Elephant Rumblings: Braves, Rays both one win away from World Series
MLB news roundup
Good morning afternoon, Athletics Nation!
The 2020 MLB postseason is heating back up. After both LCS matchups got off to lopsided starts, they’ve at least turned into competitions. Two teams could advance to the World Series today, but their opponents are each putting up a fight.
In the ALCS, the Houston Astros staved off elimination for another day with a second straight victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5. It was a bullpen game all around and it was tied entering the 9th, but supervillain Carlos Correa launched a walk-off solo homer to break the deadlock for a 4-3 win — an he supposedly called his shot before going to the plate. Recap from The Crawfish Boxes.
Meanwhile, after being shaken up by a historic rout on Wednesday, the Atlanta Braves got back on track against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 4. The Braves had lost by a dozen the previous day but flipped the script in a 10-2 beating, knocking around ace starter Clayton Kershaw en route to a six-run 6th inning. In his postseason career (35 games, 28 starts), Kershaw is 11-12 with a 4.31 ERA. Recap from Talking Chop.
The AL series now shifts back to the Rays being the home team, though of course the venue isn’t changing as they’re still playing at a neutral site in San Diego (with the NL in Arlington).
Friday LCS schedule (all times PT):
- ALCS G6: Astros at Rays, 3:07 p.m. on TBS
- NLCS G5: Dodgers at Braves, 6:08 p.m. on Fox Sports 1
Both series could end any day now.
A’s Coverage
- Lockard: How A’s hitters like Greg Deichmann and others are doing at Instructional League ($$$)
- AN: Oakland A’s arbitration salary projections entering 2021
MLB News & Interest
- McTaggart and Toribio: Astros-Rays ALCS G6 FAQ (TBS, 6 ET)
- Bowman and Gurnick: LAD-ATL NLCS Game 5 FAQ (FS1, 9 ET)
- MLB Debate: Is Kershaw a playoff ‘choker’?
- Mayo: MLB starts scouting series for Draft prospects
- MLB, MLBPA latest COVID-19 test results
- Today in Baseball History
Best of Twitter
Isn’t that Rays model sort of based on Beane’s original Moneyball model? (Which is briefly mentioned in the article and then written off.)
The GMs of the four teams left standing are Andrew Friedman -- and three people Friedman once hired.
— Jared Diamond (@jareddiamond) October 16, 2020
It's the firmest sign yet that, for better or worse, baseball sees Andrew Friedman as the model. And the industry is being modeled in the Rays' image.https://t.co/z91or6R7OF
On the other hand, are we really back to the idea that geeks with spreadsheets are ruining baseball?
Last night, everyone on the broadcast crew acted like Dusty Baker was some kind of a witch instead of a super smart baseball guy who didn't have to check with some Ivy League grad in the middle of a game he's played and managed all his life.
— Ann Killion (@annkillion) October 15, 2020
... of course, the above tweet is easily rebutted with a list of all the times Baker has blown his team’s chance at a ring by sticking with a starting pitcher too long.
He did the same thing with Mark Gardner and Livan Hernandez and Mark Prior and Mat Latos and others. Didn't work out so well. It worked this time, but in general, Dusty's belief that all starters have Bob Gibson's unbreakable will has been a big reason for postseason downfalls.
— John Ryan (@WorkishFromHome) October 15, 2020
John Smoltz, tech innovator if you ignore all existing tech
Has John Smoltz ever heard of Twitter? pic.twitter.com/8JmhXVa61i
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 16, 2020
Played it so cool that nobody even realized he caught it
THAT ONE IS GOOOOOONNN....
— CPBL 中華職棒 (@CPBL) October 16, 2020
NOPE!!!! THAT ONE CAUGHT BY Lin Che-Hsuan!!!
The @FubonGuardians CF Lin Che-Hsuan (林哲瑄) robs a HR away from the Lions and keeps the score at 2-2!#CPBL #CPBLwithFans #TaiwanBaseball #富邦悍將 #ItsTime pic.twitter.com/XJLVzeC0Jg