Category: sports

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Pirates Morning Report: The Blue Jays Way Prevails

Final Score: Blue Jays 11 Dodgers 4

Why The Blue Jays Won: After 3 and 1/2 innings, the Blue Jays trailed the Dodgers 2-0, but you still had to feel really good about the Blue Jays’ chances. They were playing Blue Jays offense They had made Blake Snell throw 56 pitches and struck out only 3 times in the first 3 innings. Over the next 2-plus innings, things would only get worse for Snell and the Dodgers. Snell would have to throw 44 more pitches and gave up a 2-run homer to Daulton Varsho. The bottom of the 6th was a complete disaster. The Blue Jays started the inning by getting the first 6 men on base. The first 3 against Blake Snell and the next 3 against reliever Emmet Sheehan. They took the lead 5-2. The Dodgers were able to get the first out with a force out at home. The bases were loaded with one out when Addison Barger was announced as the pinch hitter. The Dodgers countered with left-hander Anthony Banda. On the 4th pitch of the at-bat, Barger took an up-and-in slider and parked it in the stands for the first pinch-hit grand slam home run in World Series history. This game was history too. Both teams added 2 more runs for the final score of 11-4. The Blue Jays only struck out 4 times in the game. They hit 3 home runs. The Blue Jays played their game to perfection and blew the Dodgers away.

The Key Moments Of The Game: In the bottom of the first, Snell had just gotten out of a bases-loaded situation with no runs scoring. Blue Jay starter Trey Yesavage did not have his best stuff. He walked Will Smith to start the inning. After a force out, he gave up back-to-back singles, and the Dodgers took the lead 1-0. An infield single loaded the bases. Andy Pages worked the count to 3 and 2. He struck out on a slider that was down around the ankles. Shohei Ohtani grounded out to first base to end the inning. A potential big inning ended with just one run scoring. In the next inning, the Dodgers started out with 2 walks and a single to plate their 2nd run. Freddie Freeman was thrown out trying to go to third. Bo Bichette made a great play up the middle, on the left field side of 2nd base, and threw out the batter. That was the defensive gem of the game. It was Bichette’s first game in the Majors at 2nd base. So much for being a defensive liability. Max Muncy struck out to end the inning. Again, the Dodgers could score only 1 run. Yesavage retired the side in order in his last inning, the 4th, but what a line. He gave up 2 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks. It could have been so much worse. Then the Blue Jays did their thing in the bottom of the 6th, scoring 9 runs and essentially ending the Dodgers’ chances in game 1.

Next Game: Tonight, in Toronto. The Blue Jays put on a hitting clinic last night. It is something that Pirate fans can only dream about. Their two-strike approach was phenomenal. Game 2 will see if they can continue their kind of baseball. It looks like the layoff did affect the Dodgers somewhat. Blowout losses are not all bad. It is still just one loss. The Dodgers did not have to use any of their A-squad bullpen. There is no question that the Blue Jays have to be feeling really good right now. In the strength-against-strength showdown, the Blue Jays won the battle easily. The Dodgers should be worried.

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Pirates Morning Report: World Series Preview

It will be the No. 1 seed Toronto Blue Jays going up against the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series. All the expanded playoff worriers can breathe a sigh of relief. No low seeds are getting into this World Series. Again, it is a big boy series. Maybe not quite as big as last time when the top two payrolls made it. The Blue Jays are no slouches when it comes to spending with the 5th largest payroll. Even being 5th puts you almost 100 million dollars behind the Dodgers. The Dodgers made a huge financial commitment to win back-to-back World Series. They are at the doorstep of making this all come true. What these teams did during the regular season seems to be pretty meaningless right now. The Brewers beat the Dodgers in all 6 meetings during the regular season. They were not competitive in the Championship Series and were swept by the Dodgers. Position by position these teams are pretty evenly matched. The Dodgers have the edge at catcher, second base, third base, shortstop, and DH. The Blue Jays are better at first base, all three outfield positions, and pinch hitting. We all know who the Blue Jays are. They are a team that puts the ball in play, walks more than the average team, and yet still hit for power. With the Dodgers’ new starting well-rested rotation, they have 4 pitchers that have some of the highest strikeouts per nine innings for starting pitchers in the majors. If they had enough innings, they would all be in the top 10. This will be one of the keys to the series. Can the Blue Jays continue to make contact against this elite rotation? Then there is what I call the X factor. How will having 7 days off affect the Dodgers? We talk about hitters being affected by this when they don’t face live pitching for longer than normal. Remember the Dodger bats were not exactly on fire in the Brewer series. The pitching could be affected also. Pitchers are a process and routine oriented bunch. Starting pitchers go through a routine every 5 to 6 days. Now that routine will be stretched to 7 days and beyond for some. Only time will tell. If the Blue Jays win the first two games of the series, many people will be pointing to the long wait the Dodgers had to go through. If the starting rotation of the Dodgers gets rocked in the first two games, it will really be brought up. The Dodger rotation was so dominant in the NLCS. In my view, this long delay for the Dodgers will be a factor. The Blue Jays could win the first two games, but it does not guarantee them a series win. The defending champs will not go down easily. I will be rooting for the Blue Jays. I still think it will be a hard-fought, exciting series that will go the distance. At this point, I think it is a toss-up.

I will go back to my Pirates Morning Report format for each of the World Series games. I will give the final score, tell why the team won, and what the key moment of the game was. It will boil down to which team can overcome the other team’s strength. If the Blue Jays can keep their strikeouts to 6 or below, then I think they have a real shot. The Dodgers are riding high. If I am wrong about this delay and the Dodgers grab game 1, then it is going to be very difficult for the Blue Jays to keep the Dodgers from repeating. If that happens, then the Dodgers have spent their money well. It all starts tomorrow.

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Pirates Morning Report: Mariners Take Lead, Brewers Gone

The Brewers showed us two things. You cannot win playoff games scoring 1 run per game. Intentional walking Shohei Ohtani may not be a bad idea after all. Ohtani almost single handily beat the Brewers last night. He hit 3 home runs, pitched 6 innings striking out 10 Brewers while allowing just 2 hits. Not taking anything away from the Dodgers starters, the Brewers pretty much showed they can’t hit. They could not even really dent a pretty pathetic Dodger bullpen. The highest scoring team in baseball scored 4 runs in 4 games. The Mariners meanwhile broke the trend in this series by winning a game at home. Eugenio Suarez was the hero hitting 2 home runs including the winning grand slam in the bottom of the 8th for the 6-2 win. This game boiled down to missed opportunities for the Blue Jays. From the 3rd through the 6th inning the Blue Jays got the lead off batter on. Three of those times the lead off hit was a double. Once they had the bases loaded and nobody out and failed to score. In fact in 2 at bats they failed to hit the ball over 3 feet. In those 4 innings they were only able to score 2 runs. There was chances to score much more. The series heads back to Toronto tomorrow night. After losing the first two games at home I am sure the Blue Jays are thrilled that they are still alive and heading home to play baseball. The Brewers are heading home to ponder what might have been. The only hope for all of us who do not want to see the Dodgers repeat as World Series champions is that they won’t be playing ball for 6 days thanks to MLB stupidity. We will see if the ALCS will give us the 6th elimination game of this post season.

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Pirates Morning Report: Blue Jays Tie Series, Brewers On The Brink

The Toronto Blue Jays bats remained smoking hot to win game four 8-2. They scored 8 runs on 11 hits to go along with 4 walks. The Mariners walked in a run in the top of the third to make the score 3-1. In the bottom of the 6th the Blue Jays tried to help them out. After getting the first two out they walked the next two batters. Eugenio Suarez singled to right driving in a run. Josh Naylor committed the cardinal sin of getting thrown out at 3rd with 2 outs. This is even worse when you are behind 5-2 at the time. The Mariners never threatened to make a game of it after that. Speaking of even worse the Milwaukee Brewers offense continued its playoff slumber. They could not even hit the beleaguered Dodger bullpen. They scored only one run for the 3rd consecutive game to fall behind 3 games to none. Unless there is the Red Sox miracle it looks like the Dodgers are headed to the World Series for the 2nd year in a row. Damn! Both series resume tonight with Mariners-Blue Jays leading off. The Dodgers could clinch tonight. Let’s hope the Brewers have some fight left in them.

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Pirates Morning Report: Blue Jays Offense Explodes Again

The Blue Jays scored double-digit runs for the third time in the postseason to get back into the series, showcasing their formidable offensive prowess. My philosophy about a playoff series is that the even-numbered games are the most significant games. Someone has to be leading the series, and in this case, it is the Mariners, 2 games to 1. Does it matter how they got there? To quote “the kid” from Moneyball, “It does not.” The Blue Jays delivered a spectacular performance in this particular game, which featured a total of 8 home runs, 5 of which came from their bats. They scored an impressive 13 runs on 18 hits, complemented by 3 walks, a clear indicator of their offensive rhythm and ability to capitalize on pitching mistakes. After just 6 innings, it became apparent that this game was over, reflecting the bats’ intense energy. My advice to the playoff teams goes just one step further: don’t hit a home run anytime in the 1st inning. This year, it has proven to be a bad omen. Is this just a one-game thing for the Blue Jays, reminiscent of the Phillies in the divisional series, or can they sustain this momentum moving forward? Only time will tell as the playoff narrative unfolds. One thing is for sure: the pressure has ramped up significantly on the Mariners, who find themselves in a position where they need to respond effectively to maintain their series lead. They have responded well in the past under such circumstances and will need to do so one more time if they are to avoid a major shift in momentum. Meanwhile, the Dodgers and the Brewers play today, with the Brewers mirroring the Blue Jays’ plight in the same must-win situation as they look to stay alive in their own series. If the Brewers can pull off a victory, the Dodgers will face a similar challenge, with the pressure amping up just a little more against a determined opponent. As the drama unfolds, things could get particularly interesting in both of these series, reinforcing the unpredictable nature of playoff baseball. The playoffs continue to be great, filled with excitement and stories that captivate fans across the league.

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Pirates Morning Report: Starting Pitching Is Back

Going into the postseason, the big question mark for the Dodgers was their bullpen. It looked like it might be their Achilles’ heel. The Dodgers seem to have figured out the problem: just do not use the bullpen. Blake Snell went 8 innings, giving up just one hit in game one. Last night, Yoshinobu Yamamoto pitched a complete game. He gave up a leadoff home run and only 2 more hits the rest of the way. The last hit the Brewers got was in the bottom of the 4th. The last 17 batters were all retired, with the exception of one walk. In 17 innings, the starting pitching of the Dodgers has given up 1 run and 4 hits. It was the bottom half of the Dodger batting order that did most of the damage. They hit 2 home runs and drove in 4 of the 5 runs. The Dodgers now have a 2-0 lead in the series as they head back to L.A. For the first time in Championship Series history, the visiting team has won the first two games in both leagues. The sweep is in play in both series. Tonight, the Mariners host the Blue Jays. Tomorrow night, the Dodgers will host the Brewers. Both No. 1 seeds have to win the next game, or these series are essentially over. I don’t see a Red Sox miracle happening here. However, if either or both can pull out game 3, then the series will take on a whole different vibe. There is no question the Dodgers have been the most impressive team so far. They just seemed to be coasting during much of the regular season. Everyone expected them to run away with the division and win over 100 games. Instead, they barely won over 90 and had to play a wild card round. They had many pitchers on the shelf with injuries during the season. Oddly, this seems to have given them an advantage. Many members of the staff are well-rested and strong because of not pitching that much during the season. After such an exciting first two rounds of the playoffs, it is hard to believe that the Brewers and the Blue Jays could be swept. I have a feeling this will not happen, but it would not be shocking if it does. The Blue Jays will be the first to try to get back in the series. Here is my only advice to both teams that are down 2 games to none: Don’t lead off the game with a home run. After that, everything seems to go downhill from there. Lead off trying to bunt for a base hit. Let’s hope they do.

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Pirates Morning Report: Mariners Really Shutdown Blue Jays

The Seattle Mariners won game one of the ALCS by shutting down the hottest offense in the playoffs in a big way. George Springer hit the first pitch he saw into the right field seats to lead off the bottom of the 1st. The Blue Jays got 1 hit to go with 3 walks the rest of the game. The game stayed 1-0 until the top of the 6th inning. Kevin Gausman was cruising along, throwing a 2-hit shutout through 5 innings. He got the first two outs in the top of the 6th. Cal Raleigh took a 2-2 splitter just above the knees and blasted it 420 feet to tie the game 1-1. Gausman walked the next batter on 5 pitches. He had thrown just 76 pitches and was removed from the game. Sorry, this is not an elimination game. This is also a 7-game series. The more you allow a team to see your bullpen, the more likely they are to start hitting them. You are now turning around Jorge Polanco to bat right-handed. His slash line right-handed is .305/.345/.543. Batting left-handed, it is .254/.321/.481. I don’t know why you would bring in the left-hander, let alone take out Gausman. Brendon Little wild-pitched the runner to second base. Polanco singled to left field to make the score 2-1. A big 2-out lightning inning for the Mariners. Polanco drove in the insurance run in the top of the 8th batting left-handed, so he is no slouch from that side. However, Gausman to me was showing no signs of fatigue. The Blue Jays’ bats were pretty much dead for this game, but you never know if the score remained tied at 1-1. The Blue Jays still have a good process going on, striking out only 4 times for the game. I still like the Blue Jays to win the series, but their offense has to come alive today. On the Mariners’ side of the ledger, even though they won, there are some areas of concern. Randy Arozarena continues to struggle at the plate. He is 4 for 27 in the playoffs. Eugenio Suárez is even worse, going 3 for 25. If these two don’t get going soon, it would seem the Mariners will not be able to win this series.

The Dodgers and the Brewers play game one tonight in Milwaukee. The Dodgers have yet to play an elimination game so far this postseason. I think it is essential for the Brewers to set the Dodgers back on their heels tonight. The Brewers know how to beat the Dodgers, as they won all 6 games they played during the regular season. I do not believe that really affects a team during the playoffs, but it would help if the Brewers kept the momentum going tonight. It should be just another 2 great games tonight in what has been a great postseason.

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Pirates Morning Report: Mariners, Brewers Do It, Championship Series Begins.

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.

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Pirates Morning Report: What A Way To Be Eliminated

I was wrong on both games last night. I thought the Brewers would wrap it up. They were soundly beaten by the Cubs 6-0. I wrote the Phillies would extend the series. Instead, they handed Game 4 to the Dodgers on a silver platter. In a tough, hard-fought, low-scoring game, the Phillies gave the Dodgers their 2 runs to lose 2-1 in 11 innings. The Phillies took the lead 1-0 in the top of the 7th. The Dodgers were able to tie the game thanks to 3 walks wrapped around 1 single. Mookie Betts walked with the bases loaded to tie the game. The Phillies decided to intentionally walk Shohei Ohtani to load the bases. They did this even though Ohtani has been a non-factor for this series. The worst would come in the bottom of the 11th. Orion Kerkering would enter the game with 1st and 3rd and 2 outs. He walked Kiké Hernández on 6 pitches to load the bases. Another slumping Dodger, Andy Pages, came to the plate. He swung at a pitch well out of the strike zone. He then hit a little dribbler back to the mound. Kerkering bobbled the ball, then panicked and threw the ball toward home plate about 10 feet wide and high. The Dodgers were going to the Championship Series. He should have thrown the ball to first. Even if he would have made a good throw, it appeared that the runner would have been safe at home. This was about as painful as it gets to be eliminated from the postseason. I would have to go back all the way to 1972 when Bob Moose wild-pitched the Reds to the World Series in the bottom of the 9th. The Phillies, like the Yankees, could not buy their way into the World Series. This one really has to hurt. You have to wonder if the window has not closed on this core group of players.

We have two games left. Today the Mariners host the Tigers. Tomorrow the Brewers are at home to the Cubs. These can be defining games for the Mariners and the Brewers. If they both lose, it will continue their playoff frustration and failures. Let me jinx them even further by writing I think that both will win. They will move on to the Championship Series and get the monkey off their back. We will see how much home field will help these teams. I do not think it will be easy for either team. The lower seeds could easily win both games. So far, the baseball playoffs have not disappointed. Let’s just hope that whoever advances has to earn their win. No more gifts, please. Speaking of gifts, walks have played a major role, unfortunately, in the division round. There have been 16 games, and teams have combined to give 107 free passes. That is almost 7 walks per game. We will see what factor the free pass plays in these last two elimination games. Hopefully very little, but that does not seem to be the pattern up to this point. American League tonight. Bring it on.

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Pirates Morning Report: Yankees Eliminated, Three Others Stay Alive

On a day when all four division series could have ended, only one did. The Yankees were eliminated by the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays, using a bullpen game, held the Yankees to just 6 hits. The Blue Jays used some clutch hitting to score most of their 5 runs. A tough error by Jazz Chisholm allowed the Blue Jays to score 2 runs in the top of the 7th, extending their lead to 4-1. What I think was not mentioned on the broadcast was that the umpire had to jump out of the way of the ball. It was a hard-hit one-hopper that seemed to just eat up Chisholm. The umpire may have blocked the ball temporarily; at the very least, it had to be a distraction. The Yankee season came to another disappointing end. Aaron Boone proves once again he is one of the worst in game managers in the history of baseball. As long as he is the head man, the Yankees are never going to win a championship. The other close game was the Cubs over the Brewers 4-3. The Cubs scored all 4 runs in the first inning. They barely made them stand up as the Brewers pecked away, scoring single runs in the 4th and 7th, after scoring a run in the top of the 1st. Their best chance of tying the game was in the top of the 8th. Jackson Chourio led off the inning with a double. They had 1st and 2nd with one out and the bases loaded with 2 outs but could not score. Very un-Brewer-like. The Brewers went down in order in the 9th. The Cubs lived to play another day. The other two games were blowouts. The Phillies beat the Dodgers 8-2 as their bats finally woke up. The Tigers defeated the Mariners 9-3 to force a game 5 in Seattle tomorrow.

Today the National League series continues with Phillies-Dodgers at 6 and the Brewers-Cubs at 9. Again, both series could end tonight. The Phillies certainly got the Dodgers attention last night. This could turn out to be one of those road warrior series. After all, we are not that far removed from the 2019 World Series where the visiting team won every game. Here are my guesses. I think the Phillies will force a game 5 and the Brewers will wrap it up tonight. The Tigers will send their big ace Tarik Skubal out on Friday. Even though the Mariners won the game he started last time, I think they are in big trouble. It is like that big playoff jinx is rearing its ugly head again in Seattle. No pitcher is invincible. Even Bob Gibson faltered in the 7th game of the 1968 World Series. Hitting is such a sometime thing; the Tigers’ bats could falter again. Whatever happens, it should be a great game 5 tomorrow night.