After a packed first round — a three-day stretch last weekend that included a 15-inning game, a seven-run comeback and an umpire rubbing a pitcher’s ears during the middle of a gem — the division series round is here. And with it come the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, New York Yankees, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Guardians and Seattle Mariners.
What to know about the NLDS and ALDS: The starting pitcher is back
Yes, even the Mariners, advancing in October at long last.
Games begin Tuesday, starting with the Braves and Phillies in Atlanta at 1:07 p.m. Eastern. Each series is best-of-five. The Braves, Dodgers, Yankees and Astros have been resting for almost a week, watching their opponents vibe to the “SpongeBob SquarePants” theme song (Guardians), electrify the New York tabloids (Padres), end an era in St. Louis (Phillies) and get contributions from a catcher nicknamed “Big Dumper” (Mariners).
Here is what to know.
The schedule
This schedule will update.
The starting pitcher is back. Proof? The Guardians’ Shane Bieber and Triston McKenzie, the Mariners’ Luis Castillo, the Phillies’ Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola, and the San Diego Padres’ Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove. (Yeah, the guy with the shiny ears.) And those are just the pitchers who helped their teams advance past the first round, discounting strong performers from the losing teams — Shane McClanahan, José Quintana, Tyler Glasnow, Jacob deGrom — and the aces looming for top seeds.
Justin Verlander, a 39-year-old Cy Young candidate, will start Game 1 for the Astros. Gerrit Cole will go for the Yankees, with lefty Max Fried leading the Braves into their matchup with Philadelphia. For the Dodgers, lefty Julio Urías has Game 1 and Hall of Fame-bound Clayton Kershaw will pitch Game 2. The Padres will turn to Mike Clevinger against Urías.
So while the past few Octobers have been a referendum on the death of starting pitching, this one feels like a revival of sorts. Sure, there still could be a managerial decision that sends the entire baseball world into a tailspin. Heck, there could be two or three or four. But Bieber, McKenzie, Castillo, Wheeler, Nola, Darvish and Musgrove have already shown the value of having front-line starters in huge games. Now Verlander, Cole, Fried and Braves rookie Spencer Strider, among others, get their turn.
Guardians vs. Yankees is not quite David vs. Goliath. In this version, David’s slingshot is Cleveland’s stellar homegrown rotation and one of the sport’s stingiest bullpens. The Yankees, playing the part of Goliath because of their location and payroll, were 23-31 in July and August, showing cracks after a historically hot start. And then there’s that Aaron Judge guy, who hit all the home runs.
Judge against Cleveland’s staff is one of the most intriguing matchups of the DS round. Beyond him, the Guardians have to also worry about Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton of the 99-win Yankees — and trying to score much more than they did while sweeping the Tampa Bay Rays. As MLB’s youngest team, and with its fourth-lowest projected payroll for 2022, the Guardians are like the Yankees in that they both wear cleats and hats and baseball pants to work. Otherwise, these clubs had to travel from opposite ends of the roster-building spectrum to collide.
Postseason baseball returns to Seattle and Philadelphia. For the Mariners, it has been 21 years since they hosted a playoff game. For the Phillies, it has been a decade. Their series will swing to their cities for Game 3, meaning their fans are guaranteed just one contest. But that could grow to two depending on how the week plays out.
Source: WP
