Four Wild Card Sweeps Means No Baseball Today

If I’m the jury, the jury is still out on the best-of-three Wild Card Series format. I prefer the excitement of the one-and-done Wild Card Game that MLB used from 2012 to 2019 and again in 2021. But a one-game playoff doesn’t necessarily reward the better team, just the better team on that day. Is that fair? Does it matter if it’s not fair?

We’ve seen 8 Wild Card Series in the last two seasons and only one has gone the full three games. Is that enough of a sample to say that a three-game series is not better or more fair than the one-game winner-take-all? Probably not.

In the end, more postseason games = more tickets sales and TV revenue, so from the league’s perspective, that’s a win. And I bet some small market owners like the expanded playoffs because it gives them a chance to put a somewhat mediocre team on the field and tell fans the team played meaningful games in September.

Whether you or I like the new format, if the owners are happy, there’s no going back.

Rangers rout lifeless Rays

You can’t win if you don’t score. The Rays scored only 1 run across two games against the Rangers. Texas knocked Rays’ starter Zack Eflin around for 5 runs in 5 innings and added 2 more off Tampa reliever Colin Poche for a 7-1 victory.

The Rays’ offensive struggles in the postseason are nothing new. In last year’s Wild Card Series against the Cleveland Guardians, the Rays scored 1 run in 24 innings across two games (Game 2 went to 15 innings). Over two seasons, the Rays played 33 consecutive postseason innings without scoring a run.

The Rays’ offensive woes in the 2022 postseason weren’t a complete surprise. Tampa Bay had a slightly better than average offense last season with a 101 wRC+. But this season, the Rays’ offense had the highest wRC+ among AL teams (118) and trailed only the Rangers in runs scored (881-860).

The injuries to Brandon Lowe and Luke Raley weakened the Rays’ lineup more than I thought they would. The rest of the lineup strained to get anything going against Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi, who returned from an elbow injury in early September to mixed results on the mound. The Rays made him look like the staff ace. With Eovaldi going 6 2/3 innings, Bruce Bochy needed just 2 1/3 innings from his shaky bullpen. Relievers Josh Sborz and José Leclerc didn’t allow a run.

The Rangers played solid, clean baseball, pitched effectively and efficiently, and whacked the ball around Tropicana Field. That’s a recipe for success in a short series.

Texas will face the Orioles in the Division Series.

Blue Jays remove starting pitcher for no reason, lose

The Twins beat the Blue Jays 2-0 last night and secured their first postseason series victory since 2002. When they’re done celebrating, the Twins should send a thank you gift to Blue Jays manager John Schneider for removing José Berrios in the top of the 4th inning after Berrios threw only 47 pitches.

Let me explain.

The game was scoreless into the bottom of the 4th. Berrios had given up 3 hits in the first 3 inning—all singles—and no runs. He walked Royce Lewis to start the 4th. Up jumped John Schneider from the dugout, walked to the mound, and removed Berrios from the game. In came Yusei Kikuki. Then Max Kepler singled, Donovan Solano walked, and Carlos Correa singled. Boom, 1-0 Twins. They added another run on a double play grounder to make it 2-0 and the damage was done.

Schneider told Sportsnet Canada it was “tough” to take out Berrios because he had “electric stuff” but the Blue Jays had made a decision before the game to play match-ups and it just didn’t work out. You have to question whether the pre-game plan should have been reevaluated in light of Berrios’ performance in the actual game on the field. As you know, I’m a big fan of advanced analytics, but making a pre-game decision to pull Berrios early is analytics run amok.

The Blue Jays had their chances but just couldn’t get the big hit with runners in scoring position—something they struggled with throughout the season. Twins starter Sonny Gray was in and out of trouble in the 5 innings he pitched, but his most important throw was to Carlos Correa. With Vladimir Guerrero Jr. on second, George Springer on third, and Bo Bichette at the plate with a 3-2 count. Gray whirled around, fired a dart to Correa standing on second, and Correa tagged Guerrero out to the end the inning and the Blue Jays’ postseason hopes.

The Twins will face the Astros in the Division Series.

Diamondbacks squeeze life out of Brewers

In what appeared to be a repeat of Game 1, the Brewers got out to an early lead off the Diamondbacks starter only to watch Arizona roar back to tie the game, take the lead, add insurance runs, and secure the victory with a lockdown bullpen.

Arizona? With a lockdown bullpen? Talk about peaking at just the right moment.

In the regular season, the D’Backs bullpen ranked 13th in the National League in fWAR, while posting a 4.22 ERA and a -1.29 clutch score. However you slice those numbers, it’s a whole lot of meh.

But in the postseason, a manager can dispense with the weak part of the bullpen and ask his star relievers to take the ball and do what is necessary. Torey Lovullo did just that and relievers Ryan Thompson, Kevin Ginkel, Andrew Saalfrank, and Paul Sewald answered the call.

D’Backs starter Zac Gallen—the staff ace—settled down after giving up 2 to the Brewers in the 1st. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta trended in the opposite direction. He didn’t allow a hit until Alek Thomas hit a solo home run in the top of the 5th to make it 2-1. The dam broke in the 6th when Geraldo Perdomo walked, Corbin Carroll doubled, and Ketel Marte singled to put the D’Backs up 3-2.

They never looked back.

The Diamondbacks will take on the Dodgers in the Division Series.

Phillies bash home runs, beat Marlins

The Phillies beat the Marlins 7-1 last night to complete the two-game sweep. The game never felt that close.

Phillies starter Aaron Nola didn’t look as dominant as his teammate Zack Wheeler in Game 1, but the results were the same. Actually they were better. Nola pitched 7 strong innings, yielding only 3 hits to the Marlins and no runs. Wheeler pitched 6 2/3 innings, gave up 5 hits and 1 run. Wheeler looked more dominant because he struck out 8 to Nola’s 3.

However it looked or felt doesn’t matter. Nola did his job, did it well, and the rest of the Phillies did what they do well—bash home runs out of Citizens Bank Park and doubles around Citizens Bank Park.

Bryson Stott had the big hit—a grand slam in the bottom of the 6th to make the score 7-0 and put the game out of reach. With the way the Phillies are playing right now, the grand slam seemed inevitable, but nothing is inevitable in baseball. It took skill and power for Stott to turn on Andrew Nardi’s 94.5 mph fastball, located perfectly in on Stott’s hands, and send it soaring into the dark Philadelphia night.

The Phillies advance to take on the Braves in the Division Series in a rematch of their 2022 NLDS showdown, which the Phillies took 3 games to 1. The Braves are out for revenge. The Phillies are out for a World Series ring.