The Weekly Rundown: 10/8/23 - 10/14/23
An eventful Division Series is in the books.
Good morning and Happy Sunday!
We’re down to four. The Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Philadelphia Phillies will advance to the LCS, and it’s safe to say not many expected this to be the group that would compete for a trip to the World Series.
The Astros were the only favorite to make it out of the Division Series. Texas upset the Baltimore Orioles, Arizona stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers, and Philadelphia ousted the club with the best regular-season record, the Atlanta Braves. Trying to predict baseball is a fool’s errand.
All four matchups were a blast to watch and there’s little doubt we’ll be treated to entertaining LCS as well. Before we turn the page to Rangers-Astros (begins Sunday night) and Diamondbacks-Phillies (Monday night), let’s recap the past week in baseball.
American League Division Series
*Note: Division Series Game 1s were covered here. Below is a recap of Game 2 and beyond.
Minnesota Twins vs. Houston Astros
The Astros had momentum after starting the series with a 6-4 victory, but the Twins punched back in Game 2.
Right-hander Pablo Lopez took the mound for Minnesota and was stellar, tossing seven scoreless innings and striking out seven Houston hitters. Carlos Correa (3-4, 3 RBI) and Kyle Farmer (1-3, HR, 2 RBI) did the damage offensively.
Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez did his part with a homer, but a poor start from lefty Framber Valdez was too much to overcome.
Game 2 Result: Twins 6, Astros 2
The Twins returned home to Target Field for Game 3, but home-field advantage didn’t help against the reigning World Series champs.
Houston erupted four runs in the top of the first inning vs. Minnesota starter Sonny Gray, and the Twins wouldn’t recover. Cristian Javier (5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 9 K, 5 BB) kept Minnesota’s offense in check while Alex Bregman (2-5, 1 HR, 2 RBI), Yordan Alvarez (3-5, HR, 1 RBI), and Jose Abreu (2-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI) put runs on the board.
Game 3 Result: Astros 9, Twins 1
The Twins scored in the first inning with their backs against the wall in Game 4 but it was all downhill from there. The Astros responded with a run of their own in the second, then another two in the fourth. That was too much for Minnesota to come back from as it was only able to get one run across the remainder of the game.
Jose Abreu (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) and Michael Brantley (1-4, HR, RBI) were the offensive stars. Royce Lewis homered for the Twins to finish what was an impressive postseason from the rookie.
Game 4 Result: Astros 3, Twins 2
Texas Rangers vs. Baltimore Orioles
Texas took Game 1 in Baltimore and kept it rolling in Game 2 with a five-run second inning off O’s starter Grayson Rodriguez, then a four-run third inning to make it a 9-2 game.
Mitch Garver (2-6, HR, 5 RBI), Leody Taveras (1-3, 2 BB, 2 RBI), and Marcus Semien (2-5, RBI) were the Rangers’ offensive MVPs. Corey Seager also made an impact with FIVE walks.
Gunnar Henderson and Aaron Hicks (5 RBI) homered for the Orioles in the losing effort.
Game 2 Result: Rangers 11, Orioles 8
The Rangers completed their three-game sweep over the AL East champs in front of their home crowd, and they did so in decisive fashion.
They scored six runs in the first two innings off Orioles starter Dean Kremer. Adolis Garcia (2-4, HR, 3 RBI), Corey Seager (1-2, HR, 2 BB), Mitch Garver (2-4, 2 RBI) and Nate Lowe (1-4, HR) propelled them to the ALCS while Nathan Eovaldi (7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 7 K) pitched a gem.
Game 3 Result: Rangers 7, Orioles 1
National League Division Series
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves
After dropping Game 1 at home, the Braves took Game 2 in a nailbiter.
Philadelphia jumped out to a 4-0 lead while ace Zack Wheeler pitched five no-hit innings. Atlanta finally broke through in the sixth and took a one-run lead in the eighth.
With Bryce Harper on first base, Phillies slugger Nick Castellanos drove one into the gap in the ninth inning but Braves center fielder Michael Harris II made a spectacular grab to save the day. To top it off, he doubled Harper off at first to end the game. This play would become an even bigger story later…
J.T. Realmuto (2-4, HR, 2 RBI), and Alec Bohm (2-3, RBI) were the standouts for Philly. Austin Riley (1-4, HR, 2 RBI) and Travis d’Arnaud (1-3, HR, 2 RBI) powered Atlanta to a victory.
Game 2 Result: Braves 5, Phillies 4
There was plenty of controversy heading into Game 3. After Atlanta’s Game 2 win, it was reported that Braves shortstop Orlando Arcia said “Atta boy, Harper!” in reference to the Phillies star being doubled off at first base to end the game. That taunt came back to bite the Braves in a major way.
Harper homered twice in Game 3 and stared Arcia down while rounding second base both times. Lesson learned: don’t poke the bear.
Watch Jomboy’s breakdown of the drama below:
Nick Castellanos also homered twice in what turned into a rout. Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh added blasts of their own, and the Phillies put the league’s best regular-season team on the brink of elimination.
Game 3 Result: Phillies 10, Braves 2
The Phillies punched their ticket to the NLCS behind a brilliant start from Ranger Suarez (5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) and another big night for Nick Castellanos (3-3, 2 HR). Castellanos became the first player ever to have consecutive multi-homer games in the postseason. Atlanta scored just one run on an Austin Riley homer, and their historic season came to an unceremonious end.
Game 4 Result: Phillies 3, Braves 1
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
The underdog DBacks shocked the Dodgers in L.A. in Game 1 and doubled down with another surprising win in Game 2.
Zac Gallen allowed only two runs against the fearsome Dodgers lineup through 5.1 innings. Arizona’s offense chased L.A. starter Bobby Miller out of the game after only 1.2 innings, scoring three runs in the top of the first. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (2-4, HR, 2 RBI) did most of the damage.
J.D. Martinez (2-3, HR) and Kiké Hernandez (1-2, RBI) drove in the Dodgers’ only runs in a loss that pushed the NL West champs to the brink.
Game 2 Result: Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 2
Arizona homered four times off Lance Lynn — all solo shots in the third inning — to shock the world and pull off a series sweep.
Ketel Marte, Christian Walker, Gabriel Moreno, and Geraldo Perdomo provided the power. Meanwhile, rookie Brandon Pfaadt held the Dodgers scoreless through 4.1 innings pitched. The Dodgers once again were limited to just two runs, and that wasn’t enough against a scrappy DBacks squad.
Game 3 Result: Diamondbacks 4, Dodgers 2
Quick Takeaways
I officially have a rooting interest. The Phillies have been the most exciting team to watch in these playoffs and it isn’t even close. The atmosphere at Citizens Bank Park has been electrifying, and the club’s success has been driven by bonafide stars in Bryce Harper, Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto, Zack Wheeler, and Aaron Nola. Every fanbase is jealous of what Philly has going for it this postseason.
If the Phillies don’t make it out of the NLCS, at least it will be the underdog DBacks taking care of business. With star rookie Corbin Carroll and co-aces Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly, they would be a blast to watch in the World Series.
New year, same Dodgers. And don’t start with me about 2020. That wasn’t a real championship. Also, how about Mookie Betts going 0-for-11 in the NLDS? Not ideal.
Let’s take a moment to show some respect for the Astros. Yeah, the whole 2017 scandal was a terrible look. They cheated, they admitted it, and we’ve moved on. They’ve proven that they don’t need to cheat to win as they’ve now made it to seven consecutive ALCS. I think I speak for most baseball fans when I say I don’t want to see them in yet another World Series — it’d be the most boring result — but put some respect on their names.
Web Gem of the Week
Phillies center fielder Johan Rojas made an incredible clutch grab to rob Ronald Acuńa Jr. with the bases loaded in the seventh inning of Game 4 (12:14 mark below):
Rapid Fire
Rangers ace Max Scherzer is set to return to the rotation for the ALCS after missing time due to a nagging shoulder injury.
Milwaukee Brewers starter Brandon Woodruff is expected to miss most of the 2024 season after undergoing shoulder surgery.
Braves righty Kyle Wright, who dealt with shoulder issues all year, will miss most of the 2024 season after undergoing surgery.
The Boston Red Sox fired pitching coach Dave Bush and third base coach/infield instructor Carlos Febles.
The Rumor Mill
The Giants interviewed third-base coach Mark Hallberg for their vacant manager position after firing Gabe Kapler, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Former Rangers president of baseball operations Jon Daniels turned down an interview request from the Red Sox — who fired chief baseball office Chaim Bloom last month — for their head of baseball operations position, according to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.
Clayton Kershaw told Andy McCullough of The Athletic he expects to take several weeks before making a decision on his baseball future.
According to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score, the White Sox are interested in catcher Salvador Perez and second baseman/outifelder Whit Merrifield as possible offseason additions.
Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the Cardinals have identified impending free-agent pitchers Aaron Nola and Sonny Gray as “good fits and plan to approach to see if the feeling is mutual.”
Have a great week and enjoy the LCS!