Bleacherreport
Magical Mets Roll On, Yankees Hero Alex Verdugo, More MLB Divisional Round Takeaways
B.Lee21 min ago
- Nick Cammett/A Week Off Didn't Put Any Rust on the Lineup There was every reason to expect the Guardians offense to look out of sorts on Saturday. For the last two seasons, the teams that had first-round byes tended be the ones that struggled the most offensively in the Division Series. And the Guardians rested longer than any of them, as they had last played on Saturday, September 28. But if a team is going to provide a definitive answer to the "Rest vs. Rust" debate, there are worse ways to do so than with a five-run first inning. It was especially encouraging to see Lane Thomas whack the first pitch he saw for a three-run homer. Though the veteran outfielder did hit seven homers in September, he was cold in going just 8-for-50 in his last 14 games. A slow start to the Division Series is the last thing the Guardians wanted for their offense. Looming in Game 2 on Monday is Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, who is notoriously unkind to opposing hitters.The Hook on Tanner Bibee Was Perfectly Timed Whether Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was too quick with his hook on Bibee should be a fair question. After all, he had only thrown 76 pitches through 4.2 scoreless innings. But consider:
- Bibee was about to face the meat of Detroit's lineup for the third time
- This series has an off day on Sunday
- Vogt has the best bullpen in MLB at his disposal All three things presumably factored into Vogt's decision to lift Bibee, and the third might as well be underlined after what happened. Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis and Emmanuel Clase took the baton and fired 4.1 hitless, scoreless innings to finish the job. Sounds about right for a bullpen that led the majors with a 2.57 ERA, much less with a 1.31 ERA in September. And lest anyone worry about his feelings, the record should show that Bibee clearly didn't mind the early hook.
- Jason Miller/Their 'Pitching Chaos' Backfired A big reason the Tigers are even in the Division Series is how successfully manager A.J. Hinch bamboozled the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Series. Tarik Skubal's six scoreless innings in Game 1 helped, but Hinch got at least three outs from six other pitchers. Not one of those guys gave up a run either. Therefore, it wasn't the worst idea to deliberately play a bullpen game on Saturday, with lefty reliever Tyler Holton serving as the opener. But such games always come with the risk of having one or more weak links. That risk bit Holton first, as four of the five runs that the Tigers gave up in the first inning ended up on his line. It also bit Ty Madden, who walked three and allowed two runs in the sixth inning. The Wild Card Series and the fact that the Tigers finished 34-19 despite getting less than 200 innings from their starters serve as evidence that there is a method to Hinch's " pitching chaos " madness. But this time, it just didn't work.Maybe Just Start Reese Olson Next Time Sure, Olson did serve up Thomas' three-run homer on the very first pitch he threw. Not a great start, as these things go. But after that, the righty logged five scoreless innings in which he gave up just two more hits and a walk. And he needed just 73 pitches to do it. Given that he wasn't very sharp after coming off a two-month stay on the disabled list on September 16, that the Tigers didn't want to start Olson is understandable. Yet it's also not the biggest shocker that he pitched so well. Before going on the IL, he had been mostly excellent in posting a 3.23 ERA over 19 starts. If anyone will be Detroit's second go-to starter after Skubal, it should be Olson. The Tigers would do well to remember that next time. This is, of course, assuming there is a next time.
- Heather Barry/The Mets Had 'Em Right Where They Want 'Em Whenever the Mets are losing, they might as well be winning. Of course, this is blatant hyperbole. But it feels true, as the Mets' five-run eighth in Game 1 ultimately resulted in a comeback win. They have now had four of those Granted, the events that turned this one weren't quite as dramatic as Francisco Lindor's game-winning blast in Atlanta that put the Mets in the playoffs, much less Pete Alonso's historic tater in Milwaukee that arranged this matchup with Philadelphia. All the same, the first seven innings of Game 1 saw the Mets record all of one hit as their win probability dropped to 21 percent . They didn't seem cooked, necessarily, but you had to question whether their comeback magic was tapped out. Not so much, as it turns out. And as a result, they're two wins away from the National League Championship Series.The Mets Stole a Mismatch Meanwhile, let's not overlook that the Mets won a game in which their starter went only two innings opposite a starter who shut them out for seven. To be clear, it's not as if there was ever any hope of Kodai Senga matching Zack Wheeler pitch for pitch. This was only Senga's second start of the year and his first since July 26. "I'm ready for whatever," the righty said through an interpreter. "If they say 10 pitches, I'm all in for 10 pitches. If they say 200, I'm in for 200." He eventually threw just 31 pitches, leaving a parade of relievers to throw the rest. In effect, Wheeler vs. Senga became Wheeler vs. Johnny Wholestaff. It's huge for the Mets that this approach worked. What probably should have been a loss turned into a win, and now they get to turn their rotation back over to Luis Severino for Game 2 on Sunday. A return home to Citi Field is on deck for Tuesday.
- Heather Barry/Zack Wheeler Is Becoming a Postseason Legend Wheeler has taken some shots at the Mets in the past, but he says he has " no hard feelings " about his former team these days. It's a little hard to believe him after what he did to them on Saturday. Not content to merely dominate them, Wheeler straight-up embarrassed Mets hitters while he was out there in Game 1. He got up to 99 mph with his fastball and made them swing and miss 30 times. Swings and misses aren't usually that common in playoff games. Wheeler is only the third pitcher to record 30 whiffs in a postseason game in the pitch-tracking era , joining Gerrit Cole (33 in 2019) and Tim Lincecum (31 in 2010). In the process, Wheeler made himself even more of a postseason legend. He now has a 2.18 ERA in the playoffs, the fourth-lowest among pitchers with at least 10 starts. Also, a shoutout to Phillies manager Rob Thomson for trusting his ace. He could have lifted Wheeler after he walked Jesse Winker with one out in the seventh, but he chose to stick with him and was rewarded accordingly.Kyle Schwarber's Home Run Wasn't Nearly Enough Speaking of playoff legends, Schwarber's name got a little larger in the MLB history books when he led off with a homer against Senga. It was his 21st overall home run in the playoffs, giving him sole possession of the No. 4 spot on the all-time list . It was also his fifth leadoff homer in the playoffs, moving him two ahead of any other player in history. And his 12 as a Phillie, the most in club history. Yet as much as Schwarber's leadoff laser seemed to portend a good day for the Phillies offense, it was...well, not that. In addition to one of two runs, it accounted for one of just five hits. You have to wonder if rust is a factor. The Phillies had been off all week, and, as noted earlier, teams that had first-round byes tended to struggle offensively in the Division Series in 2022 and 2023. On the other hand, it's also possible that the Phillies' offense really is this vulnerable these days. It was underwhelming in the second half of the regular season when only Schwarber and Nick Castellanos enjoyed sustained hotness . Whatever it is, the Phillies need to shake it off. The matchups and home-field advantage of this series are no longer in their favor.
- Elsa/Aaron Boone Chose Wisely The Yankees hope that 21-year-old Mars native Jasson Domínguez will be the Next Big Thing in left field. But on Saturday, Aaron Boone went with Alex Verdugo instead. It was a controversial decision . It also proved to be a good one. Batting out of the No. 9 hole, Verdugo went 2-for-3 with a couple of runs scored and the most important run batted in: the one that gave the Yankees the lead in the seventh inning. To say that Verdugo needed a game like this would be overstating it. He had a rough regular season, particularly as he batted just .228 with 16 RBI in 55 games in the second half. Verdugo is nothing if not a terrific defender, though, and that showed when he made a slick sliding grab to end a threat in the fourth. Otherwise, Saturday was hardly the first time he's shown a nose for the clutch hit. It was a part of his reputation while he was with the Boston Red Sox. Whether or not this unique talent appears again this October, it's a safe guess that this won't be Verdugo's last start in this series.The Bullpen Made It Look Easy The Yankees didn't come into October with a weak bullpen, necessarily. But if anyone said their pen had something to prove, they wouldn't be wrong. To this end, Game 1 represents a good start. Though Tim Hill had some misadventures upon relieving Gerrit Cole in the sixth, things calmed down after he gave way to Clay Holmes. Things then stayed calm as Holmes, Tommy Kahnle, and Luke Weaver combined for 3.2 scoreless innings to finish it off. The veteran righty didn't have a major league save to his credit before September 6. He got his first that day and three more amid an eight-game run that saw him allow zero earned runs while striking out 24 of the 40 batters he saw. In case anyone is wondering, the Yankees record for saves in a single postseason is seven by John Wetteland (i.e., the guy before Mariano Rivera) in 1996.
- Luke Hales/The Royals Beat BB-eat Themselves Run prevention was the Royals' whole thing in the regular season, and nothing changed in the Wild Card Series. They permitted the Baltimore Orioles only one run. However, whereas they walked only four Orioles hitters in the two games, they walked twice that many against the Yankees on Saturday. Two were with the bases loaded, effectively tilting the outcome away from them. Regardless of the specific circumstances, walking eight guys is no way to win a playoff game. In such instances, the offending team has won 34 times and lost 86 times . It bears noting that it wasn't Juan Soto and Aaron Judge who the Royals were walking over and over again. That would have been a defensible strategy, but they only had one walk between them. In other words, there's no defense to be offered here.It Was an Encouraging Game for the Offense Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino are arguably the Royals' two best hitters, and they went a combined 0-for-10 on Saturday. It's, therefore, a silver lining that their offense salvaged nine hits and five runs. MJ Melendez and Garrett Hampson had big hits with a two-run homer and a two-run single, respectively. Michael Massey also had a pair of hits out of the leadoff spot, and Yuli Gurriel got on three times via a hit and two walks. It would have been a huge victory if it had been guys who led the Royals to a W in Game 1. And had it not been for the walks, that may have been the case. This is a woulda-coulda-shoulda outlook on the situation, but any news is good news for the Royals offense. They scored just three total runs in Baltimore, the same as they averaged in their last 29 games of the regular season. If they can get Witt and Pasquantino going, their chances of coming back in this series will be very much alive.
Read the full article:https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10138201-magical-mets-roll-on-yankees-hero-alex-verdugo-more-mlb-divisional-round-takeaways
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