Cubs’ starting pitcher, Jake
Arrieta, went the distance, allowing only four hits and no walks while striking
out eleven Pittsburgh batters over his nine innings.
Chicago’s first run was scored
in the first when Dexter Fowler scored on a single by Kyle Schwarber. They
added two more in the third when Scwarber homered to right field, with Fowler
on base, making the score 3-0. And the final run was scored by Fowler in the
fifth, when he hit his own home run.
Chicago will now play the St.
Louis Cardinals in the NLDS—another chapter in the Cubs/Cards rivalry that has
gone back over one hundred years. As for the Pirates, they have now been shut
out in two consecutive Wild Card games at home. Despite having the second best
record in all of baseball, they will now have to watch the remainder of the
post season.
ALDS Previews
While the National League enjoys
a day off, both American League Division Series get underway today. First, it
will be a late afternoon game between the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays
at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. That will be followed tonight in Kansas City
as the Royals host the Houston Astros at Kaufman Stadium.
Toronto is making their first
post season appearance in 23 years, while the Rangers, after finishing in last
place in the AL West in 2014, are back in the playoffs after making three straight
appearances in the beginning of the decade.
David Price gets the start on
the mound for the Blue Jays while the Rangers counter with Yovani Gallardo.
Price, who was traded from the Detroit Tigers in late July, had an 18-5
win/loss record in 2015, while leading the A.L. with a 2.45 ERA and adding 225
strike outs. He has post season experience, first with the Tampa Bay Rays when
he pitched in nine games in four playoff appearances (including the 2008 World
Series), and then last year with the Tigers. This will be Gallardo’s first
playoff start after finishing with a 13-11 record this year, with a 3.42 ERA
and 121 strike outs.
During the regular season, the
two teams met six times. The Jays won two out of three in Toronto near the end
of June, and then did the same thing in Arlington at the end of August, for a
4-2 advantage. Toronto and Texas finished one-two in leading the American
League in runs scored so expect a lot of high-scoring games in the series.
Prediction:
Jays win the series 3 games to 1
Houston,
on an emotional high after beating the New York Yankees in the Wild Card game,
must refocus as they will now play the defending American League Champions. The
Astros are in the postseason for the first time while playing in the A.L. (they
were a National League up to end of 2012) and it’s their first playoff
appearance since losing to the Chicago White Sox in the 2005 World Series. The
Royals lost Game 7 of the 2014 World Series and are looking for redemption in
this year’s playoffs.
Yordano Ventura (13-8, 4.08 ERA
and 156 strike outs) will get the ball for the Royals. The Astros will go with Collin
McHugh (19-7, 3.89 ERA and 171 strike outs.)
It will be interesting to see
how Kansas City plays. They wrapped up the Central Division title with almost
two weeks to play and have had not much to play for since then. Houston was in
a dogfight for a playoff spot right up until the final day.
During the regular season,
Houston held a 4-2 advantage over six games, sweeping the Royals in Houston in
early June, then dropping two of three in Kansas City at the end of July.
Prediction: Kansas City will win the series 3 games to 2
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