PLAYOFFS HEAT UP
A’s stave of elimination, while Rays top Yankees and Dodgers and Braves take 2-0 series leads
The Tampa Bay Rays are unanimous in their praise of Randy Arozarena, who is living up to his nickname, “The Cuban Rocket.”
Arozarena homered for the third straight game and Kevin Kiermaier and Michael Perez also went deep for the Rays, who beat the New York Yankees 8-4 Wednesday night to move within one victory of reaching the AL Championship Series for the first time in 12 years.
“He’s the best player on the planet,” Kiermaier said. “He’s incredible. He’s very unique in so many ways. Everyone loves him. He’s the man. What he’s doing is incredible.”
New York slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit a two-run homer off Shane McClanahan to center field in the eighth inning to become the first player with a home run in each of his team’s first five games of a single postseason. Stanton has six homers and 13 RBIs in those five games. McClanahan made his major league debut in Game 1 on Monday night. Arozarena, a 25-year-old rookie from Havana, is having a breakout postseason. He homered off Gerrit Cole in the first inning of Game 1, a 9-3 Yankees win, and off rookie Deivi García in the first inning of Game 2, a 7-5 Rays win.
Arozarena hit a shot deep to left leading off the fifth Wednesday night to chase Masahiro Tanaka and give Tampa Bay a 5-1 lead.
The Rays took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five Division Series. Game 4 is Thursday night at Petco Park, which has yielded 16 home runs in three games — nine by Tampa Bay.
The Rays are looking to advance out of the ALDS for just the second time. They reached the 2008 World Series before losing to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Arozarena went 3 for 4 with a walk. He leads all players in the postseason with 12 hits in five games. He went hitless in five postseason plate appearances in 2019 for St. Louis, which traded him to Tampa Bay in January.
On Tuesday night, Rays starter Tyler Glasnow called Arozarena “the best baseball player on earth right now. What he’s doing is phenomenal.”
Added Kiermaier: “We should all take a page out of his book in what his routine is and how he comes to the field each and every day. He just doesn’t think up there. He goes up there and he’s so raw in every facet of his game, and he goes out there and just does it night in and night out. It’s incredible.”
Rays manager Kevin Cash called it “pretty spectacular. He’s wowing all of us in the dugout. I’m sure there are guys who have done some special things, but when you’re sitting there and watching it firsthand, it’s pretty remarkable what’s taking place.”
ATHLETICS 9, ASTROS 7
In Los Angeles, Chad Pinder tied the score with a three-run homer in the seventh inning, Sean Murphy hit a go-ahead sacrifice fly in the eighth and Oakland rallied past Houston to avoid elimination in their AL Division Series.
Houston leads the best-of-five set 2-1 and can advance to its fourth straight AL Championship Series with a victory in Game 4 on Thursday.
The Astros wasted leads of 2-1 and 7-4, and the Athletics bounced back after giving up advantages of 1-0 and 4-2.
BRAVES 2, MARLINS 0
In Houston, rookie right-hander Ian Anderson pitched like a poised veteran, right fielder Nick Markakis made a nifty defensive play late and Atlanta threw another playoff shutout in beating Miami for a 2-0 lead in their NL Division Series.
The Braves have tossed three shutouts in four games this postseason. Travis d’Arnaud and Dansby Swanson both homered for the second straight day, putting Atlanta one win from a sweep in the best-of-five matchup.
The 22-year-old Anderson, who made his major league debut in late August, scattered three hits and struck out eight over 5⅔ innings. He added to his impressive outing last week in the first round when he fanned nine in six scoreless innings against Cincinnati
DODGERS 6, PADRES 5
In Arlington, Texas, Cody Bellinger homered and robbed Fernando Tatis Jr. of a go-ahead shot, and Joe Kelly got the final out with the bases loaded in a tension-filled ninth inning as the Los Angeles Dodgers barely held off the San Diego Padres for a 2-0 lead in their NL Division Series.