AL Round Two

[Frayed Knot]

Monday Oct 5:

Astros "at" Oakland, 4:05, TBS, Dodger Stadium

Yanx at Rays, 8:05, TBS, Petco Park





Daytime at Dodger Stadium and the ball is flying.

Two HRs each and it's 3-3, top 4

[MFS62]

Houston scored 4 in the top of the 7th and now leads 7-5.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

10-5 was your final.







8:07 First Pitch -- Gerrit Cole vs Blake Snell

[Frayed Knot]

TB reliever John Curtiss, the extra S is for 'Suck'

[bmfc1]

A Yankees-Astros AL Finals would be just perfect for 2020.

[ashie62]

The Astros were in a coma "all" season and have turned it around on a dime.



Yanquis look unbeatable. They all get healthy at the same time as if they planned it this way.

[MFS62]

Houston won, 5-2

George Springer (who would look great playing centerfield for the Mets next year) hit two home runs.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

And it was a full nine inning post-season game that clocked in at under three hours!! (2:54)

I didn't think those were still permitted.

[Frayed Knot]

So how does Dusty Baker deal with his toothpicks and keep his mask on at the same time?

[Frayed Knot]

Meanwhile over in Ssndy Eggo, the Rays are going long off JA Happless

Yanx went with an 'opener for one inning so as to get Tampa to load their lineup with LHBs while Boone switched to the lefty Happ in the 2nd. But that strategy isn't exactly working.



5-1 TBR thru 3

[Frayed Knot]

So legend has it Mantle once hit a homer nearly 100 feet further than the one Stanton just clubbed?

No fuckin' way.





5 - 4 Rays end of 4

[Frayed Knot]

Another name for the ALDS this year -- both series -- is simply 'Home Run Derby'

[Frayed Knot]

So the Yanx wound up with just six hits plus four walks while striking out 18 times and allowing seven runs... and right up until the very last out I was convinced those MF'ers were going to win it somehow. The back to back BBs to start the 9th inning didn't do much to settle those fears.





Gotta like Kevin Cash & the Rays going to a four OF defense to START the 8th inning and he kept it there the entire time. Figured he had a fly ball pitcher in there so why not.

Result: Fly Out, K, Fly Out. First FO was routine, the shift may have made a difference on the other one.

[MFS62]

Oakland leads Houston in a see-saw battle 9-7 in the top of the ninth.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Y'know who Homered in this game? ... EVERYONE!!!!

More specifically: Altuve, A. Diaz, and Luzardo for Houston (solo, solo, 2R) - so four of their seven runs

For Oakland it was: LaStella (Solo), Canha (S), Olson (S), Semien (S), and then the big one, Pinder (3R in the 7th to tie the game) accounting for seven of their nine runs



These AL games have been nothing but a HR-a-palooza, starting right from the WC round.

[Frayed Knot]

I realize that pro athletes aren't like you and I, but these stories of guys 'putting on 15 pounds of muscle' in a short time are total bullseye and/or they need to be investigated.

Mostly claims like these are just agent or club hype and those who cover the sport(s) would do themselves a favor by not simply repeating them as if established fact.



That said, I had never heard of this Arozarena guy on TB (the latest subject of the above muscle story) prior to the series we played against them a few weeks back and right now he killing it.

His latest HR, leading off the 5th, ta-knocked Tanaka out of the game.

Edited October 7, 2020 by Guest

[bmfc1]

The Rays are one game away from doing us a favor by ridding us of the MFYs and the possibility of a NYY-HOU ALCS. The Rays will have Ryan Thompson as the "opener", NOT THAT RYAN THOMPSON, he wears #81, against Jordan Montgomery who looked great against the Mets but few other teams.

[Frayed Knot]

The Yanx will bring Cole back for Game 5 so it would be nice if they could end things tonight.

Best case scenario would be if Cole loses Game 5 but that's too risky to root for, so TCoB TBR

[Frayed Knot]

One rule change that escaped my notice is that the limit of five mound visits per game has apparenty been extended to 87 per game for this season.

[MFS62]

Houston looks like they are on a mission to prove they don't have to cheat to win, in spite of the Dusty Baker post season jinx.

(I still feel funny typing about Houston in an AL thread)

Later

[Frayed Knot]

So why, during these quickie manager interviews, is Lauren Shehadi wearing a mask but Boone and Cash not?

I think I speak for most guys when I suggest that we'd rather see it the other way around.

[Frayed Knot]

Looks like Aaron mis-Judged his height on that HR

[Frayed Knot]

Two errors tonight from Yanqui infielders.

Back in the day, George would be screaming to the commissioner's office that inferior (and biased) groundskeeping was causing his team to lose.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Intense and slow moving game.

[ashie62]

Glasnow certainly did his three innings worth of work.

[Frayed Knot]

Well, we're down to two ABs for the Rays vs just one more for the Yanx.

This would be a nice time Tampa-ites.

[Frayed Knot]

I had forgotten, until they flashed up the graphic earlier and then again just now, that the winner of these dives right back into it on Sunday night.

I love this schedule.

[Frayed Knot]

What a fuckin' AB!!!!

And that's even before you mix in the (very recent) history between those two.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Howie Rose calls it: Brosseau! Brosseau! Brosseau!

[Frayed Knot]

Meat of the order coming up.