Cleveland Guardians vs. Tampa Bay Rays
Cleveland’s lineup awoke from their slumber to win the last three games of their series with the Chicago White Sox. Jose Ramirez led that charge leading the team with 7 RBI. His 2-run HR was the difference in the Game 5 clincher. Patrick Bailey batted .333 and had a clutch HR in Game 4 against Chicago. Jo Adell drove in 6 runs for the series and also had a clutch moment in Game 4 as well. Chase DeLauter batted .250 and drove in 2 runs. Steven Kwan was relatively quiet, but he did walk 4 times. Nathaniel Lowe walked 5 times, but only batted .200. Gavin Williams had a phenomenal series striking out 24 batters in 3 appearances. Half of those strikeouts came in his Game 5 start of the Division Series. Hunter Gaddis appeared in every game for Cleveland out of the bullpen and didn’t allow a single run while striking out 6. Cade Smith got the save in Game 5 and struck out 11 batters in the Division Series while appearing in every game. Parker Messick has to be better as his 5.40 ERA was out of character for him in his two starts.
The tone was set from Game 1 of the Division Series as Drew Rasmussen took a no-hitter into the 8th inning of his start against the New York Yankees. He struck out 10 batters and did allow only one hit in that 8th inning. Closer Bryan Baker saved all three games of the sweep striking out 4 and not allowing a single hit. Freddy Peralta and Nick Martinez were solid in their starts combing to strikeout 6 batters and allowing only 3 runs combined. Junior Caminero didn’t get a single RBI, but he did bat .300 for the series. Jonathan Aranda batted .333 and drove in 2 runs. Victor Mesa hit a clutch home run in Game 3 that eventually led to the series victory. Chandler Simpson batted only .125 and will need to get on base a lot more in the ALCS. Yandy Diaz batted .250, but didn’t drive in a single run. Tampa Bay didn’t need a lot of runs to dispatch the Yankees, but they can’t rely too heavily on the pitching to repeat their performances.
Rays in 6 games
Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Milwaukee Brewers
The Dodgers used the long ball to their advantage as the majority of their runs scored against Atlanta were thanks to home runs. Max Muncy led the way with three of them. Freddie Freeman hit two home runs and batted .267 for the series. Kyle Tucker batted .333, drove in two and stole two bases as well. Andy Pages was solid batting .286 and driving in two for the series. Even with Shohei Ohtani trying to get back into rhythm they don’t slow down offensively. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Tyler Glasnow and Blake Snell each allowed only one run in their starts in the Division Series. Glasnow and Snell struggled with walks as they each walked 5 in their appearances. Edwin Diaz didn’t allow a run and only one hit in his three appearances while getting two saves in the process. If the rotation continues to perform up to their standard they will be difficult to eliminate in the NLCS.
Milwaukee’s bullpen was the story as they propelled them into the NLCS. Aaron Ashby pitched 5-2/3 innings allowing only 2 hits and striking out 5 batters. Trevor Megill saved two games striking out 4 in his 3 appearances. Abner Uribe appeared in every game of the Division Series allowing only 3 hits. Jacob Misiorowski, Logan Henderson and Robert Gasser were solid, but there is room to be even better especially against the Dodgers rotation. William Contreras was the one bat that San Diego couldn’t slow down as he batted .375 and drove in 2 runs. Jackson Chourio was the RBI machine driving in 6. Jake Bauers walked 4 times leading the team in that category, but he must do more in the hit category going forward. Sal Frelick drove in two while batting .333. Garrett Mitchell robbed a home run in Game 4 of the Division Series and batted .267 for the series. Christian Yelich batted .357 and drove in a run while stealing two bases. If Yelich can continue this offensive surge the Brewers will be in a good spot.
Dodgers in 7 games
