Welcome to Behind the Plate With DJ, a weekly look at what is going on in the world of baseball. This series will weigh in on the interesting, the controversial, and the downright cool. The play of the week could be an incredible play or an unusual one. If something made you scratch your head, you will probably find it here. So sit back, relax, and let’s take a look at the week that was.
Well, it appears that I know more about the National League than I do the American League. I predicted that the Rangers would beat the Orioles and the Red Sox would beat the Indians in the ALDS. Instead, the Blue Jays beat the Orioles and the Rangers, and the Indians beat the Red Sox.
In the National League, I got the Wild Card team right, though I also had the Giants going on to beat the Cubs in the NLDS. I still have a shot at getting one team right in the NLCS if the Nationals can beat the Dodgers in Game 5 of their series.
Wild Finish
Both Wild Card games were won in the last at bat with a 3-run home run.
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In the American League Wild Card Game, Ezequiel Carrera of the Blue Jays drove in Michael Saunders to tie the game at 2 in the 5th inning against the Orioles. The score would remain knotted at 2 until the bottom of the 11th inning. After a couple of 1-out singles, Edwin Encarnacion hit a 3-run, walk-off home run to send the Blue Jays to Texas for an ALDS rematch against the Rangers.
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Then, on Wednesday, the Giants and Mets went 8 scoreless innings. In the top of the 9th, third baseman and the number 8 hitter Conor Gillaspie hit a 3-run home run. That allowed Madison Bumgarner to stay in the game, and he put the Mets down in order to seal the Wild Card win.
Divisional Series
I don’t know how much more wrong I could have been about the ALDS. The Red Sox got swept by the Indians, and the Rangers got swept, not by the Orioles, but by the Blue Jays. Now we will see if the Indian pitchers can tame the Blue Jays, or if the Toronto bats can will overpower the Indians.
In the National League, the Cubs came back from a 5-2 deficit in Game 4 with a 4-run 9th inning to win the series. It seems that they snuffed out the Giants’ even year magic one round before I predicted.
The Dodgers and the Nationals have a Game 5 on Thursday. The Nationals came back to tie the game with a 3-run 7th, but the Dodgers countered with a run in the 8th to take Game 4. The Nationals are the only team left in my predictions for the Championship Series.
Pitchers Rake
The National League pitchers have been making a case for keeping the DH out of their league. Pitchers have been helping themselves in this post season.
On Saturday, Kyle Hendricks drove in 2 runs on a single in the 2nd inning to put the Cubs up 3-0. Travis Wood hit a solo home run in the 4th to give the Cubs a 5-2 lead that would end up being the final score.
Jake Arrieta had the biggest shot on Monday. He hit a 3-run home run in the second inning that gave them a lead that would hold up until the 8th inning. The Giants would go on to win the game 6-5 in 13 innings.
On Wednesday, Clayton Kershaw led off the bottom of the third with a double and came around to score a go-ahead run for the Dodgers in Game 4. In the other game, Matt Moore drove in Gillaspie in the 4th inning to put the Giants up 2-1.
Play of the Week
Jake Arrieta’s 3-run home run on Monday was the biggest hit by a pitcher so far in this post season.