The Brewers and the Mariners advanced to their respective Championship Series. The Mariners took a record-breaking 15 innings to do it. The Brewers did it in un-Brewer-like fashion, hitting 3 solo home runs to defeat the Cubs 3-1. The Cubs’ offense could not produce in another elimination game. In the last 6 innings, the Cubs had 1 hit. In 8 playoff games, the Cubs scored over 3 runs twice. The Mariners and the Tigers played a 15-inning marathon that showed both teams squandering chances to win the game. The Tigers’ best chance to take the lead came in the top of the 12th. After two singles and a sacrifice bunt, the Tigers had 2nd and 3rd and one out. Javier Baez broke his bat and hit a weak grounder to third. The runner was thrown out at the plate. Seattle intentionally walked the red-hot Kerry Carpenter to load the bases. This time, the intentional walk worked. Gleyber Torres flied out to right field to end the inning. In the bottom of the 12th, the Mariners got the first two runners on base with a walk and a hit by pitch. That inning quickly ended with a fly out and a double play. The bottom of the 13th was an instant replay for the Mariners. Two walks started that inning. A strikeout and a double play ended the inning. A one-out double was stranded by the Tigers in the top of the 14th. Seattle won it in the bottom of the 15th on a one-out single by Jorge Polanco with the bases loaded off of Tommy Kahnle, the 8th Tiger pitcher. So far in this playoff season, we have had 5 elimination games. This time last year, there were zero. We are now down to four.
At the beginning of the season, I said the Dodgers would not make it to the World Series. They have not made it yet, but they are still kicking. Things seem to be going their way even. All of a sudden, they have picked up a new ace in the hole with the resurgence of pitcher Roki Sasaki. One of the most sought-after free agents in 2024, he got off to a horrible start and then was put on the shelf by injury. He was sent down to the minors, where his mechanics were fixed. He has been lights out coming out of the bullpen. The bullpen was one of the weakest areas for the Dodgers. They still have the shakiest bullpen of the final four, but they have a go-to guy now in high-leverage and closing situations. Each team has something going for it as we head into the next round. The Blue Jays are the only team that has not had their offense shut down. The Mariners have a playoff-hardened bullpen, and their star players are performing. The Dodgers’ starting pitching, with the exception of one game, has been lights out, and the bullpen just got the aforementioned shot in the arm. The Brewers are simply the best overall team in baseball. These playoffs have not disappointed so far, and I expect the Championship Series to feature hard-fought games. I expect each series to go at least six games. I will be rooting for the Brewers, and I think they can win. They will probably relish the underdog role. I do not know if the Mariners are going to be able to stop the Blue Jays’ offense. We all know offense in baseball can be a sometime thing and can go away in an instant. They look really good right now, and until they are actually shut down, I think the offense will continue to roll. I like the Blue Jays in another close, hard-fought series. Another year where all the playoff worriers can breathe a big sigh of relief. In the American League, we have the top two seeds going at it. In the National League, we have the 1 and 3 seeds in the final two. No 6th seed is going to the World Series this year. It looks like this format is here to stay.
The Goofy Game of Golf/Life Searching for the Answer 