshit buzzwords: "We will continue to evaluate how we activate elements of our brand, as well as the overall in-game experience." The following summer, the team said it would not change its name (Cleveland said the same thing for years), but it would review the use of the tomahawk chop chant. Whether it did that or not (I lean strongly to not), it's obvious the team's front office remains in full support of racism.

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred showed some rare backbone when he moved the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta after Georgia's governor signed into law various voter suppression and nullification laws that will disproportionately affect Black voters. The Governor signed the bills while sitting directly under a painting of a famous slave plantation. I'm sure that was a silly coincidence.

Has Manfred been putting any pressure on the Atlanta team to change its offensive name?
by allan at 10:00 AM 0 comments
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October 17, 2021

2021 ALCS & NLCS Programs

An email from MLB alerted me to the existence of digital editions of the 2021 ALCS and NLCS programs. I assumed the link would lead to a page where I could purchase the downloads. Each program had "$10" on the cover, but I downloaded them for "$0". You can read them here; the link is good until Sunday, October 24.

by allan at 12:53 PM 0 comments

October 16, 2021

ALCS 2: Red Sox 9, Astros 5 

Red Sox - 440 110 000 - 9 11  0
Astros  - 000 300 002 - 5  8  0

The Red Sox became the first team in major league history to hit two grand slams in a postseason game. The blasts came in each of the first two innings as Boston tied the ALCS at one victory apiece.

J.D. Martinez lined a bases-loaded home run to right field in the first inning off Astros starter Luis Garcia. Rafael Devers connected for a grand slam against Jake Odorizzi in the second, lifting a high fly ball down the right field line.

Kiké Hernández added a solo shot in the fourth, tying a Red Sox record with his fifth home run in a single postseason (Todd Walker 2003, David Ortiz 2004 and 2013).

How hot is Hernández? How historic has his postseason been?
Hernández is the first Red Sox player to hit five home runs within a five-game postseason span.
Hernández is the first player in MLB history with 15 hits within a five-game postseason span.
Hernández is the first player in MLB history with 9 extra-base hits within a five-game postseason span.
Hernández is the first player in MLB history with 34 total bases within a five-game postseason span.

Hernández's 34 total bases in his last five games is the most any Red Sox hitter has collected across any five-game stretch in franchise history. The previous record was 32 by Kevin Millar from July 21-25, 2004.

The Red Sox have had 10 or more hits in each of their last five postseason games, which is a franchise record. It also ties the MLB record for consecutive 10+ hit games in a single postseason, with the 1989 Cubs, 2002 Angels, and 2004 Astros.

The Astros strung together three hits and walk against Nathan Eovaldi (5.1-5-3-1-3, 81) after two were out in the fourth and knocked two solo shots off Darwinzon Hernandez in the ninth, but this game was never close and was never in any danger of getting close. From FanGraphs:


Game 3 will be at Fenway Park on Monday at 8 PM ET.

MLBTV on Apple TV allows a viewer to overlay the home team's radio broadcast over the video. The Astros radio guys (ARG: Robert Ford and former pitcher Steve Sparks) were a constant source of amusement and annoyance (but more annoyance, certainly). In the first inning, Sparks (I assume) mentioned Xander Bogaerts likes to swing at high fastballs, so a pitcher's strategy would be to throw him pitches a little bit higher than what he likes, trying to get him to chase, then maybe go a little higher than that next time. The other guy replied, in complete seriousness, as if he was hearing this strategy for the first time: "That's a very interesting tactic." (Laura listened to them for Game 1, also. They were soft-spoken and quite sedate . . . until the Astros starting coming back, when they suddenly turned extremely loud and boisterous.)

Astros starter Luis Garcia (1-2-5-3-2, 33) missed with his first two pitches and Kyle Schwarber doubled to the wall in right. Center fielder Chas McCormick made a diving catch on Hernández's shallow fly ball for the first out. Garcia got ahead of Rafael Devers 0-2, before throwing four straight balls. Bogaerts whiffed and Alex Verdugo walked to load the bases. Martinez lined an 0-1 fastball on the outer half into the right field seats for a grand slam. (Martinez has 28 RBIs in his 26 career postseason games. Only Lou Gehrig (32) tallied more RBIs across his first 26 October contests.)

Ford's radio call was so nonchalant that it actually caused me to momentarily doubt what I was seeing. That was a home run, right? But no one is making even a small fuss. Maybe it wasn't a home run. Was time called before the swing? Was there a flag on the play? . . . Ford must be a proud graduate of the Hawk Harrelson School of Broadcasting, where you learn on Day 1 that if the opposing team does anything good, the best response is to simply ignore it. I remember one Harrelson moment from years ago. His complete call of an opposing home run was: "There's a fly ball to right." And then there was dead silence . . . until the first pitch was taken by the next batter, at which point he continued as if nothing had happened.

In the bottom of the second, the ARG said that there was a lot of pressure on the Red Sox, because what if they lose this game, especially after jumping out so quickly to a 4-0 lead. While the Red Sox did not hear this silly statement, they did promptly score another four runs as an FU.

Garcia walked Kevin Plawecki on four pitches to start the second inning. Then shortstop Carlos Correa did what the ARG told me he does so well: he took charge and summoned the manger and trainer to the mound. Garcia was apparently hurt and left the game. Later reports said something about his right knee. Jake Odorizzi came in from the bullpen and nearly 17 minutes passed before he threw a pitch.

The ARG said, as everyone announcer has done for decades, that Odorizzi, because he was relieving a guy who left with an injury, would "get as much time as he needs" to warm-up. It turns out this is not true. Rule 5.07(b) states: "If a sudden emergency causes a pitcher to be summoned into the game without any opportunity to warm up, the umpire-in-chief shall allow him as many pitches as the umpire deems necessary." This is prevent a pitcher from taking two hours to get ready, I suppose.

During this delay, ARG Steve Sparks told a story about how he was in a similar situation during his career. He was in the Athletics bullpen and starter Tim Hudson hurt himself warming up for the second inning at Fenway Park. Sparks had to come in and he said he probably rushed his warm-up because he felt like he was holding up the game and 35,000 fans were watching him. (I tried to find this regular season game, but came up completely empty and was convinced Sparks made the whole thing up. I figured out later that it was 2003 ALDS Game 4.) He praised Odorizzi for taking his time. (A few innings alter, after Ordorizzi had been suitably rocked, both guys were whining and complaining Odorizzi wasn't given a break between finishing his warm-up and facing his first batter.)

Odorizzi had a rough beginning. Christian Arroyo singled into left and, after Schwarber struck out, Hernández singled to left-center. Devers lifted a 1-1 pitch down the right field line. It stayed fair – and Boston had an 8-0 lead.


There has been only one other game in Red Sox history in which they had grand slams in both the first and second innings. Bill Buckner and Tony Armas were the big boppers on August 7, 1984, at Fenway, against the Tigers. Both slams came against Jack Morris. Boston got five runs in each of those two innings and won 12-7. . . . The Red Sox last hit two grand slams in a game on May 22, 2008, when (and this is going back a ways) On Fire and Dr. Doubles connected against the Royals.

In 120 years of "modern era" baseball, there have been only five games in which a team hit two grand slams in the first two innings:
May 9, 1961 - Orioles, in 13-5 win over Twins
July 18, 1962 - Twins, in 14-3 win over Cleveland (both in first inning)
April 12, 1980 - Brewers, in 18-1 win over Red Sox (both in second inning)
August 7, 1984 - Red Sox, in 12-7 win over Tigers
May 2, 2021 - Dodgers, in 16-4 win over Brewers
In the top of the third, Hunter Renfroe was called out on strikes on a outside splitter. He said something to plate umpire Rob Drake and the ARG disapproved and assumed Drake was probably saying something like: "Hey, the first two innings took two hours* to play. Let's move things alone." In other words, they considered it perfectly acceptable if an umpire were to call someone out on Ball 2 and then justify it by pointing out that because the batter's team had taken too much time scoring runs, he was going to penalize them so the game ends faster. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that's a fucked-up point of view.

While all of this was happening, the Astros weren't doing shit with Eovaldi. He gave up a little bloopy two-out single in the first before setting down the next nine Astros. Mixed in there was a 41-minute wait between his first and second innings.

Hernández pounded a low splitter to deep left in the fourth for a home run, which upped his postseason batting average at .516 (16-for-31). With two outs, Bogaerts singled and Verdugo doubled and the Red Sox seemed poised to add more runs to their total, but Martinez struck out looking, though not before hitting a long drive down the right field line that was a little bit foul.

Eovaldi got the first two in the fourth, but he issued a nine-pitch walk to Yordan Alvarez. Then Correa singled, Kyle Tucker doubled in one run, and Yuri Gurriel singled in two more. (*: The time of game after four innings was 2:06.)

Of the Red Sox's 11 strikeouts in the game, six were called strike threes, including the last two outs in the fourth and the first two outs in the sixth. For some reason, they were watching a lot of good pitches.

The Red Sox could not add to their lead, despite a couple of chances. They had men at first and second with two outs in the eighth, thanks to a BB & HBP, but Devers fouled to first. Bogaerts doubled to start the ninth and was on third with one out. Martinez grounded to third. Alex Bregman fielded the ball near the bag, tried to tag Bogaerts before throwing to first. The original call on X was safe, but it was overturned.

Eovaldi was pulled after a one-out single in the sixth. Adam Ottavino finished the inning, though not without allowing a single. The ARG noted during the pitching change that "Alex Cora knows things can escalate with the Houston offense". The ARG need to be taught the difference between "possible" and "probable".


Garrett Whitlock, who did not pitch yesterday as a possible Game 1 victory was flushed away, threw two scoreless innings, retiring six of his seven batters with neither fuss nor muss. Hernandez's ninth went as follows: K, HR, K, HR. It seemed like a K would be next, but Cora was not going to find out. He summoned Ryan Brasier, who got Jose Altuve to fly out to the warning track in left.

Birthday Baseball 

Today's victory evened the Red Sox's record on my birthday to 5-5 (though one of those games was played 51 years before October 16 became my birthday).
1912 World Series Game 8: Red Sox 3, Giants 2 (10)
1975 World Series Game 6: Reds 6, Red Sox 2
1999 ALCS Game 3: Red Sox 13, Yankees 1
2003 ALCS Game 7: Yankees 7, Red Sox 6 (11)
2004 ALCS Game 3: Yankees 19, Red Sox 8
2007 ALCS Game 4: Cleveland 7, Red Sox 3
2008 ALCS Game 5: Red Sox 8, Rays 7
2013 ALCS Game 4: Tigers 7, Red Sox 3
2018 ALCS Game 3: Red Sox 8, Astros 2
2021 ALCS Game 2: Red Sox 9, Astros 5
Lists

Red Sox, Most Total Bases In A Single Postseason
42 - David Ortiz, 2004 (14 games)
37 - Kevin Youkilis, 2007 (14 games)
36 - David Ortiz, 2013 (16 games)
35 - Kiké Hernandez, 2021 (7 games; postseason in progress)

Red Sox RBI Leaders (Postseason)
57 - David Ortiz
38 - Manny Ramirez
33 - Jason Varitek
25 - Dustin Pedroia
24 - Rafael Devers     (active)
22 - J.D. Martinez     (active)
22 - Trot Nixon
21 - Nomar Garciaparra

Red Sox Teammates With 4+ RBI In A Postseason Game
Mo Vaughn & Nomar Garciaparra, 1998 ALDS 1 at Cleveland (W 11-3)
Jose Offerman & John Valentin, 1999 ALDS 4 vs Cleveland (W 23-7)
Rafael Devers & J.D. Martinez, 2021 ALDS 2 at Astros (W 9-5)

Nathan Eovaldi / Luis Garcia

In 2018, the Red Sox lost ALCS Game 1 to the Astros. Then they went 4-0 against the Astros and 4-1 against the Dodgers.

In 2013, the Red Sox lost ALCS Game 1 to the Tigers. Then they went 4-1 against the Tigers and 4-2 against the Cardinals.

In 2004, the Red Sox lost ALCS Game 1, ALCS Game 2, and ALCS Game 3 to the Yankees. Then they went 4-0 against the Yankees and 4-0 against the Cardinals.

I think we have the Astros right where we want them.
by allan at 12:37 PM 4 comments
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October 15, 2021

ALCS 1: Astros 5, Red Sox 4 

Red Sox - 003 000 001 - 4 10  0
Astros  - 100 002 11x - 5 11  1

Kiké Hernández went 4-for-5, with two home runs and a double, and he made a handful of excellent catches in center field. It turns out what the Red Sox really needed him to do was pitch the eighth inning. And/or slap some sense into manager Alex Cora's head.
The Astros had taken a 4-3 lead in the seventh on Carlos Correa's solo homer. The Red Sox were retired in the top of the eighth, as Cora made the questionable decision to use Danny Santana as a pinch-hitter. The strategy, such as it was, failed – and the reasons for his presence on the roster remain a mystery. Now it was beyond essential that Houston not score any additional runs. All measures must be taken to keep them at four runs so the Red Sox would have a fighting chance in the ninth against Astros closer Ryan Pressly.

So who comes out of the Boston bullpen for the eighth? Garrett Whitlock (1.1 shutout innings in ALDS 3 and two perfect innings (8th-9th) in ALDS 4? Nick Pivetta (four shutout innings (10th-13th!) and seven strikeouts in ALDS 3)?

Hirokazu Sawamura. . . . Didn't see that one coming, did you? . . . That would be the guy the Red Sox thought so highly of, they left him off the ALDS roster. The guy who averaged 5.4 BB/9, the guy who pitched 129 fewer innings than Nathan Eovaldi but walked only three fewer batters.

I have no clue what Cora was thinking. The ALCS is not the time – not even in Game 1 – and certainly not if you are down by one run with only two innings to go in Game 1 – to roll the dice and see what a pitcher's got.

Sawamura was wild all season – and he was wild on Friday night. He walked Yuri Gurriel on a 3-2 count (Gurriel went full sasahe for strike two). Chas McCormick (3-for-4) lined a single to left that Santana pulled up on and watched drop in front of him. No action from Cora. Martín Maldonado squared to bunt and was hit in the chest by Sawamura's 1-0 offering. Bases loaded, no outs. No action from Cora. Jose Altuve, who walked and scored in the first and hit a two-run dong in the sixth, was coming up. No action from Cora. What could go wrong?

Altuve did minimal damage, thankfully. He flew out to center, but Gurriel tagged and scored an important insurance run. 5-3. Oh, look, NOW Cora is coming out to make a pitching change. But the horse was out of the barn, had banged a couple of fillies, and was halfway across the next county. Was Martín Pérez the white flag? It sure felt like garbage time. Pérez's first three pitches to Michael Brantley were nowhere close to the strike zone. Somehow, after a called strike, Brantley rapped into a double play. Garbage Time got the Trashcans.

How key was that fifth run? Well, Hernández belted Pressly's third pitch out to left for his second home run of the night. Kyle Schwarber grounded hard to the right side, but Altuve was in short right and threw him out. Xander Bogaerts hacked at the first pitch and grounded to shortstop. Rafael Devers was patience enough to get the count to 2-2, but he also grounded to Altuve. This time, he was behind the bag at second and made the play to end the game, 4:07 after the first pitch.

Red Sox Leadoff Batters With 2 Home Runs (Postseason Games)

Pasty Dougherty, 1903 WS 2 vs Pirates
Harry Hooper, 1915 WS 5 at Phillies
Johnny Damon, 2004 ALCS 7 at Yankees
Kiké Hernández, 2021 ALCS 1 at Astros

Most Hits In A 4-Game Span In A Single Postseason

13 – Kiké Hernández, 2021 Red Sox
11 – Billy Hatcher, 1990 Reds
11 – Marquis Grissom, 1995 Atlanta
11 – Shemp, 2004 Yankees
11 – Randy Arozarena, 2020 Rays

Most Extra-Base Hits In A 4-Game Span In A Single Postseason

8 – Kiké Hernández, 2021 Red Sox
8 – Shemp, 2004 Yankees

(Caveat: Postseasons are longer than ever now.)

The Red Sox had been 15-0 under Alex Cora in postseason games n which they held a multi-run lead.

Both teams had scoring chances galore in the first three innings. Both starters were shaky and each was pulled after 2.2 innings.

The Red Sox managed to get two singles and two walks off Framber Valdez (2.2-6-3-3-2, 64) in the first and not score. This major squander came about thusly: Hernández singled and Schwarber GIDP. Bogaerts walked, Devers singled, and J.D. Martinez walked. Hunter Renfroe flied to center. 3 LOB.

Houston scored off Chris Sale (2.2-5-1-1-2, 61) in the first. Sale was not sharp. He went to a three-ball count on three of the first four hitters (and two balls on the other). Altuve walked. Brantley lined to center. Alex Bregman singled to left. A wild pitch moved to the runners to second and third. Yuri Alvarez flied to left, scoring Altuve. Correa grounded to second.

Valdez allowed a leadoff single to Alex Verdugo in the second, but Christian Arroyo GIDP and Christian Vázquez struck out. That was the only time Valdez retired consecutive batters (he faced 16).

In the bottom of the second, it was the Astros' turn to leave the bases loaded. With one out, the 7-8-9 hitters reached base against Sale on three consecutive pitches. Gurriel and McCormick both hit hard singles to left and Maldonado was hit by a pitch. Sale rallied after a mound visit. His pitches seemed to be sharper, to have more purposeful locations. After missing inside to Altuve, Sale throws a fastball and two sliders, each one lower than the one before, and Altuve swings at all of them, finally making a half-hearted whiff at a pitch in the dirt for strike three. Brantley lifts a fly to short center. Hernández races in, dives, and makes a remarkable back-handed catch for the third out. At first, I feared it was trapped or the ball would hit right in front of his glove before bouncing off god knows where.




He looks like a happy dog with his head out the window of a speeding car!

Less than five minutes later, Hernández crushed Valdez's 2-1 pitch 448 feet to deep left-center, upping his postseason batting average to .480. (I clocked it on MLBTV as 4:31.) Houston manager Dusty Baker was being interviewed at the time and was saying that Valdez was struggling a little bit. As soon as bat hitting ball made that unmistakable sound, Baker interrupted himself: "Oh, lord . . .". It was Hernández's longest home run in more than five years (April 15, 2016).



After Schwarber grounded out to short, Bogaerts walked and Devers singled to center. Martinez grounded a perfect double play (and inning-ending) ball to second. But the ball went under Altuve's glove and into short center for an error. It also loaded the bases. Renfroe slammed a liner past Bregman at third, who dove to his right, and down the left field line. Two runs crossed. Boston still had men at second and third, but Verdugo fanned and, after a pitching change, so did Arroyo.

Sale's focus, if it was there in the second, did not last. The Astros knocked a couple of one-out singles off Sale in the third. After the Red Sox lefty struck out Tucker, Adam Ottavino came in and retired Gurriel. Houston had left six men on base in three innings (2 at first, 3 at second, 1 at third).

In his last three starts, Sale has recorded seven, three, and eight outs. Granted, the manager's hook is quicker in the postseason, but the combined stats are not pretty: 6 innings, 13 hits, 8 runs, five walks, 11 strikeouts. I'm no pitching coach, but I believe part of Sale's problem rests in that ugly beard he's intent on wearing. Big bushy beards do not look good on slender men. (Actually, they don't look good on anyone.)

Also, the word before the game was that Sale had found some flaw in his delivery. That did not seen to pan out as he continued to avoid throwing his changeup. In ALDS 2, Sale threw only one changeup in 30 pitches. Of his 61 pitches tonight, he threw two.

Hernández's fly ball down the left field line dropped for a double with one out; Alavrez went after it like he was running through quicksand. He needed only a triple for the cycle. (There has been only one cycle in all postseason play: Brock Holt, in Boston's 16-1 rout of the MFY in 2018 ALDS 3.) Cristian Javier struck out both Schwarber and Bogaerts to end the threat. The Red Sox had left six men on base in four innings (1 at first, 3 at second, 2 at third).

Things settled down at this point. Ottavino pitched a clean fourth, the first 1-2-3 inning of the game. Javier also set the Red Sox down in order in the fifth. That half-inning was notable for plate umpire David Rackley calling "strike" on three consecutive pitches outside the strike zone to Martinez. It was as incompetent a display as Gabe Morales's NLDS-ending blown call on Thursday night, though these three mistakes did not (presumably) change the course of the game (or series).


Some good news: Rackley did not call the first pitch a strike.

Brantley singled to lead off the home sixth against Josh Taylor, but Taylor got the next two batters before handing the ball to Ryan Brasier. Correa singled on a ball to Devers's left that got under his glove. Tucker drove a ball to deep right-center. Hernández sprinted after it and as he neared the warning track, he suddenly realized he had over-run the ball slightly. He reached back and was able to grab it. Yoinks!





Verdugo walked against Phil Maton to start the sixth. Arroyo bunted in front of the plate. Maldonado grabbed the ball and tried to tag Arroyo as he ran to first. Arroyo was called safe and the Astros appealed. Super-slo-mo showed that Maldonado might have tagged Arroyo's shirt sleeve, but there was no noticeable ripple in the fabric. However, the call was reversed and went down as a regular old sacrifice. Verdugo went to third on Vázquez's groundout, but Hernández fanned on a high fastball, the only time he did not reach base.

Tanner Houck pitched the sixth. McCormick singled of Arroyo's glove with one out and Altuve launched a two-run homer with two down. 

With the score now tied at 3-3, the Red Sox seventh was infuriating as Bogaerts, Devers, and Martinez started swinging at everything out of the strike zone. Schwarber led off against Brooks Raley with a single. Bogaerts took a strike and then went after three straight pitches out of the zone: foul, foul, swing/miss. All five of the pitches Devers saw were out of the zone; he swung at three of them: swing/miss, ball, swing/miss, ball, F8.

Houston changed pitchers, but Martinez stayed with the "plan" against Ryan Stanek. All five pitches he saw were out of the zone and he swung at three of them: called strike, swing/miss, ball, foul, 6-4 FC. That disturbing lack of plate discipline made it doubly frustrating to see Correa belt a two-out homer to deep left, giving the Astros their first lead, 4-3.

The Red Sox were trailing by one run with six outs to go. The Astros went with right-hander Kendall Graveman and Cora sent up the left-hand hitting Santana to hit for righty Renfroe. Graveman had a tougher time with left-handed hitters this year, but this is Santana we're talking about. With an OPS+ of 57, he was 43% worse than an average American League hitter in 2021. Santana's overall stats in 2021 were .181/.252/.345. Against righties, they were .182/.242/.352. He cannot hit anyone. Renfroe batted .250/.286/.491 against right-handers. In this game, he was 1-for-2, with an RBI-double, against lefty Valdez and he whiffed against righty Javier.

Santana saw nine pitches before striking out. Verdugo flied to left-center, Arroyo singled off Bregman's glove at third, and pinch-hitter Travis Shaw hit a fly ball to the warning track in right.

Hernández finished the game with 11 total bases, something that has been done only 19 other times in the postseason (since 1903). It's the second time Hernández has done it in eight days. He had 11 total bases on October 8 in ALDS 2 (single, home run, 3 doubles).

Hernández is now the only player in major league history to have 11+ total bases in a postseason game three times. He hit three home runs (for 12 bases) in 2017 NLCS 5 for the Dodgers. Babe Ruth had 12 total bases twice and George Brett had games of 11 and 12.

The record is 14 bases, set by Bob Robertson of the Pirates (1971 NLCS 2) and Albert Pujols of the Cardinals (2011 WS 3).

Most 4-Hit Games In Same Postseason

3 – Albert Pujols, 2011 Cardinals
2 – Kiké Hernández, 2021 Red Sox
2 – George Brett, 1985 Royals
2 – Robin Yount, 1982 Brewers

Most Career Postseason Games With 10+ Total Bases

3 – Kiké Hernández (2017 Dodgers, 2021 Red Sox (2))
2 – Babe Ruth (1926 Yankees, 1928 Yankees)
2 – Albert Pujols (2011 Cardinals (2))
2 – George Brett (1978 Royals, 1985 Royals)
2 – Steve Garvey (1974 Dodgers, 1978 Dodgers)

Chris Sale / Framber Valdez

Reaching the ALCS should be reward enough for 2021, a season in which the Red Sox were expected to finish, by most prognosticators, third or fourth in the American League East.

Some might claim that anything after beating the Yankees (easily) in the Wild Card Game is free money. But now that we are here, the Red Sox have as good of a chance as the Astros to move on to the World Series, so winning the pennant is now the expected goal.

Those pre-season predictions from seven months ago are beyond irrelevant. All that matters is whether this Red Sox team, as constituted right now, in the mindset it possesses right now, can beat the Astros in a best-of-seven series.

As one of only four teams still standing, the Red Sox have come out on top in four of five postseason games - three of those four wins at home and two of them in heart-stopping fashion. Manager Alex Cora owns a postseason record of 15-4 (.789), which is the best winning percentage of anyone who has managed at least 15 postseason games. The natural question is: Why Not Us?

The Red Sox were 2-5 against the Astros this year, losing three of four in Houston on May 31-June 3 (2-11, 1-5, 1-2, 5-1) and losing two of three in Boston on June 8-10 (1-7, 3-8, 12-8).

The Astros won the AL West with a 95-67 record (three games better than Boston) and beat the White Sox in the ALDS 3-1. They are managed by Dusty "Stop Clogging My Bases" Baker. This is the fifth consecutive ALCS for the Astros, which is damn impressive. Houston beat the Yankees in 2017 and 2019, while losing to the Red Sox in 2018 and the Rays in 2020.

Although Nathan Eovaldi would be on his normal four days rest today, Chris Sale will get the ball  in Game 1. (Eovaldi will go in Game 2 Saturday afternoon.) Sale has recorded only 10 outs in his last two starts, but on Wednesday, Cora said Sale "feels good about where he's at".

I had a conversation with somebody today, and it was music to my ears because they said something about, "He found it in the bullpen." The last time I heard somebody found it in the bullpen was David Price in [October] '18, and he took off. . . . I think we recognized a few things that are going to get him to the point that he's more balanced and he's more direct to the plate, he's over the rubber – and if he does that, he'll be fine. . . . He's going to pitch such meaningful innings in this series and, hopefully, the World Series, and all this talk is going to be in the past.

The Red Sox made two changes to their bullpen roster for the ALCS. Darwinzon Hernandez and Hirokazu Sawamura are in and Austin Davis and Garrett Richards are out.

When Matthew Kory (Sox Outsider) heard about Sale starting tonight, he thought: "That's… terrifying."

Sale has had two major problems, and both exhibited themselves in [the first] inning [of ALDS 2, in which Sale allowed five runs]. The first is command. . . . It's likely something he's working through, but it's still a thing, and . . . bad things can happen.

The other problem is his changeup. Sale didn't throw it until pitch 23 in his last start, and that was after he'd already given up five runs, which should tell you how much confidence he has in the pitch right now. Without it he's a two pitch starter, which might've worked for him six years ago, but right now it's iffy. . . . 

Alex Cora has been very good at turning mediocre pens into good playoff pens through intelligent decision-making and strategic planning. For the Sox to make the Series he's going to have to pull a rabbit from the hat that's being worn by a rabbit whose hat he just pulled a rabbit from.

The Astros are without their best starter, Lance McCullers, who suffered a forearm injury in the ALDS. 

Kory, again:

The Astros batters were first in baseball in fWAR and first in wRC+. They were also first in batting average, on-base percentage, and third in slugging (behind Toronto and Boston). They're the best hitting team at home and also the best hitting team on the road. . . .

The thing they do best is put the ball in play . . . The Astros as a team struck out 19.8 percent of the time this season, least in baseball . . .

The Red Sox are not a good defensive team. They have bad range and they make too many mistakes. . . . In the ALDS, Red Sox pitchers were able to mitigate the team's defensive issues by striking out a lot of Rays hitters . . . [but] the Astros don't strike out. . . .

Kory concedes that "it's hard to pick the Red Sox in this series", even with Houston's rotation being without McCullers. Perhaps. I'm sure that's what most people who predict these things are predicting. Of course, those people also insisted the Red Sox had no chance against Tampa Bay, that the Rays would roll right over them. (You ever notice how sports and political pundits can be wrong almost 100% of the time and never get lose their cushy jobs?)

My plan (which is actually the only thing I can do) is to watch the games and hope I see a lot of things I like.

by allan at 5:45 PM 2 comments
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Fox Is All Kinds Of Shit

Joe Buck is a smug, annoying doosh bonnet.

John Smoltz is a repellent homophobe who believes science is a conspiracy.

And Fox's camera work is shit. The camera work was fixed in the bottom of the first.

The other problems persist.
by allan at 5:32 PM 3 comments

October 14, 2021

Dodgers Beat Giants 2-1, Win NLDS; Game Ends On A Blown Check Swing Call By 1B Umpire

Word of advice to Gabe Morales: Stay out of San Francisco . . . for the rest of your life.

It's not pleasant to have any game end on a check swing call by one of the base umpires. But to have the plug pulled on a 107-win season on "an inexplicable call" . . . is beyond brutal. The Giants had the potential tying run on first against Max Scherzer. Wilmer Flores was rung up for something that looked more like a slight muscle twitch than an actual did-he-or-didn't-he swing.

And so the Dodgers won NLDS Game 5 and advanced to the NLCS against Atlanta. Facing elimination following a heartbreaking 1-0 loss in Game 3, they came out on top in the final two games, 7-2 and 2-1.

Giants fans will rightly stew for the remainder of their lives. For the rest of us, after a flurry of chatter about the gross injustice of this call, we will watch the ALCS tomorrow night and the NLCS on Saturday, and life will go on.

MLB will take no action, because MLB's first (and often only) instinct is to do the absolute wrong thing. MLB operates under the premise that it's far better to allow a problem to fester and grow than draw any public attention to it by attempting to fix it. There will be no accountability for Morales. MLB refuses to exercise any quality control over its umpires, which has led to many of them being both incompetent and arrogant. They are wholly unqualified to do their job and will run you in a heartbeat if you dare to question their judgment.

Poor Charlie Brown. He's still tormented by Willie McCovey's line out to end the 1962 World Series. And now this.
Three days ago, Morales said this was not a swing. Because of course he did.
It was a hell of a game.

Mookie Betts went 4-for-4 and scored the game's first run in the sixth on Corey Seager's double (which was LA's first non-Mookie hit). Betts stole second before Seager's double and is the fourth player to have four hits and a steal in a do-or-die postseason game, joining Max Carey of the Pirates (1925 WS 7 against the Senators), Terry Puhl of the Astros (1980 NLCS 5 against the Phillies), and George Brett of the Royals (1985 WS 7 against the Cardinals).

Betts is also the third Dodger with four hits and a stolen base in a postseason game, along with Jim Gilliam (1959 WS 5 against the White Sox) and Maury Wills (1965 WS 5 against the Twins).

Instead of starting Julio Urías as planned, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts opted for a strategy that saw Corey Knebel pitched the first inning and Brusdar Graterol in the second. Then it was Urías, who threw four innings (4-3-1-0-5, 59). It worked, in retrospect. Knebel allowed a two-out double and Graterol wriggled out of a first-and-second-one-out jam. Six Los Angeles pitchers struck out a total of 13 Giants and walked none.

Giant starter Logan Webb was superb (7-4-1-1-7, 106). Coupled with his Game 1 start, he pitched 14.2 innings in the series, allowed only one run and struck out 17. Darren Ruf tied the game with a long solo home run to center field in the home half of the sixth.

Both teams failed to cash in on scoring chances earlier in the game. The Giants had runners at first and second against Graterol with one out in the second, but Evan Longoria fouled to first and Webb struck out. Flores stranded a teammate at third base in the fourth.

The Dodgers had Betts on second with one out in the third, but responded with two grounders back to the mound sandwiched around a walk. In the eighth, they had men at first and second with one out, but Seager fanned and Trea Turner flied to right.

In the ninth, facing San Francisco's Camilo Doval, who had retired Turner with one pitch and stranded those runners in the eighth, Will Smith grounded out to shortstop. Justin Turner was plunked by a pitch. Gavin Lux grounded a single into right and Cody Bellinger (who batted .165 this season) did the same to right-center, scoring Turner without a throw. With two outs, Bellinger stole second, but both runners were LOB'd.

Scherzer jogged in, hoping to get the final three outs and earn his first career save. Plate umpire Doug Eddings was shitty all night (it was quite a crew with Angel Hernandez at second base; only the best are rewarded with postseason assignments) and he gave Max a generous welcome-to-the-game gift on his first pitch to Brandon Crawford (outside and up), who fouled off another pitch that was out of the strike zone before flying to left.

Kris Bryant's ground ball along the third base line was botched by Justin Turner - it simply went in and out of his glove, rolling into foul territory. Lamont Wade, a pinch-hitter, got ahead 2-0 before Scherzer dropped in a curveball, and two fouls later, Wade was called out on a beautiful pitch, which dotted the far top corner of the zone. Then it was Flores. He took a strike and fouled the next pitch off.

What ended up being the final pitch of the game was low and away. Flores barely offered at it, but Morales decided the Giants' season had gone on long enough.
by allan at 11:05 PM 3 comments
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