AL – 2021 Season

AL Standings 2021 – Aug 14 2022

AL Schedule 2021 – Aug 14 2022

RESULTS

KC 2, Seattle 2, played Sun Aug 14

Seattle 3, Oakland 0, played Sun Aug 7

Sea 2, Tor 2, played Sun July 17

Cal 2, Sea 2, played Sun July 10

Tor 3, Bos 0, played Wed Mar 30

Cal 3, CWS 0, played Sun Mar27

Bos 2, NYY 1, played Thu Mar 10

NYY 3, Sea 0, played Tue Mar 8

Oak 2, Bos 1, played Mon Mar 7

Sea 2, CWS 1, played Mon Mar 7

KC 2, CWS 1, played Thu Mar 3

Oak 2, NYY 1, played Sun Feb 27

Bos 2, Sea 1, played Mon Feb 21

Cal 2, Tor 1, played Thu Feb 17

Bos 2, Cal 1, played Wed Feb 16

Cal 2, KC 1, played Mon Feb 7

KC 2, Cle 1, played Sun Feb 6

Bos 2, CWS 1, played Sun Feb 6

Bos 2, Cle 1, played Sat Feb 5

Oak 2, Cle 1, played Fri Feb 4

Bos 2, KC 1, played Fri Feb 4

Oak 2, Cal 1, played Wed Feb 2

Tor 3, CWS 0, played Mon Jan 31

Tor 2, Cle 1, played Sat Jan 29

CWS 3, NYY 0, played Sat Jan 29

Oak 3, Tor 0, played Fri Jan 28

Cle 2, Cal 1, played Thu Jan 27

Oak 4, CWS 0, played Wed Jan 26

Cal 3, Bos 1, played Wed Jan 26

CWS 2, Cle 1, played Tue Jan 25

Sea 3, Cle 0, played Mon Jan 24

Bos 2, CWS 2, played Sun Jan 9

KC 4, CWS 0, played Thu Jan 20

Tor 2, KC 1, played Thu Jan 20

Oak 3, KC 1, played Sun Jan 16

Tor 2, NYY 1, played Thu Jan 13

Sea 2, Cal 2, played Wed Jan 12

KC 3, NYY 0, played Fri Jan 7

Bos 2, NYY 2, played unkown

Bos 3, Tor 1, played Thu Jan 6

Calif 3, CWS 1, played Wed Jan 5

Bos 2, Oak 2, played Tue Jan 4

Cle 2, NYY 1, played Mon Jan 3

Sea 3, KC 1, played Sat Jan 1

Tor 2, Sea 2, played Thu Dec 30

Cal 2, NYY 2, played Thu Dec 30

Sea 3, NYY 1, played Thu Dec 30

Tor 3, Cle 1, played Wed Dec 29

Tor 3, Cal 1, played Wed Dec 29

Sea 2, Chi 2, played Wed Dec 29

Sea 2, Oak 2, played Tue Dec 28

Oak 2, NYY 2, played Tue Dec 28

Oak 3, Cal 1, played Mon Dec 27

Bos 2, Cle 2, played Sun Dec 19

Oak 4, Cle 0, played Mon Dec 6

KC 3, Cle 1, played Wed Dec 1

CWS 2, Tor 2, played Wed Dec 1

KC 3, Boston 1, played Tue Nov 16

NYY 3, White Sox 1, played Wed Nov 10

Sea 3, Boston 1, played Wed Nov 10

KC 2, Calif 2, played Mon Nov 8

KC 3, NYY 1, played Tue Nov 2

Tor 3, NYY 1, played Thu Oct 28

Cle 2, ChiSox 2, played Thu Oct 28

KC 3, Tor 1, played Tue Oct 26

2020 Season

AL Standings – Fri May 14 2021

AL Schedule 2020 Fri May 14 2021

KC survives, bests Seattle in 7 games

Seattle put up a courageous fight!

KC over Sea 4 games to 3 AL semi finals boxscores

Everyone knew going into this series that KC had a ton of firepower, and that while you couldn’t stop the Royals offense completely, you could try to slow it down. And that is what Seattle did in the series, and it almost put them in the AL Finals. KC hit 17 home runs in the 7 games, but 14 were solo shots, including the first 10 earlier in the series. But alas, holding KC to 14 solo homers out of 17 is sort of a double-edged sword, in that the question comes up, how could this pitching staff of Seattle’s give up 17 homers in just 7 games? And therein lies an answer as to why Seattle didn’t kkock off the Royals – their pitching let them down. Because the offense kept battling from start to finish – in fact, every time KC held Seattle’s offense down to 3 or fewer runs, the M’s would come out the next game and put up 6 or 8 runs.

Also, the series was a back and forth affair – KC took the opener, but Seattle roared back to win the next 2, KC then won the next 2 to take a 3-2 lead in the series, before Seattle clawed and scratched its way to winning Game 6 and forcing a Game 7. And although both teams can point to certain factors that went against them during the series, Seattle probably has the biggest beef – Brad Hand blew a 3-run, 9th inning lead in Game 4 that would have given Seattle a commanding 3 games to 1 lead in the series had they held on to that lead! Surely that would have been too much for even KC and all of their power to overcome. But KC was able to find a way to win that game, and ultimately it won them the series.

Overall, KC out-scored Seattle 37-25, and out-homered them 17-9. Seattle went 1-3 in the Gerrit Cole & Chris Paddack starts; KC went 1-1 in the Verlander starts, which should have dealt a death blow to KC’s chances, given that their co-ace Yonis Chrinos was only able to start 1 game (he won it), forcing Brad Keller to start twice, and KC lost both of his starts. Yet, somehow, KC found the other 2 wins they needed in the starts made by Andrew Heaney and Gio Gonzalez, although it should be noted that Heaney went just 1 1/3 in his start, and Gio went just 3 innings in his. So it was truly KC’s bullpen that saved the day.

GAME 1: Yonis Chrinos vs Gerrit Cole

KC went to their true ace, Chrinos, to start them off, while Seattle countered with their ace and likely Cy Young winner of 2020. But it was evident early on that Cole did not have his good stuff. Right from the 1st inning, after the first 2 batters were out, Matt Olson doubled, scored on an Aaron Judge triple, and then Joc Pederson drove Judge in with a single. 2-0 KC after 1. In the 3rd, KC was at it again, as Olson walked, scored all the way from 1st on a Judge double, and Marcus Semien doubled in Judge. 4-0 KC. Pederson would double in Olson in the 7th and Cavan Biggio would homer in the 8th, as KC put up 6 runs in the game. Meanwhile Chrinos was cruising. Through the first 7 innings, he gave up just 4 hits, 0 runs, with 3 double plays behind him. He did get in trouble in the 8th, when Martin Maldonado singled, and 2 outs later, took 3rd on Delino DeShields double; a walk to David Fletcher loaded them up, and Josh Bell doubled in 2. That was it for Chrinos, and Reyes Moronto came on to strike-out Christian Walker to end the threat. KC wins the game 6-2, and takes a 1 game to nil series lead.

GAME 2: Justin Verlander vs Kenta Maeda

Verlandeed gave up 33 home runs during the regular season in 90 IP, roughly 1 homer every 3 IP, and KC was just a .500 team with him on the mound. KC was hoping the playoffs would see a different Justin. Meanwhile, Maeda was the MVP of the Oakland series win, and Seattle was hoping he would continue with the hot hand. But both pitchers struggled early. The first batter facing Verlander, DeShields, hit one off the top of the fence for a double, and then Juan Soto did clear the fence, giving Seattle a 2-0 lead. But Maeda gave it right back in the bottom of the 1st, when a Yoan Moncada double, a Ronald Acuna walk, an RBI single by Olson, and an RBI groundout by Judge tied the game. KC got a solo shot from Marcus Semien in the 2nd inning and led 3-2. Meanwhile, Verlander was on a bit of a role, retiring 13 of the next 14 men after the Soto HR, the only base runner reaching on an HBP. But in the 5th, his familiar problems resurfaced. Orlando Arcia, who hit 2 walk-off homers against Oakland to win games, belted a 2-run shot, giving Seattle a 4-3 lead, and Josh Bell also got in on the act, crushing his own 2-run shot.

Kenta Maeda went 8+ in this one, allowing 8 hits, but none between the 4th and 9th innings, which gave his team the chance to get back in it. Brad Hand was summoned when maeda gave up hits to the first 2 batters in the 9th (Matt Chapman and Buster Posey), but Hand was up to the task, retiring Nicholas Castellanos, Lourdes Gurriel, and Ronald Acuna to save the game. Seattle takes Game 2 by a 6-3 score, and evens the series 1-1.

GAME 3: Brad Keller vs Chris Paddack

As much as it looked like a mismatch on paper, Keller actually gutted out 4 1/3 decent innings, keeping his team in the game, but Paddack was better. Following a 1-2-3 bottom of the 1st inning, Keller looked good, until Josh Bell turned around a 90 mph fastball and hit it into the Pacific. And in the 3rd, Fletcher tripled in Alex Verdugo, who had walked. Meanwhile, KC got one back when Biggio homered in the 3rd. 2-1 for Seattle after 4 IP. KC would then tie the game in the top of the 5th, when Semien homered. But in the bottom of the 5th, following a Maldonado fly-out to lead off the inning, Arcia singled, and Verdugo doubled him to 3rd, 2nd and 3rd, just 1 out. That was it for Keller, on came Gio Gonzalez, and he was masterful, stranding the runners by striking out both Fletcher and Soto to end the threat. That kept the game tie3d at 2-2 through 5. But in the bottom of the 6th, Seattle took the lead. Bell was credited with a double when Judge lost the ball in the lights out in CF. That was it for Gio, and on came Moronta, who promptly struck-out Walker and DeShields. But Todd Frazier drew a walk, & Maldonado doubled in Bell with the go-ahead run before the inning was over. Seattle took a 3-2 lead after 6 IP.

Meanwhile, KC watched 2 of their runners get gunned out at home plate trying to score – Posey in the 5th, and Olson in the 6th. But that would be all the scoring in this one. Paddack was able to right the ship, going the distance, 9 IP, 9 H, 2 ER, 10 K’s, 1 BB. Seattle wins the game 3-2, and takes a 2 games to 1 series lead.

GAME 4: Andrew Heaney vs Jose Berrios

Seattle was hoping Berrios could give them a good game and they could capitalize on the pitching mismatch. But Berrios got into trouble immediately. In the top of the 1st, Moncada walked, Olson singled, Chapman walked, Pederson hit a long sac fly to the fence, and Semien doubled in 2 runs. KC led 3-0. But Heaney gave it right back to Seattle in the home half of the 1st. Following a Verdugo fly out, Soto and Luplow drew walks, Nico Goodrum tripled in both, and scored himself on a Yastremski single. 3-3 after 1. Verdugo would knock out Heaney in the 2nd with a solo shot. Many observers were wondering what KC Manager Mike was thinking, as he had Yony Chronis warming up in the 1st inning but failed to bring him in, trusting Heaney instead. KC was hoping this error would not come back to haunt them. It almost did.

the teams traded solo shots when pederson hit one, but Verdugo hit another, his 2nd of the game, and it was Seattle 5, KC 4 after 6 innings. Seattle added some much-needed insurance ruins in the bottom of the 7th, wjhen Goodrum doubled, Walker walked, and Fletcher drove them both home on a double. Those runs were off Moronta, who seemed tired from all the work.

That set the stage for the faithful 9th inning. Seattle was up 7-4, and on came Hand to close it out, and give Seattle a commanding 3 games to 1 series lead. Acuna led off the top of the 9th with a double. PH Castellanos doubled. PH Gurriel singled, and Chapman walked. The bases were loaded, nobody out, and Seattle now clinging to a 7-5 lead. PH Trey Turner popped out; Judge struck-out. Seattle was 1-strike away from ending it, when Semien singled in 2 runs, tying the game! Adrian Houser retired Seattle 1-2-3 in the bottom of the 9th, so off to extras we went. In the top of the 10th, facing Blake Parker, Castellanos delivered a solo homer that barely made it over the fence, giving KC an 8-7 lead! Aroldis Chapman would then come in for what turned out to be his only appearance of the series, and he struck-out the side in order, Fletcher, Hedges, and Verdugo, giving KC the unlikely 8-7 win, tying the series at 2 apiece!

GAME 5: Justin Verlander vs Gerrit Cole

Once again, Verlander was thrust in the spotlight, being asked to live up to his mega-contract and help his team win. Expectations were low, but the team remained hopeful. But, Verlander answered the bell in this one! It was a pitcher’s duel early on, as KC led 1-0 through 4 innings, the only run coming on an Acuna RBI double, scoring Biggio. Seattle tied it in the top of the 5th, when Walker hit a, yes, you guessed it, a home run off Verlander! We were all tied up 1-1 through 5 innings. Verlander got Seattle in the 6th on just a hit but 2 K’s, and KC’s offense took over in the bottom of the 6th, in thunderous form! Moncada reached on a 2-base error by DeShields in CF. Acuna grounded out, and that’s when the fireworks began. Olson hit a 2-run HR, Judge followed with a homer, and so did Pederson. Back-to-back-to-back homers, and suddenly Seattle had a commanding 5-1 lead after 6 innings!

Seattle got one back in the 8th, when all-world SS Arcia hit yet another home run. But KC matched that in their half of the 8th, when Judge blasted another homer. Kc went on to win the game 6-2. Verlander went complete, 9 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 HRS, 9 K’s, 1 BB. But other than the win, perhaps almost as big was the complete game, as it saved KC’s pen to be available for Game 6 and Game 7, which they would need considering the quality of starting pitching KC had lined up for the next 2 games. KC takes the series lead 3 games to 2.

GAME 6: Brad Keller vs Kenta Maeda

KC got to Maeda early and often in this one. In the top of the 2nd, Chapman hit a 2-run blast, and in the tiop of the 3rd, Olson hit a 2-run homer of his own. But Seattle kept clawing. They got 1 run back in the 2nd, when walks to Walker and Frazier set-up an RBI single by Maldonado; and in the 4th, Yastremski hit a solo shot. KC led 4-2 after 4 innings. Keller went back out for the 5th, but Verdugo touched him for a lead-off double. Flecther flied out, and Soto grounded out, moving Verdugo to 3rd. On came Chrinos, and he induced a groundout from Bell to end the threat. KC still led 4-2 after 5. Chronis started the bottom of the 6th, but walked Walker and Yaz to lead off, and was promptly pulled for Seanb Newcombe. The tall lefty struck-out Frazier, but walked Maldonado to load them up, and gave up an RBI single to Arcia, and then walked in a run by issuing a free pass to Verdugo. 4-4, and the bases were still loaded with just 1 out. But Fletcher hit into a DP, ending the inning. KC and Seattle stood tied at 4-4 through 6, and it would stay tied into the 8th. Bottom of the 8th, with Marcus Walden in, Yaz drew a walk. DeShields pinch ran, and took 3rd on a 1-out Maldonado double. Up came Mr. Clutch Orlando Arcia, and he hit a sac fly, bringing Seattle all the way back, where they now lead the game, 5-4 after 8 innings. On came Mr. Hand for the 9th, and he retired KC 1-2-3, and Seattle wins the game 5-4, and evens the series at 3-3! On to Game 7!

GAME 7: Gio Gonzalez vs Chris Paddack

Unfortunately this was no classic Game 7, to say the least. It was pretty much over before it started. The KC bats finally decided to take the team on their backs, and that’s exactly what they did. An Acuna solo shot in the 1st, a Semien solo in the 2nd, a Pederson 2-run shot in the 3rd, a Chapman solo shot in the 4th along with an RBI groundout by Acuna, and it was 6-0 after 4 innings. Judge would homer later, and also drive in another with a single.

The big story was the KC pitching, that at this point was kept together with scotch tape. Gio Gonzalez went the first 3 IP, on just 1 hit, and 3 K’s. Moronta went a perfect 4th, and Walden, Melancon, and Houser all combined on 9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 11 K’s, 1 BB. It was a dominating performance on both sides of the ball, at the most critical time.

KC now prepares to face Cleveland, the 2nd place team who’s pitching is every bit as strong as Seattle’s but who’s offense is deeper than that of the Mariners. KC will have its hands full, and so will Cleveland in facing the KC explosive offense. Should be a great series.

Cleveland beats Toronto 4 games to 2

Both teams pitchers were dominant

Clev over Tor 4 games to 2 AL semi finals boxscores

Cleveland came into the semi-final match-up against Toronto with arguably the best pitching staff in the league, perhaps even better than Seattle’s. Toronto’s staff was almost as good…almost. Cleveland also had the better offense, although Toronto did manage to score more runs this season than anyone expected. So although Cleveland was favored on paper, many analysts had Toronto to win, given their managerial experience and past success. So it was going to take a herculian effort to unseat the Jays, and that’s what happened in the series.

Cleveland’s starting pitchers were on all series long, as they combined for a pitching line of:

4-2, 1.50 ERA, 48 IP, 43 K’s

Toronto was almost as good, but could not keep up with Cleveland’s staff, as the Indians posted 2 shut-outs in the 6 games, and also held Toronto to 1 run in a third game, and to just 2 runs in two additional games. In fact,t he only time Toronto scored more than 2 runs in any game was Game 2, when they scored 4 runs and won the game 4-2. We had pointed out that in the regular season series between these 2 teams, Toronto had gone 6-0 in games where they scored 5 or more runs against Cleveland. In this series, Toronto went 1-0 in games where it scored 4 or more runs! Alas, the Jays offense went cold at the worst possible time.

Overall, Cleveland out-scored Toronto 17-9 and out-homered them 7-6. We had also discussed Cleveland’s lack of bench depth both on the hitting side and the bullpen side. But, thanks to the starting pitching being so dominant, and averaging 8 innings per start, they only needed 5 innings of relief, which masked that issue. And on offense, Cleveland pinch-hit just twice, both in the same game and the same inning against Josh Hader. But with the pitching staff’s performance, Cleveland’s starting 9 were able to score more than Toronto enough to win the series.

GAME 1: Sonny Gray vs Trevor Bauer

Scoreless through 5 innings, Gray having allowed just 1 hit, and Bauer working on a no-no. But in the bottom of the 6th, Yordan Alvarez scorched a ball for a solo homer, breaking the no-hitter, the shut-out, and falling behind by a 1-0 score. Narvaez would single in the 7th off Bauer, and Mike Tauchman would homer in the 8th, so Bauer goes 8 innings (complete game loss) on 3 hits and 2 runs, both on solo homers. Gray meanwhile also went complete game, 9 IP on 2 hits, and 10 K’s. He also recorded 3 double plays behind him. Cleveland wins 2-0, takes the early series lead.

GAME 2: Lucas Giolito vs Aaron Nola

Toronto came out hot in this one, as Yasiel Puig homered in the 1st, Ryan Braun homered in the 2nd amd then Josh Phegley doubled in another, and Ketel Marte homered in the 3rd inning. Those 4 runs offset a Howie Kendrick solo shot in the bottom of the 1st, and a Kris Bryant solo shot in the 4th. That would be it for the scoring, as Toronto milked the 4-2 lead to a final. Nola was never in much trouble, going 7 1/3, with Dylan Floro & Josh Hader closing it out. Toronto wins 4-2, ties series at 1 apiece.

GAME 3: Huyn Jui Ryu vs Marcus Stroman

If there was a weaker link in the rotation for Toronto, Stroman was it, but he pitched like a star in this series. He kept Cleveland off the board until the top of the 6th, and was leading 1-0 up to that point thanks to a Byron Buxton double in the 4th, and an RBI single by Fernando Tatis. But in the top of the 6th, Jorge Soler doubled, and came around to score on a Kendrick single. But Toronto re-took the lead in the bottom of the 6th, when with 2 out and nobody on, Chris Taylor drew a walk, went to 3rd on a Jean Segura 2-base error, and scored on a Ketel Marte single. Toronto led 2-1 after 6 innings. Stro went 8 innings in this one, but more importantly, retired the last 9 men he faced, turning it over to closer Hader, who loaded the bases with 2 out on 3 walks, but struck-out Yordan Alvarez to end the threat! Toronto holds on for the 2-1 win, and takes the series lead 2 games to 1. At this point there were some rumors that Cleveland ownership was contemplating firing the Manager, but decided against that and hoped for the best.

GAME 4: Sonny Gray vs Marco Gonzalez

This one had the makings of another pitcher’s duel, as the score was tied 0-0 after 3 innings, but Cleveland erupted in the top of the 4th for 5 runs!! Tauchman singled, and 1 out later, Alvarez was walked intentionally. Kendrick doubled in a run, Bryant singled in 2 more, and Jose Altuve homered, scoring 2 more. Cleveland led 5-0! And with Sonny Gray on the mound, there would be no comeback. He went 7 innings on just 2 hits &10 K’s. Taylor came in but loaded the bases with just 1 out on a walk, an HBP, and an error by him, so Trevor May was summoned, and he promptly induced Nolan Arenado to hit into a DP, ending the threat. Steve Cishek mopped up the 9th. Cleveland wins the game 5-0, and ties the series at 2-2.

GAME 5: Lucas Giolito vs Trevor Bauer

Game 5’s are always critical when the series is tied at 2-2 like this one was. But after falling behind early when Oscar Mercado homered to lead off the top of the 1st, Cleveland again used a multi-run rally in the 4th inning to put this one on ice. Alvarez singled, Sler walked, and Kendrick smacked a 3-run homer. Bryant would later double in a 4th run in the inning. That would again be all the scoring for both teams. Giolito went the first 8 IP on 5 H and 8 K’s. Raisel Iglesius closed it out in the 9th. Cleveland wins the game 4-1, and takes a 3-2 series lead.

GAME 6: Hyun Juy Ryu vs Marcus Stroman

Stro again pitched his heart out in hopes of staving off elimination. He went the first 7 innings and gave up just 5 hits, but 3 of those hits came in the top of the 7th when Cleveland scored its only runs off him – Soler singled, Narvaez singled, and Segura singled. But Toronto had scored single runs in the 4th and 5th innings on solo homers by Marte and Phegley, and Stroman departed with the game tied 2-2.Ryu went 8 IP on 6 H and 5 K’s. This one was decided in the 9th inning. Toronto as the home team would no longer need a closer in this game, so they brought in Josh Hader for the top of the 9th, hoping he could toss a clean inning and give the Jays a shot to walk it off in the bottom of the 9th. But Kris Bryant had other ideas, as he hit a 1-out solo jack, giving Cleveland a 3-2 lead. In the bottom of the 9th, Iglesius came on for the save, and he retired Toronto 1-2-3 (Arenado, Marte, and PH Mercado), ending the game and the series. Cleveland wins the game 3-2, and takes the series 4 games to 2.

Had there been a Game 7, Cleveland would have been forced to use its #4 starter in James Paxton, although they would have had a rested bullpen to mix and match with, while Toronto had its ace Aaron Nola ready to go, but it was all for naught.

Cleveland has been here before, to the AL Finals, but has not been able to get over the hump and get to the World Series. They await the winner between Kansas City and Seattle, and will hope that their starting pitching can continue pitching as dominant as they did in this series. It will be interesting to see if Cleveland goes up against the top offensive team in the usbl this year in KC, and we witness the best pitching team against the best hitting team, or, if Seattle and its highly-touted starting pitchers wind up facing Cleveland, and each game is decided by a 1-0 score. Stay tuned….

Seattle beats Oakland 4 games to 2

Very evenly matched series leans Seattle’s way in the end

Sea over Oak 4 games to 2 wild card round boxscores

We predicted low scoring, and we got it; we predicted tight games, and we got them. You can’t have a series play out any closer than this one – the largest margin of victory in any game was 2 runs. The teams were tied or within 1 run after 8 innings in 5 of the 6 games, the 6th was a 2-run differential. And, 3 of the 6 games went to extra innings! So it seems only fitting that in a series this close, with such stagnant offense, that the ultimate hitting hero would be soft-hitting Orlando Arcia, who hit 2 walk-off home runs in the series!

We had said that a key for Seattle would be that their top 3 batters – Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Mike Yastremski – needed to hit for Seattle to have any hope. Here is how they performed:

Soto – 11/24, 1 HR, 5 RBI
Bell – 3/24
Yaz – 7/24, 2 HRS, 4 RBI, 2 R

As it turns out that was all the offense they would need. We also had said that in such a close series, Seattle could not afford a blown save, and yet, Brad Hand did blow a save, but Seattle was able to win that game in extras! Had they not won that game, this series would have gone to a Game 7. Shows you just how much of a swing one blown save can create in a 7-game series.

For Oakland, who had the offensive advantage, they were not able to solve the dominant Seattle rotation and steal a game with their offense. Again, had they done so, there would have been a Game 7 required, where anything can happen. Although it is worth noting that Seattle used its advantage of a very deep starting rotation to hold back Gerrit Cole for a potential Game 7.

Seattle out-scored Oakland 19-17, an average score per game of 3-2. Oakland out-homered Seattle 7-6. Seattle hit .252 in the series, while Oakland was held to just .192.

GAME 1: Jake Odorizzi vs Kenta Maeda

Not sure why Oakland decided to start the series with their #3 starter, and why Seattle started with their #3 man, but this is how the series got started. A Soto single in the top of the 1st was driven home by a Nico Goodrum double, while Oakland answered in their half of the 1st inning when JT Realmuto doubled in JD Davis who had singled. Oakland scored 2 more in the bottom of the 2nd, when Ceaser Hernandez and Davis singled in runs. Given the early scoring, one would have thought this series could be a slugfest! Yet, the runs scored in the first 2 innings of this series represented 11% of the total runs scored in the series, in just 4% of the innings!

Odorizzi was stiffling the M’s, although he was giving up his share of hits and walks – Seattle had 15 base-runners during the first 7 innings, but could only score 2 of them, the second coming in the 7th inning when Alex Verdugo doubled and Mike Yastremiski singled him in. Seattle headed to the top of the 9th trailing 3-2, and Oakland tried to squeeze just a bit more out of Odorizzi, allowing him to start the 9th, but a lead-off single by Verdugo spelled the end, and on came closer Ian Kennedy came on to try and nail it down. He struck-out Soto, but Josh Bell came up with the big hit, a game-tying RBI double. This one went to extras. In the top of the 11th, Delino DeShields tripled to lead off, and scored on a Soto sac fly. On came Seattle closer Brad Hand in the bottom of the 11th to close it out, but Oakland had other ideas. Pinch-hitter Amed Rosario homered on the first pitch he saw to re-tie the game! Oakland went on to have men at 2nd and 3rd with just 1 out, but Hand got Realmuto to tap back to the mound, holding the runners, and Teoscar Hernandez struck-out. In the top of the 12th, Seattle pinch hitter Orlando Arcia homered off Chad Green, giving Seattle the lead yet again. This time, Blake Parker shut Oakland down for the save, and the 5-4 win. Seattle goes up 1 game to nothing.

GAME 2: Walker Buehler vs Chris Paddack

Seattle struck early this time, as David Fletcher singled and Soto hit a 2-run HR. But Buehler settled down after that, tossing the next 8 2/3 IP on just 4 H, 0 Runs, and 7 K’s. But Paddack was too much on this night. He went complete game, 9 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 12 K’s, 0 BB. His only blemish to ruin not only the shut-out but also the no-hitter and the perfect game was a Jose Ramirez solo shot in the 5th inning. Seattle wins 2-1, and leads the series 2 games to nothing.

GAME 3: Dylan Bundy vs Gerrit Cole

Seattle was in a glorious position to take a commanding 3 games to nil lead in the series. And this one went down to the wire. Seattle drew first blood when Yaz hit a solo homer in the bottom of the 2nd. Oakland took the lead in the top of the 5th, when Davis led off with a single, Teoscar doubled him to 3rd with nobody out, and following a strike-out by Ramirez, Hunter Renfroe doubled them both in. Oakland led 2-1 after 6. Bundy’s night was done after 6 IP on 5 H, 21 ER, 3 K’s, 1 BB. On came Trevor Gott, and he promptly surrendered the lead in the bottom of the 7th, when he hit Todd Frazier with a pitch, who took 2nd on Martin Maldonado’s groundout, then 3rd on Arcia’s single, and scored on Verdugo’s single. In fact, Seattle loaded the bases with 2 out, but Bell flied out to end the threat.

The game was still tied 2-2 after 8 innings. Cole was still on the mound, having gone the first 8 IP on 5 H, 2 ER, and 11 K’s. But in the top of the 9th, after Realmuto grounded out, Brandon Belt doubled, and JD Davis homered, giving Oakland a 4-2 lead. Ian Kennedy came out to close it, and retired Seattle 1-2-3. Oakland escapes with their life, salvaging a 4-2 win in a must-win situation, and are back in the series trailing 2 games to 1.

GAME 4: Frankie Montas vs Jose Berrios

Oakland badly needed a win in the only start for rookie sensation Frankie Montas. The teams traded single runs in the 1st inning, a Jose Iglesius solo shot leading off the game for Oakland, and a Christian Walker RBI single in an inning where Seattle loaded the bases with 2 out but Yaz struck-out. Oakland took the lead in the top of the 4th, when Belt doubled and scored on a Davis RBI single. It remained 2-1 for Oakland through 7 innings. But in the bottom of the 8th, Seattle tied it on back-to-back doubles by Fletcher and Soto. This one went to extras. Oakland took the lead in the top of the 11th, when a lead-off double by Teoscar almost went for naught, as Jonathan Holder got 2 outs while Hernandez was at 3rd base, but Iglesius singled him in. Kennedy came on for the save, and retired Seattle 1-2-3, and Oakland wins 3-2 and ties the series 2 games apiece.

GAME 5: Jake Odorizzi vs Kenta Maeda

The starts by Odorizzi were the 2 games where Oakland was at a depth disadvantage to Seattle’s strong and deep rotation. And while Odorizzi bent but did not break in Game 1, Oakland still lost that game, but were hoping for a better result this time. Unfortunately, Odorizzi was the one A’s pitcher that Seattle was able to consistently hit, and this game was no exception. Seattle scored 1 run in the 3rd (Todd Frazier triple, Austin Hedges sac fly), and 2 runs in the 4th (RBI double by Fletcher, RBI single by Frazier), building up a 3-1 lead after 4 innings (Oakland got an Iglesius solo shot in the 3rd for their run). But Oakland got to within 1 in the bottom of the 5th when Renfroe delivered a solo shot.

Seattle restored their 2 run lead in the 7th when Verdugo doubled and scored on a Soto single. Kenta Maeda went 7 2/3 of 2-run ball, but was pulled with the bases loaded and 2 out in the bottom of the 8th, with Jose Ramirez up. Pedro Baez got the call, and struck-out Ramirez to end the threat. This may have been the play of the series, as despite the lack of offense and losing several close games, Oakland could have forced a Game 7 with a big hit here. Brad Hand came on for the bottom of the 9th and retired Oakland 1-2-3, and Seattle hangs on to win the game 4-2, and take the lead in the series to 3 games to 2.

GAME 6: Walker Buehler vs Chris Paddack

We expected yet another nail biter, and that’s what we got. Oakland was ready to support their ace, as Jackie Bradley Jr hit a solo homer in the 3rd, and Brandon Lowe doubled in Ramirez in the 6th, giving Oakland a 2-0 lead. Through the first 5, Buehler’s line was 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 4 K’s. But in the bottom of the 6th, Seattle showed signs of life. Maldonado singled to lead off, and following a strike-out of Arcia, Mike Yastremski homered, a 2-run shot, tying the game at 2-2. Paddack kept Oakland off the scoreboard in the top of the 7th, and in the bottom of the inning, Seattle went ahead on a 2-out, solo homer by Todd Frazier.

But Oakland would not go down without a fight. In the top of the 8th, Ramirez led off with a double, and 2 out later, scored on a Hunter Renfroe double. All tied up at 3-3! Both starters gave up 3 runs, Buehler in 7 innings, and Paddack in 8. Oakland went 1-2-3 in both the top of the 9th vs Hand, and in the top of the 10th against Baez. Meanwhile, Trevor Gott tossed 2 scoreless through the 8th and 9th, and out came Chad Green to start the bottom of the 10th. And following a Maldonado grounder to lead off the inning, that’s when Arcia, an unlikely hero, got a hold of one and sent it over the fence in left, giving Seattle the walk-off win at 4-3, and the series win!

THOUGHTS

For Oakland, without their offense giving them an advantage, the drop-off in quality of starting pitchers got exposed. Also, Oakland was limited in its bullpen flexibility, as their only reliable relievers were Gott, Green, and John Gant, although for some reason, Gant was only used once for 2/3 of an inning in the series. And having Montas for just 1 start also hurt Oakland. In the end, Oakland had good starting pitching, a fair bullpen, and a decent offense. Seattle had a decent to mediocre offense, a fair bullpen, but a spectacular starting rotation. And that latter point was the difference in the series.

But for Seattle to win, they needed a bit more than just the pitching, and while guys like Yaz and Bell didnt do a while lot, journeyman Todd Frazier stepped it up, as he went 8/24, 1 HR, 2 RBI, but those 2 RBI’s came in the last 2 games where Seattle scored 8 total runs. And Frazier also tripled in Game 5, scoring on a sac fly, so he was responsible for 3 of the 8 total runs Seattle scored over those final 2 games.

For Oakland, it seems the only guy who hit consistently was JD Davis. He went 7/25, but he went 0/8 over the final w games, but over the first 4, where Oakland went 2-2, he went 7/17, 1 HR, 4 RBI. In fact, in the 2 Oakland wins, Davis went 4/8 with a HR, 3 RBI, and 2 Runs scored. Just goes to show how close this series was, if Oakland had 1 more guy hitting like Davis, and ideally picking up the slack in games when Davis was shit out, that might have been enough to put Oakland over the top.

Seattle will now face Kansas City, in a match-up of a super-offense vs a super-pitching team. Although interestingly enough, KC gave up about the same number of runs during the regular season as Seattle did, so who knows what will happen in this one….preview to come….

Play-off Preview: Oakland vs Seattle

Will go 7 games with slight edge to the more experienced A’s

This series shapes up to be one that will be both boring and exciting…a lot of low scoring games because of good pitching and poor hitting. On the surface, Oakland has the edge on offense, while Seattle has the edge in pitching. You would think that Seattle’s pitching edge would nullify Oakland’s hitting edge, which makes these two teams pretty much even with one another.

Seattle starts several easy outs in its lineup – at catcher, at SS, at 3rd, and in CF. That’s 4 automatic outs….hard to score many runs that way. Sure, Seattle can give the odd start to Alex Verdugo and Nico Goodrum to add a bit more offense, but he loses some defense without a huge increase in offense.

Oakland can field a better starting 9 – but the outfield has some hard decisions to make…Gold Glover Jackie Bradley will be a fixture in CF, but to his right and left will most likely see the defensively-challenged Brandon Lowe and the offensively-challenged Hunter Renfroe, with not a lot of option on the bench.

In the season-series, Oakland took it 6 games to 5, winning the single game during the Last 7 to take the series. It was a tale of two different series…the first time they met, all the games were low scoring, and Seattle won 3 of them. The second meeting saw Oakland erupt for 9 runs, 8 runs, and then in the Last 7 put up another 9 runs, to take 4 out of the 6 games. Does that signal a pattern – that low scoring games favor Seattle, high-scoring games favor Oakland? In high-scoring games, Oakland went 3-1, in low-scoring games, Seattle went 4-3.

Each team can throw aces at one another…here is how each team’s ace performed against the other:

Gerrit Cole – 2-0, 1.80
Chris Paddack – 1-1, 2.25
Walker Buehler – 2-0, 3.21
Frankie Montas – 2-0, 1.80

In fact, taking a closer look at the games where Oakland put up a lot of offense, it was Jose Berrios and Blake Snell who were victimized, two guys who appear to be the #3 and #4 starters in the series. And in the games where Seattle put up a lot of runs, Mike Fiers was the victim, someone who figures to pitch long relief in this series. Given it will be the aces getting the bulk of the innings in this series, one would expect low scoring games to be the rule of the day.

In terms of other facets of the game, neither team’s bullpen inspires confidence, but Oakland’s pen is uncharacteristically under-manned, and under-talented. John Gant and Trevor Gott figure to get the bulk of the high-leverage innings, but beyond those two, the cupboard is pretty bare. The defenses are roughly similar, although it depends on whether Seattle opts to start Orlando Arcia at SS or someone else, and whether Oakland goes with Jose Iglesius or Dansby Swanson.

Keys for Seattle to win:

It goes without saying that Seattle’s weaker hitters need to give the team something, but even more important is that the team’s true sluggers – Juan Soto, Josh Bell, and Mike Yastremski – absolutely need to put up some big numbers, especially against Oakland’s #2 and #3 starters
No blown saves! When you have a lot of low-scoring games, the pressure is on to hold onto those 1-run leads in the 9th. When you are 3 outs away to a valuable win, you need to find a way to hold on.

Keys for Oakland to win:

During the regular season head-to-head match-ups, Oakland blew out Seattle 3 times, and Seattle blew out Oakland 1 time. This is indicative of Oakland’s offensive advantage. Oakland will need to earn at least 1 win in the series on the backs of its offense.
Pressure on the starting pitchers – with Frankie Montas only scheduled to start 1 game, it puts more pressure on Dylan Bundy. And then consider Oakland’s pen is grossly under-manned, which places even more importance that the starters eat up a lot of innings.

When predicting playoff series, one high-level method to look at is how your team did when its aces are on the mound. For Seattle, they need to go a minimum of 2-2 in the games Gerrit Cole & Chris Paddack start….ideally 3-1…whereas for Oakland, going 2-2 in those 4 games against those two aces would be a good thing. For Oakland, they lose a start with their co-ace Montas, putting more pressure on Jake Odorizzi to win at least 1 of his 2 starts, since it is him who picks up the extra Montas start.

In the end, both teams will watch their respective offenses struggle to get on base at times, and both teams will be hoping to get length from their starting pitchers in order to avoid going to their pen. A series like this that will most certainly go 7 games often comes down to luck, as well as which Manager has more weapons available at their disposal in anticipation of a Game 7…so…given how evenly matched this series is on paper, rather than flip a coin, we will instead back the Manager who has proven many times over the years that he can figure out a way to come out on the winning end….for that reason, we will take Oakland to win this series in 7, hard-fought games.

Play-off Preview: Cleveland vs Toronto

Toronto favored versus strategically-limited Indians

The Cleveland Indians had a very strong season, finishing 2nd, and given their stellar starting pitching, several analysts made Cleveland their novelty World Series pick for this year. But when you delve a little deeper, there actually are major question marks surrounding the Indians. For one thing, they were closer to finishing 5th than they were to finishing in 1st. But it goes well beyond that. During the regular season, Cleveland was able to mask several of their weaknesses thanks to that vaunted starting staff, weaknesses that may get exposed in a 7-game series.

As for Toronto, no one, and we mean no one, gave them much respect…mainly because they lack star power…but Toronto quietly matched Cleveland in every offensive and defensive statistical category this season! In fact, Toronto’s offense was actually better than Cleveland’s. So anyone thinking this series will be a cake walk for Cleveland is mistaken.

Cleveland goes into the series severely limited in its options. Due to limitations, they will not be able to do much pinch-hitting. With 3 catchers, they can make some moves with Gomes or Martin, but otherwise, their hands are tied. Their defense will be below average at most positions on the field, and even worse when rookie slugger Yordan Alvarez plays. Lastly, their bullpen is under manned. They basically have 4 good set-up men, and 2 long-men who you wouldn’t trust in a winnable playoff game.

Based on the above, Cleveland’s keys to winning are as follows:

Need their starting pitchers to pitch well and deep into most games, in order to save the pen (and overome the defense)
Need the defense to not give away a single precious playoff game
Need the 7 or so position players who will play pretty much all the games to produce, since there will be little to no pinch-hitting to gain any match-up advantages

Can it be done? Of course! Cleveland’s starting pitchers are dominant, and there is no reason why they can’t put the team on their back and carry them to the promised land. But, the point we are making is, if Cleveland’s starters struggle at all, Cleveland’s chances of getting past Toronto suddenly take a nose dive, as the rest of the team may not have enough to overcome early exits by the starters.

From Toronto’s point of view, they lack the star power as we mentioned, but somehow they kept finding ways to win. Aaron Nola, Trevor Bauer, Marcus Stroman, and Marco Gonzalez are not world-beaters, but they do enough to put their team in a position to win pretty much every game. The same thing can be said about the bullpen, as there is no one that stands out other than their closer Josh Hader, but they bend without breaking. But perhaps what’s helped the pitching staff remain competitive is the defense. Toronto boasts at least 3 Gold Glovers, and a few more near-Gold Glovers. This defense will not keep opposing rallies going with mistakes.

Offensively, the lineup just seems to work. They mix and match based on the opponent, and always seem to keep the score close, waiting for one of their guys to come up with the big hit, which they do more often than not. To sum up, you could say that Toronto is more than the sum of its parts.

Based on the above, Toronto’s keys to winning are as follows:

Starting pitchers must continue over-performing
Defense must be the difference-maker it is capable of being
Get timely hitting, with the Manager putting his players in positions to succeed as he has all season long

Bottom line is, if Toronto can get to Cleveland’s starting pitchers, this could be a very short series. But if they don’t, then Cleveland would have the huge advantage.

In the season series, Toronto took it 6 games to 5, but it seemed that generally Toronto had the advantage in the higher scoring games, while Cleveland won more of the lower scoring games. In fact, in games where Toronto scored 5 runs or more against Cleveland, the Blue Jays went 6-0! In other words, when Toronto nullified Cleveland’s starting pitcher advantage, they seemed to win handily. Which further puts pressure on the Cleveland starting pitchers!

This series is one of the most difficult to call that we have ever come across. We can see a path where Cleveland’s pitching dominates, and leads the Tribe to a sweep. We can also see a scenario where the longer the series goes, Cleveland runs out of the few options they do have both on their bench and in their bullpen, further shifting the advantage to Toronto. But because of the fact that Cleveland can’t do much pinch-hitting, and they don’t have very many bullpen options should their starters struggle, and, their defense will allow Toronto to enjoy several innings where they play with 4 and even 5 outs, we are going to pick Toronto to win in 7 games. Ironically, if Cleveland were to win the series, it would be in 4 or 5 games tops. Should be a very interesting series to see how it winds up playing out. Good luck to both Managers in what should be a hard-fought series.