Happy Friday! Let’s play four.
It’s a busy day of playoff baseball—not for the Orioles, but oh well. It’s Game 2 for both ALDS series, with the White Sox and the Astros kicking off the day at 2:07 ET and the Red Sox-Rays set for their second game in Tampa Bay at 7:02 ET. On the NL side, it’s Game 1 for both Atlanta and Milwaukee (4:37 ET) and Los Angeles and San Francisco, who kick off a hotly-anticipated NLDS at 9:37 ET.
White Sox at Astros, 2:07 ET, MLB Network
Chicago is down 0-1 in the ALDS after a 6-1 Game 1 loss in which they failed to mount much offense against the Astros, or to slow down Houston’s bats. I’m never going to be much of a fan of Astroball again, so I’m rooting for a White Sox comeback today. Lucas Giolito (11-9, 3.53 ERA, 201 K) gets the game ball for Chicago and Framber Valdez (11-6, 3.14 ERA, 125 K) is pitching for Houston.
Braves at Brewers, 4:37 ET, TBS
On the NL side, it’s a fresh slate, with both series playing Game 1 today. In the first game, the 88-73 Atlanta faces off against the 95-67 Milwaukee. Old Tampa Bay friend Charlie Morton starts for Atlanta after another solid season (14-6, 3.34 ERA, 216 K) against the dominant Corbin Burnes (11-5, 2.43 ERA, 234 K).
Red Sox at Rays, 7:02 ET, FS1
It was a serious beatdown for the Red Sox last night, who got shut out 5-0 at the Trop. Starter Eduardo Rodríguez allowed two runs in the first inning and got yanked early, but Garrett Richards wasn’t a ton more effective, and Boston’s bats were completely flummoxed by Tampa Bay’s Shane McClanahan. The Rays just look like a juggernaut, frankly. Too bad, so sad, Boston.
Tonight the two starters for Boston and Tampa are Chris Sale (5-1, 3.16 ERA, 52 K) and Shane Baz (2-0, 2.03 ERA, 18 K), respectively. Sale has looked the part of the ace since returning from injury (we know because he blanked the Orioles when he faced them). Meanwhile, Shane Baz only just had his contract selected by Tampa Bay on September 20, after spending the whole season with the Triple-A Durham Bulls. But Tampa Bay’s prospect depth continues to be baffling, so who knows.
Dodgers at Giants, 9:37 ET, TBS
The Dodgers are coming off of a bottom-of-the-ninth, two-out home run, walkoff win against St. Louis—but their reward for that is to face the 107-55 Giants in San Francisco. They’re bringing their big guns in Game 1, though, with Walker Buehler (16-4, 2.47 ERA, 212 K) getting the start against SF’s Logan Webb (11-3, 3.03 ERA, 158 K).
Enjoy a whole day of baseball! Here are your Game 1 lineups:
Chicago
1. Tim Anderson SS
2. Luis Robert CF
3. José Abreu 1B
4. Yasmani Grandal C
5. Eloy Jiménez LF
6. Yoán Moncada 3B
7. Andrew Vaughn DH
8. Leury García 2B
9. Adam Engel RF
Houston
1. José Altuve 2B
2. Michael Brantley DH
3. Alex Bregman 3B
4. Yordan Alvarez LF
5. Yuli Gurriel 1B
6. Carlos Correa SS
7. Kyle Tucker RF
8. Chas McCormick CF
9. Martin Maldonado C