The Division Series begins today for both the American and National Leagues, which once again means all-day baseball. The AL has tomorrow off to start the staggering of schedules/avoid competing too much with the NFL, so get your fix today. This gives the AL teams three days off if a series goes five games, which is ridiculous.
The ALDS is a best-of-five series with games with the first two games at home for the higher seed, followed by two games at the lower seed, and game five back home for the higher seed.
Chicago White Sox @ Cleveland Guardians, 1:00
Where to watch: TBS / HBO Max
The AL Central matchup pits Hagen Smith of the White Sox against Parker Messick of the Guardians. Messick was an All-Star this year with a 2.56 ERA over 32 starts. Smith is a rookie who had a 1.29 ERA this season in 18 games. 17 of them, however, were out of the bullpen. Smith started against Houston in the Wild Card round and pitched three innings with two hits and no runs. He’s like a jumbo opener, I suppose.
I don’t have a strong rooting interest in this one. I’d be happy with the Guardians moving on, as they haven’t won the World Series since 1948. And I really like José Ramírez. As for the White Sox, they have two things going for them. One, they are coming off of a string of horrendous seasons and kind of came out of nowhere this year. And they play second fiddle to another team in their own city. That other team was already eliminated, of course.
Atlanta Braves @ Los Angeles Dodgers, 4:00
Where to watch: FOX / FOX One
As I write this, we are about 3.5 hours from game time and the Braves have not announced a starting pitcher. Bold. It’ll be Tarik Skubal for the Dodgers.
Obviously we are all rooting against the Dodgers in this one, right? They’ve won three World Series since 2020 including the last two seasons. Pass. The Braves are my rooting interest by default.
New York Yankees @ Tampa Bay Rays, 6:30
Where to watch: TBS / HBO Max
The Rays were the best team in the American League this year and also the Orioles had an 8-5 record against them. That doesn’t mean anything, but it’s all I have. The pitching matchup is Gerrit Cole vs Drew Rasmussen.
Gotta root for the Rays here for several reasons. First, obviously you know why. Also, they’ve never won the World Series. And they have a handful of former Orioles including the delightful Cedric Mullins. Go get a ring, Ced!
San Diego Padres @ Milwaukee Brewers, 8:30
Where to watch: FS1 / FOX One
It’s a real shame this matchup isn’t a possibility for the NLCS, although at least we know one of them will be there. Neither of these teams has ever won the World Series. San Diego has Manny Machado, who is now an old man with 399 career home runs. Milwaukee has one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball, who has thrown over 1,100 pitches over 100 mph this season.
That guy, Jacob Misiorowski, is starting tonight for the Brew Crew. It’ll be old friend Robbie Ray for the Padres. I haven’t seen Ray pitch lately; I assume his pants are still very tight.
I hope they all have fun!
