Category: Baseball

Friday Boner Killer: Charlie Sheen will not throw out the 1st pitch before Game 1 of the World Series

ESPN — Wild Thing will have to stay in the bullpen during the World Series.

While actor Charlie Sheen, who played Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn in the movie “Major League” offered to throw out the ceremonial first pitch before one of this year’s World Series games, Major League Baseball said the choices have already been made.

And here we have it, proof that no matter how many championships Cleveland wins they’ll never truly be great.

If you call yourself a baseball fan and you weren’t thrilled at the idea of a coked-out Charlie Sheen throwing on some big rimmed glasses and his #99 jersey for the first pitch on Tuesday, pick a different sport. Because that would have been A-MAZE-ING. Major League may not be the best baseball movie of all time (for the answer to that, here’s a tbt on a Friday to my Keegansports days) but it’s a damn good one, and Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn was a big part of that. Did the sequel suck? YES. But the original was a classic. Cerrano’s pregame rituals, Wild Thing banging Dorn’s wife, Lou Brown (RIP) absolutely hating that bitch owner. Great film overall and it would’ve been an awesome thing for the Indians and Charlie Sheen, who I’m assuming just lives in a whore house somewhere at this point for convenience sake, and the fans would’ve loved it. Bummer.

PS – Way to go, MLB. “Yeah, we only want ‘former franchise greats’ to throw out the first pitch.” Fuck the fans, right? Seriously, tell me ONE of these dudes you’d rather see than Wild Thing Vaughn.

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That’s what I thought.

PPS – By the way, MLB, now that I have your attention: #FreePeteRose

The Indians are 1 win away from the World Series

So I wouldn’t say they’re necessarily the team I want to win the World Series, because the Cubs definitely hold that title, but I’m definitely rooting for the Indians to get there. Maybe it’s because they beat the Sox and I don’t want that to have been done in vain, maybe it’s just because I fucking hate Blue Jays fans, who knows. All I know is, when Trevor Bauer had to leave the game in the 1st inning with 2 on and 2 outs because his finger couldn’t get its shit together*, I got nervous. Sure Cleveland’s pitching has been great, hell it’s the reason they’ve gotten this far, but giving the game to your bullpen with 8+ innings to go facing one of the best offenses in the AL and saying “here, don’t fuck it up” is never an ideal situation. Regardless, they went out and, like they’ve been doing since the playoffs began, proved me wrong.

Cleveland got the scoring going early in the first inning, when Carlos Santana scored from first on a Mike Napoli double to right field. The ball was definitely catchable, but our boy Jose “Circumstances” Bautista couldn’t make the play and it went off his glove for 2 bases. It’s ok, though, it’s just because the umps are against them. Toronto struck back in the 2nd with a Michael Saunders homer to tie it, then Napoli snagged the lead right back in the 4th with a homer of his own, his first in the postseason since the 2013 ALCS. God damn it I miss Mike Napoli.

Goins knocked in a run on a ground out in the 5th, then Cleveland hit right back the next frame with a Jason Kipnis homer and a Jose Ramirez RBI single, and that’s where our scoring stopped. The Jays’ bullpen, to their credit, held it down from there, allowing just 4 hits and 0 runs in the final 3.2 innings after Stroman (5.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) left, but the damage was done and Cleveland kept it together down the stretch. Final: 4-2.

So this is it. Game 4 today in Toronto, and the Indians just need 1 more W to get to the Fall Classic for the first time since 1997. The Jays need to pull an ’04 Sox, which I’m giving them exactly a 0% chance to do. And yes, I know people said that in ’04 too, but c’mon. Toronto ain’t Boston. It isn’t happening.

Corey Kluber will take the bump against Aaron Sanchez today, with a 4:00 first pitch in Toronto.

*How GROSS was that shit? Nobody really knew to what extent “drone injury” went, and Jesus did we find out. Looked like the dude sliced it open trying to murder a Grizzly bear or something. No wonder the stitches couldn’t hold. Dude isn’t Schilling, anyway.

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Clayton Kershaw and the Dodgers evened up the NLCS last night

Going into Game 2 of the NLCS, I figured it was a no-brainer to bet on the Cubs. I couldn’t figure out why they went into the game as underdogs. This is the Cubs, right? The ones from Chicago? The best team in the remaining field? Best pitching staff in the majors, that one? Yeah, well I got my answer to all that: Clayton fucking Kershaw.

The guy is just something else. He’s quickly becoming the new Bumgarner, and it’s scary. Doesn’t give a shit that his postseason record hasn’t been spectacular. Doesn’t care he’s not even close to fully rested. Doesn’t care his team’s down 1-0 in the series on the road. Goes out and throws 7 innings of 2-hit ball while only needing 84 pitches, which is huge in the long run as far as getting him back in this series as quickly as possible. 6 strikeouts to just one walk, and he never let the Cubs felt like they were in it at all until his final inning, and even then he managed to bail himself out. It certainly helped that the game’s only run, an Adrian Gonzalez homer in the 2nd, came so early, but it’d be nuts to say anything about shutting out the Cubs was “easy”. Kershaw worked for this win and he deserved it.

Then we have Kenley Jansen, who would most likely be the main talking point of this series if Kershaw wasn’t a demi-God. Guy threw the most pitches of his career in Game 5 of the NLDS against the Nats and shut them down until Kershaw finished it off, and last night he got his first career 6 out save. I don’t know a lot about the status of the Dodgers bullpen as far as injuries or what, but what I do know is as long as they have Kershaw and Jansen around they don’t really need anyone else.

So now, this series is tied at 1 and heading to LA for a few games. Obviously, Game 3 of a 1-1 series is always huge, and for Game 3 the Cubs will trot out Jake Arrieta against Rich Hill. So clearly the Cubbies have the advantage there, but it’s all relative. It’s safe to assume Hill will have an outing similar to his start in Game 5 of the NLDS (2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER) and the Dodgers will go to their bullpen relatively early. So, unless the Cubs can start hitting LA’s bullpen, this curse may stick around for another year or two. Good news for Chicago? I doubt we’ll see 6+ innings from Kenley Jansen. No guarantees, but it’s a hunch.

The ALCS and NLCS are set, so who’s gonna win?

Well, we’ve had one crazy start to the postseason, and now we’re down to just four. Blue Jays, Indians, Cubs, and Dodgers. Who’s it gonna be?

For those who read my MLB Playoff preview, you know I ended up going 1 for 4 after my 1 for 2 performance in the Wild Card games. You can look at that however you want, but I’m gonna stick with baseball terms and say I’m batting .250, which isn’t too shabby. You guys were in the presence of greatness, and you didn’t even know it.

So despite my subpar picking skills (which have lost me a decent amount of money the last few weeks, fucking Sox) I’m gonna hit you guys with my prediction for the ALCS and NLCS*. So let’s see who TakeZone’s resident baseball expert is taking for these two heavyweight matchups.

ALCS: Blue Jays vs. Indians

So yeah, I got the ALCS totally wrong. 100% wrong. I had Rangers in 5, and the Blue Jays swept em. I had the Sox in 4, and I’m still not ready to talk about it so I’m not gonna. Anyway, this gives us a pretty unique championship series matchup because, to be honest, these teams are pretty much polar opposites. The Blue Jays bashed their way to the top Wild Card spot this year, bashing 221 homers on the year, good for 3rd in the AL. Toronto had some solid starting pitching and fields an all around strong team, for sure, but their bats are clearly their strength. Cleveland, on the other hand, got here with primarily small ball. They hit just 185 homers as a team, 10th in the AL, but sported a 3.84 team ERA in the regular season, good for 2nd in the American League. And you could also mention they just all but shut down one of the best offenses we’ve seen in a decade on their way to a sweep, but I won’t. Their defense ended up with average statistical results (7th in the AL in average, league average in fielding percentage), but they’re very strong defensively, especially up the middle. Oh, and it didn’t hurt to lead the AL with 134 steals, including having 4 guys (Rajai Davis, Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, and Jason Kipnis) in the top 20 in SB. These guys love to run and manufacture runs, and that’s what they’ll have to do against a Toronto club that can swing the goddamn bats.

Ultimately, this series is a bit of a toss up. Cleveland is being dubbed as the favorite by most sources, and if their pitching picks up where they left off in the ALDS they should win. But in my years (months) of covering baseball, one thing I’ve learned is to never count out the Blue Jays bats, because Bautista and Edwin and Donaldson and the rest of those Tim Horton’s eating, beer throwing, racial slur at Baltimore outfielders hurling assholes will make you pay. Regardless, I’m going with the safe pick.

Prediction: Indians in 6

NLCS: Cubs vs. Dodgers

So the Cubs represent the only team that I correctly picked to reach the championship series, and also the only team that was basically a lock to reach their championship series (despite whatever even-year voodoo that hick Bumgarner had up his sleeve). Chicago is the most complete team in this remaining field, no doubt about it, and they should definitely be the favorite to win it all at this point. But, at the same time, we have to remember who we’re talking about here; it’s the Cubs. The billy goat. Bartman. 108 years. This is anybody’s series.

It took the Dodgers 4 normal games and a MARATHON game 5 (the 7th inning alone ran over an hour long) to knock off the Nats, but the momentum is real with these guys. Christ, Clayton Kershaw put a little shine in his otherwise-ugly postseason record by getting a save in Game 5, his first of his major league career. He’ll build off that, and the team will  build off a comeback win that featured 4 runs in the 7th inning and a 2.1 inning outing from their closer. That’s the kind of stuff championship teams pull off.

This may not be the case in the AL, but for the NLCS it’s pretty clear these are the two teams who deserve to be here. You may be able to argue the Nats earned it in the regular season, but the Cubs and Dodgers are certainly fair representatives from the NL. As great as the Cubs pitching was this year (3.15 team ERA was 1st in the NL), the Dodgers weren’t far behind at 3.70 as a team (5th in the NL). And the Dodgers struck out over 1500 batters this season, most in the NL (Cubs were in 3rd). Ultimately, the team that can score some timely runs late and pitch consistently and effectively is going to win this series. It’s gonna go the distance, and it’s gonna be a fun one, but pure logic has to outweigh the curse here.

Prediction: Cubs in 7

And for now, I’m not even gonna touch the World Series. Probably because it’ll probably be the exact opposite of what I picked. Whatever, go Cubs and Tribe I guess.

*I kept just saying “ALCS and NLCS” because apparently the plural form of “series” is “series” and that just confuses the shit out of me. Why does English suck?

The best team in the American League got swept in the ALDS and I may never get over it

Call me a bitter fan all you want, but it’s true: the Red Sox were the best, most complete team in the AL this year, and they just got swept in the ALDS. The season is over, David Ortiz’s career is over, and until next April, my life is effectively over.

As much as I want to, I’m not gonna sit here and bash Cleveland. Sitting here explaining how garbage of a city Cleveland is would be like saying “Hitler was bad” or “A-Rod did steroids” – Yeah, we know, everyone knows. Props to the Indians, they completely deserved it and I sincerely hope they bat flip all over those assholes in Toronto. Congrats to Francona and the boys.

But Jesus Christ, what a shitty end. This series was absolutely tormenting from start to finish. Game 1, a comeback that falls short on a CHECK SWING in the 9th. Game 2, a blowout at the hands of our $217 million pitcher. And finally, another comeback that falls just short, with the AL MVP on deck and a full count on Shaw, no less. You gotta give it to the Sox that they never threw in the towel, whether it was April 10th or October 10th they played their asses off until the final out, and I’ll always appreciate that.

As for the game, not much I can say. I’d been bragging about how great the Sox bullpen had been in the series, so it was obviously fitting that the dagger, a 2 run shot for Coco Crisp in the 6th, came off Pomeranz out of the bullpen. Obviously. Granted Kelly, Koji and Kimbrel* were lights out from there, but that homer really cut deep. Ultimately, Buchholz pretty much did what he had to do. With how well the Sox hit at Fenway and the fact that freaking Josh Tomlin was pitching, I figured Clay needed to give us 5 innings of 3-run ball and let the pen take it from there. He ended going 4 and letting up 2 runs, so I’ll take that. I really will. Maybe that’s a little pathetic, but this is the postseason; Bumgarners and Arrietas don’t grow on trees. The offense knew they had to do the brunt of the work tonight, and for most of the game they weren’t up to the task.

The bats obviously weren’t as bad as Game 2, but the struggles did continue. Just 1-7 with runners in scoring position, putting the team at 3-21 with RISP in the series. Yep, that’s not gonna do it. From the best offense in the major leagues you really expect more, but it is what it is. Just something to build off of next year, I guess.

And finally, I don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do without David Ortiz. I really hadn’t given it a lot of thought because I thought it was going to be late October, maybe early November before that became an issue, but it’s gonna suck. Big time. The best clutch hitter in Red Sox history and one of the great personalities in the history of the game is just gone. Gone. Be well, big man, and stop by Fenway a few times next year if you can make it. We’d love to have ya.

Well, that’s it I guess. RIP in Peace to the Red Sox season. It was fun to write about, and god damn was it fun to watch. Gonna be a real different feel next year, but I’m definitely feeling good about this team’s odds in 2017. Unless Pablo Sandoval weasels his way onto the Opening Day roster. Fuck Pablo Sandoval.

*Not that we could’ve called it this (for obvious reasons) but how great would it have been to get the KKK (Kelly, Koji, Kimbrel) established for the back end of a playoff bullpen. Missed opportunities, man. 

Red Sox/Indians Game 3 Gameday Blog: It’s Now or Never

Well, shit. We followed this team through an offseason of criticism and speculation and a regular season full of, well, winning, and now we’re just one loss away from losing it all. One loss from a full offseason of “you can’t win without starting pitching.” One loss from possibly having to trade a young budding star for a steady arm just to keep the masses happy. One loss from one of the best offenses baseball has ever seen being bounced in the divisional round.

But I’m not worried.

Ok, I’m a little worried. This is obviously a less than ideal situation to be in. But if you’re counting the Sox out of this series entirely, then you’re an idiot. This is just ’04 except the Sox have more talent than ’04, the Indians are NOT the ’04 Yankees, and we only have to win 3. And two of them at home. You kidding me? It’s still anybody’s series.

Now I’m not gonna pretend I don’t fully acknowledge the possibility of Clay Buchholz absolutely bombing this one and it being all but over by the 2nd inning. That could totally happen, and it’s a legitimate fear of mine. But I’m also very optimistic that Josh Tomlin could do the same exact thing for Cleveland. In case you haven’t heard, this Boston offense is historically good. As in, scored 101 more runs than any other team in the AL good. And at home, in Fenway Park, with an electric home crowd, the offense will be going on all cylinders. They’ve had an extra day to gameplan and talk about what Tomlin likes to do in certain counts and certain situations, and I’m fully confident that the Sox can come out and put a crooked number up early and give Claydro a little breathing room.

Some guys have been doing what they need to do this series, and they deserve recognition regardless of the result. Brock Holt went from Opening Day starter in left, to injured, back to his utility role that got him on the All-Star team last year, and he produced enough that when Travis Shaw’s bat went cold, Holt was the only logical postseason starter at 3rd. I’d like to get a stat of how many dudes started in one position on Opening Day and started another position for the same team in their first postseason game, cause I’m thinking Brock’s probably the first. Anyway, now all he’s done is go 4-8 with a homer in the first 2 games, and he’s been the spark we’ve needed from the 2 spot in the lineup. Benintendi and Hanley have been doing alright as well, and past that it’s been quiet. Just one hit in the first 2 games from Pedroia, Bogaerts, Ortiz, Leon, and Mookie, and still no hits from JBJ. Not gonna cut it, for sure.

As for pitching, check this out: In the first 2 games of this series, the Red Sox bullpen has thrown 8.1 innings and let up ZERO runs. EVERY run that Cleveland has scored in this series has come off the starter, Porcello or Price. The bullpen was absolutely lights out in September, and they’ve carried that over to the postseason and have given the Sox an opportunity to come back in these games that they’ve fallen behind in. The starting pitching hasn’t been great, obviously, but the pen is ready to keep this team in this series. Gotta make sure we give em a chance.

All that said, I feel good about tonight. I really do, because Clay has pitched well of late and I think this team offensively just needed to come home. The Fenway crowd is going to be absolutely electric, and they’ll get permanent real estate in Josh Tomlin’s head real early. I’m not guaranteeing anything, but I feel really, really good about this game.

Indians. Red Sox. 6:00. Let’s fuckin’ have it.

Last Night Sucked but I’m not worried

So it was a rough night and morning for a few reasons (didn’t exactly cope with the loss well) but I think I’m finally ready to talk about it.

What sucks is, if you told me before the game that Porcello was starting and the Sox would score 4 runs I would’ve automatically chalked it up as a win. But Ricky just wasn’t himself last night, simple as that. Maybe it was the postseason stage, maybe it was not having his signature stained hat, maybe it was just pure shock at seeing a stadium in Cleveland actually filled to capacity. Whatever it was, he wasn’t the Porcello we’ve seen this season. Not the Porcello that went 22-4 and made a legitimate case for an AL Cy Young award. But I’m confident that if and when Pretty Ricky takes the hill again this postseason, he’ll bring it.

As for the offense, it was solid but obviously not where it had to be. The Sox were 2-9 with runners in scoring position last night. That’s just not gonna do it against the Indians, period. It was just a weird game, because you knew that the Sox offense was far superior to anything Cleveland was trotting out to the mound, but they just couldn’t string hits together. It was individual runs here and there, and that big breakout inning always seemed one inning away but never happened. Brock Holt’s 3 hits from the 2 spot was huge, but Mookie’s 0-3 behind him was killer. When you’ve got a guy with speed at the top of the lineup getting on base that often, the guys behind him in the lineup gotta step it up, especially in a playoff game.

And that ending? GARBAGE. Conservative estimate, I collapsed and laid on the ground for a good 3 minutes after that. You’ve got a guy on base, 2 outs, 1 run game, top of the order of the best offense in baseball, and it ends on a check swing strike 3? Just too Red Sox. You KNOW Pedey gets a hit on the next pitch if he gets the chance, then Brock would’ve been coming up after 3 hits in 4 at bats including a homer in the 8th. Not healthy to think about it like that, but it’s kinda impossible not to.

Anyway, all this rambling nonsense you’ve read is leading to something: I’m not worried. I’m really not. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I think David Price is gonna be absolutely lights out tonight. This guy’s a gamer, and he knows exactly what he needs to do tonight. Not historically a good playoff pitcher? Couldn’t give less of a shit. Yeah he may let up a homer or two, maybe 3 earned runs over 6 innings, but that’s more than doable when the Sox offense is coming off a frustrating night and facing a pitcher who isn’t 100% healthy.

I’m not saying it’s gonna be a cake walk, and I’m not guaranteeing anything after what we saw last night, but it’s certainly not time to press the panic button just yet. If the Sox lose tonight and Price gets shelled, that’s when we panic. But when it comes down to it, we just gotta win 1 game in Cleveland. Why not tonight?

PS – I think John Farrell did a really good job managing that game last night. It’s a weird sentence to say, almost feels like I’m speaking a different language, but it’s true. Got the bullpen active when needed, got Porcello out at the right time, and got Pomeranz (who really pitched well, by the way) out at the right time, too. Not always great with managing pitchers, known for leaving them in 1 or 2 batters too long, but he was great last night. Gonna need more of it tonight.

Tonight is the night Boston has been waiting for

Tonight. 8:00. Cleveland, Ohio. The ALDS begins, and my nights of getting the proper amount of sleep end.

It’s been a long few seasons of last place and watching the playoffs from home, and god damn it feels good to be back. This team did exactly what it had to do this season: it played well down the stretch, it won 93 games, and it won the American League East. Now, we have a couple more accomplishments to knock off before the real celebrating begins, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. One game at a time.

The Sox start their playoff run tonight against Terry Francona’s Indians. It’s always bittersweet playing Cleveland, because no matter how much success Farrell has I’ll always think of the Sox as Terry Francona’s team. I just love the guy. He’s passionate, kind, but also very intelligent and damn good at managing a baseball game. He still has a great amount of admiration for the Red Sox and many players on the team, but I’m sure he’s gearing up for this series just a little bit more than he would if he were playing Texas or Toronto. He wants this one bad, for sure.

And so do the Sox. This is a team that doesn’t necessarily have a whole lot of postseason experience, but that’s not gonna impact them one bit. Say what you want about how young guys like Mookie Betts, Xander Bogaerts, and Jackie Bradley, Jr. are, but what they lack in age they make up for in poise and intelligence, not to mention talent. This big stage may be new to them, but it’s not gonna phase them one bit. And don’t forget about the experience this team does have, because there’s some. Farrell’s been here, as have guys like Papi and Pedroia, and even Bogaerts had 34 plate appearances in the 2013 World Series run, including 23 in the World Series itself. This team won’t be deterred by age or lack of experience, you can count on that.

Tonight for Game 1, the Sox send Rick Porcello to the mound against Trevor Bauer. Porcello was obviously Boston’s ace this year, finishing with a record of 22-4 and a 3.15 ERA. Although pitching at Fenway was certainly Pretty Ricky’s area of expertise, he was no scrub on the road either, compiling a 9-3 record and a 3.31 ERA in 17 starts on the road. He started one game against Cleveland this year, on May 22nd at home, going 5.2 innings with 2 earned runs, 1 walk, and 5 K’s, picking up the win. Bauer, on the other hand, was a little less impressive in 2016. He finished the regular season at 12-8 with an ERA of 4.26, and was actually much more successful on the road than at home, sporting identical 6-4 records for each but an ERA of 3.67 on the road versus 4.73 at Progressive Field. Bauer started against the Sox the day before Porcello went, on May 21st, and went 5 innings giving up 4 runs, walking 2, and not striking out anyone. He also pitched an inning of relief against Boston on Opening Day, giving up a 2-run homer to David Ortiz in the 9th. So along with the advantage on offense, the Sox clearly have the upper hand in starting pitching as well.

But, as we know, this is playoff baseball. Logic goes out the window. It’s a new season, regular season numbers mean squat, and all that matters is now. It feels good to have the upper hand going into Game 1, but we won’t know till it’s all over who’s really the better team.

Red Sox. Indians. Game 1. 8:00. Let’s fuckin’ have it.

Edwin Encarnacion hit the 3rd biggest home run in Blue Jays history last night

For reference, number 2:

And of course, number 1:

 

I actually debated saying Edwin’s was #2, mainly because it was a walk-off, but Bautista’s goes so far beyond just the game situation. The bat flip, the talk about the bat flip, the punches that ensued because of the bat flip… it’s pretty iconic. So Edwin comes in at #3.

What a game this one was in Toronto. Bautista went yard early, a Trumbomb gave Baltimore the lead in the 4th, then Carrera tied it with a single the following inning. From there, solid outings by both starters gave way to a few lockdown innings from both bullpens. It was pretty clear once this game got to the bullpens, runs would certainly be at a premium. These are two of the best pens in the AL, and they proved that with shutout performances from the 6th to the 11th.

Obviously much of the talk about this game today is the fact that Buck Showalter never went to his historically good closer, Zach Britton, who had yet to give up an earned run in like 60 innings or something crazy like that. Britton had an insanely successful year, and I kept asking myself, along with the rest of the country, “Why isn’t this dude in yet?” Even in the 11th, when Toronto got a few baserunners and Buck went to the bullpen, he chose to go with a starter in Ubaldo Jimenez. Was he really that confident that they’d win, and he could save Britton for the ALDS? Or did he just want to get a lead first? I just don’t get it.

Showalter’s a top manager in the league, so he may not lose his job over this, but he’s gonna get a lot of criticism for sure. And it’s deserved. You have the best closer in the league, who had one of the best years for a relief pitcher in the history of baseball, and you’re not gonna use him in the biggest situation in the biggest game of your season? Just a weird, weird move.

Ultimately, the better team won. Edwin BOMBED that ball into the upper deck, and the Jays move on to face Texas in the ALDS. Congratulations, worst fans in the world.

PS – Also feel like I gotta mention the beer throw. As ridiculous as it is, and as much as I definitely don’t condone it (especially combined with alleged racial slurs hurled at Kim and Jones), you bet your sweet ass I would not be ratting on a dude that threw that beer. You know how much those tickets costed? Enough to justify not ratting.

The MLB Playoffs start… TONIGHT!

This is kinda like how I was psyched to go to college for like 3 years then the day came and I was like…. shit… I’m not ready at all. This day’s been in the back of my mind for the better part of 6 months and now it’s here and I just don’t even know what to do. What do I do with my hands? What do I normally do with my hands?

Ok, I’m good, I’m good. So tonight we start with the AL Wild Card game as the Orioles take on the Blue Jays north of the border. I was right in my preview blog yesterday about Tillman taking the hill for Baltimore, but it’ll actually be Marcus Stroman pitching for Toronto, not JA Happ. Which to be honest, really surprises me. Like many fans, I was expecting 2016 to be Stroman’s breakout season, after using last year to come back from his ACL surgery and David Price leaving an open void at the ace spot for the Jays. But the guy finished 2016 with a 4.37 ERA and only managed to win 9 games on a playoff-bound team. Happ and Sanchez both seem to be better options for a win-or-go-home game, but manager John Gibbons chose to stick with their spots in the rotation in the final week of the season. This wasn’t a terrible idea, I guess, since Toronto technically hadn’t clinched anything until the last game of the season. By any means, just not ideal for the Jays.

If you read the playoff preview, you know I picked Toronto to win this game. The pitching matchup doesn’t change that, but it does make the game itself much more interesting. Stroman is pretty inexperienced as far as playoff pitching goes, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see a rough start on his part. He’ll settle down and go at least 6 strong I think, but just something to watch for. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Baltimore jump out to an early lead, especially since Tillman is generally very effective early in games, but watch for a big swing mid-game that’ll decide who gets to go to Texas later this week.

PLAAYYYYOOOFFFFFF BAAAAASSEEEBAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!