Ghosts of playoffs past continue to haunt Twins
NEW YORK — The sins of the Minnesota Twins in past Bronx playoff series meant nothing to the 2019 Yankees.
“Well, I’m hoping it means something,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said before the AL Division Series opener at Yankee Stadium. “But honestly ... I don’t think it factors much in here.”
And yet ...
— An early Twins’ lead was lost because of an inning-ending double play that wasn’t turned.
— A questionable Yankees pitching decision failed to fully backfire in the Twins’ favor.
— A reliable Minnesota bullpen had a meltdown moment, helping the Yanks to two more pivotal runs — and then some.
From there, the Yankees started matching the Twins’ power, allowing Boone’s club to finish a 10-4 victory in Friday night’s Game 1 in a best-of-five series.
That’s now 11 straight postseason wins by the Yankees over the Twins, who will also be reminded of their 2-16 record at Yankee Stadium — including the 2017 AL wild card and Friday’s game — since Opening Day of 2015.
“Man, I feel like some of the ghosts from Yankees past are here with us when ever that Stadium gets rocking,” Aaron Judge said leading up to the battle between the AL’s Central and East division champs.
And those ghosts keep haunting the Twins.
Last year, in postseason, Boone openly regretted staying with CC Sabathia too long in ALDS Game 4 against the Boston Red Sox.
It was Boone’s rookie year as manager and his first postseason series, and the Yankees were bounced by the eventual world champions.
This time, Boone vowed to be more aggressive with his bullpen use.
But lefty starter James Paxton was allowed to pitch to one more batter — Jorge Polanco — in Friday’s fifth inning, and it didn’t work in the Yanks’ favor.
After belting one of two solo homers off Paxton in the game (Nelson Cruz hit the other), Polanco lined a two-out, fullcount RBI single to make it 3-3 in the fifth.
Dodgers’ comeback falls short in Game 2 loss to Nats
LOS ANGELES — The door cracked open for the Los Angeles Dodgers in the seventh inning Friday when Sean Doolittle, not Stephen Strasburg, appeared on the mound at Dodger Stadium. The Dodgers, gasping for six innings opposite Strasburg, had reached their destination. They had nine outs to prey on the Washington Nationals’ dreadful bullpen and steal Game 2 of the National League Division Series.
It was wide open when Corey Seager stepped into the batter’s box with the bases loaded and two outs in the ninth inning. The rejuvenated Daniel Hudson, a Dodger last season, was on the mound. A clash ensued.
After taking a called strike, Seager fouled off the next three pitches. He took the next two for balls and fouled off the seventh pitch. All seven pitches were fastballs. The seventh was a slider that darted in on Seager’s hands. Seager swung through it for strike three to conclude the Dodgers’ failed comeback attempt in a 4-2 loss.
The Dodgers’ offensive game plan was elementary in theory: force Strasburg to throw excess pitches and test his limits. The best way to beat the Nationals, as they accomplished in Game 1 Thursday, is to expose the team’s glaring weakness: the middle relief.
The Nationals, clawing to avoid facing elimination, exhausted their best options in unprecedented fashion to sidestep their biggest problem. Doolittle, the closer to begin the season, was summoned two innings early. Scherzer, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, was deployed for the eighth inning. The ninth went to Hudson. — Jorge Castillo, Los Angeles Times
Comeback Cards overcome early wobbles with late power surge
ATLANTA — As the strengths that kept them grounded all season shifted beneath their feet and slipped from their grip, the most inconsistent part of the Cardinals’ game, the one they could count on the least all summer, came to their rescue Thursday in the nick of the ninth.
Playoff rookie Marcell Ozuna and Kolten Wong each swatted a two-run double to take and widen the Cardinals’ lead in what became a 7-6 victory over Atlanta in Game 1 of the National League Division Series.
When the Cardinals’ defense, the rock on which they built a contender, quaked early at SunTrust Park for a couple of errors, the offense came through late to overcome those mistakes. When closer Carlos Martinez fumed and teetered toward tilt in the ninth, the offense gave him just enough cushion to tempt trouble, twice. The anchor that restrained them all season from sailing away in the division, the lineup kept them steady in the choppiest of games.
“We’ve got what you need,” starter Miles Mikolas said. “We need some runs. We got runs. We need some defense. We got some defense. We need some timely outs, pitching-wise? We need punch-outs. We got punch-outs.
Trailing by two with two innings to play, the Cardinals got a game-tying, pinch-hit single from Matt Carpenter. Their final 15 batters produced six runs to tie the game, take the lead, and withstand whatever the Braves threw at them in the ninth. A couple of slick plays by first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and just enough steely pitches from Martinez cinched the win. — Derrick Goold, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Tampa Bay Rays falter in ALDS opening loss to Astros
HOUSTON — The first game of the AL Division Series didn’t go very well for the Rays.
Their starter, Tyler Glasnow, gave up a two-run homer to Jose Altuve, one of the Astros hitters most likely to do damage. Their manager, Kevin Cash, put rookie reliever Brendan McKay into a tough spot that got worse. Their second baseman, Brandon Lowe, misplayed an inning-ending pop-up to shallow rightfield into a two-run error, though their rightfielder, Austin Meadows, deserves some of the blame. Their hitters managed only a single in seven innings against Astros ace Justin Verlander.
And, as you could probably guess by now, they lost, 6-2.
The good news is that this is a best-of-five series, and they have a chance on Saturday night to get even,
Further, if you want to latch onto something, the Rays lost the first game of the season to Verlander and the Astros, then came back and won the next three.