October 4, 2025 • 21 mins
The Wild Card Series has ended and it’s officially time for the Division Series to start. What will the future hold for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Dodgers, Phillies, Cubs, Brewers, Marlins, and Tigers?
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Series.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
The Wildcard Round is officially over, and it's timed to
shift our sites forward. The special Division series preview edition
of may.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Day starts right now. Roll the intro.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We don't have one of those Welcome to may Day,
A show about the show. The twenty twenty five Wildcard
Round was exactly the way everyone thought it would be.
It is called the Wildcard for a reason. Quite a
few first happened this time around. As you may remember,
the playoff format was extended to twelve teams, with the
(00:47):
Wildcards turning into three game series in twenty twenty two.
Since then, the winner of the first game has had
a lot to go their way. That finally changed this year,
as the Yankees became the first team to lose the
first game then come back and win the series since
that format changed, the team that lost the first round
was zero to fifteen in those series up to that point.
Thursday was also the first time in Major League history
(01:09):
where there were three deciding games in the Wildcard Round
in this same day, and though I was stuck in
traffic for most of it, it still came through the
radio pretty well. Now we're going to talk about this
series in a moment, but I just want to hit
this off the top. Mason Miller set a record by
striking out the first eight batters he faced in his
playoff career, and one pitch I think truly demonstrated how
(01:35):
dominant he was as he dotted a one hundred and
four point five mile an hour fastball down and a
way to get one of those strikeouts. Looking the guy's incredible.
Just wanted to point that out right away. If you remember,
he took over closing for the A's for some other guy,
I can't. I can't remember his name. I taught him
(01:56):
everything he knows. So let's look back at the Wildcard
series real quick. The Dodgers take down the Reds to zero.
That was my prediction, and I think it was a
lot of people's prediction. With Lake Snell and Yoshinobo Yamamoto
combining to give up two earned runs in thirteen and
two thirds innings, show hey Otani, Mooki, Betts, Taoskar Hernandez
and Freddi Fehman combined for fifteen of the dodgers twenty
(02:19):
eight hits in the two games.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
You may notice that there's.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Five MVPs amongst those four players, and they represent the
top half of the lineup. Basically, they're doing what they're
supposed to be doing. Most importantly for the Dodgers, a
strong performance from Roki Sasaki finishing off the clinching game
may have gave a little bit of a glimmer into
who might be finishing games moving forward. As we know,
that was a big question mark for the Dodgers' bullpen,
(02:43):
and even though they won these two games early handily,
the bullpen was not a strength. There was one fascinating
moment in the eighth inning of that same clinching game
where Emmitt Shehan, up one to two on Will Benson,
was pulled without an injury in favor for Alex Vesio,
who then came in. Had a pinch hitter then enter
the box in a one to two count. Miguel Andrew
(03:05):
harr And was immediately struck out on a first pitch fastball,
so Alex Vesia got a strikeout by throwing one pitch.
He then walked Matt McLain and got TJ. Friedel to
end the inning. We haven't seen anyone get pulled with
in a two strike count since the Dodgers actually did
it when Joe Kelly got hurt in twenty twenty one,
and the Dodgers move on to the surprise to probably
(03:26):
nobody moving on, Tigers Guardians. Tigers take down their division
rival to one in the series on the back of
Dylan Dingler's big sixth inning home run to break the
one to one tie and give the two to one
lead to the Tigers. Now, you may remember the night
before the Guardians did the very same thing with Brian
(03:48):
Rokyo breaking the tie with his own solo shot, and
then the floodgates opened a little bit, leading to a
Guardian six to one win. The most interesting thing about
this is the Guardians overcame a fi fifteen and a
half game lead in the division just to line up
with the same team. So, if you really think about it,
something that amazing, that historic, The biggest comeback in history
(04:10):
literally didn't matter at all because the same two teams,
regardless of who won the division, were going to face
off in the winner takes All series to start the playoffs.
The collapse did not matter at all, and I'm still
processing what that means now. The Tigers took Game one
of that series on the back of cy young hopeful
Terrek Skooble, who threw seven to two thirds anying, striking
(04:32):
out fourteen batters, tying the Tigers record for most strikeouts
in a playoff game. He toped one hundred miles an
hour eleven different times in the game, last swift coming
on a one hundred and one point two mile in
our fastball to Brian Roko. That was yes, you guys
swung and missed at. Among the twenty eight batters that
Terrek actually faced, only three of them got the ball
out of the infield Padres Cubs. Ends up being two
(04:54):
to one in favor of the Cubs. Pete Armstrong headed
RBI single of you Darvish to open up the scoring
yesterday in the deciding game, and though the ninth inning
got a little bit dicey behind Brad Keller, Andrew Kittricks
came in and was able to get out of a
jam with the bases loaded to preserve the three to
one lead. In that same game, Fernando Tatis Junior went
(05:16):
oh for four with three strikeouts and Manny Machado was
held quiet as well. And finally we have Red Sox Yankees,
with the Yankees taking the.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Two to one victory in the series.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
For the Yankees, rookie Cam Schlitzler nailed it in only
his eighty fifth day as a major league pitcher, became
the first pitcher to throw at least eight scorelers innings
with twelve strikeouts and zero walks.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
In a postseason game.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
According to ESPN research, his twelve strikeouts are were the
most in a winner and take all game in history,
the most in a playoff debute in Yankees' history.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I just said debute. It is what it is, and.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
That's also the most he's ever compiled in any professional game.
That is impressive. Now, for three innings, Connelly early, his
counterpart of the Boston Red Sox, another rookie pitcher, held
his own, but ran into a lot of trouble with
some dicey defense out in the outfield, and the Yankees
were able to put up a four run inning. That
is all they ended up needing as they took the
(06:13):
game for it to nothing. Not to be overshadowed by
the Yankees victory, Gerrick Crochet put up just about as
good of a game as Terry scoobl did, doing seven
to two thirds, ending striking out eleven and getting the win,
passing the torch to Roaldiz Chapman who was able to
lock down the safe houdniing his way out of a
basis loaded zero out situation to lock it down. So
(06:35):
let's check in on my wild carbonddictions and see how
we did.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
It's over here, is in it? It's over here pretty good.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
The only one I missed was the Padres took one
game in the Cubs. Everything else exactly right, all four
of my teams moving forward.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Let's see if I can keep that up. There's no
way I can keep that up.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So let's preview the next round. The division series four
series going once again. The Dodgers take on the Phillies,
the Yankees take on their division rival to Toronto Blue Jays,
Mariners have the Tigers coming into town, and the Cubs
go to the Brewers. All right, start with Dodgers Phillies.
So going into this series, both teams have very distinct
(07:18):
strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
For the Phillies, their rotation is.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Rested and Nasty looks like they're going to use their
three lefties that is Christopher Sanchez game one, hezus Lozardo
in Game two, and Rangers Worerez in Game three, probably
with Aaron Nola waiting in the wings for a Game four, presumably.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
To help in the gate.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
The Shoho Tawny and the Freddie Freeman top of that lineup. Combined,
those three guys have held lefties under a seven hundred
ops on the season. Their weaknesses, though, are what they've
been the last few years, and they've seemed to be
able to overcome the bullpen. Now they traded for you
on Durant at the deadline. He has been nail since
(07:55):
he's been there. We're going to see him for more
than three outs, probably quite a bit, but it's all
about how do we get there. Those starting pitchers that
I mentioned earlier have been throwing a lot of innings.
There is a world in which they get deep and
they hand it off similarly to how Crochet did with
Chapman in Game one of that series. But you can't
do that every night, and the chances that you have
(08:17):
a starting pitcher going seven innings every single night, you're
probably very much in the driver's city that's happening. So
maybe you don't even need your leverage guys that much.
But it's going to be interesting to see how they
deploy Josey Alvarado, Ryan Kirkering and like Jordan Romano, the
hard throwing, the strikeout guys. Are these guys going to
come in to get out of big situations? Are they
going to be set on the shelf. We're going to
go to Tanner Banks earlier. Is he going to be
(08:39):
the bridge guy? Or are we going to try to
match this thing up? Because they have three lefties out
there in Alvarado, in Strom and in Banks as well
as David Robertson has been setting up a little bit too,
so I'm sure they will mix and match to get there.
On the other side, the Dodger's strength the complete opposite
of what it was last year. These starting pitching, Blake Snell,
Yamamoto threw incredible. They seem to be lined up to
(09:00):
throw again. Tyler glasnow did not throw in the first series.
He is ready to go show Heyo Tani is going
to throw Game one, though he has not stretched out.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
I doubt he goes more than five innings.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
They have the starting pitching, they have the talent, and
a few of those guys have been throwing really really
well lately, especially when you have Hall of Famer Clinton
Kershaw also wait in the wings. That is going to
be interesting to see how deep they going to the game,
because their weakness is very similar to the Phillies. That
bullpen has a lot of question marks, Like Trinon's been
a little bit better lately, but he has not been
(09:31):
as effective as he has been historically. Who knows what
Tanner Scott's going to give you, though there has been
one bright spot in Roki Sasaki when you say, hey,
go throw as hard as you can and throw that forkball,
slash split or whatever he wants to call it. He's
very hard to hit and we're seeing triple digits out
of him once again and that forkball being absolutely devastating.
This might be his best case scenario and he could
(09:54):
be the guy who finished his games. And it's going
to be really interesting to see how the fifth through
the eighth are hand on both sides.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Key matchups is Matt Strom and.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
How he is demployed against those lefties that I mentioned
at the top of that lineup. For the Dodgers, it's
going to be so important that they neutralize Shoeotani and
Freddie Freeman. They have are killers and have been killers
in the playoffs, So how are we going to get
those two out? Also, It'll be interesting to see it
what version of Bryce Harper we get because he's had
a little bit of rest. Though this season by all metrics,
(10:25):
is a solid season, it's not quite a Bryce Harper season,
So we'll see what kind of version of him we get.
Guys outside chance of winning the MVP if that team
moves on. For the Phillies, Trey Turner, he is a
spark plug. He is the athletic, take the extra base,
make a big play, and he is the middle of
that defense. All of those things are going to have
(10:47):
to be tight, and if he mixes in a home
run or two or some a three hit game, he
might be the guy that is the difference maker for
the Phillies. And on the other side it's ta Oskar Andandez.
He had two home runs in the first game of
the Wildcard Series. He has a career one three three
three ops against lefties in the playoffs, and he seems
(11:08):
like he is getting hot right at the right time,
So pay attention to him. If the Dodgers move on,
he could be their MVP. Tigers and Mariners. The Mariners
host the Tigers, and for the first time in a
very long time, one of their big strengths is power Suarez,
Cal Rowley, Julio Rodriguez, has come on Josh Naylor.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
They have five everyday.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Players with over twenty five home runs and Josh Naylor
has a four ninety slugging percentage.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
So they have been putting.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
The balls in the gaps and over the fence in
a part that's not easy to do. That is something
that you need in the playoffs, and I think they
are well positioned to hit those big home runs when
they need them. And obviously we know about their starting pitching.
They got the guys lined up. One of their big
weaknesses though, is their pitching on the road, with a
four to five ERA that is the highest of any
team left in the playoffs, which is weird considering that
the Mariners are known for their pitching. They specialize in
(11:55):
winning winning low scoring games, but that has not been
the case in the road. So it's about taking care
of business at home now. On the other side, big
strengths for the Tigers. What's going to look like if
they are able to pull this thing out? Terrek Scooble's
going to have to pitch twice at the level that
he is pitching now, He's just got to put the
team on his back, put him in a backpack, take
him to the finish line. Terrek Scouoble is the name
(12:16):
of the game. Their weakness has been their lineup now.
They've been mixed and matching all year. They've been platooning.
They almost have a guy who can hit left or
right at every single position.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
That has not worked lately.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
As their clinching game that they just won six to
three was the first time they had scored more than
five runs since September tenth, The key matchup will be
terror Scouble versus cal Rawley. Cayl Rawley has definitely improved
his offense from the right side this season, improving from
a six hundred ops into the thousands.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
So will there be a big homer? Wants to wait
and see.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
He is two for nine against Schoogle career and with
a home run power on power the wild cards for
the Mariners. We know how good Huli Rodriguez is in July,
and we know how good he is in August, and
we know how good he's in September. But how good
is he and off are we still going to see
the guy that's red hot, the center fielder that runs
everything down Lafenan himself or will we see April. Eh,
(13:09):
it'll be interesting. He is a guy who plays up
the crowd. He plays with emotion and sometimes that gets
him a little bit ahead of his keys. So he
is the wild card for me. If the Mariners move
on hul Order, he guess will probably be a big
reason for that. On the other side, it's Carry Carpenter again.
Bunch of righty starters that he is in the lineup
to hit, and he's been a little quiet so far.
(13:29):
They're going to need him to get hot. If Carry
Carpenter gets hot, there's not a lot for the Mariners
to do in order to neutralize him.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
So pay attention to that. What about Cubs Brewers.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
The Cubs took the season series seven to six over
the Brewers. These teams have been beating up on each
other constantly, so the Brewers their strengths excellent fundamental baseball.
They do not make mistakes just to make them. They
don't take stupid chances, they take the extra base, they
make the place they're supposed to make. They steal bases,
don't strike out, and though the power might be a
(14:00):
little bit lower than you would like, they just make
the plays they're supposed to make, so you can't count
on pressuring them into make unforced errors. But the weakness
is that power in the playoffs. The homer, as we
spoke about before, is the thing that oftentimes quickly shifts
the momentum. It alleviates some of the anxiety or the
(14:20):
pressure or the tightness and allows you to go swing
freely for a little bit. That is something that they
are going to need to do, but they do have
guys who can do it in Jackson Cheerio and Christian
Yelich and William Contreras. Like these guys can hit the
big home run. It is something that they will probably
need to see at some point in some big spot
if they are looking to take down the Cubs. And
(14:40):
the strengths of the Cubs, on the other hand, are
their defense's ability to prevent runs gol Glover at shortstop
and Dansby Swanson probable gol Glover in center field, with
PCA Goal Glove at second base and Nico Horner. They
also make the players they're supposed to make and some
of the ones they're not. Defense, being a strength for
the Cubs, matches up really well to brus probably why
they beat each other up all year now a couple
(15:02):
little soft spots for them. The offense has been a
little bit more inconsistent than it was in the first half.
They were actually carrying the cover off the ball, though
it has come on a little bit better here at
the end of the year. Mikey matchup for this series,
Pat Murphy Greg Counsel, who will make better decisions? If
you remember, Pat Murphy worked underneath Craig Counsel as his
(15:23):
bench coach.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
For eight years before Craig moved over. Pat Murphy has.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Now become the head coach of These guys know each
other well, so it's going to be really interesting to
see how that plays.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Out in a playoff series.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Pinch hitting, bringing in pitchers, putting on plays, bunting, all
of this stuff is.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Going to be part of the game.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Both teams are focused heavily on good defense and good
fundamental baseball, so expect to see that a lot in
this series. And the wild cards for the series reached
team the Brewers stuff Freelick. He has been a spark
plug for this team. I expect him to be a
spark plug here in the first series, even if he
is not on paper, they're best at much.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
He is a good.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Player at most things, and he makes the right decisions
more often than not, so I can see him being there.
Steve Pierce their guy who goes off, gets the big
hit in the big situations and inevitably leads them to
a series win. On the other side, Pca turned it
on a little bit, Rose to the occasion in the
deciding game, and he's a guy who feeds off that energy,
(16:25):
just eats it right up, and I anticipate he's going
to bring that adrenaline, that excitement into the next series.
I can see him getting hot in the big situations.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
All right.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Our last matchup Yankees Blue Jays one that we've seen
many many times this year. The Blue Jays won their
season series handily, but as we know, none of that
matters going into the playoffs. Just ask for the Guardians
blue Jay strength. They hit the ball, they put it
in play. George Springer has come on big time. Vladimir
Guerrero as being Vladimir Guerrera after signing his big contract,
(16:57):
all of the rest of the lineup, the platoon guys
Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, they put the ball in play,
they don't strike out a lot, and against a Yankees
team that really needs strikeouts to get out of big
situations because the defense has been shoddy at times. Not
striking out and making the defense have to make lots
and lots of plays behind them could be really helpful
(17:19):
for the Blue Jays and has been all year. Their weakness, though,
has been the rotation. Is Ibrios is not going to
pitch in the DS. They are going to lean very
heavily on Kevin Gosman, Chane Bieber and on Rookie Tray.
You're savage now on paper, these guys have great stuff.
I mean, I would take Gosman number one regardless, but
and Bieber's got a lot of experience and a sion
huner's belt, so the guy does not get rattled and
(17:40):
keeps you in games.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Trey R.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Savage, on the other hand, We'll have to wait and
see on how he handles these situations, but he seems
to have not been bothered. On the other side. Yankees strength,
it's the slug. It's the ability dat a home run
at any time. Aaron Judge, gen Carlo Stanton, hell Jazz
Chisholm thirty thirty season like, these guys can hit homers
at any time, but their weaknesses outside of the defense
to the bullpen. They only us four guys in three
(18:03):
games in Cruiz Weaver who did not get an out,
Devin Williams, and David Bednar.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
It was enough.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
It's not like these guys were lights out and punching
out the world. That we didn't have a Mason Milliar situation.
But how are the other guys going to factor in
Tim Hill coming and face some lefties. How we're going
to switch guys around. They're going to have to do
a little bit more of this than they had to
against the Red Sox. It is more of a potent
lineup and not as good of a matchup. So we'll
see how that bullpen kind of pans out, especially being
(18:30):
majority games on the road. Key matchups. Yankees fielding Jay's contact.
I already mentioned it, but I'll mention it again. A
lot of balls in play mean a lot of balls
needed to be fielded, a lot of balls needed to
be fielding, meaning more opportunities for errors. New York committed
eleven ers across seven contests early in the year Toronto,
winning six of those games. So like when Toronto took
the Division. They were making lots of errors and putting
(18:52):
a lot of pressure on them. To expect that pressure
to be put on them again. So the wild Cards,
I think a big one. A guy may be outside
of the main guys that you were thinking about for
the Yankees, Ben Rice. Ben Rice has the opportunity, especially
facing a bunch of rieties here, to hit a bunch
of homers, and he's gonna be facing a lot of
starting right and pitching.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
He'll be in there a lot more.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And then on the flip side, even though Freed and
Rodin will be handling a lot of the innings for
the Yankees, there will be a lot of right handed pitching.
Addison Barger could play a pivotal role for the Blue Jays.
He hit twenty one home runs this last season. He
can do damage, and he's a guy you don't necessarily
think about when you're getting ready to face this lineup,
(19:34):
so he could sneak he gets some good pitches to
hit and kind of be overlooked.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
So pay attention to Adison Barger.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Finally, here's my predictions for the Division Series. So the
Mariners take on the Tigers, and I have the Mariners
taking that one three to one, with the one win
for the Tigers being a tark Schoogle start in Game two.
On the bottom part of the bracket, I have Toronto
versus the Yankees, with Toronto taking it three to two in.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
A Game five in a hot league.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Has did extra inning affair that the Blue Jay's end
up walking off, That's just my guess.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
I have the Blue Jays.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Moving on am Mariners, Blue Jays meeting in the ALCS.
On the other side, Phillies versus Dodgers. I have the
Phillies taking it three to two over the Dodgers. Another
hotly contested battle, but I have the Phillies behind Bryce
Harper in that Game five, putting them away, having to
face a lot of those young starting pitchers for the Dodgers,
(20:26):
and then the Cubs barely eke it out over the Brewers.
I think the Cubs are dialed in right now. I
think they just have a little bit more of a
potent offense, and I just think, like guys like Michael Bush,
guys like PCA, I think there's gonna be some big
moments that might hurt the Brewers a little bit too
much to pull it out though Brewers have the best
record in the baseball It's just they're my one team
(20:49):
that I think is going to be hurt a little bit.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
By that five day hiatus. But we'll see.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Could be wrong, I often am, So what do you think?
Who's going to take it? Who's going to move on
to the championship series. Let me go down in the comments.
I always love to hear what you guys have to
say and how.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
You guys all agree with me.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Give it a little bit of a like and I'll
see you next time on Mayday. Enjoy the Division Series.
Series.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
The Wildcard Round is officially over, and it's timed to
shift our sites forward. The special Division series preview edition
of may.
Speaker 1 (00:20):
Day starts right now. Roll the intro.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
We don't have one of those Welcome to may Day,
A show about the show. The twenty twenty five Wildcard
Round was exactly the way everyone thought it would be.
It is called the Wildcard for a reason. Quite a
few first happened this time around. As you may remember,
the playoff format was extended to twelve teams, with the
(00:47):
Wildcards turning into three game series in twenty twenty two.
Since then, the winner of the first game has had
a lot to go their way. That finally changed this year,
as the Yankees became the first team to lose the
first game then come back and win the series since
that format changed, the team that lost the first round
was zero to fifteen in those series up to that point.
Thursday was also the first time in Major League history
(01:09):
where there were three deciding games in the Wildcard Round
in this same day, and though I was stuck in
traffic for most of it, it still came through the
radio pretty well. Now we're going to talk about this
series in a moment, but I just want to hit
this off the top. Mason Miller set a record by
striking out the first eight batters he faced in his
playoff career, and one pitch I think truly demonstrated how
(01:35):
dominant he was as he dotted a one hundred and
four point five mile an hour fastball down and a
way to get one of those strikeouts. Looking the guy's incredible.
Just wanted to point that out right away. If you remember,
he took over closing for the A's for some other guy,
I can't. I can't remember his name. I taught him
(01:56):
everything he knows. So let's look back at the Wildcard
series real quick. The Dodgers take down the Reds to zero.
That was my prediction, and I think it was a
lot of people's prediction. With Lake Snell and Yoshinobo Yamamoto
combining to give up two earned runs in thirteen and
two thirds innings, show hey Otani, Mooki, Betts, Taoskar Hernandez
and Freddi Fehman combined for fifteen of the dodgers twenty
(02:19):
eight hits in the two games.
Speaker 1 (02:21):
You may notice that there's.
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Five MVPs amongst those four players, and they represent the
top half of the lineup. Basically, they're doing what they're
supposed to be doing. Most importantly for the Dodgers, a
strong performance from Roki Sasaki finishing off the clinching game
may have gave a little bit of a glimmer into
who might be finishing games moving forward. As we know,
that was a big question mark for the Dodgers' bullpen,
(02:43):
and even though they won these two games early handily,
the bullpen was not a strength. There was one fascinating
moment in the eighth inning of that same clinching game
where Emmitt Shehan, up one to two on Will Benson,
was pulled without an injury in favor for Alex Vesio,
who then came in. Had a pinch hitter then enter
the box in a one to two count. Miguel Andrew
(03:05):
harr And was immediately struck out on a first pitch fastball,
so Alex Vesia got a strikeout by throwing one pitch.
He then walked Matt McLain and got TJ. Friedel to
end the inning. We haven't seen anyone get pulled with
in a two strike count since the Dodgers actually did
it when Joe Kelly got hurt in twenty twenty one,
and the Dodgers move on to the surprise to probably
(03:26):
nobody moving on, Tigers Guardians. Tigers take down their division
rival to one in the series on the back of
Dylan Dingler's big sixth inning home run to break the
one to one tie and give the two to one
lead to the Tigers. Now, you may remember the night
before the Guardians did the very same thing with Brian
(03:48):
Rokyo breaking the tie with his own solo shot, and
then the floodgates opened a little bit, leading to a
Guardian six to one win. The most interesting thing about
this is the Guardians overcame a fi fifteen and a
half game lead in the division just to line up
with the same team. So, if you really think about it,
something that amazing, that historic, The biggest comeback in history
(04:10):
literally didn't matter at all because the same two teams,
regardless of who won the division, were going to face
off in the winner takes All series to start the playoffs.
The collapse did not matter at all, and I'm still
processing what that means now. The Tigers took Game one
of that series on the back of cy young hopeful
Terrek Skooble, who threw seven to two thirds anying, striking
(04:32):
out fourteen batters, tying the Tigers record for most strikeouts
in a playoff game. He toped one hundred miles an
hour eleven different times in the game, last swift coming
on a one hundred and one point two mile in
our fastball to Brian Roko. That was yes, you guys
swung and missed at. Among the twenty eight batters that
Terrek actually faced, only three of them got the ball
out of the infield Padres Cubs. Ends up being two
(04:54):
to one in favor of the Cubs. Pete Armstrong headed
RBI single of you Darvish to open up the scoring
yesterday in the deciding game, and though the ninth inning
got a little bit dicey behind Brad Keller, Andrew Kittricks
came in and was able to get out of a
jam with the bases loaded to preserve the three to
one lead. In that same game, Fernando Tatis Junior went
(05:16):
oh for four with three strikeouts and Manny Machado was
held quiet as well. And finally we have Red Sox Yankees,
with the Yankees taking the.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Two to one victory in the series.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
For the Yankees, rookie Cam Schlitzler nailed it in only
his eighty fifth day as a major league pitcher, became
the first pitcher to throw at least eight scorelers innings
with twelve strikeouts and zero walks.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
In a postseason game.
Speaker 2 (05:40):
According to ESPN research, his twelve strikeouts are were the
most in a winner and take all game in history,
the most in a playoff debute in Yankees' history.
Speaker 1 (05:48):
I just said debute. It is what it is, and.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
That's also the most he's ever compiled in any professional game.
That is impressive. Now, for three innings, Connelly early, his
counterpart of the Boston Red Sox, another rookie pitcher, held
his own, but ran into a lot of trouble with
some dicey defense out in the outfield, and the Yankees
were able to put up a four run inning. That
is all they ended up needing as they took the
(06:13):
game for it to nothing. Not to be overshadowed by
the Yankees victory, Gerrick Crochet put up just about as
good of a game as Terry scoobl did, doing seven
to two thirds, ending striking out eleven and getting the win,
passing the torch to Roaldiz Chapman who was able to
lock down the safe houdniing his way out of a
basis loaded zero out situation to lock it down. So
(06:35):
let's check in on my wild carbonddictions and see how
we did.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
It's over here, is in it? It's over here pretty good.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
The only one I missed was the Padres took one
game in the Cubs. Everything else exactly right, all four
of my teams moving forward.
Speaker 1 (06:52):
Let's see if I can keep that up. There's no
way I can keep that up.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
So let's preview the next round. The division series four
series going once again. The Dodgers take on the Phillies,
the Yankees take on their division rival to Toronto Blue Jays,
Mariners have the Tigers coming into town, and the Cubs
go to the Brewers. All right, start with Dodgers Phillies.
So going into this series, both teams have very distinct
(07:18):
strengths and weaknesses.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
For the Phillies, their rotation is.
Speaker 2 (07:22):
Rested and Nasty looks like they're going to use their
three lefties that is Christopher Sanchez game one, hezus Lozardo
in Game two, and Rangers Worerez in Game three, probably
with Aaron Nola waiting in the wings for a Game four, presumably.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
To help in the gate.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
The Shoho Tawny and the Freddie Freeman top of that lineup. Combined,
those three guys have held lefties under a seven hundred
ops on the season. Their weaknesses, though, are what they've
been the last few years, and they've seemed to be
able to overcome the bullpen. Now they traded for you
on Durant at the deadline. He has been nail since
(07:55):
he's been there. We're going to see him for more
than three outs, probably quite a bit, but it's all
about how do we get there. Those starting pitchers that
I mentioned earlier have been throwing a lot of innings.
There is a world in which they get deep and
they hand it off similarly to how Crochet did with
Chapman in Game one of that series. But you can't
do that every night, and the chances that you have
(08:17):
a starting pitcher going seven innings every single night, you're
probably very much in the driver's city that's happening. So
maybe you don't even need your leverage guys that much.
But it's going to be interesting to see how they
deploy Josey Alvarado, Ryan Kirkering and like Jordan Romano, the
hard throwing, the strikeout guys. Are these guys going to
come in to get out of big situations? Are they
going to be set on the shelf. We're going to
go to Tanner Banks earlier. Is he going to be
(08:39):
the bridge guy? Or are we going to try to
match this thing up? Because they have three lefties out
there in Alvarado, in Strom and in Banks as well
as David Robertson has been setting up a little bit too,
so I'm sure they will mix and match to get there.
On the other side, the Dodger's strength the complete opposite
of what it was last year. These starting pitching, Blake Snell,
Yamamoto threw incredible. They seem to be lined up to
(09:00):
throw again. Tyler glasnow did not throw in the first series.
He is ready to go show Heyo Tani is going
to throw Game one, though he has not stretched out.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
I doubt he goes more than five innings.
Speaker 2 (09:10):
They have the starting pitching, they have the talent, and
a few of those guys have been throwing really really
well lately, especially when you have Hall of Famer Clinton
Kershaw also wait in the wings. That is going to
be interesting to see how deep they going to the game,
because their weakness is very similar to the Phillies. That
bullpen has a lot of question marks, Like Trinon's been
a little bit better lately, but he has not been
(09:31):
as effective as he has been historically. Who knows what
Tanner Scott's going to give you, though there has been
one bright spot in Roki Sasaki when you say, hey,
go throw as hard as you can and throw that forkball,
slash split or whatever he wants to call it. He's
very hard to hit and we're seeing triple digits out
of him once again and that forkball being absolutely devastating.
This might be his best case scenario and he could
(09:54):
be the guy who finished his games. And it's going
to be really interesting to see how the fifth through
the eighth are hand on both sides.
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Key matchups is Matt Strom and.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
How he is demployed against those lefties that I mentioned
at the top of that lineup. For the Dodgers, it's
going to be so important that they neutralize Shoeotani and
Freddie Freeman. They have are killers and have been killers
in the playoffs, So how are we going to get
those two out? Also, It'll be interesting to see it
what version of Bryce Harper we get because he's had
a little bit of rest. Though this season by all metrics,
(10:25):
is a solid season, it's not quite a Bryce Harper season,
So we'll see what kind of version of him we get.
Guys outside chance of winning the MVP if that team
moves on. For the Phillies, Trey Turner, he is a
spark plug. He is the athletic, take the extra base,
make a big play, and he is the middle of
that defense. All of those things are going to have
(10:47):
to be tight, and if he mixes in a home
run or two or some a three hit game, he
might be the guy that is the difference maker for
the Phillies. And on the other side it's ta Oskar Andandez.
He had two home runs in the first game of
the Wildcard Series. He has a career one three three
three ops against lefties in the playoffs, and he seems
(11:08):
like he is getting hot right at the right time,
So pay attention to him. If the Dodgers move on,
he could be their MVP. Tigers and Mariners. The Mariners
host the Tigers, and for the first time in a
very long time, one of their big strengths is power Suarez,
Cal Rowley, Julio Rodriguez, has come on Josh Naylor.
Speaker 1 (11:26):
They have five everyday.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
Players with over twenty five home runs and Josh Naylor
has a four ninety slugging percentage.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
So they have been putting.
Speaker 2 (11:34):
The balls in the gaps and over the fence in
a part that's not easy to do. That is something
that you need in the playoffs, and I think they
are well positioned to hit those big home runs when
they need them. And obviously we know about their starting pitching.
They got the guys lined up. One of their big
weaknesses though, is their pitching on the road, with a
four to five ERA that is the highest of any
team left in the playoffs, which is weird considering that
the Mariners are known for their pitching. They specialize in
(11:55):
winning winning low scoring games, but that has not been
the case in the road. So it's about taking care
of business at home now. On the other side, big
strengths for the Tigers. What's going to look like if
they are able to pull this thing out? Terrek Scooble's
going to have to pitch twice at the level that
he is pitching now, He's just got to put the
team on his back, put him in a backpack, take
him to the finish line. Terrek Scouoble is the name
(12:16):
of the game. Their weakness has been their lineup now.
They've been mixed and matching all year. They've been platooning.
They almost have a guy who can hit left or
right at every single position.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
That has not worked lately.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
As their clinching game that they just won six to
three was the first time they had scored more than
five runs since September tenth, The key matchup will be
terror Scouble versus cal Rawley. Cayl Rawley has definitely improved
his offense from the right side this season, improving from
a six hundred ops into the thousands.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
So will there be a big homer? Wants to wait
and see.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
He is two for nine against Schoogle career and with
a home run power on power the wild cards for
the Mariners. We know how good Huli Rodriguez is in July,
and we know how good he is in August, and
we know how good he's in September. But how good
is he and off are we still going to see
the guy that's red hot, the center fielder that runs
everything down Lafenan himself or will we see April. Eh,
(13:09):
it'll be interesting. He is a guy who plays up
the crowd. He plays with emotion and sometimes that gets
him a little bit ahead of his keys. So he
is the wild card for me. If the Mariners move
on hul Order, he guess will probably be a big
reason for that. On the other side, it's Carry Carpenter again.
Bunch of righty starters that he is in the lineup
to hit, and he's been a little quiet so far.
(13:29):
They're going to need him to get hot. If Carry
Carpenter gets hot, there's not a lot for the Mariners
to do in order to neutralize him.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
So pay attention to that. What about Cubs Brewers.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
The Cubs took the season series seven to six over
the Brewers. These teams have been beating up on each
other constantly, so the Brewers their strengths excellent fundamental baseball.
They do not make mistakes just to make them. They
don't take stupid chances, they take the extra base, they
make the place they're supposed to make. They steal bases,
don't strike out, and though the power might be a
(14:00):
little bit lower than you would like, they just make
the plays they're supposed to make, so you can't count
on pressuring them into make unforced errors. But the weakness
is that power in the playoffs. The homer, as we
spoke about before, is the thing that oftentimes quickly shifts
the momentum. It alleviates some of the anxiety or the
(14:20):
pressure or the tightness and allows you to go swing
freely for a little bit. That is something that they
are going to need to do, but they do have
guys who can do it in Jackson Cheerio and Christian
Yelich and William Contreras. Like these guys can hit the
big home run. It is something that they will probably
need to see at some point in some big spot
if they are looking to take down the Cubs. And
(14:40):
the strengths of the Cubs, on the other hand, are
their defense's ability to prevent runs gol Glover at shortstop
and Dansby Swanson probable gol Glover in center field, with
PCA Goal Glove at second base and Nico Horner. They
also make the players they're supposed to make and some
of the ones they're not. Defense, being a strength for
the Cubs, matches up really well to brus probably why
they beat each other up all year now a couple
(15:02):
little soft spots for them. The offense has been a
little bit more inconsistent than it was in the first half.
They were actually carrying the cover off the ball, though
it has come on a little bit better here at
the end of the year. Mikey matchup for this series,
Pat Murphy Greg Counsel, who will make better decisions? If
you remember, Pat Murphy worked underneath Craig Counsel as his
(15:23):
bench coach.
Speaker 1 (15:24):
For eight years before Craig moved over. Pat Murphy has.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Now become the head coach of These guys know each
other well, so it's going to be really interesting to
see how that plays.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
Out in a playoff series.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
Pinch hitting, bringing in pitchers, putting on plays, bunting, all
of this stuff is.
Speaker 1 (15:39):
Going to be part of the game.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Both teams are focused heavily on good defense and good
fundamental baseball, so expect to see that a lot in
this series. And the wild cards for the series reached
team the Brewers stuff Freelick. He has been a spark
plug for this team. I expect him to be a
spark plug here in the first series, even if he
is not on paper, they're best at much.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
He is a good.
Speaker 2 (16:01):
Player at most things, and he makes the right decisions
more often than not, so I can see him being there.
Steve Pierce their guy who goes off, gets the big
hit in the big situations and inevitably leads them to
a series win. On the other side, Pca turned it
on a little bit, Rose to the occasion in the
deciding game, and he's a guy who feeds off that energy,
(16:25):
just eats it right up, and I anticipate he's going
to bring that adrenaline, that excitement into the next series.
I can see him getting hot in the big situations.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
All right.
Speaker 2 (16:34):
Our last matchup Yankees Blue Jays one that we've seen
many many times this year. The Blue Jays won their
season series handily, but as we know, none of that
matters going into the playoffs. Just ask for the Guardians
blue Jay strength. They hit the ball, they put it
in play. George Springer has come on big time. Vladimir
Guerrero as being Vladimir Guerrera after signing his big contract,
(16:57):
all of the rest of the lineup, the platoon guys
Addison Barger, Ernie Clement, they put the ball in play,
they don't strike out a lot, and against a Yankees
team that really needs strikeouts to get out of big
situations because the defense has been shoddy at times. Not
striking out and making the defense have to make lots
and lots of plays behind them could be really helpful
(17:19):
for the Blue Jays and has been all year. Their weakness, though,
has been the rotation. Is Ibrios is not going to
pitch in the DS. They are going to lean very
heavily on Kevin Gosman, Chane Bieber and on Rookie Tray.
You're savage now on paper, these guys have great stuff.
I mean, I would take Gosman number one regardless, but
and Bieber's got a lot of experience and a sion
huner's belt, so the guy does not get rattled and
(17:40):
keeps you in games.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Trey R.
Speaker 2 (17:41):
Savage, on the other hand, We'll have to wait and
see on how he handles these situations, but he seems
to have not been bothered. On the other side. Yankees strength,
it's the slug. It's the ability dat a home run
at any time. Aaron Judge, gen Carlo Stanton, hell Jazz
Chisholm thirty thirty season like, these guys can hit homers
at any time, but their weaknesses outside of the defense
to the bullpen. They only us four guys in three
(18:03):
games in Cruiz Weaver who did not get an out,
Devin Williams, and David Bednar.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
It was enough.
Speaker 2 (18:10):
It's not like these guys were lights out and punching
out the world. That we didn't have a Mason Milliar situation.
But how are the other guys going to factor in
Tim Hill coming and face some lefties. How we're going
to switch guys around. They're going to have to do
a little bit more of this than they had to
against the Red Sox. It is more of a potent
lineup and not as good of a matchup. So we'll
see how that bullpen kind of pans out, especially being
(18:30):
majority games on the road. Key matchups. Yankees fielding Jay's contact.
I already mentioned it, but I'll mention it again. A
lot of balls in play mean a lot of balls
needed to be fielded, a lot of balls needed to
be fielding, meaning more opportunities for errors. New York committed
eleven ers across seven contests early in the year Toronto,
winning six of those games. So like when Toronto took
the Division. They were making lots of errors and putting
(18:52):
a lot of pressure on them. To expect that pressure
to be put on them again. So the wild Cards,
I think a big one. A guy may be outside
of the main guys that you were thinking about for
the Yankees, Ben Rice. Ben Rice has the opportunity, especially
facing a bunch of rieties here, to hit a bunch
of homers, and he's gonna be facing a lot of
starting right and pitching.
Speaker 1 (19:12):
He'll be in there a lot more.
Speaker 2 (19:13):
And then on the flip side, even though Freed and
Rodin will be handling a lot of the innings for
the Yankees, there will be a lot of right handed pitching.
Addison Barger could play a pivotal role for the Blue Jays.
He hit twenty one home runs this last season. He
can do damage, and he's a guy you don't necessarily
think about when you're getting ready to face this lineup,
(19:34):
so he could sneak he gets some good pitches to
hit and kind of be overlooked.
Speaker 1 (19:37):
So pay attention to Adison Barger.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Finally, here's my predictions for the Division Series. So the
Mariners take on the Tigers, and I have the Mariners
taking that one three to one, with the one win
for the Tigers being a tark Schoogle start in Game two.
On the bottom part of the bracket, I have Toronto
versus the Yankees, with Toronto taking it three to two in.
Speaker 1 (19:58):
A Game five in a hot league.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
Has did extra inning affair that the Blue Jay's end
up walking off, That's just my guess.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
I have the Blue Jays.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Moving on am Mariners, Blue Jays meeting in the ALCS.
On the other side, Phillies versus Dodgers. I have the
Phillies taking it three to two over the Dodgers. Another
hotly contested battle, but I have the Phillies behind Bryce
Harper in that Game five, putting them away, having to
face a lot of those young starting pitchers for the Dodgers,
(20:26):
and then the Cubs barely eke it out over the Brewers.
I think the Cubs are dialed in right now. I
think they just have a little bit more of a
potent offense, and I just think, like guys like Michael Bush,
guys like PCA, I think there's gonna be some big
moments that might hurt the Brewers a little bit too
much to pull it out though Brewers have the best
record in the baseball It's just they're my one team
(20:49):
that I think is going to be hurt a little bit.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
By that five day hiatus. But we'll see.
Speaker 2 (20:54):
Could be wrong, I often am, So what do you think?
Who's going to take it? Who's going to move on
to the championship series. Let me go down in the comments.
I always love to hear what you guys have to
say and how.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
You guys all agree with me.
Speaker 2 (21:06):
Give it a little bit of a like and I'll
see you next time on Mayday. Enjoy the Division Series.
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