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.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and New Zealand’s Erin Routliffe remain undefeated in women’s doubles at the WTA Finals.
The 2023 U.S. Open champions, seeded second at the event, secured a 1-6, 7-6 (1), (11-9) super-tiebreak win over fourth-seeded Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in round-robin play on Tuesday.
The season-ending tournament features the WTA Tour’s top eight women’s doubles teams.
Dabrowski and Routliffe lost the first set in 22 minutes but levelled the match by breaking Errani’s serve three times in the second, including at 6-5. They clinched victory with Routliffe saving a match point on her serve and Dabrowski ending Errani’s final serve-and-volley attempt.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will next face fifth-seeded Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk on Thursday, where a win would secure a spot in the semifinals.
The final is scheduled for Saturday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 5, 2024.
EDMONTON – Jake Allen made 31 saves for his second shutout of the season and 26th of his career as the New Jersey Devils closed out their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist and Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier also scored for the Devils (8-5-2) who have won three of their last four on the heels on a four-game losing skid.
The Oilers (6-6-1) had their modest two-game winning streak snapped.
Calvin Pickard made 13 stops between the pipes for Edmonton.
TAKEAWAYS
Devils: In addition to his goal, Bratt picked up his 12th assist of the young season to give him nine points in his last eight games and now 15 points overall. Nico Hischier remains in the team lead, picking up an assist of his own to give him 16 points for the campaign. He has a point in all but four games this season.
Oilers: Forward Leon Draisaitl was held pointless after recording six points in his previous two games and nine points in his previous four. Draisaitl usually has strong showings against the Devils, coming into the contest with an eight-game point streak against New Jersey and 11 goals in 17 games.
KEY MOMENT
New Jersey took a 2-0 lead on the power play with 3:26 remaining in the second period as Hischier made a nice feed into the slot to Bratt, who wired his third of the season past Pickard.
KEY RETURN?
Oilers star forward and captain Connor McDavid took part in the optional morning skate for the Oilers, leading to hopes that he may be back sooner rather than later. McDavid has been expected to be out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury suffered during the first shift of last Monday’s loss in Columbus.
OILERS DEAL FOR D-MAN
The Oilers have acquired defenceman Ronnie Attard from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenceman Ben Gleason.
The 6-foot-3 Attard has spent the past three season in the Flyers organization seeing action in 29 career games. The 25-year-old right-shot defender and Western Michigan University grad was originally selected by Philadelphia in the third round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. Attard will report to the Oilers’ AHL affiliate in Bakersfield.
UP NEXT
Devils: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday.
Oilers: Host the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2024.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Patrick Mahomes threw for 291 yards and three touchdowns, and Kareem Hunt pounded into the end zone from two yards out in overtime to give the unbeaten Kansas City Chiefs a 30-24 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
DeAndre Hopkins had two touchdown receptions for the Chiefs (8-0), who drove through the rain for two fourth-quarter scores to take a 24-17 lead with 4:17 left. But then Kansas City watched as Baker Mayfield led the Bucs the other way in the final minute, hitting Ryan Miller in the end zone with 27 seconds to go in regulation time.
Tampa Bay (4-5) elected to kick the extra point and force overtime, rather than go for a two-point conversion and the win. And it cost the Buccaneers when Mayfield called tails and the coin flip was heads. Mahomes and the Chiefs took the ball, he was 5-for-5 passing on their drive in overtime, and Hunt finished his 106-yard rushing day with the deciding TD plunge.
Travis Kelce had 14 catches for 100 yards with girlfriend Taylor Swift watching from a suite, and Hopkins finished with eight catches for 86 yards as the Chiefs ran their winning streak to 14 dating to last season. They became the sixth Super Bowl champion to start 8-0 the following season.
Mayfield finished with 200 yards and two TDs passing for the Bucs, who have lost four of their last five.
It was a memorable first half for two players who had been waiting to play in Arrowhead Stadium.
The Bucs’ Rachaad White grew up about 10 minutes away in a tough part of Kansas City, but his family could never afford a ticket for him to see a game. He wound up on a circuitous path through Division II Nebraska-Kearney and a California junior college to Arizona State, where he eventually became of a third-round pick of Tampa Bay in the 2022 draft.
Two year later, White finally got into Arrowhead — and the end zone. He punctuated his seven-yard scoring run in the second quarter, which gave the Bucs a 7-3 lead, by nearly tossing the football into the second deck.
Then it was Hopkins’ turn in his first home game since arriving in Kansas City from a trade with the Titans.
The three-time All-Pro, who already had caught four passes, reeled in a third-down heave from Mahomes amid triple coverage for a 35-yard gain inside the Tampa Bay five-yard line. Three plays later, Mahomes found him in the back of the end zone, and Hopkins celebrated his first TD with the Chiefs with a dance from “Remember the Titans.”
Tampa Bay tried to seize control with consecutive scoring drives to start the second half. The first ended with a TD pass to Cade Otton, the latest tight end to shred the Chiefs, and Chase McLaughlin’s 47-yard field goal gave the Bucs a 17-10 lead.
The Chiefs answered in the fourth quarter. Mahomes marched them through the rain 70 yards for a tying touchdown pass, which he delivered to Samaje Perine while landing awkwardly and tweaking his left ankle, and then threw a laser to Hopkins on third-and-goal from the Buccaneers’ five-yard line to give Kansas City the lead.
Tampa Bay promptly went three-and-out, but its defence got the ball right back, and this time Mayfield calmly led his team down field. His capped the drive with a touchdown throw to Miller — his first career TD catch — with 27 seconds to go, and Tampa Bay elected to play for overtime.
UP NEXT
Buccaneers: Host the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
