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.
A power surge from Stanton
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
— Ronald Acuna Jr (@ronaldacunajr24) October 6, 2020
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.
