MLB Playoffs rewind: Underdogs take center stage on pivotal Friday
There were three games on Friday. The Guardians and Yankees are playing a series. There were also upsets. The Astros didn't play on the Friday night.
The Guardians won the ALDS Game 2, 4-2, to level the series at 1-1. The Yankees are nervous about their team's performance. They have been known for using mercenaries in the past, but they have also developed their own players. In the eighth inning of Game two, Isiah Kiner-Falefa walked, which loaded the bases and pushed Tim Locastro to third. Kyle Higashioka lined out to end the inning. The team that used to play with role players is still jarring to see a procession of duct tape from a team known as steel girders.
Philadelphia beats Atlanta 9-1 in Game 3 to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
The last time the Phillies hosted a postseason game, it ended in a bad way. This time they won the game. Rhys Hoskins' reaction to his home run was the best since José Bautista's bat flip to the moon. The organization spent aggressively to have even a chance against the Braves. Bryce Harper hit a long homerun when the match was in doubt. Kyle Schwarber was intentionally walked ahead of Rhyys. Bryson Stott and Aaron Nola played a role. The sign in the front of the ballpark read “Please excuse our dust, but we’ll have a super-team again soon”
The Padres defeated the Dodgers, 2-1, in Game 3 to take a series lead and move one win away from the NLCS.
The Padres won their first postseason game in front of a San Diego crowd since 1998. The team was expected to be in the postseason after a lot of changes and trades. Tony Gonsolin was a world-beater for most of the season, but he was not quite the same pitcher. Dodgers were in this same spot last year and they were facing elimination in several other series. They were also in a similar spot in 2020 NLCS, 2019 NCL and 2018 NLC. They have a good team but also a few players who can be unreliable. It's one thing to have the kind of roster that can win 111 games and another to say, "haha Trent Grisham go brrr" at the right time.
