The opponents strike back! Great
wins by both the Dodgers and the Tigers, getting them back into the series. LA
still is down a game to the Cardinals, and now the series moves back to St.
Louis, but they got a huge win in Game 5. Both teams were back in the swing of
things (pun intended), as they combined for 18 hits, 9 each.
Honestly, both performed really
well. Los Angeles might have had the better night, because they were able to
come back from losing to Joe Kelly in Game 1 to beating him in Game 5. Kelly
would go five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits. They hit four home
runs, including two from slugger Adrian Gonzalez.
If the Dodgers pull this series
out, Gonzalez should be the NLCS MVP, as he is batting .353/.450/.824 in the
series. His two home runs are the first two in the series. Carl Crawford and
A.J Ellis provided their own home runs in the 5th and 7th
inning, respectively.
Zack Greinke had a great night
after Game 1, which he still performed great anyways. He went seven innings,
giving up two runs and striking out four in 104 pitches. Brian Wilson needed
only 11 pitches to get a hold in the 8th, but Kenley Jansen was not
his usual.
Jansen ended up striking out the
side (no surprise), but would give up four hits and two runs, cutting the
Dodgers’ lead to only two. It at least shows that Jansen is hittable, and the
1-2 punch of Wilson and Jansen isn’t perfect at all. It isn’t the Paul
Quantrill/Eric Gagne combo that the Dodgers had in 2003 after all.
The Cardinals didn’t look terrible
offensively. They finished with ten hits and four runs, but two Double Plays by
Yadier Molina in the beginning of the game were huge. It got out of two jams
for Greinke that the Cardinals had in the bag. It also probably would’ve
prevented Greinke from pitching the 7th inning, which could have
been taken in the St. Louis advantage as well.
But this series now moves to St.
Louis, which is not a good sign for LA. Game 6 might be the best pitching duel
of the postseason, which is surprising because there have been so many great
pitching duels so far. It’ll be the great Clayton Kershaw, who will win the NL
Cy Young this year, against rookie sensation Michael Wacha.
Wacha has been unbelievable for the
Cards, and is the reason for how well the Cardinals are doing right now.
Without him, I don’t think the Cards would have won the NLDS over the Pirates.
He reminds me of Jeremy Bonderman, who, in 2006, cracked the starting rotation
for the Tigers postseason at only 23 years old.
The last time these two met, it was
in Game 2. The Cardinals and Wacha were able to pull that victory out, in
another 1-0 game. It all depends on Wacha. We know Clayton Kershaw will perform
well, but Wacha could be a different story.
If the Dodgers do win Game 6, don’t
worry too much, Cardinals fans. Game 7 will be between Hyu-Jin Ryu and Adam
Wainwright. Though Ryu had an amazing performance in Game 3 over Wainwright,
Adam is the ace in his hometown, and Ryu has had his share of tough outings.
I believe that the Cardinals will
win this series, but it will be in seven games.
The Tigers completely rocked Jake
Peavy, which I was quite surprised about. Peavy only could go three innings
before giving up seven runs on five hits and three walks. He threw 65 pitches,
and only 35 were strikes. After a perfect first inning for Peavy, he just
dived.
A five run second inning for the Tigers was the result from a bases
loaded walk, a double by Torii Hunter, and a single from Miguel Cabrera.
Here’s something that the Tigers did that threw the world off. Jim Leyland, the manager for Detroit, placed Miguel Cabrera in the 2nd spot, with Torii Hunter batting leadoff. That’s right, he put the best hitter in baseball in the 2nd spot.
Well, it worked. Cabrera went
2-for-4 with two RBI’s. He also had a surprising steal in 4th inning. You’ve done it again, Leyland.
It’ll be interesting if Jim does
the same thing tonight in Game 5. It looked like the lineup shakeup was a great
move that everyone benefited from. It’ll be a rematch of Game 1, with Jon
Lester going against Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez was miraculous, and pitched a no
hitter in eight innings. Lester was just as good, however, and that was yet another 1-0 game.
You’ve noticed that the games have been low scoring (except when the Red Sox crushed the Rays). Remember, pitching is the biggest thing come playoffs. Why did the Giants win last year? Yes, Pablo Sandoval had a hitting surge and Marco Scutaro was the most clutch pitcher in baseball, but it was also because guys like Barry Zito and Madison Bumgarner pitch magic. They also had Sergio Romo closing, who was unhittable in the postseason.
I think the Tigers can pull this
game out. The player to watch? Sanchez. In the ALDS at home, he got rocked,
giving up three home runs to the Athletics, but in Game 1, he was unhittable.
If he does not have a good game, this game will go to the Red Sox.
SIDE NOTE: A good friend of mine,
Kyle Stone, and I are developing a program that is filled with baseball
analysis, how much a player really should be played, and will introduce my stat
on Wins Above Salary. More will come later, but if I mention Kyle, you know who
he is.
Email me at statsbuddy42@gmail.com for any
questions/comments/concerns.
-Evan Boyd
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