So a 6-0 win lends way to a 1-0 series lead for the Dodgers. The story through the first 5 innings was Patrick Corbin Sliders and walks. 22 games this season he walked 2 batters or less, but in tonight’s first inning he walked 4, walking in a run but stranding the bases loaded. His secret weapon? His not so secret Slider. I mean, he throws the damn thing nearly 40% of the time, we all know it’s coming! But it’s so nasty and so deceiving that even the Dodgers, who are among the league leaders at not chasing pitches, were caught looking foolish at times.
The story shifts in the 7th inning, when Corbin leaves the game with 107 pitches and leaves a 2-0 game up to his bullpen. Big mistake. The Dodgers quickly went to work, loading the bases before a Max Muncy single opened it up to 4-0. Then in the bottom of the 8th, 21 year old rookie Gavin “Lux Capacitor” Lux had a pinch hit appearance for his first ever postseason at bat, and promptly hit one over the wall for a lead extending home run. Joc Pederson followed with an ABSOLUTE BOMB off the right field foul pole.
The player of the game, however, goes to Walker Buehler. 6 innings pitched, 8 strikeouts, and only 1 hit allowed. He was dominant all night, and silenced the critics who thought he shouldn’t be starting Game 1.
On the flip side of the National League, we had the Cardinals in Atlanta facing off with the Braves. Through 7 innings, it looked like Atlanta had a fairly firm grasp on the game. They had a 3-1 lead, St Louis couldn’t really get a groove going on offense, and they had 6 more outs to get to lock up a Game 1 victory.
And then the top of the 8th came around, and something weird happened. Atlanta’s Chris Martin came in to pitch, looking all but ready to go, then suddenly stepped off the mound and left the game holding what looked like his left oblique. Luke Jackson came in to replace him, and Paul Goldschmidt utterly destroyed a ball to left to make the game 3-2. A few singles later and we have a tie ball game, 3-3. Atlanta couldn’t get anything going in the bottom of the 8th, leaving all the momentum in the Cardinals’ dugout. And what they did with it was electric.
The top of the 9th saw the Cardinals quickly load the bases and follow it up with 2 huge 2 run doubles to pull ahead 7-3. In the game of baseball. a 4 run lead is a beautiful thing. It means that even in the worst case scenario where you load the bases, you can’t lose the game off a grand slam. The Cardinals had a cushion, and wouldn’t give it up.
Despite a frantic 2 home run rally, the final would be 7-6, Cardinals take a 1-0 series lead.
The action continues today, as all 4 Division Series games take place. The Astros open up the fun against the Rays, followed by Game 2 for the Braves and Cardinals. The Yankees open up their series with the Twins during that game, and the late game of the night goes to the Boys in Blue for Game 2, Kershaw vs Strasburg. It should be a fun matchup!
That’s it for now! I’ll talk to you all in the next one!
Love,
Devin
Devin's Dugout 