The Red Sox advance to the ALCS with a 3 – 1 win over the Rays in Game 4 of the ALDS. Down 1 – 0 after 6 innings, the Sox score twice in the 7th and once in the 9th to secure the win.
The other ALDS will require a decisive 5th game after the Tigers defeat the Athletics, 8 – 6, in Game 4. Facing elimination, Detroit manager Jim Leyland uses ace starter Max Scherzer in relief in the 7th; he allows a run in that inning but escapes a none out, bases loaded jam in the 8th while his teammates score 5 runs over those two innings to give him the win.
Taiwanese rookie Wei-Yin Chen pitches into the 7th inning against veteran Andy Pettitte to lead the Orioles to a 3 – 2 win in Game 2 of the ALDS, evening the series. Chris Davis drives in two runs with a two-out, bases-loaded single in the 3rd, then Mark Reynolds provides the winning margin with an RBI in the 6th.
Manager Mike Matheny yanks his starter, Jaime Garcia, after only two laborious innings, but St. Louis goes on to beat Washington, 12 – 4, to even the NLDS at one win apiece. Lance Lynn steps in ably in relief of Garcia while the Cards chase Nats starter Jordan Zimmermann after only 3 innings. Homers by Allen Craig, Daniel Descalso and Carlos Beltran, twice, propel the winners’ offense.
2011 – The Texas Rangers take the first game of the 2011 ALCS over the Detroit Tigers with a rain-soaked 3 – 2 win over ace Justin Verlander in Arlington. They score two early runs against the 24-game winner, one on a solo homer by Nelson Cruz in the 4th, before Verlander leaves after a 5th-inning rain delay. Rangers starter C.J. Wilson also has to depart early, but five relievers allow only a hit and a walk in the last 4 1/3 innings; Alexi Ogando is the winner.
Redbird right-hander Chris Carpenter out pitches Roy Halladay, throwing a three-hitter to beat the Phillies 1-0 in the deciding Game 5 of NLDS. The wild-card Cardinals plate the game’s only run in the first frame when Skip Schumaker doubles home Rafael Furcal, who led off the Citizens Bank Park contest with a triple.
Although the Astros finish ten games under .500, the team exercises the 2012 option on the contract of their manager Brad Mills and adds a club option for the following season. After a dismal 17-34 start and the loss of veterans Roy Oswalt to the Phillies and Lance Berkman to the Yankees, the first-year skipper pilots Houston to a 59-52 record after June 1.
A ninth-inning error by left fielder Matt Holliday with the bases empty and two-out leads to the Dodgers’ stunning 3-2 walk-off victory and gives LA a commanding 2-0 game advantage in the NLDS. After the crucial miscue on the sinking line drive, Cardinals’ closer Ryan Franklin gives up RBI singles to Ronnie Belliard and pinch-hitter Mark Loretta to complete the improbable two-run comeback rally.
The Rockies even their Division Series with a 5 – 4 win over the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. They jump for four runs in five innings against 2008 Postseason hero Cole Hamels, highlighted by Yorvit Torrealba’s two-run homer in the 4th. The Phillies mount a comeback with 3 runs off Aaron Cook in the 6th and a solo homer by Jayson Werth in the 8th, but Huston Street closes out the game with a scoreless inning of relief for the save.
The Cardinals litterally drop the ball in their NLDS encounter with the Dodgers. With the Cards leading 2 – 1 with two outs and none on in the bottom of the 9th, Matt Holliday drops James Loney’s line drive for a two-base error. Four batters later, pinch hitter Mark Loretta hits a soft single to center off Ryan Franklin, and the Dodgers win, 3 – 2.