I made the executive decision to basically do the MLB Playoffs like I did with the Brewers this season. Meaning the previews will be the same, highlights and lowlights will show up plus some recaps and bigger pieces. Hope you enjoy.
Los Angeles 6 St. Louis 4 - This series went three games without having a home run. We saw some power from St. Louis with Matt Holiday and Shane Robinson in Game 4 then the Dodgers flashed the big bats on Thursday afternoon hitting four home runs playing a large part in their Game 5 win to send the series back to St. Louis for a Game 6 showdown Friday night.Adrian Gonzalez played a large part in Los Angeles' Game 5 victory. The Dodgers first baseman hit two
home runs as well as scoring another run in the game going 3 for 4 on the day with two homers, three RBIs and three runs scored. What a difference a year makes for Gonzalez. He came under heavy criticism when Gonzalez played for Boston and it appears everything changed for him when he returned to the West Coast. Los Angeles leaned on Gonzalez and he delivered in a major way. People will look to Gonzalez's second home run as being the difference given Los Angeles struggles in the ninth, but the first one was much more important in my opinion
The Cardinals tied up the game after Los Angeles gained the lead in the half inning before. Gonzalez goes yard giving Los Angeles a lead again and they did not look back from there. It was almost like a security blanket for the Dodgers and it propelled them to victory. After a decent performance from Zack Greinke, Los Angeles has Clayton Kershaw, arguably the best pitcher in baseball, heading to the mound of Game 6. This will be a war of attrition, but one, the Dodgers know they need to win.
Detroit 7 Boston 2 - Jim Leyland decided to get crazy with his lineup in Game 4. He apparently had enough watching 1-0 baseball games and wanted to see more of an Earl Weaver game from Detroit. Leyland received it with a big game from Austin Jackson and a solid pitching performance from Doug Fister.
To me, Jackson seemed like a guy who did not deal with the pressure of hitting leadoff in a playoff series. The Tigers centerfielder hit .077 before last night's game which vaulted his playoff average to .200 after getting on base five times with two hits and three walks. Jackson seemed more poised in the eighth spot and provided timely hitting for the Tigers. Jackson was not the only one whom seemed more comfortable last night in their new spot. I do not know if the trend will continue for another game, but I definitely expect Leyland to go with this same lineup.
Fister pitched well last night keeping the Red Sox at bay. Sometimes when a pitcher gets spotted with a five run lead early, they tend to take their foot off the gas pedal a bit. Fister did not and kept going 100 miles per hour. He pitched a strong six innings giving up one run, one walk and eight strikeouts. He struggled a bit against Oakland and bounced back nicely in the championship series.
Now this series becomes a three game series and many Detroit fans feel good about Anibal Sanchez, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander going for the Tigers and assume they will take it home. Boston's big three might not be at that level yet all three of them can beat Detroit's three. It should be great and I am expecting it to go seven.
Charlie.
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