From umpire warnings and historic home runs to big-league debuts and strategic misfires, Tuesday’s slate of MLB playoff games had a little bit of everything.
For Atlanta, Houston, Tampa Bay and Los Angeles, the stress was worth the effort. For the Marlins, Athletics, Yankees and Padres, this was a day to forget.
Yet the results only tell us part of the story, especially in October. On a day of non-stop baseball, these were the moments stood out most…
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Yankees’ strategy backfires
Just last week, the Blue Jays tried to mix and match pitchers against the Rays only to lose in frustrating fashion. On Tuesday, it was the Yankees’ turn.
By announcing right-hander Deivi Garcia as the New York starter, manager Aaron Boone could be reasonably sure Kevin Cash of the Rays would include plenty of left-handed hitters in the starting lineup. That opened the door for left-hander J.A. Happ to enter as a bulk pitcher after just one inning, and gain the platoon advantage much more than he ordinarily would. Meanwhile, Garcia would still be free to pitch later in the series.
At least that’s how it might have looked on paper. In reality, the strategy wasn’t nearly so effective. In becoming the youngest starter in Yankees post-season history, the 21-year-old Garcia allowed a homer to Randy Arozarena in his lone inning. Then the Rays hit Happ even harder, scoring four runs, including two homers, despite all of those left-handed bats.
There was plenty of logic behind the Yankees’ decision, so in that sense it was certainly defensible. Plus, relievers Chad Green, Zack Britton and Aroldis Chapman are now rested entering Game 3. But to the Rays’ credit, they neutralized a sound decision by producing despite some potentially unfavourable matchups.
J.A. Happ said he told the Yankees we would have preferred to start tonight’s game but that he was ready to pitch. Wouldn’t answer when he was asked if he felt like he was put in a position to succeed.
Over the last two years, the Yankees have not been able to rely on Giancarlo Stanton, who has played just 41 regular season games since the start of 2019. But when he does take the field, the 30-year-old’s raw power remains unmatched.
He homered twice Tuesday, and both were impressive. In the second inning, he hit an opposite-field laser over the right field wall. In the fourth inning, he pulled a no-doubt homer 458 feet. He has now homered in all four of the Yankees’ playoff games, which counts for a lot on a team that measures success by what happens in October.
Clevinger injury means Padres’ depth will be tested
By the second inning, it was already apparent that the Padres’ day would not unfold as they’d hoped. Mike Clevinger, who was acquired at the trade deadline to pitch in games just like this, exited just two pitches into the second inning. His velocity was down, suggesting a possible recurrence of the elbow injury that sidelined him for the wild-card round.
Regardless, this causes problems on a few levels for the Padres, whose manager, Jayce Tingler, was ejected mid-game. First off, they had to scramble Tuesday, with 20-year-old Ryan Weathers making his big-league debut in the middle of a scoreless game. Medium-term, beating the Dodgers looks much harder without their ace. And even if San Diego beats L.A., Clevinger would be ineligible to pitch until the World Series if the Padres replace him on the roster now.
The Padres still have plenty of time ahead, but this was not the start they wanted.
Springer’s historic power puts A’s on the brink
Anyone hoping a 29-31 regular season record might foreshadow an early playoff exit for the Houston Astros is already disappointed. Not only did the Astros beat the Twins in the wild-card round, but baseball’s villains are now a win away from a fourth straight ALCS appearance after beating the A’s 5-2 Tuesday afternoon.
Once again, it was George Springer who generated the offence for Houston as the centre fielder homered twice and made some history in the process. The two home runs Springer hit give him 17 career playoff homers (in just 54 games) which ties him with David Ortiz, Jim Thome and Nelson Cruz for 10th all-time. Starting Wednesday, Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle are just a swing away for Springer, a pending free agent.
Now, the obvious caveat — the Astros cheated during that stretch, and all offensive numbers should be interpreted within that context. But I’m guessing Springer will keep putting up big offensive numbers even if he leaves Houston as a free agent.
Of course, offence is only part of the story here, as Houston’s pitching was excellent, too. This Astros pitching staff is far less accomplished than the group that featured Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole a year ago, but there are still some intriguing arms here, including Game 2 starter Framber Valdez. A five-foot-11 left-hander, Valdez was making his first career playoff start after a breakout summer in which he posted a 3.57 ERA. He made the most of it, holding the Athletics to just two runs over seven innings.
Impressive — but chances are most fans and teams will be rooting against the Astros when the series resumes Wednesday.
Atlanta’s lineup too deep for Marlins to contain
Atlanta’s lineup was as good as anyone’s this year (MLB-leading .355 weighted on base average) and when you think about reasons why, you think of Ronald Acuna Jr., Marcell Ozuna and Freddie Freeman. Not necessarily Travis d’Arnaud.
And yet it was d’Arnaud who delivered the decisive hit in Atlanta’s 9-4 Game 1 win over the Miami Marlins — a game that was much closer than the score might indicate. For a while it looked as though the story of the game might revolve around Acuna Jr., who homered his first time up then took a pitch off the hip two innings later, leading to warnings for both sides.
They have to hit me , because they don’t get me out
Yet Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara kept things close until the seventh, when d’Arnaud took Yimi Garcia deep with a 421-foot homer to centre field. Compared to the rest of Atlanta’s stars, d’Arnaud might be easy to overlook, but the 31-year-old has quietly become a difference-making offensive player over the last couple seasons. Counting both 2019 and 2020, d’Arnaud has played 147 games and batted 575 total times. During that stretch he’s a .273 hitter with 25 home runs, 103 RBI and an .801 OPS.
If that wasn’t enough to convince teams that d’Arnaud is dangerous at the plate, Tuesday’s homer certainly will be.
The past weekend of football was all about the favourites.
The favoured teams went 13-1 straight up and 10-4 against the spread in the NFL. In college football, the three most teams bet at the BetMGM Sportsbook in terms of number of bets and money all won and covered. All three were favourites.
Trends of the Week
The three most bet college teams that won and covered on Saturday were Ohio State (-3.5) vs. Penn State, Indiana (-7.5) at Michigan State and Oregon (-14.5) at Michigan. Penn State has now lost seven straight home games as underdogs. The Nittany Lions were up 10-0 in the first quarter and were 3.5-point favourites at the time. The Buckeyes won 17-10.
In the NFL, the three most bet teams in terms of number of bets and money were the Washington Commanders (-4) at the New York Giants, the Detroit Lions (-2.5) at the Green Bay Packers and the Buffalo Bills (-6) vs. the Miami Dolphins. All three teams won, but only two of the three covered the spread as Buffalo beat Miami 30-27.
When it came to the players with the most bets to score a touchdown on Sunday, only two of the five reached the end zone — Chase Brown (-125) and Taysom Hill (+185). David Montgomery (-140), Brian Robinson Jr. (+110) and AJ Barner (+500) did not score.
Upsets of the Week
The biggest upset in the NFL was the Carolina Panthers coming from behind to beat the New Orleans Saints 23-22. New Orleans closed as a 7-point favourite and took in 76% of the bets and 79% of the money in against-the-spread betting. The Saints fired head coach Dennis Allen following the loss. They have now lost seven straight games after starting the year 2-0.
Arguably the biggest upset in college football was South Carolina beating No. 10 Texas A&M 44-20 at home. Texas A&M closed as a 2.5-point favourite and took in 59% of the bets and 58% of the money.
NEW YORK – Washington Capitals left-wing Alex Ovechkin, Carolina Hurricanes centre Martin Necas and Pittsburgh Penguins centre Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s three stars of the week.
Ovechkin had a league-leading five goals and nine points in four games.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain has 14 points in 11 games this season, and his 860 career goals are just 34 shy of Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Necas shared the league lead with nine points (three goals, six assists) in three games.
Crosby factored on seven of the Penguins’ eight total goals scoring four goals and adding three assists in three appearances. The 37-year-old Penguins captain leads his team with 14 points (five goals, nine assists) in 13 games this season.
Crosby and Ovechkin, longtime rivals since entering the league together in 2005-06, will meet for the 70th time in the regular season and 95th time overall when Pittsburgh visits Washington on Friday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
TORONTO – Running back Brady Oliveira of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell are the finalists for the CFL’s outstanding player award.
Oliveira led the CFL in rushing this season with 1,353 yards while Mitchell was the league leader in passing yards (5,451) and touchdowns (32).
Oliveira is also the West Division finalist for the CFL’s top Canadian award, the second straight year he’s been nominated for both.
Oliveira was the CFL’s outstanding Canadian in 2023 and the runner-up to Toronto Argonauts quarterback Chad Kelly for outstanding player.
Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes is the East Division’s top Canadian nominee.
Voting for the awards is conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and the nine CFL head coaches.
The other award finalists include: defensive back Rolan Milligan Jr. of the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Montreal linebacker Tyrice Beverette (outstanding defensive player); Saskatchewan’s Logan Ferland and Toronto’s Ryan Hunter (outstanding lineman); B.C. Lions kicker Sean Whyte and Toronto returner Janarion Grant (special teams); and Edmonton Elks linebacker Nick Anderson and Hamilton receiver Shemar Bridges (outstanding rookie).
The coach of the year finalists are Saskatchewan’s Corey Mace and Montreal’s Jason Maas.
The CFL will honour its top individual performers Nov. 14 in Vancouver.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 31.
