Denny Medley-Imagn Images In an era marked by aggressive bullpen usage and pitching staff chaos, Gerrit Cole delivered a fantastic seven-inning performance on Thursday night to lead the Yankees past the Royals and into the ALCS. The final score of 3-1 makes the game appear closer than it actually felt; the Royals really only threatened…
Well that’s not how it was supposed to go. The Phillies came into this season as one of the World Series favorites, having won the pennant in 2022, then reached the NLCS in 2023. They were the best team in the National League for most of the year, and — having won the club’s first…
On Monday afternoon, across his seven innings of shutout work against the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the ALDS, Tarik Skubal threw five pitches that moved to his glove side. His other 87 pitches — fastballs, sinkers, and changeups — went the other direction. Here’s what that looked like on a pitch movement plot:…
Ben Lindbergh and Meg Rowley discuss various baseball topics in this episode. They talk about the possibility of players predicting opponents’ home runs, the Mets’ NLDS victory, New York’s title drought, Padres-Dodgers Games 3 and 4, Walker Buehler’s “earned” runs, Manny Machado’s clever dash, ALDS updates, a green-screen response and broadcast nitpicks, the possibly impending…
The postseason is at its most fun when both teams have something to prove. The ZiPS projections may have been bullish on the Cleveland Guardians coming into the season, but the computer was in the minority, with most observers thinking the Minnesota Twins were the clear favorites in the division. The Guardians are no longer…
After Jazz Chisholm Jr. told reporters, “They just got lucky,” in reference to the Royals’ 4-2 win over the Yankees in Game 2 of the ALDS on Monday night, some teams might have pinned that quote to their figurative bulletin boards and set out to earn a decisive win in front of their home crowd…
David Reginek-Imagn Images If you’re into relief pitching and pinch-hitting, boy was Game 3 of the ALDS between the Cleveland Guardians and the Detroit Tigers the game for you. On the surface, it was fairly straightforward, a low-scoring affair that featured good pitching and a couple of timely hits. But look beneath the surface and…
NEW YORK — With his sixth-inning grand slam off Carlos Estévez, Francisco Lindor was the clear hero of Game 4 of the Division Series, providing the New York Mets with all the runs they needed to knock off the Philadelphia Phillies and advance to the National League Championship Series with a 4-1 win. Not to be…
NEW YORK — As Francisco Lindor stepped in against Phillies reliever Carlos Estévez with the bases loaded, one out, and the Mets down a run in the sixth inning, the Citi Field fans were still singing his walk-up song: When it’s cold outside, I’ve got the month of May. The Mets shortstop called time, retreated,…
Who would you pitch in a pivotal Game 4? Let’s say, just for the sake of argument, that your best starter is available on three days’ rest, and he didn’t throw a full complement of pitches in his last start. He could pitch tonight’s game – or he could pitch a potential fifth and deciding…
