2023 MLB Playoffs: Division Series

Texas Rangers (5) sweep Baltimore Orioles (1) in 3 games:

Game 1: Man. The Rangers aren’t playing around. Although, given their performance in Wildcard Week, that is on me for assuming that they wouldn’t bring that same energy. Again, when I see this team play, they play like they have something to prove and that they were robbed of a better postseason position (peep the last post on wildcard week if you want more info on that situation specifically). Don’t get me wrong, it was a close game with Texas edging out Baltimore 3-2. Every time Texas scored, Baltimore answered but the Rangers got a 2 run lead on them when they struck first. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the O’s missed opportunities to score as I did in our WC analysis. I would rather say that they just couldn’t get it going and got unlucky. The powerhouses of Adley Rutschman and Anthony Santander tried their best but Rutschman was struggling to get on base and a Santander homerun came a little too late. The Rangers on the other hand were legging out hits. Making opportunities for themselves. Two of their three runs came off base hits and the go head run off a Josh Jung homerun. Both bullpens were strong but nothing to really write home about. There was a moment where it looked like the O’s may come back but the Texas relievers were resilient. You could feel how badly each team wants it.

Game 2: The Orioles are struggling and if they are going to have to put up a fight. This series is looking more like Spring Training than a run at the World Title. They outhit the Rangers but were unable to capitalize on those opportunities. They came out strong scoring two runs in the bottom of the first off an Aaron Hicks RBI line drive but Texas answered back in the top of the second with five runs of their own and then tacked another four on in the top of the third off a Mitch Garvey Grand Slam. Baltimore’s bullpen couldn’t keep up with the barrage from the Rangers that their starter Grayson Rodriguez lasting only 1.2 innings with only Jack Flaherty lasting longer at a measly 2 innings. It didn’t matter who was on the mound, they kept chipping away. In the end, it didn’t matter who came up for the O’s. It wasn’t enough.

Game 3: And just like that… The Orioles 2023 season has come to an end. Don’t get me wrong, they will be back and hopefully they take this series as a learning opportunity. I don’t think it would be fair to say that the Rangers wanted it more but it sure did feel like it in this game. Losing 7-1 in a win or go home game felt like they just kinda gave up. The only innings more than four birds came up to the plate were in the fifth and eighth innings. They were also outhit by Texas 11-6. Starter Dean Kremer lasted 1.2 innings giving up six runs off seven hits- 2 of which were home runs to Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia. Only reliever Kyle Gibson pitched more innings but only put in 3 innings. On the Rangers side, Nathan Eovaldi was outstanding. Tossing a full seven innings with only one run from five hits and seven gorgeous strike outs. The Rangers will move on to the Championship series where they will play the winner of the Houston Astros vs. Minnesota Twins series.

Houston Astros (2) Win the Series against Minnesota Twins (3) in 4 Games:

Game 1: If you’ve read any other articles about this game, you’ve probably seen a section asking why the Twins would have put in a lefty reliever against Yordan Alvarez when that has been his literal bread and butter. But that was just one of a few mistakes made by Minnesota in this game. But to start, Justin Verlander looks good. He may not look the same as he did 12 years ago when he won his first cy young, or even in 2019 when he won again, but six scoreless innings with only four hits and six strikeouts had him looking in peak form. He was backed up by his team who, from the literal jump, went to work for him on offense. Starting with Jose Altuve who crushed the first pitch he saw for 377 feet. Yordan Alverez made his presence known as well, going deep not once but twice. His first one was in the bottom of the third for 379 feet which also scored Alex Bregman. His second came in the bottom of the seventh which sealed in the win for the Astros. Minnesota gave it a good try to keep it interesting as well. Down 4-0 in the seventh, Jorge Polanco and Royce Lewis tried their best to swing the odds back in their favor with homeruns but it wasn’t enough. Now the real question is, as stated above, we know that Yordan Alvarez eats lefty pitchers for dinner so why would the Twins make a the conscious choice to put one in knowing he was up? I’m not in that clubhouse and I don’t make those calls so I honestly couldn’t tell you. But hopefully it gives the Twins something to think about when it comes to strategy going into tomorrow’s game.

Game 2: Minnesota won’t go quietly into that good night. They grinded and pulled out a much needed win. Against Framber Valdez no less. He lasted only 4.1 innings giving up five runs off of seven hits which was enough of a hole that the Astros wouldn’t be able to get out of. In comparison, Valdez’s counterpart, Pablo Lopez went seven scoreless innings giving up six hits and striking out seven. Carlos Correa continued to add to his impressive RBI campaign- bringing in half of the six runs scored by the twins tonight. But Yordan Alvarez will not be silenced. He let loose on another ball going deep for 378ft. All in all, not the most exciting game ever played in the post season. Hopefully we get a little more spice back in the Twin City.

Game 3: Welp. I won’t jump to any conclusions but that was a rough one to watch and it feels like this series is slipping away from the Twins-although the argument could be made that they never had it from the start. Not only were they out scored 1-9, they were out hit 3-14. How do compete with that? Let’s start with Houston. While personally, I am not a fan of the organization due to past indiscretions (we hold grudges here at The BBS), there is no denying that they are a powerhouse when it comes to offense. When you start and end the game off with 3- run and 2-run jacks by Jose Abreu with a sprinkle of solo home runs by Alex Bregman and the crushing machine that is Yordan Alvarez, it’s extremely hard to fight against it. Incase you just missed it, all but two of the runs scored by the Astros in this game came off home runs. Kyle Tucker and Alex Bregman both bolstered the lead with some RBI singles as well. Really, the only highlight of the Twins was their sixth inning single by Willi Castro that scored their lone run. It kind of feels like they are rolling over and just giving in to the Astros at this point. I didn’t see any fight or real want to try and compete. Due to the Twins victory the other night, we will get a game four tomorrow. But at this point, I think we can all say we know where this is going. Back to Texas for the Division Series after the Astros win tomorrow.

Game 4: Even down to their very last out, the Twins did not go down quietly. Contrary to last night’s analysis, the Astros should consider themselves lucky to have won this game as it was pure luck in my opinion. If a few balls had been hit a little harder or to a different area, we very well could have seen this series tied at 2-2 and heading back to Houston for a decisive game 5. Minnesota should be very proud of how they played tonight. Their six men infantry from the bullpen did their absolute best against a team that wins games with home runs (literally if we go off this game). Michael Brantley finally made his presence known and got in on the home run action in the top of the second. Jose Abreu then smacked a two-run ball to right-center field and that was all she wrote- or needed. Huston only needed to send four men to the mound to get the 27 outs required to move on. Jose Urqidy gave 5.2 pretty good innings. He struck out six and allowed only three hits and two runs. Nerris, Abreu and Pressly followed him up with an inning each. In total, the four of them struck out 14 batters and ultimately won them the game.

The Astros will move on to play the Texas Rangers in the Championship series.

Philadelphia Phillies (4) defeat the Atlanta Braves (1) in 4 Games:

Game 1: I can tell you right now, this series will not disappoint. This game had a lot to unpack but fear not, we will get into it all. From the shutout of the Braves at home for the first time in 2023 and a double play that has been replayed on repeat to the controversial (or not depending on your POV) catcher’s interference call that preceded a rather disappointing display of unsportsmanlike conduct from Braves fans. We will touch on it all. We will start with the Braves. I will say, I didn’t have them getting shut out at home in game 1 on my bingo card. It wasn’t a blow out or anything. A 0-3 loss with some sloppy playing handed them that. The only positive talking point was Spencer Strider was in top form though. He made it through seven innings with five hits, two runs and eight strike outs, there is a reason he’s in the Cy Young talks and it showed tonight. Unfortunately, his team didn’t exactly have his back. One run was scored on a very controversial catcher’s interference call which, if you were watching the broadcast, it was a very iffy call. But I will say, as a catcher, you know when you get it with a bat and Murphy’s reaction told me it was the right call. The Brave’s fans reaction to this call was incredibly disappointing. When the call was upheld, fans in the outfield began to throw beer cans and trash onto the field. As a diehard fan, it is truly disappointing and embarrassing that people would choose to make the choice to disrespect in this particular way. For the Phillies, their bullpen was lights out. Bryson and Bryce both came through- Stott with a double and Harper with a solo shot. For the most part, this game was pretty eh. But what makes it exciting is the rivalry and the pure competitiveness of these two teams.

Game 2: Oh man this is going to be a good series. The braves came back from a 4-0 deficit and took advantage of fielding and base running errors to even up the series at 1-1 as they head off to Philly. Being honest, when I watched this game, I thought that this was going to be a sweep by the city of brotherly love but the Braves never gave up which overshadowed a stunning performance by Zack Wheeler who pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs off of three hits. But the true performance came in the 10 strikeouts he racked up against arguably the best team in all of baseball. On any other night, one would have thought that a five run lead was enough insurance, but baseball is not one of those games. You could be down to your last out in the bottom of the 9th, trailing by five and with the right bats and some luck, you can still win the game. Compared to Zack, the Braves starter Max Fried didn’t fare as well, lasting only four innings. Giving up three runs off of six hits and only striking out three. Now, as stated before, we will not put a team loss on one person, but two fielding errors and poor base running by the Phillies was their downfall. I will however, acknowledge the incredible talent that is Michael Harris II who turned a double play from center field to get Bryce Harper out at first after Nick Castellanos lined out to him. This is a fun series. I look forward to seeing just how much more fun it will be in Philly, in front of their fans.

Game 3: 6, let me say that again, 6 homeruns as the Phillies routed the Braves 10-2. Both Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos went deep twice. Bolstered by some solo shots by Trea Turner and Brandon Marsh. rumor has it that a certain member of the Braves outfit made some comments about a certain Phillies slugger and if you thought it hadn’t got back to him, the stare down that happened every time he rounded 2nd base after sending a nuke to the seats in right center should dispel you of that thought immediately. Now I do subscribe to the notion that what happens in a clubhouse, stays in the clubhouse, but if you are going to be bold enough to make comments in the presence of tv cameras and reporters, then there is a solid chance that what you say is going to get reported on. But we are not here to speculate on what was or was not said. We are here to analyze. Atlanta just fell apart. Two runs? For the team with the highest number of win of any major league team in the 2023 season to just implode, giving up 10 runs off of 11 hits is very similar to the other National League series happening between the Diamondbacks and the Dodgers. Aaron Nola was looking good for his 5.2 innings. He gave up two runs off of six hits but struck out a very tough nine. He was proceeded by Strahm, Dominguez, Kerkering and Lorenzen who were all lights out. The Braves outfit was far less fortunate. Tonkin and Hernandez were the only pitchers to come out relatively unscathed while Elder, Hand and Smith-Shawver gave up those 10 runs between the three of them. It was really interesting to watch the dynamic between these two teams tonight. There was definitely tension and the feeling that someone had something to prove. Tomorrow is a do or die for the Braves. Can the Phillies pull off the upset or are the Braves going to send this series to game 5?

Game 4: There will be no Number 1 seed for the remainder of the 2023 postseason. The Phillies made sure of that. And what a way to do it in Philly, in front of a home crowd that loves it’s sports more than any other city i’ve seen. Nick Castellanos cannot be stopped- dropping another 2 bombs into the outfield seats and Ranger Suarez commanded the mound. When you look at the box score for this game, you would think that the Phillies were the ones who lost with use of six different pitchers to Atlanta’s four. Spencer Strider did his best but Philly was ready fro him and was most likely the toughest environment he’s ever had to pitch in. Can you imagine the pressure of being the starting pitcher in a win or go home game in Philadelphia? A city that isn’t afraid to be assholes to teams and players they don’t like? I have to give him props for having that mental toughness. Nevertheless, the three runs he gave up on seven hits were just enough for Philly to squeak out the win. I do want to say that one of my favorite interactions to watch is players and their families. No one does that better than Nick and Liam Castellanos. That relationship you can tell is something special and the way the fans embrace him is just so wholesome.

With yet another upset in the books for this series, Philadelphia will take on Arizona for the Championship series.

Arizona Diamondbacks (6) Sweep the Los Angeles Dodgers (2) in 3 games:

Game 1: Oh. My. God. This game was every Rockies fan’s wet dream. As a die hard Rockies fan who, just on principle cannot and will not ever root for the Dodgers (and probably shouldn’t be for the Diamondbacks either, they’ve been less of a problem than LA), I can and will commiserate with their fanbase as I know the pain of watching what a complete implosion from the start looks like. Clayton Kershaw, who is arguably one of the greatest pitchers of all time (there is no denying that) experienced one of the worst starts in postseason history. Kershaw allowed 5 runs off of 5 hits before he even recorded an out, eventually leaving the game before the 1st inning was over and had racked up 6 earned runs and an ERA (earned run average) north of 150.00. But it didn’t stop there. No matter who the Dodgers brought in from the bullpen, the Diamondbacks had their number. They crossed the plate nine times before the third inning came around. It seems like every time October comes around, the Dodgers forget how to play baseball. Besides the point, Merrill Kelly was lights out. 6.1 scoreless innings with only three hits and five strike outs. The Dodgers couldn’t touch him. They didn’t get any runs on the board until the eighth inning which is when they scored the only two runs they could the entire game. I really think that the Diamondbacks deserve all the good press and articles for this one. They were so incredibly impressive in a way that I don’t think anyone saw coming. If this is the way Arizona plans to play this series, it is going to be one for the history books.

Game 2: Holy shit. Arizona may just do it this year. They route the Dodgers again 4-2, looking more like they should be top of the food chain in the NL West than the current, longtime reigning champs. I think that the Dodgers use of the bullpen strategy is an interesting one to utilize in the playoffs. Their starter only made it 1.2 innings giving up three runs off of 4 hits and proceeded to go through another four pitchers after that- no one out in more than 2.1 innings. Versus the Dbacks who put up the same number of pitchers, their starter, Zac Gallen who went five innings giving up only two runs off of five hits. The Dodgers seem to be really flummoxed by a Diamondbacks team that they’ve seen often and have had quite a bit of success against with Zac Gallen leading the charge. He threw 5.1 innings that produced the only two runs LA scored tonight while allowing five hits and striking out four. The sixth inning saw an interesting strategy in both teams though. After getting Will Smith to ground out, Gallen gave up two singles to Max Muncy and J.D. Martinez. At this point, Arizona made the decision to bring in Andrew Saalfrank and LA took the pitching change opportunity to swap out the lefties Jayson Heyward and David Peralta for some righties off the bench in Chris Taylor and Kike Hernandez which paid off. Chris Taylor walked which loaded the bases and Kike Hernandez singled in the second run of the night for LA. Saalfrank would go on to strike out James Outman and be the only DBacks pitcher tonight to go less than one inning. This wasn’t the most exciting part of the game but I felt that it was worth noting. Ultimately, it wouldn’t be enough though. LA has to stop the bleeding as the next game they play, in Arizona is a due or die. Win or go home. Can they pull one out and keep their dream of winning an actual World Series alive?

Game 3: DOWN. GO. THE. DODGERS. In a plot twist that not even the greatest writers could have written, the Arizona Diamondbacks SWEPT the Los Angeles Dodgers, punching their ticket to the Division Series which will be played against the winner of the Phillies/Braves battle. This game had it all. It was thrilling. It was agonizing. It was close. It was a fight to the end. The struggles for the Dodgers starters continued this game with Lance Lynn, who had been asked to empty the tank and give them three innings made history by giving up four solo home runs (which were the only runs scored by Arizona all game) in the 3rd inning to Geraldo Perdomo, Ketel Marte, Christian Walker and Gabriel Moreno. They would eventually try and battle back by scoring two of their own runs but the was already dug and it was too deep for the Dodgers to get out of. I’ve honestly, in my decade or so of being an avid baseball fan, never seen a team be so dominant in the regular season but unable to translate it to the postseason. I would love to do some sort of research study on that. Alas, Arizona is officially the Cinderella story of this offseason and it is truly exciting to watch them play this kind of baseball. They have a win or go home mentality every game and leave it all on the field when it’s done. The Diamondbacks, in probably the most shocking upset of this postseason will play the winner of the Phillies v. Braves series in the Championship series which, no matter who wins, will be an electric series to watch.

Fun fact: If you are a Rockies fan and have been one for some time, you may know that the last time the Arizona Diamondbacks played in the National League Championship Series was all the way back in 2007. And like I said, if you’re a Rockies fan, you know exactly how that happened and it wasn’t Arizona who ended up in the World Series that year.

Next up is the Championship Series which will see both Texas teams battle is out for the American League and Arizona will face Philadelphia for the National League title. These series will be best of 7 meaning the team moving on to the World Series will have to win 4 of the 7 games. Make sure to come back for the in depth analysis of the Championship Series and to find out my predictions for the World Series as well.

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