In New York, they're venting all hours on talk radio today after the Mets were eliminated by San Diego Sunday night. Former Tri-City Valleycat Joe Musgrove and the Padres' bullpen held the Mets to 1 hit in a 6-0 win. It's safe to assume the Mets peaked too soon, but there are other factors involved.
In game 1, it was clear that co-ace Max Scherzer was not all the way back from an oblique injury that had landed him on the injured list twice this season. San Diego touched him up for 7 runs, all via the home run, and Yu Darvish beat the Mets for the 3rd time this season.
Sunday, the Mets sent Chris Bassitt to the mound. His former manager, Bob Melvin, was part of the exodus out of Oakland after last season, and it can be argued that he had the ultimate scouting report not only on Bassitt, but also Mark Canha and Starling Marte, who also played for Melvin in Oakland last year.
Fatigue had to be a factor, too, but the situation was so dire that Mets manager Buck Showalter, out of desperation, tried having Musgrove checked for foreign substances. That didn't work.
Fortunately for baseball fans in New York, the Yankees are back in action after almost a week off, as the Division Series begin tomorrow.
American League:
Cleveland @ Yankees: The Guardians will have had just two days rest after bouncing Tampa Bay in 15 innings on Saturday. The Bombers have been idle since the regular season ended October 5 with a loss to Texas. Gerrit Cole takes the mound for the Yankees in the opener on Tuesday (all games on TBS), looking to end a 2 game season ending losing streak. With Aaron Judge having rewritten the team & AL home run records, the focus can get back to winning a World Series for the first time in 13 years. Yes, the media obsession with Judge, who could be a free agent after the playoffs, proved costly to the Yanks last week.
The Yankees won 5 of 6 from Cleveland during the season, and the last time Terry Francona's club was in the Bronx, six months ago, a few idiots in the stands caused some issues with the Guardians' outfielders. MLB will need to keep an eye for a possible repeat. Game 2 is Thursday instead of Wednesday, which will benefit fans of All Elite Wrestling, as Dynamite will not be pre-empted on Wednesday.
Prediction: Yankees in 5.
Seattle @ Houston: The resurgent Mariners swept Toronto out, one of three road teams to advance into this round. Houston won the season series, 12-7, and will be well rested for this series. Seattle has momentum, but with the first two games in Houston, this could be over in a hurry. MLB decided to give the AL teams Wednesday off instead of the traditional travel day between games 2 & 3. That won't help the Mariners at all.
Prediction: Houston in 3.
National League:
Philadelphia @ Atlanta: The Phillies shocked the experts by upsetting St. Louis and spoiling the retirement tour for Albert Pujols, who will return to the Angels to fulfill a personal services contract which was stopped when he was sent to the Dodgers last year. Atlanta dominated Philadelphia in the regular season, but not as much as the Mets did. Max Fried will pitch game 1 for the Braves. Philly has used Zach Eflin, normally a starter, out of the bullpen in the playoffs, but they may need him in the rotation during this series. Not that it would do them any good.......!
Prediction: Atlanta in 4.
San Diego @ Los Angeles:
For the Padres, there is little rest, as the NLDS also begin tomorrow, with Fox and FS1 carrying the games, meaning Darvish would pitch game 2, followed by Blake Snell in game 3, and Musgrove in game 4 if needed. This will be the only series that goes the full five games. The Dodgers will be looking for their 2nd title in 3 years, and this will be the first step. If anything, these games will not be boring.
Prediction: Los Angeles in 5.
Of course, I could be wrong.
Wild card result: 2-2.
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