Jason Varitek tags out Reggie Willits in the ninth inning of Game 4.When Varitek's glove hit the ground the ball came out of this glove.
Willits was ruled out on the play.
American League:
Los Angeles Angels of Aneheim defeat Boston Red Sox, three games to one:
In Game 1, Jon Lester pitched seven strong innings, letting up only one unearned run, leading the Red Sox to the victory. Jason Bay put the Red Sox ahead in the sixth when he launched a two-run home run off of starter John Lackey giving them a two-run lead. The Red Sox didn't look back from there, taking the game 4-1. In Game 2, Jason Bay hit his second home run in two games in the first inning with a three run shot off starter Ervin Santana giving them a 4-1, first inning lead. The Angels chipped away with one run in fourth, fifth, and seventh inning drawing them within a run. Mark Teixeira's sacrifice fly in the eighth tied the game at five. But in the top of the ninth, J.D. Drew launched a two-run home run off of closer Francisco Rodriguez who broke the major league single-season saves record in the regular season with 62. That was enough for Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon who closed the Angels out in the bottom of the inning to win the game 7-5. In Game 3, both starters Joe Saunders and Josh Beckett were chased after five innings after they both let up four runs. Both bullpens were rock solid from the 6th inning on, until the 12th when Erick Aybar drove in Mike Napoli for the game winner for the Angels, 5-4 was the final. Napoli was the star hitting two home runs in this one. In Game 4, John Lackey pitched a solid seven innings letting up only one run. But Red Sox starter Jon Lester was a shade better not letting up a run in his 7 solid innings. In 14 innings pitched this series, Lester did not let up a run and struck out 11. The Red Sox took an early lead with 2 runs in the fifth but the Halos tied the game late on Torii Hunter's two run single. In the top of the 9th, the Angels had pinch-runner Reggie Willits on third base and just one out. Angels manager Mike Scioscia called for a squeeze bunt, but Erick Aybar missed the bunt and Jason Varitek aggressively chased Willits down the line. He tagged Willits just before he could retreat to third base. After the pursuit, Varitek fell down and the ball kicked away just as his arm hit the ground. Third-base umpire Tim Welke ruled that the ball came ajar only after the tag had been applied. This changed the complexion of the game. In the bottom of the 9th, rookie Jed Lowrie hit a walk-off single of set-up man Scot Shields, ending the game, and the series three games to one.
The Tampa Bay Rays defeat the Chicago White Sox three games to one:
In Game 1, Dewayne Wise homered in the third for the White Sox giving them an early lead. But Evan Longoria stole the show for the Rays hitting a home run in his first two postseason at-bats. The Rays never looked back after Longoria's second home run off of White Sox starter Javier Vazquez, winning the game 6-4. In Game 2, the White Sox scored two runs early off Rays starter Scott Kazmir with Jim Thome's RBI single and Alexi Ramirez's sacrifice fly. After stranding the bases loaded, Kazmir settled down and the Rays bullpen held the White Sox to only those two runs. Aknori Iwamora hit the go-ahead two run home run in the fifth, and the Rays won the game 6-2. In Game 3, John Danks pitched a strong 6 2/3 innings before giving way to the bullpen which didn't let up a run. Dewayne Wise hit a two-run double in the fourth off of Rays starter Matt Garza, setting the tone for the rest of the game. The White Sox took the game 5-3. In Game 4, B.J. Upton set the tone early for the Rays with a home run in the first. The Rays then chipped away all game with Carlos Pena going 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two stolen bases. The Rays cruised all game, winning 6-2, and taking their first postseason series three games to one.
National League:
The Philadelphia Phillies defeat the Milwaukee Brewers three games to one.
In Game 1, Phillies starter Cole Hamels dominated pitching eight shutout innings. The Phillies tacked on three runs in the third after Bill Hall bobbled a sacrifice attempt by Hamels, ruining the chance for a double play, then had his throw to first dropped by Rickie Weeks who was running to cover. It was extended further when Mike Cameron took a bad route on Chase Utley's two-out fly ball to center field. That was all the Phillies needed, taking the game 3-1. In Game 2, Shane Victorino set the tone in the second with his first career grand slam. Phillies starter Brett Myers struggled in the first but settled down to go seven innings. Brewers starter CC Sabathia struggled all game letting up five runs in 3 2/3 and walking four. The Phillies were victorious, 5-2. In Game 3, Phillies starter Jamie Moyer never recovered from a wild first inning. Brewers starter Dave Bush and four relievers combined to only let up one run. J.J. Hardy had three hits, including an RBI single in the two-run first inning. The Brewers never trailed after that and won 4-1. In Game 4, Phillies starter Joe Blanton when six strong letting up only one run and striking out seven. Brewers starter Jeff Suppan let up three home runs including Jimmy Rollins' lead off homer. After Pat Burrell and Jason Werth went back-to-back off Suppan in the third, the Phils never looked back winning the game 6-2 and taking the series three games to one.
The Los Angeles Dodgers sweep the Chicago Cubs three games to zero.
In Game 1, Derek Lowe went six strong innings for the Dodgers letting up two runs and striking out six. Mark DeRosa got things started for the Cubs with a two run homer in the second but James Loney quickly rivaled that for the Dodgers in the fifth with a grand slam. After that the Dodgers cruised, taking the game easily, 7-2. In Game 2, the Dodgers jumped all over Carlos Zambrano with five runs in the second inning, including Russel Martin's three-run double. Zambrano let up seven runs in all, only three earned. But the game was over after the second inning, the Dodgers took the game, 10-3. In Game 3, Hiroki Kuroda went six shutout innings for the Dodgers who set the tone early with James Loney's two-run double in the first. The Cubs were not able to get their bats alive in this one, as the case was all series. Alfonso Soriano, Aramis Ramirez, Geovanny Soto, Jim Edmonds, and Kosuke Fukudome all hit less than .200 versus the Dodgers who had no problem putting the Cubbies away 3-1 and sweeping the series three games to zero.
So that's all she wrote so far, I hope you were able to catch a few of the games. The ALCS is shaping up to be a great one and has not dissappointed thus far with the Rays and the Red Sox tied at one going to Fenway Park. Keep an eye on Evan Longoria, he'll be key for the Rays in Boston. Philly seems to be handling the Dodgers pretty well as the team rides their lights-out bullpen who has not let up a run thus far in the NLCS. As it stands, the Phils are up two games to none on the Dodgers. If the Dodgers hope to come back, the key factor will be the on-base production of Rafael Furcal and Russell Martin who have gone a combined 3-for-16 in the series.
Take care Leatherheads, and write back!
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9 comments:
By the way, Anthony, remember how you said David Price wasn't making the postseason roster?
Well the Ray's bullpen is good, I didn't think they would want to risk Price. But it has been working out for them.
True, but in the AL it's worth it to carry the extra pitchers in case you go deep into extra innings, right?
I could look up the Pitcher/Position Player splits by League, but I am lazy and don't feel like it. My reasoning seems sound to me, even if I am wrong. What do you guys think?
-wal
Actually, I think in the NL it's worth it to carry the extra pitchers in case you go deep into extra innings. In the AL double-switches pretty much don't exist and pinch hitting isn't as critical as it can be in the NL.
Then again I do like the way Maddon handles Price, compared to the way Torre handles Clayton Kershaw. Obviously though, Kershaw has logged many more innings.
The Dodgers, for some reason, feel that it's okay to not have a lefty in their postseason rotation when Kershaw is more than capable.
Pretty much, my point is using Price as an emergency bullpen option (he probably didn't expect to make the postseason roster) won't hurt.
But using Kershaw as a key situational lefty (Hong-Chi Kuo is a good lefty, do they really need two in the bullpen?) as opposed to his key role in the rotation (possible loss of confidence?) will and has hurt the Dodgers.
anthony --
i agree with your second point (on kershaw and price). Obviously there is no reason to start price at this point, but Kershaw probably should start. I'm not so much worried about his confidence as I am about Derek Lowe's ability to pitch on 3 days' rest.
your first point I find sort of confusing . . .
you're saying it's worth it to carry the extra pitchers in the NL, but your argument is that pinch hitting is more critical there. If you have a limited number of bench spots, I would think it makes sense to allocate more of them to pitchers in the AL (where you don't have to worry about pinch hitters nearly as much) than the NL (where pinch hitting is, as you said, more critical).
Or did I misinterpret what you meant?
-wal
I think you may have misinterpreted it. I meant that since pinch hitting occurs very often in the NL, especially in an extra-inning game, 90% of the time the pitcher is being pinch hit for. As opposed to the AL when it's often late-inning defensive replacements are the only people being pinch hit for.
I disagree with your point there because of the double switch. NL teams need positional players because they
a. need someone to pinch hit for the pitchers and
b. need positional replacements for double-switches.
since AL teams hardly ever pinch hit, they don't really need to carry as many positional players they can afford to carry more pitchers.
That's true. I guess the only way my argument would work is you would have to assume that starting pitchers aren't throwing more than 5 innings a game and that most games are going into extra innings which obviously is not realistic.
BTW is anyone else out there besides jesse? say something? anything?
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