Category: Baseball

The New York Yankees are back in the ALDS with their 9-6 comeback win over the Toronto Blue Jays last night in the Bronx. The Yankees captain and reigning MVP, Aaron Judge, put on a performance last night when it was most needed. Judge went 3 for 4 including a 3-run homer to tie the game at 6-6 and dazzled fans with his clutch play in the outfield. The Yankees will turn to their rookie sensation, Cam Schlittler, to throw strikes and knot this series up at two apiece. In his last outing in Game 3 of the AL Wild Card Game against Boston, Schlittler was throwing flames, allowing no runs with 12 strikeouts over 8 strong innings, and the Yankees cruised to a 4-0 win. The Blue Jays are now 0-7 in their last 7 road playoff games and are leaning towards going with a bullpen game tonight. They will likely turn to Louis Varland for the first leg, and the Bombers are licking their chops. Varland was responsible for Judge’s 3-run homer last night and lasted just one inning. The Yankees will have the momentum. They have Cam Schlittler on the hill, and they are 5-0 in his last 5 starts. They are also at home and will have the Bleacher Creatures for support. Baseball is a streaky sport and when the tables turn, a run usually follows.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The New York Yankees are in a lot of trouble, down 0-2 to the Toronto Blue Jays in the ALDS Best of 5. Once again, the first two losses can be attributed to poor starting lineup decisions and horrendous bullpen management by Aaron Boone. Tonight the venue switches to Yankee Stadium for the next two, if necessary, and if the Yankees are going to win a game in this series this will be it. Carlos Rodón is slated to get the start for New York. The southpaw has been at the top of his game at 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Shane Bieber is expected on the hill for the Jays. Bieber is 4-2 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. The Jays are a force at Rogers Centre but on the road not so good and they are 0-6 in their last 6 road playoff games. If Boone lets Rodón pitch deep into the game, which he is very capable of doing, and not turn to a very shaky bullpen like Boone usually does, they might win this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Philadelphia Phillies lost Game 1 of the NLDS, 5-3, to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday. Philadelphia should not have lost that game, but poor managing of the bullpen will get you every time. Tonight in Game 2, this is a must win for the Phillies if their ever was one. They cannot go down two games to the champs heading to Chavez Ravine for the next two or its over and they know it. Two lefties will oppose each other tonight. Blake Snell will get the nod for the Dodgers and Jesús Luzardo for the Phillies. Snell was sharp in his last outing against the Reds, pitching 7 strong innings, yielding just 4 hits, 2 ERs, and the Dodgers went on to a 10-5 win. Luzardo was also sharp in his last turn against the Marlins, allowing just 3 hits with no ERs over 7 innings of work, and Philly cruised to a 11-1 romp. The Phillies’ bats have gone cold, but they have so many offensive weapons it’s just a matter of time before they erupt. Snell had better be in the zone or it could be trouble. This is a must win for the Phillies. They will hold nothing back and pull out all the stops.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers will kick off the NLDS tonight at Citizens Bank Park. Tonight’s expected starters are Christopher Sánchez for the Phillies and Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers. Ohtani is 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and will be on a short leash as always. (He never goes past 5.) Sánchez has been in the zone all season with a record of 13-5, a 2.50 ERA, a WHIP of 1.06, and was a perfect 2-0 in September with an ERA of only 1.65. The Phillies are well rested, at home where they dominate with a record of 55-26 and took 4 out of 6 from the Dodgers this year.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

It’s do or die for the Cleveland Guardians today when they host the Detroit Tigers in the second game of the best of 3 AL Wild Card game. The good news for Cleveland is they won’t have to face Tarik Skubal who pitched a gem yesterday in Cleveland’s 2-1 loss. As well as Skubal pitched, the Guardians were in that game and without some costly mistakes in the field and bad base running, they could easily be up 1-0. Cleveland has come too far to be swept at home and will turn to Tanner Bibee to make sure that doesn’t happen. Bibee has owned the Tigers this year with a record of 3-0 and an ERA of only 0.95. Cleveland is also 4-0 in his last 4 starts and the Guardians are 7-0 in their last 7, in Game 2 of a series.
TODAY’S PICK: CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

The New York Yankees will host their archrival, the Boston Red Sox, in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card tonight in the Bronx. The Yankees enter the series red hot, winning 8 straight, and will turn to southpaw Max Fried to keep it going. Fried has had another Cy Young type season with a record of 19-5, a 2.86 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and the Yankees are 6-0 in his last 6 starts. He will be opposed by another lefty, Garrett Crochet, and like Fried he has been dealing all year. Crochet is 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Boston has had trouble against left-handed starters, going 1-4 over their last 5. The Yankees are tough to beat on River Ave. with a record of 50-31, they have scored 46 runs over their last 8 games, and let’s not forget to mention the bleacher creatures who will be in rare form for this one. It won’t be a walk in the park for the Bombers but they should come out on top.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The New York Yankees got hot just at the right time, winning 7 straight, and will go for a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles when the regular season concludes this afternoon in the Bronx. The Yankees are tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the lead in the AL East, with Toronto holding the tiebreaker so the Yankees must win their game and hope that the Tampa Bay Rays take it to the Jays. New York will send Luis Gil to the bump. Gil is 4-1 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP over 52 innings of work. Kyle Bradish is slated to get the start for the O’s, and he has good stuff. Bradish is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a WHIP of 1.00 but that is over just 28 innings of work. Even with Bradish on the hill, the Yankees’ bats are on fire and should be able to get to him. New York has won 7 of the last 8 meetings with Baltimore, and as long as Aaron Boone doesn’t monkey with the starting lineup (which he has a tendency to do), the Bombers will come out on top.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES