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By the time you go to sleep Wednesday night, we could have three of the four League Championship Series participants decided. Or maybe none of them. The Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays joined the Milwaukee Brewers in taking 2-0 leads in their respective Division Series. The Brewers and Rays were somewhat expected after posting their league’s best record, earning the No. 1 seed. But the White Sox? The terrific story of the underdogs from the South Side continues to play out. Will one of these teams be pushed to a Game 4 or a Game 5? How about two? Maybe all three? Any of that is possible. This is October baseball.
TODAY’S NL DIVISION SERIES GAMES:
Dodgers (RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto) at Atlanta (LHP Chris Sale), 6:08 p.m. ET (FS1)
Brewers (RHP Dustin May) at Padres (RHP Nick Pivetta), 9:38 p.m. ET (FS1)
Division Series Digest
White Sox On Verge Of Trip To ALCS
Final score: White Sox 4, Guardians 3
Series: White Sox lead 2-0
Next game: Guardians (TBA) at White Sox (TBA), Wednesday, 4:08 p.m. ET (TBS)
A team that lost more than 100 games each of the last three seasons is one win away from doing something that hasn’t happened since 1906. Win a postseason series at home. That is where the Chicago White Sox stand thanks to right-hander Sean Burke’s 5⅓ innings of relief and a three-run sixth inning for a 4-3 victory over the Cleveland Guardians. Having won the first two games of the best-of-five series on the road, the White Sox will look to clinch a postseason series at home for the first time since 1906 in Game 3 on Wednesday and punch their ticket to the AL Championship Series.
Braden Montgomery hit a go-ahead two-run double and Chase Meidroth an RBI single the sixth inning, while Munetaka Murakami had a run-scoring single in the fourth. That was all the offense White Sox pitching would need in Game 2. Left-hander Anthony Kay was the opener, but only got one out as the Guardians pushed across two quick runs. Steven Kwan singled and José Ramírez walked. After a groundout, another left-hander, Sean Newcomb, came in and intentionally walked Jo Adell to load the bases. Nathaniel Lowe hit a chopper that Newcomb fielded over his right shoulder and to the third-base side of the mound, then threw past the first baseman, bringing in two runs. Newcomb would go two innings, giving way to Burke. The right-hander would go 5⅓ innings, including setting down 13 straight, allowing a run on just one hit with a walk and six strikeouts. Right-handed closer Grant Taylor, who earned a four-inning save in Saturday’s Game 1, benefited from the day off and got a four-out save. It wasn’t smooth as the first batter Taylor faced, Adell, hit an RBI triple off the top of the wall in left-center.
Guardians ace right-hander Gavin Williams struck out 11 over five-plus innings, giving up two runs.
Rays Take Advantage Of YankEEEEs
Final score: Rays 5, Yankees 2
Series: Rays lead 2-0
Next game: Rays (RHP Nick Martinez) at Yankees (LHP Max Fried), Wednesday, 8:08 p.m. ET (TBS)
There are a thousand one-liners you can utter regarding the defense the New York Yankees played in Game 2 of the AL Division Series. But you would also be overlooking the pressure the Tampa Bay Rays apply on their opponents. Richie Palacios had a two-run single in a four-run fifth inning as the Rays benefited from four Yankees errors as well as other miscues in a 5-2 victory. The AL East champions, who had the best record in the AL this season, can close out the Yankees in Game 3 of the series Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
Right-handed starter Freddy Peralta allowed a solo home run over 4⅔ innings while his Rays teammates took extra base after extra base on sloppy fielding by the Yankees. Two of the errors and another miscue took place in the Rays’ first four at-bats. Yandy Díaz led off the game by reaching on an error by third baseman Ryan McMahon. After a Jonathan Aranda singled, Junior Caminero hit a grounder to rookie shortstop George Lombard Jr., who threw to second for the force out, with second baseman Jazz Chisholm Jr. wildly throwing to first for the second error and the first run of the game. Liam Hicks then struck out, but that was overturned on catcher’s interference, the third error of the first inning.
The Yankees were fortunate to only be down 1-0. Ben Rice tied it with his third homer of the postseason, a solo shot in the fourth. The Rays then went to work in the bottom of the fifth. Aranda singled, Junior Caminero doubled and Hicks grounded out to a drawn-in Chisholm, whose only play was at first as the go-ahead run scored. Simpson then hit a grounder to Lombard, who was drawn in but playing up the middle and muffed the play as another run scored. The play was changed from an error to a fielder’s choice considering the speedy Simpson was running to first. All of that came against right-handed starter Cam Schlittler, the presumed AL Cy Young Award winner. Reliever Brent Headrick struck out the next batter, but Jonny DeLuca reached on a throwing error by Lombard, with Simpson taking third. After DeLuca stole second, Palacios lined a single to center, with Simpson and DeLuca scoring easily for a four-run rally and a 5-1 lead. Rice added his second homer of the game, his second two-homer game this postseason, in the eighth.
By The Numbers
2-0 Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-five series have won the series 83 out of 93 times.
6 White Sox closer Grant Taylor became the sixth player to get saves of four or more outs in their first three postseason appearances.
4 Through the first 17 games of this postseason, there have already been four shutouts. There were three all of last year’s postseason. The record is 10.
Best Moments From Yesterday
It’s The Catwalk, Baby
Is this gonna be a theme to this postseason? After the bizarre play in Game 1 of the San Diego Padres–Milwaukee Brewers NL Division Series, Yankees slugger Spencer Jones did something that is a bit more common at Tropicana Field by hitting the B ring on a fly ball to center.
South Side-Bound
After four road playoff games, the White Sox are headed back to Chicago for their first home games of this postseason.
RT @whitesox: you heard 'em!
Around The League
⚾ Seattle Mariners stars Cal Raleigh and Josh Naylor each recently had surgeries. Raleigh, the Mariners’ catcher, had a debridement procedure on the AC joint in his left shoulder. Naylor had a triangular fibrocartilage complex repair on his right wrist.
⚾ San Diego Padres right-hander Walker Buehler was activated from the paternity list. His wife was due to give birth Saturday. Right-hander Randy Vásquez was taken off the roster.
⚾ The qualifying offer is expected to be $23.1 million this offseason. This could be the last offseason with the qualifying offer as it almost went away in the last collective-bargaining agreement in exchange for a proposed international draft.
⚾ The finalists were named for the Hank Aaron Award, with fans able to vote on the winner.
Articles You Should Read
Was Padres’ Miller tipping pitches? Both teams say no — AJ Cassavell and Adam McCalvy, MLB.com
Dodgers, mired in Division Series drama again, aren’t thinking three-peat right now — Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic
Milwaukee’s best leads off and moment finds Chourio — Tyler Kepner, The Athletic
No matter what, Red Sox are a second-tier team until they prove otherwise — Peter Abraham, Boston Globe
