While it still hurts that the Yankees aren’t out there playing, you better soak the rest of the playoffs in. We only have, at most, three more days with more than one game, and we’re only guaranteed one more. Before you know it, we have only the World Series and then the long, cold winter and offseason.
However, there’s still some baseball left to go, and it’s important baseball at that. Let’s check in on how the action played out on Monday night.
National League Championship Series Game 2
Milwaukee Brewers 7, Los Angeles Dodgers 4 (Brewers
lead series 2-0)
William Contreras had three hits and drove in three runs, leading the Brewers to a win and a two-game lead over the reigning two-time champs.
Through much of the game, the teams kept trading runs and the lead back and forth. The Dodgers held 1-0 and 4-3 leads, while the Brewers took a 3-2 edge at one point. In the bottom of the fifth, Contreras struck with a game-tying home run and Milwaukee took control of the game after that.
An inning after his homer, Contreras hit a go-ahead single. Brice Turang and Jake Bauers got in on the action in the ninth, each recording RBI hits to help Milwaukee put the game away.
A large part of the reason they were able to do that is that the Brewers’ bullpen completely shutdown the Dodgers. After putting up four runs in four innings off starter Logan Henderson, LA not only didn’t score against Milwaukee’s bullpen, they didn’t manage a baserunner over the final five innings.
Another key for Milwaukee was that they knocked out Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto after just 2.2 innings. After dominating last postseason, Yamamoto had to leave this game early after laboring for 75 pitches in less than three frames. Bauers did some damage, drawing a walk after 12 pitches, immediately before a big hit by Christian Yelich.
American League Championship Series Game 1
Cleveland Guardians 7, Tampa Bay Rays 3
(Guardians lead series 1-0)
The Guardians proved that it is possible to record more than one hit off Drew Rasmussen, as they drew first blood in the ALCS with a win on the road in the Trop.
The Rays got out to a very quick start. Junior Caminero and Johnny DeLuca each recorded RBI singles in the first inning, as Tampa Bay started with a 2-0 lead. However, those would be their last runs for quite a while, as Cleveland worked their way back into the game.
Rasmussen continued his run of shutout innings from the ALDS, but the Guardians eventually broke through. In the sixth, Chase DeLauter got him for a homer to get Cleveland on the board. An inning later, Patrick Bailey led off the frame with another home run, also knocking Rasmussen out of the game.
After slugging out their first two runs, the Guardians eventually got the lead thanks to their customary “Guardsball.” After José Ramírez got the eighth inning started with a single, DeLauter came up with a big double to set things up. Nathaniel Lowe then popped in a single to score both runners and give Cleveland their first lead of the day.
In the bottom of the eighth, Cedric Mullins led off with a home run to get one of those runs back. However, the Guardians only added to their lead further in the ninth. Ramírez and Jo Adell each came up with RBI hits as Cleveland put up three runs to take a commanding lead. The bottom of the ninth then took just seven pitches as the Guardians closed out the win.
