It’s that time of the year again where the air gets crisp and teams hang their banners. Heroes and legends are made underneath the October sky, while others are eliminated and forced to rethink their strategies for next season.
After the historic American League and National League division series games, there’s a better understanding of the power ranking going forward as well as the favorites to win the Championship Series as well as the World Series.
In the National League just two teams remain: the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers. Odds favor the Dodgers in this series, but after the performance the Brewers showed during the Division Series, it’s not ridiculous to say they might take the Pennant for the NL.
For the American League, the remaining teams are the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners.
The ALDS concluded with a crazy Mariners win over the Detroit Tigers in a 15 inning game on Oct. 10, leading to Seattle advancing to the ALCS for the first time since 2001, and who now are leading the series 2-1. Both teams showed enough fight to win, however the Ms came out victorious.
Sage Creek student Creek Nettekoven believes that this Mariners team is special and is the favorite to win.
“This Mariners team isn’t slowing down and I don’t expect that it will anytime soon,” Nettekoven said.
Both bullpens were unbelievable, and it was a constant back-and-fourth pitching dual during the game. Luis Castillo, Mariner’s starter pitcher, came in relief for the first time since he was in High-A ball in 2016. He threw one and one third scoreless innings as well as earning the win on the Jorge Polanco walk off single with the bases loaded.
Toronto beat the New York Yankees in four games in an absolute blowout, leading them to be the favorites for the upcoming series versus Seattle. However, that hasn’t become reality. The Jays’ offense has gone quiet, and there’s been a lack of execution with their pitching.
The Mariners star player Cal Raleigh, the likely American League MVP who hit a switch hitting record 60 home runs, blasted a solo shot on Monday to tie the game. They went on to take the lead in the next inning, scoring three and never looking back after.
On the other hand in the National League, it’s the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers versus the scrappy Milwaukee Brewers. Los Angeles barely escaped with a win against the Philadelphia Phillies on Oct. 11 with a dramatic ending that finished with a walk off error by Orion Kerkering.
Dodgers opponent the Milwaukee Brewers is a team still running on the power of friendship and wishes. Not many expected them to reach this far, and they are going strong.
Baseball fan and Sage Creek sophomore Evan Rudnev, who has been following the MLB playoffs since the beginning, believes that the Dodgers have the advantage.
“I definitely believe this is the Dodgers series to win, but who knows dude, the Brewers are a hard team to shake off. They can’t get lazy while they’re up,” Rudnev said.
Their first game between them on Monday, had little action for most of the contest due to former Cy Young winner Blake Snell’s eight no-hit innings with ten strikeouts. Snell pitched a gem and delivered his best playoff start to date.
The Dodgers scored one run in both the sixth and ninth innings. In the bottom of the ninth, Milwaukee scored one and left the bases stranded after an opportunity to tie or take a walk-off win.
Brice Turang moved out of the way of a sweeper inside which would have hit him, causing the team to tie the game. Unfortunately on the following pitch he proceeded to strike out to end the game. It was a heartbreaking ending for Brewers fans, but a nail biter for all.
Game two was a Dodgers blowout 5-1 and pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto had thrown a complete game, the first since 2017 by Astros Pitcher and first ballot hall of famer Justin Verlander.
The scoring started with a solo blast from Milwaukee center fielder Jackson Chourio. The next inning Teoscar Hernandez responded with one of his own to open the gates for the Dodge who went on to score four more while holding the Brewers to just one.
Based on their performances so far, it looks like the Dodgers will continue to pull away with the win and advance to the World Series to match up against the Seattle Mariners. However, only time will tell and fans just have to wait and see.
