The Dodgers stay alive with a 6 – 4 win over the Cardinals in Game 5 of the NLCS. Adrian Gonzalez homers twice and Carl Crawford and A.J. Ellis once each as Zack Greinke prevails over Joe Kelly.
Detroit takes a three games to none lead in the ALCS behind another strong performance by ace Justin Verlander. Verlander gives up no runs through the first 8 innings before allowing a lead-off homer to Eduardo Nunez in the 9th, but needs relief help from Phil Coke, who gets the last two outs in a 2 – 1 win. Delmon Young homers off Philip Hughes for the Bengals’ first run in the 4th, then Quintin Berry scores the second run on a double by Miguel Cabrera in the 5th.
The Cardinals complete their very unlikely run to the World Series by beating the Brewers, 12 – 6, in Game 6 of the NLCS at Miller Park. Series MVP David Freese opens the scoring with a three-run homer off Shaun Marcum in the 1st, but the Brewers once again manage to chase the Cards’ starter early, scoring 4 runs off Edwin Jackson in 2 innings. However, the Cardinals’ bats do not stop pounding, getting solo homers from Rafael Furcal and Albert Pujols off Chris Narveson as they pull to a 9 – 4 lead after 3 innings. Their bullpen is once again strong, giving up only 2 runs over the last 7 frames to send them forward to a meeting with the Texas Rangers in the Fall Classic.
The Rangers record their first playoff win at home in the 50-year history of the franchise when they take Game 2 of the ALDS, defeating the Yankees, 7-2. The Rangers Ballpark victory ends a ten-game postseason losing streak against New York that includes yesterday’s heartbreaking loss in which Texas had an early 5-0 lead over the Bronx Bombers.
The Yankees take Game 1 of the ALCS with a 4 – 1 win over the Angels at New Yankee Stadium. The Yanks take advantage of three Angel errors to score their runs, but the critical play is a two-out pop-up that falls untouched between 3B Chone Figgins and SS Erick Aybar in the 1st, allowing Johnny Damon to score the Yankees’ second run. CC Sabathia pitches 8 innings for the win and Mariano Rivera gets the save.
The Dodgers tie the NLCS at one game apiece by defeating the Phillies, 2 – 1, at Dodger Stadium. After a classic pitching duel between Pedro Martinez and Vicente Padilla, punctuated only by a solo home run by Ryan Howard, the Dodgers score two runs in the 8th, the game-winner on a bases-loaded walk. Jonathan Broxton picks up the save.
The first pitch of a potential Game 6 of the World Series will begin eight minutes later to accommodate Democrat presidential candidate Barack Obama’s desire to purchase the 8-8:30 p.m. slot on the Fox network, the same airtime the campaign has secured on CBS and NBC. The Tropicana Field game is now scheduled to start at 8:35 p.m.
The Red Sox, behind 7-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, score eight runs in the three last frames to beat the Rays in Game 5 of the ALCS at Fenway Park, 8-7. Boston’s comeback victory is the biggest postseason rally since the 1929 A’s tallied ten times in the seventh inning to wipe out an eight-run deficit against the Cubs in their 10-8 victory in Game 4 of the World Series.
Bill Stoneman, citing he wants to spend more time with his wife, retires as the general manager of the Angels, a post he has held since the end of 1999. The 63 year-old executive, who was at the helm for the team’s only World Championship (2002), will remain with the club as a senior advisor.
After finishing 93-69 to win the AL West and sweeping the Twins in the ALDS, Ken Macha is fired when the A’s are eliminated from the postseason by the Tigers. Oakland GM Billy Beane cites a lack of communication between the players and the manager, who compiled a 368-280 record and brought the team to the playoffs twice in his four-year tenure in the dugout.