The New York Yankees lost to the Boston Red Sox in their wild card match this past Tuesday night, ending their dream of a 28th World Champion for at least this season, but there is still a lot of baseball action for baseball fans as the postseason chugs along.
American League divisional series:
Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox got to the AL divisional series by beating the New York Yankees in the wild card game. Both the Red Sox and the Yankees had up and down seasons leading them to have the same 92-70 record. However, with the Sox having a better season record over the Yanks, they got the home-field advantage. On Tuesday night, the Red Sox ended the Yankees season with a 6-2 win.
The Tampa Bay Rays, for other than a short time, have led the AL East all season and dominated all of its AL East opponents finishing the season eight games ahead of both the Yankees and the Red Sox. Nine ahead of the Blue Jays and 48 games ahead of the Baltimore Orioles that lost 110 games this season.
In the first game of the divisional series, the Tampa Bay Rays blew out the Red Sox 5-0. Shane McClanahan was dominant, holding the Red Sox scoreless. The Rays hit two home runs in the win. Veteran Nelson Cruz homered in the third inning, and the incredible Randy Arozarena made history with his home run. He became the fifth player to hit a homer in 19 consecutive postseason games. He also is the first to hit a homer and steal home in the same postseason game.
Game two played last night; the Red Sox bested the Rays by piling on the runs. At the end of the night, it was the Red Sox 14 and the Rays 6. The Sox knocked starting pitcher newbie Shane Baz out of the game. But that was better than the Sox ace Chris Sale; he was out of the game at the end of the first inning, giving up five earned runs. Tanner Houck for the Sox got the win with five innings of one-run ball. For the Sox, it was home run heaven. Bogaerts, Verdugo, Hernandez, Martinez, and Devers all hit long balls in the game.
The series is now tied at one game apiece in the five-game contest. Game three will be on Sunday at 4:07 pm EDT.
Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox
On Sunday, the Houston Astros can claim their ticket to the Championship Series with a win over the White Sox as they have won the first two games against their northern foe.
In game one, Lance McCullers Jr. bested the White Sox Lance Lynn. The Astros got a few small ball runs, and then Michael Brantly got a two-run dinger helping the cause. Yordan Alverez sealed the deal with a solo shot for the Astro’s sixth run in the 6-1 win.
Thursday night’s game two was more of a contest as the White Sox scored 4 runs to the Astros 9. The White Sox struck first in the first inning, but the Astros got it back in the second. Tim Anderson of the Sox tied a baseball record getting 12 hits in his first five postseason games. However, the tide turned for the Sox when the Astros Yuli Guirrel got a two-run homer. Two-run homers followed that by both Carlos Correa and Kyle Tucker.
AL Championship series:
The winner of the Tampa Bay Red Sox series will face the winner of the Houston Astros Chicago White Sox series on Friday, October 15th.
National League divisional series:
San Francisco Giants vs. Los Angeles Dodgers
When the Dodgers won the wild card from the St. Louis Cardinals, they created history by playing in the divisional series against the San Francisco Giants for the first time since they were the New York Giants in 1889. That year the Giants won the World Series by one game over the Boston Beaneaters.
Yesterday was game one against these two western rivals. The Giants scored two runs off the Dodger’s starting pitcher Walker Buehler and the game was over; the Dodgers didn’t know it at the time, but they remained scoreless off of the Giants pitching, the Giants shut them out 4-0. Game two will be tonight at 9:07 pm EDT at Oracle Park in San Francisco.
Atlanta Braves vs. Milwaukee Brewers
As in previous years, the Atlanta Braves have been one of the most successful baseball teams. The Braves led the NL East by 6.5 games ahead of Joe Girardi’s Philadelphia Phillies. The New York Yankees’ claim to fame is that they won 3 of 4 against the Braves and both games at the Braves home park.
The Braves are playing the Milwaukee Brewers in the divisional series. Game one was yesterday when the Brewers squeaked out a one-run lead in the 2-1 contest. Corbin Burns bested the Braves Charlie Morton. Rowdy Tellez’s two-run homer in the seventh inning sealed the deal for the Brewers. Game two is today at 5:07 pm EDT.
NL Championship series:
The San Francisco Los Angeles series winner will face the Atlanta Milwaukee series winner in the NL Championship Series on Saturday, October 16.
2021 World Series:
The AL and NL Championship Series winners will face each other in the best of seven series starting on Tuesday, October 26th.