Division Series Game 3’s & 4’s game thread
Four playoff games on tap today. Does anyone get knocked out?
After alternating between the American League and National League playoffs for a couple days the two leagues will play all on the same day. The stakes are a lot higher on the National League side as both series enter Game 4. Someone could punch their ticket to the NLCS and today could be the last day for a club. Stakes are getting higher and higher and we are here for it.
Today starts with the American League as the Cleveland Guardians continue their series with their division rival Detroit Tigers. Cleveland will send veteran Alex Cobb to the mound after acquiring him at the trade deadline for just this purpose. He was injured most of the year while rehabbing an injury but returned in time to make three starts. He was solid over that small sample posting a 2.76 ERA and we’ll see if he can keep that up now that he’s in the playoffs. He’s pitched twice in the postseason and looked solid in both outings.
Detroit will send rookie right-hander Keider Montero to the mound for this critical Game 3 matchup. Montero made his big league debut this year and started 16 regular season games, providing the Tigers with solid middle-rotation results. He has also made his postseason debut, pitching two innings of relief. He’ll be tasked with a much larger role in today’s contest, the biggest game of his young career. First pitch is at 12:08 P.M.
Next up we have a potential elimination contest between the Mets and Phillies, also division rivals. New York took the lead in the series with a great all-around 7-2 win yesterday to put the Phillies on the brink. We saw former A’s left-handed Sean Manaea conquer his postseason demons with a stellar outing for his new team and is now just one win away from a trip to the NLCS. Today the Mets will turn to left-hander Jose Quintana to take them to the next round. He’s making his first postseason appearance of this season but has experience in the past.
The Phillies meanwhile will hope to see their season continue at least one more day. They’ll be relying on their own lefty in Ranger Suarez, who has been lights out over the past couple years in the playoffs. I like my chances if I’m the Phillies with Suarez at home. First pitch is at 2:08 P.M.
Back to the American League, we’ll see the Royals welcome the New York Yankees to Kansas City for Game 3. The Royals were fortunate enough to steal one in New York and could avoid a return trip to the Bronx if they can finish this series in Kansas City with two wins. New York is a juggernaut but the Royals are young and have less pressure to win this year than their opponent. The Royals will be going with right-hander Seth Lugo for this Game 3 start, and they should feel confident behind him as he tossed over 200 innings with an exact 3.00 ERA during the regular season. He doesn’t have a ton of postseason experience but has been lights out in the four career appearances he has playing in October.
The Yankees meanwhile will go with third-year right-hander Clarke Schmidt. The former top prospect has dealt with some injury problems here in 2024 but was stellar when he was able to take the mound. As far as postseason experience for the right Schmidt has pitched in three games but was lit up hard in those appearances, as evidenced by his 11.57 ERA in the playoffs. A small sample size, but the playoffs are a small sample size. First pitch is scheduled for 4:08 P.M.
And to finally wrap up the great day of October baseball, we finish the day off with a nightcap of Dodgers-Padres in Southern California. San Diego to be exact, where the home team will have a chance to finish off their hated rivals to the North. Los Angeles came into this series as favorites but is just one loss away from seeing their season come crashing down at the hands of their division rivals. Baseball fans are rooting for a Game 5 in every series but if we can just get one, most would want to see this series go all the way.
San Diego will turn to right-hander Dylan Cease to start today’s game. Brought over from the White Sox in an offseason trade, Cease was exactly what the Padres were hoping for when they acquired him, posting a 3.47 ERA over 33 starts. They’ll be hoping to see more of that tonight against a loaded Dodgers team with a ton of dangerous left-handed bats but a Cease on his A-game can take on any lineup in the league. He’s just one awesome performance from knocking out the World Series favorite and sending his team to the NLCS. Again, no pressure!
The Dodgers meanwhile will need a win to keep their season alive and send this series back home to Los Angeles. As of this posting we don’t know who will be starting this game for the Dodgers but that’s moot after last night. Yesterday evening after the loss Dodgers manager Dave Robert’s announced that the team would be going with a bullpen game for this critical do-or-die contest, which goes to show how beat up the starting rotation is for Los Angeles. We’ll see how it works out for them but I’d be nervous if I’m a Dodgers fan. They’ll need their offensive stars to show up in a big way tonight. First pitch is at 7:08 P.M.