Re: GameTime!™
25895Good quality baseball game between two quality teams. This is not like playing the sloppy Sox.
Re: GameTime!™
25898CLEVELAND -- The chants were so loud that they were echoing through Progressive Field. There was a pause in the action on the field for a replay review. José Ramírez had nothing else to focus on than the 30,741 fans singing his name to a tune he’s heard countless times in this ballpark.
Ramírez had just returned to the dugout after giving his team a lead with a two-run home run off Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan that eventually lifted the Guardians to a 2-1 victory over the Rays in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series on Friday afternoon. The crowd was relentless, showing its appreciation for the one hitter who’s been consistently keeping Cleveland competitive over the last few seasons. Ramírez couldn’t help but take a step out of the dugout to wave to the fans.
• AL Wild Card Game 2, pres. by Hankook Tire: Saturday, noon ET on ESPN2
It goes without saying that this win was critical for Cleveland in a three-game series, but the numbers explain why. MLB has only a limited history of three-game playoff series, but the expanded postseason in 2020 did give us eight Wild Card series that were best of three. Six of the eight teams that won Game 1 in those series advanced. All six of those were two-game sweeps. However, the two teams that evened things up in Game 2 (A’s vs. White Sox, Padres vs. Cardinals) then won Game 3 as well. If you add in four previous best-of-three tiebreaker series that decided NL pennants between 1946-62, then the Game 1 winner improves to 10-2 all-time in that format.
With a deeper look at three-game series throughout the regular season this year among the Majors, 78% were won by the Game 1 winner, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
This is the reason the Guardians were adamant about signing Ramírez to a long-term deal. Not only does Ramírez captivate any audience, he’s become the heart and soul of this club and has developed a knack for stepping up any time he’s needed.
Ramírez had just returned to the dugout after giving his team a lead with a two-run home run off Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan that eventually lifted the Guardians to a 2-1 victory over the Rays in Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series on Friday afternoon. The crowd was relentless, showing its appreciation for the one hitter who’s been consistently keeping Cleveland competitive over the last few seasons. Ramírez couldn’t help but take a step out of the dugout to wave to the fans.
• AL Wild Card Game 2, pres. by Hankook Tire: Saturday, noon ET on ESPN2
It goes without saying that this win was critical for Cleveland in a three-game series, but the numbers explain why. MLB has only a limited history of three-game playoff series, but the expanded postseason in 2020 did give us eight Wild Card series that were best of three. Six of the eight teams that won Game 1 in those series advanced. All six of those were two-game sweeps. However, the two teams that evened things up in Game 2 (A’s vs. White Sox, Padres vs. Cardinals) then won Game 3 as well. If you add in four previous best-of-three tiebreaker series that decided NL pennants between 1946-62, then the Game 1 winner improves to 10-2 all-time in that format.
With a deeper look at three-game series throughout the regular season this year among the Majors, 78% were won by the Game 1 winner, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
This is the reason the Guardians were adamant about signing Ramírez to a long-term deal. Not only does Ramírez captivate any audience, he’s become the heart and soul of this club and has developed a knack for stepping up any time he’s needed.
Re: GameTime!™
25899CLEVELAND, Ohio -- In the postseason the home run might not be king, but it’s close.
If there was one flaw in the Guardians’ game entering Friday’s best-of-three wild card series, it was the fact that when it came to the long ball, they were the court jester instead of royalty. During the regular season they hit the second-fewest homers in the big leagues.
But that did not matter in the sixth inning when Jose Ramírez hit a two-run homer to center field to give the Guardians 2-1 victory over the Rays at Progressive Field.
The victory broke an eight-game postseason losing streak for Cleveland and puts them in position to eliminate the Rays with a victory on Saturday or Sunday.
Triston McKenzie (11-11, 2.96) will face Tampa RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 1.35) Saturday at 12:07 p.m. in Game 2. A Guardians victory would send them to New York to face the Yankees on Tuesday in the ALDS.
Ramirez’s homer, just his seventh from the right side of the plate this year, did not come without drama. Amed Rosario singled in front of Ramirez with one out. After Ramirez sent Shane McClanahan’s 1-1 pitch over the wall in center, the Rays challenged that Rosario missed second base when he stopped at second to make sure Jose Siri didn’t catch the ball.
First they appealed at second, but second base umpire Quinn Wolcott signaled that Rosario had tagged the bag. Then came a lengthy replay review, but the outcome was the same.
While the review was going on, the crowd chanted for Ramirez, who gave them curtain call.
Ramirez’s timing was perfect. Shane Bieber, who pitched splendidly, allowed a one-out homer to Siri in the sixth. It was Siri’s second homer against Bieber in 11 days and it felt like a game-changer simply because Bieber and McClanahan had pitched so well to that point of the game.
Bieber (1-0, 1.17) allowed one run and three hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one on 99 pitches.
It was the second postseason start of Bieber’s career. It went much better than the first.
Bieber started Game 1 of the 2020 wild card series against the Yankees. He allowed seven runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.
But on Thursday Bieber told reporters that he expected different result this time around. For one thing there would fans in the stands -- there were no fans in 2020 because of COVID -- and he planned to feed off their energy.
Well, over 30,000 screamers showed up Friday, but as always Bieber looked calm, cool and collected. In his last 14 starts Bieber is 10-2 with a 1.97 ERA.
Emmanuel Clase relieved Bieber with two out in the eighth and recorded his first four-out save of the season. He saved 42 games during the regular season.
McClanahan (0-1, 2.57) allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out five and didn’t issue a walk.
The Guardians have won 25 of their last 30 games. The Rays have lost 13 of their last 17 games.
Bieber held the Rays without a hit through four innings. Ji-Man Choi, who walked with one out in the second, was the Rays’ only baserunner. He was erased when Manuel Margot, the next batter, hit into a double play to end the inning.
Harold Ramirez, who played with Cleveland last year, gave the Rays their first hit of the day with a leadoff single in the fifth. Bieber reponded by retiring the next three batters.
The Guardians created two early scoring opportunities against McClanahan.
Myles Straw singled with one out in the third. Steven Kwan sent a bouncer to Taylor Walls at second. Walls forced Straw, but his throw to first was wild as Kwan went to second. McClanahan retired Amed Rosario on a bouncer to first to end the inning.
In the fourth, Oscar Gonzalez and Josh Naylor hit consecutive one-out singles. The inning ended when McClanahan induced Owen Miller to hit into a double play at first.
If there was one flaw in the Guardians’ game entering Friday’s best-of-three wild card series, it was the fact that when it came to the long ball, they were the court jester instead of royalty. During the regular season they hit the second-fewest homers in the big leagues.
But that did not matter in the sixth inning when Jose Ramírez hit a two-run homer to center field to give the Guardians 2-1 victory over the Rays at Progressive Field.
The victory broke an eight-game postseason losing streak for Cleveland and puts them in position to eliminate the Rays with a victory on Saturday or Sunday.
Triston McKenzie (11-11, 2.96) will face Tampa RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-0, 1.35) Saturday at 12:07 p.m. in Game 2. A Guardians victory would send them to New York to face the Yankees on Tuesday in the ALDS.
Ramirez’s homer, just his seventh from the right side of the plate this year, did not come without drama. Amed Rosario singled in front of Ramirez with one out. After Ramirez sent Shane McClanahan’s 1-1 pitch over the wall in center, the Rays challenged that Rosario missed second base when he stopped at second to make sure Jose Siri didn’t catch the ball.
First they appealed at second, but second base umpire Quinn Wolcott signaled that Rosario had tagged the bag. Then came a lengthy replay review, but the outcome was the same.
While the review was going on, the crowd chanted for Ramirez, who gave them curtain call.
Ramirez’s timing was perfect. Shane Bieber, who pitched splendidly, allowed a one-out homer to Siri in the sixth. It was Siri’s second homer against Bieber in 11 days and it felt like a game-changer simply because Bieber and McClanahan had pitched so well to that point of the game.
Bieber (1-0, 1.17) allowed one run and three hits in 7 2/3 innings. He struck out eight and walked one on 99 pitches.
It was the second postseason start of Bieber’s career. It went much better than the first.
Bieber started Game 1 of the 2020 wild card series against the Yankees. He allowed seven runs on eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.
But on Thursday Bieber told reporters that he expected different result this time around. For one thing there would fans in the stands -- there were no fans in 2020 because of COVID -- and he planned to feed off their energy.
Well, over 30,000 screamers showed up Friday, but as always Bieber looked calm, cool and collected. In his last 14 starts Bieber is 10-2 with a 1.97 ERA.
Emmanuel Clase relieved Bieber with two out in the eighth and recorded his first four-out save of the season. He saved 42 games during the regular season.
McClanahan (0-1, 2.57) allowed two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He struck out five and didn’t issue a walk.
The Guardians have won 25 of their last 30 games. The Rays have lost 13 of their last 17 games.
Bieber held the Rays without a hit through four innings. Ji-Man Choi, who walked with one out in the second, was the Rays’ only baserunner. He was erased when Manuel Margot, the next batter, hit into a double play to end the inning.
Harold Ramirez, who played with Cleveland last year, gave the Rays their first hit of the day with a leadoff single in the fifth. Bieber reponded by retiring the next three batters.
The Guardians created two early scoring opportunities against McClanahan.
Myles Straw singled with one out in the third. Steven Kwan sent a bouncer to Taylor Walls at second. Walls forced Straw, but his throw to first was wild as Kwan went to second. McClanahan retired Amed Rosario on a bouncer to first to end the inning.
In the fourth, Oscar Gonzalez and Josh Naylor hit consecutive one-out singles. The inning ended when McClanahan induced Owen Miller to hit into a double play at first.
Re: GameTime!™
25900Here's a pregame story posted postgame
One Key Storyline for each game on Friday. They are listed in order of game time, starting with the earliest.
Rays at Guardians
Shane McClanahan vs. Shane Bieber
12:07 p.m. ET, ESPN
Storyline: Can the Guardians generate enough offense and power?
For all the talk of the American League Central supposedly being weak, the Guardians are a most legitimate champion: They were six games better than these Rays, after all. But there have been questions about their offense all season. Even when it was thriving earlier in the year, it was doing so in an unconventional way, essentially sacrificing power for contact, a station-to-station approach that worked but made many wonder whether it would be sustainable.
Well, the offense plummeted to a .655 OPS in August and only barely rebounded in September to .719. A large part of the problem? The collapse of former MVP candidate José Ramírez, whose slugging percentage fell to .466 in August and .358 in September. The switch-hitting All-Star was notably poor from the right side, and that was a bugaboo for the entire team. Cleveland’s .646 OPS against lefties ranked 28th in the Majors, ahead of only Oakland and Miami. That plays right into the hands of McClanahan, one of the best lefties in the game.
Even beyond McClanahan, the Rays’ pitching is versatile and deep -- though perhaps not as versatile and deep as it has been in the past -- and known for keeping the ball in the ballpark. The Guardians, well … they could stand to hit some homers (29th in MLB).
Hmm, so Jose hit a 2 run homer off McC and that answers his question
One Key Storyline for each game on Friday. They are listed in order of game time, starting with the earliest.
Rays at Guardians
Shane McClanahan vs. Shane Bieber
12:07 p.m. ET, ESPN
Storyline: Can the Guardians generate enough offense and power?
For all the talk of the American League Central supposedly being weak, the Guardians are a most legitimate champion: They were six games better than these Rays, after all. But there have been questions about their offense all season. Even when it was thriving earlier in the year, it was doing so in an unconventional way, essentially sacrificing power for contact, a station-to-station approach that worked but made many wonder whether it would be sustainable.
Well, the offense plummeted to a .655 OPS in August and only barely rebounded in September to .719. A large part of the problem? The collapse of former MVP candidate José Ramírez, whose slugging percentage fell to .466 in August and .358 in September. The switch-hitting All-Star was notably poor from the right side, and that was a bugaboo for the entire team. Cleveland’s .646 OPS against lefties ranked 28th in the Majors, ahead of only Oakland and Miami. That plays right into the hands of McClanahan, one of the best lefties in the game.
Even beyond McClanahan, the Rays’ pitching is versatile and deep -- though perhaps not as versatile and deep as it has been in the past -- and known for keeping the ball in the ballpark. The Guardians, well … they could stand to hit some homers (29th in MLB).
Hmm, so Jose hit a 2 run homer off McC and that answers his question
Re: GameTime!™
25902Awesome. Fun team to watch. 17 rookies debut this season. This is a fundamentally sound team being so young. A shout out to management and coaching staff. The dodger series in la is what really peked mh interest this year. I thought this was a rebuilding season.
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller
-- Bob Feller
Re: GameTime!™
25904I don't want to jinx agood thing 
“Every day is a new opportunity. You can build on yesterday's success or put its failures behind and start over again. That's the way life is, with a new game every day, and that's the way baseball is.”
-- Bob Feller
-- Bob Feller
Re: GameTime!™
25905Me too. I was going to bet on the G's to win the world series but I believe in jinxes.