NL Division Series Game 2’s game thread

A pair of playoff games in the other league

Yesterday saw four playoff baseball games happen as both leagues got their Division Series started. The New York Yankees eked out a close win over the Kansas City Royals while the Cleveland Guardians started early against the Detroit Tigers and never looked back en route to a commanding victory. And that was just on the American League side. In the National League we saw the other New York team, the Mets, come from behind late to take game one against the Philadelphia Phillies while the Los Angeles Dodgers came out on top over the San Diego Padres thanks to a little help from superstar Shohei Ohtani. It was quite the day of baseball if you were lucky enough to have all day to watch it.

Today will be a little less hectic but should be just as enjoyable. While the American League clubs get a day off after their Game 1, the National League will be playing on back-to-back days as we prepare for a couple of Game 2’s this afternoon and evening. With the Divisional Round only a best-of-5 series, this is a critical game for the two clubs that lost Game 1 last night. You do not want to be down 0-2 in a short series.

The first game on tap for us today will be that Mets-Phillies matchup. For New York the arm on the mound will be right-hander Luis Severino, making his second start of this postseason. After a generally solid regular season Severino stepped it up in the first game of the postseason, tossing six innings of 3-run ball against the Brewers in Game 1 of the Wild Card round and New York would probably be happy with more of the same. Here is how the Mets will line up:

The Phillies meanwhile counter with left-hander Cristopher Sanchez. Just finishing his second full season as a major league starting pitcher, Sanchez has been dominant for the Phillies during his young career. Over the past two seasons Sanchez has made 49 starts and has a 3.36 ERA during that time, helping Philadelphia solidify the middle of the rotation behind their aces. He’s been especially dominant at home but he’s also inexperienced in the playoffs and will head into this game with his team desperate for a win. No pressure.

That’s the first game of the day, and we’re lucky enough to get another game in the evening. That contest will feature the final two California teams still playing baseball in the San Diego Padres and the Los Angeles Dodgers. San Diego will turn to veteran righty Yu Darvish to start this evening’s contest, desperate to take down their Northern rivals and head back South with the series at least tied at 1-1. The Padres lost a heartbreaker last night as they had chances throughout Game 1 but the Dodgers just out star-powered them, Darvish is no rookie when it comes to postseason pitching as the 12-year veteran has pitched in the postseason in five separate seasons, making 11 total playoff starts ranging from the Wild Card to the World Series. His postseason ERA (4.50) isn’t very impressive but looks a lot better when you take out the two starts against the Houston Astros in the 2017 World Series, when the Astros were cheating and tagged Darvish for 8 runs in 3 ¹⁄₃ innings over two starts. The Padres will be hoping the veteran can continue his excellent regular season tonight against a tough Dodgers lineup.

Los Angeles meanwhile will go with trade-deadline acquisition Jack Flaherty for Game 2 tonight against the Padres. The prize of trade season after having a fantastic start to the year with the Tigers, Flaherty would have ended up in the postseason either way after Detroit made their late run to the playoffs. With his new team he has been an above-average starting option but hasn’t been as dominant as he was for the Tigers during the first half of the season, posting a 2.95 ERA with Detroit before pitching to a 3.58 mark during his ten starts with the Dodgers. With Tyler Glasnow done for the year Flaherty will move up the pecking order and start Game 2 tonight, making his fifth career postseason start. All four came with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2019-2020 and he was solid during those starts. Los Angeles paid a lot for Flaherty at the deadline though and will be hoping for more than solid in Game 2 against a dangerous Padres lineup that has their backs up against the wall.

Enjoy some playoff baseball today!