The Weekly Rundown: 10/15/23 - 10/21/23
Everything you need to know from the LCS, and more.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
We have yet to declare champions in either league as both LCS will take at least six games to be settled. The Astros and Rangers will play Game 6 tonight with Houston looking to punch its ticket to the World Series. The Phillies took Game 5 against the DBacks and aim to close out the series Monday night in front of their home crowd.
Here’s your in-depth recap of the ALCS and NLCS thus far:
ALCS: Rangers vs. Astros
The battle between AL West rivals began with a pitcher’s duel as Rangers southpaw Jordan Montgomery went up against Astros righty Justin Verlander.
Advantage: Montgomery.
The 30-year-old tossed 6.1 scoreless innings before handing it off to the Texas bullpen, which kept Houston off the board in a 2-0 victory. Leody Taveras (2-2, HR, RBI) and Jonah Heim (1-3, RBI) accounted for the two Rangers runs.
Game 1 Result: Rangers 2, Astros 0
The Rangers immediately took control of Game 2 with four runs off Astros starter Framber Valdez in the top of the first inning. Valdez lasted only 2.2 innings before the ‘pen took over. On the other side, veteran righty Nathan Eovaldi allowed three runs in six innings while striking out nine Houston hitters.
Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez did all he could to keep his team in it with two solo homers. Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley also knocked in runs to narrow the deficit, but Texas’ bullpen again kept it together to extend the series lead to 2-0.
Jonah Heim (1-4, HR, RBI), Mitch Garver (1-4, RBI), Nate Lowe (1-4, RBI) and Adolis Garcia (1-3, RBI) put runs on the board for the Rangers.
Game 2 Result: Rangers 5, Astros 4
When the series shifted to Arlington, the momentum went to Houston.
The Astros lit up Rangers ace Max Scherzer for five unanswered runs over the first four innings. Texas eventually put two runs across against Astros starter Cristian Javier, but it was unable to keep pace with the reigning champs.
Houston was powered by Jose Altuve (2-5, HR, RBI), Yordan Alvarez (2-4, 2 RBI), Martin Maldonado (2-4, 2 RBI), Mauricio Dubon (3-4, 2 RB), and Jeremy Peña (1-4, RBI). The Rangers got a two-homer, four-RBI day from rookie Josh Jung in a losing effort.
Game 3 Result: Astros 8, Rangers 5
Game 4 between Texas and Houston was a battle of the bullpens.
Rangers starter Andrew Heaney allowed three runs in only 0.2 innings of work while Astros hurler Jose Urquidy went 2.2 innings and also allowed three runs. From there, it was the Astros ‘pen that was able to take control of the game.
Houston plated four runs in the fourth inning off Dane Dunning and Cody Bradford. They’d go on to score three more while keeping Texas off the board. Jose Abreu (2-3, HR, 3 RBI), Chas McCormick (1-4, HR, 2 RBI), Alex Bregman (1-3, 2 RBI), Yordan Alvarez (2-4, 3 RBI) were the stars.
Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia each homered for the Rangers.
Game 4 Result: Astros 10, Rangers 3
Alex Bregman got the party started in Game 5 with a first-inning solo shot off Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery. It stayed 1-0 until the fifth inning when Nate Lowe finally got Texas on the board with a solo shot of his own off Astros veteran Justin Verlander.
Houston responded in the sixth with another run on a hard grounder by Jose Abreu that bounced off Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. But in the bottom half of the frame, Rangers slugger Adolis Garcia blasted a three-run shot off Verlander to put his team up by two. He celebrated accordingly, slamming his bat on the ground and taking his sweet time rounding the bases.
Tempers flared during Garcia’s next at-bat in the eighth inning. Astros reliever Bryan Abreu plunked Garcia, who turned around and confronted Houston catcher Martin Maldonado. Benches cleared and a brief scuffle ensued, but no punches were thrown. Abreu was suspended two games for the incident.
The Astros let their play do the talking in the ninth. With two on and no outs, future Hall of Famer Jose Altuve crushed one off Jose Leclerc that turned out to be the game-winner that gave Houston a 3-2 series lead.
Game 5 Result: Astros 5, Rangers 4
NLCS: Diamondbacks vs. Phillies
The Phillies started the NLCS with a bang in front of their rowdy home crowd. They scored five unanswered runs through the first five innings off Zac Gallen while their ace Zack Wheeler pitched a gem.
The DBacks finally broke through for two runs against Wheeler in the sixth. It was too little, too late as Philly’s bullpen kept them from rallying late.
Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper, and Nick Castellanos each sent Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy with homers. Geraldo Perdomo (1-3, 2 RBI) was the only Arizona hitter to do any real damage.
Game 1 Result: Phillies 5, Diamondbacks 3
Everything went right for Philadelphia in Game 2.
Aaron Nola pitched six scoreless, Kyle Schwarber homered twice and Trea Turner added another, the bullpen picked up where Nola left off, and the Phillies offense erupted for 10 total runs in a rout. Eight of those runs came in the sixth and seventh innings.
J.T. Realmuto (2-4, 3 RBI) and Alec Bohm (1-4, 2 RBI) also had big nights for Philly in the dominant victory.
Game 2 Result: Phillies 10, Diamondbacks 0
The DBacks were happy to head home to Chase Field, as far away as they could get from those raucous Phillies fans.
Rookie righty Brandon Pfaadt took the mound for Arizona and was sensational. The 25-year-old tossed 5.2 scoreless innings with only two hits allowed and nine strikeouts before manager Terry Lovullo made the head-scratching decision to go to the bullpen. Sure enough, DBacks reliever Ryan Thompson allowed a run to score on a wild pitch to make it a 1-1 game.
Phillies veteran closer Craig Kimbrel loaded the bases with the game tied in the ninth. Diamondbacks star Ketel Marte made him pay with a line-drive RBI single to walk it off and give his team its first win of the series.
Game 3 Result: Diamondbacks 2, Phillies 1
The Diamondbacks struck first in Game 4 — a bullpen battle between the two clubs —with an RBI single by Emmanuel Rivera. Gabriel Moreno did the same in the third inning to give Arizona an early two-run lead.
In the fourth, the Phillies got on the board with a solo blast from Kyle Schwarber, whose 19 postseason homers break Reggie Jackson’s longtime record for the most ever by a left-handed hitter. Brandon Marsh knotted the score in the fifth with an RBI double, then Philly added a couple more in the sixth and another in the seventh to take control of the game.
The DBacks didn’t back down. In the bottom half of the seventh, Christian Walker drew a walk with the bases loaded. Then in the eighth, Alek Thomas crushed a two-run shot off Craig Kimbrel to tie the game back up at 5-5. Moreno delivered the knockout blow in the eighth, and suddenly the series was tied.
Game 4 Result: Diamondbacks 6, Phillies 5
After a heartbreaking loss in Game 4, the Phillies threw the first metaphorical punch in Game 5.
They jumped out to an early lead with two runs off DBacks ace Zac Gallen in the top of the first. Bryson Stott knocked in a run with a single, then the Phillies pulled off a double steal that included Bryce Harper swiping home. Harper bulldozed DBacks catcher Gabriel Moreno, but Moreno fortunately was OK and stayed in the game.
Gallen and Phillies ace Zack Wheeler put zeros on the board until the sixth inning, when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hit moonshot solo homers to widen their lead to four runs.
Game 4 hero Alek Thomas finally got the Dbacks on the board with a solo shot off Wheeler in the seventh. That’s the only run Arizona would score as the Phillies would add two more insurance runs in the eighth (J.T. Realmuto two-run homer) and pull within one victory of their second straight World Series appearance.
Game 5 Result: Phillies 6, Diamondbacks 1
Quick Takeaways
The Astros are the New England Patriots of baseball. I don’t think that’s an exaggeration anymore. This is their seventh consecutive ALCS, they’re going for their third World Series title and fifth appearance since 2017, and there’s a cheating scandal mixed in there for good measure. No one outside of Houston wants to see them advance, but it’s starting to look like a foregone conclusion. It's the same feeling people got when Tom Brady was under center for New England.
Zack Wheeler is earning a reputation as a postseason great. The Phillies ace posted a 2.78 ERA in last year’s postseason and has been even better so far in this year’s playoffs. After shutting down the DBacks in Game 5, Wheeler has a 2.08 ERA with 34 strikeouts and only two walks in four starts (26 innings).
Kyle Schwarber having more postseason homers than David Ortiz and Reggie Jackson is absolutely wild.
Regardless of what happens to the DBacks the rest of the NLCS, they should have earned the respect of even the most casual baseball fans. They're a young, exciting team capable of doing it all again next season. They’re here to stay.
Nathan Eovaldi vs. Framber Valdez in Game 6? I’ve got a feeling we’ll be treated to a Game 7 on Monday night.
Web Gem of the Week
Rangers rookie outfielder Evan Carter made a clutch leaping grab to rob Alex Bregman, then doubled off Jose Abreu in Game 1 of the ALCS.
Rapid Fire
Former Twins, Mets, and A’s reliever Trevor May announced his retirement. While doing so, he implored A’s owner John Fisher to sell the team.
"Sell the team, dude. ... Sell it, man,'' he said. "Let someone who actually, like, takes pride in the things they own, own something. There's actually people who give a shit about the game. Let them do it. Take mommy and daddy's money somewhere else, dork."
Veteran reliever Michael Fulmer, an impending free agent, will undergo elbow surgery and is expected to miss all of the 2024 season.
Longtime Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina is interested in rejoining the club in a coaching role.
The Rumor Mill
The Giants’ list of interviewees for their vacant managerial position includes Alyssa Nakken and Jason Varitek. They also reportedly are interested in interviewing Padres skipper Bob Melvin.
The Red Sox’ current list of GM candidates includes: Twins GM Thad Levine, former Pirates GM Neal Huntington, Cubs assistant GM Craig Breslow, and their own assistant GM Eddie Romero. They reportedly also interviewed ex-Giants manager Gabe Kapler.
The Padres are considering moving $280 million shortstop Xander Bogaerts to either first or second base next season, per Dennis Lin of The Athletic. San Diego would prefer to have the Padres would prefer to have Ha-seong Kim at short and Jake Cronenworth at second.
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